March/April 2018 OUR BROWN COUNTY

The The Magazine Magazine of of Fun Fun and and Fact Fact FREE FREE

Since Since 1995 1995

March/April March/April 2018 2018

Colab Videos

John John and and Hannah Hannah Boggs Bo g g s

Kathy Sparks The The Hand Hand Maiden Maiden

Brown County Playhouse Suzannah Suzannah Zody Zody

New Visitors Center

Herzig Herzig Jazz Jazz Class Class at at the the Guild Guild Great Great Flu Flu Pandemic Pandemic Field Field Notes: Notes: First First One One This This Year Year Canoe Canoe Panic Panic

MAPS MAPS • CALENDAR CALENDAR • ARTICLES ARTICLES • PHOTOGRAPHS PHOTOGRAPHS

NEWLY REMODELED! Come sample the flavors you love in a new light!

5

Village Green Building Celebrating over 100 years in nashville The Nashville you came to see and love…

Where you can see the work of local artists — whether it’s ice cream, candy and fruit preserves made the old fashioned way or the artwork of local artists and craftsmen. · first floor · Homemade Ice Cream Homemade Candies Homemade Fruit Preserves · second floor · Antiques · Art and Craft Galleries Working studios of local artists

V NA S H I L L E

INDIANA

The Candy Dish

Yes, we really do make it ourselves!

Fine Homemade Chocolate Candies and Fudge Gourmet Caramels Over 50 Flavors of Salt Water Taffy

812.988.0815

812.988.7606

Homemade Ice Cream

Harvest Preserve the

Homemade Fruit Butter Gourmet Food Cookbooks · Cookie Cutters Postcards · Greeting Cards Kitchen Gadgets Galore Giftware · Tea and Teaware

812.988.7606

Functional and Fine Art Made in Indiana

812.988.6675

61 West Main street · nashville, indiana

Brown County N

135 Martinsville

Trafalgar

Nineveh Edinburgh Morgantown 31 37 135 I-65 46 Bloomington Columbus 46 NASHVILLE

The Apple Works

Sweetwater Lake

Antiques Co-op Art Beyond Crayons Grandpa Jeff’s Trail Rides House of Clocks Las Chalupas

Rosey Bolte’s Uncommon Gourd Studio Vaught Rd.

Cordry Lake

Sprunica Rd.

John Hartford Festival

Brownie’s Bean Blossom Restaurant

Monroe Music Park & Campground

HELMSBURG

BEAN BLOSSOM

Helmsburg General Store Lightspinner Studio

Upper Bean Blossom

GTON

MORGANTOWN

FRUITDALE

45 OMIN

Franklin

Doodles by Kara Barnard

Flower and Herb Barn Farmhouse Café

Plum Creek Antiques Market

GATESVILLE

Gatesville Store

Rd.

Adventure

TO N

Lodge 19th Hole Sports Bar

Mike’s Music and Dance Barn Abe Martin Lodge

Mt . Li

Dunham

Gnaw Bone Old Heartland Store & Bakery SR 46 Tattoo Webb & Sons Bear Wallow Restoration Distillery eXplore Brown County

Rawhide Ranch

135

ber

to COLUMBUS

ty R

kidscommons

d

Rd.

6

ch

Old SR 4

NG to BL OO

BELMONT

46

Craftsman

Annie Smith Rd.

ebb ’s W als t KOA e . l o d C ar Rent eat • Sc wn k R Bro lt Cree o. Tire e Retr e Mall cation ery d a u C i a in 46 S Brown CreenksCo. Antioq’ BrownowVn Co. W BONE r s W w Hill B Bro Overlook GNA

MI

Yellowwood Lake

Artist and/or Gallery

Cox Creek Mill

NASHVILLE

Country Club Rd

Oak Grove

Musical Entertainment

yB ran

Rd.

Lodging/ Camping

Mike Nickels Log Homes

Val le

Ow l Cr eek

Dr. Lisa Baker, DDS Fireplace Center

Helm

Butler Winery

BLOOMINGTON

sburg

Rd

135

Clay Lick Rd

to BL O

Dining

to MORGANTOWN

Lake Lemon

TRAFALGAR

252

Carmel Ridge Rd

NASHVILLE MAP ON PAGE 6

Indianapolis

Brown County State Park STONE HEAD Rd

Grv

Rd ton Cr k

Hamil

Christia

nsburg

ELKINSVILLE

CHRISTIANSBURG

r

STORY Monroe Reservoir

la Pop

T.C. Steele State Historic Site

PIKES PEAK

Bob Allen Rd.

Homestead Weaving Studio Salem’s Good Nature Farm

JEFFERSON STREET

Hoosier Artist

Fallen Leaf Books

HONEYSUCKLE LANE

OLD HICKORY LANE

B3 Gallery

Brown Co. Art Guild

Hobnob Corner

ST SR 135 N

Miller’s Ice Cream The Candy Dish The Harvest Preserve

The Wild Olive

Brown Co. Winery

Ethereal Day Spa and Salon Head Over Heels

Heritage Mall

Spears Pottery Juls Etc.

Celestial Thyme Fables & Fairytales Bookstore

Main Street Shops

Foxfire

Foxfire...Boutique

Gold &Old

Redbud Terrace

Health For U McGinley Insurance

IHA

Brown Co Art Gallery

Masonic Lodge

SR 46 To Brown Co. Recycle Center

Ol d

RE/MAX Team

Office First Merchants Bank

County Offices

Woodlands Touch of Silver Gallery

Old McDurbin Gold & Gifts Brown Co Craft Gallery

MAIN STREET Our Sandwich Place

Nashville House

Log JJail L il Nashville Spice Co.

Weed Patch Music Company

LOCUST LANE

Village Green

Courthouse

open M-F8-4

Copperhead Creek Gem Mine

Iris Garden Complex

Pioneer Village Museum

GOULD STREET Brown Co. Rock & Fossil Shop

Brown Co Public Library

Brown Co. History Center

MOUND STREET

Hidden Valley Inn

Brown County Community Foundation

ROBERT “BUCK” STOGSDILL WAY

TO HELMSBURG - 6 MILES

The Emerald Pencil

Big Woods Village

MOLLY’S LANE

LaSha’s

Men’s Toy Shop

Colonial Bldg.

Carmel Corn Cottage

TO BEAN BLOSSOM & MORGANTOWN

Brozinni Pizzeria

Carpenter Hills O’Brown Realty

J.B. Goods/ Life is Good

Hotel Nashville

ARTIST DR

VAN BUREN

The Salvation Army

JEFFERSON STREET Nashville BP

Gyros Food & Art

Papertrix

Coachlight Square

Chateau Thomas Winery

Bone Appetit Bakery

Brown Co Inn Hotel, Restaurant and Bar

Brown Co Community YMCA

Bear Hardware

Brown County IGA

Seasons Lodge & Conference Center

Salt Creek Park People’s State Bank

Casa Del Sol

Craftsman

Theatre

Artist and/or Gallery

Musical Entertainment

Doodles by Kara Barnard

Lodging

Mercantile Nashville Store General Store

SR 46 TO COLUMBUS - 16 MILES

Sweetea’s Tea Shop

VISITORS CENTER

WASHINGTON STREET

Moondance Vacation Homes

Nashville Fudge Kitchen

Possum Trot Sq

Dining

Parking

COUNTY MAP ON PAGE 5

map not to scale

Grasshopper Flats Wishful Simply 4 You Thinking

Cornerstone Inn

N

Nashville Indiana Rest Room

Back to Back

House of Jerky Fawn Hill

Artists Colony Inn

Artists Colony

Cathy’s Corner

Cedar Creek Winery

Nashville Express

Rhonda Kay’s

Out of the Ordinary

Sweetwater Yesteryear Gallery Old Time Photos

VAN BUREN ST SR 135 N

SR 46 TO BLOOMINGTON - 16 MILES

Hoosier Buddy

Thrift Shop Community Closet

PAT REILLY DR

Calvin Place

Madeline’s

Schwab’s Fudge

New Leaf Amy Greely

Life is Good JB Goods

PITTMAN HOUSE LANE

Abe’s Corner

Melchior Marionettes

FRANKLIN STREET

HONEYSUCKLE LANE

Franklin Sq

K. Bellum Leather Ferguson House Plum Natural Products

Antique Alley

Jack & Jill Nut Shop

Brown Co Playhouse

58 South Apparel

OLD SCHOOL WAY

8 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

ANTIQUES Antiques Co-op.............................50 Brown Co Antique Mall................13 Cathy’s Corner...............................15 The Emerald Pencil.......................19 Nashville General Store...............54 Plum Creek Antiques...................60 Scarlet’s Webb...............................28

ART, ART SUPPLIES, ART INSTRUCTION

Antiques Co-op.............................50 Art Beyond Crayons.....................50 B3 Gallery.......................................18 Bear Hardware..............................47 Brown Co Antique Mall................13 Brown Co Art Gallery...................18 Brown Co Art Guild.......................19 Brown Co Craft Gallery................13 Cathy’s Corner...............................15 The Emerald Pencil.......................19 Hoosier Artist................................19 Lightspinner StudioMartha Sechler..............................58 Papertrix.........................................15 Spears Pottery...............................18 Rosey Bolte-Uncommon Gourd.18

BOOKS

Fables & Fairy Tales Bookstore...55 Fallen Leaf Books..........................27

CLOTHING

58 South Apparel..........................39 Bear Hardware..............................47 Community Closet Thrift Shop...25 Foxfire Boutique...........................43 Head Over Heels...........................25 J.B. Goods/ Life is Good...............22 Men’s Toy Shop..............................26 Mercantile Store...........................55

CRAFTS, POTTERY, GIFTS

Antiques Co-op.............................50 B3 Gallery.......................................18 Bone Appetit Bakery....................13 Brown Co Art Guild.......................19

Brown Co Craft Gallery................13 Brown Co Rock & Fossil Shop.....23 Cathy’s Corner...............................15 Celestial Thyme.............................42 The Emerald Pencil.......................19 Fables & Fairy Tales Bookstore...55 Fawn Hill.........................................58 The Ferguson House....................43 Foxfire.............................................43 Gnaw Bone Country Store & Bakery.........................................28 Head Over Heels...........................25 Homestead Weaving Studio.......18 Hoosier Artist................................19 House of Clocks.............................50 K. Bellum Leather.........................19 Lightspinner StudioMartha Sechler..............................58 Madeline’s......................................25 Men’s Toy Shop..............................26 Mercantile Store...........................55 Nashville General Store...............54 New Leaf.........................................19 Papertrix.........................................15 Plum Natural Products................28 Rhonda Kay’s.................................39 Simply 4 You..................................29 Spears Pottery...............................18 Sweetwater Gallery......................29 Rosey Bolte-Uncommon Gourd.18 Wishful Thinking...........................29 Woodlands Gallery.......................24

ENTERTAINMENT/MUSIC

19th Hole Sports Bar....................56 Brown County Playhouse............59 Copperhead Creek Gem Mine....23 John Hartford Festival.................12 kidscommons................................55 Monroe Bluegrass Festival..........57 Rawhide Ranch.............................27

FOOD & BEVERAGE

19th Hole Sports Bar....................56 Abe Martin Lodge.........................26

ADVERTISER Artists Colony Inn.........................15 Bear Wallow Distillery..................47 Brown Co IGA................................59 Brown Co Inn.................................45 Brown Co Winery..........................46 Brownie’s Bean Blossom Rest.....42 Brozinni Pizzeria...........................27 Butler Winery.................................27 The Candy Dish...............................3 Carmel Corn Cottage...................55 Casa Del Sol...................................33 Cedar Creek Winery......................39 Chateau Thomas Winery.............13 Darlene’s at Hotel Nashville........63 Farmhouse Cafe............................14 Gatesville Store.............................24 Gnaw Bone Country Store & Bakery.........................................28 Gyros Food & Art...........................28 The Harvest Preserve.....................3 Helmsburg General Store...........42 Hobnob Corner Restaurant........23 Hoosier Buddy Liquors................51 Hotel Nashville..............................63 House of Jerky...............................24 Jack and Jill Nut Shop..................58 Las Chalupas..................................50 Miller’s Ice Cream............................3 Nashville BP...................................15 Nashville Fudge Kitchen..............64 Nashville General Store...............54 Nashville House............................14 Nashville Spice Co.........................12 Our Sandwich Place.....................54 Schwab’s Fudge.............................42 Seasons...........................................28 Sweetea’s Tea Shop......................14 The Wild Olive.................................2

FURNITURE

Antiques Co-op.............................50 The Ferguson House....................43 Plum Creek Antiques...................60

DIRECTORY

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 9

HARDWARE

PET PRODUCTS

Bear Hardware..............................47

Bone Appetit Bakery....................13

Head Over Heels...........................25 K. Bellum Leather.........................19

B3 Gallery.......................................18 Hoosier Artist................................19 Spears Pottery...............................18 Yesteryear Old Time Photos........29

HATS

JEWELRY

B3 Gallery.......................................18 Brown Co Antique Mall................13 Brown Co Craft Gallery................13 Cathy’s Corner...............................15 Ferguson House............................43 Foxfire.............................................43 Grasshopper Flats.........................29 Hoosier Artist................................19 Juls Etc............................................22 LaSha’s............................................24 New Leaf.........................................19 Old McDurbin Gold & Gifts.........58 Rhonda Kay’s.................................39 Spears Pottery...............................18 Touch of Silver Gold & Old..........22

LODGING/CAMPGROUNDS

Abe Martin Lodge.........................26 Artists Colony Inn.........................15 The Brick Lodge............................63 Brown Co Inn.................................45 Cornerstone Inn............................58 Creekside Retreat.........................51 eXplore Brown County..................4 Hidden Valley Inn.........................22 Hills o’ Brown Vacation Rentals..14 Hotel Nashville..............................63 Brown Co KOA Campground......42 Monroe Music Park & Campground.................................60 Moondance Vacation Homes.....47 The North House...........................63 Overlook Lodge............................56 Rawhide Ranch.............................27 Seasons...........................................28

MUSEUMS

kidscommons................................55

PHOTOS

REAL ESTATE

Berkshire Hathaway-Scroggins..47 Carpenter Hills o’ Brown Realty.61 RE/MAX-Marg & Brenda..............61

