The second meeting of the Whiting/Robertsdale Historical Society was held at the Mascot Hall of Fame Museum on Thursday, October 25. The meeting was called to order by President Priscilla McCarty-Reed at 12 noon. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the regular business session.
Ruth Mores (left) of the Hammond Historical Society was the guest speaker at the October 2018 meeting of the Whiting-Robertsdale Historical Society. With her in this photo is Priscilla McCarty-Reed, president of the Whiting-Robertsdale Historical Society.
The guest speaker was Ruth (Backe) Mores from the Hammond Historical Society. Her topic was the history and the “residents” of the Oak Hill Cemetery in Hammond. She talked about how 1,000 Whiting residents were removed from the Whiting Cemetery in 1912 and the land was purchased by the Standard Oil Company. This was in the section of Whiting known as “Oklahoma.” It was called that because of its “Wild West” reputation of many saloons and fist fights. This is where the “Barrel House” and Standard Diamonds baseball fields were later located. Many of the bodies were reburied at Oak Hill.
The meeting concluded with the “Split the Pot” and refreshments provided by the volunteers. Our next meeting will be on Thursday, November 15, one week earlier than normal, because of Thanksgiving. Our speaker will be Mr. Kevin Clutter. He will talk about the House of David and its impact on the Calumet Region.