BEDFORD – The Lawrence County Museum of History will be staging two special events in October for the public to enjoy.
The first is “An Evening with Dan Bush,” a nostalgic stroll down memory lane with former Oolitic and Indiana State University basketball player and former Bedford North Lawrence basketball coach Dan Bush.
The second event is the museum’s annual mystery walk. This year’s title is “Butchery on Bryantsville Pike” and highlights the 1900 murder of Frank Lenz.
“An Evening with Dan Bush“
“An Evening with Dan Bush” will be on Oct. 22 at the First Baptist Church Life Center. There will be hors d’oeuvre and a social time from 5 p.m. until 6 p.m. with dinner, catered by Donna and Ken Brumbaugh, at 6 p.m. The program will begin at approximately 7 p.m. Moderator for the program will be local sportswriter Justin Sokeland.
Bush was a three-year starter and second-all-time leading scorer for the Oolitic Bearcats. He played on two teams that won the Bedford Sectional and he graduated in 1968. He went on to start three years at Indiana State, graduating in 1972. He scored over 1,000 career points at ISU and was MVP his senior year. He was selected as an Academic All-American in 1972.
He returned to Lawrence County and began a historic coaching career. He coached Damon Bailey during his years and BNL and the two shared the 1990 IHSAA Basketball Championship. Bush retired from coaching in 2010 after 38 years.
He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Sokeland will guide the conversation, hitting many of the highlights of Bush’s career as both a player and a coach.
Tickets for this event are $30 and are available at the museum or by mail by sending a check to the Lawrence County Museum of History, 929 15th Street, Bedford.
Mystery Walk – “Butcher on Bryantsville Pike”
“Butchery on Bryantsville Pike” will take place Oct. 28 on the Pridemore farm and the Lawrence County 4-H Community Building on US 50 west of Bedford. The Pridemore farm is the actual site of the 1900 murder of Frank Lenz. The Community Building will be the site of the dinner and paranormal presentation.
Frank Lenz, 21, a German immigrant, was killed on his mother’s farm about six miles southwest of Bedford in July of 1900. Lenz was a worker in a limestone quarry at Oolitic and had gone to the farm to give his widowed mother some of his pay to help support his younger siblings who still lived with her. His mother was twice a widow by this time.
Lenz happened upon two locals who were “borrowing” his mother’s buggy without permission. He attempted to stop them and was brutally murdered.
The evening will begin at the farm, which is on the west side of US 50, between Mahan Road and the Knott Cemetery, at 6 p.m., and following the conclusion of the walk, the event will move to the fairgrounds.
Tickets are now on sale at the museum and are $10 for students, $15 for seniors 65 and older, and $20 for adults. The subject matter is not suited for young children, please use your own judgment on what is appropriate for your own children. Those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
For more information on either event, contact the Lawrence County Museum at 812-278-8575 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday or 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