RECREATION

eXplore Brown County..................4 Grandpa Jeff’s Trail Rides............51 Rawhide Ranch.............................27

SERVICES (see also SERVICES DIRECTORY)

Brown County Visitors Center......4 Dr. Lisa Baker, DDS.......................39 Brown Co Recycle Center............54 Celestial Thyme.............................42 Dunham Plumbing.......................61 Ethereal Day Spa and Salon........51 The Heartland Tattoo Co.............23 Keyed IN Property Mgt................61 Mainstream Fiber Networks.......25 Nashville BP...................................15 Voils.................................................33

SERVICES DIRECTORY 56-57

Bear Hardware Bagged Trash Brown Co Community YMCA Brown Co Tire & Auto Dunham Plumbing Farmers Insurance—McGinley Flower and Herb Barn Health For U Helmsburg Sawmill Carpenter Hills o’ Brown Realty First Merchants Bank Keyed IN Property Mgt. Monroe Park Campground People’s State Bank

Plum Creek Antiques RE/MAX Team Marg & Brenda Waltman Construction Co. Webb & Sons Auto Restoration

SHOES

Head Over Heels...........................25 K. Bellum Leather.........................19

SPECIALTY SHOPS

Bone Appetit Bakery....................13 Brown Co Rock & Fossil Shop.....23 Celestial Thyme.............................42 Fables & Fairy Tales Bookstore...55 Fallen Leaf Books..........................27 Fireplace Center............................55 Head Over Heels...........................25 The Heartland Tattoo Co.............23 House of Clocks.............................50 House of Jerky...............................24 K. Bellum Leather.........................19 Men’s Toy Shop..............................26 Nashville Spice Co.........................12 Papertrix.........................................15 Plum Natural Products................28 Weed Patch Music Company......55 Wishful Thinking...........................29

STAINED GLASS

Hoosier Artist................................19 Sweetwater Gallery......................29

WEDDINGS

Artists Colony Inn.........................15 Celestial Thyme.............................42 eXplore Brown County..................4 Hotel Nashville..............................63

OTHER

Kyle Birkemeier, Commissioner.53 Brown County for Kritzer............53 Community Foundation 25th....24 Great Spring Passport..................39 Mike Nickels Log Homes.............42 Wertz for Judge.............................21 Diana Wright, County Council....46

Contributors

Contents 16 New Visitors Center ~by Bob Gustin 20 Colab “We Make Videos” ~by Ryan Stacy 30 Carmel Corn Cottage 32 Field Notes: First of Year ~by Jim Eagleman 34-35 Photos ~by Jules Dunlap* 36-37 Calendar of Events 38 Jazz Class at the Guild

~by Lee Edgren

40 Kathy Sparks, Hand Maiden

~by Chrissy Alspaugh

44 Spring Blossom Parade ~by Jeff Tryon

48 Suzannah Zody

~by Paige Langenderfer

52 Panic on the Creek

~by Mark Blackwell

60-61 Services Directory

62 Going Viral in 1918 ~by Julia Pearson

Cover: Spring break time in Nashville ~by Cindy Steele

OUR BROWN COUNTY ourbrowncounty.com ourbrown@bluemarble.net

Mark Blackwell no longer makes Bob Gustin worked as a his home in Brown County where reporter, photographer, “the roadway is rough and the managing editor, and editor for slopes are seamed with ravines daily newspapers in Colorado, and present a meatless, barren, Nebraska, and Indiana before backbone effect.” He now resides retiring in 2011. He and his within sight of the sixth green of wife, Chris, operate Homestead an undisclosed golf course. He Weaving Studio. She does the weaving while he gives studio tours, builds small looms, and expands was born in the middle of the last century and still spends considerable time there. his book and record collections.

Jim Eagleman, recently retired DNR naturalist, and his wife Kay, enjoy hiking the many natural areas, preserves, and land trust sites in Brown and neighboring counties. His FIELD NOTES have appeared in this publication for several years. Contact Jim with comments and inquiries at <jpeagleman@gmail.com>.

Ryan Stacy is a content writer at Monroe County Public Library, and also enjoys writing about Brown County. He and his wife live in Bloomington, where they can often be found chasing movies, good food, and cultural events. His other interests include reading, photography, and music.

Joe Lee is an illustrator and writer. He is the author of The History of Clowns for Beginners and Dante for Beginners and illustrator of six other titles, including Dada and Surealism for Beginners, and Music Theory for Beginners. He is an awardwinning editorial cartoonist for the Bloomington Herald Times, a graduate of Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Clown College, and a veteran circus performer.

Julia Pearson wrote for a secular Franciscan magazine for ten years and served as its human interest editor. She and her husband Bruce have made Lake Woebegone Country their new homebase for life’s continuing adventures. Julie, Bruce, and four-footed Suki are adjusting well.

Julia enjoys traveling and visiting museums of all types and sizes, with her children and grandchildren.

Jeff Tryon is a former news editor of The Brown County Democrat, a former region reporter for The Republic, and a former bureau chief for The Huntsville Times. Born and raised in Brown County, he currently lives with his wife, Sue, in a log cabin on the edge of Brown County State Park. He is a Baptist minister.

Paige Langenderfer is a freelance writer and communications consultant.

She writes for numerous publications. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Indiana University and her Master’s degree in public relations management from IUPUI. Paige lives in Columbus with her husband and daughters.

Contact her at <langenderferpaige@gmail.com>.

Lee Edgren attended journalism school at the University of Michigan. She became seriously interested in yoga during the late 1980s and traveled widely. Lee has a master’s degree in Wellness Management from Ball State University. She lives in both in Brown County and in Michigan and owns River Light Yoga studio.

Chrissy Alspaugh is a freelance writer and owner of Christina Alspaugh Photography. She lives in Bartholomew County with her husband, Matt and three sons. She can be reached at <christina_alspaugh@ yahoo.com>. View her work at <ChristinaAlspaughPhotography.com>.

Cindy Steele is the publisher and editor of this magazine.

She sells and designs ads, sometimes writes, takes photos, and creates the layout.

For fun, she likes to play the guitar or banjo and sing. Her new hobby is making mosaics.

*Jules Dunlap is a long time resident of Columbus and current resident of Brown County.

She enjoys being outdoors and loves live music.

She can often be seen photographing musicians in a festival setting, and is often requested for family portraiture. She is on Facebook as “Jules Dunlap Photography.”

Also online at issuu.com/ourbrowncounty OR search in the mobile app ISSUU and on Facebook for OUR BROWN COUNTY

P.O. Box 157 Helmsburg, IN 47435 (812) 988-8807

A Singing Pines Projects, Inc. publication copyright 2018

10 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

Thanks, Mom, for making it happen!

Coloring Contest Win $20

Publisher’s choice. Send to this address by April 20. Gideon Fritts, from Elizabethtown, IN won last issue’s coloring contest.

OUR BROWN COUNTY P.O. Box 157 Helmsburg, IN 47435

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 11

12 Our Brown County â&#x20AC;¢ March/April 2018

Guess Photo Win $20 WHERE IS IT? Wine Bar and Gift Shoppe Open Daily

Wine Tastings

• Cheeses and Gourmet Foods • Unique Wine Gifts • Comfortable Seating Live Music Fri. and Sat. 7-10 pm Coachlight Square • S. Van Buren and Washington, Nashville, IN

Call (812) 988-8807

Be the first person to call and get the prize money.

Leave a message with the specific location of the Mystery Photo, your name, and phone number.

812-988-8500 • www.ChateauThomas.com

58 East Main Street Nashville, Indiana (next to Brown County Courthouse) www.browncountycraftgallery.com

open daily 10–5 • 812-988-7058

Last issue’s photo was of a pumpkin scarecrow next to Peter Grants in Nashville. Roberta Chirko guessed it first.

OVER 7,000 square feet!

Brown County

Antique Mall Open all year–7 days a week Mon.–Sat. 9 to 5:30 Sun. 11 to 5:30

We Buy and Sell

Since 1995

13 miles west of I-65 3 miles east of Nashville, IN

812-988-1025 3288 State Rd 46 East Like us on Facebook

BONE APPETIT BAKERY

Subscriptions make great gifts

SUBSCRIBE One Year’s Subscription for $15 —for postage and handling.

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Address:

For Dogs

• Premium, all-natural treats since 1997 • Over 20 varieties from low-fat to grain-free • Gourmet and seasonal snacks, too

Get a FREE Sampler bag of natural dog treats with $10 purchase and this ad.

DOGS WELCOME! (812) 988-0305

Open 7 days 211 S. Van Buren St. (behind Visitor Center)

www.barkingood.com

Send with check or money order to:

Our Brown County P.O. Box 157 Helmsburg, IN 47435

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 13

Farmhouse Cafe ...a country drive to an unexpected dining pleasure · LUNCH ·

Homemade Soups, Salads and Garden Sandwiches

· DINNER ·

Steak · Salmon · Pork · Turkey Chicken · Pasta R Garden and Fruit Salads Soups · Desserts Herbal Teas · Cool Drinks Beer & Wine

Located next to the Visitors Center across from the Gas Station on Van Buren Street

Now Serving: ~ Sweet Tea ~ Coffee & Lattes ~ Bubble Drinks ~ & Lots More!

5171 Bean Blossom Road · Just 15 minutes from Nashville A small, intimate restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating

Reservations Suggested · 812-988-2004 LUNCH: DAILY · 11–4 PM DINNER: TUESDAY–SATURDAY · 5–8 PM

farmhousecafeandtearoom.com · Like us on

Enjoy our WiFi service & fireplace

KIDS TRUNK & RETAIL AREA

Check us out on Facebook • We look forward to seeing you

225 S. Van Buren Street, Nashville, IN • 812-988-6515

Kick back and relax…

“A Historic Brown County Landmark”

in your own private hot tub with a view

Next time stay with us!

Vacation Rentals

Enjoy dining in a cozy country atmosphere with great home cooking and our famous fried biscuits and apple butter.

NOW SERVING BREAKFAST, LUNCH, & DINNER

Corner of Main and Van Buren Streets in Nashville, IN • 812-988-4554 14 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

10% off new reservations Call 812.988.6429 or use code OBCSP2018 online

BrownCountyLogCabins .com LIKE AND FOLLOW US on Brown County’s largest selection of fully furnished

Log Cabins, Homes and Cottages

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Find what you love…

Love what you find

1 1 Yea r Anniversa ry

the

Inn & Restaurant

A Charming 19th Century Style Inn and Restaurant

Dynamic classes and demo table.

Artistic Rubber Stamps For cardmaking, & Scrapbooking collage & altered art • 20 Guest Rooms, 3 Suites with Whirlpool Baths • Banquet and Conference Rooms for Retreats or Parties • Gift Certificates Available Serving Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Breakfast Buffet 7:30 am–10:30 am Monthly Dinner Theatre Shows At the corner of Van Buren and Franklin Streets in Nashville, Indiana

812-988-0600 • 800-737-0255

artistscolonyinn.com

The newest items and techniques!

Receive

3 FREE Sheets of 12” x 12” SCRAPBOOK PAPER* with this coupon.

Shop our excellent selection of scrapbook papers, new releases, sale papers at half off, and our 3 for $1.00 bins. (*coupon scrapbook paper from a select collection) 160 Old School Way in Nashville behind Village Candlemaker

(812) 988-2002 www.papertrix.com

Fresh In-Store Donuts

Broasted Chicken 812-988-1822

Nashville BP State Roads 46 & 135 270 S. Van Buren St. in Nashville

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 15

New Visitors Center ~story and photos by Bob Gustin

F

rom opening a stylish new visitors center to breaking ground for a new 2,000-seat performing arts venue, change is in the air for tourism in Brown County.

“I think 2018 is going to be one of those pivotal years,” said Kevin Ault, president of the Brown County Tourism Commission. “We’re starting to build.”

“It will be a year of networking,” said Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Jane Ellis.

The CVB moved from a central spot in downtown Nashville to a “gateway” position on the village’s south side, near the intersection of State Roads 46 and 135, and greeted the community during a February grand opening.

Ellis believes the new location at 211 S. Van Buren St. is ideal, since it is close to where most visitors enter the village, coming from either Columbus or Bloomington, has more accessible parking nearby, and was designed for

the specific purpose of being a visitors center.

The old location of 10 N. Van Buren St., across from the Hobnob Corner Restaurant, was a more generic space “we grew into,” Ellis said. The new location has better flow and design with more open space. One of the first things a visitor sees when entering the center is a large touch-screen monitor opened to the CVB website, which provides a self-guided tour of Brown County attractions.

The lease for the new space, a former Circle K gas station building which was completely renovated, is $3,350 per month for about 2,800 square feet, compared to the $4,000 the CVB was paying for 4,000 square feet in its old location. Ellis said the old location needed maintenance and upgrades. A committee was formed and recommended the move. Ellis said the new location was preferred and was available.

16 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

Remodeling cost the CVB about $300,000, but it was financed without debt. Last year the CVB had a budget of more than $715,500. By taking $200,000 from rollover funds not spent in previous years, and pulling $100,000 from the 2017 budget, the remodeling was accomplished.

“It’s absolutely phenomenal,” Ault said. “I think it really portrays Brown County.” Among its attributes, he said, is the use of up-to-date technology, such as the big touch screen, which appeals to younger visitors.

The main lobby has multi-colored carpet squares, large stylized maps of Nashville and Brown County, wall-sized photos featuring things to do in the county, a media room, and a small gift shop featuring hats, shirts, and other items. Native and some vintage lumber was used for woodwork and trim in the center.

The CVB is funded by the innkeeper’s tax, the 5 percent charge

Jane Ellis giving a tour at an open house in February. added onto lodging bills in Brown County for any accommodation of less than 30 days in a structure with indoor plumbing. Last year, that brought in more than $844,000. The local Tourism Commission, which oversees the CVB, keeps 5 percent of the total, and the rest goes to the CVB to promote tourism. Earmarking $100,000 from last year’s budget meant a decrease in paid advertising, which the CVB staff tried to offset by focusing on social media.

