About Us
About Us
Embedded Files
The Diana Chapter of Shelby, Indiana, was founded on February 02, 1948 and our original Petition for Charter was filed on January 30 of that same year.
This page is dedicated to the 19 visionary founders who petitioned for our charter and the 60 supporting members who exercised that charter. As with the rest of our site, "About us" is a work in progress and information will be added as we dig it up. Our intent will be to showcase the people responsible for our beginning and provide biographical information and historical accounts whenever possible.
The sources supporting the information on this page will be many! We will attempt to record and pay tribute to all the benefactors and can not say thank-you enough to all who have contributed! Sources and contributions labeled "BIFM" will designate that the information gathered was "Biographical Information From Memory" and not necessarily supported by historical documents.
Anyone with information that may be useful to this or any other page on the Diana Chapter site, please contact the webmaster at dianaiwla@gmail.com
Special contributions by:
Leila Wiles, IWLA National Librarian - (Original Petition for Charter)
IWLA, Diana Chapter - (Copy of Original Charter)
Glenn McLean, Shelby Indiana resident - (BIFM)
Familysearch.org - (Social Security Death Index)
Lowell Public Library - Lowell, Indiana
This is a copy of our Original Petition for Charter which is housed at the National Headquarters Library in Gaithersburg, MD:
Here is a copy of our original Charter with signatures from 60 founding members. Some of the signatures are fairly illegible but we've tried or best to decipher them:
Following are the names of the founding members from both the Petition for Charter and the original Charter itself. Historic and Biographical information will be added under each name as we get it:
Walter Amtsbuechler
Born: April 8th, 1895 (Indiana)
Died: October 1973 (Indiana)
Walter was married to Reba who was born on August 21, 1901 and passed in April of 1980.
Walter & Reba had at least one nephew, 2nd/Lt. Lawrence Toney of Detroit, Michigan. Lawrence Toney served at Lackland Air Base in Texas and visited his aunt and uncle in July of 1951.
Death Residence Localities listed for Walter are: Crown Point, Lakes of the Four Seasons, LaPorte and Palmer cities of Indiana.
Robert Arnold
Born: September 05, 1910 (Illinois)
Died: October, 1987 (Indiana)
Robert had death benifit localities in: Belshaw, Creston, Lake Dalecarlia, Lowell and North Hayden cities of Indiana.
Neil H. Baker
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Al Barton
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Loretta Barton
Born: May 04, 1918 (Indiana)
Died: March 24, 2008 (Indiana)
Loretta may have been married to Richard?
Loretta appears to have lived in Shelby, Indiana her entire life.
Richard Barton
Born: July 13, 1916 (Ohio)
Died: May 28, 1989 (Indiana)
Richard may have been married to Loretta?
Richard passed while living in Shelby, Indiana.
William Bartz
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Edward G. Benson Jr.
Born: December 01, 1910 (Indiana)
Died: May 07, 1989 (Indiana)
Edward passed while living in Thayer, Indiana.
Thorton H. Benson
No Historic or Biographical information available.
J. P Brown
Born: May 19, 1929 (Tenneseee)
Died: September 04, 2001 (Indiana)
If we have identified the correct J. Brown, he passed while living in Hammond, Indiana.
Alf Carlson
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Joe Carlson
Born: May 07, 1880 (Indiana)
Died: January, 1966 (Indiana)
This information, in the form of a listing in the Social Security Death Index, is for Joseph Carlson from La Crosse, Indiana and may not be the correct Joe Carlson?
If this is the correct "Joe Carlson", he is shown as having passed while residing in La Crosse, Indiana.
James A. Corton
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Charles H. Cross (?)
No Historic or Biographical information available.
M. L Cross (?)
No Historic or Biographical information available.
John C. Doran
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Mrs. L. May Doran
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Gurney Ellinger
No Historic or Biographical information available.
H.S. Elliott
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Elery Fellman
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Robert F. Flemming
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Floyd Foley
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Charles C. Fuller
Born: June 21, 1892 (Indiana)
Died: February, 1969 (Indiana)
Charles passed while living in Shelby, Indiana.
Otto Gebert
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Edward Gragg
Born: July 19, 1890 (Illinois)
Died: December 1980 (Indiana)
Edward was named as the initial "Temporary Treasurer" and the "Temporary Secretary" by the Petition for Charter.
Mr. Gragg was also credited as the Founder and Organizer of the Diana Chapter, entitling him to the Silver Founders Button.
Edward passed while living in Shelby, Indiana.
Arnold Govert
Born: February 12, 1913 (Indiana)
Died: November 11, 2002 (Indiana)
Arnold passed while living in Hebron, Indiana.
