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
ZIP LINE TOURS • OFF-ROAD TOURS
MOUNTAIN BIKE / HIKING TRAILS
PAINTBALL • ARROW TAG ARCHERY GAMES
CAMPING • VINTAGE CAMPERS • CABINS
WEDDINGS • EVENT HALL • OUTDOOR STAGE ®
CORPORATE RETREATS & TEAM BUILDING
BUY YOUR HOLIDAY GIFT CERTIFICATE 10% OFF USE CODE GIFT 10 2019 EXCLUDES SATURDAYS AND HOLIDAYS Use Code OUR BC
BUY YOUR HOLIDAY GIFT CERTIFICATE 10% OFF Use Code GIFT 10
Brown County N
BROWN COUNTY P.O. Box 157 Helmsburg, IN 47435
Jeff Tryon is a former news editor of The Brown County Democrat, and a former regional 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.
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.
Chrissy Alspaugh is a freelance writer and photographer. View her work at <ChristinaAlspaughPhotography. com>.She lives in Bartholomew County with her husband Matt and three boys.
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.
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.
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.
Julia Pearson loves learning and writing about local history, faith communities, and the radically ordinary lives of people. She continues the work and association of her late husband, Bruce L. Pearson, with the Wyandotte and Delaware tribes, and visits museums of all types and sizes.
Paige Langenderfer is a freelance writer and consultant. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Indiana University and her master’s degree in Public Relations Management from IUPUI. Paige lives in Columbus with her husband and daughters.
Mandi Rainwater is a freelance travel/lifestyle writer, and also runs Rainwater Studios with her husband Kenan. She promotes local musicians and supports the Southern Indiana music scene. She lives in Nashville with her husband, children, and cats.
*Michele Wedel is a photographer and visual imaging artist in Nashville. She is the house photographer for the Brown County Music Center. She finds inspiration for her art in the natural beauty of Brown County and in the variety of amazing people that live here. You can view more of her work on Facebook at Michele Wedel Photography.
Thanks, Mom, for making it happen!
When in Brown County …
You’ll discover something new with every visit. Explore dozens of charming specialty shops, unique flavors, local artists of every kind, and kid-friendly activities galore. And don’t forget to swing by the Visitors Center to say hello, grab official Brown County merchandise, and get our favorite recommendations!
Let’s be friends
Brown County Visitors Center. 211 South Van Buren Street. Downtown Nashville.
Brown County Visitors Center. 211 South Van Buren Street. Downtown Nashville.
History Mystery
She was the first Queen of the Blossom Festival. Her home became a landmark about a hundred years ago when the tourists started coming to Brown County. She had a beautiful flower garden and patches of tobacco, potatoes, and grapes. The woman, her gardens, and her animals were immortalized in early artists’ paintings and in Frank Hohenberger’s column “Down in the Hills o’ Brown County.” Who is she?
Woodworking Club Brown County
The newest masterpiece from a group of Brown County artisans whose tools include chisels, chainsaws, and Paul Bunyan-sized hammers, will soon be on display outside the Brown County Music Center: a 700-square-foot timber frame pavilion.
The dozens of artists who hand-crafted it will remain largely anonymous. Their intricate creation will be given to the Music Center. Payment comes through the knowledge that they contributed to their community in a way that visitors and their own grandchildren can enjoy for years to come.
The Brown County Woodworking Club has no officers and no dues, simply calling itself a group of “sharing and caring woodworkers.” The group meets monthly for presentations on woodworking techniques, such as steam bending or marquetry, or to tour a woodworking shop. Subgroups meet separately to craft projects including bowls turned
on a lathe and towering timber frame structures.
The artisans have found numerous beneficiaries for their finished pieces.
The Village Wood Turners, the group that specializes in creating wooden projects on a spinning lathe, has donated bowls to the Mother’s Cupboard charity auction. Their current service project is creating wooden wig stands for cancer patients, said member Don Housman.
The timber framing group built and donated a shelter at the Grandview Cemetery. In 2022, the group constructed, donated, and auctioned a 16-by-24-foot “cruck” structure that yielded $45,000 for Brown County Indiana Habitat for Humanity.
The new pavilion structure the club is finishing for the Brown County Music Center promises to help the facility increase revenue by creating a new space for a beer garden during performances, intimate after-show parties, and weddings or
~story and photos by Chrissy Alspaugh
Scott Mills, Bill Ziegler, and Jim Beck prepare beams for the new, outdoor structure at Brown County Music Center.
other special events on days not booked with performances, according to Executive Director Christian Webb. The community-owned music center sends 100 percent of its profits to the Brown County Community Foundation and the county commissioners for cultural and infrastructure improvements.
“It’s amazing to find this many people willing to donate their time,” said volunteer Mike Riebl. “A group like this doesn’t come along that often.”
Club members have been working independently and collectively on the music center structure for nearly a year, Riebl said. The 4,800 board feet of timber comprising the 14-by28-foot winged pavilion was all Brown County red and white oak trees a year ago. Volunteers always keep their eyes and ears open for trees that fall during storms or need taken down, Riebl said. Members use their personal trucks, tractors, sawmills, planers, wood kilns, and other equipment to gather, cut, hone, and dry the wood into usable timber.
“The work involved before we ever do the actual timber framing is enormous,” Riebl said.
Timber frame construction is a building method that dates back to 200 BCE where timbers are shaped and connected with simple, wooden joinery and wooden pegs. Equipped
with hand chisels, chain mortisers, a behemoth wooden hammer, and a lot of collective brain power, the Woodworking Club worked at Riebl’s wood shop in Gnaw Bone to ready 120 timbers, some weighing 500 pounds each. He guessed that each beam would cost around $1,000 if purchased commercially. “It would never be feasible or reasonable to try to commercially build a structure like this,” he said.
Club member Jim Stewart said he was excited for the opportunity to learn timber framing in the club because, “it’s a skill not many people still do.” Stewart came to the club with experience in construction at Indiana University and in furniture making as a hobby.
Continued on 18
Members of the Brown County Woodworking Club begin preassembly of a timber frame structure.
WOODWORKING
CLUB continued from 17
Riebl said the club is a great way for hobbyists to expand their knowledge and advance into professional-level skills thanks to ongoing education in areas including proper kiln drying, moisture content, wood shop setup, and much more. Each year, one club member receives a scholarship to attend a weekend class of their choice at Mark Adams School of Woodworking.
“So much of the knowledge shared in this group isn’t something you can Google or find on YouTube,” Riebl said.
But perhaps the rarest aspect of the club is the woodworking camaraderie. Stewart said. He couldn’t find a woodworking group near his home in Bloomington but was excited when a neighbor told him about the Brown County club.
“There’s so much value in getting to work with a group,” he said. “The truth is, a lot of woodworkers work alone in their basements.”
Riebl said that club work nights were one of the few destinations where many of the retired members felt safe during the COVID pandemic; that social interaction became invaluable.
Do members boast about the value the club is adding to the Brown County community? Nah! They simply consider themselves a group of volunteers meeting to work together on projects, share stories, and laugh.
“There are just so many good people willing to contribute, and there’s so much energy surrounding our community projects,” Riebl said. “That’s the value. That’s the positive.”
Brown County Woodworking Club typically meets at 7 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month at the Brown County Public Library. For more information, email forshee@iu.edu .
Matthew Dymond, Jim Stewart, Jim Beck, Mike Riebl, and Bill Ziegler move a white oak beam.
photo by Michele Wedel
Second Story Studio
~story and photos by Chrissy Alspaugh
With Brown County art and nature coloring the canvas of his childhood, contemporary painter Kurt Eagleman is back home and breathing reimagined life into an iconic gallery.
He opened Second Story Studio on the upper level of the Village Green building, 61 West Main Street in Nashville. For decades, the space has featured the work of Hoosier artists, formerly housing B3 Gallery and before that Ferrer Gallery.
Eagleman has re-designed the 2,000-squarefoot space into three distinct worlds-in-one: an exhibition gallery, gallery shop, and an intimate lounge for artists and community members to collaborate, learn, and create.
The gallery shop continues to feature the work of many of the artists the public has loved there in the past. Eagleman also welcomes new contemporary artists and those often under-represented in the art community.