Gone from the CVB lobby is the rack of local business brochures. Instead, the CVB is hosting business information on its website without charge. Business used to pay $95 a year for a spot on the website. The new system is more ecologically friendly, Ellis said, and easier for CVB staff, since they don’t have to monitor which brochures need to be restocked.

A new approach will be instituted this year as the CVB tries to “elevate the destination” of Brown County and work to attract a younger demographic. That includes working with the Brown County Chamber of Commerce on a longterm vision of networking and attracting more business travelers, including weekday visitors.

“There is a very exciting energy of change” in the air, Ellis said. “People are invested in the community.”

Much attention is focused on the proposed Maple Leaf Center, a 2,000-seat venue with adjacent parking, being planned on Nashville’s east side.

Ault said ground is expected to be broken for the performing arts center in April, and it is expected to open in 2019.

Planning for the Maple Leaf Center got under way last year, when 14 acres behind the city police department building were purchased for $2 million.

Brown County government took out a $12 million loan for the project, with funds from the innkeeper’s tax going as collateral on the 30-year loan. Traffic to and from the center will be served by a new three-lane road to be constructed east of the retail complexes, which include McDonald’s restaurant and Family Dollar.

Although the CVB is not responsible for Maple Leaf, both come under the jurisdiction of the Tourism Commission. The concert venue will have its own management group and executive director. Officials hope Maple Leaf will make the annual $550,000 loan repayment from its revenue, making use of the innkeeper’s tax unnecessary.

Ault said he believes Maple Leaf will be selfsustaining.

“I truly think it will pay for itself, put more money in the community, and not take away from the innkeeper’s tax,” he said.

But Ellis said, if necessary, the CVB is extremely resilient, and can work within reduced budgets. Ault agreed, noting increased social media presence and non-paid marketing as options.

Ellis said officials believe Maple Leaf will draw customers from a wide region, and the booking firm Live Nation will arrange 20 to 25 nationally recognized shows a year, with another 70 shows featuring regional artists. Many tickets will sell for $50 or less and national acts, which may be included, range from the Beach Boys to the Oak Ridge Boys. The lobby of Maple Leaf will promote other Brown County attractions.

But Ellis said the CVB will continue to promote the arts, dining, outdoor activities, and other attractions that bring visitors to Brown County.

“I don’t want anybody to think we’re choosing one thing over another,” she said. “We want to keep the conversation open. It does neither the CVB nor Brown County any good to pick and choose.”

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 17

HOMESTEAD WEAVING STUDIO

PERMANENT COLLECTIONS · GALLERIES CONSIGNMENT ART · WORKSHOPS

Quality Handwovens

by Chris Gustin

Brown County Art Gallery Brown County’s Original Art Gallery

Yarn • Looms • Supplies

· ESTABLISHED 1926 ·

Visit us on the Back Roads Tour

Southeastern Brown County 6285 Hamilton Creek Road

Open 11 to 5 most days–Call ahead

www.HomesteadWeaver.com • 812-988-8622

· GALLERY EVENTS · APRIL 8

24th Annual Victorian Tea APRIL 21 – MAY 6

Mabel B. Annis Student Art Competition SPRING SHOWS

Artists Association MAY 5–27

Locally Crafted Pottery • Jewelry • Photography • Wood • Fiber • More...

Downtown Nashville (beside the Nashville House) • Open Daily www.spearspottery.com • 812.988.1286 • Spears Gallery on Facebook

18 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

Indiana Printmakers Get Their Due Open Daily 10 AM – 5 PM · Sunday Noon – 5 PM Free Admission · Free Parking Corner of Main & Artist Drive · Nashville, IN

812.988.4609 · BrownCountyArtGallery.org

A VARIETY OF

handmade fine art

812-988-6888 » 45 S. JEFFERSON ST. » NASHVILLE, IN

NEW LEAF An eclectic mix of creative items by local, regional, and global artists

Featuring Leather Goods Made in Brown County

Fine Leather Goods

• Handbags • Belts • Hats • Accessories • Holsters • Leather • Tools • Dye •Supplies

Calvin Place Franklin & Van Buren Streets Nashville, IN • (812) 988-1058 www.amygreely.com

And Shoes: Haflinger, Arcopedico, Moccasins, Sheepskin Slippers 92 W. Franklin, Antique Alley, Nashville, IN 812-988-4513

© 2017 Brown County Art Guild, Inc.

Featuring handcrafted jewelry by owner Amy Greely

WELCOME TO THE HISTORIC ART GUILD

WE’RE NOT SIMPLY A GALLERY. WE’RE THE GUILD. JOEY ON THE TRACKS (OIL) BY WAYNE CAMPBELL

Experience two floors of gallery space with work from over 45 award-winning local and regional artists together with an extensive permanent collection of early Brown County artists. There are featured exhibits, artist demonstrations and a Fine Artisan gift shop to enjoy.

48 S. Van Buren Street Nashville, IN 47448 812 988-6185

SOUTH TO NASHVILLE BY VJ CARIANI

BrownCountyArtGuild.org

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 19

Colab

“We Make Videos”

John and Hannah Boggs ~story and photo by Ryan Stacy

F

or documentary filmmakers, success can be bittersweet. On the one hand, you’re glad when your work calls attention to a problem you see in the world; on the other, you’d much prefer that the problem wasn’t there to document in the first place. For Nashville’s John and Hannah Boggs, it’s their love for the people and the land in Brown County—and not the accolades their documentaries continue to earn—that drives Colab, the video production company the couple created together.

20 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

Saving Yellowwood, their short documentary on the sale of almost 2,000 old-growth trees by the state Department of Natural Resources in Brown County’s Yellowwood Forest last fall, wasn’t undertaken with front-page newspaper coverage and film festivals in mind. John and Hannah say they felt obligated to act when the Indiana Forest Alliance approached them about “just getting some footage” of the logging activities. “They knew we had a video company, so they asked us to come out. But soon we had hours and hours of footage,” John says.

The children of military service members, they’re especially excited about one of their latest projects focusing on the wartime experiences of combat veterans.

As public response to the Yellowwood plan grew in size and intensity, it became clear that a powerful story of community was emerging, and a viable documentary project began to take shape. Soon, Hannah says, she noticed that the concern for Yellowwood went beyond the environment among the people who gathered to protest the logging. “This wasn’t just tree-huggers—it wasn’t just about the trees. There were all kinds of people, from every walk of life,” she remembers. John agrees, adding that everyone from hunters to scientists, to people simply looking to preserve the landscape in which they hike and walk, were in the crowds he spoke to.

So far, Saving Yellowwood has been well-received, scoring top billing when it premiered at the Bloomington stop of the Wild & Scenic Film Festival in January at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. “Now it’s part of the national tour, showing all over the country—it’s a real honor for us,” says John. “And the audience really connected, people were yelling at the screen, they were that into it.”

An encore presentation of the film also took place on February 24 at the Brown County Playhouse, so people closer to home could see Saving Yellowwood on the big screen.

Ultimately, the anti-logging crowd lost its fight last fall.

But John and Hannah say they don’t see their video as a story of defeat. “Seeing all those clear-cut trees hauled away on trucks was disheartening. And seeing the acres of stumps that are left is still a shock,” John says. “But our community was inspired to speak out. People felt strongly enough to take action. Maybe future proposals about clearcutting will be influenced by what happened here. And if people who watch the film realize that they have a voice too, that’s the real reward for us.”

Adding value to Brown County through this spirit of connecting with others permeates everything Colab does: even the company’s name was chosen because it’s short for “collaboration.” While John and Hannah continue to pursue their plans for wider distribution of Saving Yellowwood, they’re also developing new projects—always centered around concerns close to their hearts. The children of military service members, they’re especially excited about one of their latest projects focusing on the wartime experiences of combat veterans.

“This one’s really powerful for us, and for the veterans, it’s almost therapeutic,” relates Hannah. “We just let them talk about their experiences in their own words, which they don’t always get to do. Sometimes they’ll tell stories their own families don’t even know.”

For John, who grew up in Brown County, Colab is also a way to reach out to the young people here. “There’s not a lot going on for a lot of kids, especially for the ones living far out of town,” he says. “And youth who aren’t engaged can get in trouble. We need better role models, more inclusiveness, to give them opportunities to be part of stuff like filmmaking. They’re talented, they’re bright; they just don’t have anything to reach for sometimes.”

Both halves of the couple agree that they’ve found the ideal filmmaking partner in each other. “We love making videos together,” Hannah says. “We’ve got a super creative synergy.” John likens their working relationship to “having a second brain.” Whatever it is that puts the heart into Colab’s documentary projects—the topics they explore, the community they represent, or just the ability of their creators to leverage their talents—it’s clear that John and Hannah Boggs have a promising future as a major voice in Brown County culture.

You can reach the Boggs at <colabconsulting.org> or (812) 200-0697. 

Experience you can trust Integrity you can count on Facebook: Wertz for Judge Supporters Paid for by WertzForJudge Beth Drew, Treasurer

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 21

Visit America’s First Store

172 N. Van Buren Street in Nashville, IN Second Location in Calvin Place– (S. Van Buren and Franklin Streets)

www.JBGoods.com • 812-988-0900

Albert C. Drake

Goldsmith and Silversmith 46 years of quality service in Brown County

Touch of Silver, Gold & Old 87 E. Main St. • Nashville, IN 47448 (812) 988-6990 • (800) 988-6994 Hours: 10am - 6pm • 7 days a week www.touchofsilvergoldandold.com

22 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

Nashville, Indiana’s #1 Fun Attraction

COPPERHEAD CREEK

GEM MINE Fun and Educational for All Ages

BROWN COUNTY

ROCK and FOSSIL SHOP

Brown County’s only Tattoo Studio SR 135

Pan for Gems Fossils Arrowheads

Nashville Gnaw Bone

SR 46 4413

I-65 Columbus

5000 lbs. of NEW Beautiful & Unique Specimens for 2018

Just North of the Courthouse 79 N. Van Buren ~ (812) 988-2422

4413 State Road 46 East Nashville, Indiana (Gnaw Bone) Next to House of Thunder

More than 25 years experience Restaurant Serving Lunch & Dinner Daily and also Breakfast Sat. & Sun.

Wine-Down Wednesday

Every Wed. 6–8 pm

1/3 OFF select wines and music by Jeff Foster

• Soups • Salads • Sandwiches • After Five Menu • Fine Wines Breads, Pastries, and Danish Baked Here Daily

Center of Nashville Main and Van Buren Streets Open Daily • (812) 988-4114 HobnobCornerRestaurant.com

Tim Rupp

Bob Martin

• First in cleanliness • First in experience • First in satisfaction

(812) 988-4054 www.HeartlandTattooCo.com

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 23

NEW LOCATION

11 flavors of BEEF 3 flavors of TURKEY 3 flavors of BEEF BRISKET 4 flavors of BEEF STICKS 2 flavors of PORK 2 flavors of BACON Also: Elk, Boar, Buffalo, Venison, Gator, Rabbit, Salmon, Kangaroo, Turtle, Ostrich, Trout, Camel, Python, Ahi

Jerky Seasonings & Dips • Peanuts

125 S. Van Buren St. Artists Colony Shops (Between Toy Chest and Carol’s Gifts)

Nashville, IN • (812) 988-1592

Sterling Designs

by Sharon & Larry Anything But Or dinary

SBJ/LMJ Designs Opals by Larry • Pe n d a n t s • Earrings • Bracelets • Necklaces

812-988-0522 A variety of natural stones and colors N o r t h Va n B u r e n a n d M o l l y’s L a n e • N a s h v i l l e

Not pretentious. Not fancy.

JUST REAL GOOD FOOD. GATESVILLE COUNTRY STORE. It’s one of those places that you are excited to tell your friends about—a best-kept secret that’s too good to keep.

A place where the people are real and friendly, and they’re likely to know your name before long. The food is good, honest food that’s tasty and genuine. Made with heart and soul. We’re located off the beaten path, and maybe a bit hard to find—but worth the effort. It’s where the local folks go.

So, if you’re interested in finding a place that’s a little old-school and truly authentic Americana, come see us at Gatesville Country Store. Enjoy browsing the antiques, panning for gold in Salt Creek (behind the store), or just relaxing with a good meal or a piece of pie and some conversation.

4525 Salt Creek Rd. Nashville, IN 47448

(812) 988-0788

Doing business for over 25 years

25

Watch for 2018 BCCF 25th Anniversary Events throughout Brown County! browncountygives.org

24 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

87 East Main Street • Nashville, IN (812) 988-6080 • thewoodlandsgallery.net

Want High Speed Internet in Your Neighborhood?

Our goal to bring exceptional Internet speed, reliability, and customer service to Brown County.

We are expanding!

Sign up for service or complete our 2 minute survey to help us determine where to expand next at msfiber.servicezones.net/brown

Why Mainstream’s Fiber Optics?

• Greater bandwidth than traditional copper wires —no reduction in speeds when neighbors are online • Unlimited data—no caps or speed reductions • Fiber all the way into your home or business • Reliable hard-wired service with no interference from devices • Ready for the future—TV, phone, security systems, etc.

• Live customer support during business hours, 24 hour support line • Expedited support for all business plans • Local business that supports the community

Mainstream Fiber Networks (formerly BG Broadband) Providing high speed fiber Internet to rural Indiana communities, branching out from our Brown County roots

(812) 720-9423 • msfiber.net

Gifts for home and happiness

Women’s boutique, kids and teen clothing, men’s clothing, and household items Selling gently used items to benefit Brown County.

Accepting clothing and household item donations.

Look for the sign

s

Open ALWAYS on Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00 to 5:00 (weather permitting) 1st and 3rd Saturdays 10:00 to 1:00 and Fridays 12:30 to 5:00 MAY-OCTOBER (catch us if you can off season)

Like us on Facebook at Brown County Community Closet, Inc.

