30.01.2020 Views

Southern Indiana Living SeptOct 2012

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Freshen up your home this Fall •the Destination • new albany bicentennial • hayswooD theatre<br />

<strong>Living</strong><br />

Te BEST of <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong><br />

S outhern I ndIana<br />

Don’t miss our<br />

biggest issue yet!<br />

NEW! in this issue:<br />

A Walk in<br />

the Garden<br />

Meet the woman who<br />

was blessed by cancer<br />

Once Upon A Farm<br />

the brewers prove Family Farms Don’t have to Die


FEWER<br />

TREATMENTS *<br />

Our new technology is making<br />

cancer treatments dramatically faster.<br />

Now we can fight cancer in places we couldn’t<br />

reach before, dramatically reduce the number<br />

of treatments needed, better protect healthy<br />

areas of the body and reduce uncomfortable<br />

side effects. With our new radiation technology,<br />

we can attack cancer more effectively than<br />

ever, so you can get advanced cancer care right<br />

here at home and get back to living sooner.<br />

SOUTHERN INDIANA<br />

CANCER<br />

<strong>2012</strong>-13<br />

812-945-4000 • floydmemorial.com/cancer<br />

*May not apply to all treatment plans. Ask your doctor if this treatment is right for you.


SOUTHERN INDIANA<br />

<strong>Living</strong><br />

in THIS issue<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong><br />

SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER <strong>2012</strong><br />

VOL. 5, ISSUE 5<br />

Features<br />

On the Cover<br />

Once upon a farm • 34<br />

PUBLISHER | Karen Hanger<br />

karen@silivingmag.com<br />

EDITOR IN CHIEF &<br />

CREATIVE DIRECTOR |<br />

Abby Laub<br />

abby@silivingmag.com<br />

A blessing of cancer • 14<br />

Treasures and simple<br />

pleasures • 18<br />

<strong>Living</strong> the sweet life • 21<br />

18<br />

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING | Sandy Payne<br />

sandy@silivingmag.com, 502.322.7703<br />

SALES REPRESENTATIVE | Kimberly Hanger<br />

kimberly@silivingmag.com<br />

DISTRIBUTION | Jim Hamilton, Chase Scott, Dana Scott,<br />

Summer Whelan<br />

CONTRIBUTORS | Sam Bowles, Jason Byerly, Lee Cable,<br />

Sara Combs, Bob Hill, Michelle Hockman, Kathy Melvin,<br />

Elise Walter, Randy West, Laci Tucker<br />

Nothing chilly about it • 22<br />

Making a splash at Great<br />

Wolf Lodge • 28<br />

Things look bright at White Cloud Window • 39<br />

Acting out and selling tickets • 42<br />

Regulars<br />

A walk in the garden with Bob Hill • 7<br />

Top 10 easy home improvements • 8<br />

Flashback • 48<br />

Everyday Adventures • 50<br />

Contact SIL<br />

P.O. Box 145<br />

Marengo, IN 47140<br />

812.989.8871<br />

karen@silivingmag.com<br />

SUBSCRIPTIONS | $25/year, Mail to: <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

<strong>Living</strong>, P.O. Box 145, Marengo, IN 47140<br />

SUBMISSIONS | Do you have a story idea or photo opportunity?<br />

E-mail abby@silivingmag.com for our submission guidelines.<br />

Not all will be accepted.<br />

SNAPSHOTS | We invite you to submit a photo of yourself<br />

reading <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> <strong>Living</strong> in an interesting place. E-mail<br />

color photographs to abby@silivingmag.com. Include names, location<br />

and your phone number.<br />

ADVERTISING | Take advantage of prime advertising space.<br />

Call us at 812-989-8871 or e-mail ads@silivingmag.com.<br />

<strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> <strong>Living</strong> is published bimonthly by SIL Publishing Co.<br />

LLC, P.O. Box 145, Marengo, Ind. 47140. Any views expressed in any advertisement,<br />

signed letter, article, or photograph are those of the author<br />

and do not necessarily re¾ect the position of <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> <strong>Living</strong><br />

or its parent company. Copyright © <strong>2012</strong> SIL Publishing Co. LLC. No<br />

part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written<br />

permission from SIL Publishing Co. LLC.<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 4


BOUNCE BACK.<br />

Michelle actively teaches others to reach their personal fitness<br />

goals. When a serious back injury threatened to keep her<br />

from training, she turned to the world-renowned experts at<br />

Norton Leatherman Spine Center. They helped her get back in<br />

the gym – and back to what matters. If you suffer from a serious<br />

neck or back injury, call the experts at Norton Leatherman<br />

Spine Center.<br />

FOr MOrE INFOrMATION,<br />

CALL (888) 4-U-NORTON Or<br />

vISIT NORTONLeaTheRmaN.cOm.<br />

MIChELLE dENhAM<br />

pATIENT<br />

Restoring lives.<br />

silivingmag.com • 5


For nearly a year, I had the privilege of<br />

serving as the Editor of this Àne publication,<br />

and what a joy it has been. My<br />

academic pursuits are now taking me<br />

across the river and back into the classroom,<br />

and I’ve realized I simply would not be able<br />

to give the magazine the time or attention it<br />

needs from an editor.<br />

Fortunately, I will still be close enough that<br />

I can continue to contribute, as I am able, and<br />

I know the magazine will be in wonderful<br />

hands with our Publisher Karen Hanger and<br />

Creative Director Abby Laub sharing the editorial<br />

roles and responsibilities.<br />

I believe <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> is an incredibly<br />

special place, and I think we as residents are<br />

blessed to have a publication devoted to sharing<br />

the personal stories of the people that<br />

make it so wonderful. I look forward to continuing<br />

to share in those stories in the years<br />

to come.<br />

All the best,<br />

Sam C Bowles<br />

TIRES<br />

WHEELS<br />

BRAKES<br />

SHOCKS, ALIGNMENTS<br />

812-347-3134<br />

1529 Hwy. 64 NW 1-800-847-0770<br />

Ramsey, IN 47166 Fax: 812-347-2166<br />

www.vanwinkleservice.com<br />

VICTORIAN MANSION<br />

Victorian mansion nestled in tree lined Mansion Row<br />

Historic District. Approx 6000 sq ft, 7BR’s, 8BA’s<br />

(5 have marble Jacuzzi tubs). Award-winning<br />

mansion on the National Historic Register.<br />

Visit Barbshaw.com or text/call<br />

Barbara Shaw, RE/MAX Advantage at<br />

812.972.1505<br />

“Supporting our<br />

Community Since 1954”<br />

812-738-2249<br />

1991 Hwy. 337 NW, Corydon, IN 47112<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 6


A Walk in the Garden<br />

with Bob Hill<br />

<strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> gardeners who<br />

have endured this summer’s heat<br />

and drought – and are now perhaps<br />

looking over their shoulders<br />

for the advancing plague of locusts – can<br />

Ànd solace in one shrub in their autumn<br />

gardens that always lives up to its name,<br />

the beautyberry.<br />

Not surprisingly the beautyberry’s<br />

Latin name is Callicarpa, from the Greek<br />

“kallos” for beautiful and “carpa” for<br />

fruit. Along with that beauty it’s easily<br />

planted from containers, needs only average<br />

soil, can take full sun to light shade<br />

and oers great, arching clusters of stunning<br />

metallic-purple berries that will<br />

stop Àrst-time viewers in their tracks.<br />

In fact, here at Hidden Hill Nursery<br />

that’s exactly the way it’s used; as a show<br />

stopper; a What-is-THAT? plant. Planted<br />

in groups in the shrub border, or to be<br />

seen as you round a corner wondering<br />

what might come next, the eect is even<br />

stronger.<br />

Good gardens should reward the owners<br />

– and the guests. If beautyberries<br />

planted near the deciduous hollies (Ilex<br />

verticillata) such as “Winter Red” with<br />

its stunning red fruit in late fall, the combination<br />

might even allow you to forget<br />

– at least temporarily – the July-August<br />

water bills.<br />

The key to making all that work is to<br />

think about that parade of fall color when<br />

planning the garden in March and April.<br />

It takes a little training. The beautyberry<br />

is quiet then; you’d never buy one in a<br />

nursery or online unless you knew what<br />

promises it would keep that fall.<br />

The beautyberry does o er some small<br />

pinkish-white Áowers in early summer,<br />

but it’s mostly mute, even nondescript<br />

as the other shrubs kick in; roses, viburnums,<br />

spirea and hydrangeas. So don’t<br />

plant it near the front door; just pick the<br />

best spot in the yard where it can be enjoyed<br />

later. Then, just when you need<br />

late-summer color the spectacular purple<br />

fruit appears.<br />

The beautyberry is also user friendly.<br />

It blooms on new wood making the<br />

pruning very easy; just cut it back in the<br />

spring. If you want your shrubs to reach<br />

their full, arching six-foot potential keep<br />

the pruners away for a year or two – but<br />

eventually it will need to be trimmed,<br />

shaped or, yes, taken down to knee level<br />

for a total rejuvenation.<br />

We all sort of need that anyway.<br />

The shrub does require well-drained<br />

soil. Beyond that it’s carefree; very few<br />

diseases or insects will bother it. When<br />

the berries fade in late fall after about a<br />

month of glory, just trim them o or cut<br />

back the plant.<br />

There are four di erent species of<br />

beautyberry o ering di erent shades of<br />

purple, or clustered in di erent ways.<br />

There are even white ones, although I’ve<br />

never found them as interesting or attractive.<br />

The American beautyberry (Callicarpa<br />

americana) – a native – is loose, open and<br />

has bright purple berries, but is borderline<br />

hardy here. The more colorful species<br />

are the Asian cultivars; japonica from<br />

Japan and dichotoma and bodinieri from<br />

China. My favorites are of the dichotoma<br />

species.<br />

Of those, look for the “Early Amethyst”<br />

Photo courtesy Lady Bird<br />

Johnson WildÀower Center,<br />

Joseph A. Marcus<br />

Beautyberries:<br />

Perfect name for a perfect plant<br />

which produces a smaller purple berry a<br />

little earlier, and the “Issai,” my favorite,<br />

which o ers hundreds of those metallicpurple<br />

berries on mounded shrubs.<br />

A newer cultivar, “Duet,” has variegated<br />

foliage with white berries – which<br />

does make the plant more interesting<br />

during its formative stages – and may be<br />

able to sing for its supper.<br />

The bodinieri cultivar “Profusion” is<br />

even more erect, up to 10 feet in height,<br />

with glossy bluish fruit that will gather<br />

in clumps along the stems rather than in<br />

long, graceful purple pearls.<br />

If you want a nice mix – and some<br />

more enduring color – mix in some Early<br />

Amethyst with the other cultivars.<br />

Then you can go pay your water bills.<br />

Bob Hill owns<br />

Hidden Hill<br />

Nursery and can<br />

be reached at<br />

farmerbob@<br />

hiddenhillnursery.<br />

com.<br />

silivingmag.com • 7


Top 10:<br />

Easy, InExpEnsIvE HomE ImprovEmEnT projEcTs<br />

Story // Elise Walter<br />

If your kitchen hasn’t been updated in years, try replacing the cabinet hardware. Go a step<br />

1 further by upgrading your faucet and outdated lighting.<br />

In the bathroom, install a new toilet seat. Also consider putting down new vinyl Áooring –<br />

2 sometimes you can even apply it right over the old Áoor. Finally, a new shower curtain, bath<br />

mats, and towels can make the room feel new for very little money.<br />

A fresh coat of paint is a great way to freshen up any room. If you might try to sell your<br />

3 house soon, consider choosing a neutral color that will appeal to buyers.<br />

Paint your front door an eye-catching color and consider adding new hardware. To create<br />

4 an even friendlier entrance, assemble some containers Àlled with Áowers, vines, grasses,<br />

and so on. Some garden centers even sell containers that are already planted if you’d rather not<br />

design your own.<br />

Outside, give attention to your landscape by trimming shrubs and edging beds<br />

