Southern Indiana Living SeptOct 2017

<strong>Southern</strong><br />

IndIana<br />

Sept / Oct <strong>2017</strong><br />

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

JOHN<br />

JONES:<br />

The man behind<br />

the enterprise<br />

Plus: Monarch Festival | Ferdinand, <strong>Indiana</strong> | Corydon Artist


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Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 2


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Schmidt Cabinet Company is located in New Salisbury, IN.<br />

Family owned and operated since 1959.<br />

Visit our showroom Monday thru Friday 8 a.m.—4 p.m. Saturday, Sunday, or<br />

evenings by appointment or visit our website at www.schmidtcabinet.com<br />

and see our unmatched selection of cabinets and countertops for every room<br />

of your home and offce. Schmidt offers a variety of styles from Traditional<br />

to Contemporary, in a wide array of woods and colors.<br />

1355 Hwy 64 NE<br />

New Salisbury, IN 47161<br />

812-347-2434<br />

Photo courtesy of Michelle Hockman Photography<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 4


Featured Stories<br />

18 | THE HOUSE THAT JOHN BUILT<br />

Greenville native builds enterprise on dedication, hardwork,<br />

and perseverance<br />

33 | ARTIST SPOTLIGHT<br />

Local artists finds inspiration in the <strong>Indiana</strong> landscape<br />

38 | MONARCH FESTIVAL<br />

July 15-16 at Hidden Hill Nursery & Sculpture Garden<br />

33<br />

45 | PEGGY’S PLACE<br />

A Place for Friends<br />

48 | THEATRE IN SOUTHERN INDIANA<br />

TheatreWorks of <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

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

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER <strong>2017</strong><br />

In Every Issue<br />

7 | FLASHBACK PHOTO<br />

Harvest Homecoming, New Albany, IN, 1973<br />

9 | A NOTE TO BABY BOOMERS<br />

Feeling Lucky for a Change<br />

12<br />

10 | A WALK IN THE GARDEN WITH BOB HILL<br />

Dancing with Caladiums in the Summer Shade<br />

12 | OUR TOWN<br />

Ferdinand, <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

26 | COMMUNITY PAGES<br />

Spotlight on Leadership <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong>’s Alumni<br />

Bash, the SIRH Stroke Camp, and more!<br />

28 | #BUYLOCAL<br />

Local Business Spotlight<br />

50 | EVERYDAY ADVENTURES<br />

The (Not So) Perfect Pumpkin Pie<br />

38<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 5


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Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 6


<strong>Southern</strong><br />

IndIana<br />

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

Flashback Photo<br />

SEPT | OCT <strong>2017</strong><br />

VOL. 10, ISSUE 5<br />

PUBLISHER |<br />

Karen Hanger<br />

karen@silivingmag.com<br />

LAYOUT & DESIGN |<br />

Christy Byerly<br />

christy@silivingmag.com<br />

COPY EDITOR |<br />

Jennifer Cash<br />

COPY EDITOR |<br />

Gina Combs<br />

Harvest Homecoming<br />

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

October 1973<br />

ADVERTISING |<br />

Take advantage of prime<br />

advertising space.<br />

Call us at 812-989-8871 or<br />

e-mail ads@silivingmag.com<br />

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Contact SIL<br />

P.O. Box 145<br />

Marengo, IN 47140<br />

812.989.8871<br />

karen@silivingmag.com<br />

ON THE COVER: John Jones,<br />

owner of John Jones Auto<br />

Group // Photo by John<br />

Sodrel<br />

Check out more<br />

features and stories<br />

on our EPUB Exclusive!<br />

www.silivingmag.com<br />

Photo courtesy of Stuart B. Wrege <strong>Indiana</strong> History Room, New Albany-Floyd County Public Library.<br />

<strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> <strong>Living</strong> is<br />

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Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 7


Halloween fun for the whole family! Rides, shows, corn mazes,<br />

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FOR SPOOKTACULAR SAVINGS, GO ONLINE.<br />

Visit HolidayWorld.com/Save and use promo code DISCOUNT845<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 8


A Note to Baby Boomers<br />

Feeling Lucky for a Change<br />

IGoogled “CLL.”<br />

I knew better.<br />

There they were — reminders<br />

of how cancer and I are in this for the<br />

duration. By the way, what is the duration?<br />

Depends on what website I click.<br />

My curiosity seems reasonable. Is<br />

CLL — Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia<br />

— increasingly fixable? Are researchers<br />

getting to the bottom of my top threat?<br />

Kind of — enough to be encouraged.<br />

The thing is, encouragement and<br />

I get along about as well as our president<br />

does with the media. So there’s little wonder<br />

why I turn down invites to join the<br />

Optimist Club.<br />

That’s a half-empty glass invariably<br />

in my hand. How ridiculous.<br />

I have more reasons to feel lucky<br />

than a leprechaun on St. Patrick’s Day. I<br />

just forget to remember, for instance, that<br />

my CLL is stage zero. That is as good as<br />

bad gets. Plus my bad blood numbers are<br />

getting better each year. My disease has<br />

been improving without one minute of<br />

treatment.<br />

Now that’s really, really lucky.<br />

So is having a wife that still puts<br />

up with me and children that stop by for<br />

more than to borrow a shovel or to raid<br />

the pantry. So is having found a career<br />

that fits me even better than Bass Weejuns<br />

and Levis.<br />

So is feeling absolutely no need to<br />

ever move from <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong>. Why<br />

chase contentment when it’s staring right<br />

at me?<br />

I also feel lucky that my parents took<br />

me, kicking and screaming, to the dentist<br />

every six months. I stayed in the checkup<br />

habit and my teeth have also stayed.<br />

I feel lucky to hang out with what<br />

I call “why-not people.” They go places.<br />

They do things. They focus on next weekend<br />

more than next decade. I hope to be<br />

more like them. If I can’t take it with me,<br />

why act as if I can? If I end up homeless at<br />

98, bring me lunch.<br />

I feel lucky to have played in the<br />

school band. Granted, the music world<br />

was less lucky, but at least I marched in<br />

some semblance of a straight line. Best of<br />

all, I came to appreciate music way beyond<br />

Strawberry Alarm Clock. As I write this, I<br />

listen to Frank Sinatra. I cannot wait for<br />

the next season of the Louisville Orchestra.<br />

Since I attended my last rock show, I<br />

actually went to the opera. And over there<br />

is my older-than-old trombone, tempting<br />

me to make a comeback.<br />

The thing is, encouragement<br />

and I get along about as well<br />

as our president does with the<br />

media. So there’s little wonder<br />

why I turn down invites to join<br />

the Optimist Club.<br />

I feel lucky to be an animal lover. I<br />

cannot imagine life without a dog by my<br />

side, on my lap, in my face and bed. My<br />

cat has his own agenda, though I’m pals<br />

with him as long as I scratch behind his<br />

ears. I know terrific people who do not<br />

have pets, but I just cannot imagine how,<br />

or why, they go without.<br />

I feel lucky for the fulfillment from<br />

community service. I have served on assorted<br />

local boards for nearly 40 years.<br />

The payoff far outweighs the sacrifice.<br />

I feel lucky that you grandparents<br />

out there were not lying. You claimed the<br />

role is unbeatable. Indeed, it is amazing<br />

to be Poppy to Harper and Piper. For instance,<br />

my little granddaughters are the<br />

only people on earth who believe I can<br />

dance. I’ll take it. I see them routinely,<br />

thank God. I don’t have to try too hard<br />

— what they get from Poppy this Tuesday<br />

they will get next Tuesday and so on.<br />

Harper and Piper will grow older alongside<br />

me growing old, and that should be<br />

interesting.<br />

I feel lucky that my wife is tech-savvy.<br />

She understands cellphones and computers<br />

like I understand dangling participles<br />

and split infinitives. My wife set up<br />

our latest TV — in about 284 steps — leaving<br />

me to yearn for the days when gizmos<br />

simply plugged in. My wife books our<br />

flights online. She arranges credit-card rebates<br />

without talking to a single soul on<br />

the phone. I must stay married. Without<br />

my wife, I would not know how to sign up<br />

for online dating.<br />

I feel lucky to feel comfortable being<br />

alone. It is one of the few upsides to having<br />

been an only child.<br />

I feel lucky that I’m growing more<br />

at ease watching the big games on TV. I<br />

used to want to be there, no matter what.<br />

But now it’s easier to stay in the easy chair.<br />

Other people can have fun finding affordable<br />

tickets, handy parking and people in<br />

your row who are not drunk or obnoxious.<br />

I no longer miss missing out.<br />

Finally, I feel lucky that I’m afforded<br />

this page to pose the occasional challenge<br />

to others. You too need to look on the<br />

bright side. Like me, you have problems,<br />

but then again, you too are lucky. Devote<br />

a few hours to listing why.<br />

Oh, and be careful what you<br />

Google.•<br />

After 25 years, Dale Moss<br />

retired as <strong>Indiana</strong> columnist for<br />

The Courier-Journal. He now<br />

writes weekly for the News and<br />

Tribune. Dale and his wife Jean<br />

live in Jeffersonville in a house<br />

that has been in his family<br />

since the Civil War. Dale’s<br />

e-mail is dale.moss@twc.com<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 9


A Walk in the Garden with Bob Hill<br />

Dancing with Caladiums in the Summer Shade<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 10