“Art needs to be accessible for everyone,” Eagleman said. “Removing roadblocks and making it inviting is really what I want to stand for.”
Eagleman was born in Brown County: his mother is an artist with whom he still collaborates, and his father is an interpretive naturalist and writer. As a child, Kurt was taught and mentored by renowned Brown County painter Patricia Rhoden Bartels. In the decades that followed, studying and working at Indiana University, Venice, Italy, New York, and Dallas took the budding young artist away from his home art community.
Eagleman found himself traveling between Dallas and Brown County during COVID. With the nudging of a friend, he opened a pop-up shop showcasing local artists in October 2020 called Ee Oh Lay Studio. “It was just for fun. There was an end date. There was no pressure,” Eagleman said. “The
Kurt Eagleman, owner of Second Story Studio.
community loved it, and I kind of knew something special was happening.”
Grateful for the community’s support and art history ingrained in his own heart, Eagleman undertook a series of three community art murals in downtown Nashville and on the Salt Creek Trail during the years that followed.
When the B3 Gallery space became available, Eagleman said the endeavor aligned with his values, plans, and goals.
Former B3 co-owner Sharon Bussert said she “loves knowing that the space will continue to be a gallery.… It’s wonderful to know that people will continue to connect with local artists there.”
Watercolor painter Leah Baker, whose art career began during the pandemic, had been recently juried into the B3 Gallery when news came that it would be sold. She said Eagleman quickly became a warm, inviting mentor and valuable guide for her blossoming career.
leads a recent oil painting class.
Second Story Studio’s first artist showcase opened in September: “In Between,” a dual exhibit featuring Indiana University Master of Fine Arts painters Antonia Constantine and Luke Carlson. Eagleman said new exhibits will launch about every month. Throughout November, the exhibit will showcase the work of New York artist, and now Brown County resident, Bill Bateman.
Through the far side of the gallery, visitors find themselves stepping down into an adjoining studio and artist lounge that invites artists of all ages and experience levels to collaborate or create a masterpiece of their own. The studio and lounge room boasts a 100-foot wall of windows, timber beams, red-brick masonry, mid-century wood paneling, and an array of inviting chairs and workspaces.
Public course offerings launched in October and included multi-week adult classes on oil painting, drawing, and
Continued on 26
Eagleman
watercolor. Drop-in children’s classes introduced a new medium of art each week. Upcoming courses will draw on the expertise and passion of local artists and instructors, Eagleman said.
Arriving at a recent oil painting class, April Barr said Second Story Studio is helping reignite a fire inside her for painting that was dormant for nearly 45 years. Barr said she majored in art in college but worked as a nurse and later a paralegal. “I’m 70. I’m retired, and Kurt helping bring back my love of art is saving me,” she said. “He’s an absolutely amazing teacher, and what he’s doing for the community is wonderful.”
Eagleman’s vision is for the studio to be “a living, breathing creative space for artists.”
A series of six themed gallery shop rooms also offer visitors the hand-made, one-of-a-kind work of more than 50 Hoosier artisans: mosaics, wood crafts, ceramics, jewelry, photography, and contemporary and collectible vintage paintings
by notable Brown County artists including Ralph Craig, Charles Barnes, and Joe Shell.
One of Eagleman’s passions is mentoring other artists and pushing them to the limits of their artistry. He said artists can get trapped trying to create work that they think consumers will buy, which results in pieces that are more generic and less personal. “I love to push artists into their artistry and encourage them to let me shape how we’re going to present it to the public,” he said.
The community’s support of Eagleman’s reimagined gallery and studio has been energizing for the artist.
“Things falling into place over and over again really lets me know we’re on the right track,” he said. “We have so much rich history that’s helping push us forward, and I just feel humbled and blessed to continue it on for future generations.”
Second Story Studio is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information or to book a class, see www.ssstudio.art .
Touch of Silver, Gold & Old
87 E. Main St. • Nashville, IN 47448 (812) 988-6990 • (800) 988-6994
Hours: 10am – 5pm • 7 days a week touchofsilver@gmail.com
Hoosier Buddy Liquors
Cold Beer, Fine Wines & Select Spirits
Cold Beer:
Hoosier Buddy o ers more than 150 di erent beers, including more than 80 craft, micro, and impor ts. We proudly o er a wide variety of beers from Indiana’s nest brewers.
Fine Wines:
Hoosier Buddy is a wine -lovers type of store With more than 200 wines to choose from, we’ve got something for ever yone. Check out our “A ordable Impor ts” and “90+ Point” selections
Select Spirits:
Hoosier Buddy o ers an ever expanding array of top -notch spirits. Our whiskey categor y alone includes more than 75 di erent choices. Whether you’re look ing for a Single Barrel Bourbon or a Single Malt from Islay— we stock them.
284 S. Van Buren • Nashville, IN (next to Subway) 812-988-2267
and
Musings Hats off to brown county
~by Mark Blackwell
The weather here in God’s Country (or maybe it should just be God’s County) Indiana is taking a decidedly chilly turn. And for some of us, who suffer from a loss of natural scalp insulation, our thoughts turn to headwear—that is hats and caps. Hats are utilitarian, a fashion statement, and even status symbols; sometimes all three at the same time.
The origin of hats is lost in the mists of history, but I have seen photographs of chimpanzees using large plant leaves for shelter from rain. So, maybe humans were already wearing head gear on our migration out of Africa. And since prehistoric humans spent a lot of time outdoors, a big palm leaf hat would serve to keep the sun off, as well.
Early examples of hat wearing include “Otzi” the 5,000 year old fellow that was discovered in the Austrian Alps in 1991, when the glacier that preserved his body melted. He was found wearing a bearskin hat, which would have been an
appropriate choice for hiking in the mountains.
At some point on the timeline of history, somebody decided to distinguish their hat from anybody else’s, so they adorned it with a special crease, hatband, or feather. It got noticed by other folks, who then modified their hats, and that was the beginning of fashion. Humans have used particular styles of hats to identify with the people of their tribe or village or country.
Even in modern times we identify the beret, which is a felted wool or knit flat cap, with the French. However, it probably originated with the Basque people of northern Spain. The sombrero is a practical sunshade and symbol of Mexico. The ubiquitous conical straw hats, like the non la of
Viet Nam, are representative of south Asia. And if you want to be singled out as an American, put on a baseball cap.
Men’s hat fashion in this country started with the tricorn of colonial days. Both the military and civilians made use of it but in the back country, folks like Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett were sporting a different style of headwear: the coonskin hat. But in a few years, and with the introduction of John B. Stetson’s invention of the cowboy hat, the coonskin fell out of favor.
However, in the year 1954, America was reintroduced to Davy Crockett by way of Walt Disney on the new medium of television. This led to a resurgence in the popularity of the coonskin hat. Every kid in the country had to have one. I know I did. I wonder if that was responsible for the decimation of the raccoon population during the mid-1950s.
Until baseball hats became ultra-popular, the cowboy hat was emblematic of the American male. Men in the eastern part of the country were still wearing top hats but I imagine they fell out of favor when hoards of young hooligans made them targets for snowballs. While I can’t say for a fact that this ushered in the popularity of the lower and rounded crown derby hat, I will stick to that theory.
Derby hats were popular from the mid-19th century into the 1930s in this country, and are still seen in England, where they originated as bowlers. In the late 1920s, a new style of hat, one with a lower, creased crown and wider brim, made of softer felt, supplanted the derby. It was called a fedora.
The fedora was originally the title of a play written in 1892 and starred the actress Sarah Bernhardt. She played a character named Princess Fedora and wore a soft, brimmed hat with a creased crown. The play came to the US in 1889 and the style became a hit with women and a symbol of the early women’s rights movement.
In England, Edward, Prince of Wales, started sporting a fedora making it fashionable for men to
wear. It became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic due to its ability to shade sun and shed rain, all the while being stylish and comfortable. Most men in the 1930s through the 1950s wore fedoras.
Then in 1960, a young trendsetter, named John F. Kennedy, was seen bare-headed, on national television, being sworn in as president. And that made wearing a hat old hat. The 1980s saw a brief revival of the fedora with the introduction of a movie titled Raiders of the Lost Ark, where the protagonist of the story was a swash-buckling, fedora sporting archaeologist named Indiana Jones.
