Freshen up your home this Fall •the Destination • new albany bicentennial • hayswooD theatre
Living
Te BEST of Southern Indiana
September/October 2012
S outhern I ndIana
Don’t miss our
biggest issue yet!
NEW! in this issue:
A Walk in
the Garden
Meet the woman who
was blessed by cancer
Once Upon A Farm
the brewers prove Family Farms Don’t have to Die
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SOUTHERN INDIANA
Living
in THIS issue
September/October 2012
SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2012
VOL. 5, ISSUE 5
Features
On the Cover
Once upon a farm • 34
PUBLISHER | Karen Hanger
karen@silivingmag.com
EDITOR IN CHIEF &
CREATIVE DIRECTOR |
Abby Laub
abby@silivingmag.com
A blessing of cancer • 14
Treasures and simple
pleasures • 18
Living the sweet life • 21
18
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING | Sandy Payne
sandy@silivingmag.com, 502.322.7703
SALES REPRESENTATIVE | Kimberly Hanger
kimberly@silivingmag.com
DISTRIBUTION | Jim Hamilton, Chase Scott, Dana Scott,
Summer Whelan
CONTRIBUTORS | Sam Bowles, Jason Byerly, Lee Cable,
Sara Combs, Bob Hill, Michelle Hockman, Kathy Melvin,
Elise Walter, Randy West, Laci Tucker
Nothing chilly about it • 22
Making a splash at Great
Wolf Lodge • 28
Things look bright at White Cloud Window • 39
Acting out and selling tickets • 42
Regulars
A walk in the garden with Bob Hill • 7
Top 10 easy home improvements • 8
Flashback • 48
Everyday Adventures • 50
Contact SIL
P.O. Box 145
Marengo, IN 47140
812.989.8871
karen@silivingmag.com
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Living, P.O. Box 145, Marengo, IN 47140
SUBMISSIONS | Do you have a story idea or photo opportunity?
E-mail abby@silivingmag.com for our submission guidelines.
Not all will be accepted.
SNAPSHOTS | We invite you to submit a photo of yourself
reading Southern Indiana Living in an interesting place. E-mail
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ADVERTISING | Take advantage of prime advertising space.
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Southern Indiana Living is published bimonthly by SIL Publishing Co.
LLC, P.O. Box 145, Marengo, Ind. 47140. Any views expressed in any advertisement,
signed letter, article, or photograph are those of the author
and do not necessarily re¾ect the position of Southern Indiana Living
or its parent company. Copyright © 2012 SIL Publishing Co. LLC. No
part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written
permission from SIL Publishing Co. LLC.
September/October 2012 • 4
BOUNCE BACK.
Michelle actively teaches others to reach their personal fitness
goals. When a serious back injury threatened to keep her
from training, she turned to the world-renowned experts at
Norton Leatherman Spine Center. They helped her get back in
the gym – and back to what matters. If you suffer from a serious
neck or back injury, call the experts at Norton Leatherman
Spine Center.
FOr MOrE INFOrMATION,
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vISIT NORTONLeaTheRmaN.cOm.
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pATIENT
Restoring lives.
silivingmag.com • 5
For nearly a year, I had the privilege of
serving as the Editor of this Àne publication,
and what a joy it has been. My
academic pursuits are now taking me
across the river and back into the classroom,
and I’ve realized I simply would not be able
to give the magazine the time or attention it
needs from an editor.
Fortunately, I will still be close enough that
I can continue to contribute, as I am able, and
I know the magazine will be in wonderful
hands with our Publisher Karen Hanger and
Creative Director Abby Laub sharing the editorial
roles and responsibilities.
I believe Southern Indiana is an incredibly
special place, and I think we as residents are
blessed to have a publication devoted to sharing
the personal stories of the people that
make it so wonderful. I look forward to continuing
to share in those stories in the years
to come.
All the best,
Sam C Bowles
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September/October 2012 • 6
A Walk in the Garden
with Bob Hill
Southern Indiana gardeners who
have endured this summer’s heat
and drought – and are now perhaps
looking over their shoulders
for the advancing plague of locusts – can
Ànd solace in one shrub in their autumn
gardens that always lives up to its name,
the beautyberry.
Not surprisingly the beautyberry’s
Latin name is Callicarpa, from the Greek
“kallos” for beautiful and “carpa” for
fruit. Along with that beauty it’s easily
planted from containers, needs only average
soil, can take full sun to light shade
and oers great, arching clusters of stunning
metallic-purple berries that will
stop Àrst-time viewers in their tracks.
In fact, here at Hidden Hill Nursery
that’s exactly the way it’s used; as a show
stopper; a What-is-THAT? plant. Planted
in groups in the shrub border, or to be
seen as you round a corner wondering
what might come next, the eect is even
stronger.
Good gardens should reward the owners
– and the guests. If beautyberries
planted near the deciduous hollies (Ilex
verticillata) such as “Winter Red” with
its stunning red fruit in late fall, the combination
might even allow you to forget
– at least temporarily – the July-August
water bills.
The key to making all that work is to
think about that parade of fall color when
planning the garden in March and April.
It takes a little training. The beautyberry
is quiet then; you’d never buy one in a
nursery or online unless you knew what
promises it would keep that fall.
The beautyberry does o er some small
pinkish-white Áowers in early summer,
but it’s mostly mute, even nondescript
as the other shrubs kick in; roses, viburnums,
spirea and hydrangeas. So don’t
plant it near the front door; just pick the
best spot in the yard where it can be enjoyed
later. Then, just when you need
late-summer color the spectacular purple
fruit appears.
The beautyberry is also user friendly.
It blooms on new wood making the
pruning very easy; just cut it back in the
spring. If you want your shrubs to reach
their full, arching six-foot potential keep
the pruners away for a year or two – but
eventually it will need to be trimmed,
shaped or, yes, taken down to knee level
for a total rejuvenation.
We all sort of need that anyway.
The shrub does require well-drained
soil. Beyond that it’s carefree; very few
diseases or insects will bother it. When
the berries fade in late fall after about a
month of glory, just trim them o or cut
back the plant.
There are four di erent species of
beautyberry o ering di erent shades of
purple, or clustered in di erent ways.
There are even white ones, although I’ve
never found them as interesting or attractive.
The American beautyberry (Callicarpa
americana) – a native – is loose, open and
has bright purple berries, but is borderline
hardy here. The more colorful species
are the Asian cultivars; japonica from
Japan and dichotoma and bodinieri from
China. My favorites are of the dichotoma
species.
Of those, look for the “Early Amethyst”
Photo courtesy Lady Bird
Johnson WildÀower Center,
Joseph A. Marcus
Beautyberries:
Perfect name for a perfect plant
which produces a smaller purple berry a
little earlier, and the “Issai,” my favorite,
which o ers hundreds of those metallicpurple
berries on mounded shrubs.
A newer cultivar, “Duet,” has variegated
foliage with white berries – which
does make the plant more interesting
during its formative stages – and may be
able to sing for its supper.
The bodinieri cultivar “Profusion” is
even more erect, up to 10 feet in height,
with glossy bluish fruit that will gather
in clumps along the stems rather than in
long, graceful purple pearls.
If you want a nice mix – and some
more enduring color – mix in some Early
Amethyst with the other cultivars.
Then you can go pay your water bills.
Bob Hill owns
Hidden Hill
Nursery and can
be reached at
farmerbob@
hiddenhillnursery.
com.
silivingmag.com • 7
Top 10:
Easy, InExpEnsIvE HomE ImprovEmEnT projEcTs
Story // Elise Walter
If your kitchen hasn’t been updated in years, try replacing the cabinet hardware. Go a step
1 further by upgrading your faucet and outdated lighting.
In the bathroom, install a new toilet seat. Also consider putting down new vinyl Áooring –
2 sometimes you can even apply it right over the old Áoor. Finally, a new shower curtain, bath
mats, and towels can make the room feel new for very little money.
A fresh coat of paint is a great way to freshen up any room. If you might try to sell your
3 house soon, consider choosing a neutral color that will appeal to buyers.
Paint your front door an eye-catching color and consider adding new hardware. To create
4 an even friendlier entrance, assemble some containers Àlled with Áowers, vines, grasses,
and so on. Some garden centers even sell containers that are already planted if you’d rather not
design your own.
Outside, give attention to your landscape by trimming shrubs and edging beds
5
For inside or outside deep cleaning, rent a carpet cleaner or a power washer. Sometimes a
6 good scrubbing reveals that your home looks better than you thought. While you’re at it,
wash the windows, too.
Add charm to your home with decorative molding or trim. Home improvement stores sell
7 kits that are easy to use and can add visual interest to a room.