Not even counting their incredible<br />

color, utility and diversity,<br />

I’m thinking the fun with caladiums<br />

begins with just pronouncing<br />

the word — ka-lay-dee-um.<br />

It just kind of rolls, dances and<br />

bounces off the tongue (ka—lay—dee—<br />

um) like a rubber ball. It just has a lot<br />

more sex appeal than, say, another leafy<br />

derivative — sour-kraut.<br />

Even more appealing are the incredible<br />

number of new caladiums that have<br />

made their way into the home-garden<br />

market in the past few years, almost giving<br />

coral bells and coreopsis a run for<br />

their money.<br />

Yes, there is that little problem that<br />

caladiums are native to places like South<br />

America, with the numerical “hardy in<br />

zone 9 to 11” stamped onto their backs.<br />

Yes, to be preserved they must be dug up<br />

around here and stored over winter, a feat<br />

most gardeners enjoy as much as weeding<br />

thistles. But you can also cheat a little bit<br />

on that, too, by growing them in containers<br />

later stored at the foot of your bed, or<br />

at least the basement.<br />

Editorial comment I: They are worth<br />

the trouble.<br />

Editorial comment II: Look at these<br />

accompanying photos. Where else can<br />

you get such beauty for such little money<br />

and trouble?<br />

Barely 10 years ago, caladiums were<br />

just sort of interesting space-fillers in our<br />

partial shade and well-drained soil. I had<br />

a few, never bothered to dig them up, and<br />

never had a pang of guilt. I’m over that.<br />

But truth be told, they don’t cost that<br />

much and you can just reload every spring<br />

while on the road to winter recovery.<br />

Fabulous general caladium background:<br />

Caladiums we use are related to<br />

the tropical plants that grew in the Amazon<br />

Basin, where they were discovered in<br />

the late 1700s by French plant explorers,<br />

some who apparently had lost their compasses.<br />

The earliest caladium hybridizer<br />

was Louis Van Houtte, who back in the<br />

1850s began to breed the great-greatgreat-grandparents<br />

of the bulbs we see<br />

today.<br />

Moving on to 1867, the public got<br />

its first glimpses of the plant at the French<br />

Exposition, and soon afterward a Cincinnati<br />

florist named Julius Peterson began<br />

to run with it, and breeders have never<br />

stopped. Chief among them was Dr.<br />

Henry Nehrling, who was soon growing<br />

about 200,000 of them at his home place<br />

in Florida — a site, no surprise here, now<br />

very close to Walt Disney World.<br />

There are now literally thousands of<br />

cultivars out there, and if you really need<br />

a fix, Lake Placid, Florida, hosts an annual<br />

caladium festival in July, complete with<br />

wine, beer, bluegrass and 100,000 caladiums<br />

in city streets and parks. The public<br />

relations material said nothing of a Miss<br />

Caladium Contest.<br />

Fabulous caladium planting details:<br />

Yes, the planting is mostly a late-springto-early-summer<br />

deal, but if I don’t put<br />

the bug in your ear now — and show you<br />

the results — you’re not going to think<br />

about it.<br />

Caladiums need well-drained soil.<br />

They love shade, although they can do<br />

fine with six hours of sun if you keep<br />

them well-watered. In general, they come<br />

in three types — “Fancy Leaf,” “Strap<br />

Leaf and “Dwarf.”<br />

If you want to brighten up the shade,<br />

as we do here at Hidden Hill, plant the<br />

pure white Moonlight, White Christmas<br />

or Candidum bulbs — the latter being<br />

around for more than 150 years.<br />

Caladiums should be planted knobby<br />

side up — their bottoms are smooth<br />

to the touch. Being the gregarious sort,<br />

all they will need is about 2 inches of soil<br />

cover. Yes, they need regular watering —<br />

show me a plant this side of cactus that<br />

doesn’t.<br />

Important mathematical information:<br />

Ok, it’s April 2018 and you are<br />

searching the aisles of your favorite plantcrushed<br />

box store and you see bags of<br />

caladiums. Check their size, if it’s mentioned<br />

on the package at all, and it can be<br />

a little misleading.<br />

The No. 4 size will be the smallest<br />

— maybe three-fourths of an inch. As the<br />

numbers decrease the size goes up — with<br />

a No. 1 being 1½ to 2 inches. The bulbs<br />

also come in jumbo, mammoth and super<br />

mammoth – the later more than 4 inches in<br />

diameter. If you are really serious, Google<br />

the many wholesale, mail-order caladium<br />

factories; most of them are in Florida.<br />

Yes, dig them up: We have a lot of<br />

Be creative. Caladiums are fun.<br />

We plant ours in an old<br />

wheelbarrow, hollow tree stumps,<br />

window boxes and funky pots.<br />

newer bulbs this year, I’ve bonded with<br />

them, and their bulbs have grown larger.<br />

Dig them with leaves on before the first serious<br />

frost. Label the plants. Let the whole<br />

package dry a few days. Place them in<br />

mesh bags with peat moss as a separator.<br />

Store them where the temperature hangs<br />

above 65 degrees — just like the bulbs.<br />

Fabulous planting ideas: Be creative.<br />

Caladiums are fun. We plant ours in<br />

an old wheelbarrow, hollow tree stumps,<br />

window boxes and funky pots. Put them<br />

all over the shady place. Put on some Latin<br />

music. Begin dancing the kay-lay-deeum.<br />

•<br />

About the Author<br />

Bob Hill owns Hidden Hill<br />

Nursery and can be<br />

reached at farmerbob@<br />

hiddenhillnursery.com.<br />

For more information,<br />

including nursery hours<br />

and event information, go<br />

to www.hiddenhillnursery.<br />

com<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 11


Our Town<br />

Our Town:<br />

Ferdinand, <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

Story by Sara Combs<br />

Photos provided by Dubois County Visitors Center<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 12<br />

Pictured:<br />

(this page) Fall foliage at the Ferdinand State Forest; (right hand page, top) The view coming<br />

into Ferdinand; (right hand page, bottom) Boating and fishing at Ferdinand State Forest.


Debbie Johnson and her husband,<br />

Jeff, moved to Ferdinand<br />

in 1977 when he accepted a<br />

teaching position at Forest Park<br />

Jr./Sr. High School. “We stayed for many<br />

reasons,” said Johnson, a town council<br />

member since 2008 and manager of Ferdinand<br />

Farmers Insurance Group. “Most<br />

important, it was a perfect place to raise<br />

our children.”<br />

“The community is just that — a<br />

community,” she added, “with people<br />

of all ages working together to make the<br />

town a better place for everyone to live.”<br />

Education is valued, and that is<br />

something Johnson appreciates. “Schools<br />

are safe and recognized for quality education,”<br />

she said. Besides the junior-senior<br />

high school, the town is home to Ferdinand<br />

Elementary, a four-star school. It is<br />

just a 20-minute drive to Vincennes University<br />

Jasper and a 10-minute drive to St.<br />

Meinrad School of Theology.<br />

“Ferdinand has two beautiful, wellkept<br />

parks,” Johnson said. “They are not<br />

only used by our children and families,<br />

but where the Ferdinand Folk Festival<br />

and Heimatfest are held.”<br />

Ferdinand was founded in 1840 by<br />

the Rev. Joseph Kundek. The town, which<br />

had mostly German-speaking people,<br />

was named after the Emperor Ferdinand I<br />

of Austria. Its post offce opened a decade<br />

later. Ferdinand blends natural beauty<br />

with agriculture and industrial development<br />

and maintains a strong Catholic<br />

faith.<br />

The town’s serenity is accented by<br />

the profile of the Sisters of St. Benedict<br />

Monastery of Immaculate Conception.<br />

The monastery overlooks the town and<br />

is a highlight of Ferdinand’s Historical<br />

Walking Tour, which features more than<br />

40 sites. The tour is a mile long and can<br />

be easily driven. (For more information<br />

about the tour, see visitduboiscounty.<br />

com.)<br />

Often referred to as the Castle on<br />

the Hill, the architecturally Romanesque<br />

monastery was built between 1915 and<br />

1924 and restored in 2005. Its features<br />

include an 87-foot-high dome with 89<br />

angels in the interior, and it is on the National<br />

Register of Historic Places.<br />

Other sites on the walking tour include<br />

the Olinger Building (now Fleig’s<br />

Cafe), the Wollenmann House, Sonderman<br />

Store (now Antique Emporium) and<br />

Ferdinand Catholic Church, which was<br />

built in 1848.<br />

When the Olinger Building was<br />

completed in 1908, it was the first concrete<br />

building in Ferdinand, according<br />

to former owner Richard Helming. The<br />

building houses Fleig’s Cafe, a sports bar<br />

with a family dining room, which was<br />

“The community is just that —<br />

a community, with people of all ages<br />

working together to make the town a<br />

better place for everyone to live.”<br />

- Debbie Johnson<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 13


Often referred to as the<br />

Castle on the Hill, the<br />

architecturally Romanesque<br />

monastery was built<br />

between 1915 and 1924<br />

and restored in 2005. Its<br />

features include an 87-foothigh<br />

dome with 89 angels<br />

in the interior, and it is on<br />

the National Register of<br />

Historic Places.<br />

Pictured: (top) Autumn at the Monastery Immaculate Conception; (bottom) the interior<br />

of the Monastery is beautifully restored.<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 14