South Van Buren in Nashville (near stoplight, behind Subway) (812) 988-6003

Head over

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or more French Country Décor $20purchase Locally Made Items • Quilts Unique Gifts • Mona-B Handbags Madeline’s Famous Soy Candles

Heels

• Minnetonka • Stetson n • Tilleyy Hats • Merrell

Van Buren & Franklin Streets Nashville • 812.988.6301

HATS HA ATS • FOOTWEAR • ACCESSORIES

Vicki@MadelinesFrenchCountryShop.com www.MadelinesFrenchCountryShop.com

49 S. Van Buren St. in Nashville • 812-988-6535 headoverheels@switched.com • fax: 812-988-6505

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 25

Abe Martin Lodge A Splashin’ Good Time! & the Little Gem Restaurant Our full service restaurant is open daily

New Cabin Suites

• Slide • Water Channel • Fountains • Dump Buckets • Waterfall

We have the room for you Guest rooms, two-story cabins, historic cabins, cabin suites Ask about our pet-friendly rooms

There is always something to do in Indiana’s largest State Park: Aquatic Center, Horse Back Riding, Mountain Bike Trails, Fishing, Tennis...

We have the perfect setting for any event: Corporate Retreats, Weddings, Getaways and Family Reunions, and more!

Brown County State Park • P.O. Box 547 • Nashville, IN • 1-877-Lodges-1 • (812) 988-4418 • www.indianainns.com

Knives by Benchmade, Kershaw, Microtech, Esee, Tops, Protech, Zero Tolerance and many more

’ Luminox Watches (used by Navy Seals)

Fine Pipes and Tobaccos Premium Cigars

Things you can live without... bbut who wants to!

Old Colonial Bldg. 60 N. Van Buren St. Nashville, Indiana•812.988.6590 menstoyshop@yahoo.com•Visit us on Facebook

Guns and Ammo for Competition, Hunting, Sport, and Home Defense

26 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

Variety of T-Shirts

Wooden Signs made in Southern Indiana

Nashville’s

O N LY

Guest Ranch

al times are All adventures & me call ahead ! open to the public – ommended – Rec ons ati erv Res –

T

rawhideranchusa.co

L RIDES RAI

m

BUCK INN

INES ZIP L

MEAL TIME

Open 7 days a week, Year round

AMENITIES INCLUDE: Cowboy Hotel • Cabins • Tipis • Guest Discounted Zips & Rides 24/7 Coffee Station • Corporate Retreats • Team Building Programs Geocaching • Free Wifi • 54 Acres of Land • Nightly Campfires Hiking • Fishing • Swing Set & Sandbox • Half Court Basketball 1292 St Rd 135 S, Nashville

812.988.0085

www.butlerwinery.com

info@rawhideranchusa.com

Brown County Size: 3.5 x 4.5 Cost: $667.00 Runs: April 2016 - April 2017

AUTHENTIC NEW YORK STYLE PIZZA

A family-friendly pizza place PIZZA • SALADS • CALZONES Not your usual bookstore…

We have books — used, new, old and rare Journals · Sketchbooks Handmade Greeting Cards · Local Postcards Monday–Saturday 10 am – 5 pm | Sunday 11 am – 5 pm 45 S. Jefferson Street · Nashville, IN 812.988.0202 · FallenLeafBooks.com

140 W. Main Street • (812) 988-8800 In the heart of Nashville by the Village Green area at the intersection of Main and Jefferson Streets.

Dine-In or Carry-Out

Sun.–Thurs. 11am–9:00pm; Fri. & Sat. 11am–10:00pm

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 27

Scarlet’s Webb ANTIQUES "If Grandma had one, we do too!"

13 miles west of I-65 • 3 miles east of Nashville, IN 3288 State Rd 46 East • 812-988-1025 Behind Brown Co. Antique Mall Open 7 days a week till 5:30

Gnaw Bone

Country Store & Bakery

*Homemade Baked Goods *Antiques *Local Products *Artist Goods 4883 SR 46 E. Gnaw Bone, IN

Lodge & Conference Center

TUESDAYS: Tex-Mex served in the bar 5–7:00 p.m.

FRIDAYS: Prime Rib Buffet served 5–9:00 p.m.

• Balcony Rooms

812-988-4266 www.gnawbonebakery.com gnawbonecsbakery@gmail.com Open Daily • Closed Tuesdays

• Restaurant • Lounge

Bath th Bomb Mania

Soaps Bath Bombs

Natural Products

Bubble Bars B

Shampoo Deodorant S Sugar

Scrubs

Antique Alley Nashville, IN • 90 W. Franklin St. (513) 276-2170 • plum-natural-soap-co.myshopify.com

• Enclosed pool

Our own Tzatziki sauce recipe, made from scratch

Delicious!

Free samples • Local Delivery Available <Most items under $10> gyrofoodnashville.com • Gyros Food

S. Van Buren & Old School Way • Possum Trot Sq. Look for the sidewalk signs • (812) 318-0840

28 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

• Conference facility for up to 600 people

560 State Road 46 East, Nashville, IN 812-988-2284 • SeasonsLodge.com

Back-to-Back Complex

145 South Van Buren Street Established 2001

FREE in-store demos!

Old School Way and Pittman House Lane

(next to the Toy Chest, behind Sweetwater Gallery) Visit our website for class schedules www.wishfulthinking-in.com • 812-988-7009

PLY 4 YOU SIM Handmade & Unique Gifts • Hand-painted Signs • Homemade Body Scrubs • Giant Scrabble Letters • Solar-Changing Finger Nail Polish • Biker Bracelets • Painted Ball Jars And much more...

145 South Van Buren Street

Sepia Old Time Color Color Black & White

OVER 200 BACKGROUNDS 145 S. Van Buren St. Nashville, IN

Wild West • Prairie • Civil War • Roaring 20s and more!

812-350-8806

145 S. Van Buren Nashville, IN

Simply 4 You Gift Shop Simply_4_you@aol.com

Next to Artist Colony Inn, behind Sweetwater Gallery

Weekdays 10–6, Sat. 10–7, Sun. 10–6

812-988-7305

est. 1972

Doug Stoffer, Designer/Jeweler

Sweetwater Gallery featuring locally crafted:

Sterling Silver • Fine Diamonds Opals • Gemstones • Wedding Rings Titanium Bands • Austrian Lead Crystal For Quality and Price call 812-988-4037 Top Dollar Paid for Old Gold 150 S. Van Buren St. • Nashville

Stained Glass Paperweights Mosaic Mirrors Fabric Wallhangings also offering:

Pottery Kaleidoscopes Metal Sculpture Owners, Ron and Penny Schuster

145 S. Van Buren Nashville located in the Back-to-Back Complex 812-988-0449 www.schusterglass.com

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 29

Sampler at Carmel Corn Cottage

T

here is nothing quite as alluring, as promising and intoxicating, as the smell of something tasty, wafting on the breeze, attracting anyone with a sweet tooth. It’s something salty, something earthy, something light yet filling, a delicious staple with just a hint of something more, something sweet.

That smell, drawing you through the streets of Nashville, is popcorn.The smell is probably emanating from The Carmel Corn Cottage.

“Yeah, follow the smell,” said owner Jim Rispoli.

“That fan I put in a while ago is really another sales person.”

Located in the red and white building on the North end of Van Buren Street, The Carmel Corn Cottage has been providing fresh, daily popped popcorn since 1979.

In addition to their popular hot buttered and carmel popcorns, the Carmel Corn Cottage offers 100 flavors of gourmet popcorn ranging from Amaretto and Apple to Very Berry and Watermelon.

Their original carmel corn is made from scratch ever day in the original copper kettles with real butter for that rich old-fashioned taste.

If that’s not enough to get your carmel corn motor turning, how about double-dipped carmel with nuts. It has extra carmel, is dipped twice and coated with nuts, making it extra sweet crunchy.

Then there are the Carmel Delites without any kernels or hulls.

30 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

“We have a new item we call ‘The Ultimate,’ which is we drizzle vanilla chocolate and milk chocolate over our buttered toffee chocolate delights,” said Rispoli.

The store also offers caramel apples, made with Granny Smith or Red Delicious apples, with or without nuts; delicious homemade fudge; and tasty home-made peanut brittle made with honey.

You can also get goodies like hot dogs, ice cream, pretzels, and fudge.

Of course, these days, a large portion of the business is internet-based, shipping products all over the country. They are especially busy around Christmas time. Their products can be ordered at <carmelcorncottage.com> but the best thing about the place is the free samples. And it is always open.

“We’re open seven days a week, every day, winter, summer, spring, and fall,” said Rispoli. “It’s a tourist town and I believe stores have got to be open.”

Years ago in Nashville, the old Jessup’s Caramel Corn wagon used to be parked right out on Van Buren Street near the main intersection of town during the autumn hustle and bustle and spread that intoxicating smell all over town, captivating anyone with a sweet tooth and a sense of direction.

Now, you can satisfy that desire any time of the year down at the Carmel Corn Cottage. 

SO Much TO DO!

EXCITEMENT IS IN THE AIR! Whatever it is that you are looking to do, there is something for everyone in the hills of Brown County. Art and food. Festivals and parades. The beauty of the outdoors. And, all kinds of music. We have a wonderful variety of accommodations from quaint and rustic cabins to charming inns. Be sure to stop by our NEW Visitors Center. We’re proud of it, and would love to meet you and assist you in your time with us. Come see us! #ilovebrowncounty

EVENTS APRIL 27- 29 33rd Annual Wild Flower Foray MAY 5 11th Annual Morel Mushroom Festival MAY 5 55th Annual Spring Blossom Parade MAY 12 16th Annual Indiana Wine Fair MAY 30 - JUNE 2 8th Annual John Hartford Memorial Festival JUNE 1 - JUNE 3 Brown County Historical Society & Pioneer Women’s Quilt Show JUNE 9 - JUNE 30 40th Annual Indiana Heritage Arts Exhibit and Sale JUNE 9 - JUNE 16 52nd Annual Bill Monroe Memorial Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival JULY 5 - 8 9th Annual Bean Blossom Southern Gospel Jubilee JULY 28 7th Annual Indiana State Fingerstyle Guitar Competition

AUGUST 23 - 25 20th Annual Bean Blossom Blues Fest SEPTEMBER 8 30th Annual Great Outdoor Art Contest SEPTEMBER 15 Abe Martin County Picnic and Nashcar Out House Race SEPTEMBER 19 - 22 44th Annual Bill Monroe Hall of Fame and Uncle Pens Days OCTOBER 12 - 14 Brown County Epic OCTOBER 1 - 31 Back Roads Studio Tour NOVEMBER 10 Brown County Hilly Half Marathon NOVEMBER 10 Chocolate Walk NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 24 Christmas in Brown County JANUARY 5, 2019 Frigid Rogaine JANUARY 18 - 21, 2019 Winter in the Woods

THE VISITORS CENTER IS LOCATED AT 211 SOUTH VAN BUREN

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 31

FIELD NOTES: First of the Year

F

~by Jim Eagleman

OY (first of year) and FOS (first of season) are two acronyms that frequent bird reports this time of year. After months of absence and a long winter, it is with great anticipation that birders, gardeners, and homeowners look forward to, and can finally report, their favorite birds back for another year. The FOY and FOS redwinged blackbird in February, eastern phoebe of March, and the first bzzzz,bzzzz,bzzzz of the blue gray gnatcatcher of April, are remarked about to neighbors and friends. Many of you are already reporting your FOY rose-breasted grosbeaks and hermit thrushes.

It won’t be long before these birds and others will be busy nest building, then rearing young. But how great it is to see them for the first time of the season. We call, email, text, and Facebook friends with the reports. “Look who’s back!” In our woods, it always the Eee-oh-lay call of the wood thrush that we look forward to. Some years they are small in number and arrive early, other times they come later. But like the arrival of a long-awaited friend, they never disappoint.

It’s not just birds that warrant FOY and FOS reports. For some it might be the emergence of mayapple plants pushing thru oak leaves on the forest floor, or garden tulips, snow drops, and crocuses through wood chip mulch in flower beds.

We then wait for the first bud of the mayapple in late April followed by numerous blooms around Mother’s Day. Tulip plants push skyward, serviceberry blooms, spicebush and dogwood blossoms are all predictable and loyal to the calendar. We find it comforting to note the FOYs of nature when we aren’t even looking for them.

This is why we love the natural world. We can count on it. When things in the world seem jilted, if not confusing and crazy, we can count on nature.

Cranes still call high overhead every spring right on schedule, and chipmunks emerge into warm sunshine. Fiddleheads of new ferns unfurl tightly compacted fronds, we scrape away leaf litter to watch for the tiny harbinger of spring, or salt and pepper wildflower. Daylight arrives earlier and stays later, encouraging us into the woods. Along busy sidewalks in Washington, D.C. where strife and turmoil seem to fume and ferment, the country

32 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

takes note of their famous cherry blossoms. For their fleeting, flowering moments, we can even find some kind comfort in simple cherry blossoms.

FOY in the feathered world, FOS in flowers—and can we talk frogs? Soon with the continual 50 degree days of March, spring peepers and chorus frogs will stir and call. Then the wood frogs join in the pandemonium at fertile, vernal ponds. It was early last year, on the last day of February, we heard the first trills of the American toad. Now as we enter spring, another trill will soon penetrate the late evening air into darkness: the gray treefrog. Peterson’s Field Guide of Reptiles and Amphibians describes the gray treefrog trill reminiscent to the call of the red-bellied woodpecker. Some say it sounds like the chirr of a young raccoon. However you describe it, the FOY calling of the gray treefrog always brings a smile.

A call from them can initiate another, and soon you can maybe detect where they are located. But it’s a challenge. They can hide very effectively in the crevice of tree bark, or among any plant debris on the ground, even tucked in between deck boards in outside porches. Friends watch for them moving about, hunting for moths attracted to lights. They check under flower pots and even along house siding. One night, their record was nine.

Gray tree frogs are actually two species, but closely resemble each other and can only be told apart by slightly different calls and more closely, at the cellular level. Both vary in color from a mottled gray to a vivid green. Their colors vary based on environment, often taking on the colors where they frequent. Both have light spots under their eyes and will flash some bright yellow-orange under their legs when extended. I actually had my FOY calling gray tree frog last April 15 and saw my first a few days after. Their peak calling is May into June.

Frogs are fairly common and I hope you can find your firsts.

It won’t be long—soon we’ll have the banjo-twang of the green frog and finally the deep summer, resonant “barroom” of the bullfrog. Keep your ears and eyes open for your FOY frogs and other nature discoveries. 

