The following, submitted July 2002, is from material developed for Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana by Tom Davis:

In the the early 1900s the Indianapolis School Board asked eighth grade students to write essays on the topic "Why We Take Pride In Indianapolis." Not too surprisingly, the name of James Whitcomb Riley received the most mention. But Otto Stark, artist and teacher, was a close second. Though mostly forgotten today, this speaks highly for the influence he had on the culture of our town in the first decades of the 20th century and his ability to foster an appreciation of the arts even in those who would not be artists.

He owes his place in art and history to one of the family cows. Otto was plann...