The Brown Count y Historic al Societ y Studio Tour Ar tist Mar tha Sechler
D ave Sisson and Local Music
Antique Alley
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We’ve been bringing great taste to you since 2012 from our inviting little shop in the heart of Brown County, Indiana.
We have curated a flavorful collection for your tasting pleasure with plenty to offer for foodies, the experienced cook, or the novice. It goes well beyond the high-quality olive oils and balsamics we built our reputation on. We’ve added jams, pastas, dipping oils, salsas, sauces, and much more. Come in for a tour of tastes and let us be your guide. You’ll be wild about our shop. Shop us online from anywhere, anytime at www.thewildolive.com
12 HISTORY MYSTERY
13 SUBSCRIBE
16 Antique Alley
~by Chrissy Alspaugh
24 Dave Sisson and local music
~by Jeff Tryon
30 Musings: Brown Co. Booster
~by Mark Blackwell
36 Brown County Bookshelf
~by Julia Pearson
38-39 Photos by Jane Mitchell*
40-43 CALENDAR / HAPPENINGS
44 Brown Co.Historical Society
~by Boris Ladwig
50 Playhouse Highlights
~by Connie Shakalis
54 Theresa Caputo Live!
~by Cindy Steele
56 Field Notes: A Fish Story
~by Jim Eagleman
62 Artist Martha Sechler
~by Bob Gustin
72-74 INFO PAGES
Cover: The Ferguson House in Antique Alley
~by Cindy Steele
ourbrowncounty.com
ourbrown@bluemarble.net
Also online at issuu.com/ourbrowncounty and on Facebook OUR BROWN COUNTY
P.O. Box 157 Helmsburg, IN 47435
(812) 988-8807
Jeff Tryon is a former news editor of The Brown County Democrat, and a former region reporter for The Republic. Born and raised in Brown County, he currently lives with his wife, Sue, in a log cabin on the edge of Brown County State Park. He is a Baptist minister.
Joe Lee is an illustrator and writer. He is the author of Forgiveness: The Eva Kor Story, The History of Clowns for Beginners, and Dante for Beginners. He is an editorial cartoonist for the Bloomington Herald-Times, a graduate of Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Clown College, and a veteran circus performer.
Chrissy Alspaugh is a freelance writer and owner of Christina Alspaugh Photography. View her work at <ChristinaAlspaughPhotography. com>.She lives in Bartholomew County with her husband Matt and three boys.
Jim Eagleman is a 40-year veteran naturalist with the IN DNR. In retirement, he is now a consultant. His program “Nature Ramblings” can be heard on WFHB radio, the Brown County Hour. He serves on the Sycamore Land Trust board. He enjoys reading, hiking, music, and birding. Jim and his wife Kay have lived here for more than 40 years.
Connie Shakalis is arts reporter for Bloomington’s The Herald-Times, and also writes for Bloom Magazine. She has performed 18 leading roles in musicals and plays throughout the U.S. She performed a onewoman nightclub show in New York City and led walking tours of Central Park.
Mark Blackwell no longer makes his home in Brown County where “the roadway is rough and the slopes are seamed with ravines” He now resides within sight of the sixth green of an undisclosed golf course. He was born in the middle of the last century and still spends considerable time there.
Julia Pearson wrote for a Franciscan magazine for ten years and served as its human interest editor. She now resides in Lake Woebegone Country for life’s continuing adventures. Julia enjoys traveling and visiting museums of all types and sizes, with her children and grandchildren.
Boris Ladwig is a Columbusbased journalist who has worked in print, online and TV media in Indiana and Kentucky and has won awards for features, news, business, non-deadline news, First Amendment/community affairs and investigative reporting.
Bob Gustin worked as a reporter, photographer, managing editor, and editor for daily newspapers in Colorado, Nebraska, and Indiana before retiring in 2011. He and his wife, Chris, operate Homestead Weaving Studio. She does the weaving while he gives studio tours, builds small looms, and expands his book and record collections.
Cindy Steele is the publisher and editor of this magazine. She sells and designs ads, sometimes writes, takes photos, and creates the layout. For fun, she likes to play the guitar or banjo and sing.
*Jane Mitchell first fell in love with photography during her elementary school days when she snapped blurry black and white shots with her Brownie camera. She has never stopped taking photos since then. She taught art in public schools for 33 years and showed her work of stained glass and weavings through the art and craft circuit. Her experience, along with a strong appreciation of nature, keep her interest in photography alive.
copyright 2023
Thanks, Mom, for making it happen!
On the top of a steep incline in the southwestern part of Brown County is a group of unusual rock formations of unknown origins. Specimens of limestone are in cube and rectangle shapes three and four feet long, with some being as much as fifteen feet long. Legend has it that these hewed-sided stones existed long before settlers came to the area, and that Native Americans considered the site to be sacred. What is the name of this special place?
The answer to last issue’s mystery was Jacksonburg.
Outdoor games, live music, and a new beer garden tempt visitors at Antique Alley to stay a while and check out shops that offer one-of-akind wares from working artists, specialty products, model trains, whimsical finds, and much more.
The complex is located in Nashville at the junction of Jefferson and Franklin Streets and along the alleys behind the Brown County Playhouse.
Property owner Andi Rogers Bartels said, ironically, one of the few things shoppers won’t find in Antique Alley are— antiques.
Andi remembers the iconic antique shop at The Ferguson House when she was growing up.
“It was a dark, scary place. If you talk to anybody who went in there, they’ll tell you there were real skeletons inside. It was something!”
Continuing her family’s legacy of bolstering business in Nashville is something, too.
The Brilliance Gallery
Brown County Model Trains
Brown County Pottery
Brown County Weavery
The Clay Purl
Country Magic
Denny’s Magic and Fun Emporium
The Ferguson House
Bistro & Bar, Beer Garden, & Suites For Bare Feet
The Lazy Possum
Lolli’s House
Lumi Boutique
My Sisters Shoppe
Old McDurbin Gold & Gifts
The Paint Box
Plum Natural
Wooden Wonders
Her father, prominent Nashville businessman Andy Rogers, who passed away in 2018 at age 87, owned the complex before her.
Rogers’ business holdings at various times included the Nashville House, the Brown County Inn, The Seasons Lodge and Conference Center, The Ordinary restaurant, and about two dozen retail shops he rented to others. He managed the Abe Martin Lodge and helped build banks in Nashville. When he died, the Brown County Democrat called him “the man who built the business framework for Brown County.”
His father, Andrew Jackson “Jack” Rogers, helped establish the Nashville House hotel and restaurant in 1927.
The fabric of Andi’s childhood was the inner workings of Nashville business—tagging along with her dad checking his hotels and restaurants before school, learning to count change and bus tables at the Nashville House, securing her first job at age 14 at Abe Martin Lodge.
“It was our way of life, every single day. It was just part of this long history of my family giving to this community and creating jobs,” she said.
The day of her father’s estate auction was “extremely hard,” Andi said.
“I was sobbing most of the auction, watching everything I’d known my whole life being auctioned off,” she said. Her husband, Lance Bartels, conducted their bidding that day, keeping the Antique Alley properties and her childhood home with the surrounding acreage in the family.
Then an even bigger challenge began.
Much of the maintenance of the properties had been deferred the last years of her dad’s life. Air conditioners needed replaced, wiring needed repaired, one cabin was literally sinking into the ground, and pretty much everything needed a facelift.
The couple attacked the to-do list as fast as finances would allow, completing most of the repairs themselves. Their children, Nolan and Ella, and other family members helped check off projects during the COVID shutdown.
Andi said she and her husband, who is a pilot, travel frequently and came into the renovations with all kinds of ideas about the touches that make a space feel inviting: vibrant colors, landscaping, outdoor games, seating, music, food and drinks, and even water bowls for four-legged friends.