5<br />

For inside or outside deep cleaning, rent a carpet cleaner or a power washer. Sometimes a<br />

6 good scrubbing reveals that your home looks better than you thought. While you’re at it,<br />

wash the windows, too.<br />

Add charm to your home with decorative molding or trim. Home improvement stores sell<br />

7 kits that are easy to use and can add visual interest to a room.<br />

Get rid of clutter by throwing away, donating, or saving items and coming up with solutions<br />

8 for the messiest areas of the house (junk drawer, entryway, kitchen table, and so on.). You<br />

might even rediscover a great item you forgot about!<br />

Rearrange furniture in the living or family room or move an item from one room to another.<br />

9 This is a quick way to make a room feel di erent and new without spending money.<br />

Incorporate new accessories like pillows, mirrors, art, and lamps. Or consider replacing<br />

10 your window treatments. Several retail stores o er beautiful decorating accessories at<br />

very reasonable prices.<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 8


silivingmag.com • 9


THE PERFECT SETTING<br />

For over 125 years, thousands of couples have chosen Endris Jewelers to begin their<br />

engagement and Endris is still the engagement headquarters of <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong>.<br />

Come visit their diamond gallery and see why.<br />

314 Pearl Street • Downtown New Albany • 944-3133 • endrisjewelers.com<br />

Free<br />

Checking.<br />

Free Debit Card.<br />

Oh yeah,<br />

and a<br />

FREE GIFT!<br />

Bring this coupon in to take<br />

advantage of this special offer.<br />

Chances are, your checking account is something you use all the time.<br />

And it’s important for you to choose a product that Àts your needs. We offer<br />

a range of checking options that is sure to be just what you’re looking for.<br />

MainSourceBank.com<br />

Member FDIC<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 10


S<br />

theS<br />

Behind<br />

torie<br />

tones<br />

Historic Fairview Cemetery tour to showcase New Albany’s history.<br />

Te Second Annual “STORIES BEHIND THE STONES” Historic Fairview<br />

Cemetery Tour. New Albany’s upcoming Bicentennial Celebration in 2013<br />

is an opportunity for people to learn frst-hand about New Albany’s notables<br />

and ordinary citizens in its early days. Te Bicentennial Commission’s<br />

<strong>Living</strong> History Committee will portray citizens and recreate stories from<br />

New Albany’s past. Tis is an entertaining and educational walk through<br />

Fairview Cemetery on Sept. 21 and 22. Te one-hour tours will begin every<br />

15 minutes between 6 and 9 p.m. To purchase tickets, please call Patty<br />

Hughes at 812-945-7601.<br />

Fairview Cemetery was established in the early 1840’s and was frst called<br />

the Northern Burial Grounds. Today, Fairview Cemetery is 65 plus acres<br />

and contains over 30,000 grave sites. Many of New Albany’s frst families<br />

are buried in Fairview Cemetery.<br />

Come aboard to join City of New Albany<br />

Bicentennial Commission and<br />

New Albany Mayor Jef Gahan<br />

in celebrating the release of<br />

“New Albany, <strong>Indiana</strong>:<br />

By the River’s Edge”<br />

Tursday, October 4, <strong>2012</strong><br />

Te Grand<br />

138 E. Market Street, New Albany<br />

Social Hour – 6:00 pm<br />

Dinner-7:00 pm<br />

Program and Entertainment– 8:00 pm<br />

Featuring a book review by special guest,<br />

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Robin Hood<br />

and Esteemed history author James A. Crutchfeld.<br />

Honorable J. Terrence Cody, Emcee<br />

Tere are only 200 copies of this limited edition, leather-bound, artist<br />

signed, full color volume commemorating the 200th anniversary of<br />

the founding of New Albany, <strong>Indiana</strong> in 1813. It is available at a cost of<br />

$200 and includes two admissions to the special release celebration on<br />

Tursday, October 4.<br />

For further information, contact Rosalie Dowell at grdowell@insightbb.<br />

com or 812-949-1049 or Connie Sipes at clsipes@insightbb.com or<br />

812-948-2319.


snapshots<br />

Earlier in the year, Corporal<br />

Richard Gething (British Army),<br />

pictured above, read a copy<br />

of <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> <strong>Living</strong> in<br />

Rahim-Kaley in Helmand Province,<br />

<strong>Southern</strong> Afghanistan.<br />

Ben Merk (left) and Richard<br />

Gething at Disney in 1992.<br />

Gething, 28, is a resident of Great Britian and has<br />

been a long-term friend of Ben Merk of Corydon,<br />

Ind. They first met at Disneyworld, Florida in<br />

1992 and their parents have kept in touch ever since.<br />

Richard joined the British Army in 2002, and is currently<br />

stationed in Paderborn, Germany. From October<br />

2011 to April <strong>2012</strong> his unit was deployed in Afghanistan,<br />

and among other supplies and gifts mailed from home<br />

was <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> <strong>Living</strong> (which had been sent over<br />

from Corydon by Mark Peyron.)<br />

Richard’s parents, Dianna and David, have visited in<br />

Corydon on four separate occasions during the last 12<br />

years, staying with their good friends Mark and Deborah,<br />

who are Ben’s parents. •<br />

Looking to buy or sell<br />

Recreational property?<br />

Larry Bye, Principal Broker<br />

cell (812) 267-2752<br />

Call Us! byerealestate@frontier.com<br />

BYE<br />

Real Estate &<br />

Development<br />

190 S. State Road 66 Marengo, IN<br />

Jeff Esarey, AAMS®<br />

Financial Advisor<br />

.<br />

Direction<br />

in a<br />

volatile<br />

market.<br />

2015 Allison Lane<br />

Jeffersonville, IN 47130<br />

812-288-2178<br />

Member SIPC<br />

MAKING SENSE OF INVESTING<br />

www.edwardjones.com<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 12


<strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> heads to Europe<br />

Far Left: Jim and Vivian<br />

Taylor, of Marengo,<br />

recently enjoyed SILM on<br />

a trip to Germany. The<br />

Taylors are pictured in<br />

Kornweistheim, Germany,<br />

with <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

<strong>Living</strong>. The Taylors just<br />

celebrated their 25th wedding<br />

anniversary!<br />

Left: Marcia and Steve<br />

Latimer of Corydon and<br />

Cindy and Jim Kanning<br />

of New Albany stopped<br />

along a mountain road in<br />

Norway in August to read<br />

their favorite magazine!<br />

To submit your snapshots, e-mail<br />

abby@silivingmag.com.<br />

Alstott’s<br />

Hometown<br />

Hardware<br />

Store<br />

Established in 1943<br />

“Your<br />

Old-Fashioned<br />

Hardware Store”<br />

65 of years of Helpful Service<br />

Marvin and Louise Alstott<br />

200 South Capitol<br />

Corydon, IN 47112<br />

812-738-2266<br />

DAVE’S PEST CONTROL<br />

Serving <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> Since 1976<br />

812-738-2642<br />

THE “LOCAL” PEST CONTROL GUY!<br />

Family Owned and Operated since 1976<br />

• Termites • Ticks • Roaches • Ants<br />

• Spiders • Fleas • Rodents • Birds<br />

• Bedbugs & many more...<br />

Mention this ad at the<br />

time of service<br />

and receive<br />

10% Off<br />

One per customer.


The next thing I know I’m<br />

standing down there with a purple<br />

survivor shirt and a balloon and thinking,<br />

‘Thank you, God, that I’m here.’<br />

Story & Photos // Abby Laub<br />

If there ever was a person who was a<br />

“good” candidate to receive a cancer<br />

diagnosis, Helen Smith would be it.<br />

The Angels of Hope Support<br />

Group leader at the Cancer Center of <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

in New Albany overcame a 2003<br />

uterine cancer diagnosis and said the<br />

increased level of empathy she now has<br />

for her patients was worth the winning<br />

battle waged against the deadly disease.<br />

“I remember one year at Relay for<br />

Life looking down from the bleachers<br />

and seeing all of the survivors in purple<br />

shirts and thinking, ‘Thank you, God, for<br />

the blessing that I’m not down there’,”<br />

Smith recalled. “The next thing I know<br />

I’m standing down there with a purple<br />

survivor shirt and a balloon and thinking<br />

‘Thank you, God, that I’m here.’ It’s<br />

a whole new ball game when you’re a<br />

survivor.”<br />

Smith, 55, has worked at the cancer<br />

center for 15 years as a receptionist and<br />

in 2003 was rushed to the hospital when<br />

she hemorrhaged at work. Undergoing<br />

an emergency hysterectomy, she thought<br />

she was in the clear.<br />

“And my doctor called me at home<br />

and said, ‘Well, we weren’t looking for<br />

this, but you’ve got cancer’,” she remembered<br />

about the surprise diagnosis.<br />

Already Smith had been running the<br />

Angels of Hope Support Group for several<br />

years and knew she would now<br />

need the support that she had given to<br />

so many people.<br />

At only 46 years old, uterine cancer<br />

was rare for her age and the health<br />

complications she had been experiencing<br />

prior to her diagnosis were usually<br />

brushed o as symptoms of menopause.<br />

The tumor in her uterus, she<br />

said, was the size of a Àve-and-a-halfmonth<br />

pregnancy and fortunately was<br />

only in Stage I.<br />

“Of course when you’re told you have<br />

cancer, you just never associate your<br />

name with the big ‘C’ word,” she said.<br />

A blessing of cAncer<br />

Helen Smith allowed an awful diagnosis to shape her life forever<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 14