Get rid of clutter by throwing away, donating, or saving items and coming up with solutions
8 for the messiest areas of the house (junk drawer, entryway, kitchen table, and so on.). You
might even rediscover a great item you forgot about!
Rearrange furniture in the living or family room or move an item from one room to another.
9 This is a quick way to make a room feel di erent and new without spending money.
Incorporate new accessories like pillows, mirrors, art, and lamps. Or consider replacing
10 your window treatments. Several retail stores o er beautiful decorating accessories at
very reasonable prices.
September/October 2012 • 8
silivingmag.com • 9
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Come visit their diamond gallery and see why.
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September/October 2012 • 10
S
theS
Behind
torie
tones
Historic Fairview Cemetery tour to showcase New Albany’s history.
Te Second Annual “STORIES BEHIND THE STONES” Historic Fairview
Cemetery Tour. New Albany’s upcoming Bicentennial Celebration in 2013
is an opportunity for people to learn frst-hand about New Albany’s notables
and ordinary citizens in its early days. Te Bicentennial Commission’s
Living History Committee will portray citizens and recreate stories from
New Albany’s past. Tis is an entertaining and educational walk through
Fairview Cemetery on Sept. 21 and 22. Te one-hour tours will begin every
15 minutes between 6 and 9 p.m. To purchase tickets, please call Patty
Hughes at 812-945-7601.
Fairview Cemetery was established in the early 1840’s and was frst called
the Northern Burial Grounds. Today, Fairview Cemetery is 65 plus acres
and contains over 30,000 grave sites. Many of New Albany’s frst families
are buried in Fairview Cemetery.
Come aboard to join City of New Albany
Bicentennial Commission and
New Albany Mayor Jef Gahan
in celebrating the release of
“New Albany, Indiana:
By the River’s Edge”
Tursday, October 4, 2012
Te Grand
138 E. Market Street, New Albany
Social Hour – 6:00 pm
Dinner-7:00 pm
Program and Entertainment– 8:00 pm
Featuring a book review by special guest,
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Robin Hood
and Esteemed history author James A. Crutchfeld.
Honorable J. Terrence Cody, Emcee
Tere are only 200 copies of this limited edition, leather-bound, artist
signed, full color volume commemorating the 200th anniversary of
the founding of New Albany, Indiana in 1813. It is available at a cost of
$200 and includes two admissions to the special release celebration on
Tursday, October 4.
For further information, contact Rosalie Dowell at grdowell@insightbb.
com or 812-949-1049 or Connie Sipes at clsipes@insightbb.com or
812-948-2319.
snapshots
Earlier in the year, Corporal
Richard Gething (British Army),
pictured above, read a copy
of Southern Indiana Living in
Rahim-Kaley in Helmand Province,
Southern Afghanistan.
Ben Merk (left) and Richard
Gething at Disney in 1992.
Gething, 28, is a resident of Great Britian and has
been a long-term friend of Ben Merk of Corydon,
Ind. They first met at Disneyworld, Florida in
1992 and their parents have kept in touch ever since.
Richard joined the British Army in 2002, and is currently
stationed in Paderborn, Germany. From October
2011 to April 2012 his unit was deployed in Afghanistan,
and among other supplies and gifts mailed from home
was Southern Indiana Living (which had been sent over
from Corydon by Mark Peyron.)
Richard’s parents, Dianna and David, have visited in
Corydon on four separate occasions during the last 12
years, staying with their good friends Mark and Deborah,
who are Ben’s parents. •
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September/October 2012 • 12
Southern Indiana heads to Europe
Far Left: Jim and Vivian
Taylor, of Marengo,
recently enjoyed SILM on
a trip to Germany. The
Taylors are pictured in
Kornweistheim, Germany,
with Southern Indiana
Living. The Taylors just
celebrated their 25th wedding
anniversary!
Left: Marcia and Steve
Latimer of Corydon and
Cindy and Jim Kanning
of New Albany stopped
along a mountain road in
Norway in August to read
their favorite magazine!
To submit your snapshots, e-mail
abby@silivingmag.com.
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The next thing I know I’m
standing down there with a purple
survivor shirt and a balloon and thinking,
‘Thank you, God, that I’m here.’
Story & Photos // Abby Laub
If there ever was a person who was a
“good” candidate to receive a cancer
diagnosis, Helen Smith would be it.
The Angels of Hope Support
Group leader at the Cancer Center of Indiana
in New Albany overcame a 2003
uterine cancer diagnosis and said the
increased level of empathy she now has
for her patients was worth the winning
battle waged against the deadly disease.
“I remember one year at Relay for
Life looking down from the bleachers
and seeing all of the survivors in purple
shirts and thinking, ‘Thank you, God, for
the blessing that I’m not down there’,”
Smith recalled. “The next thing I know
I’m standing down there with a purple
survivor shirt and a balloon and thinking
‘Thank you, God, that I’m here.’ It’s
a whole new ball game when you’re a
survivor.”
Smith, 55, has worked at the cancer
center for 15 years as a receptionist and
in 2003 was rushed to the hospital when
she hemorrhaged at work. Undergoing
an emergency hysterectomy, she thought
she was in the clear.
“And my doctor called me at home
and said, ‘Well, we weren’t looking for
this, but you’ve got cancer’,” she remembered
about the surprise diagnosis.
Already Smith had been running the
Angels of Hope Support Group for several
years and knew she would now
need the support that she had given to
so many people.
At only 46 years old, uterine cancer
was rare for her age and the health
complications she had been experiencing
prior to her diagnosis were usually
brushed o as symptoms of menopause.
The tumor in her uterus, she
said, was the size of a Àve-and-a-halfmonth
pregnancy and fortunately was
only in Stage I.
“Of course when you’re told you have
cancer, you just never associate your
name with the big ‘C’ word,” she said.
A blessing of cAncer
Helen Smith allowed an awful diagnosis to shape her life forever
September/October 2012 • 14
silivingmag.com • 15
Helen Smith holds the name
tags of her group’s
many members.
“They have my records here at
the center, so I’d go pull my chart
and go to Helen Smith, cancer ...
like, they don’t go together. It always
happens to other people.”
Five years, three surgeries and
hundreds of doctor visits later,
Smith is cancer-free and grateful
for the experience that threatened
her vitality.
“God spoke to me when I
was o of work for my surgeries,
and he said ‘I gave you the
gift of compassion, and these
people know you love them
and you care about them, but
we’re going to kick it up a
notch, and when you tell them
you understand, they’re going
to know you really understand’,” Smith
said. “And that’s what brought me back
here.”
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Her gift of compassion is obviously
working. When she took over the group
she said there were about 10 members,
and now she has almost 100 members.
Part of it, she said, is that she
sees many of the members on a
regular basis when they come to
the center for treatments.
“They’ll tell you I harass
them,” she laughed. “I’ll ask
them, ‘Why haven’t you been at
the support group, what’s your
problem?’ When I tell them
about the support group, I do
emphasize that I am a survivor
and I do understand.”
Smith said if people say they
have plenty of support at home
then she encourages them to
come to the group so their story
can help someone else.
And when it was her turn
to battle cancer, Smith got the
support right back from her
group members. She said she
also realized how fortunate
she was that her cancer was
not nearly as advanced or as
aggressive as many of the folks
that she encourages at Angels
of Hope.
“My strength was my patients,
because I thought how lucky and
blessed I was that I didn’t have to go
through the treatments,” she said.
Throughout the process she felt
closer than ever to her patients at
the support group and realized
that “it’s a group you don’t want to
get into, and it’s a group you don’t
want to get out of.”
So much so, she joked, that she
has to push people out of the group
once they are cancer free.
“I have one lady who doesn’t
even have cancer but she thinks she
does,” Smith said. “I’ve had two
marriages out of this group.”
Angels of Hope meets twice a
month. On the Àrst Thursday of
the month are roundtable discussions
for caregivers and survivors
and on the third Thursday Smith
brings in speakers, organizes
games, plans activities and generally
makes it a lighter evening for
people to get their minds o cancer.
Smith and members of the group
also are very active in the community,
particularly with Relay for
Life.
Since her diagnosis, Smith said
she has connected with her biological
mother (Smith grew up in an orphanage),
discovered a brother, and
lobbied on behalf of cancer centers
in Washington, D.C. •
September/October 2012 • 16
silivingmag.com • 13
Treasures and Simple Pleasures
The Besslers bring their dreams to life at The Destination
Photos//Abby Laub
Story//Sara Combs
When Tom and Denise
Bessler were
handed the keys to
their rural Washington
County
property, they
wasted no time.