“It feels like an environment that we would seek out, but it also still feels like home,” said Andi.
Chainsaw artist Chris Trotter, who owns Wooden Wonders, appreciates all that the couple has poured into the complex that he’s called home for 16 years.
Trotter said he felt incredibly supported as an artist by Andy Rogers, and his daughter has been “the perfect new owner.”
“Andi definitely has Nashville in her blood and wants to keep the arts thriving. If they hadn’t taken over the alley, we could’ve ended up being turned into a putt-putt course or really anything,” Trotter said.
Continued on 20
Michele Hayes, owner of The Clay Purl, said she has enjoyed watching the couple revive the complex, particularly The Ferguson House outside her shop door.
“It’s been so fun to watch these buildings come to life,” Hayes said.
Today, families stroll through the alley’s bouquet of delightfully unique shops. Artisans can be found painting, weaving, throwing pottery, and carving outside their shops, while live music spills out of The Ferguson House’s new beer garden.
“I still frequently get asked where the antique shops are,” said David Hoggatt, owner of the alley’s Brown County Model Trains. “There aren’t antiques here, but folks really enjoy what they do find.”
Ohio residents John and Julie Frye recently rested with their dogs Jeep and Rubicon in the beer garden during their first visit to Nashville, a pit stop on their drive home from California.
“We’ve walked and walked today—I think we’ve seen every alley and back road in this town,” John laughed. “This is such a great little place. We’ll definitely be back.”
Until then, Andi and her family will keep renovating and building upon their vision of keeping Nashville moving forward for businesses and for visitors.
“I just love our community, and I love our town,” she said. “All I can do is keep carrying on the history of Nashville and the history of my dad.”
“It was a dark, scary place. If you talk to anybody who went in there, they’ll tell you there were real skeletons inside. It was something!”
—Andi Rogers BartelsThe Ferguson House when it was the iconic antique shop. Scenes from today’s Antique Alley complex. The family leveling a cabin in Antique Alley. photos by Cindy Steele
The Brown County music scene is on the rise, led by several young local artists coming into their own, and fueled by businesses recognizing the popularity of live music.
Brown County offers a variety of music and musicians, ranging from the big-name national acts who grace the stages of the Brown County Music Center and the Brown County Playhouse, to the amazing array of quality players and bands hosted by bars, a winery, and restaurants. Buskers also play on street corners for tips in Nashville, just as the late John Franz used to do.
That’s where Dave Sisson started out, on the same street corner where Franz had plied his trade, made a name and a career for himself, and became a sort of local musical legend.
“I played on a few coffee shop stages before that, but I definitely cut my teeth playing on that corner,” Sisson said. “I was kind of polishing my craft out there.
“It’s great. Sometimes you make money, sometimes it’s not about the money, you just meet cool people. You just never know what you’re going to encounter out there. I’ve collaborated with a lot of people that I met just randomly on the street.”
Sisson remembers the value of local venues which opened up the microphone for young players just starting out.
“Currently we do have a lot of great venues that support music, but I’ve got to give a shoutout to Muddy Boots and the Pine Room,” he said.
Owners Betsy and James Oblack encouraged local music, and their stages were favorites for many people. Sisson said, “I used to play there for the brunch crowd for tips and a free breakfast. That was the perfect vibe.”
Those venues are gone, but Sisson said strong local support is providing a boost for the current local music scene.
“It’s a good town for music,” he said. “There are a lot of different stages and places to play out.”
All kinds of talents at all different stages of artistic growth can find a place to play and improve.
“I think we have a lot of venues that really appreciate music at all levels—full bands, little duos, and solo acts. There’s a lot of different levels for people to play—from open mics up to theater shows.”
Sisson said the music offered at local venues has changed in flavor during his time on stage.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a distinct change. You know, music goes in cycles,” he said. “I think when I started, a lot more of the local music was ‘bluegrass-centric.’ I think a lot of the people and the groups that you see now have the same instrumentation, but there’s a lot more folk and Americana influence, and less division between the different genres—I think there’s a good blend around here.”
Sisson was set to play in August with Caitlin Spangler.
“She’s another good song writer, and she has a good voice. Just another person you meet and collaborate with.”
Spangler got her start playing with Mickey Harden as the roots/ blues duo “Spank’n’Mickey.” Sadly, Harden passed away earlier this year at the age of 45.
Sisson also had praise for The Hammer and The Hatchet, John Boyer and Jamie Hood.
“We used to have a little side-project band,” he said. “I feel like they are another one of the real representatives of local songwriting.”
Another bright light who came up around the same time as Sisson is Kenan Rainwater. He performs but also explores and promotes other musicians. His Rainwater Studios’ “The Stream” features performers from throughout Southern Indiana and surrounding areas.
Live streaming allows artists to build their content collection by capturing live performances to disc
as fully mixed stereo. The studio also offers help with post-production and publishing.
As a bonus for local live music fans, artists who deliver the best live performances on Rainwater’s “The Stream” are featured live in showcase performances at the Brown County Playhouse.
“He’s been around since the Muddy Boots days, we’ve kind of come up together,” Sisson said. “I’m
glad to see him collaborating with the Playhouse. It’s good for a lot of these up-and-coming artists to have these videos so they can show then world what they can do.”
Sisson said “Kenan has been very generous to me” with his latest project, an album of original songs, due out later this year.
“It’s finally to the point where I need to have my own album,” he said. “So, I’ve got eight or nine alloriginal songs. Some of them are collaborations with my friend Sam Love. I’ve played with him since high school. He’s a killer harmonica player and a good songwriter.”
“I’d say it’s self-produced. Keenan and myself are doing all of the engineering and mixing, capturing everything. It’s pretty stripped down.”
“It will feature my songs and Sam’s songs. He’s playing harmonica and we brought in Frank Jones to play bass on a few tracks.”
Sisson considers Jones, from a generation earlier in the local music scene, as “probably my biggest influence.”
“Frank is just the best,” he said. “If you want to see a true legend songwriter, you should catch him. He’s always just at the top of his game.
“I’m excited to get the word out on my CD,” Sisson said. “I think this will be a good calling card for me as a songwriter and a little local go-to guy. I want to make it available to stream, but I also want to have a physical album that I can sell at shows.”
“I think we have a lot of venues that really appreciate music at all levels—full bands, little duos, and solo acts. There’s a lot of different levels for people to play—from open mics up to theater shows.”
—Dave SissonSisson and Sam Love in Bean Blossom. photo by Cindy Steele
Abooster is a person or group who promotes a town, city, or area in order to improve public perception. One way to create boosters of a place is for the elected officials to establish a visitors bureau. Another way is for somebody to take an interest in a place, develop a genuine affection for it, and then take it upon themselves to publicize the virtues of said place.
Boosterism has been with us, practically, since the dawn of time. It probably got started right after the second village was established. I can see it now, “Come on over to New Ur, the rocking chair of Mesopotamia,” or, “Your gonna love Babylon! We’re building a tower and the sky’s the limit.”
One of the peaks of boosterism in this country was during the 1920s.
In 1922, Sinclair Lewis published his novel, Babbitt. It’s about a businessman, George Babbitt, although disillusioned by his rather mediocre life, goes through the motions of conforming to and even “boostering” the small-town ethos in Zenith, a fictional midwestern town.
Boosterism can sometimes reinforce egocentric tendencies, but it can also advance culture and enhance the environment of a place when it is done out of love with benevolence to better the lives of the inhabitants of a particular place.
Boosters often agitate for better schools, parks, and libraries. These civic-minded citizens look around and point out the unique virtues of their areas and strive to present them to the public.
For Brown County in the 1920s, that person was Mabel E. Sturtevant.