silivingmag.com • 15


Helen Smith holds the name<br />

tags of her group’s<br />

many members.<br />

“They have my records here at<br />

the center, so I’d go pull my chart<br />

and go to Helen Smith, cancer ...<br />

like, they don’t go together. It always<br />

happens to other people.”<br />

Five years, three surgeries and<br />

hundreds of doctor visits later,<br />

Smith is cancer-free and grateful<br />

for the experience that threatened<br />

her vitality.<br />

“God spoke to me when I<br />

was o of work for my surgeries,<br />

and he said ‘I gave you the<br />

gift of compassion, and these<br />

people know you love them<br />

and you care about them, but<br />

we’re going to kick it up a<br />

notch, and when you tell them<br />

you understand, they’re going<br />

to know you really understand’,” Smith<br />

said. “And that’s what brought me back<br />

here.”<br />

Young Insurance Agency<br />

Let us Save you $$$ on your<br />

AUTO • HOME<br />

LIFE • BUSINESS<br />

MARK A. YOUNG, AGENT<br />

Of¿ce: 812-725-7100<br />

Cell 812-620-1659<br />

Our New location is across from Outback<br />

WE HAVE<br />

MOVED!<br />

1517 Broadway St., Unit 103, Clarksville, IN 47129<br />

www.farmersagent.com/myoung5<br />

Free No Obligation Quotes.<br />

Her gift of compassion is obviously<br />

working. When she took over the group<br />

she said there were about 10 members,<br />

and now she has almost 100 members.<br />

Part of it, she said, is that she<br />

sees many of the members on a<br />

regular basis when they come to<br />

the center for treatments.<br />

“They’ll tell you I harass<br />

them,” she laughed. “I’ll ask<br />

them, ‘Why haven’t you been at<br />

the support group, what’s your<br />

problem?’ When I tell them<br />

about the support group, I do<br />

emphasize that I am a survivor<br />

and I do understand.”<br />

Smith said if people say they<br />

have plenty of support at home<br />

then she encourages them to<br />

come to the group so their story<br />

can help someone else.<br />

And when it was her turn<br />

to battle cancer, Smith got the<br />

support right back from her<br />

group members. She said she<br />

also realized how fortunate<br />

she was that her cancer was<br />

not nearly as advanced or as<br />

aggressive as many of the folks<br />

that she encourages at Angels<br />

of Hope.<br />

“My strength was my patients,<br />

because I thought how lucky and<br />

blessed I was that I didn’t have to go<br />

through the treatments,” she said.<br />

Throughout the process she felt<br />

closer than ever to her patients at<br />

the support group and realized<br />

that “it’s a group you don’t want to<br />

get into, and it’s a group you don’t<br />

want to get out of.”<br />

So much so, she joked, that she<br />

has to push people out of the group<br />

once they are cancer free.<br />

“I have one lady who doesn’t<br />

even have cancer but she thinks she<br />

does,” Smith said. “I’ve had two<br />

marriages out of this group.”<br />

Angels of Hope meets twice a<br />

month. On the Àrst Thursday of<br />

the month are roundtable discussions<br />

for caregivers and survivors<br />

and on the third Thursday Smith<br />

brings in speakers, organizes<br />

games, plans activities and generally<br />

makes it a lighter evening for<br />

people to get their minds o cancer.<br />

Smith and members of the group<br />

also are very active in the community,<br />

particularly with Relay for<br />

Life.<br />

Since her diagnosis, Smith said<br />

she has connected with her biological<br />

mother (Smith grew up in an orphanage),<br />

discovered a brother, and<br />

lobbied on behalf of cancer centers<br />

in Washington, D.C. •<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 16


silivingmag.com • 13


Treasures and Simple Pleasures<br />

The Besslers bring their dreams to life at The Destination<br />

Photos//Abby Laub<br />

Story//Sara Combs<br />

When Tom and Denise<br />

Bessler were<br />

handed the keys to<br />

their rural Washington<br />

County<br />

property, they<br />

wasted no time.<br />

“As soon as we closed<br />

(the deal) we drove<br />

straight there and started<br />

tearing out carpet,” Denise<br />

said. The former educators<br />

have been hard at<br />

it ever since – whipping<br />

their barn into shape to<br />

display antiques and remodeling<br />

the two-story<br />

frame farmhouse for a<br />

bed and breakfast and<br />

place for small gatherings.<br />

That work paid off.<br />

They opened the antique<br />

shop earlier this year<br />

and have held several<br />

gatherings in the B&B,<br />

which will accommodate<br />

overnight guests in three<br />

beautifully decorated<br />

themed guest rooms furnished<br />

with antique and<br />

period furniture − with<br />

most pieces available to purchase.<br />

The Besslers have done most of the<br />

renovation themselves. “It is our recreation,”<br />

said Tom, adding that local workers<br />

assisted with drywalling and landscaping.<br />

Occasionally, friends and family<br />

have lent a hand.<br />

Combining three businesses has allowed<br />

the couple to use their skills as<br />

they practice a love for antiques and people,<br />

said Denise.<br />

Denise, who was a school administrator<br />

until leaving her job earlier this<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 18<br />

year, said both she and her husband are<br />

“people persons” and enjoy entertaining.<br />

They have hosted the local Lions<br />

Club, Red Hat ladies, some homemakers<br />

groups and others. “I like thinking<br />

about the days when people sat around<br />

the dining table and visited,” said Tom.<br />

“We want to recreate some of that kind<br />

of feeling.”<br />

Denise’s eyes sparkle as she and Tom,<br />

her husband of 18 years, show their accomplishments,<br />

describe their journey,<br />

and tell about plans for expansion.<br />

It all began several years ago, she said,<br />

when they wanted to enter<br />

the rental real estate<br />

market. They also hoped<br />

to combine their interest<br />

in antiques with a retail<br />

project.<br />

When they drove<br />

from their western Clark<br />

County home to explore<br />

possibilities, there was a<br />

decision to make. “When<br />

we came to the end of that<br />

driveway, we could have<br />

turned either way,” said<br />

Denise. Should they stay<br />

in their home territory or<br />

head toward Washington<br />

County? Obviously, they<br />

turned toward Salem<br />

where their first venture<br />

was a duplex that became<br />

Kelsey’s Corner,<br />

their first antique shop.<br />

Denise believes the direction<br />

of that turn was<br />

no accident. “I think God<br />

always leads us whether<br />

we know it or not,” she<br />

said.<br />

“We closed Kelsey’s<br />

in December 2009, intending<br />

to reopen in the<br />

spring,” Denise said.<br />

That attracted a good following<br />

but lack of parking<br />

made the site less<br />

than ideal. They had also<br />

begun looking for property<br />

where they could<br />

expand their vision.<br />

It was after several<br />

months’ search that<br />

things began to come together.<br />

Just before Christmas 2009, the<br />

Besslers spotted a couple of places that<br />

might work. And, less than two weeks<br />

later, they closed on the Harristown Road<br />

property, which, Denise says was, once<br />

again, God inspired. “Too many things<br />

just fell in place to be all coincidence.”<br />

Tom and Denise say they have always<br />

been open to the Lord’s leading. “And<br />

we do want to give Him thanks and glory<br />

in all we do,” Tom said.<br />

“We needed to use our excess energy,”<br />

said Tom. The three-business model is al-


All At One Location!<br />

Family Owned and Operated...<br />

Serving <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

Since 1937!<br />

S. Main St., Salem, IN • (812) 883-3481 • 1-800-467-1001<br />

Website: www.EddieGilstrapMotors.com • Email: eddieg@blueriver.net<br />

silivingmag.com • 19


lowing that. Tom taught industrial arts<br />

for 34 years which gave him carpentry<br />

skills and plumbing and electrical abilities<br />

as well. Before becoming an administrator,<br />

Denise taught home economics<br />

and business − knowledge and experience<br />

that have proven invaluable, said<br />

Tom. She is the global thinker, seeing the<br />

big picture; he is the detail person, with<br />

both seeing to day-to-day operations.<br />

“Our talents complement each other,” he<br />

said.<br />

Tom stayed on site to cope with all<br />

that goes with major renovation. Denise<br />

was still working but she joined him on<br />

weekends. They stayed in their camper<br />

until the Àrst bathroom was functional.<br />

“We lived like that for a year and a half,”<br />

said Denise. After moving into the house<br />

in September 2011, the couple slept on a<br />

mattress in the living room Áoor until the<br />

master bedroom was completed.<br />

With completion in sight, the Besslers<br />

say they are enjoying seeing the fruits of<br />

their labor.<br />

They have immersed themselves in<br />

their new community, joining a nearby<br />

church, becoming active in several organizations<br />

and buying locally. “When<br />

you go grocery shopping, it gives you an<br />

opportunity to talk with people, to get to<br />

know them better,” Denise said.<br />

The Destination is located at 206 N.<br />

Harristown Rd., Salem. The antique<br />

shop contains a wide variety of furniture,<br />

primitives, quilts, candles, collectibles,<br />

country pieces and more. Trendy Gurgle<br />

Pots (Àsh-shaped pitchers that make a<br />

gurgling sound as liquid is dispensed)<br />

are included in the mix. Although antiques<br />

are their Àrst love, stocking a variety<br />

of items is necessary, says Tom. “You<br />

can’t make it if you only have antiques.”<br />

Denise’s love for antiques and handmade<br />

items began when she was a teen<br />

and grew when she was a student at<br />

Berea College in Kentucky, located in an<br />

area known for its arts and crafts industry.<br />

She Àt right in. “I love handcrafted<br />

items, especially things made of wood<br />

and fabric,” she said.<br />

Tom’s interest in antiques began when<br />

he and Denise were married and soon<br />

grew to match hers. “I knew with his<br />

love for woodworking he would love antiquing,”<br />

she said. Besides antiques, the<br />

barn houses Tom’s woodworking shop<br />

and includes picture windows so visitors<br />

can watch him build replicas of antique<br />

furniture and other pieces.<br />

They have four adult children who<br />

are professionals and competent do-ityourselfers.<br />

The parents of this blended<br />

family, whose ages range from 25 to 33,<br />

love it that their children have mastered<br />

these life skills. “But most of all we are<br />

proud that they are all living good Christian<br />

lives,” said Denise.<br />

Plans include building the Gathering<br />

Place, a facility to host weddings,<br />

receptions and other larger gatherings.<br />

They will also have an enclosed English<br />

garden, utilizing a building that once<br />

housed hogs.<br />

“We have a lot of<br />

goals,” said Tom,<br />

“and reaching them<br />

is important, but<br />

enjoying the journey<br />

is the key.” •<br />

The antique shop<br />

is open Thursday and<br />

Friday from 11 a.m.<br />

to 5 p.m. and Saturday<br />

from 10 a.m. to 5<br />

p.m. To make reservations<br />

at the B&B or<br />

schedule a gathering,<br />

call 812-896-1369, or<br />

go on line at tddestination@yahoo.com.<br />

For more information,<br />

visit thedestination.info.<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 20


<strong>Living</strong> the<br />

SWEET<br />

Life<br />

Cotton Candy whiz Bill Burch can’t get enough sugar<br />

Story // Sam C Bowles<br />

Like most people, Bill Burch loves snack foods,<br />

but Bill has taken that appreciation to the<br />

next level by making a career out of it.<br />

“When I was in high school, I used to make<br />

peanut brittle,” Burch said, “I had the Charlie Brown<br />

Cookbook when I was young and liked to make candies<br />

and stu like that.”<br />

Burch has been in the grocery delivery business<br />

for over 35 years now, stocking grocery stores of all<br />

sizes with all kinds of snacks. His primary employment<br />

is with the Davis Cookie Company for whom<br />

he distributes a variety of products, but he has also<br />

worked with Webb’s Butcher Block for the past couple<br />

of years.<br />

“I’ve called on just about all the ‘Mom and Pop’<br />

stores within a 50 mile radius of Louisville.”<br />

In fact, that is precisely how Burch met his wife<br />

Gayla, who used to work at a small grocery store in<br />

Borden.<br />

More recently, however, Burch has expanded his<br />

involvement in the grocery business to include not<br />

just distribution but production as well.<br />

His current venture, a new company called Marengo<br />

Candy Barn, makes and packages the light-as-air,<br />

melts-in-your-mouth, perennial favorite cotton candy.<br />

“I have always loved cotton candy and wanted a<br />

cotton candy machine,” Burch explains. “And I actually<br />

had the machines for two years before I really<br />

got started making the stu , but I knew if I bought<br />

them I’d eventually get it going.”<br />

Since he already owned a building in downtown<br />

Marengo (the former home of the Marengo Farm and<br />

Home Supply), Burch decided it would be the perfect<br />

location to setup his cotton candy production and<br />

packaging center.<br />

“I looked at the town and what else I could put in<br />

this building that would be viable for the community,”<br />

Burch said. “And so far we’re headed in the<br />

right direction.”<br />

In the beginning, it was Burch and his wife Gayla<br />

along with their friends and business partners Larry<br />

and Judy Applegate making and packaging all the<br />

cotton candy, which is being branded under the<br />

name “Sweet Fortune.” Now, however, after just a<br />

year in business, they have four part-time employees<br />

who work as orders come in and their product<br />

can already be found in numerous business locations<br />

throughout <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> and beyond.<br />

Selling more than 40,000 units in the Àrst year,<br />

Burch and his partners hope to double that number<br />

for their second year of operation.<br />

“My goal is to get the employees we have up to<br />

full-time. So everyday we’re seeking new customers<br />

and distribution outlets. It just takes a little time,”<br />

Burch explained. “All it takes is one chain like Kroger<br />

or something like that, and things really take o .”<br />

Burch also has some creative ideas to expand the<br />

business, including working with organizations by<br />

making custom batches to be sold for fundraisers.<br />

In addition, he sees great potential in custom orders<br />

made for di erent schools or athletic teams, where<br />

the cotton candy is made to match the school or team<br />

colors.<br />

“We’ve got lots of ideas for the future.”<br />

If you would like more information about Sweet<br />

Fortune Cotton Candy, Bill can be reached by phone<br />

at (502) 594-1907. •<br />

silivingmag.com • 21


Nothing CHILLY<br />

about it<br />

Chillers’ owners bring faith and family to new store<br />

Story // Kathy Melvin<br />

Photos // Michelle Hockman<br />

Susan and Troy Ward are living the sweet life, both at home and at<br />

work.<br />

At home they are grounded in solid Christian principles in<br />

which they raise their two beautiful children, Sarah, 3 and Ethan, 2.<br />

So it’s no surprise that their Christian values also guide their new business,<br />