established by Ed Fleig. Helming bought<br />

the cafe from Fleig’s son, Fred, and sold it<br />

to its current owner, Rick Kitten, 11 years<br />

ago. “The cafe is a gathering place for the<br />

community,” Johnson said. “It is a fun<br />

place to get together to eat and visit.”<br />

The Wollenmann House, now Monkey<br />

Hollow Winery, was built in 1903 by<br />

Ben Seufert Construction for Dr. Alois<br />

Wollenmann — and it was the first Ferdinand<br />

home to have indoor plumbing.<br />

Dr. Wollenmann was born in Switzerland<br />

and the structure combines elements of<br />

the late 19th-century Swiss Cottage Revival<br />

with Craftsman details. Besides the<br />

winery, the current establishment features<br />

an impressive soup, sandwich, salad and<br />

dessert menu, and the building is on the<br />

National Register of Historic Places.<br />

Sonderman Store was established<br />

in 1893 and is now a 15,000-square-foot<br />

Antique Emporium and Bistro. “This was<br />

once a furniture factory,” said manager<br />

Julie Patton. “And we have a furniture factory<br />

in back — Keith Fritz Furniture.” The<br />

emporium features more than 50 vendors,<br />

with visitors from throughout the country.<br />

At one time live music was featured;<br />

an exposed brick wall has signatures of<br />

performers.<br />

Manufacturing is the town’s chief<br />

industry, and its major employers are<br />

MasterBrand Cabinets and Best Home<br />

Furniture. Seufert Construction and Engineering<br />

has also been in business in the<br />

area for many years.<br />

There is no shortage of leisure opportunities.<br />

Ferdinand State Forest, created<br />

just prior to World War II by the<br />

Civilian Conservation Corps, offers camping,<br />

hunting, swimming, fishing, hiking<br />

and nature-watching. Ferdinand is home<br />

to three lakes, and it is within a 10-minute<br />

drive of Holiday World and Lincoln State<br />

Park.<br />

The city already had many businesses<br />

at the beginning of the 20th century, including<br />

a machine works, a brick works,<br />

brewery, several taverns and a dairy. The<br />

town was incorporated in 1905 and a year<br />

later the Ferdinand News was established<br />

as the local newspaper.<br />

Located in Dubois County in southwest<br />

<strong>Indiana</strong>, Ferdinand’s residents embrace<br />

its rich history, but the town continues<br />

to grow and develop with new<br />

housing and ongoing industrial development,<br />

offcials say.<br />

“The people who live here care about<br />

their neighbors and their neighborhoods,”<br />

Johnson said. “There is a tremendous<br />

amount of pride of ownership, which is<br />

reflected in well-maintained property. I<br />

encourage anyone looking for a wonderful<br />

place to live to check it out.” •<br />

Pictured: (top) Jousting at the Rosenvolk German Medieval Festival (Picture Captured by the Dubois<br />

County Herald); (bottom) Fire-breathing at the Rosenvolk German Medieval Festival<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 15


812-739-4264 • Only 3 miles from I-64 at Exit 92<br />

Pictured: (top) A wide variety of wine options and samples<br />

are available at the Ferdinand Christkindlmarkt taking<br />

place Nov. 18-19; (right) Over 200 Vendor Booths of<br />

handcrafted items on display at the Ferdinand Christkindlmarkt.<br />

Our Eclipse Party<br />

The Overlook Restaurant<br />

positioned uniquely above<br />

the beautiful Ohio River and<br />

Horseshoe Bend, with an<br />

amazing panoramic view for<br />

miles.<br />

We offer a full menu including<br />

our wonderful weekend<br />

specials.<br />

We accept reservations for<br />

parties of 13 or more and<br />

honor one hour call ahead<br />

seating for anything less. We<br />

also set up buffets for larger<br />

parties.<br />

Our hours of operation<br />

are 11-8 Sunday through<br />

Thursday and 11-9 on Friday<br />

and Saturday. Our winter<br />

hours will take affect in<br />

November. Times will be<br />

updated on our Facebook<br />

page and our website.<br />

You can check us out on<br />

Facebook and at our website,<br />

www.theoverlook.com or<br />

contact us at 812-739-4264.<br />

The Ferdinand Folk Festival features free all day music from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on September 16.<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 16


Festivals of Ferdinand<br />

Ferdinand Folk Festival<br />

Joshua Davis, a finalist on NBC’s popular series The Voice,<br />

will headline Ferdinand’s eighth-annual Folk Festival,<br />

which is set for Sept. 16 at 18th Street Park. The festival is<br />

a family-friendly event promoting music, the arts and the<br />

environment. Admission is free.<br />

Other musical acts that will be appearing this year include<br />

Justin Johnson, a Nashville-based Americana recording artist;<br />

multi-instrumentalist Rachael Davis; Tim Grimm and<br />

the Family Band; Jeffrey Martin; and others.<br />

There will be fun activities for children, and area gardeners<br />

and farmers will be on hand with fresh produce.<br />

For more information, visit ferdinandfolkfestival.com.<br />

Christkindlmarkt<br />

The biggest event in Ferdinand is the Christkindlmarkt,<br />

which will be held this year on Nov. 18 and 19. The event<br />

celebrates the town’s German heritage with more than 200<br />

lavishly decorated booths spilling over with hand-created<br />

items, antiques, art, delicious regional food and wine, live<br />

entertainment, free concerts and tours. Booths will be open<br />

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday<br />

(EST).<br />

Attractions will include a Black Forest organ grinder, children’s<br />

craft workshops, glockenspiel performances, guided<br />

tours of the Monastery of Immaculate Conception, Santa<br />

Claus, Holiday Cabaret on Strings, Marionette Theater,<br />

Lights on the Grotto, a Sisters of St. Benedict concert and<br />

more.<br />

Featuring Music by 20 Acts<br />

The seventh-annual St. Meinrad Rocks Fest, a familyfriendly<br />

music event, will take place Sept. 22 and 23 at<br />

the town park and, for the first time ever, will have free<br />

admission.<br />

The event, put on by Inkspot Productions LLC, began in<br />

2011 as a way to raise money to finish a project after the town’s<br />

sesquicentennial and has now grown into an annual event that<br />

is not to be missed!<br />

The festival features no true “headliners,” as many other<br />

fests do, and great music and talent can be enjoyed from 6 p.m.<br />

to –midnight on Friday and noon to midnight on Saturday. Two<br />

stages ensure nonstop tunes from country to classic and modern<br />

rock.<br />

Free face-painting and a live animal show will take place<br />

on Saturday. Great food concessions, as well as event and performer<br />

merchandise, will also be available all weekend.<br />

The event is sponsored by the tourism division of the Ferdinand<br />

Chamber of Commerce and the Dubois County Visitors<br />

Center and draws as many as 10,000 visitors annually.<br />

It was chosen one of the top 100 events in the nation by the<br />

American Bus Association in 2012.<br />

For more information, visit ferdinandchristkindlmarkt.com.<br />

Ferdinand Heimatfest<br />

The Heimatfest (“hometown”) festival is held the third<br />

weekend in June at 18th Street Park and features entertainment,<br />

a wide variety of activities, food and drink.<br />

For more information, visit ferdinandheimatfest.com.<br />

Rosenvolk Medieval Festival<br />

The Rosenvolk German Medieval Festival will be held October<br />

20-22 at 18th Street Park, and features shows, vendors,<br />

and a masquerade ball. Tickets are sold for the event<br />

and can be purchased online.<br />

For more information, visit rosenvolk.com.<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 17


Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 18<br />

Cover Story


The House that John Built<br />

Greenville native builds enterprise through dedication, perseverance, and hard work<br />