I first ran across Mabel in a reproduction of a 1920s Brown County travel brochure entitled, Picturesque Brown County Indiana; General Guide to Points of Interest; Six Side Trips; Thirteen Outlined Routes Over Graveled Roads; 24 Represented Views; Road Map, published by The Indiana League of Counties (January 1, 1925) Mabel E. Sturtevant for The Indiana League of Counties.
It is a dandy little guidebook consisting of 60 pages, 24 of them illustrated with photographs and a bonus map of the county. Putting it together was no small undertaking, and from what I can tell Ms. Sturtevant did it mostly herself.
The “side trips” and the “thirteen outlined routes” had to have been traveled firsthand and that was no small venture in 1925. The roads were deeply rutted and full of potholes in dry weather and very close to impassable in rain or snow. Outside of Nashville there were very few opportunities for gasoline or mechanical assistance.
The “AAA” did not exist and there were darned few roadside amenities. But according to the travel guide, “Here one meets the hills-people in their homely surroundings and sociable moods. Into these unpretentious log homes of plain, simple, hospitable people those who approach in the right spirit are welcomed.”
The next time I came across Ms. Sturtevant was when I discovered the first 1929 issue of the Hoosier Magazine. She wrote articles for and edited that issue dedicated to Brown County.
She also wrote a book of Native American folklore entitled Tepee Smoke and Hill Haze.
But beyond these accomplishments Mabel E. Sturtevant remains a mystery.
I have done a reasonable search for Ms. Sturtevant’s biography with little success. I have not even been able to locate a birth record or an obituary for her.
Perhaps this is a case where her works must speak for her life, and she will live on in Brown County history as one of its earliest and most ardent boosters.
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Sept. 7 Everclear
Sept. 8 Grand Funk Railroad
Sept. 9 Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
Sept. 16 Warrant + Lita Ford + Bulletboys
Sept. 20 Tanya Tucker
Sept. 21 Beth Har t
Sept. 22 Squeeze / The Psychedelic Furs
Sept. 24 Penn & Teller Present: The Foolers
Sept. 28 Ray LaMontagne
Sept. 30 Rodney Carrington
Oc t. 4 Theresa Caputo Live! The Experience
Oc t. 5 Brian Setzer – Rock abilly Riot!
Oc t. 7 Christopher Cross
Oc t. 12 Roots & Boots - Tippin, Kershaw, & Raye
Oc t. 15 Patti LaBelle
Oc t. 17 YES: Classic Tales of YES
Oc t. 18 Collec tive Soul
Oc t. 19 The Zombies
Oc t. 20 Craig Morgan
Oc t. 21 Celtic Thunder - Odyssey
Oc t. 22 LeAnn Rimes
Nov. 2 Ace Frehley
Nov. 3 The Oak Ridge Boys
Nov. 11 Blues Traveler
Nov. 14 Paul Ank a
Nov. 19 Wheel of For tune LIVE!
Nov. 26 Allman Betts Family Revival
Dec. 2 Amplify Nashville: future stars
Dec. 14,15 Aaron Lewis Acoustic
For additional shows and tickets visit: www.BrownCountyMusicCenter.com
Specializing in new books, classic literature, and bookish gif ts for every reader LOCATED
The narrative of Brown County is written in several voices. All locals and visitors will find that having a bookshelf devoted to Brown County titles will provide many mental vacations. For books to be read aloud to the driver by passengers in the family car, Hoosiers are lucky that loved storyteller, Henry “Hank” Swain, published several books. Good for a chuckle or prompting listeners’ and readers’ own renditions, go to Hank’s Tall Tales and Harmless Exaggerations from Brown County and Beyond. For evenings around the campfire, put away the cell phones—or use them to illuminate the pages—and thumb through Leaves for the Raking, which includes many stories originally published in this magazine. Anyone who is homesick for Hank’s philosophizing and thoughtful delivery will want his books.
Daytrippers will benefit from having a copy of Tales and Trails of Brown County, Indiana in the glove compartment of their car. Lightweight and packable, this little gem has usable maps for automobiles and bicyclists wanting to nose around all 20 by 16 miles of Brown County. The tales enliven many destination points, with beckoning names like: Whipporwill Hollow, Bear Wallow, Scarce O’Fat Ridge, Shake Rag Hollow and Milk Sack Bottoms.
Through the seasons, several volumes can be rotated from the bookshelf to the coffee table. 175 Years of Brown County: the people, the life, the history,
edited by Sherri Cullison, is a beautiful hardback compilation of black and white photographs, with essays written by its own citizens, and issued by the local newspaper the Brown County Democrat. Enjoyed by people who like to dream backwards and forwards in time, the timeless faces smiling up from the pages will engage readers of all ages.
The Artists of Brown County by Lyn Letsinger-Miller is a resource that covers the laps of two readers sitting next to each other on the sofa (and creating special memories for the grandparent sharing it with a grandchild). For lifelong learners wanting to expand their knowledge of the individual artists of the Brown County Art Colony, this book can be ready on a side table with a bookmark to be advanced as each biographical sketch is absorbed with the reproductions of the artworks fixed in mind.
Another favorite is the story of T.C. Steele and his wife, Selma: The House of the Singing Winds, written by Selma N. Steele, Theodore L. Steele, and Wilbur D. Peat. It’s a very human picture of this couple, their marriage, making a home from the ground-up, and their devotion to art. It describes the discipline of producing masterpieces by the painter and the open home maintained and provided by Selma.
Brown County has its own ghost town. Elkinsville, named for one of the earliest settlers, William Elkins, grew into a prosperous town in a remote part of the county. In the early 1960s, under the authorization
of the Flood Control Act of 1944 and the Army Corps of Engineers, the entire town of Elkinsville was condemned, purchased, and destroyed so Lake Monroe could be built. The stories of the 19 displaced families are told in: Elkinsville, Indiana: The Town That Was, edited by Robert Cross and Oliver and Nancy Deckard.
The beginnings of many a home library is Dillon Bustin’s If You Don’t Outdie Me: The Legacy of Brown County. Bustin spent many Sunday suppers at the Nashville House when he was a child—standing on the counter to see Frank Hohenberger’s photographs up close while his family had their special meal together. Years later, he pored over archival boxes of the Hohenberger collection at Indiana University’s Lilly Library. If You Don’t Outdie Me is the fruit of his studying the photographs and diary of Hohenberger.
The inspiration for the rustic characters you see depicted on Brown County signs and in the state park lodge comes from the literary gold of Frank McKinney “Kin” Hubbard. Hubbard’s character, Abe Martin, first appeared in the Indianapolis News in1904 with sayings about Brown County folks. The syndicated cartoon strips starring Abe Martin and his neighbors were compiled into 25 annual editions of Abe Martin’s Brown County Almanack, along with many other books. In 1984, David S. Hawes put together a book called The Best of Kin Hubbard with musings about Hubbard’s life and career in addition to some of Abe’s best sayings. A paperback version was published in 1995.
Written in 1938 for younger readers is Abigail, by Portia Sperry and Lois Donaldson. Frontier Indiana is experienced by a young girl named Susan Calvin along with the ragdoll made by her grandmother and named Abigail.
Bean counters, i-dotters, and t-crossers in the population will want to read the facsimile of County of Brown, Indiana: Historical and Biographical 1884, by Weston Arthur Goodspeed, which is reprinted by the Brown County Historical Society and available at the Brown County History Center.
