Paul Nichols (1906-1955)

LHS freshman class, 1922	LHS freshman basketball team, 1922	LHS sophomore class, 1923

Paul Nichols Is Lake County's New 5-Acre Corn King

Paul Nichols, a prominent Cedar Creek farmer, is champion corn producer in the 1954. Lake County five acre corn contest with a yield of 141 bushels per acre, topping last year's record yield of 139.4 bu. produced by James E. Little. Paul used 350 lbs. per acre of No. 3-9-27 Farm Bureau Co-op Fertilizer and the seed he used was Nichols Hybrid.

Harold E. Wilson of Eagle Creek placed second with a yield of 126.3 bushels per acre. James E. Little of West Creek was third with 119.9 and Wm. A. Becker of Rural Route 5, Crown Point, was fourth with 82.7 bu.

Paul Nichols, 48, President Lake Co. Farm Bureau, Dies

The instantaneous death Monday night of Paul Nichols, 48, brought deep grief to residents of Lowell and all of rural Lake County.

Never ill for a moment, Paul was an energetic worker. He helped organize the chest x-ray survey now being conducted throughout the county, and served as Cedar Creek township chairman. He was president of the Lake County Farm Bureau Association, a past officer of Indian Trail Grange, and held membership in the Pomona Grange, Masonic Colfax lodge 378, Order of Eastern Star, Lowell high school PTA, Methodist Men's club, Home Builders' class, and was an ardent lifetime member of the First Methodist church. Paul had been affiliated with many community and county-wide service projects.

Born October 19*, 1906, in the Orchard Grove community, Paul was the son of the late Wheeler J. and Cora (Davis) Nichols, and like his father, Paul was a progressive farmer, held in high esteem. With his brother, William J., Paul farmed the "home place," where he was born, in addition to other land he had acquired. Recently he built a lovely new home a little distance from the house in which he had lived most of his lifetime.

Paul was a graduate of Lowell high school, class of 1925. On June 2, 1934, he married Hazel Krast*, daughter of Mrs. Flynn Russell. Paul and Hazel were schoolmates. After her graduation from Indiana University, Hazel taught school here. The couple are the parents of three lovely children, Russell, 18, who will graduate from Lowell high school next Thursday evening; Catherine, 15, who is also an L.H.S. student, and little Joan, who is 18 months old. Russell was recently awarded a four-year scholarship to Purdue University.

Other survivors are three sisters, Mrs. Jim (Ruth) Bacon of Lowell, Mrs. Walter (Ruby) Bunker of East Chicago, and Mrs. Wesley (Jeannette) Schilling of Momence, Ill.; one brother, William J. Nichols, of R.R. 1, Lowell. An older brother, Delwyn, preceded him in death. Relatives to whom he was very close were an aunt, Mrs. Emil Ruge and family of Lowell, and an uncle, Huron Nichols of Orlando, Florida. Paul's bereaved friends are innumerable.

The Rev. Harold Hotchkiss, . . . [The article was cut off at this point.]

* NOTES
-- While this article listed the birth date of Paul Nichols as Oct. 19, 1906, a school enumeration in 1920 listed it as Oct. 18, 1906.
-- Although this article spealled his wife's maiden name as "Krast," high school records speleld it "Karst."