Chillers, in Scottsburg. Located just o exit 29 on I-65, they are strategically<br />

positioned across the street from the largest McDonalds in the<br />

Midwest.<br />

Susan is a teacher at Maple Elementary in Jeersonville. Troy was<br />

involved with his family business, manufactured stone, for the past 17<br />

years, but was eager to own a business reÁecting his personal values.<br />

About a year ago, he began looking for a business that was as close to<br />

recession-proof as possible. In April of this year, he and Susan opened<br />

Chillers with 15 full and part-time employees. It’s the third franchise store<br />

sold by the Young family who own Zesto Ice Cream. The other two are in<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 22


silivingmag.com • 23<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

MAJOR SPONSORS


“Give people more than<br />

what they ask for. That’s<br />

our script for success.”<br />

-Troy Ward<br />

Je ersonville and St. Matthews.<br />

The Youngs taught him how to make<br />

ice cream and were very honest about<br />

the time commitment it would take to be<br />

successful.<br />

“They have just been wonderful,” he<br />

said. “They shared every secret from<br />

Zesto’s 45 years in business. They could<br />

not have been more helpful.”<br />

Not only did he learn how to make<br />

ice cream, Troy learned how to create<br />

$2 OFF per person*<br />

Cave Tours or Canoe/Kayak Rental<br />

*Limit 4 people/2 boats. Coupon valid through December <strong>2012</strong>.<br />

JL<br />

Snickerdoodle<br />

and decorate the store’s special occasion<br />

cakes and pies. A Chillers’ cake has two<br />

layers of soft-serve or hand-dipped ice<br />

cream of your choosing, as well as two<br />

layers of golden cake. There’s also a featured<br />

“Áavor of the week” for the handdipped<br />

ice cream that allows him to get<br />

creative.<br />

Recently, the o ering was peanut butter<br />

ice cream, laced with huge chocolate<br />

and peanut butter buckeye candies. For<br />

canoe trip!<br />

The kids loved<br />

the cave. It was<br />

larger than I<br />

expected.<br />

the more health conscious, there is nofat,<br />

no-sugar frozen yogurt, with only 60<br />

calories. There are also parfaits, sundaes,<br />

smoothies, milk shakes and malts. Also<br />

o ered are specialty hot dogs, pork barbecue<br />

and a chicken sandwich.<br />

Troy admits the last few months have<br />

been stressful, primarily because he’s<br />

away from his wife and children up to<br />

15 hours a day. Every morning he leaves<br />

their home in Marysville and drives 20<br />

minutes to the Scottsburg location.<br />

“My family was used to me being<br />

home every day at Àve,” he said. “Now<br />

I leave at six in the morning and don’t<br />

get home until late at night.” He said<br />

the Youngs warned him about the long<br />

hours and he and Susan talked and<br />

prayed about it before making the commitment.<br />

Troy, clearly an extrovert, loves the<br />

service aspect of the business and the opportunity<br />

to interact with his customers.<br />

He makes a point of personally talking<br />

with as many customers as possible and<br />

inviting them to come back.<br />

“Give people more than what they<br />

ask for. That’s our script for success,” he<br />

said.<br />

The Wards continue to grow the business<br />

and look for new ways to serve the<br />

community. They have ordered a portable<br />

ice cream cart and the Scottsburg<br />

Chamber of Commerce has given them<br />

several catering leads. Troy thinks the<br />

portable cart is ideal for taking into<br />

businesses where shift workers may<br />

only have 30 minutes for lunch or dinner,<br />

and of course, for special events.<br />

He hopes one day, to leave the business<br />

to his children. •<br />

The newly opened micro-creamery is located<br />

at 1515 W. McClain Street in Scottsburg.<br />

When school is in session, hours are<br />

10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Out of school, hours are 10<br />

a.m. to 10:30 p.m.www.ILoveChillers.<br />

1355 HWY 64 NE,<br />

NEW SALISBURY, IN 47161<br />

812-347-1031<br />

877-747-8877<br />

Schmidt Cabinet Company is<br />

located in New Salisbury, IN.<br />

Family owned and operated since 1959.


Harrison County Lifelong Learning, Inc.<br />

Adult Education Program Revamped<br />

Adult Education<br />

Instructional Hours<br />

Monday - Thursday<br />

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.<br />

5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.<br />

Official GED Test<br />

Content and Time Limits<br />

of Block Testing<br />

Day 1<br />

Language Arts, Reading<br />

65 minutes<br />

Social Studies<br />

70 minutes<br />

Science<br />

80 minutes<br />

Day 2<br />

Language Arts, Writing<br />

Part I, 75 minutes<br />

Part II, 45 minutes<br />

Mathematics<br />

2 parts, 90 minutes total<br />

Harrison County<br />

Lifelong Learning recently<br />

changed their Adult Education<br />

program to better<br />

accommodate adult learners.<br />

The free classes now<br />

include morning and evening<br />

sessions and students<br />

are accepted on a walk-in<br />

basis. “Our flexibility is designed<br />

to help students<br />

when they make the call, as<br />

soon as they are ready to<br />

commit to their educational<br />

success,” comments Doug<br />

Robson, agency Director.<br />

Students entering<br />

the program are asked to<br />

make an attendance commitment<br />

and spend their<br />

first hours completing the<br />

Test of Adult Basic Education<br />

(TABE). In addition to<br />

traditional book work,<br />

students have access to<br />

Instruction for Targeted<br />

TABE Success (ITTS) and<br />

GED Online, two distance<br />

learning programs created<br />

by McGraw-Hill. The<br />

programs are provided to<br />

Lifelong Learning by the<br />

Region 10 Adult Education<br />

Consortium in partnership<br />

with Scott County Economic<br />

Development Corporation.<br />

“For the students who juggle<br />

work and family responsibilities,<br />

the online learning<br />

tools have been a tremendous<br />

help,” says Robson.<br />

The program<br />

changes are also a result of<br />

changes at the state level.<br />

In 2011 Adult Education<br />

was moved from the Department<br />

of Education to the<br />

Department of Workforce<br />

Official GED Testing in <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

Development, giving the<br />

program a more job-skills<br />

focus. “It’s our hope that the<br />

partnership with DWD prepares<br />

students to enter a<br />

career certification program<br />

or post secondary education.<br />

We want them to be<br />

successful and attain their<br />

academic goals,” reports<br />

Robson.<br />

Adult Education Instructor Sheila<br />

Bennett helps a student use the<br />

ITTS online learning tool.<br />

Harrison County<br />

Lifelong Learning, Inc.<br />

101 Hwy 62 W. Suite 104<br />

Corydon, IN 47112<br />

812.738.7736<br />

Harrison County<br />

Lifelong Learning is the official<br />

GED Test site for Region<br />

10, a 6-county area across<br />

<strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong>. Testing is<br />

coordinated each month for<br />

Harrison, Crawford, Clark,<br />

Floyd, Scott and Washington<br />

Counties and for the local<br />

correctional facilities.<br />

A student’s eligibility<br />

to take the official GED<br />

test includes being a resident<br />

of <strong>Indiana</strong> for at least<br />

30 days and presenting 3<br />

forms of identification,<br />

including a governmentissued<br />

photo. Students<br />

younger than 18 have additional<br />

requirements.<br />

To pre-register for<br />

GED testing, please call one<br />

of the following agencies for<br />

an appointment:<br />

Harrison County<br />

Lifelong Learning,<br />

Corydon<br />

738-7736<br />

Community Action of<br />

<strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong>,<br />

Jeffersonville<br />

288-6451 x 2121<br />

Greater Clark Schools<br />

Auxiliary Services,<br />

Jeffersonville<br />

218-1669 x30100<br />

Let us help you achieve academic success!<br />

www.HarrisonLifelongLearning.com<br />

silivingmag.com • 25


September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 26


Old Settlers Days<br />

salem.stvincent.org<br />

FRIDAY NIGHT ON THE SQUARE<br />

Sept 14 - 6-10 p.m. in Salem, IN<br />

LOTS OF FUN, FOOD, ENTERTAINMENT<br />

for the entire family<br />

Old Settlers Day Festival - Salem<br />

Saturday, Sept. 15, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.<br />

Sunday, Sept. 16, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.<br />

Te Old Settlers Days Festival in Salem will<br />

be held on September 15 -16 on the grounds<br />

of the John Hay Center, 307 E. Market Street,<br />

Salem. Te festival will once again be focused<br />

on wholesome family activities with a special<br />

emphasis on teaching, sharing and the pioneer<br />

heritage of Washington County.<br />

Join Us<br />

Best in the<br />

Midwest<br />

St.Vincent SALeM hoSpitAL iS proud<br />

to be pArt of St.Vincent heALth, the<br />

MidweSt’S only thoMSon reuterS<br />

top 15 LArge heALth SySteM.<br />

silivingmag.com • 27


Making a splash at<br />

Great Wolf Lodge<br />

You have to hand it to Great Wolf<br />

Lodge. Their facilities alone are<br />

impressive. The Àrst time you<br />

step into the Àve-story grand<br />

lobby it takes your breath away. Between<br />

the massive log covered walls and the<br />

enormous Àeldstone Àreplace, it looks<br />

like a rustic national park lodge that’s<br />

been super-sized.<br />

The hotel contains over 400 guest<br />

suites with 13 dierent styles of rooms,<br />

some with bunk beds for kids designed<br />

to look like caves, cabins or tents, not to<br />

mention Àreplaces and whirlpool tubs<br />

for mom and dad. The indoor water<br />

park? 90,000 square feet of slippery fun,<br />

including 12 dierent slides, three pools<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 28<br />

Story // Jason Byerly<br />

Photos // Great Wolf Lodge<br />

and a lazy river. They even have a Starbucks.<br />

General Manager Terrie Zajo describes<br />

Great Wolf as a “land-based cruise ship,”<br />

a description that seems about right.<br />

Despite all of the bells and whistles,<br />

though, Zajo says that the best thing they<br />

have going for them is their pack. That’s<br />

what they call their employees, all 500 of<br />

them.<br />

What makes them so special? According<br />

to Zajo it’s because they really<br />

care about their guests and go out of<br />

Fast Facts:<br />

Location: 2501 Great Wolf Drive,<br />

Mason, OH 45040 (next door to<br />

Kings Island amusement park)<br />

Website: www.greatwolf.com<br />

Phone Number: 800.913.WOLF<br />

Least crowded months: May and<br />

September<br />

Prices: 189.99 – 359.99<br />

Package deals: discounted tickets<br />

available to King’s Island and Cincinnati<br />

Zoo<br />

Water park temperature: 84 degrees<br />

Number of slides: 12<br />

Number of indoor pools: 3 (including<br />

wave pool)<br />

Fun extras: 4 story water fort and<br />

lazy river<br />

their way to create special experiences<br />

for each of them. From the moment we<br />

walked into our room this was obvious.<br />

We were greeted by a huge plate of cookies<br />

on the counter and milk in the fridge.<br />

On the bed? A towel folded to look like<br />

a wolf wearing a complimentary pair of<br />

swim goggles.<br />

It’s these little touches that make a<br />

Great Wolf Lodge stay so much fun.<br />

Zajo said it’s a win for her team any<br />

time they help a family make a special


If you suspect God may be<br />

much funnier and way cooler<br />

than anyone gives Him credit,<br />

check out The Life Less Traveled<br />

and discover a God you’d actually<br />

like to hang out with.<br />

Holy and awesome? You bet.<br />

Boring and lame? Not ever.<br />

Ready for a fresh look at faith?<br />

Maybe it’s time to leave the<br />

beaten path and take a shot<br />

at living a life less traveled.<br />

Available now for Amazon Kindle<br />

and Barnes and Noble Nook and<br />

at www.jasonbyerly.com/ebook..<br />

Follow Jason on Twitter@jasondbyerly<br />

or get e-mail updates at<br />

www.jasonbyerly.com.<br />

Follow Jason at Twitter@jasondbyerly or<br />

www.jasonbyerly.com<br />

silivingmag.com • 23 29


memory together that<br />

takes them away from the<br />

hustle and bustle of everyday<br />

life. “Families have so<br />

little time together,” she<br />

says. “So we o er them a<br />

weather-proof vacation.”<br />

Maybe that’s why Great<br />

Wolf Lodge has enough<br />

repeat business to start<br />

what they call the “Howl<br />

of Fame,” a photo gallery<br />

of families who’ve visited<br />

the lodge twenty times or<br />

more. Zajo said her team<br />

loves to watch the kids<br />

grow year after year.<br />

She told me the story of<br />

one <strong>Indiana</strong> family with<br />

an autistic son who has<br />

stayed with them over<br />

thirty-Àve times. It’s his<br />

favorite place on the planet. The last time<br />

they stayed, the Great Wolf sta wanted<br />

to do something special for them so they<br />

took the family to a Red’s game. They<br />

had incredible seats and met some players<br />

for autographs, but all the boy wanted<br />

to do was get back to the water park.<br />

For him nothing else could compare.<br />

It’s not surprising. The biggest problem<br />

my family faced was deciding what<br />

to do next. The water park alone can Àll a<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 30<br />