•Daily Specials •Kid’s Menu

Voils

FULL BAR AVAILABLE

FREE ESTIMATES • FULLY INSURED

AAuthentic Mexican Cuisine Family Owned and Operated

812-988-4535 Carry Out Available COACHLIGHT SQUARE 101 E. Washington St. one block east of S. Van Buren St. (in front of the high school) in downtown Nashville

Win $500 Grand Prize and a Brown County Getaway!

March 2 – May 13, 2018

812-361-3595

Concrete

Decorative Concrete Patios, Driveways, Slabs Basements Retaining Walls Foundation Repairs Bridges

Construction Homes New Construction Remodel Bridges Plumbing

Excavating GET REWARDED FOR YOUR PURCHASES!

The more Passports you turn in, the more chances you have to win!

Pick up Passports at any participating business – look for the PASSPORTS STAMPED HERE signs and posters!

Weekly winners announced on Like & Follow Us for updates!

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! FOR RULES & PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES VISIT

Driveways Land Clearing Lakes and Ponds Culverts Water and Sewer

Septics New Septic Installation Repairs Plumbing and Excavating Presby Systems (start at $7500)

BrownCountyPassport.com A Brown County Chamber of Commerce Program

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 33

photos by Jules Dunlap

calendar

The schedule can change. Please check before making a trip.

Brown County Playhouse

19th Hole at Salt Creek Golf

5th annual Brown County Youth Music Showcase March 3 Featuring ensembles, solos and duets from ages 6 to 18 years.

Produced by Kara Barnard Twist the Night Away March 9 & 10, 16 & 17 Shimmy and Shake March 24 Asleep at the Wheel Texas country at its very best April 14 Pam Tillis Acoustic Show Performing with an all-woman trio featuring guitars and fiddles April 28 Brown County Bluegrass Bash April 21 FIRST RUN MOVIES ON THE BIG SCREEN Check website for schedule 70 S. Van Buren St. 812-988-6555 www.BrownCountyPlayhouse.org

March 2 Kolton on Acoustic March 3 Karaoke March 9 Opal Fly March 10 South of 44 March 16 Flatland Harmony March 17 Dan Kirk Band March 23 The McGuires Band March 24 Sudden Impact March 30 The Acre Brothers March 31 Hungarian Slacks April 6 Dave Miller April 7 Rusty Bladen April 13 Opal Fly April 14 Karaoke April 20 Kolton on Acoustic April 21 Dan Kirk Band April 27 Bodhi Coffel or Circus 46 April 28 Night Owl Country Band Music starts at 8:00

Chateau Thomas Winery March 2 Amanda Webb Band March 3 Brady/Casey March 9 Steve Fulton March 10 Warrior Kings March 16 Gary Applegate & Joe Rock March 17 Barry Johnson March 23 1-4-5’s March 24 Mike Renard March 30 Cliff Ritchie March 31 Cari Ray Trio April 6 Impasse Band April 7 Frank Jones & Carolyn April 13 Stingers April 14 Live Music April 20 Cari Ray, For a Song April 21 Will Scott Duo April 27 Paul Bertsch Trio April 28 Steve Fulton Trio Music Friday and Saturday 7:00-10:00 812-988-8500 www.ChateauThomas.com

Brown County Inn Music Fridays and Saturdays Open Mic Nights Wednesdays 7-10 March 2 Sean Lamb Band March 3 Sean Lamb Band March 9 The Acre Brothers March 10 The Acre Brothers March 16 Frank Jones March 17 Martinie’s Boogie Three March 17 Celtica Concert March 23 Steve Fulton March 24 TBA March 30 Luke Carol Duo March 31 The 1, 4, 5’s April 6 The Acre Brothers April 7 The Acre Brothers April 13 Retro Brothers April 14 Amanda Webb Band April 20 TBA April 21 TBA April 27 Sean Lamb Band April 28 Sean Lamb Band 800-772-5249 www.BrownCountyInn.com

36 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

Other Friday and Saturday Night Music Venues: Seasons, Big Woods

Mike’s Dance Barn Regular shows feature Mike’s band Smooth Country, opening with free dance lessons with Billy March 17 Season opening night March 24 Mike’s band & lessons March 31 Mike’s band & lessons April 7 Mike’s band & lessons April 14 Mike’s band & lessons April 21 Dance teacher DJ April 28 Mike’s band & lessons 812-988-8636

Indiana Red Barn March 23 Tom Petty’s Wildflowers Songs March 24 The Doors of Chicago March 30 Max Allen Band March 31 Hoist -Tribute to Phish Shows start at 8:00 71 Parkview Road

Brown County Community Foundation 25th Anniversary Find the Foundation Flock The Foundation’s flock of flamingos are migrating through the county to nonprofits that have received grants. Take a selfie with them and the location, post on the Facebook page for a chance to win a goodie bag.

Money Madness March, Facebook Social Media Contest Vote for favorite nonprofit $250 to winner Planting the Future April, Mailings and Giveaways of seeds and plants.

812-988-4882 www.bccfin.org

Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre March 24, April 14, 21; 6:30-8:30 Artists Colony Inn Tumbleweed, a Wild West murder mystery 812-988-0600 www.artistscolonyinn.com

Brown County Sippin’ Trip March 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 31 1:00-4:30, $45 Tasting excursion to artisan wineries, breweries and distilleries.

Nashville General Store Express bus. www.browncounty.com/tours

eXplore Brown County

Bluebird Box Building Workshop

Brown County Art Guild

April 21, State Park Nature Center, 2:00 Build a box for the bluebirds. Each box is $10 and proceeds go to Brown County Bluebird Society.

33rd Annual Wildflower Foray

Spring Break March Madness March 3-31 Soar 90 feet in the air at speeds up to 45 miles an hour. Learn about plants and animals.

Couch Potatoes Revolt April 1-30 15 different zip lines, four tours 812-988-7750 www.explorebrowncounty.com

April 27-29 at multiple locations in Brown County including T.C. Steele State Historic Site, Hoosier National Forest, Lake Monroe. Features wildflower and bird walks, wetlands hikes, a boat trip on Lake Monroe, nature photography Contact Patrick Haulter 812-988-5240 phaulter@dnr.in.gov

St. Patrick’s Day Concert with Celtica

Friends of Brown County State Park Plant Sale

March 17, Brown County Inn, 7:00 Doors open 6:00, show 7:00 $10 tickets purchase online, phone, or at the Inn

Brown County Art Gallery

A Taste of Art Wine Tasting & Art Auction March 24, Seasons Lodge, Tasting 5:00, Auction 7:00 Presented by Rotary Club

Arts in the Parks Painting Demonstrations April 21, 22, 27, 29 Demos by Patricia Rhoden Bartels April 21, Children: vista State Park* 2:00-4:00 April 22, Children: T.C. Steele gardens 2:00-4:00 April 27, Early morning atmospheric vista State Park* 8 a.m. -11 a.m.

April 29,Evening sunset vista State Park* 5:00-8:00 *Specific park sites will be announced in greater detail in March.

812-988-6525

April 28, Nature Center 9:00 a.m. till sold out of plants Features works by 60 contemporary artists and early Indiana masters Artists Assoc. Spring Exhibit March 1-June 2 24th Annual Victorian Tea April 8, 12:30 to 4:30 Stephanie Holman, storyteller, presents “The Search for a Place and Time to Paint.”

Favors, raffle, door prizes Mabel B. Annis Student Art Competition April 21-May 6 7th-12th graders from Bartholomew, Brown, Greene, Jackson, Johnson, Morgan and Monroe are eligible. Categories: Painting | Drawing | 3-D | Print | Photography | Video Reception April 22, 2:00-3:30 Corner of Main St. & Artist Dr. in Nashville 812-988-4609 www.browncountyartgallery.org

Features the Marie Goth Estate Collection and contemporary art by more than 40 award-winning member artists.

Annual Young Artist Show Reception/Awards March 3, 2:00-4:00 Realm of Expression Workshop March 17 Artists of all levels are invited to join Rena Brouwer and Cheryl Kaldahl.

Sacred Sound Meditation & Artful Acoustics w/ Janiece Jaffe March 18, 4:00 Soothing sounds of her singing bowls and voice.

Indiana Jazz: History, Scenes, Places and Personas Dr. Monika Herzig and weekly guests, six Tuesdays March 20-May 5 (no class April 3) 6:00–8:00 p.m.

Concert 8-10 p.m. Through Ivy Tech Have Sketchbook Will Travel March 31 Jeanne McLeish and Jerry Smith share best painting practices and tips.

The Art of the Quilt with Peggy Brown April 7, 11:00-1:00 48 S. Van Buren St. in Nashville 812-988-6185 www.browncountyartguild.org

Brown Co. History Center Open Thurs.-Sun. 11-4 Archives: Tues. and Fri. 1-4, North of the courthouse, Donations welcome.

Indiana Raptor Center Live birds of prey, tours by appt. only.

Wed.-Sun. 11:00-5:00 Group programs available. Closed January and August.

812-988-8990 www.indianaraptorcenter.org

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 37

Jazz Class at the Art Guild with Monika Herzig

courtesy photo

I

~by Lee Edgren

s it a concert? Or is it a class? Monika Herzig, pianist, teacher, and jazz historian, thinks you might really enjoy finding out for yourself as she, the Brown County Art Guild, and Ivy Tech bring her Indiana Jazz: History, Scenes, Places and Personas to the Guild and to Out of the Ordinary beginning on March 20, 2018. Monika is an extraordinary advocate for jazz, and even though “Jazz History” is listed in the Ivy Tech bulletin, it’s sure to be a party.

Each of the six classes will feature a lecture, guest performances, discussions, and good company. After an hour of jazz history and another hour of intimate discussion with regional jazz greats at the Brown County Art Guild, the class will move across the street to Out of the Ordinary for food, drink, and a live performance featuring Monika with her guest lecturer/artist of the week.

Both jazz itself and the fact that this concert/ class/party is going forward here in Nashville, is really a story about collaborative risk taking.

Probably few people would suggest that Nashville would be the logical place to offer a six-week-long evening jazz class. But Shari Frank, who has taken the class two times already, found her own response to jazz changed by Herzig’s passionate teaching and depth of knowledge.

When a Brown County friend couldn’t take the class in Bloomington, Frank determined to

38 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

try to bring the class here. “I loved learning about the history of the people who played jazz. And because Monika is such an expert, she brings out key people that you might never find on your own. It’s so fun to meet the artists, to ask them questions and hear their stories. It adds such depth and connection.” Ivy Tech was willing to give it a try.

The Guild said a ready “Yes!” Rachel Di Gregorio, Office Support Manager, notes, “The Guild has hosted Monika on several occasions and she performed so beautifully, that when we were approached to host her Indiana Jazz course, we jumped at the opportunity.” It doesn’t hurt that the Guild has a 1935 Steinway baby grand.

Herzig herself relishes the opportunity to make jazz more accessible to people who either just haven’t listened or think that they don’t like it. “The thing I like about jazz is that it’s one of the few music styles that lives from the process of doing it,” Herzig says. There are certain basic rules, and then there is the excitement and skill of improvisation that takes place within the structure of the form. Jazz is a conversation, Herzig explains. It’s bad form to hog the stage or to not be acutely tuned in to the other members of the conversation. Listening is the first part of playing.

Herzig has faced “obstacles” that would daunt many pursuers of any art form. To be white, female, and from Germany, not normally seen as advantages in the jazz world, actually became the stepping stones to her amazing career. “I have no obligations to follow any path, because there is no path. I have the permission of creating my own original style, I can put my influence into how the traditions come out.”

Student and friend of IU’s great jazz educator, David Baker, she is the author of David Baker, A Legacy in Music (IU Press, 2011). Her second book, Experiencing Chick Corea: A Listener’s Companion (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017), was published last fall.

She has collaborated with poet Norbert Krapf on the CD Imagine— Indiana in Music and Words, tap dancers, the Adzooks life-sized puppets, and also collaborated on the creation of a summer jazz camp for teenaged women.

Her website <monikaherzig.com> has current performance information, as well as a store with her CDs. Her newest project SHEroes features some of the world’s leading female jazz instrumentalists and will be released March 23 on Whaling City Sounds. The group is touring extensively and will stop in Bloomington on March 8 for a concert with Jazz Fables and in Indianapolis March 10 for a concert at the Jazz Kitchen.

Being any place in the collaboration—on stage or in the audience— is much more fascinating when you have some idea of what’s going on. Football is more fun when you understand the game. “The fun

part,” Herzig says, “is watching what’s going to happen.

It’s much more exciting to pay attention and watch the process unfold. It’s the only real style that’s come out of this melting pot country….It’s a global music that’s played all over the world, Japanese play jazz, Germans plays jazz.

And Blues is included under the big jazz umbrella.”

You can register online at <ivytech.edu/bloomington/cll/> for CRN: 30072-173 Dr. Monika Herzig and weekly guest artist six Tuesdays 3/20/18–5/1/18 (no class 4/03) 6:00–8:00 p.m. (with concert from 8-10 p.m.) Brown County Art Guild, 48 South Van Buren Street, Nashville, Out of the Ordinary, 61 S Van Buren Street, Nashville $149 | Register by: 3/13/18. Food and drink not included in price.

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March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 39

Kathy Sparks, The Hand Maiden

A

~story and photos by Chrissy Alspaugh

fter opening a science kit for Christmas when she was six, Kathy Sparks became convinced she could create potions.

She’s spent the rest of her life doing just that.

The retired college chemistry teacher runs The Hand Maiden fiber arts studio in northwestern Brown County, preserving historical weaving methods and teaching other artists throughout the country about dying their fibers with common materials found in nature. Everything from dandelions and violets to walnuts and insects serve as the base for dyes she concocts in every color of the rainbow. And what Kathy weaves is just as natural and varied—wool folkart style hooked rugs, sweaters made of yarn she’s spun from the coat of her Angora rabbits, and baskets from material she makes herself from brown ash trees harvested in New England.

“I just realized at some point that so much in this world is destroyed before we recognize its true value,” she said. “My work is not so much about earning a salary but hopefully sharing something about the past that will carry into the future.”

