Author name: Jessica Stroud

Contributed by Teresa Douglass, Genealogy Specialist

Hop in the car and head to the drive-in! Specifically, Sky-Aire Theatre near Corydon. Nothing was better than throwing on PJs, piling into the family car, and spending the evening under the stars watching Hollywood stars! Onscreen action mattered little, with focus mostly on the swings, playing tag with friends, and the wonderful assortment of items available at the snack bar. Staying awake through that last late flick never quite happened. Ahhh, those were the days.

Sky-Aire Drive-In Theatre opened about 1.5 miles northwest of downtown Corydon in September 1948. It had a 40-ft-wide screen and could accommodate 700 automobiles. Sky-Aire opened on a Thursday night, and the first film shown was “Golden Earrings” starring Ray Milland and Marlene Dietrich. The show ran for three nights, then RKO Pictures’ “Honeymoon” with Guy Madison and Shirley Temple took over the screen. Admission was 49₵ (tax included), and children under 12 were free. There was no charge for the automobile.

Here is a list of movies showing at the Sky-Aire Drive-In in the late 1950s. Two features were presented each night, the first starting at 8:30 and the second feature began around 10:30. Note that some films were “in color” and/or “cinemascope.” A cartoon was shown every night, and each Wednesday was “Horror Night,” with classics such as “The Werewolf” and “The Creature Walks Among Us.”

Browse HCPL’s Harrison County Businesses collection

Contributed by Teresa Douglass, Genealogy Specialist

Baseball, “America’s National Pastime,” has been a popular sport in our area throughout the county’s history. Enjoy these photos of past local teams from the Sports section of HCPL’s Corydon Photograph Collection.

Corydon adult league champions, 1955.

Front row (l-r): Rupert Baxley, Sonny Hurst, Oddie Schmidt, Ottie Case, Callie Schmidt, Lou Jensen, Jerry Stepro, and Frank “Steve” Hardsaw. Back row: Bill Harbison, Gene Baxley, Cliff Schmidt, Richard Jordan, and Eldon Sonner.

Corydon Ball Club 1896-1897

Roscoe Miller (middle row, far right) became a professional baseball player and pitched for the Detroit Tigers, the New York Giants, and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Contributed by Teresa Douglass, Genealogy Specialist

The first Harrison County Fair took place in 1860, and it has continued annually ever since. Here are some highlights from the event in the early 1940s. See more in HCPL’s Harrison County Agricultural Society collection.

1941 – Vegetable display in Homecomers Hall

1942 – Bill Churchill with Grand Champion Jersey Heifer

1943 – Steve Stepro drives Daisy Mae along the track in front of a grandstand crowd.

Stepro had a long history of horse racing in Harrison County and drove his first race at the fair around 1905.

1944 – Anna Margaret Winders & Betty Gleitz enjoy the Ferris wheel.

The Ferris wheel, created in 1893, first came to the Harrison County Fair in 1917.

Dads are the greatest, and Harrison County dads are among the best!

In celebration of all Dads out there, enjoy these photos featuring fathers from Harrison County’s past.

Visit HCPL’s Group Photo Collection.

Four generations of Griffith men, 1938.

A young George Lee Griffith sits on the lap of his great-grandfather, George D. Griffith, and is surrounded by his father, George M. Griffith, (left) and grandfather, Ora B. Griffith (right).

Applegate family, ca. 1948.

Dr. Frederic M. Applegate and his wife, Margaret Patten Applegate with their five children. Dr. Applegate was a physician and practiced in Corydon, Indiana from 1929 to 1948.

Ernstberger family, 1965

Huston Ernstberger and his wife, Mary Ruth Gettelfinger Ernstberger pose for a photograph in 1965 with their eight sons who ranged in age from twelve years to fourteen months. The couple eventually had three more children, all of whom were girls.

Contributed by Teresa Douglass, Genealogy Specialist

Although the flash flood we experienced this week was a rare occurrence for most of us, photos of past floods over the years remind us this was not the first time Indian Creek has left its banks – and likely won’t be the last. These and other flood photos are available in the HCPL Fires and Floods digital collection.

Intersection of Poplar Street and Market Street (Capitol Avenue), May 1928

The large building on the corner facing Market Street (Capitol Avenue) was, at the time of this photograph, the George B. Wahl Hardware Store. During the late 20th century, it housed Alstott’s Hardware. The church seen midway down Poplar Street was constructed in 1837 as a United Brethren Church and was originally located on Mulberry Street, where it was later used by the Christian Church congregation. When that congregation decided to build a new church at the Mulberry Street location, it moved the older church building to Poplar Street, ca. 1903. The church was razed in 1947.

South Market Street (now Capitol Ave.), June 1939

Flood waters cover what is now Capitol Avenue in June 1939. Men in the photo stand in front of Clark Motor Supply. It was reported that the water was the highest it had ever been in the building. The view of the photograph is to the south, and in the distance can be seen the south bridge over Little Indian Creek.

Mulberry Street, Corydon, early 1900s.

Two young girls stand together on a swing that extends from a tree branch over a wet and muddy Mulberry Street in Corydon following a flood during the early 1900s.

Harrison County Fairground, 1975

Flood waters inundate the Harrison County Fairground in Corydon in 1975.