PPaula Jones remembers the drive<br />

up to Salem. It was 1975 or ’76,<br />

and she and her future husband,<br />

John, were taking his nieces and<br />

nephews to the Salem Speedway. They’d<br />

packed a picnic lunch. Having grown up<br />

together in Greenville, Paula and John<br />

were Floyd County people, not Washington<br />

County people yet, so any new scenery<br />

was bound to catch their eye.<br />

John was a gearhead from the getgo.<br />

As a tot in the early 1960s, he’d kept<br />

the Coke machines filled at his uncle Marvin<br />

Reisert’s Gulf filling station on U.S.<br />

Highway 150, then got his first paying job<br />

there at age 13, after his uncle sold, knocking<br />

down $1 an hour and proudly wearing<br />

the attendant’s uniform, right down to<br />

the red shop rag in his back pocket.<br />

He loved riding out with his dad to<br />

Roggenkamp’s GM dealership in Milltown,<br />

where they’d give him model cars,<br />

and he was mesmerized by his older<br />

brothers’ big block Chevelles and Impalas.<br />

Before he could drive, against his parents’<br />

wishes, he’d saved enough to buy<br />

a motorcycle, and he soon had his own<br />

muscle cars.<br />

Paula and John hadn’t dated right<br />

off the bat. He hung around with her<br />

brothers, and she was the friendly big sister<br />

type who helped him get ready for his<br />

prom date with another girl.<br />

By then, though, she understood<br />

that when a gearhead sees a previously<br />

unexplored car lot off in the distance, he is<br />

going to stop and have a look around. So<br />

on that drive to Salem, Paula just smiled<br />

when John turned into the old Liddie<br />

Chevrolet on state Highway 60.<br />

What came out of his mouth next,<br />

however, surprised her. One day, he told<br />

her, he’d own the place. Less than a decade<br />

later, he did.<br />

STARTING OUT<br />

Salem, <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

Nearly 35 years later,<br />

Jones still runs his enterprise<br />

with the same mix of<br />

concern and enthusiasm<br />

he felt when he hung out his<br />

own shingle for the first time.<br />

John Jones was born in 1956, the<br />

youngest of Elbert and Lois Jones’ five<br />

children. His father, who went by “Bud,”<br />

was a deputy sheriff in Floyd County, and<br />

his mother was a nurse. With five kids in<br />

a three-bedroom house, the family was<br />

close but money was tight. John realized<br />

early on that he could shape his own future<br />

by staying busy and taking risks.<br />

He graduated from Floyd Central<br />

High School in 1974, where he attended<br />

Prosser Vocational School, took one class<br />

at <strong>Indiana</strong> University Southeast, and realized<br />

college wasn’t for him.<br />

Working at New Albany Motor Co.,<br />

however, seemed to be a great fit. There,<br />

he worked his way up from porter/car<br />

jockey to mechanic and then salesman before<br />

leaving to work for his friend Doug<br />

Kiesler’s firearms business in Greenville.<br />

Jones soon went back and quickly made<br />

sales manager, and all told, spent 11 years<br />

there.<br />

By 1983, Bill Liddie was battling cancer<br />

and looking to sell his modest Chevy<br />

dealership, which had 13 employees and<br />

25 vehicles. Jones called Kiesler with a big<br />

idea.<br />

“He asked me if we could put our<br />

pennies together and buy it,” Kiesler recalls.<br />

And they did. Jones sold his house<br />

and everything he owned and borrowed<br />

a few bucks from a relative. It was an exciting<br />

day when the John Jones Chevrolet<br />

sign went up, quietly launching what’s<br />

grown into the John Jones Auto Group,<br />

with new-vehicle dealerships in Salem,<br />

Corydon and Scottsburg and a pre-owned<br />

lot in Greenville.<br />

In partnership with Brett Wilson in<br />

Corydon and Brad Niehoff in Greenville,<br />

Jones employs more than 200 people and<br />

sells over 5,000 cars a year from the Chevy,<br />

Buick, Cadillac, Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler,<br />

RAM and Fiat lines as well as pre-owned<br />

vehicles. You can barely drive anywhere<br />

in <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> without seeing their<br />

billboards.<br />

By any measure, the big gamble<br />

paid off, and yet, nearly 35 years later,<br />

Jones still runs his enterprise with the<br />

same mix of concern and enthusiasm he<br />

felt when he hung out his own shingle for<br />

the first time.<br />

BUILDING AN ENTERPRISE<br />

Story by Cary Stemle<br />

Photos by John Sodrel<br />

Based on interviews with people<br />

who know him, Jones could fairly be described<br />

as patient and measured, sociable<br />

but shy, and possessing an unassuming<br />

dry sense of humor. He’s a creature of<br />

habit, up at 5:45 each morning, super-neat<br />

and highly organized, deliberative but<br />

decisive and seemingly four or five steps<br />

ahead of most folks.<br />

“He’s not a checkers player, he’s a<br />

chess player,” Kiesler tells me. “No matter<br />

what widget he’s buying, he researches it<br />

and makes himself an expert.”<br />

One sweltering July morning, I drive<br />

up from Clark County to meet him at his<br />

flagship store in Salem on state Highway<br />

60, a stone’s throw from the old Liddie<br />

site.<br />

Today he’s neatly dressed in black<br />

slacks, a blue houndstooth dress shirt and<br />

black loafers. His sizable and uncluttered<br />

offce, down a long hallway in the administrative<br />

building, offers hints about how<br />

he runs his show.<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 19


O<br />

SALEM<br />

OUR HISTORY<br />

CORYDON<br />

1983<br />

2015<br />

1991<br />

2012<br />

COLLISION CENTER & ADMINISTRATION<br />

1995<br />

2004<br />

GREENVILLE<br />

1999<br />

SCOTTSBURG<br />

2001<br />

2015<br />

CHRYSLER<br />

2015<br />

POLICE PURSUIT VEHICLES Celebrating 34 Years in <strong>2017</strong><br />

2015<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 20


The decor is contemporary and understated,<br />

with deep red and silver accents<br />

and maple furniture with a cherry<br />

finish. General Motors knickknacks,<br />

framed memorabilia and family photos<br />

are displayed but not overdone. Technology<br />

nearly dominates the space. A computer<br />

on the front side of his desk lets<br />

longtime executive assistant Christi Baldwin<br />

share his desktop, while Jones himself<br />

uses three large computer monitors to<br />

more easily jump between programs.<br />

On the wall to his left, an array of<br />

Karen Hanger reminds Jones that her<br />

family bought a car in the 1970’s, he<br />

gleefully locates the card and recites<br />

details of the transaction.<br />

We take a walk outside, away from<br />

the dealership and up a paved lane past<br />

a security fence. This is his personal space<br />

— more than 50 acres with four spacious<br />

outbuildings, a pond, open ground and<br />

some subleased acreage planted in soybeans<br />

and, straight ahead, the house he<br />

built on the edge of a subdivision he developed<br />

and designed with his family’s<br />

Clockwise: Christi Baldwin, Executive<br />

Assistant, discusses the schedule with<br />

Jones; Jones, center, discusses sales with<br />

Salem Sales Manager Troy Seay, left,<br />

and Scott Rose, Salem Salesperson; on<br />

the wall left of Jones’ desk is an array of<br />

monitors showing closed circuit feeds<br />

from dealerships; Jones reminisces as<br />

he shows his original customer index<br />

card files beginning in 1979.<br />

monitors show closed-circuit feeds from<br />

his dealerships. Each site has 30 cameras<br />

— Jones says these are mostly for the security<br />

of our customers and employees.<br />

There are often times, he glances up and<br />

will see familiar faces in the dealerships<br />

and is able to go over and chat with them<br />

(however, not as often as he would like).<br />

Behind Jones sits “The Box,” an old<br />

recipe holder that tells the stories of his<br />

early days as an owner. Before computers<br />

took hold, Paula would type customer information<br />

onto a card, which helped John<br />

recall important details and build out<br />

his Christmas card list from year to year.<br />

When <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> <strong>Living</strong> publisher<br />

privacy in mind.<br />

Heavy equipment fills most of the<br />

outbuildings. Jones loves this stuff and<br />

knows how to use it. Kiesler cracks up<br />

when he describes how Paula teases him<br />

about it — “Well, Mr. Jones had to go out<br />

and buy another tractor today …” — but<br />

it seems to calm him and feed his need for<br />

continuous progress.<br />

Like all of Jones’ spaces, this building<br />

is neat, organized and pristine. You<br />

might not mind eating off the floor. And,<br />

though vehicle collecting isn’t really his<br />

thing, there are a few staged here.<br />

The son of a law enforcement offcer<br />

and a longtime Washington County reserve<br />

offcer himself, Jones has developed<br />

a sub-specialty customizing vehicles for<br />

departments from New York to Florida.<br />

Some of these SUVs and pickups in this<br />

building are about ready to go out. In 2015<br />

Jones opened a Police Pursuit Vehicles division<br />

located in Salem, where they are a<br />

one-stop-shop for first responder departments.<br />

Throughout the week, he often<br />

drives a Police demonstration vehicle and<br />

drives to various Departments to demonstrate<br />

the product. He is and always will<br />

be a firm believer, whatever you are selling,<br />

you have to possess knowledge and<br />

be able to demonstrate your product.<br />

Also, in this building sits a Harley<br />

Davidson police bike — Jones often leads<br />

parades or funeral processions in Washington<br />

County — and a white 1984 Cadillac<br />

Fleetwood Brougham. He sold it to a<br />

customer during his Salem dealership’s<br />

first year and eventually got it back with<br />

original paperwork and 7,000 miles.<br />

And then there is the vintage Cub<br />

Cadet lawn tractor.<br />

About once a year, Jones gets one<br />

of those “have-I-got-something-for-you”<br />

phone calls that he often ignores. But this<br />

caller had Bud Jones’ old Cub Cadet, the<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 21


one John grew up riding. Jones paid $200,<br />

had it delivered to Jacobi’s mower store,<br />

then promptly forgot about it until he<br />

went in a year later for something else and<br />

Phil Jacobi asked him “what do you want<br />

to do with it”. When Jones walked past<br />

that Cub Cadet he knew right away it was<br />

his. In the fourth grade he was given safety<br />

stickers at school that were intended<br />

for his bicycle, however, he put them on<br />

his mower. The stickers, while very dated,<br />

were still on it and it brought back a lot<br />

of memories for him. He then had it completely<br />

restored back to it’s orginal glory.<br />

“I guess I may be sentimental after<br />

all,” Jones says with a grin.<br />

Material success can exact a price.<br />

When people see your name on a billboard,<br />

they figure your money grows on<br />

trees and they feel free to judge everything<br />

about you.<br />

Jones accepts this as part of the territory,<br />

like economic cycles and shifting<br />

consumer tastes and arbitrary rules<br />

passed down from manufacturers to dealers.<br />

And now, social media hurls the public’s<br />

slings and arrows further and faster.<br />

Paula knows their family is blessed,<br />

with three grown children, and seven<br />

grandchildren, she says the greatest days<br />

are when the whole family is home and<br />

we are able to spend time with them. But<br />

John is never, not working. He’s often in<br />

the offce till 11 or 12 at night. People don’t<br />

realize just how involved John is, from the<br />

selling of vehicles, to paying the bills, he<br />

tries to keep up with everything that is going<br />

on in all aspects of the business.”<br />

Jones is notoriously hard-driving,<br />

but some years ago he had a realization:<br />

Most people simply are not as particular<br />

as he is. He doesn’t love that, but it was a<br />

relief because it helped him come to grips<br />

with how the workforce has changed<br />

since he entered nearly five decades ago.<br />

His company still attracts excellent people<br />

for employment, he said, but it’s so much<br />

harder to find them than it was a few<br />

years ago.<br />

Not that he’s lowered his own standards.<br />

He still can’t stand to leave anything<br />

on his desk at the end of the day, so<br />

most nights after having dinner with Paula<br />

(and probably clearing some brush),<br />

he’ll walk down to his offce to knock out<br />

any unfinished business.<br />

And he still minds the small stuff.<br />

Employees are expected to answer all<br />

of their emails and voice mails — that’s<br />

monitored. Every two hours, receptionists<br />

email him an update of who’s in various<br />

waiting areas and how long they’ve been<br />

in there. On Fridays, the last thing Jones<br />

does is review every customer correspondence<br />

to make sure customers are being<br />

taken care of.<br />

Thirty-four years after he became an<br />

owner at the ripe age of 27, he shows no<br />

signs of slowing down. He’s not thinking<br />

much about a succession plan yet — “I’m<br />

waiting to see who wants to be the next<br />

person to run this ship,” he says. Two of<br />

three Jones children work for the company<br />

and are very involved in the day-to-<br />

Thirty-four years<br />

after he became<br />

an owner<br />

at the ripe age of 27,<br />

he shows no signs<br />

of slowing down.<br />

Below: John with a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham that he<br />