40 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

In high school, the Hoosier native moved to Belgium with her family. She returned to the U.S. to earn a degree in natural resources and environmental science from Purdue University. Kathy next followed her husband, Tim, and his job with the Navy. She earned a teaching certificate from University of West Florida and later a master’s degree in dye chemistry from Western Washington University. The next 29 years were spent teaching students in middle school through college in Washington state and at Ivy Tech Community College at Columbus in subjects including anatomy and physiology, chemistry, Earth science, biology, and natural science.

Kathy’s mind is thirsty to understand how things are made and their role in nature. Her words move fast when she talks about the years of research she’s done across five continents, diving deep into the history of weaving.

One of her passions is replicating precisely-formed baskets that date back to the 1800s in the Shaker or Taconic styles. No one sells the materials Kathy uses made of brown ash—the Rolls Royce of weaving—so she spends weeks each year helping cut trees in New England, hammering them to

”My work is not so much about earning a salary but hopefully sharing something about the past that will carry into the future.” separate the growth rings into long coils, and finally soaking, sanding, and sizing the materials she soon will weave. The finished products are stunning white baskets that, over time, will age to a fawn brown.

Tucked behind the baskets Kathy proudly displays in her studio are vibrant strands of fibers, twisted and labeled, that represent 35 years of research in natural dyes. She breaks from her quiet, humble demeanor to share, smiling, that upon seeing most any Hoosier flower or weed, she can accurately predict the color it will produce in a dye pot.

Along with preserving historical weaving and dyeing techniques, Kathy also continues the centuries-old art of traditional rug hooking.

It was a craft that originated in England as a pastime of the poor to turn leftover scraps of cloth into intricate images. Her folk-art style rugs and tapestries depict everything from farm animals and barns to flowers and geometric shapes.

Kathy has shared her weaving expertise as an instructor at workshops throughout the U.S. and in more than 100 magazine articles and two books, including “The Song of the Muskox,” which

explores the history of the animals and the use of their fur as weaving fiber. The book was the result of Kathy’s graduate studies work and travels in the 1980s to the Northwest Territories of Canada, teaching and encouraging native Inuit women to produce garments, and thus income, using yarn from muskox.

Fourteen years later, Kathy was shopping in a Jacques Cartier store in Canada that sold highend locally produced art, when she found a beautiful cowl for sale that had been knitted by one of the women she had taught.

“I knew we had accomplished what we had set out to do,” Kathy said. “The system worked.”

When she isn’t weaving, dyeing, or teaching, Kathy hustles to tend to the farm, which she and Tim share with four dogs, three ducks, three rabbits, occasionally two grandsons, and eleven Connemara ponies that she and the couple’s now-grown daughter once bred and showed.

She and Tim also welcome seasonal guests into their home, which they built 22 years ago as a bed-and-breakfast, the Slippery Elm Shoot Inn. Nestled in the woods a half hour away from Nashville, the inn attracts clientele seeking solace and nature.

“It’s just one more way we love meeting people and sharing our little bit of this world with them,” Kathy said. “I suppose my whole life, in so many different avenues of meeting and teaching people, has been about finding common threads.”

Find Kathy on Facebook at The Hand Maiden or visit <slipperyelmshoot.com>. 

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 41

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42 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

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59 East Main Street, Suite A • Nashville, IN • 812-988-8707 March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 43

Spring Blossom Parade

W

~by Jeff Tryon

hen our pioneer forefathers founded the tradition of a Spring Blossom parade, to be held each year in Nashville in 1929, they tapped one of the best known and admired women in the county to be the Parade Queen—Mary “Grandma” Barnes.

Well known for her fabulous flower gardens and strong opinions, Barnes was a favorite of the painters, was photographed and quoted by pioneering photographer and columnist Frank Hohenberger, and still has a namesake county road up near Bean Blossom.

A 1929 Hohenberger photograph depicts Grandma Barnes decked out as the “Spring Blossom Queen”, the first of that designation. In 1930, she crowned the next year’s queen, Mary Cloud, daughter of artist C. Carey Cloud.

The Grand Marshall of this year’s Spring Blossom Parade is another well-known local woman of strong opinions, Brown County Circuit Court Judge Judy Stewart, who will be retiring later this year after decades of service.

Today’s Spring Blossom Parade, known back in the 1950s and 60s as the “Redbud Dogwood Parade,” has its roots in a different type of bloom—those of apple and peach trees in orchards along many Brown County ridges and hilltops.

The 55th annual Spring Blossom Parade is set to go off about 11 a.m. on May 5 as part of a weekend of activities that will include children’s games on the Village Green, special movie screenings, and the traditional parade down Van Buren Street.

This year’s Spring Blossom Festival theme will be “Cinque De Mayo” and the theme of the parade will be “Unity in Diversity.”

Spring Blossom Parade 2003, courtesy Mary Jane Richards.

44 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

Grandma Barnes. Frank M. Hohenberger, 1929. courtesy The Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

The Saturday morning parade, open to all, will feature the usual compliment of firetrucks, floats, marching bands, and riders on horseback.

Larry Hanson, a member of the organizing committee, said the Brown County Playhouse will show the movie “Three Amigos” on Friday night.

The Boy Scouts will sponsor a sale on the Village Green and the Rotary Club will present games for children, but it is unlikely that they will feature such oldtime pursuits as a chicken catching contest (winners got to keep the chicken), or climbing a greased pole with a five dollar bill on top, as at the 1929 event.

In 1929, Dale Bessire, one of the pioneer Brown County artists and an apple grower himself, organized the first blossom parade, which touted apple and peach blossoms and was meant to promote the burgeoning tourist industry in the county.

The 1929 event lasted a week and was advertised on radio stations as far away as Chicago.

Brown County has a long history of apple orchards.

From the late 1870s, orchards were abundant here as the hilly terrain offered protection against spring frosts and the climate made for a colorful, richly flavored apple.

“Fruit raising is perhaps the most widespread industry in the county,” explained a program oriented for the 1929 festival, “The soil and location of Brown County seem just right to raise apples of exceptional quality and color.”

“Peaches of excellent flavor and many small fruits are raised commercially, but not so extensively as apples.”

“It is said that its situation on the border line between the extremes of heat and cold and its elevation, with

Continued on 46

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March/April 2018 â&#x20AC;¢ Our Brown County 45

PARADE continued from 44 days of bright sunshine followed by frosty fall nights, account for the delicacy and sprightliness of flavor of Brown County apples and make them just a bit better than ordinary,” the program said.

That first festival guide included a map of 36 orchards in the county along with other sites of interest. Residents were encouraged to decorate their homes with blossoms, artist’s studios held open house, and the Art Gallery held its annual Spring exhibition.

An article which appeared in the July, 1929 issue of Hoosier Magazine promoted the Blossom Festival with bowers of floral prose.

“This Festival is timed for the season when the apple trees blotch the hillsides with their delicate pink and the blossom storm sends drifts of scented petals here and there. These great masses of pink and white tell us, from afar, where fruitful orchards are. They add their bit to the tapestry of budding trees and wild flowers studding the valley floor.”

“Brown County welcomes with a bonny smile and waves a floral salute, in the breeze, to all the visitors to the Blossom Festival. She uses the motto of all ambitious florists and speaks her welcome with flowers.” 

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March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 47

Suzannah Zody’s Journey to the Playhouse

~Story and photos by Paige Langenderfer

S

uzannah Zody’s love of performing arts has taken her around the globe. Her latest adventure, however, is back in her hometown of Nashville, as executive director of the Brown County Playhouse.

Suzannah graduated from Brown County High School in 1979 and left for Purdue to study theater. After three years, she went to the University of Illinois in Chicago to study communications.

“I never graduated. I got bored,” she said. “Instead, I just walked in the doors of the Goodman Theater, one of the biggest, most award-winning theaters, and said ‘Can I have a job?’”

She got a job, a terrible job in her words, answering phones and doing ticket sales, but it was a start. Over the next several years she worked her way up at the Goodman, eventually becoming director of season tickets. She even got to interact with a few of today’s biggest stars.

“There were huge stars in the shows there. Celebrities can be in their own world, but that’s just part of the business,” she

48 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

said. “I met James Earl Jones, Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline and many more. Kevin Kline even has a connection to the (Brown County) Playhouse. As a student at IU, he performed here.”

After four years as director of season tickets at the Goodman, Suzannah accepted a job as assistant marketing director at Northlight Theatre in Evanston. At the same time, she also worked as an independent consultant, helping new theater companies produce shows in various spaces around Chicago.

“There is never a dull moment in theater. It’s stressful but also very exciting. That’s why I have always loved working in performing arts,” she said.

In the midst of getting her career going, Suzannah met her husband and the two decided to move to London.

“I landed there with no job and no contacts. I was starting from scratch,” she said. “But, luckily, I fell into a position at Galathea Systems. That’s when things got really exciting.”

As commercial manager at Galathea Systems, from 1990 to 2001, Suzannah was in charge of contracting and implementing marketing software at many prestigious venues and organizations in England and worldwide including British Film Institute, Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Really Useful Theatres, Royal National Theatre, South Bank Centre, Edinburgh Festival, Sydney Opera House, Belfast Opera House and many more.

“It was very exciting work. I traveled all over the world and I swear I’ve seen every inch of England,” she said, laughing. “Our company sold the very first ticket on the internet. I think back to how slow and non-functioning it must have been, but we were excited. We even beat out Ticketmaster.”

Another day, however, stands out as her favorite memory.

“I was sitting at my desk at work and got a call. It was the Queen’s computer manager. He said they needed our help,” Suzannah said. “They wanted us to install computers and software at Buckingham Palace.”

The Queen had decided to open Buckingham Palace to the public for the first time and they needed a computer networking system for ticketing and security.

“The first thing I had to do was sign a massive confidentiality agreement,” Suzannah said. “It was very exciting to go in there. We surveyed rooms, many of which have never been open to the public, to decide where to install the computers.”

While most of the work at the palace was thrilling, one day was incredibly sad.

“We were scheduled to work the day after Princess Diana died,” she said. “Everyone was very sad that day and there was just a sea of people out front grieving for her.”

The contract with Buckingham Palace led to other contracts with royal connections at Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey and Holyrood Palace.

And while her work with royalty and the global travel was thrilling, it was also exhausting. After 12 years in London, Suzannah and her husband decided they were ready for small town life.

“I’m not a big city girl at heart. I thought, “If we’re going to move to a small town, we might as well move to my small town,’” she said. “Both sides of my family have lived in Brown County since the mid-1800s.”

So, in 2002, Suzannah moved back to Brown County and took a job with her family’s real estate company, Hills O’ Brown Realty, where she worked for the next eight years.

In 2010, when IU pulled out of the Brown County Playhouse, Suzannah knew her work in the performing arts was not finished. She accepted a volunteer position as the first president of the newly formed non-profit Brown County Playhouse board of directors.

“I saw this as an opportunity to help my community.

I worked six days a week for 18 months as an unpaid volunteer. This place was essential to the community. It needed not just to be saved, but improved,” Suzannah said.

IU pulled out at the end of 2010 and by mid-2011 Suzannah and the board had the Playhouse up and running.

“We made some horrendous mistakes and we had some real successes,” she said. “We knew we needed to change the formula, but we just weren’t sure how yet. People seemed to appreciate that our work and our intent were good. We knew it was show business, and in show business you will never always get it right.”

Audiences started small, but interest grew each year, and in 2017 1,800 people attended the annual Christmas show.

“People are getting more informed about who we are and what we offer,” Suzannah said. “I think we’re a lot closer to that formula that works.”

Five years ago, the Playhouse invested in state-of-the-art movie equipment and shows current and classic films every weekend.

“I think that really filled a gap because there is no movie theater in town,” Suzannah said. “Our goal now is to have either a movie or live show Thursday through Sunday yearround.”

In 2017, the Playhouse hosted more than 350 shows, which included movies, musical theater, and live music.

“Our goal is to continue to provide entertainment that is artistically vibrant, high quality and diverse,” she said. “We are going to try new things every year so that it never gets dull or boring. “ To learn more about the Brown County Playhouse and to view a list of upcoming shows, visit <browncountyplayhouse.org>. 

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 49

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10 miles north of Nashville on scenic State Road 135

ART Beyond Crayons Creativity beyond the classroom Pick your • Art Lessons for All Ages Palette: • Group Painting Parties

• Birthday Paint Parties • Home Schooled Instruction

Judy D. Wells • owner, K–12 Licensed Educator • judydenisewells@gmail.com 59 S. Marion St. • Morgantown, IN • (317) 403-7147 Flexible hours including weekends and evenings

50 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

Check out C our full bar f Sunday Special: Bucket of Bud Light or Miller Light $9.99

Breakfast• Lunch • Dinner Open Mon.–Sat. 7 am–9 pm • Sun. 7 am–8 pm Breakfast served 7–10:30 am

329 S. SR 135 Morgantown (812) 597-5900 • www.LasChalupas.com

All New Guest Rooms and Suites with Kitchenettes

Book Your Meeting, Banquet, or Reception at our Conference Center

Travel charge $15 • Prices do not include gratuity

2450 State Road 46 East, Nashville, IN Close to Salt Creek Golf Course, Brown County State Park www.creeksideretreat.net Toll free 844-4RETREAT (844-473-8732)

GRANDPA JEFF’S

Trail Rides

NEW LOCATION: 41 S. Van Buren St. • Nashville (between the Nashville House and Out of the Ordinary)

EtherealDaySpaAndSalon.com

Hoosier Buddy Liquors Cold Beer, Fine Wines & Select Spirits Cold Beer:

Hoosier Buddy offers more than 150 different beers, including more than 80 craft, micro, and imports.

We proudly offer a wide variety of beers from Indiana’s finest brewers.

Fine Wines:

Hoosier Buddy is a wine-lovers type of store. With more than 200 wines to choose from, we’ve got something for everyone. Check out our “Affordable Imports” and “90+ Point” selections.

Relax on a journey with Grandpa Jeff. ff.

Take in the scenery and wildlife.

No two rides will ever be the same —sunny summer days, fall colors, winter snowfalls, spring blossoms.

Trail Rides, Pony Rides, Hay Rides Cattle Drives, and Custom Excursions

At least one hour notice.

Trail Ride Reservations can be made by phone, e-mail, or through our website.

