Mulholland family had long history
on 100 block of North Main Street

By SHANE MULHOLLAND
KENDALLVILLE — In 1902 James Samuel Mulholland, the son of an Irish immigrant, decided to go into business at 109 N. Main St. with an Eskimo dwarf couple with the last name of Shade. The Shades were circus performers who traveled around the country performing in small communities. When they came to Kendallville, they liked it so well they decided to stay. The current site of Business Service Company of America was then the Mulholland Cigar Shop and Pool Hall.
Approximately five years later, Mr. and Mrs. Shade left town and were never heard from again. This was the beginning of a long association between the Mulholland family and the 100 block of North Main Street that would span three generations.
James Samuel Mulholland married Olivia Jane Waddell in 1879 and to this union were born three children: Orea, John and Lyle. Due to failing health, James Mulholland retired in 1918 and turned the family business over to his sons Orea and John. They continued to run the shop at that location until 1930 when they moved two doors down to 105 N. Main, the current location of R&L Tax Service.
In 1933, John William Mulholland moved next door to 103 N. Main, today the Sportsman Bar & Grill, to start a restaurant and tavern, after being granted only the second three-way liquor license in Noble County. This was during the Depression when businesses had to stay open all day to survive. John would open the restaurant at 5 a.m. to prepare the 35-cent blue plate special for the employees of Flint & Walling, and wouldn’t close until 7 p.m. If a person didn’t like the lunch special, he always could get a hard boiled egg and beer for a nickel.
In 1935, John married Maud Halverson and they had a son, John Jr. The Mulhollands lived in an apartment above the restaurant, a common practice for merchants and business owners of that era. As a young boy, John Jr. spent a considerable amount of time playing downtown and in his father’s store. It was at this time, when he was only 5 years old, that he decided to steal a cigar from his uncle Orea’s store. Trying to emulate the older gentlemen who frequented the store, he attempted to smoke it, which needless to say made him sick. John Jr. hasn’t touched a cigar since.
In 1945 John Mulholland sold the business to Joe Babis for $8,500, a considerable sum for that time. Upon closing the sale in the upstairs apartment, John placed eight $1,000 bills and one $500 bill in the hands of young John Jr. and said, “This will be the most money you will ever hold in your hands.” Little did he know his son would become a banker in that same block nearly 40 years later.
Kendallville is a community rich in history and tradition. It behooves us to learn as much as possible so we may pass it down to our children and our grandchildren. Let us relish and respect our past, not merely taking it for granted.
Special thanks to John Mulholland Jr., Orea “Tony” Mulholland Jr. and Russell Frehse for their contributions.