23 minute read
Travel Journal
two theaters with an acoustic value of NC15 — an ideal rating on the Noise Criterion scale established to measure indoor sounds — offering musicians, performers, and young, aspiring artists the opportunity to perform on stage in a world-class venue.
In June 2014, Holly’s widow, Maria Elena Holly, granted permission to use her late husband’s name in the title of this performing arts facility, free of royalty.
To see the memorabilia and history of Buddy Holly’s brief life and blazing musical career you will want to head to the Buddy Holly Center (as opposed to the aforementioned Buddy Holly Hall). The Buddy Holly Center collects, preserves, and interprets artifacts relevant to Lubbock’s most famous native son, as well as to other performing artists and musicians of West Texas. The West Texas Walk of Fame, featuring a statue of Holly by sculptor Grant Speed, is located inside the Buddy and Maria Elena Holly Plaza, just west of the Center, on the corner of Crickets Avenue and 19th Street.
Architecture students from around the world make their way to Lubbock to visit the Robert Bruno Steel House. Bruno was a Texas Tech architecture professor, inventor, and artist most widely recognized for his steel house sitting on the edge of the jagged caprock escarpment that overlooks Yellow House Canyon in the residential community of Ransom Canyon a few miles east of Lubbock. The home is inside an established neighborhood; you can drive right by. You won’t find tour tickets for sale on a website; visitors call Henry Martinez, a friend of Bruno’s and the home’s caretaker, to schedule a visit for a small fee. For a complete High Plainsinspired meal, make your reservations at The Nicolett, owned
HIGH PLANS STYLE Lubbock is home to six award-winning wineries, including McPherson Cellars, which offers live music on its patio. Contributing to the ample craft beer scene, Two Docs indeed is owned by two doctors; in October, the brewery celebrates Doktoberfest. Sculptures mark the entrance to the National Ranching Heritage Museum on the Texas Tech campus. by Lubbock native and world-trained chef Finn Walter. Indulge in four courses featuring local ingredients prepared with European techniques. We enjoyed our dinner under the string lights and succulents in the greenhouse.
Lubbock offers a wide array of cultural eats from across the country and around the world, beginning with Latin tapas at La Diosa Cellars, which is known for its house sangria. For a Hub City twist on a southern staple, visit Dirk’s for a plate of tender fried chicken, fresh oysters, and traditional sides.
Garry and Suzanne Bailey of Evansville (meet them on page
A TORNADO DISASTER MEMORIALIZED IN LUBBOCK
Soon after my
arrival in Lubbock, Texas, in the piazza of the Cotton Court Hotel while enjoying a Chilton, the drink of the region, John Osborne, president and CEO of the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance and Visit Lubbock, welcomed our group with a dramatic story.
On May 11, 1970, the Lubbock Tornado struck the city, plowing through downtown and taking the lives of 26 people. It was the first documented F5 tornado in the U.S.
“The impact of the infamous 1970 tornado changed the culture of Lubbock forever,” Osborne says. “In a matter of half an hour, the thriving heart of the city turned into ground zero for one of the most devastating natural disasters of its time. Now, Lubbock’s downtown is exhibiting a new birth of activity as revitalization efforts continue to shape the downtown of today. As we look back 50 years later and see the effect of the tornado, we are overwhelmed by the strength of the city and find hope in how we move forward together, honoring the past and paving a way forward to the future.”
On May 11, 2021, 51 years after the tornado, Lubbock unveiled its Lubbock Tornado Gateway Memorial Project. The memorial uses 20-foot-tall walls inscribed with quotes, facts, and names of the victims to represent the paths of the tornado. On one end of the memorial is a fountain; its roaring waters mimic the sound of the storm that night.
13) have visited Lubbock often since 2008 when their son Christopher elected to pursue a fine arts doctoral degree at Texas Tech. After graduation, Christopher wed a classmate who grew up in Ransom Canyon.
I asked the Baileys to share a few memories of Lubbock:
“With over 50,000 students, (at Texas Tech) Christopher never felt like a number. He developed a great fine arts family and still stays in touch with his colleagues from his classes. Texas Tech is in a pocket all its own in the state of Texas. It is a great center of arts and athletics, with football games lasting from Friday nights to Sunday evenings. After getting used to Texas Tech, with a population of so many students from everywhere, you learn a great set of coping and life skills. One that we soon learned after driving around outside the city was how to remove a rolling tumbleweed from under the car ... and how to drive for two days and still be in the same state. The wide-open spaces are fabulous and, as they all describe it, ‘A sky that goes on forever,’ always makes us ready to return. There is a special kind of glue found in the people of Texas.”