Select Spirits:

Hoosier Buddy offers an ever expanding array of top-notch spirits. Our whiskey category alone includes more than 75 different choices. Whether you’re looking for a Single Barrel Bourbon or a Single Malt from Islay— we stock them.

Grandpa Jeff personally trained our horses to take exceptional care of your family and friends of all ages.

call or text www.GrandpaJeffsTrailRides.com cell (812)272-0702 info@GrandpaJeffsTrailRides.com 5889 S. Skinner Rd. Morgantown, Indiana

284 South Van Buren (next to Subway) Nashville, IN 812-988-2267

Follow us on Twitter @HoosierBuddy1 As always, Hoosier Buddy Liquors A reminds you to celebrate safe —don’t drink and drive.

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 51

Panic on Big Doubleback Creek ~by Mark Blackwell

“I

n the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to love.” —Alfred Lord Tennyson Well, that may be true for a young man, but when you’re on the downhill side of thirty-five and you own a canoe, spring means that the creeks are rising and there is fast water to paddle. And so it was, one springweek back in the waning years of the last century.

The air was bumping on 60 degrees, with warm breezes wafting up from the sunny south. Life felt worth living again. On that perfect day in early March I got a call from my long-time compadre, Clete. Before I could offer up a jaunty greeting, redolent of the happy optimism spawned by this day of vernal perfection, he asked, “Wanna go canoein’?”

I found our list of canoeing streams and the first body of water not checked off was Big Doubleback Creek. We got hold of a topographical map and looked up the whereabouts of the stream and a likely put-in location. It turned out to be about 75 miles and several counties away, so we prepared for overnight camping. We were prepared.

The next morning we loaded our gear and the canoe on the pickup and left with the dawn…or thereabouts. On the trip north I began to have the creeping suspicion that for every few miles we traveled, the air temperature was dropping. But that was all right because this hardy duo of paddlers was prepared.

We got there early and loaded the canoe. But before we pushed off, Clete thought it might be good idea to look at the map again. Well, I don’t maybe care as much for maps as I ought to and on another day I might have argued for the virtue of surprise. But, on a whim borne out of my recently acquired sense of bonhomie inspired by the spring weather, I said, “Okay.”

“I don’t remember it being quite so crooked the last time we checked,” said Clete, as we both stared at the map.

“It does look kinda bendy,” I agreed. To be honest, it had so many hairpin turns and switchbacks that it used up twenty miles goin’ ten. And some of those bends looked more treacherous than a Bloomington round-about. But Clete and me were a team of canoeing veterans. We could do it.

I pushed off. The creek was really fast, so most of our paddling efforts went into steering to keep us in the channel and away from the banks. We paddled hard but I soon noticed the air was no longer just cool. It was getting darn cold with stray flakes of snow in the air. Clete was zipping up his vest. I wrapped my poncho a little tighter.

52 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

As we made our way down stream, I was beginning to wonder if a person could get sea sick in a canoe. I decided to throw that thought out for discussion and I called out to get Clete’s attention. I got it. Clete turned his head away from the channel, away from the many hazards we had to negotiate if the trip were to be successful. I yelled at Clete again. Actually I screamed, this time to, “Look out!”

Just then, the tightest turn yet rushed at us. Clete fended off the tree roots hanging across the canoe and we tipped, but then righted and continued on around the bend. We dug our paddles in that frigid water and pulled hard to stay in the channel. But suddenly, familiar looking tree roots were beckoning again.

I was acutely gob smacked. How could those roots be here when we passed them already? Clete was yelling incoherently while he fended off the roots that were reaching out from the bank like the gnarled fingers on a giant, ancient hand! “Hang on,” I hollered. But in retrospect I should have hollered, “Let go.” While Clete was hanging on, the canoe was still in motion.

I was working hard to keep the canoe from spinning when it started shipping water and going down. I began throwing all the gear I could get my hands on up on the bank, about five feet above creek level.

Once the canoe had settled on the creek bed, Clete let go of the roots and started catching the supplies that floated his direction. We were both up to our armpits in 45 degree water and shivering so bad that we had to give up looking for things on the creek bottom. We climbed up the bank on to a fairly flat bench of wooded land. We hurriedly divvied up chores. I would gather wood and make a fire and Clete would do his best not to succumb to hypothermia.

Actually, Clete rose to the occasion and strung some rope through some bushes near a huge hollowed out Beech tree stump where I was feeding the fire I had been lucky to start.

The wood I found was nice and dry and the stump worked like a furnace. I knew we had to get out of our wet clothes or we would hypothermiate. As soon as the fire radiated a steady heat, we shucked our duds and hung them in the bushes.

That fire was a life saver, but when our fronts got warm our backs would freeze. We were spinning around like a couple of plucked chickens on a vertical rotisserie. Naked, sylvan Sufis happy to have saved ourselves we were. Right about then we heard somebody coming through the woods.

No, not somebody; somebodies.

A troop of Boy Scouts silently filed past about 30 feet from us. I desperately hoped they hadn’t seen us. But their troop leader called out in a smirky voice, “Kinda early in the season for a swim, ain’t it, boys?” For that we weren’t prepared.

Kyle Birkemeier for Brown County

COUNTY COMMISSIONER “Time for a Change” New Leadership for Brown County

by Vision, not by Crisis Break the buddy system and promote transparency Paid for by Birkemeier for Commissioner

“I will bring a fresh perspective and wide range of civil and criminal law experience to the bench.

I am committed to this community and it would be my honor to serve Brown County.”

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 53

Our

SPRING CLEAN UP April 7

9am–Noon

Document Shredding Front parking lot of Recycle Center

April 28

8am–Noon

Electronic Waste Disposal $20 Disposal Fee for TVs or Computer Monitors FFar Fa a back of property: follow signs

Unused Medicine Disposal Unus At the Drive-thru

May 18 & 19

Brown County Tire Festival

SANDWICH PLACE At the corner of Main & Van Buren Street (underneath the Nashville House) 812.988.2355

Family Friendly Menu Cooked from Scratch Breakfast • Lunch • Early Supper Build your own sandwich, burgers & dogs, daily specials Tex-Mex menu items, delicious desserts

May 18: 8am–3pm, May 19: 8am–1pm With Wi i h Ri Rim

Car Tires FREE $1 Light Truck FREE $1 Bus FREE $5 Racing Slicks/HD Truck $6 $10 Semi $6 $10 Tractor $10 $15 Call if you need pick up 812-988-0140 Brown County residents only (excludes businesses)

Call for details 812-988-0140

Breakfast Served till 11:00

Open daily at 8:30 am till slow (Closed Wed. & Thurs.)

176 Old State Road 46 • Nashville, IN browncountyrecycles.org

Visit Our Sandwich Place page Bob Knight Memorabilia and Brown County Sports

Nashville General Store & Bakery Nashville’s Unique Dining Experience (1800s Cabin)

Jams, Jellies, Preserves, Specialty Linen, Rugs, Candles Curtains, Stitcheries Antiques, Billy Jacobs Prints

118 E. Washington St. (by the creek) Nashville, IN • 812-988-6362 Open Sun.–Thurs. 9–5, Fri. 9–6, Sat. 9–7

Breakfast and Lunch BBQ, Chicken Salad, Soups, Pit Ham Cinnamon Rolls, Cobblers, Cookies, Brownies Coffees and Cappuccino

NASHVILLE GENERAL STORE EXPRESS SHUTTLE Reserve the Nashville General Store Express for your charter needs.

54 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

THE FIREPLACE CENTER

Welcome We elc to a Happy Place!

Complete line of: • Wood Stoves and Inserts • Gas Stoves and Inserts • Fireplaces Your first step to Energy INDEPENDENT LIVING 812-336-2053 1-800-344-3967

1210 W. 2nd St. Bloomington BloomingtonFireplaces.com

Old and Young Love this Shop!

•Brown County Souvenirs •Garden Flags •Yard Art Jackson Creek Village across from Casa Del Sol •Haitian/Mexican Metal Art on Washington in Nashville •T-Shirts •Toys •Gifts (812) 988-2725 •Concrete Statuary •Collectibles

2OFF

$

Three floors of hands-on learning and fun!

with ad up to 4 people, exp. 12/31/18 not valid with any other offer

OBC0118

Locally built instruments and affordable student models meticulously displayed, making this little music store a destination point in Brown County Lovingly owned and operated by

Kara Barnard and Kristin Thompson

musicians, instructors and instrument adoption specialists

58 E. Main Nashville, IN—Look for BANJO by courthouse

812-200-3300 • www.weedpatchmusicshop.com

Where kids play to learn and adults learn to play!

Tues.–Sat. 10–5, Sun. 1–5

309 Washington St. Columbus, IN

Downtown Columbus, a short drive from Nashville

www.kidscommons.org • 812-378-3046

CARMEL CORN COTTAGE Books, Teepees, and Toys for Tots through Teens

New Oriental Ice Cream New Popcorn Flavors

Double Dipped Bacon Popcorn Pickle Popcorn

Sweet Treats Teacher Loyalty Program You can’t spoil children with too many books!

In the Main Street Shoppes, Nashville, IN Old School Way (directly behind Heritage Mall) Opening Martinsville location (on the square) May 2018 fablesandfairytales.com

Carmel Coated Peanuts Chocolate Coated Bacon Strips Carmel Coated Bacon Strips

Free Samples

Show this ad & receive a FREE small drink or Caramel Puff with popcorn purchase.

Look for the red & white building at the north end of town

812-988-6011 • CarmelCornCottage.com March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 55

• FLAT SCREEN TVs to watch your favorite sports • GREAT MENU: sandwiches, appetizers, & salads • FULL BAR w/GREAT DRINK SPECIALS every day • LIVE ENTERTAINMENT most Friday & Saturday nights • KIDS always welcome until 9pm • KIDS Menu • Outdoor Seating

Open 7 days a week

Located on the lower level at Salt Creek Golf Course • 2359 State Rd. 46 E., Nashville 812-988-4323 • View full menu & entertainment schedule @ www.saltcreekgolf.com

Get away in comfort

The Overlook Lodge Full size living room, dining area, kitchen and a deck or patio

Every room has an outstanding view of the golf course and Brown County State Park

One or two bedroom units with the luxuries of home Great rates

A Condominium-Style Hotel

Golf packages available

2359 State Road 46 East 2.5 miles east of Nashville

Stay one night or long term

812.988.7888 SaltCreekGolf.com Visit us at Facebook/SaltCreekGolf

56 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

Seasonal outdoor pool & hot tub 18 hole golf course Driving range & pro shop 19th Hole Sports Bar & Grille

52ND ANNUAL BILL MONROE’S

8 Big Days Over 60 Bands

BEAN BLOSSOM

BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL JUNE 9 THRU JUNE 16 2018 BACK HOME AGAIN IN INDIANA

THE MECCA OF BLUEGRASS MUSIC

SATURDAY, JUNE 9

SUNDAY, JUNE 10

MONDAY, JUNE 11

TUESDAY, JUNE 12

Darrell Webb Band Tommy Brown & County Line Grass The Grascals Dale Ann Bradley Tommy Sells & Big Country Bluegrass Steve Gulley & New Pinnacle Remington Ryde Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mtn Boys

The Malpass Brothers Brother John Bowman Tommy Brown & County Line Grass The Churchmen Seldom Scene Danny Paisley & The Southern Grass Flatt Lonesome Joe Mullins & Radio Ramblers

Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa

David Parmley & Cardinal Tradition Little Roy & Lizzy Show

Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper The Moron Brothers Sideline Farm Hands Feller & Hill & The Bluegrass Buckaroos Blue Highway

Cumberland Gap Connection

FREE TRADITIONAL BEAN DINNER

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13

THURSDAY, JUNE 14

FRIDAY, JUNE 15

Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show Trinity River Po’ Ramblin’ Boys Larry Stephenson Band The McLain Family Band Hammertowne Special Consensus

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder Band of Ruhks Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out Blue Mafia Dave Adkins Band Kevin Prater Band Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice Special Consensus

Sound By: Tom Feller & GBS Productions Emcees: Legendary Tommy Lamb and Jamie Johnson ALL CHILDREN 16 YEARS & UNDER MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT. RESERVED ON-SITE HOOK UP CAMPING AVAILABLE, WATER & ELECTRIC HOOKUPS: 30AMP: $21/DAY; 50AMP: $26/DAY. DOUBLE OCCUPANCY: 8-DAY MIN. REQUIRED. PRIMITIVE TENT SITES: $9 PER PERSON/DAY. TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED FOR EVERY DAY OF CAMPING. ALL ACTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE-NO REFUNDS. SHOWS GO ON RAIN OR SHINE, NO ALCOHOL, DRUGS, PETS, LARGE COOLERS, GLASS CONTAINERS, GOLF CARTS, ATV’S IN CONCERT AREA

PRICES 8 DAYCOMBO 3 DAY COMBO SAT SUN MON TUE/WED THUR/FRI

Audie Blaylock & Redline David Davis & Warrior River Boys

ClayBank

SATURDAY, JUNE 16

Asleep At The Wheel Larry Sparks & Lonesome Ramblers Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver Rickey Wasson Band Terry Baucom’s Dukes of Drive Flashback (J.D. Crowe Tribute Band) Chris Jones & The Night Drivers Paul Williams & Victory Trio Larry Efaw & Bluegrass Mountaineers Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time Kenny & Amanda Smith Bobby Osborne & Rocky Top X-press FREE MATER SANDWICHES Rickey Wasson Band IN MEMORY OF JAMES KING ADVANCED By 6/1/18 $ 200 $ 100 $ 35 $ 20 $ 25 $ 30 $ 35

GATE $ 250 $ 115 $ 40 $ 25 $ 30 $ 35 $ 40

ADMISSION INCLUDES • Bluegrass Hall of Fame, Museum & Uncle Pen’s Cabin Tour • Traditional Bean Supper (TUE) • Music Instrument & Vocal Workshop Stage (DAILY) • Mater Sandwiches by Junior Sisk (FRI)

Sponsors: Central Indiana Bluegrass Association, Miss Dixie Hall's Foundation, and Moonstruck Media

BILL MONROE MUSIC PARK & CAMPGROUND 5163 State Road 135 North • Morgantown, IN 46160 • beanblossombg@hotmail.com For ticket and camping information visit: www.beanblossom.us or call (800) 414-4677 • (812) 988-6422 Directions: I-65 to Exit #68 Columbus, IN to Highway 46 W to Nashville, IN to SR 135N towards Morgantown for 5 Miles

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 57

#1 Rated on TripAdvisor

Lightspinner STUDIO

Martha Sechler

Custom gift certificates for all occasions

Unique Watercolors Mixed Media Gourd Art 4460 Helmsburg Rd. Nashville, IN • 812-988-7379 Open whenever home. Call ahead.