sold his first year in business, and later bought back.<br />

The showroom in Salem is filled with the color choices of new Corvettes.<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 22


Pictured: (top) The immaculate service department is a busy place. . (bottom) In the background is the Cub Cadet Jones grew up riding. Jones often leads funeral processions and parades<br />

on one of the three Harleys.<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 23


day processes.<br />

I ask Jones to reflect. How’d he get<br />

here?<br />

“Stair steps. I just take one thing at<br />

a time,” he says. “All the way through<br />

from emptying the garbage to owning one<br />

dealership to the next and the next.”<br />

“I have a very good group of employees,<br />

and we all work hard every day<br />

to keep it all going. Some employees have<br />

been with me since the very first day I<br />

opened. Whether, it’s employees or customers,<br />

loyalty is rare, if you find it you<br />

need to keep it.”<br />

One more question. Would the diehard<br />

GM driver have sold his house and<br />

hocked everything if Liddie happened to<br />

sell Fords?<br />

Jones pauses, then smiles. “Probably<br />

not. Things were a little different back<br />

then. You were a Chevy, Ford or Dodge<br />

person. Back then I was a Chevy guy.<br />

However, I could adapt now, just as I did<br />

with the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram lines<br />

but not then at 27 years old.” •<br />

PIctured (top):<br />

Left to right, back row: Ben Harritt, Adam Kahn, Paula<br />

Jones, John Jones, Tracy Jones, Nathan Jones; middle row:<br />

Lauran Harritt, Sullivan Harritt, Morgan Jones, Eloise<br />

Kahn; front row: Brooklyn Jones, Adrienne Hoar, Estella<br />

Kahn, Kipton Harritt, Jaelin Hoar.<br />

“I just take one thing at a time.<br />

All the way through from emptying the garbage to<br />

owning one dealership to the next and the next.”<br />

- John Jones<br />

John, on the picturesque grounds between his home and dealership.<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 24


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The Grind 5k Run - October 14th<br />

October 14th will be our 5th annual “The Grind”.<br />

Packet pick up and race day registration will begin<br />

at 7:30am and the race will begin at approximately<br />

9:00am.<br />

Oktoberfest - October 29th<br />

Beck’s Mill will celebrate their German Heritage<br />

with the 8th annual Oktoberfest on Saturday, Oct.<br />

29th (11 am to 4 pm). Campfire beans served with<br />

Beck’s Mill cornbread. Cornmeal bake off contest.<br />

A “Mock Moonshine” demonstration will be<br />

on display. County Wide Student Art Show.<br />

Demonstrations, crafts & music.<br />

HOURS:<br />

Fridays 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM;<br />

Saturdays 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM;<br />

Sundays 1 to 4:00 PM<br />

Admission Charges:<br />

Adults $5.00; Children under 16 free<br />

(with paid adult admission)<br />

For more information on all the events<br />

in Washington County check out our website www.washingtoncountytourism.com<br />

Friday Night on the Square Friday, Sept. 15<br />

The City of Salem also takes on an added new charm<br />

with dozens of booths and food vendors lining its<br />

streets, in the downtown area, for Friday Night on<br />

the Square, the offcial kick-off to Old Settlers’ Days<br />

weekend. Always a big event, the festival brings<br />

young and old alike together into an artful array of<br />

pure pleasure and enrichment from this carefully<br />

crafted and staged event.<br />

Old Settlers’ Days • Sept. 16-17<br />

John Hay Center - Pioneer Village - Salem<br />

Old Settlers’ Days is an annual, free to the public<br />

festival, first established and held for the community<br />

in 1875, to commemorate and honor the pioneers<br />

who settled the wilderness lands of the <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

Territory that would eventually become Washington<br />

County. Guests can catch a glimpse into the daily<br />

life of a typical territorial settlement and quickly<br />

find themselves transported back in time by an<br />

assortment of reenactments reminiscent of how life<br />

in Washington County’s early days was. The grounds<br />

of the John Hay Center is also covered by artisan,<br />

food and vendor booths, offering an array of unique<br />

shopping opportunities, and various musical acts<br />

perform over the weekend for everyone’s enjoyment.<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 25


SIRH Stroke Camp<br />

FOOD + FELLOWSHIP + FUN = FUNDS<br />

The 22nd annual Stroke Camp from Sept. 21-23 will provide relaxation<br />

and recreation for those who have suffered a stroke, while giving<br />

a weekend of valuable respite for their caregivers. Sponsored by<br />

<strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> Rehabilitation Hospital, the camp is at Country Lake<br />

Christian Retreat in Henryville at no cost to the participants thanks to<br />

the community and individual support.<br />

To raise funds for the Stroke Camp, SIRH staffers hosted a cookout<br />

recently that also served some who had attended in the past. The menu<br />

included a dose of enthusiasm for the experience as well.<br />

Bill Tracy; Norman Kruer; Lindsey Allen, health information<br />

management representative; and SIRH Executive Director Bill<br />

Boso.<br />

Betty Hayes, first impressionist at Country Lake Christian Retreat; Candy<br />

King; Kyle Thrasher, SIRH inpatient rehabilitation specialist; Pat Johnson; and<br />

Gerry Stewart.<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 26<br />

Pearls to Grow On<br />

1si HIGHLIGHTS CENTER FOR WOMEN AND FAMILIES<br />

Marta Miranda Straub, center, Chief Empowerment Offcer of The Center<br />

for Women and Families, was the guest speaker at the Pearls of Wisdom<br />

Breakfast this summer, sponsored by One <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong>. Other sponsors<br />

were Leah Driver of Rodefer Moss, Stephanie Hester of Park Community<br />

Credit Union, committee member Jill Peden of L & D Mail Masters, 1si CEO<br />

Wendy Dant Chesser, and Jennifer Moore of PNC Bank. The next breakfast<br />

in the quarterly series, of which <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> <strong>Living</strong> is a sponsor, is<br />

Sept. 13, with speaker Ali Truttmann, owner of Wicked Sheets.<br />

These pages are sponsored by WesBanco<br />

SIRH staffers Deb Strickler, recreational therapist; Charlie White,<br />

maintenance mechanic; Bryan Raymer, inpatient rehab supervisor;<br />

Logan May, assistant maintenance mechanic; and Linda<br />

Moore, director of inpatient therapy.


All on Board<br />

for the Community<br />

NON-PROFITS CHANGE LIVES<br />

PURE EDUCATION INITIATIVE<br />

Founded in 2012, Pure is helping transform the communities in Clark,<br />

Floyd, Harrison, Jefferson, Scott, and Switzerland counties in <strong>Southern</strong><br />

<strong>Indiana</strong> and Trimble and Carroll counties in Kentucky by creating<br />

a culture that embraces sexual integrity and respect for life. Board<br />

members are, seated, Director Shari McCutcheon and Development<br />

Director Sandy Sorrells. Standing are Ashly Lowe, Mary Munford,<br />

Mary Wallace, and Carla Goins. Not pictured are Patti Howard, Jim<br />

Munford, and Jeni Scudder.<br />

MERCY’S EDGE MINISTRIES<br />

Educational programs and mentoring for incarcerated men and women in several prisons in <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> is the hallmark of Mercy’s Edge as<br />

they help train people for life after their release. Board of Trustees members are, standing, Executive Director Mickey Utz, Leland Harbeson, Billy<br />

Townsend, and Darren Pavey. Seated are Board President Daryll Walters, Michael Franklin, Eloise Carlisle, and the Rev. Dr. Jerry Smart. Not<br />

pictured is Sarah Lentz.<br />

Together Again<br />

LEADERSHIP SOUTHERN INDIANA HOSTS ALUMNI BASH<br />

Leadership <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> graduates in Clark and Floyd counties gathered recently at the Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center<br />

for the second annual Alumni Bash, uniting those who have participated in the program’s several programs since 1983.<br />

www.wesbanco.com<br />

WesBanco, Inc. is a Member FDIC<br />

(top) The Class of 2016 won the competition for having the most alumni<br />

present. From left to right in front are Sarah Hunter, Marcia Mattingly,<br />

Melanie Clark, Kirsten Bullock, Sue Christopher, and Catherine Dunn. In<br />

back are Luanne Mattson, Brent Rogers, Brett Clark, Reed Martin, Charlie<br />

Archer, and Bruce Morris. // Photo courtesy of Morris Images<br />

These pages are sponsored by WesBanco<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 27