I have to confess that I am a connoisseur of the fedora, but my first hat was inspired not by an archaeologist, but by a folksinger. Back in 1967 a song came out called “Alice’s Restaurant” by Arlo Guthrie. Later in 1969, a movie was made about the song and starred Arlo Guthrie playing himself. He sported a fedora in the movie and I thought it was a great fashion statement. I went down town to a haberdashery and invested five dollars in a preowned fedora, and never looked back .
So, if you find yourself in Brown County wearing a hat, then good for you, and we’re glad you came. If you’re in Nashville and need a hat, we’ve got some dandy hat shops and they’ll be glad you came.
BROOKS RUN CABIN
photos by Michele Wedel
The schedule can change. Please check before making a trip. Submit calendar info to ourbrown@bluemarble.net
Brown County Playhouse
Nov. 2 Songwriter Showdown Finals
Nov. 8 The Big 80s
Nov. 9 Abacab: The Music of Genesis
Phil Collins, and Peter Gabriel
Nov. 15 Crush: Bon Jovi Experience
Nov. 16 Breakfast in America
A Supertramp Celebration
Nov. 20 Wishbone Ash
Nov. 22 Phil Pierte and the Enablers
Nov. 23 Midnight Blue: The Freigner Experience
Nov. 24 FREE MOVIE! Wrestling Ghosts
Nov. 29 Jingle Bell Rockin’ Tribute Band
Dec. 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15 Live Theatre: A Christmas Carol
Most shows at 7:30
70 S. Van Buren Street 812-988-6555 www.browncountyplayhouse.org
Brown County Music Center
Nov. 1 Rickie Lee Jones & Sweet Honey in the Rock
Nov. 6 It Was 50 Years Ago
Christopher Cross, David Pack, Maxi Priest, Jason Scheff, & Joey Molland
Nov. 8 Lorrie Morgan
Nov. 9 38 Special
Nov. 15 Tracy Lawrence
Nov. 16 Kenny G
Nov. 19 Tusk: Fleetwood Mac Tribute
Nov. 21 Girl Named Tom
Nov. 23, 24 KANSAS: 50th Anniversary
Nov. 30 The Lovin’ Spoonful
Dec. 1 Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox
Dec. 4 Ancient Aliens Live
Dec. 7 Amplify Nashville
Dec. 8 Cheap Trick
Dec. 10 Christmas with The Tenors
Dec. 14, 15 The Oak Ridge Boys
Dec. 18 Ricky Skaggs Christmas
Dec. 19 Home Free’s Christmas
Dec. 22 Kathy Mattea 812-988-5323
www.browncountymusiccenter.com
Brown County Inn
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
Nov. 1 Gene Fugate
Nov. 2 Steve Smith
Nov. 6 Open Mic
Nov. 7 Scott Cook & Pamela Mae
Nov. 8 Common Ground Trio
Nov. 9 Past Tense
Nov. 13 Open Mic
Nov. 14 Dave Sisson & Friends
Nov. 15 Jackson Grimm Band
Nov. 16 Jan Bell Trio
Nov. 20 Open Mic
Nov. 21 Bobcat Opossum
Nov. 22 Davis & Devitt
Nov. 23 Freight (feat. Payton Brothers)
Nov. 27 Banister Bluegrass (no open mic)
Nov. 29 Benjamin Fusion
Nov. 30 Silver Creek Revival
Dec. 4 Open Mic
Dec. 5 CPR Revival
Dec. 6 John Gilmore
Dec. 7 Ruben Guthrie
Dec. 11 Open Mic
Dec. 12 Father Kentucky & Liv LaFluv
Dec. 13 Mama Said String Band
Dec. 14 Marty Barrow Duo
Dec. 18 Open Mic
Dec. 19 Caitlin “Spanks” Spangler
Dec. 20 TBD
Dec. 21 TBD
No music Dec. 25-28
Dec. 31 Special night starting at 9:00
Sean Lamb & Janet Miller
New Years Party
51 State Road 46 East 812-988-2291 www.browncountyinn.com
Country Heritage Winery
Music Fri. & Sat. 6:00-9:00
Nov. 1 Kenan Rainwater
Nov. 2 Gary Applegate & Joe Rock
Nov. 8 Two for the Show
Nov. 9 Rocky Branch
Nov. 15 Hubie Ashcraft & Missy Burgess
Calendar
Nov. 16 Dylan Raymond
Nov. 22 Travers Marks Duo
Nov. 23 Frank Jones Duo
Nov. 29 Paul Bertsch Trio
Dec. 6 Gene Fugate
Dec. 7 Clearwater Band
Dec. 13 Ruben Guthrie
Dec. 14 Coner Berry Band
Dec. 20 Benjamin Fuson
Dec. 21 Gene Fugate
Dec. 27 Albert Knolting
Dec. 28 TBD
225 S. Van Buren Street 812-988-8500 www.countryheritagewinery.com
19th Hole Sports Bar
Music Fri. 7:00-10:00 | Sat. 8:00-11:00
Karaoke 8:00-11:00
Nov. 1 John Ryan Band
Nov. 2 The Vangards
Nov. 8 Gene Fugate
Nov. 9 8 Bit Audio
Nov. 15 Clearwater Band
Nov. 16 TBD
Nov. 22 Ruben Guthrie
Nov. 23 Sweet Pea & the Pods
Nov. 27 The McGuires
Nov. 29 The McGuires
Nov. 30 The Vangards
Dec. 6 John Ryan Band
Dec. 7 The Vangards
Dec. 13 Gene Fugate
Dec. 14 8 Bit Audio
Dec. 20 Clearwater Band
Dec. 21 Sweet Pea & the Pods
Dec. 27 TBD
Dec. 28 TBD
Dec. 31 New Years Eve Bash w/ John Ryan Band 8:00
2359 East State Road 46 812-988-4323 www.saltcreekgolf.com
Firebird Tap House
Most music 7:00-9:00
Nov. 1 Ruben Guthrie
Nov. 2 Jason Blankenship & David Sharp
Nov. 8 Cotton Patch
Nov. 9 Captain piano man Doug Firenzo
Nov. 15 John Ryan
Nov. 16 Rich Hardesty
Nov. 22 Albert Nolting
Nov. 23 Rural Soul
Nov. 29 Justyn Underwood
Nov. 30 Amanda Webb duo
Dec. 6 Steve Folton
Dec. 7 Gus Moon
Dec. 13 Timothy Scott
Dec. 20 Michael Norris
Dec. 21 Ruben Guthrie
Dec. 28 Nick Dittmeier
4040 State Rd 46 E 812-988-2336 www.firebirdtaphouse.com
Nashville House
Music Sat. 5:00-8:00
Nov. 2 Doug Dillman
Nov. 9 Gene Fugate
Nov. 16 Ruben Guthrie
Nov. 23 John Collins
Nov. 30 Travers Marks 15 S. Van Buren Street 812-988-4554 www.nashvillehousebc.com
Ferguson House Beer Garden
Open Mic Thurs. 5:00-8:00
Music Fri. 5:00-8:00 | Sat. 1:00-4:00 AND 5:00-8:00 | Sun. 1:00-4:00
Fri. Love Shack Karaoke 9:30-12:30 Sat. pianist Ted Seaman 6:00-9:00 Check social media for more info. 6404 State Road 135 • 812-988-2273 www.storyinn.com
St. Agnes Christmas and Craft Bazaar
Nov. 1, 2 St. Agnes Catholic Church Fri. 9:00-5:00; Sat. 9:00-4:30 1008 McLary Road, Nashville
Nov. 2 Flannel 5K 8:30-3:00 5K, 10K and 20K Options After party plus awards/prizes. Check website for additional info. Hard Truth Distilling Co. 418 Old State Road 46 812-720-4840 www.hardtruth.com
Lights Over Bean Blossom
Nov. 30, Dec. 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 23
6:00-9:00 Bill Monroe Music Park Drive thru Christmas Light Show & Indoor
Village $20/car advance $25 at gate
Tickets at billmonroemusicpark.com
5163 N. State Rd. 135 (Bean Blossom)
Annual Chocolate Walk
Nov. 9, Downtown Nashville 10:00-5:00 THIS YEAR’S EVENT SOLD OUT
Brought to you by Brown Co. YMCA Brown County State Park
Living Art Colony
Nov. 29 | Brown Co. History Center’s Pioneer Village in Nashville | 9:00-4:00
Traditional art, music, folklore, and more
Tree Lighting Ceremony
Nov. 29, Starting at 5:00 | lighting at 6:00 Brown Co. History Center
Music, homemade cookies, hot chocolate, tea, wooden nickel ornament.
Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus
90 E Gould St, Nashville
The Seasons Holiday Art & Craft Show
Nov. 29 & 30, Seasons Conference Center Fri. 10:00-5:00, Sat. 10:00-4:00 Juried show featuring arts and crafts made by area artisans.
Visits with Santa
Noon to 4:00 | Saturdays
Nov. 30, Dec. 7, 14 Brown Co. History Center
90 E Gould St, Nashville
Santa Train
Dec. 6, Santa arrives in Helmsburg by train on the Indiana Railroad around 8:00. Board the train and visit with Santa. Christmas and cartoon characters.
Continued on 42
47th Children’s Fund
Benefit Auction
Dec. 6, Brown County Inn, 6:00 Proceeds provide clothing for Brown Co. children in need. Features donated art, crafts, antiques, merchant items, gift certificates, and food. Merchandise can be dropped off at Out of the Ordinary, or call 812 320 2601 for pickup. Cash donations can be made at PNC Bank in Nashville.
Winter Wonderland
Dec. 6, 7, 13, 14 | 6:00-8:00 Jackson Twp Fire Dept. A walk thru bright lights, Christmas music, and characters. Santa on hand for pictures. 4831 Helmsburg Road in Helmsburg
Stuff a Stocking Event
Dec. 7, Downtown Nashville 11:00-5:00 Children receive a stocking, collect treats from Nashville merchants.
Presented by Brown Co. Community Foundation - Event sells out fast Tickets Advance $20, day of show $25
Brown Co. Art Gallery Holiday winery experience featuring nine Indiana Upland wineries. Wine tasting and goodies.
Corner of Main St. & Artist Dr. 812-988-4609
Holiday Light Parade and Toy Drive
Dec. 7, 6:30 Floats with lights travel through the Village of Nashville.
Reindeer Romp
Dec. 7, starts 1:00 | 8K run / 5K run/walk
Brought to you by Brown Co. YMCA
Late registration & packet pick up Dec. 6, Noon-3:00 at the Y Race Day Dec. 7, 11:00-12:45
Brown Co State Park Nature Center
Steele’s Country Christmas
Dec. 8, Noon-4:00
T.C. Steele State Historic Site
Open house in the Large Studio and House of the Singing Winds fully decorated for the holiday season. Live music, holiday crafts, cookies, and cider.
4220 T.C. Steele Rd, Nashville 812-988-2785
Special Guest: Isaac Family Band
29 | 7:30pm
Nov 2 • Songwriter Showdown 2024 FINALS
Nov 8 • The Big 80s
Nov 9 • Abacab: The Music of Genesis, Phil Collins, and Peter Gabriel
Nov 15 • Crush: Bon Jovi Experience
Nov 16 • Breakfast in America: A Supertramp Celebration
Nov 20 • Wishbone Ash
Nov 22 • Phil Pierle and the Enablers
Nov 23 • Midnight Blue: The Foreigner Experience
Nov 24 • FREE MOVIE! Wrestling Ghosts
Nov 29 • Jingle Bell Rockin’ Tribute Band
Dec 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, & 15 • Live Theatre: A Christmas Carol
Christmas in Brown County
Brown County is a great place to spend time during the Holiday Season. We have the charm of a small community, and yet we offer shopping, entertainment, recreation, and dining that rival the big cities. You can share traditions, escape into nature, or find new ways to experience the holidays.
Be sure to check out the magazine’s advertisements and calendar when you plan your visits to Brown County.
Here are some highlights you might consider.
SHOPPING
It is fun to look for gifts in our little local shops. Yes, it is more convenient to have items shipped to your door (if they can find your house and deliver the right item), but it is a lot more gratifying to pick out something in person— something you can touch and feel.
There are boutiques with colorful clothes; jewelry stores; specialty shops selling spices, cheese, olive oil, fudge, and other candies; plus, gift stores featuring collectibles and items from all over the world.
Popular spots for kids of all ages are the toy store in the big blue Victorian building on the main drag, the toy train store in Antique Alley, and the rock shop on the north end of town.
Potters, jewelers, painters, woodworkers, sculptors, and other crafters sell their wares in galleries and shops.
The Seasons Holiday Art and Craft Show, held Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 29 and 30 at the Seasons Conference Center, features juried works by area artisans.
Sleepy Cat Studio, located at 4687 Yellowwood Road, Nashville, is having an open house on Dec. 14 from 11:00 to 3:00 featuring four local artists.
ENTERTAINMENT
The Brown County Playhouse and the Brown County Music Center, have lined up a variety of acts for Nov. and Dec. The Playhouse is presenting “A Christmas Carol” during the month of Dec. performed by Theatre Brown County.
TREE LIGHTING NOV. 29
The Brown County History Center at 90 East Gould Street
kicks off the Christmas Season in downtown Nashville. Festivities begin at 5:00 and the tree is lit at 6:00. Santa and Mrs. Claus are there for the kids in the Log Cabin Room. Cookies, hot chocolate, and tea will be served and live music will be played. Get your free “Christmas in Brown County Wooden Nickel Ornament.”
Mr. and Mrs. Claus will also be there from noon to 4:00 on Saturdays, Nov. 30, Dec. 7, and Dec. 14.
CHILDREN’S FUND
BENEFIT AUCTION DEC. 6
The Brown County Inn will host the 47th Children’s Fund Auction, raising money to buy clothes for local children in need. It features donated art, crafts, antiques, merchant items, food, gift certificates, and tickets for activities like Holiday World, or Cincinnati Reds games. Auction starts at 6:00 and goes till all is sold. Merchandise can be dropped off at Out of the Ordinary. For pickup call 812-320 -2601. Cash donations can be made at PNC Bank in Nashville.
SANTA TRAIN DEC. 6
Santa Claus arrives by the Indiana Railroad train in Helmsburg around 8:00 pm. Kids line up to visit Santa and Mrs. Claus on the train and see characters from favorite movies and cartoons.
LIGHTS OVER BEAN BLOSSOM
“A Drive Thru Christmas Lights Show” is happening Nov. 30, Dec. 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 23 from 6:00-9:00 at the Bill Monroe Music Park, 5163 N. State Rd. 135. Tickets are available at the gate for $25 per car and online in advance at BillMonroeMusicPark.com for $20.
Christkindl market, stuff a stocking, light parade
~by Paige Langenderfer
Celebrating Christmas in Nashville
means experiencing festive holiday markets, jolly parades, Christmastime treats and endless memories.
Here are just a few of Nashville’s festive things to do Dec. 7 and 8:
CHRISTKINDL MARKET DEC. 7, 8
The fourth-annual Christkindl Market will bring a traditional European holiday market experience to the streets of Nashville December 7 and 8.
The Christkindl Market will feature more than 20 talented vendors showcasing unique art, food, curated gifts, and local treasures. The market will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. December 7 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on December 8 in Coachlight Square.
Live performances by local and regional musicians will create a festive soundtrack for shoppers. The weekend will also include visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus. This year’s Christkindl Market Mug is designed by Holly Pots Stoneware.
Music will be performed in two Nashville locations this year, at the market location in Coachlight Square
at the south end of town, and also at the Town of Nashville’s Village Green Pavilion at the intersection of Jefferson and Main Streets next to Brozinni Pizzeria.
STUFF A STOCKING DEC. 7
The 10th-annual Brown County Community Foundation Stuff a Stocking will take place December 7.
Filled with the spirit of Christmas, children will follow a map to over 25 merchants, gathering treats, ornaments, toys and more to stuff their stockings.