day, but it’s amazing how much the rest<br />

of the resort oers to keep families busy.<br />

My girls went nuts over Magi-quest, a<br />

three-story high tech scavenger hunt<br />

where kids are issued “magic wands”<br />

that interact with clues and treasure hidden<br />

throughout the lodge, and the Cub<br />

Club, a quiet activity room where kids<br />

can color, play on a computer and do<br />

a craft. We deÀnitely had plenty to do<br />

without touching a swimsuit.<br />

Jamie Whitman Auto Sales, Inc.<br />

812-738-2822<br />

Selling and Financing Pre-Owned Automobiles<br />

Jamie Whitman, Owner<br />

204 W. Walnut St. • Corydon, IN 47112<br />

“Serving our Community since 1956”<br />

Here are a few other dry<br />

activities once your family<br />

gets water-logged for the<br />

day:<br />

• Northern Lights, an<br />

8,000 square-foot arcade;<br />

• Ten Paw Bowling Alley,<br />

a half-sized bowling alley<br />

with Àve-pound bowling<br />

balls;<br />

• Scoops Kid Spa, manicures<br />

and pedicures for<br />

kids;<br />

• Wolf Walk, a guided<br />

nature walk around the<br />

lobby Àlled with wildlife<br />

activities;<br />

• Character Greeting,<br />

meet costumed mascots<br />

Wiley, Violet and Oliver the<br />

raccoon.<br />

As a dad, my favorite<br />

part of our stay came at the end of the<br />

night, when families gathered in the lobby<br />

for the nightly clock tower show and<br />

story time. The Áoor was covered with<br />

kids in their PJs snuggled up with their<br />

parents for some much needed wind<br />

down time before bed.<br />

The Great Clock Tower Show is a short<br />

musical with animatronic puppets about<br />

a boy lost in the woods who meets some<br />

forest friends who help him out along<br />

the way. I’m not sure how much my kids<br />

followed the story, but it was just a cool<br />

moment watching all of those families<br />

nestled down together at the end of a big<br />

day.<br />

It’s little moments like that that make<br />

a stay at Great Wolf Lodge worth it. Zajo<br />

and her pack make it easy to create some<br />

special memories your family will treasure<br />

for years to come. •<br />

Holiday Fun:<br />

Looking for a special way to get<br />

into the holiday spirit this Christmas?<br />

Check out all that Great Wolf<br />

Lodge has to oer around the holidays.<br />

• Meet Santa and Mrs. Claus<br />

• Enjoy a fresh snowfall three<br />

times a day in the Grand Lobby<br />

• Dine in the full scale gingerbread<br />

house<br />

• Sing along with Christmas carols<br />

at the clock tower show<br />

• Experience a nightly story time<br />

with Rowdy the Reindeer<br />

• Decorate cookies as a family<br />

• Take a horse and buggy ride<br />

around the lodge (last family of the<br />

night rides with Mr. and Mrs. Claus)


News, Weather,<br />

Entertainment & Fun!<br />

WEEKDAY MORNINGS<br />

6am-9am<br />

Thursday 10pm, Friday 8pm & Saturday Noon<br />

WEEKDAYS<br />

5:30pm & 7:30pm<br />

WEEKDAYS<br />

9pm-10pm<br />

WEEKDAYS<br />

6pm & 11:30 pm<br />

silivingmag.com • 31


Dining Car<br />

or Woman<br />

Jasper Train Depot: Located in the heart of the “Old Jasper” district, near the Patoka River,<br />

the train depot is a replica of the former structure built in 1906. Features include an oldfashioned<br />

ticket window, roll top desks, pot belly stove, and authentic memorabilia.<br />

Parlor Car<br />

Parlor Car<br />

Te Mill<br />

Spirit of Jasper Train: Ride in style on three beautifully renovated, climate-controlled, vintage<br />

railroad cars, complete with restrooms, comfortable seating, and a cash bar. Tese passenger<br />

cars have been restored by the staf of volunteer labor, City of Jasper employees, and generous<br />

local corporations and businesses. For more information about these cars, visit http://spiritofjasper.com<br />

French Lick Excursion: Embark on a tour of Southwest <strong>Indiana</strong> on the “French Lick Express”<br />

and enjoy the scenic countryside. Experience passing through the second-longest railroad<br />

tunnel in the state of <strong>Indiana</strong> and travel over several railroad trestles and bridges. Once in<br />

French Lick, step back in time and follow the footsteps of the rich and famous. Enjoy dinner<br />

and freely tour the French Lick Resort & Casino and the West Baden Springs Hotel. Afer<br />

approximately six hours, the trail will depart for Jasper.<br />

Ride & Dine Trips: Depart the Jasper Train Depot and enjoy a scenic tour of Dubois County.<br />

Te Ride & Dine features a meal and beverage catered by the local Authentic German Restaurant,<br />

Te Schnitzelbank! Also available on this trip is a cash bar. Te Ride & Dine trips<br />

last approximately 2 hours & 30 minutes.<br />

Te Jasper City Mill: Recently constructed and fnished in 2009 to resemble the former<br />

mill that once stood along the Patoka River, this new structure is the latest addition to the<br />

“Old Jasper” district. Tour the mill, watch the workings of the waterwheel and embrace the<br />

serenity of the Patoka River while relaxing at the plaza area on the Jasper Riverwalk.<br />

For more information regarding the history of the Jasper City Mill,<br />

visit http://spiritofasper.com/jasper-city-mill.


Redefine Your Age<br />

Bio-identical Hormone<br />

Replacement<br />

Quality Nutritional<br />

Supplements<br />

Prescription HCG for<br />

Weight Loss<br />

Topical Pain Therapy<br />

We offer consultations and<br />

monthly seminars.<br />

Call us for an appointment or<br />

stop in and see us!<br />

Precision Compounding<br />

PHARMACY ● WELLNESS CENTER ● BOUTIQUE<br />

1.866.941.9301 | www.pcpnewalbany.com<br />

2113 State Street, Suite 2 | New Albany, IN 47150<br />

silivingmag.com • 33


Once upon<br />

a farm...<br />

Defying the norm, the Brewer family farm is<br />

moving into a third generation<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 34


On a steamy June<br />

day at Brewer<br />

Dairy Farm near<br />

Marengo, Jerry<br />

Brewer hopped<br />

out of a massive tractor with<br />

his toddler grandson, Oliver,<br />

and walked over to check<br />

out three baby calves born<br />

that morning.<br />

Story & Photos // Abby Laub<br />

Their little tails waving away Áies, the tiny black and white<br />

beauties were the delight of Oliver, who is the fourth of a<br />

string of Brewers since Jerry’s father, Elmo Brewer, founded<br />

the farm in 1947.<br />

“They come wanting to see where milk comes from and<br />

how it’s made,” Jerry said<br />

about visitors to his dairy<br />

farm operation. “But they<br />

leave excited about petting<br />

the baby cows. They steal the<br />

show.”<br />

Despite squeals and pats<br />

on the head for the new<br />

calves, Oliver, though, still<br />

prefers tractors. The farm’s<br />

heavy equipment and implements<br />

are one of the many<br />

things that have changed on<br />

the multi-generational farm<br />

since Elmo and his wife of 75<br />

years, Marie, started it years<br />

ago. What hasn’t changed is<br />

the concern about weather.<br />

Jerry, 57, pointing out the<br />

dust swirling around the<br />

driveway and the brown<br />

grass on the hillside next to<br />

his barns, noted that he had<br />

never seen the ground so dry<br />

so early in the year and that<br />

he worried about his crops<br />

and the decreased milk production<br />

from his 100 or so<br />

heifers.<br />

In optimal weather (the<br />

50s to 70s), he said his cows<br />

each produce about nine<br />

gallons of milk per day, but<br />

with a week of 100-degree<br />

weather, the supply could be<br />

“When I graduated in ‘73 it<br />

looked like a good<br />

opportunity. I had the<br />

experience already and<br />

really enjoyed it. Fast<br />

forward to my son Trent<br />

taking over. He grew up<br />

the same way, helping<br />

every day. We tried to<br />

chase him off and say<br />

there are better<br />

opportunities. But you<br />

could see that he really<br />

wanted to, and I know that<br />

compared to a lot of other<br />

family farms that went to<br />

the second or third<br />

generation — they had no<br />

one who wanted to take<br />

over ... If he can’t make it,<br />

who can?”<br />

-Jerry Brewer<br />

diminished by several gallons — money slipping between his<br />

calloused Ànger tips.<br />

“It’s all about the cow’s appetite,” he explained. “They need<br />

a high energy, high fat, high starch diet. Think about it, do you<br />

want to eat a pork roast when it’s 100 degrees out? What goes<br />

in the cow is going to take care of what’s going out.”<br />

And what’s going out is a lot of milk to support the farm<br />

and the livelihood of its owners. Jerry took over operating<br />

Brewer Dairy Farm from Elmo, and now his son, Trent, 30,<br />

will take over when he decides to retire.<br />

When you get right down to it, Elmo said, farmers today<br />

still worry about the weather and keeping their animals happy,<br />

but farming as a business has changed drastically. Prices<br />

have gone up and the value of the dollar has decreased, he<br />

said.<br />

silivingmag.com • 35


“Years ago a dollar would buy something, it doesn’t amount to anything<br />

now,” he reÁected. “Everything’s been de-valued.”<br />

This makes farming dicult. And yet, he thinks it is worth it.<br />

“You’re just out there working for yourself and being your own boss,”<br />

he said.<br />

Marie said even when times were tough the couple never wanted to<br />

throw in the towel and try something easier.<br />

And now she sees her grandson, Trent, learning from their mistakes and<br />

making the Brewer farm operate even more smoothly thanks to technology.<br />

The couple agreed they are glad to have a grandson interested in carrying<br />

their torch.<br />

Elmo, though, said he hardly recognizes what Trent does now. What he<br />

learned in farming school in the mid-1900s has all changed.<br />

“What they told us then is obsolete now, you do it dierently,” he said.<br />

“You do everything dierent; it wouldn’t amount to anything now.”<br />

Now Elmo, who struggles with his vision, said he feeds the cats and tries<br />

to get his mower out.<br />

“There’s a lot of things I wish he could do that he used to do,” Marie<br />

added. “But of course he doesn’t see too well so I have to kind of see for<br />

him.”<br />

Elmo smiled and said his wife could “outwork” him and that when she<br />

leaves the house every Tuesday for her quilting group it is “the hardest<br />

day” for him. “I need a babysitter,” he laughed.<br />

(Above) Jerry Brewer<br />

introduces his<br />

grandson, Oliver, to<br />

one of the farm’s<br />

newest calves.<br />

(Left) Elmo and Marie<br />

Brewer have been<br />

married for 75 years.<br />

The couple also is active in the Golden Friends<br />

organization at their church. They also have a<br />

daughter who is 13 years older than Jerry.<br />

Jerry and his wife, Michelle, have worked on<br />

the farm for almost 30 years and still love it despite<br />

the long hours and stress associated with<br />

owning a business, particularly a farm where so<br />

much seems to be out of their control.<br />

“When I graduated in ‘73 it looked like a good<br />

opportunity,” Jerry said. “I had the experience<br />

already and really enjoyed it. Fast forward to<br />

my son Trent taking over. He grew up the same<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 36