Visit Lubbock visitlubbock.org
Visit
Stay
Cotton Court Hotel cottoncourthotel.com
Eat & Drink
Burklee Hill Vineyards burkleehillvineyards.com The Nicolett nicolettrestaurant.com La Diosa Cellars ladiosacellars.com English Newsom Cellars englishnewsom.com McPherson Cellars mcphersoncellars.com Rave On raveonlbk.com
Two Docs Brewing Co. twodocsbrewing.com The Lobby sugarbrowns.com Dirk’s Dirkslbk.com Bruno Steel House Henry Martinez, Guide (806) 632-6938 Buddy Holly Center ci.lubbock.tx.us/ departments/ buddy-holly-center Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts & Sciences lepaa.org Charles Adams Studio Project Charles Adams Gallery charlesadamsgallery.com National Ranching Heritage Center ranchingheritage.org Texas Tech Public Art Collection texastech.edu/fpc/ public-art.php Twitter/Instagram: @ttuspublicart Prairie Dog Town ci.lubbock.tx.us/departments/ parks-recreation/parks/ prairie-dog-town
The Tri-State’s largest furniture store. Family-owned and operated for over 40 years. High-quality, money-saving furniture and home decor.
DRIVE A LITTLE, SAVE A LOT!
AS SEEN IN THE 2021 EVANSVILLE LIVING IDEA HOME
TAKING THE REINS
BY DALLAS CARTER PHOTOS BY ZACH STRAW
Evansville Police Mounted Patrol prioritizes safety, community outreach
Before the sun fully rises each morning, Evansville Police Department Sgt. Tyrone Wood and officer Paul Harper are already feeding, brushing, bathing, and loading their horses onto their trailers. By 10 a.m. Wood, Harper, and their four-legged partners are badged and monitoring the streets as the Evansville Police Mounted Patrol.
Established in 2015, the Mounted Patrol made its first appearance with Wood and his 15-year-old draft-cross horse Blondie at the Christmas parade on Main Street that year. Blondie stands 17.1 hands tall (the unit of measurement for horse height; Blondie’s height is 69 inches) and was purchased from Louisiana’s Angola Prison equine breeding program in 2015. Harper currently rides the newest “officers” in training, CJ (16.1 hands) and Scotty (16 hands), both nine years old.
“I had the knowledge and what I hoped was a skill set to ride horses,” says Wood. “I love talking to people, and so I thought being able to have that passion for horses and then that passion to try to communicate with the public — I thought if we put those two things together, I really feel like I’ve found my niche.”
Serving as a school liaison sergeant, Wood oversees liaison officers at Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. high schools and middle schools and suits up with Blondie for about 70 days of the year, including the summer months when he is able to ride every day.
The Shawneetown, Illinois, native was raised riding horses at his grandfather’s property and joined the EPD in August 2006 as a third-shift motor patrol officer. Since then, Wood has served as a misdemeanor investigator, motor patrol sergeant, and most recently school liaison sergeant in 2019.
The Elberfield, Indiana, native participated in 4-H as a child and joined EPD as a third-shift motor patrol officer in 2018. While he still works nights, Harper applied for the Mounted Patrol as soon as he heard Wood was recruiting.
Working these dual roles in the department, both officers still have high standards for the horses and the mounted force.
The horses are constantly in training. Each recruit undergoes a trial period and
IN THE PASTURE Sgt. Tyrone Wood established the Evansville Police Mounted Patrol in 2015 with his loyal 15-year-old mare Blondie. Wood grew up around horses in his native Shawneetown, Illinois, and purchased Blondie from Louisiana’s Angola Prison in 2015.
an annual test for safety and quality-assurance. Depending on the breed, horses mature at five or six years old, and officers can ride a well-kept horse into its 20s.
In years past, Wood has taken the patrol to a training school in Mobile, Alabama, where they spend 60 to 80 hours training and working the city’s Mardi Gras parades. At home, the horses are exposed to shopping carts, balloons, fireworks, and Harper and Wood’s children to prepare them for work.
To ensure their horses stay “sound” — equestrian vernacular for “healthy” — Harper and Wood also give Blondie, CJ, and Scotty regular vet checks.
The Evansville Police Foundation, which provides additional resources to enhance public safety and law enforcement, also helps fund the Mounted Patrol. While the department pays the officers’ salaries and insurance and Harper and Wood own the horses themselves, the Foundation helps offset the costs of equipment and training for both officers and horses, as well as food, care, and housing.
Dedicating about $5,000 per horse per year, the Foundation has also been responsible for funding the program’s launch and promotions, such as baseball-style trading cards for each officer/horse duo.