Just 300 tickets will be sold. Online presale tickets are $20 and will be available for purchase until December 6 by visiting <www. browncountygives.org/stuff-a-
stocking>. A limited number of Dayof-Event tickets will be sold at the BCCF Office for $25.
Purchased tickets may be picked up at the BCCF Office on N. Van Buren Street from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the day of the event.
All proceeds from this event will go to non-profit organizations that benefit and support children in the Brown County community. Last year, approximately 270 children participated, moving cheerfully from
location to location filling their red and white striped stockings. More than $4,500 was raised!
LIGHT PARADE DEC. 7
The Salvation Army Brown County Christmas Light Parade, a cherished community tradition, will begin at 6:30 p.m. December 7. The parade has been described as a twinkling light spectacular, filled with holiday magic. Attendees will experience the enchanting sights and sounds of the holiday season as festive floats and vehicles adorned with dazzling Christmas lights glide through the heart of Nashville. As the parade winds through the picturesque streets of Nashville, spectators will be treated to delightful performances, live music, and appearances by beloved holiday characters. The spirit of the season will fill the air as families gather to share in the warmth and magic of this festive event.
In true holiday spirit, parade organizers encourage all participants and attendees to bring new, unwrapped toys to donate to help The Salvation Army Toy Shoppe create a magical Christmas for those less fortunate in the community.
For more information on these upcoming holiday traditions, visit: browncountychristkindlmarket.com browncountygives.org/stuff-a-stocking/ centralusa.salvationarmy.org/browncounty/events/christmas-light-parade/
tramp starr
William Carl Wilson, known as Tramp Starr, was a wordsmith extraordinaire. His love of ordinary homelife merged with his talent for language as a broadcaster, public speaker, columnist, book author, humorist, philosopher, and poet.
William Carl Wilson was born in Clarks Hill, Indiana, Tippecanoe County, on September 22, 1885, to Charles Dudley Wilson and Mary Jane Weaver Wilson. He grew up with siblings Mabel Adelaide, Vivian Joan, Charles Lindley, and Mary Jane.
In his early adult years, Carl Wilson sought adventure beyond Indiana’s borders and went out west, where he perfected his horsemanship as a stunt rider, worked as a cowhand in the wheat fields and railroads, and like his Methodist circuitriding father, he preached. Under the name of Tug Wilson, he boxed in the middle and light-heavy weight divisions.
His roots called him back to Indiana, where he met and fell in love with Marjorie Mitchell of Worthington, who was 16 years old. The couple eloped, tying the marital knot in Kansas. For most of his life, Wilson called Moores Hill, in Dearborn County, Indiana home. He and Marjorie had four
The neighbors say to cut it—my old tree
My ancient hickory, standing straight and tall; They say its death will set more plowland free, An acre be made fertile by its fall.
And well I know its thirsty roots strike deep, To drink life-giving moisture from my field—
That wheat and corn, where its long shadows sweep Grant be but a small fraction of a yield.
But there my old tree stands—and there shall stay, Untouched by any ax or saw of mine—
And lean year in and out, I’ll gladly pay My tax in shrunken grain, at harvest time.
For this tree the fox squirrels come in fall, For stores to last the winter, cold and long—
And, from its wind-blown branches, bare and tall, I hear the first spring robin pour his song.
What matter does its hungry roots have made
One field of mine less fertile than the rest—
Since, sheltered in its cool and gracious shade, An oriole, each summer, swings her nest?
And there other secrets I could tell—
How there, long since, a baby’s playhouse stood— A fairyland of shining rock and shell, And dainty blossoms, plucked from field and wood.
And sometimes, when soft winds caress my tree, I catch the laughter of a voice long gone— And know, down in the deepest heart of me, That somewhere, my wee boy is playing on.
And so—through summer sun and winter snow, My old, old tree shall stand until the end— Stanch comrade of glad days of long ago; In time of stress, my comforter—and friend.
daughters—Betty, Linda, Joan, and Patsy; and a son, Dudley. Another son, Robert, died during the 1918 flu epidemic.
In 1921, Wilson started self-publishing a series of pamphlets called The Tramp Starr Magazine. Using meter and rhyme, he celebrated the richness of the countryside and domestic life. With a growing readership, he had columns featured in the Indianapolis Star. He was a regular contributor to Farm Life, a magazine boasting
Tramp Starr
~by Julia Pearson
Joe Lee
a million subscribers. His column was titled “Chimes and Chuckles from Curly Shingles Farm,” and consisted of a poem and several paragraphs of anecdotes, theories, and humorous reflections.
Wilson began reading his poems on R.F.D. Radio Hour in 1930. It was broadcast from Cincinnati, Ohio on station WLW. His work was
very well received by listeners, and fan mail came from as far away as West Virginia and Montana. He also broadcast from station WKRC in Cincinnati and WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana, plus stations in Chicago and Louisville.
His first book, My Indiana Farm, appeared around 1930, and is a compilation of anecdotes and reflections on farming and natural life. It was followed by publication of books Radio Rhymes in 1933, and Pop. 359 in 1941. Pop. 359 reflects the local color of Wilson’s hometown, Moores Hill, with humor and heart. Jokes and Jingles from Curly Shingles is a collection of his previously published columns. Some of his classic jokes:
“Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field!”
“Why did the farmer bury all his money? To make his soil rich!”
“Why don’t skeletons fight each other? They don’t have the guts!”
And some of Tramp Starr gems from a golden age of jingles:
“When the rooster crows at the break of dawn, / The farmer’s day has just begun./ With a hoe and plow, he works the land, / Making sure the crops grow grand.”
“In the barn, the cows do moo,/ The farmer’s work is never through./ With hay to stack and fields to tend, / His day begins and never ends.”
Continued on 50
The Old Hickory Restaurant and Bar in Nashville.
Wilson’s chair on display at the History Center.
photos
BOUTIQUE
HIDDEN GETAWAY
For 25 years Wilson was a regular in the Indianapolis Star, Sunday edition, and changed the title of his column to “Jokes and Jingles From Curly Shingles Farm, Moores Hill, Indiana.” Along with his published columns and poetry, he also received fees for speaking engagements at conferences, seminars, commencements, and meetings around the state.
In the early 1940s, Wilson and his wife moved to Brown County, buying the former home of Ival McDonald located just west of Nashville, calling it “Curly Shingles, Jr.” They purchased Dinty Moore’s Restaurant in the former Charlie Genolin house. Local legend persisted it was won in a card game, but in actuality, the details of a sale were negotiated during a game. They renamed and ran it as the Old Hickory Restaurant and Bar.
Wilson continued writing until his death just three years later, falling to a massive heart attack at the Old Hickory in 1946.
He was buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in Nashville. The granite memorial records both his pen name, Tramp Starr, and his given name, William Carl Wilson.
Marjorie moved to a house next door to the Old Hickory and continued as proprietor and operator for more than 30 years. Old Hickory Restaurant and Bar was in the building where Out of the Ordinary is now on Van Buren Street, and was a restaurant of Andy Rogers known as the Ordinary before that.
William Carl Wilson’s collection of original poetry and column manuscripts—composed by Wilson on a manual typewriter and with his own handwritten edits—plus correspondence, clippings, scrapbooks, and other materials, are preserved at the Lilly Library in Bloomington. The caned chair, where he sat at his writing table, is on display at the Brown County History Center in Nashville. Thanks to the generosity of his family, these cultural and literary treasures are preserved. Two grandsons, Michael Kummerer and Tom Birdsong, and their families, continue to call Brown County home. TRAMP
Needmore An Intentional Community
~by Boris Ladwig
At the end of the 1960s, a tumultuous time of racial strife during the Vietnam War and after assassinations of prominent political leaders including JFK and MLK, a small group of hippies, including an heiress to the Eli Lilly fortune, created an intentional community in Brown County. Known in those days as a commune, the project attracted Hoosiers who were interested in living off the land, as well as prominent counter-culture figures such as Rennie Davis of the Chicago 7. Eventually the commune also drew interest from the FBI and the Ku Klux Klan.
Needmore, a community northwest of Nashville, was created by Kathy Canada, granddaughter of Lilly, and her husband, Larry Canada, an anti-war activist and Bloomington business owner.