“What they told us then is obsolete now, you do it differently. You do<br />

everything different; it wouldn’t amount to anything now.”<br />

-Elmo Brewer, on the difference in farming in his era versus his grandson’s.<br />

THREE GENERATIONS<br />

(from left) Jerry, Elmo and Trent Brewer<br />

silivingmag.com • 37


Classic Oldies<br />

FM 102.7<br />

AM 1550<br />

Original Do-Wopp<br />

Rock & Roll Music<br />

is now on FM<br />

at 102.7!<br />

Harrison County’s Radio Station<br />

Jerry Brewer said<br />

he used to know<br />

the name of every<br />

single cow on<br />

his farm.<br />

way, helping every<br />

day. We tried to<br />

chase him o and<br />

say there are better<br />

opportunities.<br />

But you could see<br />

that he really wanted to, and I know that<br />

compared to a lot of other family farms<br />

that went to the second or third generation<br />

— they had no one who wanted to<br />

take over ... If he can’t make it, who can?”<br />

Growing up on the farm, Jerry said<br />

Trent already understands the hard work<br />

involved and is skillfully getting the farm<br />

up to speed with new technology and ef-<br />

Àciencies.<br />

“It is hard work, but it’s a lot more<br />

mental stress than physical,” he said,<br />

adding that if he didn’t enjoy it the worry<br />

would not be worth it. “Being your own<br />

boss helps make up for the 16-hour days<br />

most of the time.”<br />

“Playing” with tractors also helps<br />

bring joy to the job.<br />

“I have a T-shirt that says ‘Still plays<br />

with tractors’,” he laughed, noting that<br />

sometimes he feels like a kid all over<br />

again. “It’s too much work if you’re not<br />

enjoying it.”<br />

It also helps, he said, that people are<br />

becoming more curious again about<br />

where their food comes from.<br />

“What you’re seeing a lot of interest in<br />

is food safety, whether it be beef, dairy,”<br />

he said. “They want to know that those<br />

products are coming from a well managed,<br />

clean environment and humane.<br />

Why would you want to mistreat a cow?”<br />

Jerry said he always welcomes visitors<br />

to the farm, even if the calves steal the<br />

show.<br />

After all, farms like his are dying out<br />

nationwide, and he said Brewer Dairy<br />

Farm is one of the few remaining generational<br />

farms in the area.<br />

“Most of the farms around are either<br />

very small and they’re on their last<br />

generation, or they’re getting very large<br />

... It’s either get big or get out,” he said,<br />

adding that it is a sad fact because he<br />

feels farms his size (about 200 cows total,<br />

including heifers and calves) are the most<br />

ecient and have the best management<br />

and therefore best milk production.<br />

The farm also grows some grain and<br />

corn, does timber and several other small<br />

crops.<br />

“When it’s good it’s good, but it’s a<br />

money pit when it’s bad,” he said about<br />

the dairy operation. “We’re price takers<br />

not makers.”<br />

Jerry has faith that Trent will continue<br />

the operation with excellence and stand<br />

out in a time when very few family farms<br />

can hold up. •<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 38


Things Look Bright at<br />

White Cloud WindoW<br />

Story & Photos // Randy West<br />

Roni Cravens hails from Plains, Kan., a dusty little town that claims to have the widest Main Street in<br />

the country but not much else. When Roni transplanted to a pretty 12-acre farm in White Cloud, Ind.,<br />

in western Harrison County, all the hills, horses and green countryside convinced her that she “was<br />

home,” even though it brought with it a degree of uncertainty.<br />

In her barn in 1992, she started a shop a stone’s throw from Blue River. She bought and sold hand-made<br />

items, antiques and stained glass art objects. It was called the “White Cloud Window,” located just o S.R. 62,<br />

a National Scenic Highway. Because it was in the country, Roni never knew what kind of wildlife would show<br />

up outside the barn; and because it was an antique shop, she never knew what kind of stu would wind up<br />

there. Business was great the Àrst year, not so great the second. Due to the name, “Everyone thought I was a<br />

window company,” she said. But inquiries kept coming about stained glass art objects and repair work.<br />

Roni, 56, had taken a beginner’s class in stained glass from New Albany’s Bill Stepp, who lived near Lanesville<br />

at that time, and subsequently she took classes at <strong>Indiana</strong> University Southeast and elsewhere. But<br />

silivingmag.com • 39


Above:<br />

Roni works on a piece featuring<br />

three kimonos that will be sent to a<br />

customer in Kansas City.<br />

Opposite Page:<br />

(Left) Dee Downey of Corydon said<br />

she likes to work with glass because<br />

“It calms my nerves. It’s a very good<br />

stress reliever.”<br />

(Right) All kinds of glass objects are<br />

for sale at the White Cloud Window,<br />

some are home-made, some from<br />

other places in the world.<br />

life kept messing up Roni’s plans. When the economy<br />

tanked, she closed her business, lost her day job as an<br />

administrative assistant at PCUSA in Louisville, and<br />

su ered through spells of Àbromyalgia (a disease affecting<br />

soft muscle tissue and motor skills) and a persistent<br />

back problem. A protracted, ugly divorce made<br />

things even worse.<br />

She found peace by getting up in the middle of the<br />

night to work for hours on stained glass projects. “As<br />

I’m fond of saying, ‘Get lost in the glass’.” She was encouraged<br />

by a woman who ran a stained glass shop at<br />

the Green Tree Mall in Clarksville and others in <strong>Southern</strong><br />

<strong>Indiana</strong> and Kentucky. Most, if not all of them, have<br />

since closed.<br />

Roni decided to take the plunge and open another<br />

shop in 2007, this time in Corydon, in the old Saulman<br />

Tree Service building on Old Forest Road. She said it was<br />

one way she could control her life. In a short time she<br />

moved to two other locations facing the town square,<br />

and then in January of 2011, needing more room, she reopened<br />

at the corner of Mulberry and Chestnut streets,<br />

opposite Harmony and Health.<br />

Business was so bad in April and May this year that<br />

“I thought I would have to close, but June was phenomenal,”<br />

Roni said. Word-of-mouth advertising has been<br />

great. One Colorado couple who heard about her store<br />

from an employee at one of the local motels told her<br />

that when they returned, “they would bring an SUV<br />

instead of a VW.”<br />

Roni is typically upbeat and rarely looks harried. She<br />

gives her students plenty of individual attention (they<br />

come in whenever they can), works on her custom jobs<br />

and commissions from all over the country, and sells<br />

many kinds of glasswork, some of which is made at<br />

White Cloud Window and some of which comes from<br />

faraway places like Murano, Italy, the glass-making<br />

capital of the world. You can buy sun-catchers and<br />

custom-made elaborate designs for windows, not to mention bowls, pitchers, plates,<br />

cups, jewelry boxes, crosses, shamrocks and amusing knick-knacks -- like an azure blue<br />

corset. She and her advanced students do a lot of repair work.<br />

She encourages the advanced students to experiment with their own unique designs,<br />

some of which can be quite complicated. For example, Bob Bursey, 69, Corydon, an “associate”<br />

who has been coming to White Cloud Window for about two years, is a trained<br />

electrician-professional handyman-turned artist. He’s currently making a sunÁowerlike<br />

sunburst window featuring a bright red, heavy antique glass plate with dramatic<br />

red Áares. The old Amberina glass design is called “Buttons and Daisies.”<br />

Terri Jones, now a good friend of Roni’s, started coming to the shop 3-1/2 years ago.<br />

She lives in a New Albany mansion that was built by a state senator in 1905. She drives<br />

to Corydon twice a week to make things for her home and for the shop.<br />

Among other things, Roni is working on a 20-by-40-inch piece for a lawyer in Kansas<br />

City that features three kimonoes. It will be mounted on a wall and enhanced by a light<br />

box. She’s getting ready to bid on a 40-inch circular piece 15 feet above the Áoor in a<br />

home that will require scaolding to install. A woman in Evansville has asked her to create<br />

a 16-by-24-inch piece for a bay window. She will soon start on two Converse sneakers<br />

based on a story like “Blind Side” for a person who works for the Amarillo (Texas)<br />

Economic Development Commission.<br />

Barbara Fitzgerald, Elizabeth, who started in glass four-and-a-half years ago, just Ànished<br />

a 40-inch circle of The Trinity for St. Peter’s Church in Buena Vista. It was dedicated<br />

in April. Scott Dell, 47, Ramsey, a former Navy Seal and an aluminum fabricator<br />

by trade, said he didn’t have an artistic bone in his body until he started working with<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 40


glass at the White Cloud Window. Now he’s working on an interesting 18-inch diameter cross and considers himself an artist.<br />

Scott is perhaps the best example of what Roni means when she says that experience and training are not required to work with<br />

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<br />

all the students share a camaraderie and help each other with their projects. •<br />

The White Cloud Window store hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The phone number is 812-596-0393.<br />

5<br />

THE<br />

%<br />

SOLUTION<br />

PO Box 279, Corydon, <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

(812) 738-6668 | www.hccfindiana.org<br />

4104 Charlestown Road, New Albany, <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

(812) 948-4662 | www.cfsouthernindiana.com<br />

If everyone in <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> gave just<br />

5% of their estate to their Community<br />

Foundation, in the next ten years that could<br />

mean an additional $9.8 million in grants<br />

for our communities every year.<br />

If you’d like to be a part of the solution, call<br />

your Community Foundation today.<br />

PO Box 205, Milltown, <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

(812) 633-2077 | www.cf-cc.org<br />

1707 North Shelby St., Suite 100, Salem, <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

812-883-7334 | www.wccf.biz<br />

DESIGN PROVIDED BY IDEALOGY MARKETING + DESIGN | WWW.IDEALOGY.BIZ<br />

silivingmag.com • 41


Hayswood Theatre:<br />

Acting out and selling tickets<br />

(Above) Detective<br />

Harry Heartstone<br />

(Tom Gudding)<br />

planting a juicy one<br />

on Sheriff Willie<br />

Lovelace<br />

(Elizabeth<br />

Whittinghill) in<br />

“Blazing Guns.”<br />

(Right) Nellie<br />

(Laura Von<br />

Fossen) and<br />

Emile (Gary Crockett)<br />

swear their<br />

undying love for<br />

each other in<br />

“South Paci¿c.”<br />

Story // Lee Cable<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 42<br />