“As soon as we closed
(the deal) we drove
straight there and started
tearing out carpet,” Denise
said. The former educators
have been hard at
it ever since – whipping
their barn into shape to
display antiques and remodeling
the two-story
frame farmhouse for a
bed and breakfast and
place for small gatherings.
That work paid off.
They opened the antique
shop earlier this year
and have held several
gatherings in the B&B,
which will accommodate
overnight guests in three
beautifully decorated
themed guest rooms furnished
with antique and
period furniture − with
most pieces available to purchase.
The Besslers have done most of the
renovation themselves. “It is our recreation,”
said Tom, adding that local workers
assisted with drywalling and landscaping.
Occasionally, friends and family
have lent a hand.
Combining three businesses has allowed
the couple to use their skills as
they practice a love for antiques and people,
said Denise.
Denise, who was a school administrator
until leaving her job earlier this
September/October 2012 • 18
year, said both she and her husband are
“people persons” and enjoy entertaining.
They have hosted the local Lions
Club, Red Hat ladies, some homemakers
groups and others. “I like thinking
about the days when people sat around
the dining table and visited,” said Tom.
“We want to recreate some of that kind
of feeling.”
Denise’s eyes sparkle as she and Tom,
her husband of 18 years, show their accomplishments,
describe their journey,
and tell about plans for expansion.
It all began several years ago, she said,
when they wanted to enter
the rental real estate
market. They also hoped
to combine their interest
in antiques with a retail
project.
When they drove
from their western Clark
County home to explore
possibilities, there was a
decision to make. “When
we came to the end of that
driveway, we could have
turned either way,” said
Denise. Should they stay
in their home territory or
head toward Washington
County? Obviously, they
turned toward Salem
where their first venture
was a duplex that became
Kelsey’s Corner,
their first antique shop.
Denise believes the direction
of that turn was
no accident. “I think God
always leads us whether
we know it or not,” she
said.
“We closed Kelsey’s
in December 2009, intending
to reopen in the
spring,” Denise said.
That attracted a good following
but lack of parking
made the site less
than ideal. They had also
begun looking for property
where they could
expand their vision.
It was after several
months’ search that
things began to come together.
Just before Christmas 2009, the
Besslers spotted a couple of places that
might work. And, less than two weeks
later, they closed on the Harristown Road
property, which, Denise says was, once
again, God inspired. “Too many things
just fell in place to be all coincidence.”
Tom and Denise say they have always
been open to the Lord’s leading. “And
we do want to give Him thanks and glory
in all we do,” Tom said.
“We needed to use our excess energy,”
said Tom. The three-business model is al-
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silivingmag.com • 19
lowing that. Tom taught industrial arts
for 34 years which gave him carpentry
skills and plumbing and electrical abilities
as well. Before becoming an administrator,
Denise taught home economics
and business − knowledge and experience
that have proven invaluable, said
Tom. She is the global thinker, seeing the
big picture; he is the detail person, with
both seeing to day-to-day operations.
“Our talents complement each other,” he
said.
Tom stayed on site to cope with all
that goes with major renovation. Denise
was still working but she joined him on
weekends. They stayed in their camper
until the Àrst bathroom was functional.
“We lived like that for a year and a half,”
said Denise. After moving into the house
in September 2011, the couple slept on a
mattress in the living room Áoor until the
master bedroom was completed.
With completion in sight, the Besslers
say they are enjoying seeing the fruits of
their labor.
They have immersed themselves in
their new community, joining a nearby
church, becoming active in several organizations
and buying locally. “When
you go grocery shopping, it gives you an
opportunity to talk with people, to get to
know them better,” Denise said.
The Destination is located at 206 N.
Harristown Rd., Salem. The antique
shop contains a wide variety of furniture,
primitives, quilts, candles, collectibles,
country pieces and more. Trendy Gurgle
Pots (Àsh-shaped pitchers that make a
gurgling sound as liquid is dispensed)
are included in the mix. Although antiques
are their Àrst love, stocking a variety
of items is necessary, says Tom. “You
can’t make it if you only have antiques.”
Denise’s love for antiques and handmade
items began when she was a teen
and grew when she was a student at
Berea College in Kentucky, located in an
area known for its arts and crafts industry.
She Àt right in. “I love handcrafted
items, especially things made of wood
and fabric,” she said.
Tom’s interest in antiques began when
he and Denise were married and soon
grew to match hers. “I knew with his
love for woodworking he would love antiquing,”
she said. Besides antiques, the
barn houses Tom’s woodworking shop
and includes picture windows so visitors
can watch him build replicas of antique
furniture and other pieces.
They have four adult children who
are professionals and competent do-ityourselfers.
The parents of this blended
family, whose ages range from 25 to 33,
love it that their children have mastered
these life skills. “But most of all we are
proud that they are all living good Christian
lives,” said Denise.
Plans include building the Gathering
Place, a facility to host weddings,
receptions and other larger gatherings.
They will also have an enclosed English
garden, utilizing a building that once
housed hogs.
“We have a lot of
goals,” said Tom,
“and reaching them
is important, but
enjoying the journey
is the key.” •
The antique shop
is open Thursday and
Friday from 11 a.m.
to 5 p.m. and Saturday
from 10 a.m. to 5
p.m. To make reservations
at the B&B or
schedule a gathering,
call 812-896-1369, or
go on line at tddestination@yahoo.com.
For more information,
visit thedestination.info.
September/October 2012 • 20
Living the
SWEET
Life
Cotton Candy whiz Bill Burch can’t get enough sugar
Story // Sam C Bowles
Like most people, Bill Burch loves snack foods,
but Bill has taken that appreciation to the
next level by making a career out of it.
“When I was in high school, I used to make
peanut brittle,” Burch said, “I had the Charlie Brown
Cookbook when I was young and liked to make candies
and stu like that.”
Burch has been in the grocery delivery business
for over 35 years now, stocking grocery stores of all
sizes with all kinds of snacks. His primary employment
is with the Davis Cookie Company for whom
he distributes a variety of products, but he has also
worked with Webb’s Butcher Block for the past couple
of years.
“I’ve called on just about all the ‘Mom and Pop’
stores within a 50 mile radius of Louisville.”
In fact, that is precisely how Burch met his wife
Gayla, who used to work at a small grocery store in
Borden.
More recently, however, Burch has expanded his
involvement in the grocery business to include not
just distribution but production as well.
His current venture, a new company called Marengo
Candy Barn, makes and packages the light-as-air,
melts-in-your-mouth, perennial favorite cotton candy.
“I have always loved cotton candy and wanted a
cotton candy machine,” Burch explains. “And I actually
had the machines for two years before I really
got started making the stu , but I knew if I bought
them I’d eventually get it going.”
Since he already owned a building in downtown
Marengo (the former home of the Marengo Farm and
Home Supply), Burch decided it would be the perfect
location to setup his cotton candy production and
packaging center.
“I looked at the town and what else I could put in
this building that would be viable for the community,”
Burch said. “And so far we’re headed in the
right direction.”
In the beginning, it was Burch and his wife Gayla
along with their friends and business partners Larry
and Judy Applegate making and packaging all the
cotton candy, which is being branded under the
name “Sweet Fortune.” Now, however, after just a
year in business, they have four part-time employees
who work as orders come in and their product
can already be found in numerous business locations
throughout Southern Indiana and beyond.
Selling more than 40,000 units in the Àrst year,
Burch and his partners hope to double that number
for their second year of operation.
“My goal is to get the employees we have up to
full-time. So everyday we’re seeking new customers
and distribution outlets. It just takes a little time,”
Burch explained. “All it takes is one chain like Kroger
or something like that, and things really take o .”
Burch also has some creative ideas to expand the
business, including working with organizations by
making custom batches to be sold for fundraisers.
In addition, he sees great potential in custom orders
made for di erent schools or athletic teams, where
the cotton candy is made to match the school or team
colors.
“We’ve got lots of ideas for the future.”
If you would like more information about Sweet
Fortune Cotton Candy, Bill can be reached by phone
at (502) 594-1907. •
silivingmag.com • 21
Nothing CHILLY
about it
Chillers’ owners bring faith and family to new store
Story // Kathy Melvin
Photos // Michelle Hockman
Susan and Troy Ward are living the sweet life, both at home and at
work.
At home they are grounded in solid Christian principles in
which they raise their two beautiful children, Sarah, 3 and Ethan, 2.
So it’s no surprise that their Christian values also guide their new business,
Chillers, in Scottsburg. Located just o exit 29 on I-65, they are strategically
positioned across the street from the largest McDonalds in the
Midwest.
Susan is a teacher at Maple Elementary in Jeersonville. Troy was
involved with his family business, manufactured stone, for the past 17
years, but was eager to own a business reÁecting his personal values.