<strong>Southern</strong><br />

IndIana<br />

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

Local Business Spotlight<br />

BUSY. BUSY.<br />

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Bus: 812-945-8088<br />

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America’s Land Specialist<br />

Larry Bye<br />

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190 S. St. Rd. 66<br />

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Cell: 812-267-2752<br />

Office: 812-365-9333<br />

Fax: 812-365-3184<br />

State Farm Life Insurance Company (Not licensed in<br />

MA, NY or WI), State Farm Life and Accident Assurance<br />

Company (Licensed in NY and WI)<br />

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Check out our website:<br />

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Follow us on Facebook:<br />

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Attorney & Counselor At Law<br />

P.O. Box 1<br />

8163 W. State Rd. 56, Suite H<br />

West Baden Springs, IN 47469<br />

Phone: 812.936.9090<br />

Fax: 812.936.9091<br />

E-mail: springsvalleyattorney@gmail.com<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 28


Local Business Spotlight<br />

Classic Oldies<br />

FM 102.7<br />

AM 1550<br />

Original Do-Wopp<br />

Rock & Roll Music<br />

is now on FM<br />

at 102.7!<br />

Harrison County’s Radio Station<br />

Experts in<br />

Rehabilitation<br />

Our Moving Forward program is designed for<br />

those striving to restore abilities lost due to stroke,<br />

cardiovascular difficulties, orthopedic surgery<br />

and other debilitating conditions.<br />

Additional Services:<br />

• Skilled Nursing Care<br />

• Long Term Care<br />

• Respite<br />

• Hospice<br />

Listen to Harrison County Boys & Girls Basketball on WOCC<br />

Gift Certificates Available<br />

ASCSeniorCare.com<br />

IF YOUR HOUSE IS TOO BIG, TRY<br />

ONE OF OURS ON FOR SIZE.<br />

Waxing Hair Massages<br />

Pedicures<br />

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Make-Up<br />

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Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 29


Local Business Spotlight<br />

Come Join Us For:<br />

• Cabin Rentals<br />

• Family Reunions<br />

• Weddings<br />

• Corporate Meetings<br />

• Retreats<br />

• Fishing<br />

• Hiking<br />

• Tennis<br />

• Or Do Nothing At All!<br />

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Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 30<br />

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1-800-847-0770<br />

Fax: 812-347-2166<br />

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Theatre in <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

Setting the Stage<br />

NAHS Theatre Arts hosts festive gala<br />

Rave reviews here and internationally<br />

are nothing new for New Albany<br />

High School Theatre Arts.<br />

From its enviable celebrity status<br />

as a feature in the 1939 issue of Life magazine<br />

to its more recent feature in The New<br />

York Times, the program has earned accolades<br />

through the decades. Along the way<br />

it has helped direct the talents and career<br />

paths of dozens of notable performers and<br />

entertainment industry stars.<br />

Now the local arts program itself is<br />

in the spotlight as the host of a one-timeonly<br />

fund raiser for much needed equipment<br />

and materials.<br />

The public is invited to the New Albany<br />

Theatre Arts Gala at 6 p.m. on Friday,<br />

Sept. 22, at the sponsoring Calumet<br />

Club, 1614 E. Spring St. in downtown<br />

Red<br />

White&<br />

Blush<br />

New Albany. Guests will be treated to<br />

hors d’oeuvres, dinner by Stumler’s Catering,<br />

silent and live auctions, and entertainment<br />

by The Juice Box Heroes. New<br />

Albany Theatre alumnus Jesse Rasmussen<br />

of 106.9 Play! will serve as emcee.<br />

“The evening will be electric as our<br />

proud community, including many theatre<br />

alumni, will come together to celebrate<br />

our rich theatre arts tradition,”<br />

said director Amy Harpenau. Alumni<br />

have gone on to perform on Broadway<br />

and in television, work in arts production<br />

and talent management, and find success<br />

in a myriad of other related careers, she<br />

added.<br />

In addition to the major sponsorship<br />

of The Calumet Club, other individuals<br />

and businesses are invited to purchase<br />

Photos provided by NAHS Theatre<br />

tables and sponsorships at various levels.<br />

All money raised will provide such necessary<br />

items as lighting upgrades, wireless<br />

microphones for actors, Telex headsets<br />

for technical workers, upgrades for the<br />

construction crew, costuming equipment,<br />

supplies for students in need, new shop<br />

equipment, stage curtains, and much<br />

more.<br />

Tickets for the gala are limited to the<br />

first 300 people. Individual tickets are $50,<br />

and corporate tables are $750 for eight and<br />

$1,000 for 10. All corporate table sponsors<br />

will receive special benefits. •<br />

For more information about the gala or to<br />

purchase tickets before the deadline of Friday,<br />

Sept. 8, call 812-542-2290, or email Harpenau<br />

at aharpenau@nafcs.k12.in.us.<br />

Wines • Specialty Cheeses • Gourmet Food<br />

Related Accessories • Gifts • Gift Baskets<br />

Largest Selection of Local Wines in the Area.<br />

Wide Selection of wine from around the world.<br />

Upcoming Free Wine Tastings<br />

Five Year Anniversary - September 15, <strong>2017</strong><br />

Holiday Preview & Open House - November 4, <strong>2017</strong><br />

Light Up Corydon - November 25, <strong>2017</strong><br />

117 W. Walnut Street<br />

812-738-4792<br />

Historic Downtown Corydon, IN<br />

@<br />

Bring this Ad for<br />

$5 OFF<br />

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Pictured: (above, and bottom, right) Eleanor Roosevelt may have been on the cover, but local<br />

eyes took pride in the two-page spread in the 1939 issue of Life magazine that featured<br />

the acclaimed NAHS Theatre Arts. One of the vintage photos shows the end pieces of seats<br />

in the old theatre that was renovated several years ago.<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 31


Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 32


Artists of <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

Local Artist<br />

Finds Inspiration<br />

in the <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

Countryside<br />

Story by Judy Cato<br />

Photos (except where noted) by<br />

Linda Shoults<br />

Pulling into the drive that leads to<br />

the studio of Corydon artist Linda<br />

Shoults, I am greeted by Mr. Fussy<br />

and Charlie’s Pocket — horses<br />

belonging to Linda and her partner, Jim<br />

Hays, whose family has lived on this land,<br />

now called Hayswood Farm, since 1899.<br />

The place has a storybook quality: a red<br />

barn and studio on a hill overlooking their<br />

red farmhouse and vegetable garden in the<br />

valley. Black wooden fences parcel up the<br />

land, adding the finishing touch.<br />

Stepping inside the studio itself —<br />

as bright as the June day of my visit — I<br />

am engaged by a multitude of paintings<br />

that reveal secrets of this Harrison County<br />

countryside. I become absorbed in the<br />

landscape as Linda sees it. There is a closeup<br />

of a meadowlark that includes details of<br />

the bird’s dappled chest. There are winding<br />

roadscapes where light and shadow<br />

interact, and more panoramic views that<br />

take in the snow-covered fields and rolling<br />

hills as the setting for a distant farmhouse.<br />

There are amazing skyscapes that capture<br />

the <strong>Indiana</strong> sunset. And there are lots of<br />

horses, on canvases large and small.<br />

When we sit down to talk, Linda<br />

tells me about some of the places where<br />

she finds inspiration: the roads of Harrison<br />

County, Hayswood Nature Reserve,<br />

the Ohio River and Harrison County Fairgrounds,<br />

with its creek, wildlife and history.<br />

She pulls out one of her recent smaller<br />

paintings, modeled on a kingfisher she<br />

saw while walking at the fairgrounds. This<br />

colorful bird is magnificent. Linda points<br />

to the thick layers of paint which she says<br />

“is thicker than I used to paint.” She goes<br />

on to explain that her “recent mentor,<br />

Howard Friedland of Bozeman, Montana,<br />

is helping me to capture light by seeing<br />

and mixing the colors more accurately,<br />

and to maintain a thicker layer of paint between<br />

my brush and canvas.” She shows<br />

me two additional paintings that use this<br />

technique: “County Roads” and “Spring<br />

Thaw.” In both, I can feel the glimmers of<br />

sunlight.<br />

Autumn Visit, a 12x24 Oil painting by Linda Shoults<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 33


