Faculty member portrays infamous Kokomo mayor in cemetery walk

KOKOMO, Ind. - In the 1800s, Kokomo Mayor Henry Cole was a controversial figure.

As a doctor, he was known to provide free treatment to poor people. As fire chief, he was credited with saving the city from a devastating fire that threatened to destroy it.

However, he was also notorious for shooting and killing a man on a busy downtown street (being found not guilty, just temporarily insane) and was accused of being an arsonist and the head of a counterfeiting ring.

Elected mayor in 1880, Cole was gunned down by a sheriff's posse the night of September 19, 1881, at Styer's Flour Mill. Sheriff James DeHaven placed armed guards at the mill because of a tip it would be robbed, and a fire would be set to cover the crime. He's now memorialized with a historic marker at the corner of West Jefferson and North Main streets in Kokomo, where he had lived when elected mayor.

This month Scott Blackwell, Indiana University Kokomo senior lecturer in philosophy, brought Cole's story to life as part of the annual Howard County Historical Society's cemetery walk.

Blackwell researched Cole's life through historical archives, then portrayed him for those attending The Sexton's Tales: Reliving History at Kokomo's Crown Point Cemetery.

He found Cole an interesting character.

"Even if you go and look on the historic marker, it leaves it up in the air as to if Cole was robbing the mill or not," he said. "As I said in my monologue at the cemetery, I claimed that he is innocent and will remain innocent until proven guilty."

Cole was just one of the nine Kokomo historic figures buried at Crown Hill Cemetery who were included in the walk, with stories and scripts written by members of the historical society and the Howard County Genealogical Society. It also included volunteer actors portraying John Wesley Lerner, one of the founders of Kokomo Opalescent Glass; Milton Garrigus, who wrote many letters published in the Kokomo Tribune during his service in the Civil War; Elmer Apperson, who started the first automobile factory in America; and Helen Jesse Ross, a beloved Kokomo High School English teacher who faithfully wrote to her former students as they served in World War II, among others.

Ticket holders toured Crown Hill Cemetery in guided groups, stopping at selected gravesites where the actors met with them in character, providing a first-person look into their lives. The two-day event was a fundraiser for the Howard County Historical Society, to support its mission to preserve and share local history.

Blackwood enjoyed using his acting skills to benefit a local organization.

"I've always tried to give back to the community," he said, adding that he's also volunteered with New Leaf Mentoring, the Carver Community Center, and the Friends of the Library for the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library. He also participated in theater through IU Kokomo and Kokomo Civic Theatre.

Portraying a historic character by his graveside was a unique experience, he said, and allowed him to teach people in a different way than in his classroom.

"I was a bit nervous, but I wasn't wearing my glasses, and I can't see anything without my glasses, so that helped," he said. "Unlike a stage performance, there's nobody there if you mess up, but I realized it's like doing a magic trick. Usually if you mess up, the audience doesn't realize it unless you react. I tried to make it so they felt like they were really talking to Henry Cole."

Education is KEY at Indiana University Kokomo.