Historical/Biographical Sketch
Processed by
Pamela Tranfield
August 1994
Revised by Dorothy Nicholson
November 2003
Manuscript Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
1 document case of photographs |
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COLLECTION |
Ca. 1957–1991 |
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PROVENANCE: |
Forms part of the Cecil Beeson/Blackford County Historical Society Collection |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
May be held by the American Daily Publishing Company. |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
None |
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RELATED |
None |
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ACCESSION |
1994.0734T |
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NOTES: |
The Hartford City News-Times began as the Hartford City Times in 1885. Elwood Huffman and Frank Geisler owned the newspaper for ten years. Archie Tracy purchased the business in 1895 and merged the operations with the rival Daily Times-Gazette at the turn of the century. Herbert Honey bought the Times in 1919 and, with the assistance of Ralph Monfort, merged the company with the Blackford County News in 1937. The American Daily Publishing Company bought The Hartford City News-Times in 1977.
Arnold W. McCombs, born 22 September 1909 in Hartford City, Indiana, was the son of Frank and Garnet (Peck) McCombs. He worked as a photographer for newspapers in Hartford City from 1927 until his retirement in 1975. In addition to his work with the News-Times, McCombs was the official photographer for the coroner's office and contributed to the Muncie Star. He died 23 September 1983 in Muncie, Indiana.
King-Ryte Photography Studio of Hartford City was a portrait studio operated by Earl M. Kingsley and his family from ca. 1953 to ca. 1969. The business was located at 320 West Washington Street from ca. 1953 to ca. 1960 and at 302 North High Street from ca. 1961 to ca. 1967. At various times in its history, King-Ryte processed negatives and created prints intended for use in the Hartford City News-Times.
Sources:
A History of Blackford County, Indiana. Blackford County Historical Society. Hartford City, Indiana: 1986.
Hartford City News-Times, 26 September 1983.
Hartford City Telephone Directory. Indiana Bell. 1953.
Hartford City Telephone Directory. Indiana Bell. 1969.
The collection consists of 162 black-and-white photographs that were intended for use in the Hartford City News-Times between ca. 1954 and 1991. The photographs depict celebrations, awards ceremonies, and other community events. Mayors and other political officials are also featured, as well as businesspeople. Views of Blackford County include photographs of businesses and the demolition of buildings within Hartford City and Montpelier.
Arnold W. McCombs of the News-Times staff and other free-lance photographers created the photographs in this collection. Most of the photographs are date-stamped, and some have identifying information on the back of the image. Those photographs actually used in the News-Times usually appeared in the publication one to two days following the date stamp. Individual photographers other than McCombs are credited with three photographs in the collection. The volume of photographs created by McCombs necessitated the creation of a separate series for his work. King-Ryte Photography Studios of Hartford City periodically processed film and created prints for the News-Times. Images printed at King-Ryte have an identifying name stamp.
A small number of newspaper clippings originally stored with particular photographs have been photocopied and included in the relevant folder. The photocopies may be reduced from the size of the original clipping.
Series 1: Hartford City News-Times consists of eighty-two photographs taken by various photographers at the newspaper between 1966 and 1991. The photographs are arranged in twenty folders according to subject. The images include portraits of Blackford County officials and citizens, buildings, businesses, and local celebrations. The series also includes eight newspaper clippings.
Series 2: Arnold W. McCombs consists of sixty-five photographs by Arnold W. McCombs in association with his work with the Hartford City News-Times. McCombs’ work was identified by his personal business stamp on the back, and in one case an attribution in ink. The images are arranged in twenty folders according to subject, and date from ca. 1950s to 1981. Subjects include an archeological discovery in Blackford County, views of public buildings in Hartford City, businesses and businesspeople, local celebrations, and city officials. The series also includes a letter to Cecil Beeson from B. K. Swartz, Jr., assistant professor of Anthropology at Ball State University, and two newspaper clippings.
Series 3: King-Ryte Photography Studios, consists of fifteen photographs processed at King-Ryte Studio. The images are arranged in seven folders by subject, and date from 1954 to 1967.