About a year ago, he began looking for a business that was as close to
recession-proof as possible. In April of this year, he and Susan opened
Chillers with 15 full and part-time employees. It’s the third franchise store
sold by the Young family who own Zesto Ice Cream. The other two are in
September/October 2012 • 22
silivingmag.com • 23
MAJOR SPONSORS
“Give people more than
what they ask for. That’s
our script for success.”
-Troy Ward
Je ersonville and St. Matthews.
The Youngs taught him how to make
ice cream and were very honest about
the time commitment it would take to be
successful.
“They have just been wonderful,” he
said. “They shared every secret from
Zesto’s 45 years in business. They could
not have been more helpful.”
Not only did he learn how to make
ice cream, Troy learned how to create
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Snickerdoodle
and decorate the store’s special occasion
cakes and pies. A Chillers’ cake has two
layers of soft-serve or hand-dipped ice
cream of your choosing, as well as two
layers of golden cake. There’s also a featured
“Áavor of the week” for the handdipped
ice cream that allows him to get
creative.
Recently, the o ering was peanut butter
ice cream, laced with huge chocolate
and peanut butter buckeye candies. For
canoe trip!
The kids loved
the cave. It was
larger than I
expected.
the more health conscious, there is nofat,
no-sugar frozen yogurt, with only 60
calories. There are also parfaits, sundaes,
smoothies, milk shakes and malts. Also
o ered are specialty hot dogs, pork barbecue
and a chicken sandwich.
Troy admits the last few months have
been stressful, primarily because he’s
away from his wife and children up to
15 hours a day. Every morning he leaves
their home in Marysville and drives 20
minutes to the Scottsburg location.
“My family was used to me being
home every day at Àve,” he said. “Now
I leave at six in the morning and don’t
get home until late at night.” He said
the Youngs warned him about the long
hours and he and Susan talked and
prayed about it before making the commitment.
Troy, clearly an extrovert, loves the
service aspect of the business and the opportunity
to interact with his customers.
He makes a point of personally talking
with as many customers as possible and
inviting them to come back.
“Give people more than what they
ask for. That’s our script for success,” he
said.
The Wards continue to grow the business
and look for new ways to serve the
community. They have ordered a portable
ice cream cart and the Scottsburg
Chamber of Commerce has given them
several catering leads. Troy thinks the
portable cart is ideal for taking into
businesses where shift workers may
only have 30 minutes for lunch or dinner,
and of course, for special events.
He hopes one day, to leave the business
to his children. •
The newly opened micro-creamery is located
at 1515 W. McClain Street in Scottsburg.
When school is in session, hours are
10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Out of school, hours are 10
a.m. to 10:30 p.m.www.ILoveChillers.
1355 HWY 64 NE,
NEW SALISBURY, IN 47161
812-347-1031
877-747-8877
Schmidt Cabinet Company is
located in New Salisbury, IN.
Family owned and operated since 1959.
Harrison County Lifelong Learning, Inc.
Adult Education Program Revamped
Adult Education
Instructional Hours
Monday - Thursday
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Official GED Test
Content and Time Limits
of Block Testing
Day 1
Language Arts, Reading
65 minutes
Social Studies
70 minutes
Science
80 minutes
Day 2
Language Arts, Writing
Part I, 75 minutes
Part II, 45 minutes
Mathematics
2 parts, 90 minutes total
Harrison County
Lifelong Learning recently
changed their Adult Education
program to better
accommodate adult learners.
The free classes now
include morning and evening
sessions and students
are accepted on a walk-in
basis. “Our flexibility is designed
to help students
when they make the call, as
soon as they are ready to
commit to their educational
success,” comments Doug
Robson, agency Director.
Students entering
the program are asked to
make an attendance commitment
and spend their
first hours completing the
Test of Adult Basic Education
(TABE). In addition to
traditional book work,
students have access to
Instruction for Targeted
TABE Success (ITTS) and
GED Online, two distance
learning programs created
by McGraw-Hill. The
programs are provided to
Lifelong Learning by the
Region 10 Adult Education
Consortium in partnership
with Scott County Economic
Development Corporation.
“For the students who juggle
work and family responsibilities,
the online learning
tools have been a tremendous
help,” says Robson.
The program
changes are also a result of
changes at the state level.
In 2011 Adult Education
was moved from the Department
of Education to the
Department of Workforce
Official GED Testing in Southern Indiana
Development, giving the
program a more job-skills
focus. “It’s our hope that the
partnership with DWD prepares
students to enter a
career certification program
or post secondary education.
We want them to be
successful and attain their
academic goals,” reports
Robson.
Adult Education Instructor Sheila
Bennett helps a student use the
ITTS online learning tool.
Harrison County
Lifelong Learning, Inc.
101 Hwy 62 W. Suite 104
Corydon, IN 47112
812.738.7736
Harrison County
Lifelong Learning is the official
GED Test site for Region
10, a 6-county area across
Southern Indiana. Testing is
coordinated each month for
Harrison, Crawford, Clark,
Floyd, Scott and Washington
Counties and for the local
correctional facilities.
A student’s eligibility
to take the official GED
test includes being a resident
of Indiana for at least
30 days and presenting 3
forms of identification,
including a governmentissued
photo. Students
younger than 18 have additional
requirements.
To pre-register for
GED testing, please call one
of the following agencies for
an appointment:
Harrison County
Lifelong Learning,
Corydon
738-7736
Community Action of
Southern Indiana,
Jeffersonville
288-6451 x 2121
Greater Clark Schools
Auxiliary Services,
Jeffersonville
218-1669 x30100
Let us help you achieve academic success!
www.HarrisonLifelongLearning.com
silivingmag.com • 25
September/October 2012 • 26
Old Settlers Days
salem.stvincent.org
FRIDAY NIGHT ON THE SQUARE
Sept 14 - 6-10 p.m. in Salem, IN
LOTS OF FUN, FOOD, ENTERTAINMENT
for the entire family
Old Settlers Day Festival - Salem
Saturday, Sept. 15, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 16, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Te Old Settlers Days Festival in Salem will
be held on September 15 -16 on the grounds
of the John Hay Center, 307 E. Market Street,
Salem. Te festival will once again be focused
on wholesome family activities with a special
emphasis on teaching, sharing and the pioneer
heritage of Washington County.
Join Us
Best in the
Midwest
St.Vincent SALeM hoSpitAL iS proud
to be pArt of St.Vincent heALth, the
MidweSt’S only thoMSon reuterS
top 15 LArge heALth SySteM.
silivingmag.com • 27
Making a splash at
Great Wolf Lodge
You have to hand it to Great Wolf
Lodge. Their facilities alone are
impressive. The Àrst time you
step into the Àve-story grand
lobby it takes your breath away. Between
the massive log covered walls and the
enormous Àeldstone Àreplace, it looks
like a rustic national park lodge that’s
been super-sized.
The hotel contains over 400 guest
suites with 13 dierent styles of rooms,
some with bunk beds for kids designed
to look like caves, cabins or tents, not to
mention Àreplaces and whirlpool tubs
for mom and dad. The indoor water
park? 90,000 square feet of slippery fun,
including 12 dierent slides, three pools
September/October 2012 • 28
Story // Jason Byerly
Photos // Great Wolf Lodge
and a lazy river. They even have a Starbucks.
General Manager Terrie Zajo describes
Great Wolf as a “land-based cruise ship,”
a description that seems about right.
Despite all of the bells and whistles,
though, Zajo says that the best thing they
have going for them is their pack. That’s
what they call their employees, all 500 of
them.
What makes them so special? According
to Zajo it’s because they really
care about their guests and go out of
Fast Facts:
Location: 2501 Great Wolf Drive,
Mason, OH 45040 (next door to
Kings Island amusement park)
Website: www.greatwolf.com
Phone Number: 800.913.WOLF
Least crowded months: May and
September
Prices: 189.99 – 359.99
Package deals: discounted tickets
available to King’s Island and Cincinnati
Zoo
Water park temperature: 84 degrees
Number of slides: 12
Number of indoor pools: 3 (including
wave pool)
Fun extras: 4 story water fort and
lazy river
their way to create special experiences
for each of them. From the moment we
walked into our room this was obvious.
We were greeted by a huge plate of cookies
on the counter and milk in the fridge.
On the bed? A towel folded to look like
a wolf wearing a complimentary pair of
swim goggles.
It’s these little touches that make a
Great Wolf Lodge stay so much fun.
Zajo said it’s a win for her team any
time they help a family make a special
If you suspect God may be
much funnier and way cooler
than anyone gives Him credit,
check out The Life Less Traveled
and discover a God you’d actually
like to hang out with.