“The city budget covers all of the required things, but if you want to launch a new program, like we launched the drone program and the Mounted Patrol, you need to have money coming in faster than it can be budgeted in flow. And that’s what the Foundation does,” says Foundation director Jan Davies.
Tribute Equine Nutrition sponsors all of the horses’ pellet feed with an annual donation, and individuals and businesses donate to the Foundation daily.
But Davies says the Foundation is more than a financial organization. It recently launched a new Mounted Patrol curriculum in collaboration with Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana and University of Southern Indiana Center for Applied Research about personal safety, pet care, careers in law enforcement, and, of course, the horses. The curriculum will be available to local children and youth organizations, who can view the program online and then be visited by the Mounted Patrol.
In addition to working crowd control at large events such as the West Side Nut Club’s Fall Festival, school visits are one of the Mounted Patrol’s main duties.
“It is a big community policing concept,” says Wood, when asked about the importance of the Mounted Patrol in the era of the Black Lives Matter movement and public opposition of police departments across the country. “(It’s) not just driving through a community, but slowing down and getting to know the people, the neighborhood.”
“People that don’t normally talk to us come up and talk. We sit there for 30 to 40 minutes with somebody that, if it wasn’t for the horse, wouldn’t want anything to do with you,” adds Harper.
HARD AT WORK Alongside Wood and Blondie, officer Paul Harper currently rides two of the department’s trainee horses, CJ and Scotty. The Mounted Police have a strict training regimen, months-long trial period, and an annual safety test so that the horses are prepared for any sounds and situations they might experience while working large public events.
DO WITH YOU.” — OFFICER PAUL HARPER, EVANSVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
As summer ends, Harper and Wood adjust to spending more time in their regular positions. During the school year, the officers have about two days a month with the horses. Meanwhile, Davies says the horses will continue to build relationships as ambassadors of EPD with the new curriculum.
PROPER PARTNERS To Wood and Harper, the horses aren’t just animals — they’re partners. Both officers own their horses themselves and are responsible for their daily care such as brushing, cleaning, feeding, and exercise on duty days. “I’m not a dog person, not a cat person — I’m a horse person,” says Harper. SADDLE UP. evansvillepolicefoundation.org/mountedpatrol/
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Lauren Daigle 9/25 MercyMe 10/09 for King & Country 10/24 TOBYMAC 11/3
It’s time again to celebrate the local businesses, community leaders, attractions, and events that light up our city. While Evansville Living readers flock to their keyboards to vote in the Best of Evansville awards, the editorial team selects a few additional wInners who we feel deserve a spotlight. The result is 30 readers’ picks and seven editors’ picks highlighting the best Evansville has to offer in 2021. Enjoy, and thanks for voting!
By the staff of Evansville Living
LOVE & LIGHT
Best Light Show ★ Editors’ Pick
Boats and barges passing through Evansville on the bend in the Ohio River often get a good glimpse of the sparkling lights that brighten Downtown, but this past year the best light show was seen on its inner streets.
Love & Light, a two-night interactive, colored LED lighting installation organized by the Downtown Evansville Economic Improvement District, shined on the wall of the Children’s Museum of Evansville in April, giving guests a colorful way to interact and have fun. The lighting experience created a combination of shadows as guests interacted with them.
“We had seen it done in other cities and we just kind of modified it to make it unique,” says Adam Trinkel, marketing and events director for Downtown Evansville. “That was just kind of intended to be a one-off experience. We’ve talked about bringing it back at some point in a more permanent fashion.”
downtownevansville.com
MO’S HOUSE
Best Place for an Adventurous Cocktail
“Adventurous” barely begins to describe Mo’s House in Haynie’s Corner Arts District. Entering the craft cocktail lounge transports patrons to a new world where the rules of mixed drinks no longer apply. Whether you like to savor a perfected Old Fashioned or experiment with the flavors of the spicy Fruit Loop Caliente, you’re bound to explore outside of your comfort zone at the bar that owner Moriah Rose describes as customers’ “home away from home.”
1114 Parrett St. • 812-401-3800 • mos-house.com
COLONIAL CLASSICS LANDSCAPE & NURSERY
Best Place to Buy Plants
Evansville Living readers know who to trust with their plant needs: Colonial Classics Landscape & Nursery. An Evansville-area mainstay since 1958, this local garden center has expert advice for yard projects, a top-rated plant nursery, design services, and a large new addition opened this year to better serve customers and keep your landscape looking sharp.
3633 Epworth Road, Newburgh, IN • 812-853-6622 • colonialclassics.net
AZZIP PIZZA
Best Pizza and Best Business that Gives Back
Would you put a pile of crunchy Grippos paired with a SKI soda reduction on your pizza? At Azzip Pizza, personal pizza creativity knows no bounds. Founded by Brad Niemeier in 2014, Azzip has made quality pizzas and community service its mission ever since.