In its heyday, known later primarily for tax purposes, as Kneadmore Life Community Church, the community included more than 100 residents, some of whom lived in houses with electricity and running water, while others slept in trucks and teepees. Most of the long-term residents shared an interest in homesteading and rebelling against the establishment.
“There was a back-to-the-land movement, getout-of-the-system, be self-sufficient, grow your own
food—a long way from [a] Jeffersonian yeoman, but as close as we were going to get,” said Guy Loftman, a retired Bloomington attorney who lived in the commune in the early 1970s.
Loftman and three others who lived in the commune—some a few years, others for more than a decade—said they still look back upon those days with fondness and have continued to pursue the ideals that brought them to join the community.
Guy Loftman
Loftman said he and his wife, Connie, got introduced to the Canadas when Needmore was still just an idea. The Loftmans moved into the commune in the early days, when the Canadas were still buying land.
Loftman was working in the hospital and his wife at the university. He said his conscientious objector status required him to remain an employee, so he had a bit of an extra incentive to remain on the more straight-and-narrow side of the Needmore hippies.
“We were just hippies with jobs,” he said.
But they agreed with the prevailing attitudes of people in Needmore.
“It really was dropping out…you tune into the counterculture and you drop out of the primary culture and find a new way of being,” he said.
courtesy John Sisson
courtesy John Sisson
Music was shared often at Needmore, from a stage and up close.
Time spent among friends and former strangers.
When they weren’t working, the Loftmans spent time with the other Needmore hippies to play music, sing, chant, smoke weed, and dance.
The Loftmans and others also learned how to prepare food: Loftman learned how to kill, clean, cut and cook rabbits. Someone else taught them about goats.
The only rule in Needmore, Loftman said, was that there were no rules, which sounded good in theory, but did not work so well in practice.
In spring 1970, Loftman organized an effort to create a community garden. The community agreed to use newspapers for mulch, though one objector said he worried about toxic chemicals. Loftman brought a pickup truck load of old Herald-Telephone editions, and on a spring morning dropped the papers between the garden rows.
“After I’ve done a couple hundred yards of it, I look up and there’s this guy who’s against it, picking them all up and putting them back in my pickup truck,” Loftman said.
He called a community meeting, but the consensus was that there was nothing that could be done, because the only rule in Needmore was that there were no rules.
The community grew some food, he said, including tomatoes, corn, beans and squash, but disagreements such as the one about mulch and the lack of proper equipment (no one had a tractor) significantly reduced the size of the harvests.
“We never got close to sustaining ourselves, but it was fun to grow our own food,” Loftman said.
”We never got close to sustaining ourselves, but it was fun to grow our own food,”
—Guy Loftman
John Barnes was living in Bloomington with his wife, Janet, who had just graduated from Indiana University with a degree in elementary education, when someone told them about Needmore. Larry Canada invited them to live there after he interviewed them.
Barnes said the couple liked Needmore because of the people and their ideas.
Barnes and his wife lived in several houses on the property while Barnes did carpentry work and his wife worked as a bookkeeper in the Canadas’ Raintree Investments office. Barnes said he helped build houses, gardens, a shower house and a dock at the lake. He also had a lawn mowing business for a while, and his wife waitressed in Nashville.
The couple eventually built a 1,000-square-foot house in 1975 for $8,000 with Barnes doing most of the work. A contractor laid the foundation, and in return Barnes mowed the contractor’s yard all summer. Another contractor hung the
Continued on 56
John Barnes
courtesy John Barnes
courtesy John Barnes
Building a community shower house in the mid-1970s.
John Barnes, using his carpentry skills.
NEEDMORE continued from 55
drywall, and the couple paid him with a stained-glass lamp made by Barnes’ wife. Barnes said he only paid for someone to put up the gutters.
Barnes turned the experience he gained building the house into a business, opening a cabinet shop in 1976.
He said the couple lived comfortably, with electricity, running water and a gas stove. That comfort helped overcome some harsh conditions.
“We had some very interesting winters,” he said.
Barnes also got arrested once for growing marijuana plants that police had spotted from a helicopter. A justice of the peace in Brown County allowed him to plead guilty to a misdemeanor.
A few days later, on Oct. 7, 1971, Barnes received a mailing from the United Klans of America, in Greenwood, Indiana. It read, “The eyes of the Klan ARE ON YOU.”
“It’s kind of scary when you’re 20, you know, get a letter from the Klan,” Barnes said.
“When I got the letter, I sat out on my porch one night with a shotgun…then I realized that’s what they wanted me to do, is to be afraid.”
Bill Land
Bill Land lived in Brown County in the mid-1960s and read Kathy Canada’s columns about organic gardening, living off the grid and homesteading in the Brown County Democrat.
“That really appealed to me. I was very much a naturalist,” said Land.
He and his then-wife, Joan, hung out with the Canadas before they moved into the Needmore community in the mid-1970s.
The couple and their three children occupied a 28-foot geodesic dome and raised goats in Needmore, while Land also taught geography at universities, including a tenured position at Butler University.
The family’s home had neither electricity nor water, and they had to get water from a tap about a quarter mile away next to a set of concrete buildings where they also could take showers and wash clothes.
While people paid small amounts of money to live in the community, Needmore ran into serious financial difficulties, prompting the sale of about half the land, in part to help pay property taxes, Land said. In addition, people could not get bank loans to build homes because they did not own the land.
Christmas party in the community building circa 1976.
Material mailed to John Barnes from the Klan.
courtesy John Barnes
The Lands bought 20 acres in the area and created an egalitarian community, called Chrysalis, which, at its height, had nine people living in it.
Land said the family loved their time in Needmore, living off the land, raising goats, riding horses, listening to music, and spending time with friends.
Rhonda Roehm
Rhonda Roehm, a Fort Wayne native who had come to the area to study at Indiana University, said she and her boyfriend used to visit the Canadas’ house on Lanham Ridge Road on the weekends in the fall of 1967 when the couple was making plans for the community.
“Everything any of us did at that time was for raising consciousness and awareness. That was the main thrust of everything that happened there,” she said.
Even taking drugs served to raise one’s consciousness, Roehm said.
Roehm traveled to other countries at the time and visited Spain in spring 1968.
“It was like this craving…to travel and get to know other cultures. Because once you do that, you don’t want to bomb them…and they don’t want to bomb you,” she said.
She moved into Needmore when she returned from Europe. Some people lived in houses, and others in tents and a yurt. Roehm said she and a boyfriend built a teepee, which was “fabulous” in part because it had all kinds of methods of dealing with weather.
“The teepee itself was the most beautiful place I had ever lived,” she said.
Roehm worked for the Canadas’ real estate office for a while, but people often simply “did what the day brought.”
That meant finding food, cooking, baking, picking strawberries, trading those with someone who churned butter, or hitchhiking to the university to take a shower.
“It all fell together, and people helped each other,” she said. “Everybody helped with food. If you didn’t have food, you could always get a meal.”
Roehm also briefly lived with the Loftmans and said they taught her all about morel hunting.
“People think it was sex and drugs and rock n roll,” she said. “They think that that’s all it was, and that wasn’t what it was…this was sacred. We hung out with our friends. That’s what we did a lot of the day.”
Roehm said she most valued the attitude of accepting everyone. It was about seeing “the beauty in someone else’s soul and allowing them to be the way they want as long as they’re not hurting other people.”
Why they left
Loftman left after Canada returned from the 1971 May Day protest against the Vietnam War and brought back two groups of people: Poor urban hippies from Washington, D.C., many of them African American, and Vietnam veterans against the war.
The Loftmans’ house was right by a road, and before long, they would see vehicles drive by very slowly, with men glowering at them, carrying rifles and shotguns.
Then came arsons, burned teepees, and a cross burning.
One night, a mixed-race couple snuck across a road, through the woods and to the Loftmans’ house, asking for refuge, which they gave.
“We kept vigil all night,” Loftman said.
He said he suspects things had gone farther than anybody expected. The community held a meeting to figure out how to respond, and some people wanted to arm themselves.