Holy and awesome? You bet.
Boring and lame? Not ever.
Ready for a fresh look at faith?
Maybe it’s time to leave the
beaten path and take a shot
at living a life less traveled.
Available now for Amazon Kindle
and Barnes and Noble Nook and
at www.jasonbyerly.com/ebook..
Follow Jason on Twitter@jasondbyerly
or get e-mail updates at
www.jasonbyerly.com.
Follow Jason at Twitter@jasondbyerly or
www.jasonbyerly.com
silivingmag.com • 23 29
memory together that
takes them away from the
hustle and bustle of everyday
life. “Families have so
little time together,” she
says. “So we o er them a
weather-proof vacation.”
Maybe that’s why Great
Wolf Lodge has enough
repeat business to start
what they call the “Howl
of Fame,” a photo gallery
of families who’ve visited
the lodge twenty times or
more. Zajo said her team
loves to watch the kids
grow year after year.
She told me the story of
one Indiana family with
an autistic son who has
stayed with them over
thirty-Àve times. It’s his
favorite place on the planet. The last time
they stayed, the Great Wolf sta wanted
to do something special for them so they
took the family to a Red’s game. They
had incredible seats and met some players
for autographs, but all the boy wanted
to do was get back to the water park.
For him nothing else could compare.
It’s not surprising. The biggest problem
my family faced was deciding what
to do next. The water park alone can Àll a
September/October 2012 • 30
day, but it’s amazing how much the rest
of the resort oers to keep families busy.
My girls went nuts over Magi-quest, a
three-story high tech scavenger hunt
where kids are issued “magic wands”
that interact with clues and treasure hidden
throughout the lodge, and the Cub
Club, a quiet activity room where kids
can color, play on a computer and do
a craft. We deÀnitely had plenty to do
without touching a swimsuit.
Jamie Whitman Auto Sales, Inc.
812-738-2822
Selling and Financing Pre-Owned Automobiles
Jamie Whitman, Owner
204 W. Walnut St. • Corydon, IN 47112
“Serving our Community since 1956”
Here are a few other dry
activities once your family
gets water-logged for the
day:
• Northern Lights, an
8,000 square-foot arcade;
• Ten Paw Bowling Alley,
a half-sized bowling alley
with Àve-pound bowling
balls;
• Scoops Kid Spa, manicures
and pedicures for
kids;
• Wolf Walk, a guided
nature walk around the
lobby Àlled with wildlife
activities;
• Character Greeting,
meet costumed mascots
Wiley, Violet and Oliver the
raccoon.
As a dad, my favorite
part of our stay came at the end of the
night, when families gathered in the lobby
for the nightly clock tower show and
story time. The Áoor was covered with
kids in their PJs snuggled up with their
parents for some much needed wind
down time before bed.
The Great Clock Tower Show is a short
musical with animatronic puppets about
a boy lost in the woods who meets some
forest friends who help him out along
the way. I’m not sure how much my kids
followed the story, but it was just a cool
moment watching all of those families
nestled down together at the end of a big
day.
It’s little moments like that that make
a stay at Great Wolf Lodge worth it. Zajo
and her pack make it easy to create some
special memories your family will treasure
for years to come. •
Holiday Fun:
Looking for a special way to get
into the holiday spirit this Christmas?
Check out all that Great Wolf
Lodge has to oer around the holidays.
• Meet Santa and Mrs. Claus
• Enjoy a fresh snowfall three
times a day in the Grand Lobby
• Dine in the full scale gingerbread
house
• Sing along with Christmas carols
at the clock tower show
• Experience a nightly story time
with Rowdy the Reindeer
• Decorate cookies as a family
• Take a horse and buggy ride
around the lodge (last family of the
night rides with Mr. and Mrs. Claus)
News, Weather,
Entertainment & Fun!
WEEKDAY MORNINGS
6am-9am
Thursday 10pm, Friday 8pm & Saturday Noon
WEEKDAYS
5:30pm & 7:30pm
WEEKDAYS
9pm-10pm
WEEKDAYS
6pm & 11:30 pm
silivingmag.com • 31
Dining Car
or Woman
Jasper Train Depot: Located in the heart of the “Old Jasper” district, near the Patoka River,
the train depot is a replica of the former structure built in 1906. Features include an oldfashioned
ticket window, roll top desks, pot belly stove, and authentic memorabilia.
Parlor Car
Parlor Car
Te Mill
Spirit of Jasper Train: Ride in style on three beautifully renovated, climate-controlled, vintage
railroad cars, complete with restrooms, comfortable seating, and a cash bar. Tese passenger
cars have been restored by the staf of volunteer labor, City of Jasper employees, and generous
local corporations and businesses. For more information about these cars, visit http://spiritofjasper.com
French Lick Excursion: Embark on a tour of Southwest Indiana on the “French Lick Express”
and enjoy the scenic countryside. Experience passing through the second-longest railroad
tunnel in the state of Indiana and travel over several railroad trestles and bridges. Once in
French Lick, step back in time and follow the footsteps of the rich and famous. Enjoy dinner
and freely tour the French Lick Resort & Casino and the West Baden Springs Hotel. Afer
approximately six hours, the trail will depart for Jasper.
Ride & Dine Trips: Depart the Jasper Train Depot and enjoy a scenic tour of Dubois County.
Te Ride & Dine features a meal and beverage catered by the local Authentic German Restaurant,
Te Schnitzelbank! Also available on this trip is a cash bar. Te Ride & Dine trips
last approximately 2 hours & 30 minutes.
Te Jasper City Mill: Recently constructed and fnished in 2009 to resemble the former
mill that once stood along the Patoka River, this new structure is the latest addition to the
“Old Jasper” district. Tour the mill, watch the workings of the waterwheel and embrace the
serenity of the Patoka River while relaxing at the plaza area on the Jasper Riverwalk.
For more information regarding the history of the Jasper City Mill,
visit http://spiritofasper.com/jasper-city-mill.
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We offer consultations and
monthly seminars.
Call us for an appointment or
stop in and see us!
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PHARMACY ● WELLNESS CENTER ● BOUTIQUE
1.866.941.9301 | www.pcpnewalbany.com
2113 State Street, Suite 2 | New Albany, IN 47150
silivingmag.com • 33
Once upon
a farm...
Defying the norm, the Brewer family farm is
moving into a third generation
September/October 2012 • 34
On a steamy June
day at Brewer
Dairy Farm near
Marengo, Jerry
Brewer hopped
out of a massive tractor with
his toddler grandson, Oliver,
and walked over to check
out three baby calves born
that morning.
Story & Photos // Abby Laub
Their little tails waving away Áies, the tiny black and white
beauties were the delight of Oliver, who is the fourth of a
string of Brewers since Jerry’s father, Elmo Brewer, founded
the farm in 1947.
“They come wanting to see where milk comes from and
how it’s made,” Jerry said
about visitors to his dairy
farm operation. “But they
leave excited about petting
the baby cows. They steal the
show.”
Despite squeals and pats
on the head for the new
calves, Oliver, though, still
prefers tractors. The farm’s
heavy equipment and implements
are one of the many
things that have changed on
the multi-generational farm
since Elmo and his wife of 75
years, Marie, started it years
ago. What hasn’t changed is
the concern about weather.
Jerry, 57, pointing out the
dust swirling around the
driveway and the brown
grass on the hillside next to
his barns, noted that he had
never seen the ground so dry
so early in the year and that
he worried about his crops
and the decreased milk production
from his 100 or so
heifers.
In optimal weather (the
50s to 70s), he said his cows
each produce about nine
gallons of milk per day, but
with a week of 100-degree
weather, the supply could be
“When I graduated in ‘73 it
looked like a good
opportunity. I had the
experience already and
really enjoyed it. Fast
forward to my son Trent
taking over. He grew up
the same way, helping
every day. We tried to
chase him off and say
there are better
opportunities. But you
could see that he really
wanted to, and I know that
compared to a lot of other
family farms that went to
the second or third
generation — they had no
one who wanted to take
over ... If he can’t make it,
who can?”
-Jerry Brewer
diminished by several gallons — money slipping between his
calloused Ànger tips.
“It’s all about the cow’s appetite,” he explained. “They need
a high energy, high fat, high starch diet. Think about it, do you
want to eat a pork roast when it’s 100 degrees out? What goes
in the cow is going to take care of what’s going out.”
And what’s going out is a lot of milk to support the farm
and the livelihood of its owners. Jerry took over operating
Brewer Dairy Farm from Elmo, and now his son, Trent, 30,
will take over when he decides to retire.