These books can be found at the public library, bookstores, antique malls, online, estate sales, and all the various attics with other vintage treasures. Happy collecting!
photos by Jane Mitchell
Oppenheimer - movie - $7
Sept. 1 6:30; Sept. 3, 4 2:30
Sept. 2 Late Nite Catechism
Sept. 7 Mac McAnally
Sept. 8 Rodney Norman 8:00
Sept. 9 American Fools: Music of John Mellencamp
Sept. 15 Michael Bone Read
Sept. 16 Jump: Van Halen Experience
Sept. 21 Corey Feldman Band
Sept. 22 Hank & my Honky Tonk Heroes feat. Jason Petty
Sept. 23 Barracuda: Heart Tribute
Sept. 30 Steele Smith
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - theater
Oct. 3, 4, 13, 14 at 7:30; Oct. 8, 15 at 2:30
The Slightly Haunted Puppet Show
Oct. 13, 14 at 1:00 and 3:00
Oct. 20 Jennie DeVoe
Oct. 21 Heywood Banks
Oct. 27 Henry Lee Summer
Oct. 28 War Hippies
Most shows at 7:30
70 S. Van Buren Street 812-988-6555
www.browncountyplayhouse.org
Sept. 7 Everclear
Sept. 8 Grand Funk Railroad
Sept. 9 Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
Sept. 16 Warrant + Lita Ford + Bulletboys
Sept. 20 Tanya Tucker
Sept. 21 Beth Hart
Sept. 22 Squeeze / The Psychedelic Furs
Sept. 24 Penn & Teller Present: The Foolers
Sept. 28 Ray LaMontagne
Sept. 30 Rodney Carrington
Oct. 4 Theresa Caputo Live!
Oct. 5 Brian Setzer – Rockabilly Riot!
Oct. 7 Christopher Cross
Oct. 12 Roots & Boots - Tippin, Kershaw, & Raye
Oct. 15 Patti LaBelle
The schedule can change. Please check before making a trip.
Oct. 17 YES: Classic Tales of YES
Oct. 18 Collective Soul
Oct. 19 The Zombies
Oct. 20 Craig Morgan
Oct. 21 Celtic Thunder - Odyssey
Oct. 22 LeAnn Rimes
812-988-5323
www.browncountymusiccenter.com
Open Mic Nights Wed. 6:00-9:00
Hill Folk Music Series Thurs. 7:00-9:00
Fri. & Sat. Live Music 8:00-11:00
(ITR) - in the round
Sept. 1 Banister Family Bluegrass Band
Sept. 2 Nick Dittmeier & The Sawdusters
Sept. 6 Open Mic
Sept. 7 ITR: Suzette Weakley, Shlomo Franklin, Liz Moss
Sept. 8 The Hammer & The Hatchet
Sept. 9 JC Clements Band
Sept. 13 Open Mic
Sept. 14 Elkins Family
Sept. 15 Breanna Faith
Sept. 16 Big Daddy Caddy
Sept. 20 Open Mic
Sept. 21 Steve Plessinger & Joe Bolinger
Sept. 22 Gene Deer Band
Sept. 23 Lexi Len & The Strangers
Sept. 27 Open Mic
Sept. 28 Silver Creek Revival
Sept. 29 Sean Lamb & Janet Miller
Sept. 30 Steve Smith
Oct. 4 Open Mic
Oct. 5 ITR: Chris Wolf, Sam Anderson, Heather Dawn White
Oct. 6 Allie Jean & Friends
Oct. 7 Acre Brothers
Oct. 11 Open Mic
Oct. 12 Joe’s Truck Stop
Oct. 13 Gary Applegate & Joe Rock
Oct. 14 Blackjack Davey & The Rhythm Kings
Oct. 18 Open Mic
Oct. 19 Billy Don Burns
Oct. 20 Pat Otto Trio
Oct. 21 Gordon Bonham Trio
Oct. 25 Open Mic
Oct. 26 Tom Roznowski & Carolyn Dutton
Oct. 27 Davis & Devitt
Oct. 28 Homemade Jam
51 State Road 46 East 812-988-2291
www.browncountyinn.com
Country Heritage Winery Music Fri. & Sat. 6:00-9:00
Sept. 1 Paul Bertsch
Sept. 2 Clearwater Band
Sept. 8 Rob Lake
Sept. 9 Dylan Raymond
Sept. 15 Micheall Reed
Sept. 16 Indiana Petty & the Wildflowers
Sept. 22 TBA
Sept. 23 Dan Kirk Duo
Sept. 29 Travers Marks
Sept. 30 Coner Berry
Oct. 6 John Ryan
Oct. 7 Homemade Jam
Oct. 13 Paul Bertsch Band
Oct. 14 Tracy Thompson Fun Bus Music
Oct. 20 Ruben Guthrie
Oct. 21 Clearwater Band
Oct. 27 Hubie Ashcraft
Oct. 28 Gary Applegate & Joe Rock
225 S. Van Buren Street 812-988-8500
www.countryheritagewinery.com
Sycamore Saloon at Harmony Tree Resorts
Wed. Trivia Night 6:00
Thurs. Karaoke & Open Mic Night 7:00
Fri. Live Music 8:00 | Sat. Live Music 9:00
Sept. 1 Michael Staublin
Sept. 2 Duke Tomatoe - outdoor stage
Sept. 8 Gary Applegate & Joe Rock
Sept. 9 Homemade Jam
Sept. 15 King Bee & The Stingers
Sept. 16 Swing Rays
Sept. 22 Timothy Scott
Sept. 23 High Street Jack
Sept. 29 Ben Justus
Sept. 30 Brown County Country Music Fest
Oct. 6 TBA
Oct. 7 Dakota King
Oct. 13 TBA
Oct. 14 TBA
Oct. 20 The Trio
Oct. 21 Rebekah Meldrum & Joe Hart
Oct. 27 All Access Band
Oct. 28 Rusted String Swindlers
1292 SR 135 S, Nashville 812-200-5650
www.harmonytreeresorts.com
Hard Truth Distilling Co.
Most music Fri.-Sat. 6:00-9:00,
Sun. 4:00-7:00
Sept. 1 Zion Crossroads
Sept. 2 Taylor Hernley Band
Sept. 8 Black Orchid
Sept. 9 Indiana Boys 2:00-5:00 Clayton Anderson 6:00-9:00
Sept. 15 The Grace Scott Band
Sept. 16 Black Velvet Duo
Sept. 22 KickitLester
Sept. 23 Swing Rays
Sept. 29 Paul Bertsch Band
Sept. 30 The Fusion
Oct. 6 Night Owl Country Band
Oct. 7 Fancy Sauce 2:00-5:00
Oct. 13 Southern Accents 7:00-9:00
Oct. 14 Shannon Clark and The Sugar
Oct. 20 Dylan Raymond Band
Oct. 21 Jerod Bolt 3:00-5:00
Oct. 27 Gravy Bird
Oct. 28 Doug Henthorn and The LLC
418 Old State Road 46 812-720-4840 www.visithardtruth.com
19th Hole Sports Bar
Music Fri. 7:00-10:00 | Sat. 8:00-11:00
Karaoke nights till 12
Sept. 1 Two for the Show
Sept. 2 Love Shack Karaoke
Sept. 8 Night Owl Country Band
Sept. 9 Three Beards Strummin’
Sept. 15 Clearwater Band
Sept. 16 Past Tense
Sept. 22 John Ryan
Sept. 23 9 to 44
Sept. 29 Forrest Gras Band
Sept. 30 8 Bit Audio
Oct. 6 Ruben Guthrie
Oct. 7 Love Shack Karaoke
Oct. 13 Clearwater Band
Oct. 14 High Street Jack
Oct. 20 Doug Dillman
Oct. 21 8 Bit Audio
Oct. 27 John Ryan
Oct. 28 Love Shack Karaoke
2359 East State Road 46 812-988-4323 www.saltcreekgolf.com
Story Inn
Sept. 1 Love Shack Karaoke 9:30-12:30
Sept. 2 Ruben Guthrie 2:00-5:00 patio
Bridal Open House 2:00-6:00
-Amanda Webb Band 2:00-5:00
pianist Ted Seaman 6:00-9:00
Sept. 3 Skyline Drive 2:00-5:00
(Joe Persinger & Mike Shelton)
Oct. 21 Jan Bell 2:00-5:00 patio
pianist Ted Seaman 6:00-9:00
Oct. 22 Nathan Sorensen 12-2:00 patio
Zion Crossroads2:30-5:00 patio
Oct. 27 Love Shack Karaoke 9:30-12:30
Oct. 28 Stant & Moore 2:00-5:00 patio
pianist Ted Seaman 6:00-9:00
Comedy show 8:30-10:30
Oct. 29 Dan Kirk 2:00-5:00 patio 6404 SR135 S. 812-988-2273
www.storyinn.com
Ferguson House Beer Garden
Music Fri. 6:00-9:00, Sat. 1:00-4:00 AND 7:0010:00, Sun. 1:00-4:00 78 Franklin Street 812-988-4042
Nashville House
Sept.
