Department

Tree Lighting

Cancelled

The Park Christmas Tree Lighting event scheduled for December 5th has been cancelled due to increased Covid instances and public gathering restrictions. The Town Christmas Tree will be lit at dusk on December 5th. Please make this part of your family tradition and come at your leisure to take family photos following proper social distancing.

2021 Flower

Fund Drive

Town residents: Don’t overlook the annual request for donations to the Town Flower Fund which will be included with your December water bill. Thanks for your support to keep our town beautiful!

Thank you!

Thanks to Star Fleet for once again sponsoring the Parks page in inMiddlebury. This page has proven to be our most effective means of communicating with the greater Middlebury community.

Photo Credits: Tree Lighting photo by Gloria Salavarria Statue, Quilt Garden and Begonias photos by John McKee Giant Toadstool photo by Tom Enright

2020 Accomplishments

Although most of our park events had to be canceled this year due to the pandemic, that doesn’t mean the parks and staff were idle. People appreciated the opportunity to be outdoors more than ever this year. Here’s a partial list of the things that staff achieved this year: • The Dutch Windmill in Krider World’s Fair Garden received a facelift. Steel siding was placed over the wood siding, and the top and fans were repainted. • Lloyd Bontrager Gazebo in Memorial Park was rebuilt with recycled plastic poly lumber. • Trestle Bridge was resurfaced with new decking and extended railing. • A trail counter was added to Pumpkinvine Nature Trail (PVNT).

Average weekly count this summer was 3,800 with the highest single day count of 1,527. • “Stop ahead” stencils were painted on PVNT to encourage trail users to be safe. • Volunteer Trail Stewards Program was initiated. • A new bathroom was designed to be built along the PVNT near

Krider World’s Fair Garden in 2021. • The new landscaping project at East Park was begun. • We planted our 13th annual Quilt Garden and participated in the

Elkhart County Quilt Garden Tour. • Vinyl ribs on the toadstool at Krider World’s Fair Garden were refurbished. • New gutters were installed on East Park

Pavilion • A new kiosk was added at Olde Mill Park • Tree water bars were added along the trail at Riverbend Park • And, of course, park staff provided and maintained the light pole flowers and other annual plantings as well as the many lovely, trails, playgrounds, picnic areas, and other accessible outdoor spaces everyone needed this year more than ever!

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SAFE TIMELY DEPENDABLE

My husband was raised on a farm in Shipshewana by his grandparents, Davis and Elma Norris. I had the incredible privilege of getting to know Elma and being welcomed into her family; she was a woman of faith and wisdom, witty, full of laughter, and a fantastic cook. Her pies were one of her specialties. I still remember making this pie with her, side by side in her farmhouse kitchen--she in her early 90s; me, a young wife trying to learn a recipe that my husband loved-both of us knowing that Elma was passing on the gift of a favorite dessert, one that was not only filled with delicious taste but which also nourished the soul with countless memories of family gatherings and love. Grandma Elma's Old Fashioned Cream Pie

Ingredients:

3T Flour 3T Butter, cold, cut into six squares or so 1C Sugar 1/2C Half and half Enough whole milk to fill the pie pan the rest of the way 1 pie crust (homemade or store bought) Nutmeg for sprinkling on top Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line an 8 or 9" pie pan with pie crust. Pour flour, sugar, and butter on top of crust and mix these three ingredients together with your fingers until you have creamy and crumbly consistency. Pour cold half & half and milk to fill up the pie pan (I love her measurement there. The trick is to fill it to the bottom of the edge of the crust--too much milk and your pie will not set; so, err on the side of too little milk, not too much, the first time you try this recipe.) Stir the milk and the flour/sugar/butter together with your fingers. Sprinkle nutmeg on the surface of the pie. Put the pie in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Then, turn the oven down to 350 and bake for an additional 50 minutes. Remove pie when it is beginning to brown and you can gently shake the pan and see that the cream is beginning to gel. Cool on a wire rack before slicing (it will get thicker as it cools). Enjoy the pie and the memories of making and sharing it! - Carrie Norris This is my favorite stuffing and has been in our family for generations: Great Grandma Voeller’s Sausage Stuffing 2 Packages of Farmer John’s sausage 1/2 Onion minced 2 Stalks of celery sliced thin 1 Loaf of bread toasted Turkey neck, heart, gizzards Turkey broth from cooking the neck, etc. Cover the turkey parts completely with water and boil gently until tender. This takes in to small pieces. Toast bread and tear into small pieces. Cook sausage according to package directions. Remove from pan. Add the celery and onion to the pan and sauté in the sausage grease until tender, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, mix the bread, celery and onion, turkey pieces, and sausage until well mixed. Add broth a little at a time until all the bread is moistened. You don’t want it soggy, but well moistened.

about 10 minutes or so. Cut the turkey parts Place the stuffing inside the turkey and roast until done. - Nicki Myers

Green salad ! Mmmmm family favorite. 1 Big tub of cool whip 1 Can crushed pineapple 1 Can mandarin oranges (Both drained of course) 1 Package of pistachio pudding mix. 1 Small package of mini marshmallows Throw it in a bowl mix her up and chill over night. -Melissa Williams

Sour Cream Cut Out Cookies 1C Brown sugar 1C white sugar 1C Soft butter (not melted) 2 Eggs 1 tsp. Baking powder 2 tsp. Baking soda 1C Sour cream 1 tsp. Vanilla 51/2 C Flour Cream sugars & butter together till creamy. Add eggs & beat well. Add rest of ingredients except flour & beat together till well blended. Add flour. Chill for an hour or more . Roll out on floured surface & cut with desired cookie cutter. Bake at 350° till edges are just starting to brown & middle is set but not brown . Frost when cooled.

Frosting:

1/4 cup soft butter 8 oz soft cream cheese 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla Add water till desired consistency -Anna Chupp