Claude E. Hall
Born: November 19, 1916 (Indiana)
Died: October, 1980 (Indiana)
Claude passed while living in Shelby, Indiana.
John C. Hall
We have found two possible "John Hall" documents, as follows.
Born: June 05, 1911 (Indiana)
Died: March, 1978 (Indiana)
Passed while living in Valporaiso, Indiana.
Born: February 07, 1907 (Indiana)
Died: Decmber, 1966 (Indiana)
Passed while living in Gary, Indiana.
Patrick C. Harrington
Born: April 05, 1923 (Indiana)
Died: September 09, 2005 (Indiana)
Death residence Localities listed for Patrick are: Crowm Point, Lakes of the Four Seasons and Palmer cities in Indiana.
Jack Haslet
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Luther Head
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Anthony J. Heim
Born: January 31, 1910 (Indiana)
Died: March 11, 1999 (Indiana)
Anthony passed while living in Shelby, Indiana.
B. M Helson
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Perry M. Hoover
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Charles Hopper
Born: August 29, 1917 (Indiana)
Died: September, 1995 (Indiana)
Charles passed while living in Lake Village, Indiana.
Wayne Hopper
Born: January 16, 1902 (Indiana)
Died: December, 1964 (Indiana)
Wayne was the son of Martin A. Hopper and Anna C. Bruechet.
Wayne passed while living in Shelby, Indiana.
George M. Horner
Born: May 17, 1894 (Tennessee)
Died: June, 1971 (Indiana)
Death Residence Localities listed for George are: Crown Point, Lakes of the Four Seasons and Palmer cities in Indiana.
Evertt King
Born: October 22, 1902 (Indiana)
Died: May, 1973 (Indiana)
Death Residence Localities listed for Everett are: Belshaw, Creston, Lake Dalecarlia, Lowell and North Hayden cities in Indiana.
Gerald J. Klein
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Ross A. LaRue
Born: April 07, 1886 (Illinois)
Died: March, 1964 (Indiana)
Ross is listed as having died in "Indiana" but no specific information was available.
Louise Lauer
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Paul Lauer
Born: August 15, 1926 (Illinois)
Died: March 06, 1997 (Indiana)
Paul is shown as having died in East Chicago, Indiana.
Darrell Luchene
Born: September 25, 1917 (Indiana)
Died: April 02, 1997 (Indiana)
Death Residence Localities listed for Darrell are: Belshaw, Creston, Lake Dalecarlia, Lowell and North Hayden cities in Indiana.
Vincent Manio
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Lee Mattox
Lee was named as the initial "Temporary President" by the Petition for Chater.
Edward C. Megg
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Floyd Meyers
Born: July 18, 1906 (Indiana)
Died: October, 1974 (Indiana)
Death Residence Localities listed for Floyd are: Belshaw, Creston, Lake Dalecarlia, Lowell and North Hayden cities in Indiana.
Arthur Morrison
Born: July 6, 1911 (Indiana)
Died: August 10, 2005 (Indiana)
Death Residence Localities listed for Arthur are: Belshaw, Creston, Lake Dalcarlia, Lowell and North Hayden cities in Indiana.
John Mueller
Born: June 18, 1887 (Indiana)
Died: August, 1971 (Indiana)
Death Residence Localities listed for John are: Belshaw, Creston, Lake Dalecarlia, Lowell and North Hayden cities in Indiana.
William Mulford
Born: April 14, 1910 (Indiana)
Died: March, 1982 (Indiana)
William is shown to have passed while living in Shelby, Indiana.
Earl Pace
Born: July 08, 1923 (Indiana)
Died: December 25, 2006 (Indiana)
Believed to be the son of Earl E. Pace, the clubs first Vice President.
Earl passed while living in Shelby, Indiana.
Earl E. Pace
Earl was named as the initial "Temporary Vice President" by the Petition for Charter.
Believed to be the father of Earl Pace, also a signatory on our original charter.
C.E. Patchett
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Larney C. Reed (?)
No Historic or Biographical information available.
K. L. Runyon
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Andrew Schissler
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Harriot Schwanke
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Myrtle Shelhart
Born: June 12, 1904 (Indiana)
Died: January, 1984 (Indiana)
Death Residence Localities listed for Myrtle are: Demotte and Kersey cities in Indiana.
Nelry Shelhart
No Historic or Biographical information available.
Earl A. Sirois
Born: June 26, 1895 (Indiana)
Died: October, 1974 (Indiana)
Earl passed while living in Shelby, Indiana.
