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Broad Ripple Random Ripplings
The news from Broad Ripple
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Converted from paper version of the Broad Ripple Gazette (v12n22)
Right in my Own Backyard - Perspective Matters - by Brandt Carter
posted: Oct. 30, 2015
Perspective Matters
Today's news would have us believing we are living in the worst of times. I don't think so. We stand on the shoulders of those who have come before. Not having been present to their hardships, dangers, and suffering, it's easy to think things are at their worst now. Our Broad Ripple community, despite its recent wave of crime, empty stores, and floods, has endured many perils and proven itself to be resilient time and again.
Consider history:
Base line - 1836 Canal construction begins, and in 1837 Jacob Coil plats 48 lots for Broad Ripple; Nelson plats 32 lots on the Canal's south side naming it Wellington. Rivalry begins.
1839 - Indiana goes bankrupt; Canal building stops with only eight miles finished.
1847 - Flood destroys Burke's Mill.
1851 - Local sawmill is abandoned and torn down; by now that portion of the original Village of Wellington has reverted to farmland. (Our Village's first decline.)
1875 - Flood destroys the grist mill (one of the oldest standing structures) and a store.
1884 - Rivalry over the United States Post Office location ends when Wellington and Broad Ripple are forced by the Federal Government to locate the Post Office in Wellington but with the name of Broad Ripple. 150 residences begrudgingly merge.
1884 - Train bridge over White River collapses causing fatalities.
1885 - Levees collapse flooding the Village.
1889 - Broad Ripple Hotel burns.
1891 - Gas explosion destroys several businesses.
1896 - The pride of the community, Broad Ripple High School, burns.
1903 - Village floods.
1906 - Natural gas boom of 1896 ends. In 1898 there had been 102,987 barrels of natural gas tapped.
1908 - White City Amusement Park built 1906 burns to the ground (now Broad Ripple Park).
1922 - Broad Ripple residents lose their battle, and the Village is annexed into Indianapolis.
1956 - Monon Railroad ceases.
1957 - Parking meters are installed, ending free parking.
1962 - The Indianapolis Times observes that Broad Ripple is in a distressed period similar to days of the 1830s Canal failure.
1980 - IPS School #80 closes its doors.
1993 - The parking deck constructed in 1961 is closed and deemed structurally unsound.
1995 - Skateboarding is banned on Broad Ripple streets and sidewalks.
2013 - Crime rises in the Village.
I hope I have made my point. We are not the first to encounter perils. Although times have been disturbing in the Village of late, this is a strong community that weathers adversity. It's now our time as it will be for generations to do in the future -- stand together, hold on, and bend with life.
Brandt Carter, artist, herbalist, and naturalist, owns Backyard Birds at 2374 E. 54th Street. Visit her web site www.feedbackyardbirds.com. Email your bird questions to Brandt@BroadRippleGazette.com
brandt@broadripplegazette.com
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