The collection arrived at the Indiana Historical Society Library in 1994 as part of the Cecil Beeson/Blackford County Historical Society Collection. The photographs were contained in subject files created by Beeson and members of the Historical Society. These files also contained photographs made by individuals who were not associated with the Hartford City News-Times. The IHS processor selected photographs that had been made for the Hartford City News-Times, for reasons of provenance, and created subject files within this collection based on the content of the images. Descriptive titles assigned by the processor are enclosed with a pair of [ ] brackets.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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[Awards] [ca. 1970–ca. 1976] |
Box 1, Folder 1 |
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[Bicentennial Celebrations––Hartford City] 1976 |
Box 1, Folder 2 |
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[Blackford County 4-H Club] [ca. 1985] |
Box 1, Folder 3 |
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[Burns Family] 1978 |
Box 1, Folder 4 |
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[Businesses––Hartford City] [ca. 1973] |
Box 1, Folder 5 |
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[Cemeteries] 1979–1988 |
Box 1, Folder 6 |
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[Children] 1976–1986 |
Box 1, Folder 7 |
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[Courthouse––Hartford City] [ca. 1973] |
Box 1, Folder 8 |
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[Elk's Building––Wrecking] 1974 |
Box 1, Folder 9 |
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[Hartford City News-Times Building] [ca. 1980] |
Box 1, Folder 10 |
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[Hartford City––Views] 1986 |
Box 1, Folder 11 |
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[Mayors and Other Public Officers] [ca. 1966–ca. 1969] |
Box 1, Folder 12 |
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[Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Yards] [ca. 1978] |
Box 1, Folder 13 |
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[Portraits, Folder 1] [ca. 1966‑1978] |
Box 1, Folder 14 |
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[Portraits, Folder 2] [ca.1976‑1989] |
Box 1, Folder 15 |
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[Portraits, Folder 3] 1966–1991 |
Box 1, Folder 16 |
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[Portraits, Folder 4] 1973–1976 |
Box 1, Folder 17 |
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[Rest Homes––Hartford City] [ca. 1985] |
Box 1, Folder 18 |
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[Unidentified Photographs] [ca. 1978] |
Box 1, Folder 19 |
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[Veterans and War Memorial] 1988 |
Box 1, Folder 20 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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[Awards] 1971–1977 |
Box 1, Folder 21 |
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[Blackford County––Archeology] 1965 |
Box 1, Folder 22 |
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[Board Of Trade] 1967 |
Box 1, Folder 23 |
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[Businesses and Businesspeople] 1965–1978 |
Box 1, Folder 24 |
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[Cemeteries] 1961–1977 |
Box 1, Folder 25 |
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[Children] 1965–1973 |
Box 1, Folder 26 |
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[Courthouse––Hartford City] 1965 |
Box 1, Folder 27 |
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[Fire Department––Hartford City] 1976 |
Box 1, Folder 28 |
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[Fourth Of July Celebrations––Hartford City] 1975–1978 |
Box 1, Folder 29 |
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[Hydro Substation‑–Wrecking] 1967 |
Box 1, Folder 30 |
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[Library‑–Hartford City] 1964–1966 |
Box 1, Folder 31 |
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[Montpelier, Indiana] 1976–1979 |
Box 1, Folder 32 |
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[Odd Fellows Building] 1974–1976 |
Box 1, Folder 33 |
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[Parades] 1967–1976 |
Box 1, Folder 34 |
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[Portraits, Folder 1] 1968–1974 |
Box 1, Folder 35 |
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[Portraits, Folder 2] 1968–1969 |
Box 1, Folder 36 |
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[Railroad Accidents] 1970 |
Box 1, Folder 37 |
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[Schools––Hartford City High School; Blackford County High School] 1968–1981 |
Box 1, Folder 38 |
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[Schools––Parkside School] [ca. 1950s] |
Box 1, Folder 39 |
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[Unidentified Photographs][ca. 1976] |
Box 1, Folder 40 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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[Board of Trade––Hartford City] 1954 |
Box 1, Folder 41 |
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[Businesses and Businesspeople] [ca. 1960] |
Box 1, Folder 42 |
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[Cemeteries] 1967 |
Box 1, Folder 43 |
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[Mayors and Other Public Officers] [ca. 1950s] |
Box 1, Folder 44 |
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[Schools] [ca. 1960s] |
Box 1, Folder 45 |
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[Sneath Glass Works] [ca. 1960] |
Box 1, Folder 46 |
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[Unidentified Photographs] [ca. 1967] |
Box 1, Folder 47 |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://157.91.92.2/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, P 0284).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.