The Marion Boys Club at Shanty Falls

The boys of the Marion Boys Club had long awaited their trip to Shanty Falls just outside Wabash. Unfortunately the time that the day had arrived it had followed a period of rain for nearly three days. Thus the field we needed to cross to get to Shanty Creek was quite muddy. I suggested to the boys that NO new tennis shoes be worn. In fact, if they had them, hiking boots were to be the order of the day.

The field must have had good drainage as it was not nearly as muddy as I had thought it to be. Still there were areas of quite thick mud but we finally managed to cross that field with not much damage to anyone’s footwear. As we entered the forest above Shanty Falls we heard a torrent of water and I was surprised to find Shanty Creek now a river. It was over its banks a good twenty yards so we had no choice but to follow the creek on shore.

The great thing about Shanty Creek was its rock bottom for nearly a mile before one would arrive at the actual falls. Yet as we walked what is usually about six inches deep was now several feet that much. In fact, as the group approached the area of the falls we had to take a slight detour around the large formation of rock that hangs over the falls.

We had our lunch in the large indention in the cliffs overlooking the falls. The falls were gushing forth water as I had never seen before with a large whirlpool at the bottom. The depth of the creek made it impossible to journey across to get to the mile long ridge of granite walls with caves that lay on the other side of that creek. So the boys had to be content to just explore the large indention that we had lunch at. It was a huge disappointment to the boys yet they knew they would return again so they made the best of the day.

One thing they were not denied and that was how glorious Shanty Falls looked when full of three days of water from all that rain. The boys took many pictures that day of the falls from various angles and some even wanted to get photographs of the whirlpool. Thus they had a great day in the events which they could control. The granite cliffs would have to wait for another day.

Christmas in Wabash

I was in the junior high when this photograph was taken and it came in front of our Christmas tree in our living room. Our tree was always placed in front of our huge picture window facing Wabash Street. Our living room was rather large with two sliding doors on either side of the room. One faced the stairway and the front door while the other led into the dining room. A fireplace was on that side of the living room. There was also a patio door to our porch which swung around the entire living room.

My two companions are Sam, the Beagle, and Buff, the all American mix who I found on my paper route. He followed me home and became probably the best dog the Norris family ever had. The other two notable dogs were Waggles in Forest Park and Wilson who replaced Sam after he died in Wabash.

At the back of our property were gigantic hills for sledding and there were three varities of hills in all. It was a great place to test out that Christmas sled or sauncer. Many times sledding lasted well into the night.

Merry Christmas from Big Bass Lake and Beyond, from all of us to all of you!

Shanty Falls

Most of us that lived in Wabash remember Charlie and Treaty Creek, but what about Shanty Creek just outside Wabash on the southwest part of town? It was located behind an old cemetary and across a farm field. At that point the creek was found and it had a rock bottom from that point all the way to Shanty Falls. The falls itself were flanked by two large limestone walls and enroute to the Wabash River were large cliffs of rock with many small caves within them.

I used to love exploring this area and sometimes I took Richard Oliver with me who embraced the more sceintific aspects of the area over that of just plain fun. Has anyone else on the Network been to Shanty Falls? On another website, someone boasts of a ghostly presence here but I never saw any of that. Of course, I was never there at night either.

The Norris and Baugh Children Plus Sam

From left to right in this photograph are my sister Treva (the oldest), my sister Susie, our cousin John Baugh from Enterpise, Alabama, and son of my father’s sister, Barbara, then me with our Beagle dog, Sam, on my lap, and finally, my youngest sister, Kathy. This picture was taken at our home in Wabash, Indiana, and, with the exception of John and Sam, all are still living.

Treva and I still live in Indiana while Kathy is living in Kentucky and Susie lives in Alabama. Our family changed the name from Noreika to Norris in the 1940′s to sound more American which, at that time, made it easier to seek work. My father was the first to do so followed by Barb and Beth (his sisters) and finally by my Uncle Joe. My grandmother kept the original name as should we all have in my opinion.

My father, and all of his siblings, died in the order of their birth which was unique. Of my father’s family, only my dad’s brother’s wife still is living and Aunt Mary lives in Seattle, Washington. Merry Christmas from the family Norris!