Ahead of bicentennial celebration, Bingham reflects on county’s past and her own

Jinsie Bingham, 87, holding a dress from her youth.

Banner Graphic/NINA THOMPSON

While museum visits and research through ancient records can piece together history, no amount of objects can replace memories. In preparation for the bicentennial birthday party at the Putnam County Museum this Sunday from 1-4 p.m., local resident and friend of the county, Jinsie Bingham, remenices on the Greencastle in which she — and 200 years of family generations before her ­— grew up.

Bingham was born at the old Putnam County Hospital in December of 1936 to two hard-working parents, Roscoe and Alpha, also born in Greencastle. Her father owned a car garage and her mother a 24-hour diner, The Monon Grill. Both of the entrepreneurs hired on Greencastle residents young and old, and her parents fostered their businesses into prominent community gathering spaces, Bingham said.

“Back then, Greencastle was a different kind of town. The community was very close-knit,” Bingham said. “People knew their neighbors, people helped their neighbors.”

Even though Bingham was attending grade school during World War II, she is very grateful for having had “the best possible childhood,” during times of such uncertainty. Her mother’s access to food through the restaurant kept the pantry stocked, and her father’s access to gasoline and his own car made her childhood especially fortunate, she said.

“I have very early memories of my mother writing letters to (Monon Grill) workers who’d gotten drafted,” Bingham said, holding back tears. “Grownups were very careful about what they said. Looking back, it’s absolutely terrifying.”

Few families had cars, many of her childhood peers were without bedrolls at boy/girl scout camp, and many endured food insecurity. She even remembers the flags families hung in their windows, with either a blue star representing family members who were off fighting in the war, or a gold star, representing those who’d died.

“I try not to think of times like that,” Bingham said, with mourning.

Although wartimes looked bleak, there were still many achievements in store for Bingham and Greencastle.

When IBM came to Greencastle in 1954, “the county changed,” Bingham said.

“We were mostly a college town ... but they brought cosmopolitan ideas and new voices to the community,” she said. IBM even bought the railroad that eventually became the road bed for Veterans Memorial Highway, she added.

Although IBM left in 1986 taking 986 jobs with it and 70 percent of the county’s non-agricultural jobs, Bingham said the company left a significant benefits for the success of Putnam County, including diverse families and a hard-working mentality that she admires.

While others were working with IBM, Bingham became involved in Putnam County’s radio station, WXTA, on April Fool’s Day in 1969.

Bingham eventually bought the station making her the first woman to purchase and operate a radio station in the state of Indiana. The first order of business: a new name.

“I changed the call letters to WJNZ — Jinsie!” she said.

It was her goal to make a community-focused station, one that the average resident could rely on. Interviewing school principals, broadcasting local sports and even announcing school lunches were a few segments that made WJNZ popular during its 25-year run.

She remembers playing contemporary music, but overall, “we played whatever I wanted to hear,” she said, with a laugh.

Since her parents have died and Greencastle has changed before her eyes, places like the Putnam County Museum have been important in her reflection and research of local history.

Originally, the museum rented space that consisted of two rooms, two chairs and a lot of items in storage, she recalled. The Historical Society became morphed into Museum leaders, of which Bingham was involved, and now the museum will celebrate its 20th birthday at Sunday’s bicentennial birthday bash, at which there will be blacksmith demonstrations, games, Mahoney’s Coney’s, performances and more.

After the Covid-19 pandemic left it short-staffed with reduced visitors, the Putnam County Museum was able to stay open thanks to volunteers and dedicated Putnam County citizens.

“I think that we are a great success story. We are grateful for residents and former residents,” Bingham said, reflecting on 2020.

In her 87 years of witnessing the County’s hardships and triumphs, “Greencastle has had a wonderful spirit of renewal. This has been a wonderful place to live,” she said, for its agricultural, industrial and educational innovations... and of course, the “sweet little old ladies.”