Continued on 58
The Lands’ home in the mid-1970s. courtesy Bill Land
NEEDMORE continued from 57
“Certainly wasn’t in line with me,” Loftman said. “And so we left.”
Loftman said he still views his time in Needmore as an “important declaration of alienation and withdrawal.”
Outside of Needmore, he said, he continued to pursue the ideals espoused by the community. He has served on the NAACP board for 25 years and is active in the Unitarian Universalist church board.
Loftman went to law school at IU and practiced law in Bloomington until his retirement.
Barnes said he left primarily for economic reasons.
The couple moved to Bloomington with their daughter, Julia, and later had a son, Matt. Barnes said he never ran out of work again. He operated Plum Creek Cabinets for 40 years before retiring. His wife, Janet, an elementary art teacher, died in February. The couple were married 53 years.
Looking back on their time in Needmore, Barnes said he is grateful for the experience.
Land said he left Needmore in 1984, a terrible year in which he lost both his parents and got divorced. It was a good marriage in many ways, he said, and the couple had four daughters, including three who were homesteaders during part of their lives.
Land said he loved the experience of living in Needmore.
Life at Needmore also appealed to his academic interests, which included sociology and the study of small groups, he said.
“It allowed me, almost, as a scientist, to live in my lab,” he said.
Roehm said she left the community after she took a trip with the Canadas and others to Colorado for a meditation retreat. She moved to Bloomington in 1972 with other people who were practicing meditation. She later moved into an ashram where she lived for more than a decade.
Roehm said she is enormously grateful to the Canadas.
“They did so much to help all of us…to expand our mind. It was spreading love and light,” she said.
As the ideals live on, so does the community itself. According to Brown County property records, the church still owns nearly 315 acres on 15 parcels.
~by Jim Eagleman
TField Notes: A forest legacy
he later fall of the year hurries my thinking:
“Is there enough wood cut for the woodstove? Will my log splitter need a tuneup, more hydraulic fluid and winterizing before the last job? Can I finally tackle the job to cut back and treat the alien multiflora rose and autumn olive that has grown profusely along our road?” And the annual maintenance of chimney cleaning has to be done before the first fire of the season.
These and other pressing jobs I am facing have a common connection to wood. And it might not surprise you that I live in a log home, read forestry books, and admire well-made wooden furniture passed down by relatives.
I like wood and will always cherish these Brown County woods with their year ’round beauty and purpose.
Eric Sloane’s book, A Reverence for Wood, relates our historic reliance on wood during this country’s early start. The early American explorers were impressed with the availability of woods of all kinds. Wood was what was plentiful, grew to great heights, and could produce food, tools, shelter, and fuel.
Homesteading colonists willingly offered their tall pines so as to appease England’s king, a gesture to keep them in good favor. Forests in eastern and northern America were cut first for the tall masts that were used in a royal navy—the pine in high demand. Massive oak beams and
walnut flooring also found their way into homes of Great Britain’s elite. Our storehouse of timber appeared inexhaustible and well worth time and expense to ship back to England.
Our own county’s extensive woodlands have an equally important story to tell. While stretching to both horizons, appearing old and undisturbed, this young forest hints of earlier use, and abuse. Starting in the early 1800s, tremendous quantities of timber were removed from these hills in favor of farming.
Prior to settlement, General Land Office surveyors traveled through southern Indiana to map lands for sale. From these records we know today’s forest consists of the same kinds of timber that grew here earlier. Oaks, hickories, maple, and beech, along with sassafras, elm, and sycamore were listed in daily forest inventories.
Boundaries were marked with a blaze to determine a corner. “Witness trees,” young growth purposely chosen, delineated one parcel from another as big trees were the first cut. Log heaps burned for weeks as hillsides were cleared, owing to one historical note of the “smoky” Brown County hills. In deep ravines, green timber dried on top as dead limbs and branches kept fires burning. Timber crews for hire came through southern Indiana from northern Michigan as work there lessened.
Once cleared, the trees were used for railroad ties called sleepers, and fuel. Crops were planted on hillsides in and around tree stumps, up and
down slopes, and plowed on the contour. The stage was set for erosion on hills of poor soil. An unproductive, then destitute life followed for those who stayed.
Yet young sprouts and shrubs soon covered many abandoned acres, a resilient and recovering capacity of lands left on their own. Nearly all of Brown County State Park, Indiana’s largest, remained in this early brush stage, a perfect place to begin restoring and eventually releasing native birds and animals. Private lands willingly sold to the state. Game farms were established as part of the early Indiana Department of Conservation’s attempt to replenish wildlife that had over time been extirpated.
In the early 1920s, game birds of grouse, quail, and Hungarian partridge were reared in pens on what is now the large playing field by the park’s fire tower. Sportsmen’s dollars and early experiments with this new type of restoration helped return diminished species, but over time habitat improvement proved to be the key to healthy populations, not simply the release of the animals.
A group of painters descended into Nashville to paint a “peaceful valley,” and another chapter of our county history began—an art colony with a wooded hills backdrop.
Remaining park timber in the mid-1930s was next utilized by company #1557 of the Indiana Civilian Conservation Corps. Young men out of work, learning on site, used oak for beams and hickory flooring, along with native sandstone for park structures like the upper and lower shelters, saddle barn, and portions of the Abe Martin Lodge.
Local craftsmen taught the young CCC men skills they could use in construction, plumbing, carpentry, and electricals. Lessons learned for later life took place in park barracks and tents. Many went on to rejuvenate a recovering nation.
I have no way of knowing if any of those young men furthered their experiences with
wood and forests. They certainly had plenty of opportunity to learn by living in a forest surrounded by nature and rising at dawn. Maybe they were too busy to appreciate it.
An “army-life” existence is how one CCC recruit put it. “But I loved the rugged lifestyle,” he said, “The disciplined routine and the construction trades I learned helped me get a job”.
My love of wood, forest studies, and cultural use has been life-long. When I received a basswood whistle from my grandpa he made from a twig dragged out from firewood kindling, I was transfixed. Since that early experience, wood’s many uses such as building material, tools, furniture, and art have intrigued me.
I can’t admire the wood I use fully unless I know a bit about where it came from. It connects me to the resource and to the land.
Questions or comments regarding Field Notes articles, contact the author at: jpeagleman@gmail.com
Beautifully landscaped on 59 acres
91 Campsites each with a fire pit, picnic table, and gravel lot
Sta on-site
Full water/sewer hookups
20, 30 and 50 AMP Access to all campground amenities
om dow ntow n Nashv ille • E a acce om
5515 State Road 46 East • Nashville, Indiana 812-568-1209 • info@awayadayrvcampground.com
Primary care by appointment: Monday – Friday, 7 am – 4 pm, call 812.988.2231 for a Primary care appointment
Same-day after-hours injury and illness care: call 812.988.3915 to speak to a nurse
Orthopedics: Wednesdays, 8 am – 4:30 pm, call 812.333.BONE (2663) for an Orthopedics appointment
Cardiology: call 812.676.4144 for a Cardiology appointment
The Brown County music scene is drawing traffic to its many venues. These days, there are a lot of options for music in and around Nashville—but it hasn’t always been like that.
Bob Smerdel, tasting room manager for the Country Heritage Winery at the south end of town in Coachlight Square, has been booking acts from around the area for over 13 years.
“When I first came here, [live music] was just the Country Heritage Winery (formerly Chateau Thomas Winery), Brown County Inn, and up at the Seasons in the old saloon,” he said. “It’s grown quite a bit from there. On Friday and Saturday, there are probably no less than eight or ten places that are playing music, either within town, or within a short drive,” Smerdel said.
The Country Heritage Winery’s intimate, performer-friendly space just off the horseshoe-bar tasting room is a favorite of local musicians and
their admirers. He said that musicians really love the sound, and the closeness of the room.
And, as more and more folks are discovering, the local music is always good.
“The quality is unsurpassed, unless you go down to Nashville, Tennessee and walk down Broadway,” Smerdel said. “But that’s a whole other world.”
It’s not just the venues offering live music that have multiplied, so, too, has the number of talented performers from Brown County or nearby.