Sept.
The Rusted String Swindlers 2:30-5:00
Music Fri. & Sat. 6:00-9:00, Sun. 1:00-4:00
15 S. Van Buren Street 812-988-4554
www.nashvillehousebc.com
Music at Abe Martin Lodge
Fri. & Sat. 5:30-8:00, in restaurant
Brown County State Park
1810 SR 46 East, Nashville 812-988-4418
Madhouse of Mystery
Magic Shows
Fri. & Sat. 6:00
75 S. Jefferson - Antique Alley - Nashville 800-959-6401
www.dennysmagic.com
Village Art Walk
Fourth Fridays, 4:00-7:00 April-October
Free self-guided walking tour of downtown Nashville art galleries. Demonstrations. Make & take activities. Wine tasting.
Nashville Farmer’s Market
Sundays 11:00-2:00, Brown Co. Inn parking lot at State Road 135 & 46 intersection
Local produce, herbs, bedding plants, flowers, food, music.
CALENDAR continued from 41 Art Colony Weekend
Sept. 8-10, various locations in Brown Co. featuring the 35thGreat Outdoor Art Contest at the T.C. State Historic Site, oldest plein air painting competition in Indiana.
Good People Good Times Music Festival
Sept. 8, 9 | Explore Brown County
2 days & nights - 24+acts, workshops, camping. Kids 12 and under free. 2620 Valley Branch Rd www.gpgtmusicfest.com
Annual 5K FUN Run/Walk
Sept. 9 | 7:00 am-8:30 registration, starts 9:00 9-11 Memorial event. 5K and 9.11K options. Jackson Twp Fire Dept.
4831 Helmsburg Rd. in Helmsburg jacksontownshipfd@gmail.com 812-327-9290
Uncle Pen Bluegrass Festival
Sept. 22-23 | Bill Monroe’s Music Park
Bluegrass legends and favorites plus local bands. Music, food, vendors. 5163 N. SR 135 812-988-6422
https://billmonroemusicpark.com/
Brown County Rock and Mineral Show and Swap
Sept. 23, 24, Sat. 10:00-6:00 | Sun. 10:00-4:00
Brown Co. 4-H Fairgrounds
Rock crafts, jewelry, fossils, geodes, crystals, minerals, turquoise, agates.
802 Memorial Dr. Nashville
Contact Rhonda at 812-320-6237 or bcrmc2010@gmail.com
War in the Woods
Sept. 22, 23 | Brown County Dragway
Baddest, wildest no-prep race in the country
480 Gatesville Rd. in Bean Blossom (Morgantown address)
317-340-1789
warinthewoodsnoprep@outlook.com
Brown Co. Antique Machinery
Show + Old Settlers Reunion
Sept. 29, 30 | Brown Co. 4-H Fairgrounds
Fri. night & Sat. morning -Old Settlers displays & gathering. Free admission. 802 Memorial Dr. Nashville
rbarret1967@gmail.com
812-325-6722
Brown Co. Country Music Fest
Sept. 30 | Harmony Tree Resorts | 2:00-10:00
Live music, Bad Boys BBQ, drinks, hayrides
Jax Jordening, Joe Hess & The Wandering Cowboys, Jake Dodds
1292 SR 135 S, Nashville 812-200-5650
www.harmonytreeresorts.com
Bitsy Begonia Sale
Sept. 30, 9:00-4:00
Barn sale of unique finds
1641 Oak Grove Rd. Nashville
Brown County Studio Tour
Month of October | Free self-guided tour. Works for sale and demonstrations
www.BCStudioTour.com
51st Fall Fare-Nashville
United Methodist Church
Oct. 7, 8:00 am-3:00 | Village Green
Main and Jefferson streets in Nashville
Features booths and cafe. Every FallFare dollar goes to someone in need.
Slightly Haunted
Puppet Show
Oct. 13, 14 | 1:00 and 3:00 shows
Brown County Playhouse
Melchior Marionettes classic Halloween show. 70 S. Van Buren Street 812-988-6555
www.browncountyplayhouse.org
Friendly Forest Trick or Treat
Oct. 20,21, 27, 28 | 7:00-9:00
Jackson Twp Fire Dept. Forest full of lights/ characters. Costumes encouraged. Free candy. Snacks/drinks for purchase. FREE Admission. Donations welcome. 4831 Helmsburg Rd. 812-988-6201
The Brown County Art Guild and community partners present the Brown County Art Colony Weekend, a celebration our rich history and continuing presence of artistic life.
FRIDAY
Establishing the Painting with Personal Choice and Perspective
Presented by award-winning artist David M. Seward.
Private Brown County location.
Genevieve Inspired with Linda Gredy Guild Artist Demonstration. Free admission. All ages welcome.
Brown County Art Guild
FRIDAY–SUNDAY
Friends of T.C. Steele Member Show
Work by today’s artists in the legacy of Brown County master Theodore Clement Steele.
Brown County Art Gallery
SATURDAY
35th Great Outdoor Art Contest
Indiana’s oldest plein air painting contest. T.C. Steele State Historic Site
Genevieve Goth Graf, Hidden Gem—
A Founders Exhibition
Free to public.
Brown County Art Guild
Community Paint Together
Free to public, all ages welcome.
Paints and tools supplied by AABC. Intersection of Main and Jefferson.
Founders Cocktail Party
Art, music, refreshments and fun.
Brown County Art Guild
SATURDAY–SUNDAY
Art Colony Auction
Works by notable Indiana artists.
Hosted by Jackson’s Auction and Real Estate Company. Open to the public.
Brown County History Center and www.jacksons-auction.com
For more details visit www.browncountyartguild.org.
Nashville United Methodist Church will host its 51st FallFare on the Village Green at the corner of Main and Jefferson streets in downtown Nashville from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., rain or shine.
Throughout the day, Artist-inResidence Jeff Hagen will be painting in the Pavilion and musicians will be performing in the Village Green corner next to the church.
Scout Troop 190’s Village Café will serve breakfast: warm casseroles and biscuits and gravy; and lunch: hot sandwiches with cold drinks.
The event features booths of items made and collected by church members: All Things Pumpkin - arts and crafts featuring pumpkins; Woodworking Group - handcrafted items from local woodworkers; The Puzzle Store - gently used puzzles; Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Sunshine Friends - yummy treats; My, Oh My, We Luv Pie - homemade pies whole or by the slice; Nature’s Bounty - freshly picked apples, pumpkins, gourds, dried herbs, candied pickles and fruit jellies; Adopt-a-Pot - indoor and outdoor plants; The Book Nook - hundreds of hardback, paperback and children’s books; The Boutique - gently used jewelry, hats, scarves, belts and purses; Unexpected Treasures - bargains on gently used furniture, lamps, kitchen items, tools, sports equipment, etc.