Old McDurbin % Gold & 50 Gifts

OFFLRY E JEW

Customized

• Anklets • Bracelets • Necklaces

Watches Sterling Silver 1000’s of Pendants Rings 58 E. Main Street (next to courthouse)

Fawn Hill Rustic Home Décor

Lamps, Lanterns, Candles, Wreaths, Pillows, Bags, Shirts Picture Frames and more...

In the Artists Colony Shops - Upstairs (Elevator Available) 125 S. Van Buren St. • Nashville, IN • 812-200-3200

Visit our website for best deals and availability: cornerstoneinn.com

888-383-0300 • 54 e. franklin st. downtown nashville

58 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

Salted Nuts R d Roasted Daily

C Cinnamon Roasted Almonds & Pecans

C ashe ncy Mix epitas Peanuts Cashews, Fancy Mix, P Pepitas, Delicious Candies - Homemade Fudge Mail Orders - 812-988-7480

S.Van Buren (Shopper's Lane) Nashville

BROWN COUNTY P E R F O R M I N G

A R T S

C E N T E R

TWO COUNTRY LEGENDS! April 14

April 28

Asleep at the Wheel

Pam Tillis Acoustic Show

10 time Grammy winners return!

Texas country at its very best with Ray Benson and his full-size band

Performing with an all-woman trio featuring guitars and fiddles

March 9 & 10, 16 & 17

March 24

April 21

May 11 & 12, 18 & 19 · 7:30 pm May 20 · 2 pm

Twist the Night Away

Shimmy and Shake

Brown County Bluegrass Bash

Broadway Remembered

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND MOVIES 812.988.6555 · BrownCountyPlayhouse.org

Movie Events

and the latest releases

THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY, EXCEPT FOR SPECIAL EVENTS

Showtimes 7:30 pm · Tickets & schedule online · Beer, wine, champagne & concessions available Box Office: Thursday–Sunday | 70 S. Van Buren · Nashville, IN

BROWN COUNTY

Hometown Proud Local Grocery Store Serving Beautiful Brown County Since 1975!

• Certified Angus Beef • Large Beer and Wine Sections • Organic Grocery • Dairy • Picnic Supplies • Produce • Full Service Bakery/Deli • Frozen • Custom Cake Decorating • Wine • Custom Deli Trays, Veggie Trays, Fruit Baskets, and Gift Baskets Ever-Growing Selection of Gluten-Free Products 30 Hawthorne Dr. • Nashville • East SR 46 at light • 812-988-4546 March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 59

SERVICES

60 Our Brown County • March/April 2018

AUTO - TIRE, REPAIR, TOW

ANTIQUES

Plum Creek Antiques Open-Air Market Bean Blossom

• Fruit Jars • Garden Art • Furniture • Iron Things, • Lots of Junk and more 5 minutes north of Nashville (intersection of SR 135 & SR 45)

(812) 988-6268

BANKING NAME YOUR CATEGORY

Serving the Community for over 100 years

TIRE

Brown County Tire 24 hr. Wrecker Service

&

812-988-8473

Auto Repair

27 Salt Creek Rd (Intersection SR 46) Nashville BAGGED TRASH DROP OFF

BANKING

The Strength of Big, The Service of Small 189 Commercial Drive, Nashville, IN 47448 812.988.1200

Contact us today for all your banking needs

www.psbanywhere.com 41 S. Hawthorne Dr. Nashville, IN 47448 (812) 988-6633

$2 Bag • Salt Creek Plaza • Nashville Mon.–Sat. 7:30 am–7:00 pm, Sun 10:00 am–4:00 pm

CAMPGROUND / STORAGE

Bill Monroe Music Park and Campground One Southern Indiana's largest campgrounds STORAGE • Over 55 acres with walking trails • 2 dump stations • Over 300 water/electric sites • 30 amp and 50 amp hookups • Over 300 tent sites • Camping cabin rentals

• Wi-Fi • Heated/AC showerhouse • Laundry facility • Stocked fishing lake

Just five miles from Nashville , IN

AUTO RESTORATION - COLLISION Free Mobile Estimates

10 x 10 $60/mth 10 x 20 $80/mth Camper & RV $1/day

(812) 988-STOR

CONSTRUCTION

WALTMAN CONSTRUCTION CO. Owens-Corning Preferred Contractor

LLicensed and Insured • 15 years total replacement warranty for roofs available Auto Restoration

When accidents happen, give us a call.

Don Waltman

Roof Coatings, Metal/Shingle Roofs, Remodels, Ro Power Washing and Sealing, Barns, (812) 327-1994 Garages, Decks, Siding, Windows and Doors, waltmanconst@aol.com G and all construction needs and services!

References Available

INSURANCE

Insurance Collision Center Family Owned & Operated since 1976

4555 Old 46

(5 miles east of Nashville in Gnaw Bone)

www.webbsrestoration.com

812-988-6716

DIRECTORY

March/April 2018 • Our Brown County 61

LANDSCAPING

HEALTH

VALUABLE COUPON • Mulching - Seeding NEED HELP? • Weeding - Pruning • Tree / Shrub Planting • Fences - Walkways • Retaining Walls • Mowing / Trimming (812) 988-7232 • Flower / Herb Beds

146 E. Main St., Nashville

812-988-9890

We Can Do It All!

Complete Landscaping/ Design Services

HEALTH FOR “U” H Mon.–Sat. 10–5

facebook.com/healthforu1604

Limit 1.

Must have coupon for discount. Expires 12/31/18.

(4, 16, or 32 oz.)

Save $ S $2.00 2 00 on R Roll-On, ll O Gel, G l Spray S Indiana Amish Natural Chickens and Indiana Raw Honey sold here! Also, Bison and Elk.

PLUMBING

YOUR AD HERE

Dunham Plumbing Co., Inc.

SERVICES DIRECTORY

Licensed Plumbing Contractor • Bonded • Insured #CO89000011 Repair, Remodel, Pump Service, Water Conditioning Drain Cleaning, Water Heaters

812-988-0248 • Nashville, IN • Since 1981 REAL ESTATE

Reach both LOCALS and TOURISTS

Single Block $50 Double Block 70 2 or more 5% OFF annual 15% OFF REAL ESTATE

Team

T Marg and Brenda Team The i Your Brown County Team is

812-988-4485

www.MargAndBrendaTeam.com 10 Artist Drive, P.O. Box 1609 Nashville, IN 47448 Marg DeGlandon CSSS, CDPR Brenda Longtin CSSS, CDPR Broker/Owner Associate Broker Cell: 812-360-4083 • margd@remax.net Cell: 812-360-3889 • shaht@mibor.net

812-988-2227 callcarpenter.com

SAWMILL

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Helmsburg Sawmill

Logging to Lumber

Inc.

Pool Enterprises, Inc.

Custom Log Home Lumber Packages ~ Posts ~ Beams Rafters ~ Barn Siding ~ Board & Batten ~ Firewood Mulch ~ Sawdust ~ Buyers of Standing Timber

812-988-6161

www.helmsburgsawmill.com • helmsburgsawmill@gmail.com facebook.com/helmsburgsawmillinc

WELLNESS

BROWN COUNTY YMCA Swimming Pool

Personal Training Fitness Center Swim Lessons Gymnasium Day Camp Exercise Classes Climbing Wall

FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT FOR HEALTHY LIVING FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Open at 5:30 a.m. Mon.–Fri.

BUY 1 GUEST PASS, GET 1 FREE 1 per person, expires 12/31/18

812-988-9622 • www.browncountyymca.org

Keyed IN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Let us find your next door.

Property management for rentals for a month or longer.

Let us find a rental for you or manage your property.

Call for listings or free estimates.

812-720-7022

Going Viral in 1918 ~by Julia Pearson

I

t has been one hundred years since the Great Flu Pandemic, which struck late in the spring of 1918.

The hand of history recorded that World War I claimed an estimated 16 million lives. The worldwide influenza epidemic claimed an estimated 50 million people. Within months more people were downed by this deadly virus, with victims including many young adults along with the elderly and young children. Rampant in urban and rural areas, the flu afflicted a quarter of the population of the United States, with the average life expectancy lowered by 12 years. Cemeteries have clusters of headstones with death dates of this time. In family bibles, neat rows of family members’ passings during 1918 document the tragic impact of influenza.

This scourge emerged in two phases. The first phase showed up in the late spring and was known as the “three day fever.” It struck victims without warning and they recovered after a few days. The disease resurfaced in the fall, striking fast and viciously.

Some victims died within hours of the appearance of symptoms; others succumbed after a few days. Fluid filled their lungs and suffocated them to death.

In Indiana the Great Pandemic officially lasted from September 1918 to February 1919, with a second wave of severe respiratory illness the following winter as well. The exact date the flu was first recognized within the state was September 20, 1918.

This health disaster marched from the southwest tip of the state in Evansville to Indianapolis five days later. The Indiana State Board of Health issued an order warning of the pandemic to all county and city health officers.

Preventive measures called for the exclusion of those with colds from public gatherings. The following week,

the Board of Health imposed a ban on all public gatherings. Churches opened for prayer but not large services. Public funerals were banned.

Coughs and sneezes were to be stifled with handkerchiefs, while Evansville enacted an anti-spitting ordinance. In Indianapolis, schools were closed and it was mandatory to wear masks in the marketplace and on streetcars, as well as in offices and factories. Halloween parties were banned. Newspapers everywhere carried ads for Dr. Jones’ Liniment, Mendenhall’s Chill and Fever Tonic, and Father John’s Medicine.

Surely the mandated health measures limited its impact: about 25% of the national population was afflicted compared to Indiana where 12% were touched by the disease.

Brown County had several doctors to help it through this mean chapter.

Dr. Selfridge was in Helmsburg during 1917–1929. He is immortalized in a ditty that can be found in Brown County Remembers, published by the Brown County Historical Society: In 1920 Dr. Selfridge gave us whiskey for the mean old flu; He drank it too.

He went far and wide to get a baby, At evening tide.

He drove a great horse, Which he called Marie.

She could pace a blue streak, Before she came to Bean Blossom Creek.

Dr. Alfred J. Ralphy, a native son of Nashville and who practiced the art of

medicine in Brown County, travelled many miles to treat flu patients with medicines he carried in his medical bag that set just in front of his saddle.

He lived in New Bellsville at the time of the flu epidemic. His daughter, Gladys Ralphy Whitaker, remembered that her father “never lost even one patient. He didn’t get the flu himself but the strain weakened him for the rest of his life.” He died at age 74 years in 1928. Ralphy’s actual medical office from that era is now preserved on the northeast corner of the Pioneer Village museum complex in Nashville.

There were several midwives in the county who helped with neighbors’ illnesses as well as delivering babies.

They could arrive by buggy, horseback, or walking in less time than it would take doctors to travel to a homebound patient.

It is interesting to note that the first inoculations against communicable disease given to children in Brown County schools took place a little more than a decade later, at Needmore in 1932. Drs. John Luzzaders, father and son, came to the school and administered antitoxin furnished by the federal government. They received 50 cents per child and parents of twenty-three children wanted the inoculations. The following school year, the families of Clarence Robertson and Ira Chitwood had diphtheria in their homes. None of the children who had been vaccinated came down with diphtheria. The deaths of a teacher and two children the next year made vaccinations more widely accepted.

A few years later a couple children who moved into the Needmore school became seriously ill with smallpox.

The entire school had been exposed.

Most of the parents agreed to have their children vaccinated and Dr. Harry Murphy of Morgantown was called. For a charge of 50 cents each the students were vaccinated for smallpox. 

HOTEL NASHVILLE Darlene’s at Hotel Nashville

Upscale Dining in a Casual Atmosphere Serving Dinner with Full Bar Service Thurs. 5 to 8 pm, Fri. & Sat. 5 to 9 pm

• Suites, Studios, Hot Tubs • Restaurant and Bar • Indoor Pool, Sauna, Whirlpool • Conference Facilities • Weddings and Receptions • Special Getaway Packages

Menu Features: Steaks, Seafood, Pasta, Chicken, Burgers, Appetizers, Soups and Salads

Reserve your Special Party now!

Meetings and Banquets Catering in your home or other venue Weddings and Receptions

245 N. Jefferson St., Nashville (812) 988-8400 • (800) 848-6274 www.hotelnashville.com

BRICK LODGE NORTH HOUSE • Accommodates 8 Guests • 3 Bedrooms and 2 1/2 Baths • Cable TV–DVD Player • Fully-Equipped Kitchen • Central Heat and Air • Electric Fireplace • Secluded Hot Tub • Gas Grill

• Accommodates 8 Guests • 2 Bedrooms and 2 Baths • Game Room w/ Pool Table • Cable TV–DVD Player • Fully-Equipped Kitchen • Central Heat and Air • Gas Fireplace • Gas Grill • Outdoor Hot Tub

194 N. Van Buren St., Nashville (812) 988-6429 www.northhousegetaway.com

1878 N. State Rd. 135, Nashville (812) 988-6429 www.bricklodge.com

Nashville

Fudge Kitchen

…so much more than fudge!

Our shop is bursting with flavor!

WATCH US MAKE…

Our Creamy Fudge · Gourmet Popcorn All Natural Gelato · Seasonal Treats An old-fashioned candy store loaded with all of your favorite treats!

We have the largest selection of Fudge, Popcorn, Candies, Ice Cream and Gelato in Brown County, Indiana.

{ Old Fashioned Since 1983 } ! line e N O er her Ord Anyw ! d hip S orl e W W e h in t

175 South Van Buren · Nashville, IN 47448 812.988.0709

NashvilleFudgeKitchen.com

FREE BOX OF REGULAR POPCORN with this ad