“The week doesn’t go by that somebody doesn’t reach out and say, ‘I’m a musician, looking for a place to play.’ So, I think for any music venue in town, there’s plenty of artists in this area or within an hour that are promoting themselves, making those phone calls to try to get their foot in the door.”
In his years of booking acts at the tasting room, Smerdel has built up a database of area musicians. He tries to schedule acts based upon the number of people they can bring in.
and photos by Jeff Tryon
The McGuires.
”I think that really sets Nashville apart, the type of musicians that play here. They’re all entertainers and they all want to connect with the crowd. ”
—Bob Smerdel
“I could name 30 more groups or duos or solos that play here in this town,” he said. “And there’s a lot that haven’t played here. It’s never ending.”
The Friday and Saturday night music crowd is a different crowd from the daytime crowd, which is focused on wine sampling, he said.
“I always try to keep in mind that the Nashville tourist crowd, our customers, they’re coming to a destination town,” Smerdel said. “They’re on vacation, they’re celebrating something, getting away from something. So, they’re coming to enjoy themselves.”
He said there are basically two types of crowds.
The “party crowd” wants to go to a bar and kick it with their friends, make some noise, let loose some steam, and the music is just the background.
But Country Heritage is looking for the crowd that wants to be entertained, to connect to the band or solo artist. So, they tend to book performers that like to talk to the crowd and encourage interaction.
“It’s more of a concert style event here versus a bar style,” Smerdel said. “I’m not saying one is better than the other, both are equally entertaining—a lot of great times in either environment. I just choose to go down the other trail.”
He said people like music they’re familiar with, that they can sing along with or that they can dance to, whether it’s country, rock, folk, Americana, blues, jazz, or swing.
“I’ve booked just about everything that you can in the time that I’ve been here, but probably the
sweet spot would be called ‘the classics’—rock/ blues/country,” he said.
He said patrons favor local performers who also include some of their own original songs.
“I try to book singer-songwriters….I encourage them to work their own songs into their set and tell stories, expand on why they wrote a song, and what it means to them and what they hope the audience gets out of it.”
He said that local feel and flavor really attracts customers.
“I think that really sets Nashville apart, the type of musicians that play here,” Smerdel said. “They’re all entertainers and they all want to connect with the crowd.”
The Country Heritage Winery is located at 225 Van Buren St. Nashville, in the Coachlight Square complex.
Hours are from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday,
Country Heritage Winery and Vineyard is a family owned and operated winery on a farm in Dekalb County that has been in the same family for over 100 years.
Frank Jones.
Brown County Music Center
Nov. 1 Rickie Lee Jones & Sweet Honey
Nov. 6
Nov. 8 Lorrie Morgan
Nov. 9 38 Special
Nov. 15 Trac y Lawrence
Nov. 16 Kenny G
Nov. 19 Tusk: Fleetwood Mac Tribute
Nov. 21 Girl Named Tom
Nov. 23, 24 KANSAS: 50th Anniversar y Tour
Nov. 30 The Lovin’ Spoonful
Dec. 1 Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox
Dec. 4 Ancient Aliens Live
Dec. 7 Amplify Nashville
Dec. 8 Cheap Trick
Dec. 10 Christmas with The Tenors
Dec. 14, 15 The Oak Ridge Boys
Dec. 18 Ricky Skaggs Christmas
Dec. 19 Home Free's "Any Kind of Christmas"
Dec. 22 A Winter Gathering - Kathy Mattea
Jan. 16 Big Head Todd & The Monsters
Jan. 31 Yacht Rock Revue
Feb. 15 Dirty Dancing Live
Feb. 27 Diamond Rio
Mar. 14 Trombone Shor ty & Orleans Ave.
Mar. 15 Matt Nathanson
Mar. 20 Keb’ Mo’ & Shawn Colvin
Apr. 19 ARRIVAL: The Music of ABBA
Last summer, a group of music lovers and musicians got together with a singular aspiration: to bring rising stars to the big stage in Brown County. This goal was realized just months later in the form of the inaugural Amplify Nashville concert featuring Flick ‘n’ Rainwater, Bleu Django, King Bee & the Stingers, and Cody Ikerd and the Sidewinders.
Amplify Nashville returns for 2024 with a fresh roster of talent promising an unforgettable experience at the Brown County Music Center on Saturday, December 7.
Amplify Nashville is a charity event benefiting Mother’s Cupboard Community Kitchen and the Brown County Music Association. The organizations exemplify the two-fold mission of Amplify Nashville. As Bob Blass, Amplify committee member and president of the BCMA, explains, “Music is food for the soul, but sometimes people need food just in general.”
To that end, Amplify targets local musicians primed for a chance to perform in the 2,000-seat Brown County Music Center, and those musicians donate their time and talent to support these local charities.
In 2023, many of the event’s founding committee members also donated their talent as performers. Renowned harmonica player Corey Flick, who spearheaded Amplify and continues to serve on the committee, opened the show with Flick ‘n’ Rainwater and closed with Cody Ikerd and the Sidewinders. Flick described the event as a highlight of his career saying, “The dream was always [that] we got to play a big stage in a great venue, but we also got to give back to the community, and that, to me, was what made it extremely special.”
Sarah Menefee and Jeff Shew of King Bee & the Stingers are active on the Amplify committee as well. Menefee said, “It was such a thrill to perform on the Brown County Music Center stage and to be a part of
~story and photo by Mandi Rainwater
Bigfoot Yancey at the Brown County Playhouse.
inaugurating an event to help the community and musicians alike. I can’t wait to watch Amplify grow to its full potential and champion more incredible artists that deserve the spotlight!”
Also returning to the 2024 Amplify Nashville committee are Kenan and Mandi Rainwater of Rainwater Studios; Delena Hare, the owner of Platinum sponsor SERVPRO of Columbus; and singer/songwriter Jan Bell.
The Brown County community has rallied behind the event as well. Blass explained, “People understood what we were up to, and they were very open to being supportive and involved.
The list of sponsors for 2024 includes SERVPRO of Columbus, TACTIVE, Hills of Brown Vacation Rentals, Friends O’ Mine Campground, Rafters, Nashville Spice Company, Brown County Title, Centra Credit Union, The Wild Olive, The Toy Chest, Brozinni Pizzeria, Brown County Community Foundation, Nashville Chop House, and Brown County Inn.
The Brown County Playhouse stepped up to support this year’s Amplify Nashville by hosting the Songwriter Showdown, which featured 24 solo and duo acts competing for a prize package that includes the opening spot on the Music Center stage. The Playhouse’s programming director Bob McCutcheon spearheaded the project, which allows audience members to vote on their favorite performers, determining who will go on to the next round.
The Finals on November 2 features Taylor Hernly, Steve Hickman, Rick LeDune, and Michael Moulder. The winner will open Amplify with a three-song set of original music.
Going into year two, Kenan Rainwater notes, “We were fortunate to have such great talent on the committee and to experience Amplify ourselves. Now we’re really excited to share that experience with other artists from our region.” The lineup for 2024 includes four diverse bands. The D&O Band is a powerhouse of youthful talent delivering harmony-driven originals that range from pop to indie folk to country. The Hammer and The Hatchet provide bluegrass-inspired Americana roots music. Bigfoot Yancey’s foot-stomping tunes
add the drive of a full drum kit to the string band. The night ends with dance-worthy funk rock from The Indigos.
Amplify Nashville takes place on the same weekend as the Brown County Christkindl Market, and the concert kicks off just after the Light Parade. The Brown County YMCA plans to partner with Amplify again this year to place luminaries along the Salt Creek Trail so parade-goers can walk to the Music Center from town.
High on the list of contributors to Amplify Nashville is the Music Center itself, which donates the venue and volunteers for the event. Director Christian Webb commented, “We are extremely excited to continue our great partnership with Amplify Nashville for year #2. Utilizing the Music Center to showcase local and upcoming talent, while being able to give back to the local community in a charity way, is exactly what this incredible venue was designed for.”
Tickets for Amplify Nashville are on sale now for $16.50 at www.BrownCountyMusicCenter.com
VENDOR MALL
Weed Patch Music Company
FIREPLACE CENTER
(discounts for multiple issues)
Contac t Cindy at ourbrown@bluemarble.net or c all 812-988-8807