It is the eyes of her animal paintings<br />

that fascinate me. The eyes of the elk in<br />

“Bugle Boy” and the coyote in “Alerted<br />

Coyote” remind me of something I read<br />

by art critic John Berger in About Looking:<br />

“The eyes of an animal when they<br />

consider a man are attentive and wary...<br />

Man becomes aware of himself returning<br />

the look... The first subject matter for<br />

painting was the animal.” My sense that<br />

Linda was referring to this mysterious<br />

kinship between man and animal in some<br />

of her paintings was confirmed when she<br />

explained “Alerted Coyote”: “This was<br />

painted in Kansas where coyotes are prolific.<br />

I could go out at night and hear them<br />

singing in the prairies.”<br />

The mystery of the natural world is<br />

increasingly in the background of Linda’s<br />

painting as she struggles with multiple<br />

myeloma, a cancer of the blood cells. Although<br />

she has always loved horses and<br />

wildlife, she now finds herself taking<br />

more time to really be in her settings, to<br />

see more deeply. Linda is fascinated by<br />

the effects of cancer on her creative process:<br />

“When I’m quiet, the creative juices<br />

are really flowing; I’m awash with ideas.”<br />

She is also experimenting with new ways<br />

to express the effects of cancer in her art.<br />

Recently she has done some work using<br />

alcohol inks on Yupo — a polypropylene<br />

paper. “Sometimes my medications make<br />

me shaky and I cannot paint in the realistic<br />

style that I enjoy, but I need to be in the<br />

studio creating artwork. This medium has<br />

given me a creative outlet that is abstract,<br />

with brilliant colors that flow and bloom<br />

on the paper. When you are done, you are<br />

done. It is a very freeing medium.”<br />

Linda grew up in central <strong>Indiana</strong>,<br />

moved to Texas after college and then to<br />

Kansas, where she became well known as<br />

a landscape painter. But clearly, Harrison<br />

County is now her home. She is the treasurer<br />

for Harrison County Arts! Inc. She<br />

teaches private art lessons and is planning<br />

a group class for fall when she will<br />

Linda Shoults, in her studio // Photo by Maurice (Bud) Shoults<br />

take students to paint en plein air in local<br />

settings. Her studio is one of 10 on the<br />

“Hills of Harrison County Studio Tour”<br />

that runs from Oct. 1-31. She exhibits her<br />

work regularly at the Artisan Center in<br />

downtown Corydon, where her father is<br />

a volunteer. •<br />

For more information on Linda and her art, go<br />

to www.LindaShoults.com.<br />

Linda’s shop and studio at Hayswood Farm<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 34


A Passion for Helping Others<br />

Dr. Jeff Romer — a licensed<br />

marriage and family therapist,<br />

licensed clinical addiction<br />

counselor and certified psychoanalyst<br />

— has been working for Personal<br />

Counseling Service Inc. for about five<br />

years. His call to social work began in 1977<br />

when he worked in a workshop for individuals<br />

with developmental disabilities.<br />

Romer’s drift toward social work actually<br />

began with an interest in theology, and he<br />

eventually studied pastoral counseling. In<br />

the course of his undergraduate studies,<br />

his love of psychology grew and through<br />

his experiences with Lutheran Childhood<br />

Family Services of Illinois, he realized social<br />

work was his calling.<br />

Romer sat down to reflect on his<br />

passion for mental health, his own philanthropic<br />

endeavors and his advice for others<br />

looking to get more involved in their<br />

communities.<br />

How are you involved in the community?<br />

I’m involved with Lutheran Family<br />

Services of Kentuckiana. I’ve worked with<br />

them since ’92 and developed that into a<br />

full-time offce — that’s what my church<br />

family called me to do. That whole ministry<br />

and mission really promotes providing<br />

mental health services to people<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 36<br />

in need. It is faith-based in terms of its<br />

support system; in that respect it parallels<br />

PCS and its mission — that idea of helping<br />

where help is needed, which is what I<br />

came here to do.<br />

Why do you think mental health is so<br />

important?<br />

It’s a broad term that refers to people’s<br />

state of well-being or wholeness.<br />

It’s important because from a medical<br />

standpoint, it continues to be kind of the<br />

caboose, the rear end of the train; it has always<br />

been the underserved and neglected<br />

part of health care and it still is. You can<br />

have insurance, but the insurance doesn’t<br />

have to cover mental health; it’s hard to<br />

come by in any quality way.<br />

How do you find ways to act out philanthropy<br />

in your own life?<br />

My religious thing is to say that<br />

that’s not something one boasts of and<br />

I’d have to make a lot more money in my<br />

mind to be philanthropic, like (Warren)<br />

Buffett or someone like that. Lifestylewise,<br />

the notion of giving back and the<br />

notion that whatever I have really belongs<br />

to God anyway — nothing is my own —<br />

means that I’m conscious of the sense of<br />

stewardship that everything is a gift and<br />

we’re managing it. It does mean a lifestyle<br />

that has accepted low pay and some long<br />

hours and that’s true so when I subsidize<br />

people’s mental health costs, I’m really<br />

subsidizing it out of my own pocket, so<br />

I guess that’s one way to live it out as a<br />

vocation. The hard part is when you have<br />

family that’s sometimes tough to do.<br />

What do you think is the value of philanthropy?<br />

To the extent that I understand the<br />

word philanthropy — if what we mean<br />

is acts of generosity and caring — I think<br />

the value when it’s exercised lies in that<br />

mindset that ‘I never had anything on my<br />

own. I really owe everything I am at some<br />

level to other people.’ And I can say God<br />

from a religious standpoint certainly and<br />

it’s included in that. My income, community,<br />

all involves the reality of life with<br />

other people on whom I’m dependent<br />

to. So I go to the grocery store, well, who<br />

made that? Travel down the street, who<br />

made that? When am I not dependent on<br />

other people in a way for the same kind of<br />

livelihood, community, and well-being of<br />

everybody? I am always dependent. The<br />

value of philanthropy to me is that when<br />

people are being generous they are recognizing<br />

their own sense of gratitude and<br />

connectedness to other people who are a<br />

part of their life.<br />

What would you say to people looking<br />

to get more involved in the community?<br />

I think it would mean recognizing<br />

that people have something of value to<br />

offer to other people — that they are the<br />

gift to give. In one sense, they are the gift<br />

God made and the gift God offers to others<br />

in the community. That sense of having<br />

something to offer, sense of being full<br />

instead of empty, is part of it — sharing<br />

just as I have been shared with. •<br />

PCS is located in Clarksville, Ind. and has<br />

been serving the community since 1959. The<br />

organization provides counseling services in<br />

the form of psychotherapy, pastoral counseling,<br />

play therapy, trauma counseling, addictions<br />

therapy, music therapy, and more. For<br />

more information, please visit the website at<br />

www.pcs-counseling.org or call our intake coordinator<br />

at 812-283-8383 x21.


OUR PHILOSOPHY. At Wild Eggs, our goal is to<br />

offer the same level of preparation, presentation and service<br />

that guests can expect from an upscale dining experience.<br />

Hours: Monday - Friday: 6:30 am - 2:30 pm • Saturday & Sunday: 7:00 am - 3:00 pm<br />

1450 Veterans Parkway l Jeffersonville, IN 47130 l 812-913-4735 l wildeggs.com<br />

HARRISON COUNTY LIFELONG LEARNING<br />

Follow<br />

us on<br />

Adult Education Classes<br />

Free classes help students improve basic skills in preparation for career<br />

advancement, college placement or high school equivalency testing.<br />

Online remediation tools and distance learning opportunities are available.<br />

High School Equivalency Testing<br />

Harrison County Lifelong Learning is the official test site for Region 10 in<br />

<strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong>. Testing is available for Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Crawford,<br />

Scott and Washington Counties. Call the learning center for more<br />

information on the test requirements and the pre-registration process.<br />

Accuplacer Testing<br />

The placement exam for Ivy Tech Community College, University of<br />

<strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> and Vincennes University is available by appointment.<br />

101 Hwy 62 W. Suite 104 Corydon, <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

812.738.7736<br />

www.HarrisonLifelongLearning.com<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 37


<strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> Festivals<br />

Monarch Festival<br />

July 15-16, <strong>2017</strong><br />

at Hidden Hill Nursery & Scupture Gardens in Utica, <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

Over 2,000 people attended the two-day event and 300 Monarch butterflies were released to migrate.<br />

* Sponsored by <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> Arts Council *<br />

Photos by Raven Havenstein<br />

Pictured (this page, from top left, clockwise): One of the many unique sculptures that can be seen daily at Hidden Hill Nursery; Bob Hill of Hidden Hill Nursery with young girl releasing<br />

butterfly; large butterfly sculpture outside of the geodesic dome (courtesy of The Butterfly Dome Experience and Rob Roberts) where the butterflies stay and play before they are released.<br />

Pictured: (right hand page, from top left, clockwise) Butterfly sculpture seating at the event; the Butterfly Dome Experience tents set up by Rob Roberts, butterfly expert from <strong>Southern</strong><br />

<strong>Indiana</strong>; booths setup for the Monarch Festival featured art from local artists available for purchase; an oversized chair at Hidden Hill Nursery; sculptures on permanent display at Hidden<br />

Hill Nursery and artist booths set-up at the event; young girl smiling as the butterfly feeds on a cotton ball with sugar before it is released.<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 38


Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 39


Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 40


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Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 41


Life Beyond Duct Tape<br />

Not Slowing Down Yet<br />

At the age of 88, volunteer Bonnie Ryan works tirelessly to keep pantry full<br />