When you get right down to it, Elmo said, farmers today
still worry about the weather and keeping their animals happy,
but farming as a business has changed drastically. Prices
have gone up and the value of the dollar has decreased, he
said.
silivingmag.com • 35
“Years ago a dollar would buy something, it doesn’t amount to anything
now,” he reÁected. “Everything’s been de-valued.”
This makes farming dicult. And yet, he thinks it is worth it.
“You’re just out there working for yourself and being your own boss,”
he said.
Marie said even when times were tough the couple never wanted to
throw in the towel and try something easier.
And now she sees her grandson, Trent, learning from their mistakes and
making the Brewer farm operate even more smoothly thanks to technology.
The couple agreed they are glad to have a grandson interested in carrying
their torch.
Elmo, though, said he hardly recognizes what Trent does now. What he
learned in farming school in the mid-1900s has all changed.
“What they told us then is obsolete now, you do it dierently,” he said.
“You do everything dierent; it wouldn’t amount to anything now.”
Now Elmo, who struggles with his vision, said he feeds the cats and tries
to get his mower out.
“There’s a lot of things I wish he could do that he used to do,” Marie
added. “But of course he doesn’t see too well so I have to kind of see for
him.”
Elmo smiled and said his wife could “outwork” him and that when she
leaves the house every Tuesday for her quilting group it is “the hardest
day” for him. “I need a babysitter,” he laughed.
(Above) Jerry Brewer
introduces his
grandson, Oliver, to
one of the farm’s
newest calves.
(Left) Elmo and Marie
Brewer have been
married for 75 years.
The couple also is active in the Golden Friends
organization at their church. They also have a
daughter who is 13 years older than Jerry.
Jerry and his wife, Michelle, have worked on
the farm for almost 30 years and still love it despite
the long hours and stress associated with
owning a business, particularly a farm where so
much seems to be out of their control.
“When I graduated in ‘73 it looked like a good
opportunity,” Jerry said. “I had the experience
already and really enjoyed it. Fast forward to
my son Trent taking over. He grew up the same
September/October 2012 • 36
“What they told us then is obsolete now, you do it differently. You do
everything different; it wouldn’t amount to anything now.”
-Elmo Brewer, on the difference in farming in his era versus his grandson’s.
THREE GENERATIONS
(from left) Jerry, Elmo and Trent Brewer
silivingmag.com • 37
Classic Oldies
FM 102.7
AM 1550
Original Do-Wopp
Rock & Roll Music
is now on FM
at 102.7!
Harrison County’s Radio Station
Jerry Brewer said
he used to know
the name of every
single cow on
his farm.
way, helping every
day. We tried to
chase him o and
say there are better
opportunities.
But you could see
that he really wanted to, and I know that
compared to a lot of other family farms
that went to the second or third generation
— they had no one who wanted to
take over ... If he can’t make it, who can?”
Growing up on the farm, Jerry said
Trent already understands the hard work
involved and is skillfully getting the farm
up to speed with new technology and ef-
Àciencies.
“It is hard work, but it’s a lot more
mental stress than physical,” he said,
adding that if he didn’t enjoy it the worry
would not be worth it. “Being your own
boss helps make up for the 16-hour days
most of the time.”
“Playing” with tractors also helps
bring joy to the job.
“I have a T-shirt that says ‘Still plays
with tractors’,” he laughed, noting that
sometimes he feels like a kid all over
again. “It’s too much work if you’re not
enjoying it.”
It also helps, he said, that people are
becoming more curious again about
where their food comes from.
“What you’re seeing a lot of interest in
is food safety, whether it be beef, dairy,”
he said. “They want to know that those
products are coming from a well managed,
clean environment and humane.
Why would you want to mistreat a cow?”
Jerry said he always welcomes visitors
to the farm, even if the calves steal the
show.
After all, farms like his are dying out
nationwide, and he said Brewer Dairy
Farm is one of the few remaining generational
farms in the area.
“Most of the farms around are either
very small and they’re on their last
generation, or they’re getting very large
... It’s either get big or get out,” he said,
adding that it is a sad fact because he
feels farms his size (about 200 cows total,
including heifers and calves) are the most
ecient and have the best management
and therefore best milk production.
The farm also grows some grain and
corn, does timber and several other small
crops.
“When it’s good it’s good, but it’s a
money pit when it’s bad,” he said about
the dairy operation. “We’re price takers
not makers.”
Jerry has faith that Trent will continue
the operation with excellence and stand
out in a time when very few family farms
can hold up. •
September/October 2012 • 38
Things Look Bright at
White Cloud WindoW
Story & Photos // Randy West
Roni Cravens hails from Plains, Kan., a dusty little town that claims to have the widest Main Street in
the country but not much else. When Roni transplanted to a pretty 12-acre farm in White Cloud, Ind.,
in western Harrison County, all the hills, horses and green countryside convinced her that she “was
home,” even though it brought with it a degree of uncertainty.
In her barn in 1992, she started a shop a stone’s throw from Blue River. She bought and sold hand-made
items, antiques and stained glass art objects. It was called the “White Cloud Window,” located just o S.R. 62,
a National Scenic Highway. Because it was in the country, Roni never knew what kind of wildlife would show
up outside the barn; and because it was an antique shop, she never knew what kind of stu would wind up
there. Business was great the Àrst year, not so great the second. Due to the name, “Everyone thought I was a
window company,” she said. But inquiries kept coming about stained glass art objects and repair work.
Roni, 56, had taken a beginner’s class in stained glass from New Albany’s Bill Stepp, who lived near Lanesville
at that time, and subsequently she took classes at Indiana University Southeast and elsewhere. But
silivingmag.com • 39
Above:
Roni works on a piece featuring
three kimonos that will be sent to a
customer in Kansas City.
Opposite Page:
(Left) Dee Downey of Corydon said
she likes to work with glass because
“It calms my nerves. It’s a very good
stress reliever.”
(Right) All kinds of glass objects are
for sale at the White Cloud Window,
some are home-made, some from
other places in the world.
life kept messing up Roni’s plans. When the economy
tanked, she closed her business, lost her day job as an
administrative assistant at PCUSA in Louisville, and
su ered through spells of Àbromyalgia (a disease affecting
soft muscle tissue and motor skills) and a persistent
back problem. A protracted, ugly divorce made
things even worse.
She found peace by getting up in the middle of the
night to work for hours on stained glass projects. “As
I’m fond of saying, ‘Get lost in the glass’.” She was encouraged
by a woman who ran a stained glass shop at
the Green Tree Mall in Clarksville and others in Southern
Indiana and Kentucky. Most, if not all of them, have
since closed.
Roni decided to take the plunge and open another
shop in 2007, this time in Corydon, in the old Saulman
Tree Service building on Old Forest Road. She said it was
one way she could control her life. In a short time she
moved to two other locations facing the town square,
and then in January of 2011, needing more room, she reopened
at the corner of Mulberry and Chestnut streets,
opposite Harmony and Health.
Business was so bad in April and May this year that
“I thought I would have to close, but June was phenomenal,”
Roni said. Word-of-mouth advertising has been
great. One Colorado couple who heard about her store
from an employee at one of the local motels told her
that when they returned, “they would bring an SUV
instead of a VW.”
Roni is typically upbeat and rarely looks harried. She
gives her students plenty of individual attention (they
come in whenever they can), works on her custom jobs
and commissions from all over the country, and sells
many kinds of glasswork, some of which is made at
White Cloud Window and some of which comes from
faraway places like Murano, Italy, the glass-making
capital of the world. You can buy sun-catchers and
custom-made elaborate designs for windows, not to mention bowls, pitchers, plates,
cups, jewelry boxes, crosses, shamrocks and amusing knick-knacks -- like an azure blue
corset. She and her advanced students do a lot of repair work.
She encourages the advanced students to experiment with their own unique designs,
some of which can be quite complicated. For example, Bob Bursey, 69, Corydon, an “associate”
who has been coming to White Cloud Window for about two years, is a trained
electrician-professional handyman-turned artist. He’s currently making a sunÁowerlike
sunburst window featuring a bright red, heavy antique glass plate with dramatic
red Áares. The old Amberina glass design is called “Buttons and Daisies.”
Terri Jones, now a good friend of Roni’s, started coming to the shop 3-1/2 years ago.
She lives in a New Albany mansion that was built by a state senator in 1905. She drives
to Corydon twice a week to make things for her home and for the shop.