The first FallFare started in 1972 when a group of church members sold craft items in order to raise money for new church pews. The tradition continued, shifting its focus to other non-profit organizations.
The annual fundraising event for the church’s outreach typically raises over $10,000 to provide financial support for local, state, and international mission efforts.
Dec. 2, 2023
Based on European holiday traditions, the event features artist booths with one-of-a-kind gifts, family-friendly entertainment, live music, and Christmas spirit with participation from local businesses, restaurants, artists, and others.
The market this year will be a one day event held on Dec. 2 from 10-6 p.m. in Nashville’s Coachlight Square.
A full day of musical talent will feature: Breana Faith, The Hungry Five (German brass band), Die Fledermausch, Polkamotion, and finishing the day will be carols with Kara Barnard and Chuck Wills.
Brown County Winery, Bear Wallow Distillery, and Country Heritage Winery will be on hand to offer festive and warm drinks.
J&K nuts will return with their enticing offerings, along with C4 Culinary school, well-known for Christmas Cakes and Desserts.
Holly Salo of Holly Pots Stoneware is crafting a 2023 souvenir mug.
Mr. and Mrs. Claus will be on hand for visits by the kids.
The annual Community Foundation Stuff a Stocking event and the Light Parade also take place that Saturday.
For more information visit https:// browncountychristkindlmarket.com/
The Brown County Historical Society keeps a veritable treasure trove of documents weathered by the decades: Black and white photos show the Old Salt Creek Mill, a flood from a century ago and dirt streets around the courthouse. Leather-bound property records tell descendants where their ancestors made a living after their arduous journeys from overseas. Crumbling court records reveal transgressions of Brown County residents’ forefathers, from election fraud to horse thievery.
The documents’ physical fragility—some reveal traces of charring from an 1873 courthouse fire— perhaps serves as a bit of a parallel to the fact that they exist at all. If the Historical Society hadn’t preserved the photos, documents, recordings and artifacts, they would not just be lost to time, but likely destroyed and as unrecoverable as parchments from Pompeii.
Many documents hail from private provenance, and many of those that originate in the hands of government scribes eventually leave their bureaucratic care for a trash heap or recycling receptacle. Some government agencies discard the records when the law no longer requires them to be preserved. Others simply run out of space to keep voluminous older records and/or lack the funds for digitization.
“So much of it gets lost,” said Rhonda Dunn, the Historical Society’s archivist.
The threat of permanent loss serves as a primary motivator for Dunn and the dedicated volunteers of the society, who gather, maintain and catalog the documents and artifacts to preserve them for people today—and many years from now—who want to learn about how their ancestors came to live in Brown County, how they earned a living and how the their daily lives resembled and differed from those of today.
Julia Ottenweller, another volunteer, said she regards preserving the county’s history as important work, in part because knowing their past gives people a different perspective on their present and future.
“We need to know where we came from,” she said. “We need to understand that things (have not) always been the way they are now.”
Ottenweller sat in Dunn’s office on the History Center’s second floor recently to organize old circuit court records that detailed criminal and divorce cases, land disputes, and other disagreements and transgressions.
She had recently read a case where someone was caught hunting on Sunday, an illegal act back then. Another Brown County resident had gotten in trouble for disrupting religious services, apparently by
talking too loudly near where the services were taking place. A polling inspector had run afoul of the law for looking into a ballot box to see how someone voted.
“You never know what you’re going to find,” Ottenweller said.
Dunn said many people mistakenly believe that they can access almost any old record on the Internet, but she estimates that only about 10% of historical records are available online. That means for most records—those that survive, anyway—people have to come to the History Center to find the physical record.
The Brown County Historical Society was founded in 1957, met in the new Art Gallery, and on Monday, Sept. 16 of that year, elected Karl S. Ehrnschwender as its first president and Eudora Kelley as vice president. The Historical Society appointed its first archivist in 1972, but until fundraising and volunteer work enabled the construction of an archive room in 1981, records were stored in boxes in the Society’s office and the archivist’s home attic and guest room.
The organization housed its collections for many years in a former bowling alley building on SR 135 north of town, and in the Traditional Arts building at the site of the current History Center. The quest for a better building began in earnest at the early part of the millennium, said Robert Coulter, another Historical Society volunteer, former archivist, and member of the building committee.
Broad support from benefactors and the community enabled the Society to build the 18,000-square-foot, $3.2 million Brown County History Center without a mortgage. Coulter said the furniture was donated, the electrical system vendor knocked off a large chunk of the cost, and organizations such as the Community Foundation and Lion’s Club helped with grants.
Architect Kirkwood Design worked together with General Contractor Dunlap Co. Local artisans Paul Bay and Sons installed 100 tons of Brown County stone. Construction included 91 tons of structural steel, 48,000 feet of wiring and a “highefficiency variable refrigerant flow system with zone control.”
The building’s first floor houses a gift shop, meeting room, historic displays—including dolls, snake skins and a turtle shell—and a storage room for artifacts, from old typewriters to paintings and printing presses.
The second floor holds a larger meeting room that generates revenue by hosting events such as
wedding receptions. That floor also houses the temperature-and humidity-controlled room that preserves tin type photos, high school graduation photos going back to the 1940s, a cabinet with old road and plat maps, court records and old newspapers. Dunn said older newspapers hold up surprisingly well, as they used to be printed on cotton rather than the flimsier tree pulp.
The oldest documents date back to 1848, a leather-bound volume of tax records that show the names of the taxpayers, how many acres they owned and how much they paid in taxes. Some records show people had to pay extra taxes if they owned a dog, horse, carriage, or pocket watch.
Despite the building’s prominent location, at 90 Gould St., a five-minute walk from the Brown County Playhouse, Coulter said many people still don’t know the building exists. And despite a dedicated core of volunteers, the society is struggling with an aging membership as Brown County increasingly becomes a haven for retirees. “We could always use help,” Coulter said. You can get involved by contacting the Brown
County History Center at 812-988-2899.
The archives are open Tuesdays and Fridays. People need only to bring their curiosity. Most of the volunteers have chipped in for more than a decade and usually have a good idea of what to find where.
The Brown County Historical Society volunteers also operate and maintain the Pioneer Village Museum complex just south of the History Center, next to the courthouse. It is open weekends during the busy season.
~by Connie Shakalis
The historic Brown County Playhouse produced its first play back in the summer of 1949 with a crew of Indiana University theater students. It now offers diverse programming of theater, concerts, movies, and special events year-round in a 400-seat intimate setting.
A predatory horseman minus his cranium gallops to the Brown County Playhouse this fall, in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” a detail-infused scary/ funny play by John Hembuch with input from Jon Ferguson.
Professional tribute bands (performers who do a renowned group’s music and act like said group) come too.
The Playhouse has smoked out that sweet spot; it’s a buffet of pro touring bands and all-volunteer comedies and dramas.
Here are some highlights of improvements and coming attractions.
As of last summer, some enhancement has come via the playhouse’s new programming director, Bob McCutcheon.
According to a Cara Anthony report in the Indianapolis Star, McCutcheon was the “man behind the music” in Fishers, Ind. He co-owned an Indianapolis theater employing greats such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Melissa Etheridge, and Spyro Gyra.
McCutcheon went on to dramatically increase patron size at the Fishers’ Nickel Plate District Amphitheater.
“Bob has been in the business for 40 years, and he knows his stuff,” said Playhouse board president Patty Vinson Frensemeier. McCutcheon has brought many of his best contacts.
“Bob has lots of clients and knows who is good. He also knows just when to schedule a tribute band.”
Notice how super-clean the Playhouse is. Servpro—who also provides free coffee, tea, and water to patrons— recently mopped, scrubbed and vacuumed nearly every centimeter of the historic theater.
The air-conditioning is new, as is the sound system.
