DeMotte, Indiana History 1997

30 Years of Growth
100 Years of Tradition

Contents

Foreword & Acknowledgement

Before the White Man/Coming of the First Settlers

DeMotte Grows into a Town

Early Transportation & Farming

The First Schools

Dredging of the Grand Kankakee Marsh

Leonard Swart (Interview)

Casper Belstra (Interview)

Northern Indiana Land Company

The Halleck Telephone Company

DeMotte Mercantile Company

DeMotte Library Grows

Cheever's Garage

Eighty Years of Community Banking

Fairchild & Tanner History

Earl Schwanke Article

Keener Township Fire Department

(Art) Lageveen Looks Back

Fire Almost Destroys DeMotte in 1936

Kankakee Valley Post-News

Asparagus & Truck Farming

Businessmen's Association

Lageveen Remembers Incorporation

Belstra Remembers When...

Kankakee Valley Schools

DeMotte Elementary School

(DeMotte) Christian School

Mark L. DeMotte

Charlie Halleck

Walter Roorda, State Representative

C-SELM

Van Keppel Construction Company

Fire Destroys Main Building at Kaper's

The Hamstra Group

DeMotte Historical Society

Tysen's Family Food Center

Belstra Milling

The Fire of 1992

United Methodist Church

DeMotte Christian Church

Community Bible Church

Calvary Assembly of God

Bethel Christian Reformed Church

First Christian Reformed Church

Faith Lutheran Church

St. Cecilia Catholic Church

United Pentecostal

First Reformed Church

American Reformed Church

DeMotte Town Court

Incorporation of DeMotte

August 10 Incorporation Hearing

September 1965 Incorporation

First Town Board Election

The First Town Board

DeMotte Town Council 1969-1997

DeMotte Town Hall

DeMotte Park Board

Wastewater Treatment Begins

DeMotte Chamber of Commerce

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The Halleck Telephone Company

The Halleck Telephone Company came into existence on December 31, 1901 and DeMotte would never again be the same. Abraham and Elizabeth Halleck were the owners of the company; John Merry - treasurer; Lura J. Halleck-secretary. Directors were Sarah Welles, Charles Halleck and Nettie Joyner.

The telephone company stayed in the Halleck family until 1924. During some of those years it was operated by John White. Mary Jane Mullins, a granddaughter of White said records show Charles Summers worked at the office and received wages of $1.50 per day for actual time served.

Charles Summers was Vern Blankenbaker's grandfather. Blankenbaker said Summers bought the telephone company from the Halleck family about 1924. He said the switchboard was moved to several locations during the ensuing years. Blankenbaker said he could remember they moved the switchboard from White's place to a location above DeKock's grocery store and from there to a house located a block east of where the Financial Arts building is now located. It spent a few years in that location and then moved to a house that was located to the south of the building now owned by ConvaCare where Neil Kaper once lived and is now the parking lot for Fagen Pharmacy. The last move was to a house located behind Cheever's Garage.

In 1944, Summers sold the company to Mr. and Mrs. George Mussman who already owned the Hebron exchange and soon added Mt. Ayr. That telephone group became the Northwestern Indiana Telephone Company which serves the area today.