Blazing Guns at Roaring Gulch<br />

Photo by Jack Sweeney<br />

Photo by Kathy Norton<br />

Photo by Randy West<br />

The building, which stands along Capitol Avenue in Corydon,<br />

doesn’t seem large enough to house a theatre,<br />

but the old sayings that “looks can be deceiving” and<br />

“don’t judge a book by its cover” surely apply when it<br />

comes to the Hayswood Theatre.<br />

Although not a large structure, every inch of the former telephone<br />

company building is used when there’s a play on stage<br />

and an audience in the seats, and its size could be a factor in<br />

its success. Overhead is low and ticket prices are aordable.<br />

Many of the shows, which usually run for three weekends, are<br />

sold out.<br />

Its small size also makes it a place where everyone must exercise<br />

a little imagination, including the directors, actors, stage<br />

managers, costume designers, choreographers and yes, even<br />

the audience. Creativity is almost always entertaining, and<br />

the creativeness that is used to make a play come to life on the<br />

small, Hayswood stage, with limited props, backdrops and set<br />

changes is often almost as entertaining as the play itself.<br />

The seed was planted for a community theater in Corydon<br />

over forty years ago when the Woman’s Literary Club set out<br />

to Ànd ways to help the local economy and provide a means<br />

of “reviving and promoting the cultural growth of all of us.”<br />

The following year, they recruited a group of student actors<br />

to help, got permission to use the old state capitol building in<br />

Corydon’s downtown square for performances and performed<br />

re-enactments of actual trials that had been held in the State<br />

Capitol in the 1820s. The group, calling themselves the Hayswood<br />

Players, performed the re-enactments without scripts,<br />

so each actor had to respond as they thought appropriate.<br />

According to Hayswood history, the “Old Trials” were quite<br />

successful and people “came from all over” to watch the reenactments.<br />

But after about a year the group changed course<br />

and their name. They decided to perform actual plays utilizing<br />

the Harrison Grange Hall, tackling such favorites as “Never<br />

Too Late,” “The Fantasticks” and “Diary of Anne Frank,” and<br />

changed their name to “The Hayswood Little Theatre Group.”<br />

In 1971, the Fiesta Discount House, located in a building on<br />

South Capitol Avenue owned by the Eureka Telephone Company,<br />

went out of business and the phone company oered the building<br />

to the theatrical group. After extensive renovation, the building was<br />

made into the current Hayswood Theatre.<br />

“At the time, the audience sat in chairs,” said Linda Ray who with<br />

her husband, Macon, became involved with the group in the early<br />

1970s. “There were no bathrooms up front and no outside entrance for<br />

the actors. The pipes froze on a regular basis and sometimes we had<br />

heat and sometimes we didn’t. But we did some outstanding shows<br />

there like ‘Tobacco Road’ and ‘Oklahoma.’ Macon and I were involved<br />

in the Stephen Foster Story in Bardstown for 15 years and were o<br />

during the winters, which is when we did plays at the Hayswood.<br />

Macon won the theatre’s best actor of the year award for playing the<br />

leading role in ‘Tobacco Road,’ and during that play, we had the cab of<br />

an old truck right on stage. It was great.”<br />

Besides musicals, the group also began performing plays for a<br />

younger audience. Plays like “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”<br />

and “Snoopy” were such big hits for the theatre that the actors took


37th ANNUAL<br />

LANESVILLE<br />

HERITAGE WEEKEND<br />

SEPTEMBER 14, 15 & 16, <strong>2012</strong><br />

“Thinking of the past, looking toward the future.”<br />

HWY. 62 LANESVILLE, IN<br />

10 Miles West of New Albany<br />

From I-64 Take Exit 118 - or Exit 113<br />

Thursday September<br />

13th ANTIQUE TRACTOR PULL ONLY!<br />

FREE PARKING & ADMISSION<br />

FEATURING:<br />

Minneapolis Moline/Avery Tractors<br />

Waterloo Boy Gas Engines<br />

Case Steam Engines<br />

Antique Farm Machinery Display & Tractor Pulls<br />

FOOD<br />

ENTERTAINMENT<br />

MIDWAY RIDES<br />

VENDOR BOOTHS<br />

TRUCK & TRACTOR PULLS<br />

PARADE<br />

ANTIQUE TRACTORS<br />

HELICOPTER RIDES<br />

FARM TOY SHOW/DEMONSTRATION<br />

QUEEN/PRINCESS PAGEANT<br />

AMATEUR FIDDLERS CONTEST<br />

HOT AIR BALLOON GLOW/RACE<br />

ANTIQUE TRACTOR PULL/GAMES<br />

HORSESHOE PITCHING<br />

LOG SAWING CONTEST<br />

PEDLA TRACTOR PULL<br />

ANTIQUE FARM MACHINERY PARADE<br />

DEMONSTRATIONS: Basket Making, Blacksmith,<br />

Broom Making, Cider Mill, Pottery, Stain Glass,<br />

Quilting, Sawmill, Shaker Boxes, Shingle Making,<br />

Shredding, Stationary Baling-Threshing,<br />

Weaving, Wood Turning, ETC.<br />

AND MUCH MORE!!!<br />

The<br />

MONARCHS<br />

CONCERT<br />

Sept. 16,<br />

Sunday,<br />

3:00-5:00pm<br />

The MONARCHS<br />

VISIT: http://www.lanesvilleheritageweekend.org<br />

silivingmag.com • 43


®<br />

the shows on the road and performed them,<br />

free of charge, at all the schools in the county.<br />

“We even wrote some plays,” Ray said.<br />

“We didn’t have the money to pay the royalties<br />

for many shows, so we would just get<br />

together and write our own. And people<br />

would come to see them. They knew the<br />

plays would be<br />

good. I ran across<br />

one of our old programs<br />

the other<br />

day and had to<br />

laugh. There were<br />

mistakes and those<br />

old programs were<br />

kind of tacky, written<br />

on an old typewriter,<br />

but those<br />

shows sold out and got us on our feet.”<br />

But during those years, there were only a<br />

handful of people involved in Hayswood.<br />

Sam and Mary Swan, Rick Archibald, Phil<br />

Miller, Sam and Barbara Lander, Bill Ingleman,<br />

Harry Hurst, Bill Timberlake, Joe<br />

Palmer, Ivanna Conrad, Virgil King, and a<br />

few others did the lion’s share of the work<br />

and made the little theatre thrive. But the<br />

time and eort needed to put on plays year<br />

after year eventually took a toll on the group.<br />

“The theatre can consume you,” Ray said.<br />

“When you do a play, it takes six weeks<br />

out of your life. You don’t have time to<br />

clean your house or eat regular meals. So<br />

“People are hungry for uplifting<br />

entertainment. And that assures<br />

us of a great future here.”<br />

-Kathy Norton<br />

getting burned-out is a real danger for actors,<br />

directors and others involved. You can<br />

only do it so long, then you need a break.<br />

At the Hayswood, people had been giving<br />

their all for years, but eventually had other<br />

commitments and began drifting to other<br />

projects and ventures. We were working<br />

professionally, too,<br />

so things began to<br />

slow down at the<br />

theatre.”<br />

With no re-enforcements<br />

or new<br />

energy coming<br />

into the group, the<br />

little theatre went<br />

dark after the mid-<br />

1990s. The last play<br />

performed there was “The Fantasticks.” A<br />

Áood in 1997 sent the water of nearby Indian<br />

Creek into the structure, leaving behind ruined<br />

props, costumes, and a foot-deep layer<br />

of mud. For a while, it looked as if the days<br />

of the Hayswood Theatre were over.<br />

“In 1998, Sue and Ed Woertz, and Richard<br />

and Cathy Ryan came to my oce and<br />

wanted to get the Hayswood Theatre going<br />

again,” said Liz Swarens, a local attorney. “I<br />

looked into it for them. I found the person<br />

who had all the theatre’s records and they<br />

were given to me. I checked with the state<br />

on the status of the theatre, and found that<br />

there was no problem with another group<br />

TIRES • SERVICE • STRAIGHT TALK<br />

www.bigotires.com<br />

1969 Gardner Lane<br />

Corydon, IN 47112<br />

Phone: 812.738.8282<br />

Fax: 812.738.6051<br />

KENNY ENGLEMAN<br />

Owner<br />

KJ ENGLEMAN<br />

Assistant Manager<br />

JEFF A. MCDANIEL<br />

Service Manager<br />

THE TEAM YOU TRUST TM<br />

Help Support Your<br />

Local Community.<br />

Laff Worx is a Newsless Paper featuring Jokes,<br />

Puzzles, Coupons, Ads & Recipes.<br />

Pick up your FREE copy today!”<br />

We’ve teamed up with local businesses to provide<br />

YOU with some great coupons and deals.<br />

Join our mailing list today. IT’S FREE & EASY!<br />

Visit facebook.com/laffworxharrisoncounty, click<br />

“Join My List”.<br />

Or text the word “Local” to 42828 to sign up.<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 44


