beaconJan2020

Page 8B THE BEACON January 2020
The Harrison Five Green Team
HARRISON
By
Elizabeth
Janszen
Community
Correspondent
harrison@goBEACONnews.com
Happy Holidays!
The people of our little town
haven’t had much to write
home about when it comes to
football. Until now! In fact,
the last time Harrison’s Varsity
team was in a state semi-final
was 1988. As I write this
piece, the boys in green are
gearing up for their major
matchup against LaSalle,
and I’m sending them all the
luck. Win or lose, the Harrison
Varsity team has much
to be proud of this season.
In addition to their success,
they’ve played the last games
on a grass surface in Harrison,
as the stadium will be transformed
to a turf field by next
season.
Looking up to those varsity
players are the boys in the
HYF organization. The fifth
grade Green Team recently
traveled to Owensboro, Kentucky,
to play in the Kentucky
Cup, and although they came
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home without the title, they
are all winners in my book.
Harrison’s City Elections
took place in November, and
Mayor Bill Neyer remains
in office for another two
years. Other officials elected
were Jean Wilson, Ryan
Samuel, and Anthony Egner,
elected to City Council. Doug
Lohman was elected as the
Crosby Township Trustee, and
Matthew Wallace was elected
as Crosby Township’s Fiscal
Officer. William Noes was
chosen as the Harrison Township
Trustee, with Richard
Dole as the Fiscal Officer.
Whitewater Township elected
Guy Schaible as Trustee and
James Brett as their Fiscal
Officer. The Harrison Fire/
EMS Levy passed, and we
elected Jeff Biddle, Linda
Peak, and Tricia Evanson to
the Southwest Local School
Board.
As always, I’d like to
remind everyone that the holidays
are a time to reach out to
your neighbors in need. There
are several food pantries in
our community, in addition to
many churches willing to help.
Have something fun to share
for February? I’d love to hear
it! Email me at harrison@
goBEACONnews.com
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Communities
LOGAN
By
Susan
Carson
Community
Correspondent
logan@goBEACONnews.com
At the Barn Winery,
opened in July of 2013, is a
local hotspot in Logan from
spring through December.
The owners, Donnie and
Debbie Stutz, are fellow
graduates of North Dearborn
High School (one year behind
me and Donnie’s sister,
Barb). You guess when.
The barn was built in 1870
by Donnie’s great-grandfather,
James Jacques. The
original property was about
thirty to forty acres and was
a regular working farm with
milk cows, horses, chickens,
etc. Jacques’ daughter,
Edna, married Lester
White and lived next to the
barn. They had a daughter
Thelma Jean, who married
Vernon Stutz and lived next
door to them. Thelma Jean
is Donnie’s mother and, at
97, is the reigning queen
of Logan! In 1992 Donnie
MANCHESTER
By
Lisa
West
Community
Correspondent
manchester@goBEACONnews.com
Even though winter is upon
us, the youth and leaders
of our local Manchester 4H
organization are hard at work.
Our community is fortunate
to have a successful 4H club,
The Manchester Rowdies.
This group is part of a U.S.
4H non-profit organization,
whose mission is to “Engage
youth to reach their fullest
potential while advancing the
field of youth development.”
(per their published mission
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A sideboard from Donnie’s
great-grandfather’s wagon.
bought the last ten remaining
acres of the farm. He
had always had an interest
in wine-making, so in 2003,
he started fixing up the barn.
While cleaning the barn and
doing the necessary repairs,
he found an old piece of
wood with “James Jacques”
painted on it. Donnie tells
me it is a sideboard from the
wagon his great-grandfather
used to take produce to market
(probably in Harrison).
A newer piece of history is
the Logan Methodist Church
stained glass window that
was saved from the church
at the time of the merger
of the Bright and Logan
churches.
But the most fun is the
scoreboard from the North
Dearborn School (High or
Elementary depending on
your age). The scoreboard
was bought at auction at ND
when it closed a couple of
years ago by their daughters
as a gift. It turns out it was
a gift to many of us. Donnie
doesn’t keep score of how
much you drink, BUT if the
language of the customers
gets a little too rough, Donnie
pushes the “foul” button,
and a loud buzzer goes
off, calling attention to the
offender. He keeps pushing
the button until the language
subsides. All in good fun!
Several of their wines
have won awards in contests
around the country, as
shown in the photo taken
in front of their display
shelves. Donnie and Debbie
would like to thank Mike
and Diane Bender, whose
Logan Supermart is conveniently
located across the
street. The Winery doesn’t
sell food, but customers are
welcome to bring in snacks
of their own and frequently
buy from the Supermart.
Cheers!
Autumn Mitchel doing a sheep demonstration at a Manchester
Rowdies 4-H meeting.
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The Logan Methodist Church
stained glass window.
statement).
We are not sure how the
Manchester club was named
the ‘Rowdies,’ but we can
guess that it was because
of the fun they have! Their
activities center around the
care and upbringing of farm
animals and pets, as well as
projects involving woodworking,
mechanics, farming,
domestic skills, arts, photography,
crafts, wildlife, and
many more. Members can
explore dozens of areas. They
get hands-on training from
the club leaders and other 4H
peers. Experts from the community
also share knowledge.
The highlight of their year is
the local Dearborn County
4H Fair held in June, and the
Indiana State 4H Fair held in
August. The 4H members can
show the fruits of their labor,
with week-long competitions,
shows, and other activities.
I recently spoke with their
leader of thirty-six years,
Rachel Thies. She shared that
4H youth learn lifelong skills
about responsibility to their
animals/projects, their parents,
the fellow 4H kids, and
their clubs. They learn how
to carefully follow directions
on projects to achieve the best
outcome. They learn how to
receive constructive criticism
and improve from that criticism.
Rachel shared, “I love
working with the kids and
seeing their creativity in projects,
and their devotion and
responsibility to their projects.
I love seeing older kids teaching
younger kids how to have
more success with their work.
I love walking through the fair
barn and seeing kids ‘showing’
their animals to fairgoers
and how their faces light up as
they talk about their animals.
It never gets old.”
The Manchester Rowdies
4H group has started up again
for the upcoming 2020 fair.
They meet the first Monday
of each month, 7:00 P.M., at
the church at the corner of
Possum Ridge and State Road
48. Youth from kindergarten
through second grade join
the Cloverbuds 4H group;
third graders and older join
as regular 4H members. They
welcome families from our
Manchester community as
well as surrounding areas.
At the meetings, the kids
perform demonstrations to
help each other learn about
some of the projects that are
exhibited at the fair. During
the year, the club participates
in many volunteer activities
such as Love the Hungry food
packaging event, helping
prepare and serve meals at the
First Presbyterian Church in
Aurora, and doing the same at
the Hamline Church in Lawrenceburg.
If you are interested in
joining 4H, please attend a
meeting or contact Rachel
Thies 513-509-7855 for more
information.
Twenty-five Years of Bringing our Community and Businesses Together.