“We’ve got such a loyal fan base and a group of people that have supported us all along the way,” says Niemeier. “We are so thankful and appreciative of that.”
Living up to the title of “Best Business that Gives Back,” Azzip’s Pot of Dough fundraiser lets nonprofits register for 100-plus keyring scanners that give five percent of every Azzip purchase back to the organization, plus the chance to win cash prizes. An extension of the We Give A’Zip campaign, the program has donated $250,000 in the last five years.
4 locations in the Tri-State • 812-909-4144 • azzippizza.com
FRANKLIN STREET BAZAAR
Best Farmers Market
Each Saturday from May through August, the green lawn of the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library’s West Branch turns into a bustling market of vendors, food trucks, and live music. Patrons of the Franklin Street Bazaar enjoy more than 100 pop-up booths offering a wide variety of wares. Whether you have your sights set on a jar of local honey, sprigs of dried lavender, or a custom wooden cutting board, the Franklin Street Bazaar has something for everyone.
2000 W. Franklin St. • fallinlovewithfranklin.org/ franklin-st-bazaar
BRINKER’S JEWELERS
Best Jewelry Shop
“Best of Evansville” voters have awarded top honors to Brinker’s Jewelers for nine consecutive years. Heralded for its high-quality jewelry and unbeatable customer service, Brinker’s Jewelers has been the local name for jewelry since its founding in 1972 by Roland Brinker. Offering a fine jewelry selection, appraisals, custom design, and repair, as well as master jewelers, certified watchmakers, and gemologists, Brinker’s Jewelers will celebrate 50 years in 2022.
111. S. Green River Road • 812-476-0651 • brinkersjewelers.com
GERST HAUS
Place with the Best Beer Selection
Since 1999, Gerst Bavarian Haus has been Evansville’s go-to for authentic German food and — most importantly — beer. The Franklin Street staple has 49 beers and a rotating cider on tap, including its Gerst Amber Ale, as well as an extensive offering of imported and domestic cans and bottles. Complete the dining experience at Gerst Haus’ iconic bar — pair your fishbowl or pint with traditional appetizers, hearty entrees, and homemade apple strudel a la mode.
2100 W. Franklin St. • 812-424-1420 gersthausevansville.com
BLUESTOCKING SOCIAL
Write-in Winner for Best Bookstore
Opened in August 2020, Bluestocking Social has had an eventful first year in business. Tucked in a basement-level space underneath Honey + Moon Coffee and Juniper Jade Boutique & Salon, Bluestocking Social takes its name from the 18th-century English literacy group the Blue Stockings Society. The independent bookstore carries local and new releases, hosts book signings, and partners with other small businesses for discussion clubs.
Guests especially love visiting with Matt and Annie Fitzpatrick’s dogs, Huxley and Eleanor, who often are seen peeking out from behind the checkout counter.
606B S. Weinbach Ave. • 812-402-2055 bluestockingsocial.com
Best Kept Secret ★ Editors’ Pick
Though it may be hidden among Evansville’s many bars and restaurants, Mojo’s Boneyard is no secret to locals who have enjoyed exciting music and top-notch food here for nearly 10 years.
Owners Jeremy and Tiffany Wynn opened Mojo’s in October 2011 with the goal of establishing a venue where emerging artists can showcase their talents to attentive, passionate crowds. Guests can see touring artists as well as recurring musicians like the Monte Skelton Band or Danny and The Jons.
The sports bar is beloved for its Mo’ Steam burgers, specialty pizzas, and bone-in wings. Regional craft beers are on tap, and Mojo’s regularly donates a portion of sales to fellow Best of Evansville winner It Takes A Village.
4920 Bellemeade Ave. • 812-475-8593 • facebook.com/MojosBoneYard
JACLYN NEVILLE
Best Personal Trainer
For Jaclyn Neville, helping people improve their overall health and build confidence — as a coach at Orange Theory Fitness or through her online nutrition program, Mind Body Method — is what she loves most.
“I was in college and put on a bunch of weight and couldn’t figure out what to do and how to do it, so I went to school for nutrition. I just remember thinking, ‘I do not want to feel like this, and I don’t want other people to feel like this ever,’” Neville says. “That’s what kept me on the path of getting my personal trainer certification, and now I have my own online nutrition along with Orange Theory.”