Among other things, Roni is working on a 20-by-40-inch piece for a lawyer in Kansas
City that features three kimonoes. It will be mounted on a wall and enhanced by a light
box. She’s getting ready to bid on a 40-inch circular piece 15 feet above the Áoor in a
home that will require scaolding to install. A woman in Evansville has asked her to create
a 16-by-24-inch piece for a bay window. She will soon start on two Converse sneakers
based on a story like “Blind Side” for a person who works for the Amarillo (Texas)
Economic Development Commission.
Barbara Fitzgerald, Elizabeth, who started in glass four-and-a-half years ago, just Ànished
a 40-inch circle of The Trinity for St. Peter’s Church in Buena Vista. It was dedicated
in April. Scott Dell, 47, Ramsey, a former Navy Seal and an aluminum fabricator
by trade, said he didn’t have an artistic bone in his body until he started working with
September/October 2012 • 40
glass at the White Cloud Window. Now he’s working on an interesting 18-inch diameter cross and considers himself an artist.
Scott is perhaps the best example of what Roni means when she says that experience and training are not required to work with
stained glass. “I haven’t found anyone I can’t teach,” she said. And one of the nicest things about working in Roni’s store is that
all the students share a camaraderie and help each other with their projects. •
The White Cloud Window store hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The phone number is 812-596-0393.
5
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silivingmag.com • 41
Hayswood Theatre:
Acting out and selling tickets
(Above) Detective
Harry Heartstone
(Tom Gudding)
planting a juicy one
on Sheriff Willie
Lovelace
(Elizabeth
Whittinghill) in
“Blazing Guns.”
(Right) Nellie
(Laura Von
Fossen) and
Emile (Gary Crockett)
swear their
undying love for
each other in
“South Paci¿c.”
Story // Lee Cable
September/October 2012 • 42
Blazing Guns at Roaring Gulch
Photo by Jack Sweeney
Photo by Kathy Norton
Photo by Randy West
The building, which stands along Capitol Avenue in Corydon,
doesn’t seem large enough to house a theatre,
but the old sayings that “looks can be deceiving” and
“don’t judge a book by its cover” surely apply when it
comes to the Hayswood Theatre.
Although not a large structure, every inch of the former telephone
company building is used when there’s a play on stage
and an audience in the seats, and its size could be a factor in
its success. Overhead is low and ticket prices are aordable.
Many of the shows, which usually run for three weekends, are
sold out.
Its small size also makes it a place where everyone must exercise
a little imagination, including the directors, actors, stage
managers, costume designers, choreographers and yes, even
the audience. Creativity is almost always entertaining, and
the creativeness that is used to make a play come to life on the
small, Hayswood stage, with limited props, backdrops and set
changes is often almost as entertaining as the play itself.
The seed was planted for a community theater in Corydon
over forty years ago when the Woman’s Literary Club set out
to Ànd ways to help the local economy and provide a means
of “reviving and promoting the cultural growth of all of us.”
The following year, they recruited a group of student actors
to help, got permission to use the old state capitol building in
Corydon’s downtown square for performances and performed
re-enactments of actual trials that had been held in the State
Capitol in the 1820s. The group, calling themselves the Hayswood
Players, performed the re-enactments without scripts,
so each actor had to respond as they thought appropriate.
According to Hayswood history, the “Old Trials” were quite
successful and people “came from all over” to watch the reenactments.
But after about a year the group changed course
and their name. They decided to perform actual plays utilizing
the Harrison Grange Hall, tackling such favorites as “Never
Too Late,” “The Fantasticks” and “Diary of Anne Frank,” and
changed their name to “The Hayswood Little Theatre Group.”
In 1971, the Fiesta Discount House, located in a building on
South Capitol Avenue owned by the Eureka Telephone Company,
went out of business and the phone company oered the building
to the theatrical group. After extensive renovation, the building was
made into the current Hayswood Theatre.
“At the time, the audience sat in chairs,” said Linda Ray who with
her husband, Macon, became involved with the group in the early
1970s. “There were no bathrooms up front and no outside entrance for
the actors. The pipes froze on a regular basis and sometimes we had
heat and sometimes we didn’t. But we did some outstanding shows
there like ‘Tobacco Road’ and ‘Oklahoma.’ Macon and I were involved
in the Stephen Foster Story in Bardstown for 15 years and were o
during the winters, which is when we did plays at the Hayswood.
Macon won the theatre’s best actor of the year award for playing the
leading role in ‘Tobacco Road,’ and during that play, we had the cab of
an old truck right on stage. It was great.”
Besides musicals, the group also began performing plays for a
younger audience. Plays like “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”
and “Snoopy” were such big hits for the theatre that the actors took
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®
the shows on the road and performed them,
free of charge, at all the schools in the county.
“We even wrote some plays,” Ray said.
“We didn’t have the money to pay the royalties
for many shows, so we would just get
together and write our own. And people
would come to see them. They knew the
plays would be
good. I ran across
one of our old programs
the other
day and had to
laugh. There were
mistakes and those
old programs were
kind of tacky, written
on an old typewriter,
but those
shows sold out and got us on our feet.”
But during those years, there were only a
handful of people involved in Hayswood.
Sam and Mary Swan, Rick Archibald, Phil
Miller, Sam and Barbara Lander, Bill Ingleman,
Harry Hurst, Bill Timberlake, Joe
Palmer, Ivanna Conrad, Virgil King, and a
few others did the lion’s share of the work
and made the little theatre thrive. But the
time and eort needed to put on plays year
after year eventually took a toll on the group.
“The theatre can consume you,” Ray said.
“When you do a play, it takes six weeks
out of your life. You don’t have time to
clean your house or eat regular meals. So
“People are hungry for uplifting
entertainment. And that assures
us of a great future here.”
-Kathy Norton
getting burned-out is a real danger for actors,
directors and others involved. You can
only do it so long, then you need a break.
At the Hayswood, people had been giving
their all for years, but eventually had other
commitments and began drifting to other
projects and ventures. We were working
professionally, too,
so things began to
slow down at the
theatre.”
With no re-enforcements
or new
energy coming
into the group, the
little theatre went
dark after the mid-
1990s. The last play
performed there was “The Fantasticks.” A
Áood in 1997 sent the water of nearby Indian
Creek into the structure, leaving behind ruined
props, costumes, and a foot-deep layer
of mud. For a while, it looked as if the days
of the Hayswood Theatre were over.
“In 1998, Sue and Ed Woertz, and Richard
and Cathy Ryan came to my oce and
wanted to get the Hayswood Theatre going
again,” said Liz Swarens, a local attorney. “I
looked into it for them. I found the person
who had all the theatre’s records and they
were given to me. I checked with the state
on the status of the theatre, and found that
there was no problem with another group
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e-opening the venue.”
The new group formed a board of directors. Ed Woertz was
made president, and Swarens had become interested in the project
and accepted the treasurer’s duties. She also brought her
husband, Charles, who was an accomplished actor, to the group.
“The Àrst thing we did was roll up our sleeves and clean,” Sue
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To Go Words
September/October 2012 • 46
Liz @ 502-895-7495
P.O. Box 75 • Crandall, Indiana 47114
“Put it before them brieÅy so they will read it,
clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely
so they will remember it and, above all,
accurately so they will be guided by its light.”
Joseph Pulitzer, 1847 - 1911
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com
Woertz said. “Everything was moldy and muddy. We had to
shovel out the mud. We threw a lot of stu away—things that
were rusty and ruined. It was a mess, but we eventually got it
cleaned up.”
The group was able to secure a $50,000 grant from the Lily
Foundation and bought a new sound system and other equipment
to get the theatre going.
“Our Àrst play was ‘Crimes of the Heart,’” Woertz said. “That
was in December, 1998.”
And the little theatre group never looked back. Many believe
the timing was perfect, that there was an abundance of talented
actors and directors in the area needing a place to whet their appetites
and hone their skills, and many keep coming back year
after year to bring entertaining shows to the theatre.
These days, the theatre has Àve major shows per year, which
usually includes two musicals, two mystery plays and a comedy.
One recent o ering was the slapstick western “Blazing Guns
at Roaring Gulch,” directed by one of the theatre’s veteran actors,
Kathy Norton.
“My kids actually got me involved with Hayswood,” said
Norton, who did acting in high school and college and ran the
theatre department at another college after graduating. “I loved
acting when I was younger, but I eventually got married and
had three children, so acting was put on the back burner for
quite a while,” she said. “Then, when the kids took an interest
in doing plays, I got involved again. We’ve done several plays
together here at Hayswood, and I’m now on the board of directors.
But I always wanted to direct a play here and got my
chance with ‘Blazing Guns.’”
The show, like most that are presented at Hayswood, was a
success. Norton Àlled the stage with gunslinging bad guys robbing
banks and stealing the pretty girl and fast-drawing good
guys who came to the rescue and saved the day. Real six-guns
(shooting blanks of course) were used, adding a touch of realism
that drew the audience into the plot and had them rooting for
the hero. Almost every show was sold out.