The bar was remade a couple of years ago “It’s known now as one of the best bars in town,” said production manager Warren Sargent. “Most music venues have a bar, however most theaters do not.” Particularly a complete one.
The green room (where performers prepare) is getting a boost, according to actor and board member Mark Stolle.
Carolyn Wolf McCutcheon has been writing grants, adding to performing-arts funds the Playhouse received during the pandemic.
Coming this fall:
Sept. 2 “Late Night Catechism,” one-person comedy.
Sept. 7 American country singer-songwriter Mac McAnnaly, guitarist in Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band.
Sept. 9 American Fools band pays tribute to John Cougar Mellencamp.
Sept. 15 Michael Bone Read, played keyboards for Mitch Ryder, the Turtles, Henry Lee Summer, and Gary Lewis.
Sept. 21 Splashily fun, Corey Feldman, with a new band and new album and songs.
Sept. 22 Hank and my Honky Tonk Heroes. Four musicians with leader Jason Petty channel Hank Williams.
Sept. 23 Barracuda: America’s Heart Tribute band.
Sept. 30 Steele Smith, five Grammy nominee group, country music show. Jeffrey Steele wrote for Keith Urban, Eric Church, Zac Brown Band, Jimmy Buffett and others.
Oct. 20 Jennie Devoe, singer, songwriter, guitarist, performed on stages with Queen Latifah, Sheryl Crowe, and Sarah McLachlan.
Oct. 21 Heywood Banks, singer/songwritercomic/musician/poet, shares humor with folk, country, rock, and pop music.
Oct. 27 Henry Lee Summer, Hoosier rock singer and musician, toured with acts such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Doobie Brothers, and made movie soundtracks.
The play “A Christmas Story,” based on the book by Jean Shepherd, is the Playhouse’s December holiday production. Auditions for adults and children start at 6 p.m. October 9 and10.
THE LEGEND OF
•
Michael Bone Read
Founding member and songwriter for Roadmaster
September 15 at 7:30pm
Jump: America’s Van Halen Experience
September 16 at 7:30pm
Corey Feldman
New songs, greatest hits, and classics from his films. September 21 at 7:30pm
Hank & My Honky Tonk Heroes
Tribute to stars that influenced Hank and those stars that Hank influenced
September 22 at 7:30pm
Barracuda: America’s Heart Tribute
September 23 at 7:30pm
Steele Smith
Grammy Nominee Country Music Show
September 30 at 7:30pm
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by John Heimbuch • Live Theater
October 6, 7, 13, & 14 at 7:30pm
October 8 & 15 at 2:30pm
Tickets may be purchased at the box office at 70 S. Van Buren St. in Nashville, online at the website <browncountyplayhouse.org>, or call 812-988-6555. 812.988.6555 | BrownCountyPlayhouse.org
“Theresa Caputo Live! The Experience” is coming to the Brown County Music Center this fall. You probably have heard of or followed Theresa Caputo’s reality television show “Long Island Medium,” which aired for 14 seasons on TLC. She has published several bestselling books and currently produces a podcast called “Hey, Spirit.” She is celebrating 10 years of “The Experience” with a 35-city tour through parts of the U.S. and Canada, including a stop in Nashville on October 4, 2023.
Theresa Caputo made some time to talk with us in August while on the road to a show in Washington, DC. She was able to share a little about her gift—how messages of healing come through her to those who need to be relieved of “burdens and guilts.” Her vibrant personality and her joyful laugh came through loud and clear over our phone interview.
When asked to describe what it has been like to be in the public eye and to have connected with that many departed souls, she responded, “Honestly, it means the world to me. For years I struggled with my gift because I couldn’t understand why anyone would need to go to a medium—why they would want to speak to their loved one that has died. And what I learned over the years is that the burdens and guilts that people carry don’t give them the ability to heal, and they are not able to live their lives. I guess I am
following God’s journey for me…. I always felt there was something missing deep within my soul until I embraced my gift.”
She gets asked a lot about how the messages come to her, and even though she has been a medium for decades, she finds it difficult to explain.
She said, “It just happens!
“I just start to sense and feel things. I see shadows and silhouettes and a soul will make me feel the bond or relationship that someone has shared with them. So, if I might feel a father energy and someone says oh, my dad didn’t pass, but maybe it was an uncle that raised them, or it could be a grandfather or father in-law—someone of that fatherly figure…. Then the soul will physically bring me through their departure. They will make me feel what they felt as their soul left the physical body to validate that they are at peace and not wanting their loved ones to remember their suffering. Then they will show me the burden or guilt, in my frame of reference, that that person is holding on to that is not giving them the ability to heal.”
During the The Experience, cameras follow Theresa around the room as she speaks with individuals in the audience. The entire group gets to see her clearly on screen as she receives and communicates messages to those people.
“I just walk and then something makes me stop and look at someone. I start saying things that mean nothing to me but are life-changing to the person I am speaking to.”
Theresa said Spirit provides her with unique messages for validation of the loved one’s presence. You get to witness the reaction as the person being read receives that validation.
The messages are positive and provide some healing. Theresa doesn’t share any negativity. She said, “There’s already too much negativity in the world.”
When she is reading someone, she said she isn’t feeling any of her own personal emotions. It is as though her mind is operating in a totally different state. She received some scientific validation of this during an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show when Dr. Amen performed a brain scan on her as she was reading someone. It showed no activity in areas of the brain where they expected to find some—where a person speaking would normally light them up.
Theresa is living a rock star kind of life right now, traveling in a tour bus, unable to spend much time at each stop along the road. She struggled to name the city she just came from. We probably won’t see her shopping in downtown Nashville or eating in a restaurant.
But you will be able to see Theresa Caputo live at the Brown County Music Center. Her big hair, sparkles, and personality are sure to entertain you. She makes you laugh and cry with her wit and humor as she gives those life-changing messages. It is an “Experience.”
Tickets are available through the Brown County Music Center box office 812-988-5323 and website <BrownCountyMusicCenter.com>.
There’s something magical about catching fish on the line. My old spincast reel is now attached to a high-tech, fiberglass rod, with a new tangle-free line. When I make a decent cast, I’m smiling once again. I wait for the bite and soon there’s a dip of the bobber. Off it goes, the line tracing a haphazard trail through the water. Even a small bluegill on my flyrod gives a thrill. This lightweight rod, thin and whip-like, sends small shockwaves into my hand when there’s tension. A living creature on the other end demands my attention.
I saw the entire experience differently when I recently went fishing with my grandkids. Their excitement was contagious— about a slight drizzle, a spiderweb of line, or the “slimy” worms in a can. Squeals of joy erupted when something jerked back; and they reeled in frantically only to have the line go limp. Taking turns on the narrow dock with lines and rods changing direction, they sometimes squawked about where to stand. Intense interest quieted the chatter. “Pop-pop, are we gonna eat these fish?”
An early morning ichthyology class I took years ago introduced me to a different world than the terrestrial one I was there to study. At the field station on the mighty Mississippi, swift, wide moving water seemed so foreign. We loaded up shocking boats each day at sunrise to beat the heat. As the boats moved along the water with two electrodes in front
(powered by a gas generator), strange-looking creatures came up fast and flopped on the surface. Fish I had never seen before, large and grotesque with evil eyes, got handed in large dip nets back to tubs. We were asked to identify these creatures back at the field station using a dichotomous key in our text, “The Fishes of Illinois.”
Suckers with names like redhorse, quillback, and buffalo fish; long-nosed gar; paddlefish with flat, blade-like snouts; the prehistoric sturgeon; and catfish the size of your arm, were laid out on flat trays. They almost gave me nightmares. I tried to find characteristics of each fish, while my fingertips smelled for days, wrinkled with the preservative formalin solution. A sampling of the day’s catch was destined for the classroom back on campus. I saw them in jars on a shelf during a later term, without the color and fierceness.