The Memorial High School and University of Southern Indiana graduate has been a coach at Orange Theory Fitness for four and a half years, teaching classes several days a week. She started Mind Body Method in 2019 to advise clients how to live a healthy lifestyle.
jaclynneville.com
CAMILLA’S CLOSET
Best Resale Shop
Starting out as a small jewelry store and children’s resale shop in Newburgh, Indiana, Camilla’s Closet is now one of the Tri-State’s premier consignment superstores, offering a full array of family fashions, home décor, pre-owned designer handbags, and a full-service fine jewelry department onsite.
Owners Jennifer and Curt Welte recently opened an affiliate nonprofit called Petunias’s Resale for Rescue. Proceeds from Petunia’s support animal rescue in the Tri-State.
1330 N. Green River Road • 812-401-1191 camillasconsignment.com
LIC’S DELI & ICE CREAM
Best Ice Cream
“Best of Evansville” voters have the scoop on Lic’s Deli & Ice Cream, voting the restaurant “Best Ice Cream” for the second year in a row. For more than 70 years, Lic’s has served Choco-Creme ice cream balls, milkshakes, sundaes, ice cream cakes, and ice cream flavors of the month alongside its deli offerings, which were added in the ‘90s. Focusing on using real ingredients, Lic’s continues to stay cool with its fan-favorite frozen treats.
Eight locations 812-422-2618 licsdeliand icecream.com
BRU BURGER BAR
Restaurant with the Best Burger
Finding a tasty burger that keeps you coming back is a tough task, but BRU Burger Bar makes that decision much easier, and our readers agree. Situated in the iconic Greyhound Bus Terminal, BRU Burger Bar pulls out all the stops on the American classic and also offers gluten-free, veggie, lamb, bison, and chicken patties. Try specialty chef burgers like the Mexicali BBQ, New Yorker, or signature Bru Burger.
222 Sycamore St. • 812-302-3005 • bruburgerbar.com
IT TAKES A VILLAGE NO-KILL RESCUE
Best Local Nonprofit
Founded in 2010, It Takes A Village No-Kill Rescue has been the start of happily-ever-afters for more than 7,000 homeless animals.
Before voting ITV 2021’s “Best Local Nonprofit,” the Evansville community helped the organization win a $25,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project, funding the opening of the Evansville rescue center in 2011. In 2019, ITV opened a second center in Spencer County, Indiana.
With more than 200 animals in its care, executive director Tangila Smith says ITV is set apart by its no-kill policy and its spay/neuter policy.
“We do a lot of posting on Facebook so sharing helps to get the word out,” she says. “If you have questions, stop in and see us, volunteer, just spread the word about all the animals that need homes.”
1417 N. Stockwell Road • 812-909-1306 itvrescue.org
WEST SIDE NUT CLUB FALL FESTIVAL
Best Charitable Event
Originally billed as a Halloween carnival, the West Side Nut Club’s annual Fall Festival has grown to become one of the largest street festivals in the U.S. The first full week of October, the Fall Festival is the perfect spot for live music, carnival attractions, talent competitions, a parade, and more than 100 food vendors whose booths serve as a major annual fundraiser for local nonprofits.
The Nut Club’s wildly popular inaugural half-pot in 2019 also raised $1.2 million that was split between an individual ticket winner and local organizations. The Fall Festival turns 100 this year, and the Nut Club’s motto — “from small acorns, large oaks grow” — perfectly states the festival’s historic impact on the community.
nutclubfallfestival.com
WESSELMAN WOODS NATURE PRESERVE
Best Place to Enjoy the Outdoors
As the largest tract of virgin hardwood forest within an American city, visiting Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve truly is an unrivaled experience. With six miles of walking trails, 200 acres of old growth forest, hundreds of birds, and thousands of plant species, it’s the perfect place to enjoy nature through educational programs, quiet hikes, or visiting the Welborn Baptist Foundation Nature Playscape.
551 N. Boeke Road • 812-479-0771 • wesselmanwoods.org
SPACE MONKEY RECORDS
Best Place to Purchase Vinyl Records
There’s nothing quite like the atmosphere at Space Monkey Records. Rock music is blaring, vinyl records line the aisles, and retro décor sends you back to a time when a needle and a turntable could carry a tune.
Space Monkey Records is a treasure trove of vintage music records and memorabilia, including more than 100,000 12- and 7-inch records, CDs, cassettes, and 8-track tapes, along with band T-shirts, posters, and a large selection of new and pre-owned turntables.
“There’s been this micro uptick in vinyl for about a decade and really in the last five years, it’s gone off the chart,” says owner Patrick Holl, an Evansville resident and lifelong collector. “When we first opened the store, it was nothing but vintage records, but we carry new records now.”
1201 E. Riverside Drive • 812-401-3008 • spacemonkeyrecords.com