“The size of the theatre creates some constraints physically,
but it makes you work a little harder to pull it all together,” Norton
said. “And as a director, there are some anxious times because
you know you have to do it well in order to Àll the seats
for every show. The royalties are expensive and you have to
sell tickets to pay for them. There are only 70 seats available,
and nine performances of the show. So if you do the math, it’s
easy to see that the shows aren’t big money-makers but allow
us to pay the bills and buy the royalties for the next show. For
instance, ‘Happy Days’ will be coming to Hayswood in a few
months, and it will cost us about $2,000 for the rights to perform
it. ‘Rumors,’ the Neil Simon play, is also on our list of upcoming
shows and will cost us $1,200 in royalties. But we keep our
ticket prices aordable and hope the community comes out and
supports us.”
And that is almost a given these days. The little theatre has
a loyal following. Many in the community attend every play.
Some show up with groups from their church. Others bring outof-town
guests to show o their community theatre, one of only
two or three in the whole region.
“People are hungry for uplifting entertainment,” Norton
said. “And that assures us of a great future here.”
After the cowpokes of “Blazing Guns at Roaring Gulch” got
on their horses and rode out of town, Norton went right back to
acting, accepting a role alongside her son and daughter in the
next play “South PaciÀc,” directed by Charles Swarens. Some
wondered how Swarens would be able to pull a cast of 40 actors
together and make the play work in the small venue, but almost
every seat was full for every performance, and when each one
ended, Swarens had the audience teary-eyed as Nurse Nellie
and Emile hugged and rekindled their
romance.
After being bitten by the theatre bug,
Liz Swarens would turn o the lights in
her law o ce in the evenings and head to
the theatre. She’s hooked on Hayswood.
Many now consider her the backbone
of the venue as she rushes around backstage
with such attention to detail, Àlling
the stage manager position for many
of the plays. She has also been an actor
in a few plays and has assisted her husband,
Charles, in directing some plays.
Her sewing and costume design abilities
could be seen on stage during “South PaciÀc,”
and she also serves as the president
of the board of directors.
And there are people like Rita Hight, a
well-known regional actress and director
who, not only acts, but works as choreographer
on shows like “South PaciÀc.”
Talented local artist Larry Morgan creates
colorful backdrops and scenery for
many of the shows, and the list of talent
involved both onstage and backstage is
extensive. Nowadays, there’s no shortage
of directors wanting to do shows at Hayswood,
and there is plenty of help to share
the workload and prevent burn-out.
“For people who want to try acting or
directing, the Hayswood is a wonderful
place to learn,” said Sue Woertz, who has
performed in several plays at the venue.
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(Above) After being away from Hayswood
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(Right) Because painting sets indoors can
be dangerous, Larry Morgan paints the
backdrop for “South Paci¿c” outside his
garage in Corydon.
“Young and old can mold together and
interact there, and I love things that involve
all ages. I believe it’s important for
the community to support and showcase
the performing arts, and the Hayswood
Theatre does that. It is a premier small
theatre, one of the best in the region.”
Up next at the theatre are “Til Beth
Photos by Randy West
Do Us Part”, “Papa’s Angels”, “Happy
Days”, “Rumors”, “Cotton Patch Gospel”
and “Seussical the Musical.” •
For ticket availability and show information,
visit the theatre’s website: www.hayswoodtheatre.com.
For reservations, call 812-
738-2138 or 888-738-2137.
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silivingmag.com • 47
Flashback Photo
1984
Rothrock’s Mill
Rothrock’s Mill in Harrison County near Milltown. Built by Philo Rothrock in 1865. After damage by a Àood, it was rebuilt in
1909 by Philo’s sons, Henry and Luther. After the mill had been unused for a number of years, the millwheel was removed and
shipped to a Catholic diocese in Southeast Asia. When damage accumulated from a number of subsequent Àoods, it was demolished
by the State of Indiana in 1986. The dam was eventually removed to facilitate passage of canoes from Cave Country
Canoes in Milltown.
// Photo courtesy Jon R. Combs, great-great-great--grandson of Philo Rothrock.
September/October 2012 • 48
silivingmag.com • 49
everyday adventures
Missing Mayberry
We can learn about our relationship with God from Andy Grif¿th
Celebrity deaths are weird to me.
It just seems strange how connected
we can feel to people
we’ve never met and mourn
their loss like someone from our own
family. For example, this summer, when
Andy Gri th died, I was seriously
bummed. It was like losing a grandpa.
Part of it, I guess, is that given how
much TV I watched as a kid, I probably
spent more time with Andy than with
some of my real family members. Sad,
but true.
But I think with Andy, something
unique was going on. It wasn’t just me.
When Andy passed away, fan reactions
Áooded the internet. Fan videos,
photos and tributes popped up everywhere.
My favorite was a picture I saw
on Facebook that said, “Our world needs
more Mayberry, less Jersey Shore.” That
one pretty much says it all.
Andy reminds us of something we’ve
all lost but don’t know how to reclaim.
That’s because Andy represents
something bigger than a TV character.
He represents the Mayberry Myth, the
possibility that somewhere out there is
a place where life isn’t so complicated
and harsh.
In Mayberry, relationships matter
more than accomplishments, contentment
beats out materialism and simplicity
trumps sophistication every time.
We live in a dark and cynical world,
but something deep down tells us it’s
not supposed to be this way, and that
maybe somewhere, once upon a time, it
wasn’t. Mayberry is that once upon a
time, that idyllic hometown we all long
for in the confusion of 21st century life.
The funny thing, though, is that
even in Mayberry they were longing
for Mayberry. In a 1996 interview with
Matt Lauer, Andy Grith said that even
though the show was Àlmed in the sixties,
they were trying to create a town
that felt more like the thirties.
He said, “Even when we were Àlming
the show, Mayberry was already a time
gone by.”
A time gone by. The good old days.
Sweet innocence that’s been lost.
The Bible calls this place Eden, a perfect
world of goodness and simplicity
where people hung out with God like
old friends sitting around on a front
porch.
Andy reminds us of something we’ve all
lost but don’t know how to reclaim.
In Eden decency and honesty ruled
the day, and the world was exactly as it
was meant to be.
But mankind walked away from all
that. We turned our back on all that was
good, and now, like Mayberry refugees
who ran o to the big city, we’re all
homesick for the place we know we belong.
A time gone by. But maybe also, it’s a
time yet to come.
Mayberry may be a myth, but the
things in it that we yearn for are certainly
real. They were real in Eden. They’ll
be real in heaven, and to some degree,
they’re available to us as we grow closer
to God in the here and now.
So maybe it’s time to let our nostalgia
lead us home to the place where we will
always Ànd belonging, relationship and
peace and a Father who wants to help
us discover our heart’s true hometown.
The opening credits of the Andy
Grith Show remind me of this kind of
intimacy with God, a snapshot of a perfect
relationship between a father and
his child. I don’t know if God has an old
dirt road or a Àshing hole, but I know
He longs for each of us to walk with
Him with that same kind of innocent
wonder. •
Jason Byerly is a writer, pastor, husband and
dad who loves the quirky surprises God sends
his way every day. He believes life is much
funnier and way cooler than most of us take
time to notice. You can catch up with Jason on
his blog at www.jasonbyerly.com or follow him
on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jasondbyerly.
September/October 2012 • 50
silivingmag.com • 51
PICK UP RIGHT WHERE YOU LEFT OFF.
HIP AND KNEE
REPLACEMENT
WITHOUT FEAR.
Is hip or knee pain keeping you from doing what you love? Here’s good news.
Clark Memorial’s Center for Orthopedics and Spine specializes in advanced joint
replacement, with an emphasis on minimally invasive procedures for lower risk,
greater comfort and faster recovery. The Clark team provides you with pre-operative
education, advanced pain control and comprehensive after-care — all designed to give
you the best possible outcome. You can find out more and plan to attend one of our FREE
Knee and Hip Pain Seminars at www.clarkmemorial.org. For hip and knee replacement
that gets you back to the things — and people — you love, no one cares like Clark.
FREE KNEE
& HIP PAIN
SEMINARS
Thursday, September 20 | 5 - 6 PM
2109 Green Valley Road | New Albany
Thursday, October 18 | Noon - 1 PM
Kathryn Raines Education Conference Center, Clark Memorial Hospital
1220 Missouri Avenue | Jeffersonville
RSVP: (812) 283-2926 or www.clarkmemorial.org
(812) 282-6631 | www.clarkmemorial.org