JAMES R. FLEMING
James R. Fleming was elected president of the Board of Trustees of the Coliseum in 1952 prior to the dedication of the building. He retained that post until January, 1954. His term of office included a rather critical and very successful period in the operation of the Coliseum.
James R. Fleming was born November 8, 1881, in Henry County, Indiana; his parents were George R. and Sarah (Cummins) Fleming. He completed his elementary and secondary education in local schools and was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Law at the University of Michigan in 1904.
After graduation the young lawyer began his practice at Portland, Indiana, where he was soon elected Prosecuting Attorney for Jay County. He was later elected to the Indiana General Assembly and served several years both in the lower house and in the state senate. In 1933 President Roosevelt appointed Mr. Fleming United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana. Many notorious criminals then operated in this area; James Fleming held office between 1933 and 1941 and successfully prosecuted many of these gangsters.
At present Mr. Fleming is engaged in the practice of law in Fort Wayne. He is chairman of the board, co-publisher, and treasurer of the FORT WAYNE JOURNAL-GAZETTE; he serves as president and treasurer of Erie Materials, Incorporated, and Erie Ready-Mix Concrete, Incorporated, and the director and general counsel for the Sheller Manufacturing Corporation and its subsidiaries.
In addition to his professional and business interests, Mr. Fleming is active in many civic and social organizations. As a director of the Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce, he became interested in the earliest coliseum plans. His work in advancing this project was publicly recognized in 1949, and he was appointed to the original Board of Trustees.
James R. Fleming
He has also been a director of the Fort Wayne Art School, the Fort Wayne Civic Symphony, the Fort Wayne Community Concert Association, the Fort Wayne Civic Association, the Fort Wayne Musical Society, and the Fort Wayne and Indiana Presbyterian Foundations. He is a member of the American, Federal, Indiana, and Allen County Bar Associations; the Indiana and the Allen County Historical Societies; the Indiana Society of Chicago; the Fort Wayne Country Club; the Masons; and the Elks. Mr. Fleming is also an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Fort Wayne. He is married and is the father of two children.
Don L. Myers