Historic Treasure of the Week - May 3, 1992
By Deborah Curtis Drummy
Vigo County Historical Society
Historic Treasure of the Week - May 3, 1992
By Deborah Curtis Drummy
Vigo County Historical Society
Readers challenged to unravel mystery
Several weeks ago, this column featured a group photograph purportedly taken at the Terre Haute House in the 1930s. A very distinguished-looking man with dark hair and a mustache sat beside an attractively dressed woman, the two of them flanked by 13 young men and women wearing light-colored uniforms such as might have been worn by restaurant or hotel staff.
The Vigo County Historical Society’s only information about the photograph came from an unsigned penciled note that was enclosed in the file. The note read as follows:
"I was told that this is a picture of Howard Hughes with the maids and other personnel at the Terre Haute House. There should be some of these people around who might know who they are. Probably late ‘30s."
After an unsuccessful search to establish whether the man in the photograph was Howard Hughes, the historical society challenged local residents to identify the who, what and where of the mysterious photo before time erased all memory of it.
The results of that challenge were rewarding. Three area residents telephoned and independently confirmed that the photograph was taken at the Terre Haute House. All three identified the man in the photo not as the legendary Howard Hughes, but as Emile Noseda, and "excellent chef" and "catering manager" at the Terre Haute House.
One of the three, an elderly Vigo County woman, identified herself in the photograph and felt confident the picture was taken in 1934. She went on to describe what a wonderful dancer Noseda had been, and remembered that Noseda had gone on to own and/or manage a large nightclub in Indianapolis.
The information presented by these local residents now is a part of the historical record in the society’s archives, and perhaps may be useful someday to someone doing genealogical research, for example, or some other line of historical inquiry.
This week’s historical treasure poses similar questions of identity. This time we have some information about the photograph, but not enough to keep it from being subtitled "unknown" under its main hearing, "Schools."
The 5-inch by 7-inch photo was donated to the historical society by Mrs. P.C. Godwin, who provided the information that the photo was taken in 1887 and that the young man second from left in the top row was Edmund C. Probst, who lived at 16th and Spruce streets.
The group appears to be a graduating class, probably of eighth graders. The school is unknown.
If the grade assumption and Godwin’s information are correct, the students probably were born around 1875, the man centered in the group probably about 3 or 35 years earlier.
Any help we receive in identifying more of the people in the photograph and perhaps the name and location of the school will have to come from people looking back across the generations. If you have any information about this photograph, please contact the museum.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.