By Jessica Karins | Daily Reporter
SHIRLEY — Shirley Founders Day celebrates the community’s past, highlighting its history as a railroad town and raising funds to preserve the Jane Ross Reeves Octagon House and other local landmarks.
It also celebrates the people who help keep the town’s present vibrant with the presentation of the David Estell Civic Award, given annually by the Shirley Historical Society to a community member who has made significant contributions to community service.
This year’s award was presented to Debbie Clark at the Founders Day opening ceremony on Friday evening. Clark said receiving the award was a particular honor because its namesake, David Estell, was her former employer.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryClark worked for David Estell and his wife, Beverly, local funeral home owners and community leaders, and described them as “two of the most wonderful people that you could ever work for.”
“They were dedicated to their jobs, and I was dedicated to working for them,” Clark said.
Clark has followed the examples of the Estells by doing everything she can to help out fellow Shirley residents, from babysitting their children to helping organize Founders Day and other community festivals.
“The main thing that I do is just help anything and anybody that needs help,” Clark said. “Whatever you need, I’m here. I am a cancer survivor and I’m still fighting, but I do the best that I can, and I am so proud to win this award.”
Clark said Shirley is a friendly and welcoming community, although she has seen its population shrink considerably in her 37 years living in the area.
“It used to be a very big town, and we used to have festivals and fairs for five days or seven days at a time. We’re trying to build it up, but it’s a great place to live and we have some outstanding things to visit here. I love it,” Clark said.
Jerry Duke, a member of the Shirley Historical Society, said Clark has always been an engaged member of the Shirley community. Clark was the organizer of this year’s Founders Day queen competition.
“She’s been involved in all their activities at both the Eastern Hancock and Knightstown schools. In the last few years, she’s really helped us at the historical society,” Duke said. “She has been one of our biggest supporters.”
Clark said she worked hard to recruit contestants for this year’s Founders Day queen competition, in which local high school students compete to raise the most money to benefit the Shirley Historical Society. The most successful fundraiser is crowned queen.
This year, three competitors — Eastern Hancock Middle School seventh-grader Chloe Sweet; Knightstown High School junior Violet Alexander; and Makinnzie Marshall — collectively raised $711.72.
Makinnzie, who raised $120, was crowned second runner-up. Violet was crowned first runner-up with a total of $286 raised. With a total of $309 raised, Chloe was crowned Founders Day queen. In addition to her crown and cape, Sweet received a $500 scholarship.
“I am so proud of those girls,” Clark said.
Chloe said she was “very surprised” by the announcement that she had won. She raised money by placing buckets in local businesses where customers could leave donations, but she wasn’t expecting her fundraising total to be the highest.
“I had good competition,” she said.
Chloe said she plans to save her scholarship money and put it toward her plans for college.
“I’d like to go to college to be a prosecuting attorney,” she said.