Our instructor, Dr. Larry Jahn, ready for the next lecture, said, “Hello, and how are things?”
“Dr. Jahn, some of us in your summer class had always wondered, were you pleased there was a boat, the Jon boat, named after you?” I smiled and knew he’d get the joke. “Ha. It never fails,” he replied. “I wish I had invented it.”
His field station lectures highlighted biology, habitat, behavior, and predator-prey. Like all game species, fish were a “crop of the land,” a harvestable resource to be managed professionally. As natural resource students, we learned we worked for the resource user.
To prove that point, I was sent to a nearby group of fishermen that had been out all night. “Eagleman, go talk to those guys, find out what they are catching,” he ordered. I left unsure about how I’d be greeted and was a bit shaken, but I returned with good news. The class wanted to hear what I learned. “A lot,” I said and then added, “Oh, and we got invited to their house tonight—the whole class—to eat fish!”
More recently, Free Fishing Days offered by the DNR, gave us a great chance to get a fishing pole in the hands of kids for their first time—adults, too. At the Brown County State Park’s lakes Ogle and Strahl, we held day-long casting demos, bait-tying, and ecology talks. A shelter house grill provided a taste of freshly caught bluegill and bass. Local fishing clubs promoted safe handling of equipment, etiquette, and catch and release. We gave out bumper stickers stating, “The Quality of Fishing reflects the Quality of Living,” and “We all Live Downstream.”
My good friends, Jennie and Chris, never fail to invite me to their woodland lake, nestled in a cool, shaded ravine. There I can fish to my heart’s content—a “honey hole” if there ever was one.
“I love to fish, but I love to catch fish,” I said getting out of the car. They smile, like they’ve never heard that one before. At the shoreline and mesmerized, I let the mind roll, recalling a massive river, a long-ago class, terms I was assigned, even some of the bizarre fish. A nibble brings me back.
In late fall when this lake is still with only a few wind ripples—dead limbs stretching out and leaves covering the water—I look to the surrounding hills, a forested watershed. What little runoff occurs might perk through a network of rootlets, leaf litter, and debris.
Recently at a local restaurant near water, we dined on their famous dish, batter-fried catfish. So tasty and flavorful—it was a treat. Thinking it’s a local item on the menu, I asked where the fish was from. “Honduras,” came the reply. World markets serve local businesses—why would I think any different?
The resource user today purchases licenses, attends optional safety seminars, and buys equipment and boat stickers. The user is a tool of the biologist. They support a declining industry. The lack of youth entering the sport is evident. Fishing industries worldwide are being closely scrutinized to prevent over-harvest, to slow the impact of declining populations, and to check pollution. Today’s resource manager has more demands with less habitat to manage and warming temperatures. The resource manager continues to work for the resource user, be they hunters, timber owners, or fish people. I wish them well in this most challenging job.
~by Bob Gustin
Two of Martha Sechler’s passions— storytelling and watercolor painting— somehow merged into one over the years and continue to thrive, even as she retires from her position at the Brown County Public Library.
“I see pictures when I’m telling the stories and I hear the stories when I’m creating the painting,” she said. It is that emotional and creative interplay, perhaps, that lends a unique quality to both.
Martha came into both skills naturally.
Raised in Goshen, Ind., her mother was a housewife who would read books and articles, then give reviews and interpretations of them to local clubs or groups. Her father was a printer with an artistic bent, and both parents were avid readers.
Majoring in education, Martha earned a degree from the University of Evansville in 1969, but many of her formative experiences came during summer vacations doing service projects.
She grew up in the Mennonite church, which
she still appreciates because it was “open to all kinds of people from all over the world.” The church offered summer volunteer programs, and Martha took advantage of them.
She worked on a Northern Cheyenne reservation in Montana, setting up camps and Bible schools. A summer in Denver found her working at a home for mentally challenged children and adults, then at nursing homes.
“It was an eye-opener,” she said. “I just spent time with them and listened to their stories.”
Later, she volunteered in Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador where she lived with local families.
After college, she went to work on a Hopi reservation in Arizona through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, teaching second, third, and fourth graders. It was there she began painting with watercolors, and took classes through Northern Arizona University and the University of Montana.
“I left because I felt it was the right thing to do. The teaching needed to be done by indigenous people.”
She spent 1974-76 as a volunteer for the Peace Corps in Jamaica, working as a teacher trainer for “basic” schools, which she described as akin to preschools operated by individuals. The requirements for teachers, she said, was to be 17 or older, and be able to read and write.
There, she said she learned she had to teach teachers how to read books to children.
“I thought, this is it, picture books.”
Since her contract prohibited her from making a profit on activities, she created and sold paintings, using the money to buy picture books and donate them to the basic schools.
Upon leaving the Peace Corps, Martha enrolled at Indiana University and earned a master’s degree in Library Science, which included a class in storytelling.
At IU, she met her husband Kim. They had a class together, and she remembers him sitting in the library with a book about Native Americans on the table in front of him.
A total of 23 artists and 15 studios are part of the 25th annual Back Roads of Brown County Studio Tour, to be held during the month of October, 2023.
All studios are open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Wednesdays–Saturdays in October. Some are also open 10 a.m.6 p.m. on Sundays. Others are open year-round by appointment.
Information on the free, selfguided tour can be found on maps distributed at many locations in Brown County or on its website, <bcstudiotour.com>.
She asked about it, and he later asked her out for a date.
They were married in 1979, and have two adult sons and three grandchildren.
Kim was a teacher and principal for several Brown County elementary schools over a long career which included a short stint in Monroe County.
Martha, meanwhile, was the children’s librarian at Bartholomew County Public Library in Columbus, then was hired as the elementary school librarian in the Columbus school district.
She retired from that job in 2007, and went to work part-time at the Brown County Public Library. As part of her duties there, she helped the children’s librarian and held regular storytelling sessions.
Over the years, she has told stories to thousands of children, including different generations of the same families.
She plans to continue storytelling sessions to children even after retirement.
She does not read the stories aloud to children, but instead interprets them in her own words.
“Mostly I find my stories in folklore,” she said. “If it appeals to me, then I tell it.”
One or two of the stories she tells are embellished from her personal life, but most are from elsewhere.
“What I tell the kids is that the stories are the truth. Some have happened and some have not.”
Another part of Martha’s creative life is in her artwork. Her Lightspinner Studio in the Helmsburg area has been part of the annual October Back Roads of Brown County Studio Tour for 10 years. Her creations include watercolor scenes and artwork on gourds (no, she quickly adds, her gourds aren’t meant to be birdhouses).
Though she sometimes uses photographs as an initial idea for a painting, the process is spontaneous, she said, and she begins a painting not knowing what’s going to happen or what the final result will be. Some of the themes come from fantasy, or from mythology or cultural themes from Native Americans, Latin America, Africa or Asia.
Gourds may be an unusual medium for her work, but they become integral to it.
“I think when you use a gourd, it’s not just the shape, but the colors and contours become part of the work. The gourd kind of tells me what to do.”
In transforming gourds, she uses paint and inks, woodburning, sculpting and other techniques, as well as adding seedpods, grapevine, or other materials from nature.
Martha Sechler can be reached by phone at 812-703-3129, by email <lightspinner13@gmail. com> or on Facebook at LightSpinnerStudio.
April 8, 2024
Brown County, Indiana
Brown County will play host to one of nature’s most impressive phenomena: a total solar eclipse. This particular eclipse is a rare and spectacular celestial event that is sure to captivate stargazers and astronomers alike.
During the lead-up to the eclipse, we will have guest speakers, eclipse activities for all, and thousands of visitors ready to stare off into space. Stay tuned for viewing parties, build-up seminars, and how you can be involved!
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