Robert E. Sirois
Born: September 29, 1922 (Indiana)
Died: January 05, 1990 (Indiana)
There is no record showing a location of Robert's death but it is presumed to be Shelby, Indiana.
Charles F. Stowell
Born: October 09, 1925 (Indiana)
Died: August 27, 1993 (Indiana)
Charles is shown as having passed while living in Lake Village, Indiana.
Evrest R. Strankosky
No Historic or Biographical information available.
George Struble
Born: June 22, 1898 (Indiana)
Died: September, 1972 (Indiana)
Gorge is shown as having passed while living in Shelby, Indiana.
Brother to Grover and John who are also signatories on our original charter.
Father: George Struble was born on July of 1853 in Germany. Married Nancy Susan Sollars on March 12, 1883 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana.
Mother: Nancy Susan Sollars was born on May 13, 1863 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana. Nancy died on August 09, 1943 in Shelby, Lake County, Indiana.
Maternal Grandfather: Emanuel "Sandy" Sollars was born in 1840 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana and died on February 15, 1915 in Shelby, Lake Co., Indiana.
Emanuel married Lydia McClung on January 02, 1862 in Lovington, Moultrie Co., Illinois
Maternal Grandmother: Lydia McClung was born on November 07, 1842 in Hocking, Ohio and died on June 17, 1907 in Shelby, Lake Co., Indiana.
Maternal Great Grandfather: Truman R. Sollars was born on August 12, 1812 in Deerfield Township, Ross Co., Ohio and died on April 06, 1898 in Blue Grass, Middlefork Twp., Vermillion Co., Illinois.
Truman married Nancy Gebhart on October 06, 1831 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana.
Maternal Great Grandmother: Nancy Gebhart was born on March 15, 1812 in Lanier Twp., Preble Co., Ohio and died on September 15, 1869 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana.
Grover "Scott" Struble
Born: November 11, 1887 (Indiana)
Died: December 05, 1963 (Indiana)
Grover is shown as having passed while living in Shelby, Indiana.
Brother to George and John who are also signatories on our original charter.
Father: George Struble was born on July of 1853 in Germany. Married Nancy Susan Sollars on March 12, 1883 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana.
Mother: Nancy Susan Sollars was born on May 13, 1863 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana. Nancy died on August 09, 1943 in Shelby, Lake County, Indiana.
Maternal Grandfather: Emanuel "Sandy" Sollars was born in 1840 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana and died on February 15, 1915 in Shelby, Lake Co., Indiana.
Emanuel married Lydia McClung on January 02, 1862 in Lovington, Moultrie Co., Illinois
Maternal Grandmother: Lydia McClung was born on November 07, 1842 in Hocking, Ohio and died on June 17, 1907 in Shelby, Lake Co., Indiana.
Maternal Great Grandfather: Truman R. Sollars was born on August 12, 1812 in Deerfield Township, Ross Co., Ohio and died on April 06, 1898 in Blue Grass, Middlefork Twp., Vermillion Co., Illinois.
Truman married Nancy Gebhart on October 06, 1831 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana.
Maternal Great Grandmother: Nancy Gebhart was born on March 15, 1812 in Lanier Twp., Preble Co., Ohio and died on September 15, 1869 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana.
John Struble
Born: December 06, 1883 (Indiana)
Died: July 24, 1959 (Indiana)
John is shown as having passed while living in Shelby, Indiana.
Brother to Grover and George who are also signatories on our original charter.
Father: George Struble was born on July of 1853 in Germany. Married Nancy Susan Sollars on March 12, 1883 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana.
Mother: Nancy Susan Sollars was born on May 13, 1863 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana. Nancy died on August 09, 1943 in Shelby, Lake County, Indiana.
Maternal Grandfather: Emanuel "Sandy" Sollars was born in 1840 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana and died on February 15, 1915 in Shelby, Lake Co., Indiana.
Emanuel married Lydia McClung on January 02, 1862 in Lovington, Moultrie Co., Illinois
Maternal Grandmother: Lydia McClung was born on November 07, 1842 in Hocking, Ohio and died on June 17, 1907 in Shelby, Lake Co., Indiana.
Maternal Great Grandfather: Truman R. Sollars was born on August 12, 1812 in Deerfield Township, Ross Co., Ohio and died on April 06, 1898 in Blue Grass, Middlefork Twp., Vermillion Co., Illinois.
Truman married Nancy Gebhart on October 06, 1831 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana.
Maternal Great Grandmother: Nancy Gebhart was born on March 15, 1812 in Lanier Twp., Preble Co., Ohio and died on September 15, 1869 in Eugene, Vermillion County, Indiana.
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