Eleanor Ballard Fund for Gobin United Memorial Methodist Church

Year Founded
1994

Founder
Eleanor Ballard

Purpose of Fund
The primary purpose of the Fund shall be to provide revenue for the natural beautification of Gobin Memorial Methodist Church and the church grounds. Income from the fund will be spent at the discretion of the Gobin Memorial Methodist Church, Greencastle.

History of Fund
Eleanor was raised with a twin and three sisters in Plainfield, Indiana. Her father had one of the first auto dealer/repair businesses in Plainfield. Since their house and business were located on State Road 40, they saw a lot of travelers. Eleanor tells of the fun they had on Memorial Day each year by opening up their home for overnight travelers headed to the Indianapolis 500. They would feed them well the night before and served strawberry short cake for dessert. The day of the race, they would send them out with a picnic lunch of fried chicken and all of the trimmings.

Eleanor started college at Indiana University, but had to drop out due to the depression. She married her high school sweetheart, Walter Ballard, in 1937. They settled in Greencastle and Walter opened a Dodge/Chrysler dealership. They raised three children-Philip, born in 1939, Marilynn, born in 1940 and Sara, born in 1941.

As the children grew older, Eleanor became active in Boy and Girl Scout leadership, Delta Theta Tau, and P.E.O. She also served in her church, Gobin Memorial Methodist, and as a member of the Greencastle School Board during the time in which the “new” school was built on Washington Street.   She loved the outdoors and, after Walter died, she was often seen mowing the yard and tending her flowers. One day, she changed from her mowing clothes to her “committee clothes five times to attend all of the meeting scheduled for that day.  

Eleanor played a crucial role in developing the Putnam County Community Foundation. She always held a vision for a better world which included being responsible to your family and to your community. She believed the Foundation was important not only to her family and the families of the community, but to the family generations yet to come. She and several other Putnam County citizens worked diligently to help start the foundation. It was her privilege to serve as its first president. She served with enthusiasm and with pride. Eleanor was a stickler for doing things the right way. She worked with that attitude until her health failed in 1993. 

It was her hope to make a difference in Putnam County, the place she called home for some 65 years. She could envision the foundation’s long term benefits to the people of Putnam County. After Eleanor’s death, her family decided to give agift toGobin in her memoryto be usedfor the beautification of Gobin's landscaping.

Grant / Payout History
1997    $812.60
1998    $358.49
2000    $379.40
2003    $4,334.90  
2004    $807.00
2005    $750.05
2006    $720.33
2007    $745.05
2008    $787.55
2009    $799.52
2010    $743.32
2011    $693.31
2012    $672.09
2013    $469.60

2014    $727.20

2015    $759.46

2016    $786.58
_______________
Total    $15,346.45