Scott<br />

Lawn<br />

Care<br />

Commercial<br />

Residential<br />

Insured<br />

Chase Scott<br />

812-267-1304<br />

812-347-3535<br />

7240 Rothrock Mill Rd. NW<br />

Depauw, IN 47115<br />

Find the Coffee News Guy<br />

EVERY WEEK!<br />

Coffee News ®<br />

New Albany Edition<br />

Clarksville/Jeffersonville Edition<br />

Delivered to over 150 restaurants and<br />

waiting areas. For a complete list of<br />

distribution or to add your favorite<br />

restaurant to our distribution, visit:<br />

www.CoffeeNewsSunnySide.com<br />

or call Stacy at (812) 786-2224.<br />

Pick up your free<br />

copy TODAY!<br />

Jeff Hanger<br />

Master Certified<br />

Sales Representative<br />

385 Bypass Rd.<br />

Brandenburg, KY 40108<br />

Bus: (270) 422-4901<br />

Fax: (270) 422-3937<br />

Cell: (812) 613-9000<br />

THERE’S A NEW NEIGHBOR<br />

in your neighborhood.<br />

Now that I’m right here<br />

in your area, there’s no<br />

one better than a State<br />

Farm agent to serve<br />

your insurance needs.<br />

Call me today.<br />

Stephenson’s<br />

General Store<br />

in Scenic Leavenworth<br />

Theresa Lamb<br />

2441 State Street Suite B,<br />

New Albany, IN 47150<br />

(Located in the same plaza as Tucker’s Restaurant)<br />

(812)945-8088<br />

LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR<br />

STATE FARM IS THERE<br />

Providing Insurance and Financial Services<br />

State Farm Insurance Companies Home Offices Bloomington, IN<br />

statefarm.com<br />

Amish Crafts, Antiques,<br />

Case Knives, Ice Cream, Deli,<br />

Pizza, Ice, Groceries,<br />

Hardware, Coin Laundry<br />

618 W. Hwy. 62<br />

812-739-4242<br />

Open Mon - Sat, 7AM - 8PM<br />

silivingmag.com • 45


e-opening the venue.”<br />

The new group formed a board of directors. Ed Woertz was<br />

made president, and Swarens had become interested in the project<br />

and accepted the treasurer’s duties. She also brought her<br />

husband, Charles, who was an accomplished actor, to the group.<br />

“The Àrst thing we did was roll up our sleeves and clean,” Sue<br />

To Go Words<br />

To Go Words<br />

“To go where you want them to go”<br />

To Go Words<br />

togowords@gmail.com<br />

To Go Words<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 46<br />

Liz @ 502-895-7495<br />

P.O. Box 75 • Crandall, <strong>Indiana</strong> 47114<br />

“Put it before them brieÅy so they will read it,<br />

clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely<br />

so they will remember it and, above all,<br />

accurately so they will be guided by its light.”<br />

Joseph Pulitzer, 1847 - 1911<br />

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com<br />

Woertz said. “Everything was moldy and muddy. We had to<br />

shovel out the mud. We threw a lot of stu away—things that<br />

were rusty and ruined. It was a mess, but we eventually got it<br />

cleaned up.”<br />

The group was able to secure a $50,000 grant from the Lily<br />

Foundation and bought a new sound system and other equipment<br />

to get the theatre going.<br />

“Our Àrst play was ‘Crimes of the Heart,’” Woertz said. “That<br />

was in December, 1998.”<br />

And the little theatre group never looked back. Many believe<br />

the timing was perfect, that there was an abundance of talented<br />

actors and directors in the area needing a place to whet their appetites<br />

and hone their skills, and many keep coming back year<br />

after year to bring entertaining shows to the theatre.<br />

These days, the theatre has Àve major shows per year, which<br />

usually includes two musicals, two mystery plays and a comedy.<br />

One recent o ering was the slapstick western “Blazing Guns<br />

at Roaring Gulch,” directed by one of the theatre’s veteran actors,<br />

Kathy Norton.<br />

“My kids actually got me involved with Hayswood,” said<br />

Norton, who did acting in high school and college and ran the<br />

theatre department at another college after graduating. “I loved<br />

acting when I was younger, but I eventually got married and<br />

had three children, so acting was put on the back burner for<br />

quite a while,” she said. “Then, when the kids took an interest<br />

in doing plays, I got involved again. We’ve done several plays<br />

together here at Hayswood, and I’m now on the board of directors.<br />

But I always wanted to direct a play here and got my<br />

chance with ‘Blazing Guns.’”<br />

The show, like most that are presented at Hayswood, was a<br />

success. Norton Àlled the stage with gunslinging bad guys robbing<br />

banks and stealing the pretty girl and fast-drawing good<br />

guys who came to the rescue and saved the day. Real six-guns<br />

(shooting blanks of course) were used, adding a touch of realism<br />

that drew the audience into the plot and had them rooting for<br />

the hero. Almost every show was sold out.<br />

“The size of the theatre creates some constraints physically,<br />

but it makes you work a little harder to pull it all together,” Norton<br />

said. “And as a director, there are some anxious times because<br />

you know you have to do it well in order to Àll the seats<br />

for every show. The royalties are expensive and you have to<br />

sell tickets to pay for them. There are only 70 seats available,<br />

and nine performances of the show. So if you do the math, it’s<br />

easy to see that the shows aren’t big money-makers but allow<br />

us to pay the bills and buy the royalties for the next show. For<br />

instance, ‘Happy Days’ will be coming to Hayswood in a few<br />

months, and it will cost us about $2,000 for the rights to perform<br />

it. ‘Rumors,’ the Neil Simon play, is also on our list of upcoming<br />

shows and will cost us $1,200 in royalties. But we keep our<br />

ticket prices aordable and hope the community comes out and<br />

supports us.”<br />

And that is almost a given these days. The little theatre has<br />

a loyal following. Many in the community attend every play.<br />

Some show up with groups from their church. Others bring outof-town<br />

guests to show o their community theatre, one of only<br />

two or three in the whole region.<br />

“People are hungry for uplifting entertainment,” Norton<br />

said. “And that assures us of a great future here.”<br />

After the cowpokes of “Blazing Guns at Roaring Gulch” got<br />

on their horses and rode out of town, Norton went right back to<br />

acting, accepting a role alongside her son and daughter in the<br />

next play “South PaciÀc,” directed by Charles Swarens. Some<br />

wondered how Swarens would be able to pull a cast of 40 actors<br />

together and make the play work in the small venue, but almost<br />

every seat was full for every performance, and when each one<br />

ended, Swarens had the audience teary-eyed as Nurse Nellie


and Emile hugged and rekindled their<br />

romance.<br />

After being bitten by the theatre bug,<br />

Liz Swarens would turn o the lights in<br />

her law o ce in the evenings and head to<br />

the theatre. She’s hooked on Hayswood.<br />

Many now consider her the backbone<br />

of the venue as she rushes around backstage<br />

with such attention to detail, Àlling<br />

the stage manager position for many<br />

of the plays. She has also been an actor<br />

in a few plays and has assisted her husband,<br />

Charles, in directing some plays.<br />

Her sewing and costume design abilities<br />

could be seen on stage during “South PaciÀc,”<br />

and she also serves as the president<br />

of the board of directors.<br />

And there are people like Rita Hight, a<br />

well-known regional actress and director<br />

who, not only acts, but works as choreographer<br />

on shows like “South PaciÀc.”<br />

Talented local artist Larry Morgan creates<br />

colorful backdrops and scenery for<br />

many of the shows, and the list of talent<br />

involved both onstage and backstage is<br />

extensive. Nowadays, there’s no shortage<br />

of directors wanting to do shows at Hayswood,<br />

and there is plenty of help to share<br />

the workload and prevent burn-out.<br />

“For people who want to try acting or<br />

directing, the Hayswood is a wonderful<br />

place to learn,” said Sue Woertz, who has<br />

performed in several plays at the venue.<br />

ngell<br />

SALON SPA<br />

812.246.1400<br />

Open Monday-Saturday<br />

Now Available-Airbrush Make-Up<br />

Hair<br />

Nails<br />

Facials<br />

Waxing<br />

Massages<br />

Pedicures<br />

Wig Maintenance<br />

(Above) After being away from Hayswood<br />

Theatre for several years, Lynn Benson<br />

returns as Bloody Mary in “South Paci¿c.”<br />

(Right) Because painting sets indoors can<br />

be dangerous, Larry Morgan paints the<br />

backdrop for “South Paci¿c” outside his<br />

garage in Corydon.<br />

“Young and old can mold together and<br />

interact there, and I love things that involve<br />

all ages. I believe it’s important for<br />

the community to support and showcase<br />

the performing arts, and the Hayswood<br />

Theatre does that. It is a premier small<br />

theatre, one of the best in the region.”<br />

Up next at the theatre are “Til Beth<br />

Photos by Randy West<br />

Do Us Part”, “Papa’s Angels”, “Happy<br />

Days”, “Rumors”, “Cotton Patch Gospel”<br />

and “Seussical the Musical.” •<br />

For ticket availability and show information,<br />

visit the theatre’s website: www.hayswoodtheatre.com.<br />

For reservations, call 812-<br />

738-2138 or 888-738-2137.<br />

English<br />

Hardware<br />

• Custom Paint Mixing<br />

• Small Engine Repair<br />

• Window Repair<br />

• Pipe Threading<br />

• Keys Cut<br />

• Husqvarna/Echo<br />

Sales & Service<br />

P.O. Box 369, Hwy. 64 E,<br />

English, <strong>Indiana</strong> 47118<br />

Phone: (812) 338-3600 800-597-5111<br />

Mike Huddleston<br />

ConstruCtion, inC.<br />

703 E. St. Road 64, English, IN 47118<br />

Excavation Work, Septic Systems,<br />

Water Lines, Ponds, Concrete Work, Etc.<br />

102 Hometown Plaza Sellersburg, <strong>Indiana</strong> 47172<br />

Mike Huddleston 946-0209<br />

Stuart Sturgeon 613-0028<br />

silivingmag.com • 47


Flashback Photo<br />

1984<br />

Rothrock’s Mill<br />

Rothrock’s Mill in Harrison County near Milltown. Built by Philo Rothrock in 1865. After damage by a Àood, it was rebuilt in<br />

1909 by Philo’s sons, Henry and Luther. After the mill had been unused for a number of years, the millwheel was removed and<br />

shipped to a Catholic diocese in Southeast Asia. When damage accumulated from a number of subsequent Àoods, it was demolished<br />

by the State of <strong>Indiana</strong> in 1986. The dam was eventually removed to facilitate passage of canoes from Cave Country<br />

Canoes in Milltown.<br />

// Photo courtesy Jon R. Combs, great-great-great--grandson of Philo Rothrock.<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 48


silivingmag.com • 49


everyday adventures<br />

Missing Mayberry<br />

We can learn about our relationship with God from Andy Grif¿th<br />

Celebrity deaths are weird to me.<br />

It just seems strange how connected<br />

we can feel to people<br />

we’ve never met and mourn<br />

their loss like someone from our own<br />

family. For example, this summer, when<br />

Andy Gri th died, I was seriously<br />

bummed. It was like losing a grandpa.<br />

Part of it, I guess, is that given how<br />

much TV I watched as a kid, I probably<br />

spent more time with Andy than with<br />

some of my real family members. Sad,<br />

but true.<br />

But I think with Andy, something<br />

unique was going on. It wasn’t just me.<br />

When Andy passed away, fan reactions<br />

Áooded the internet. Fan videos,<br />

photos and tributes popped up everywhere.<br />

My favorite was a picture I saw<br />

on Facebook that said, “Our world needs<br />

more Mayberry, less Jersey Shore.” That<br />

one pretty much says it all.<br />

Andy reminds us of something we’ve<br />

all lost but don’t know how to reclaim.<br />

That’s because Andy represents<br />

something bigger than a TV character.<br />

He represents the Mayberry Myth, the<br />

possibility that somewhere out there is<br />

a place where life isn’t so complicated<br />

and harsh.<br />

In Mayberry, relationships matter<br />

more than accomplishments, contentment<br />

beats out materialism and simplicity<br />

trumps sophistication every time.<br />

We live in a dark and cynical world,<br />

but something deep down tells us it’s<br />

not supposed to be this way, and that<br />

maybe somewhere, once upon a time, it<br />

wasn’t. Mayberry is that once upon a<br />

time, that idyllic hometown we all long<br />

for in the confusion of 21st century life.<br />

The funny thing, though, is that<br />

even in Mayberry they were longing<br />

for Mayberry. In a 1996 interview with<br />

Matt Lauer, Andy Grith said that even<br />

though the show was Àlmed in the sixties,<br />

they were trying to create a town<br />

that felt more like the thirties.<br />

He said, “Even when we were Àlming<br />

the show, Mayberry was already a time<br />

gone by.”<br />

A time gone by. The good old days.<br />

Sweet innocence that’s been lost.<br />

The Bible calls this place Eden, a perfect<br />

world of goodness and simplicity<br />

where people hung out with God like<br />

old friends sitting around on a front<br />

porch.<br />

Andy reminds us of something we’ve all<br />

lost but don’t know how to reclaim.<br />

In Eden decency and honesty ruled<br />

the day, and the world was exactly as it<br />

was meant to be.<br />

But mankind walked away from all<br />

that. We turned our back on all that was<br />

good, and now, like Mayberry refugees<br />

who ran o to the big city, we’re all<br />

homesick for the place we know we belong.<br />

A time gone by. But maybe also, it’s a<br />

time yet to come.<br />

Mayberry may be a myth, but the<br />

things in it that we yearn for are certainly<br />

real. They were real in Eden. They’ll<br />

be real in heaven, and to some degree,<br />

they’re available to us as we grow closer<br />

to God in the here and now.<br />

So maybe it’s time to let our nostalgia<br />

lead us home to the place where we will<br />

always Ànd belonging, relationship and<br />

peace and a Father who wants to help<br />

us discover our heart’s true hometown.<br />

The opening credits of the Andy<br />

Grith Show remind me of this kind of<br />

intimacy with God, a snapshot of a perfect<br />

relationship between a father and<br />

his child. I don’t know if God has an old<br />

dirt road or a Àshing hole, but I know<br />

He longs for each of us to walk with<br />

Him with that same kind of innocent<br />

wonder. •<br />

Jason Byerly is a writer, pastor, husband and<br />

dad who loves the quirky surprises God sends<br />

his way every day. He believes life is much<br />

funnier and way cooler than most of us take<br />

time to notice. You can catch up with Jason on<br />

his blog at www.jasonbyerly.com or follow him<br />

on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jasondbyerly.<br />

September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 50


silivingmag.com • 51


PICK UP RIGHT WHERE YOU LEFT OFF.<br />

HIP AND KNEE<br />

REPLACEMENT<br />

WITHOUT FEAR.<br />

Is hip or knee pain keeping you from doing what you love? Here’s good news.<br />

Clark Memorial’s Center for Orthopedics and Spine specializes in advanced joint<br />

replacement, with an emphasis on minimally invasive procedures for lower risk,<br />

greater comfort and faster recovery. The Clark team provides you with pre-operative<br />

education, advanced pain control and comprehensive after-care — all designed to give<br />

you the best possible outcome. You can find out more and plan to attend one of our FREE<br />

Knee and Hip Pain Seminars at www.clarkmemorial.org. For hip and knee replacement<br />

that gets you back to the things — and people — you love, no one cares like Clark.<br />

FREE KNEE<br />

& HIP PAIN<br />

SEMINARS<br />

Thursday, September 20 | 5 - 6 PM<br />

2109 Green Valley Road | New Albany<br />

Thursday, October 18 | Noon - 1 PM<br />

Kathryn Raines Education Conference Center, Clark Memorial Hospital<br />

1220 Missouri Avenue | Jeffersonville<br />

RSVP: (812) 283-2926 or www.clarkmemorial.org<br />

(812) 282-6631 | www.clarkmemorial.org

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!