Joseph Henry Schenk was a man known by several names. Older Valparaiso University alumni knew him as “Smokie Joe” Schenk, which is odd considering he never smoked. Generations of children at St. Paul’s Catholic School knew him as, “Uncle Joe,” because of his near-perfect mass attendance and fifty-year career as church bell ringer. Many people in downtown Valparaiso called him, “Cheery Joe,” because of his infectious smile and pleasant demeanor. No matter what moniker people chose, it is hard to deny the impact “Valpo Joe” had on making Valparaiso a more interesting place to live.
Relatively little is known about Joe’s early life other than he was the first-born son of Valentine and Mary Schenk, grew up in the vicinity of Kinsey Street, and attended school through the eighth grade. Joe spent much of his adult life living in a trailer near the Joliet Street Bridge. He was often employed as a laborer and maintained a variety of odd jobs throughout his entire lifetime, working for the Lewis E. Myers Company, Windle Grocery, and Torbeson’s Drug Store, to name a few. What’s more impressive is that Joe walked anywhere and everywhere he needed to go—credited with traveling an upwards of twenty-five miles a day.
Joe’s trademark, “hullo, hullo!” greeting, Valparaiso pride, love of local basketball, and penchant for leading parades helped him etch his way into the hearts of residents and students alike. Not very concerned with keeping his trailer clean or removing the leaves from his beard that would sometimes blow into it, Joe was incredibly particular about the appearance of Valparaiso’s downtown. He was insistent that the benches at the courthouse were kept in order and that all the sidewalks and alleys stayed clear, because he didn’t like littering.
In response to this great civic work, a group of people in Valparaiso upheld an unwritten general policy that everything was free for Joe. He went to all the county fairs in the region without having to pay admission. The late George Neely, a local merchant and county historian was quoted as saying, “We took care of him whenever he needed something.” Joe’s specific daily routine was guided by the generosity of a great number of citizens.
That daily routine was proof that “Valpo Joe” was regimented in everything he did. He was a die-hard basketball fan who would get to games before they started, shake hands with the referees, and sit with the cheerleaders—always rooting for the Crusaders or the Valpo Vikings. Joe often kept his harmonica in his pocket and whenever someone would say, “Joe, give us a little dance,” or, “give us a song,” he would play and do an imitation tap-dance—shifting from foot to foot and waving his large hands in the air. The songs he would play were ‘old-fashioned’ or simply made up on the spot.
The only thing Joe loved more than dancing a little jig was leading the local parades. Fond memories still linger of Joe—dressed as a cowboy or bandleader—as the grand marshal and goodwill ambassador of Valparaiso. Joe never needed much of a reason to lead a parade. In fact, he notably made front page of the local newspaper for throwing a one-man patriotic parade down Lincolnway at the announcement of the end of the Korean War. Joe’s final parade was the 1976 Bicentennial parade on the Fourth of July.
Joe spent the final years of his life at the Porter County Home. The only hardship he encountered living there was missing being part of the basketball games and other community functions. Joe would often ask his visitors if the students at the university and high school missed him, because he missed them. Joe got an answer when he received get-well cards from the children at St. Paul’s School.
“Valpo Joe” passed away on September 25, 1976, at the age of 83. Even though the beloved character is physically gone, the memory of his life still lives on in the present. A quote about Joe’s hitchhiking from an unknown woman in the October 1, 1976, edition of The Torch at Valparaiso University sums up his life in the best way possible. “He belonged to all of us.”