It was January 2009 and <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

woke up to freezing temperatures<br />

and a glimmering film of ice coating<br />

everything in sight. Our community<br />

was unusually quiet except for a few bold<br />

drivers and snow plows.<br />

The Center for Lay Ministries’<br />

(CLM) parking lot was still ice-covered<br />

when a call went out to 79-year old volunteer<br />

Bonnie Ryan, asking if she could<br />

make it in to open the food pantry. Because<br />

of the weather, the pantry had already<br />

been closed a couple of days. Bonnie<br />

didn’t hesitate to respond — of course<br />

she would be there to help those in our<br />

community who are hungry.<br />

Bonnie was trying to make it to<br />

the sidewalk outside the CLM when she<br />

lost her footing on the slick asphalt. She<br />

went down hard and fractured her pelvic<br />

bone. It took a while before some of the<br />

Bliss House residents found her on the icy<br />

pavement. When medics arrived, Bonnie<br />

begged them not to move her because of<br />

her intense pain.<br />

After surgery, Bonnie stayed in a rehabilitation<br />

facility for six weeks. She followed<br />

her doctor’s orders and exercised<br />

daily. While exercising, she noticed that<br />

most people spent the bulk of their day<br />

sitting in front of the television. “I don’t<br />

really understand television addiction —<br />

there is always something rehabilitation<br />

patients can be doing to keep their mind<br />

sharp, and many would benefit from staying<br />

physically active. I walked around<br />

the facility every day and saw things that<br />

needed to be done and then offered to<br />

help.”<br />

Bonnie helped organize the facility’s<br />

gift shop (something she said many<br />

of the residents could have done; even<br />

those with physical limitations), then she<br />

started volunteering in the laundry room.<br />

She kept busy, and that is what Bonnie<br />

does best.<br />

The day after her doctor released her,<br />

she was back volunteering at the CLM.<br />

This petite dynamo, now 88, has no intention<br />

of slowing down. “I’ve been volunteering<br />

here 15 years and I’m not ready to<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 42<br />

“I am but a ripple in the<br />

water. The more who know<br />

about the food pantry will<br />

hopefully result in more<br />

help with donations and<br />

volunteer hours and we<br />

always need both.”<br />

leave anytime soon,” Bonnie said.<br />

After working for 43 years at AT&T,<br />

Bonnie decided to make volunteering her<br />

full-time job. She faithfully works at least<br />

100 hours a month as CLM’s volunteer coordinator.<br />

CLM Executive Director Greg<br />

Henderzahs said, “Everyone knows who<br />

truly runs things around here and that is<br />

why our board dedicated the food pantry<br />

to her — Bonnie’s Pantry.”<br />

He added: “Bonnie is like my ‘Aunt<br />

Bee’ in that she has my back and the ministry<br />

of the food pantry is part of her heart.<br />

Truthfully, I don’t know what we would<br />

do without her expertise and dedication<br />

to our mission.”<br />

Bonnie is quick to brush off any notion<br />

that she is anything special. “I don’t<br />

need or deserve recognition. Heck, we<br />

have a woman here who comes in to<br />

volunteer who is 94 years old. There are<br />

about 50 volunteers and all are here because<br />

of their love for their fellow man.”<br />

Bonnie learned her philanthropic<br />

nature from her grandmother, who raised<br />

her from birth. “She was an earth angel.<br />

During the Great Depression, we had<br />

homeless people coming to our home regularly<br />

for help. My grandmother always<br />

found food to share, even if it was just a<br />

jelly sandwich.”<br />

The duties Bonnie has taken on include<br />

coordinating the other volunteers<br />

in the food pantry, organizing the space,<br />

helping clients, unloading shipments and<br />

regularly picking up food items from donors.<br />

She also routinely picks up the donations<br />

from the large Dare to Care green<br />

barrels in local grocery stores. Sometimes<br />

barrels are filled to the top.<br />

Bonnie handles the heavy lifting<br />

very well; however, with a grin she revealed,<br />

“Look, I am old and gray — if I<br />

see a young strong man walking by and I<br />

can’t get down to the bottom of the barrel,<br />

I don’t mind asking for help.”<br />

Bonnie agreed to being recognized<br />

in this article merely because she believes<br />

it will benefit the CLM’s mission for the<br />

food pantry. “I am but a ripple in the water.<br />

The more who know about the food<br />

pantry will hopefully result in more help<br />

with donations and volunteer hours and<br />

we always need both.” •<br />

Above: Bonnie Ryan sits on top of some recently delivered<br />

canned goods and is joined by Mac Neil Wynn, Jr., CLM’s<br />

part-time Logistic Manager.<br />

Carol Dawson is a Jeffersonville<br />

resident, columnist/writer, owner<br />

of EEO Guidance Inc., and communications<br />

volunteer for the<br />

Center for Lay Ministries. Email<br />

comments to cdawson@eeoguidance.com.


Welcome<br />

Dr. Landis!<br />

Megan Landis, MD<br />

Dermatologist<br />

HCH Physician’s Group<br />

Harrison County Hospital welcomes Dr. Megan Landis to the HCH Physician’s Group!<br />

Dr. Landis is Board-Certified by the American Board of Dermatology and is a Mayo Clinic<br />

trained Dermatologist. Dr. Landis is now seeing patients in the HCH Medical Pavilion on<br />

the Hospital campus.<br />

Appointments with Dr. Landis may be scheduled by calling 812-734-3881.<br />

The Dermatology & Skin Cancer Center of <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

1263 Hospital Drive NW, Suite 250<br />

Corydon, IN<br />

www.hchin.org<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 43


Peggy’s Place is an Adult Life Center where seniors or those with disabilities can enjoy a full day while their<br />

caregivers work. Designed to enrich your loved one’s life and support caregivers, Peggy’s Place offers fun, friends,<br />

comfort and care in a warm, nurturing setting where each person is treated like family.<br />

Our innovative medical / social model focuses on each person and their unique needs, with individualized care<br />

plans that include activities to enhance or improve areas of concern. The result? We’ve seen increased cognitive<br />

function and social skills. Unlike other providers, we blend enriched monthly programs with an unwavering focus<br />

on individual needs. Daily routines always include social time, music therapy, reminiscing, appropriate exercise,<br />

brain-stimulating activities, building fine motor skills, — and LOTS of laughter!<br />

Peggy’s Place is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. There is always a nurse onsite, and we<br />

welcome those with dementia or physical limitations. Call 812.590.2857 to see if Peggy’s Place is right for your<br />

loved one.<br />

1730 Audubon Drive, Suite 100<br />

New Albany, IN 47150<br />

812.590.2857<br />

www.peggysplacein.com<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 44


Making People of a Difference <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

Peggy’s Place: A Place for Friends<br />

Ahuge print at the entrance of<br />

Peggy’s Place reads: “Welcome.<br />

We’re glad you’re here!” These<br />

words serve as the mindset for<br />

the staff of Peggy’s Place not only toward<br />

those they care for but each other, and the<br />

words also embody the spirit of the figure<br />

from which Peggy’s Place draws its name:<br />

Peggy Phelps.<br />

Phelps’ daughter Ginger Jones, the<br />

adult day service center’s co-owner and<br />

co-founder, recalls how her mother placed<br />

herself in the role of caregiver for her family.<br />

“Her sister Joyce, who was the third<br />

born, had a severely debilitating form of<br />

cerebral palsy,” Jones said. Phelps, the<br />

oldest of six children, fell into the role of<br />

caregiver at an early age for her siblings<br />

and later for her parents after her mother<br />

developed Alzheimer’s disease. Phelps’<br />

life left a lasting impression that Jones and<br />

the rest of the staff at Peggy’s Place are<br />

making strides to emulate.<br />

Peggy’s Place, which opened in<br />

April off Charlestown Road in New Albany,<br />

aims to transform the adult caretaking<br />

community. Jones and fellow co-owner<br />

and co-founder Tracy Book-Diers decided<br />

to start the center after they noticed a lack<br />

of follow-up on patients once they were<br />

discharged from hospitals. “We would<br />

send people home without knowledge,<br />

without anybody at home taking care of<br />

them, without any resources,” said Book-<br />

Diers, who has been a nurse since 1994.<br />

“That was where we wanted to create<br />

something to fill those gaps in our community.”<br />

In order to achieve this goal, the<br />

staff at Peggy’s Place has placed their focus<br />

both on those being cared for and the<br />

caregivers themselves.<br />

Christine Bottorff, the life care director<br />

for Peggy’s Place and a licensed<br />

practical nurse of more than 20 years, said<br />

the staff at Peggy’s Place takes the first<br />

step in participants’ care by calling them<br />

Story by Jon Watkins<br />

Photos provided by Idealogy<br />

Bottorff plans physical,<br />

cognitive and social activities<br />

almost a month in advance.<br />

From planting sunflowers<br />

and playing Wii games and<br />

cornhole to just sitting and<br />

reminiscing, the friends at<br />

Peggy’s Place are encouraged<br />

to pursue stimulating<br />

activities.<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 45


Our Rose Garden Ballroom in the<br />

beautifully restored 1937 Bank Building<br />

located on Mansion Row in the heart<br />

of Downtown New Albany is the<br />

perfect setting for your special event.<br />

Our in-house planner can help with all<br />

the details to make your meeting or<br />

event a memorable one.<br />

Visit our website at<br />

TheatreWorksofSOIN.com<br />

For rental information or contact Chris Bundy<br />

at 812-844-1051<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 46


“friends,” because they’re more than<br />

just patients. “This is home away from<br />

home” for them, and she added that<br />

everything from the staff’s casual dress<br />

code to eating meals with the friends<br />

creates a homey atmosphere.<br />

Bottorff plans physical, cognitive<br />

and social activities almost a month in<br />

advance. From planting sunflowers and<br />

playing Wii games and cornhole to just<br />

sitting and reminiscing, the friends at<br />

Peggy’s Place are encouraged to pursue<br />

stimulating activities. Even events such<br />

as “Wine Day” (where the friends enjoy<br />

a couple of glasses while they socialize)<br />

appear throughout every month.<br />

The friends say they enjoy their<br />

time at Peggy’s. “Oh, I have fun here! It<br />

makes you feel good,” said Deloris Abbott,<br />

a friend since the center opened.<br />

Abbott has a particular affnity for<br />

her rocking chair and exercising with<br />

3-pound weights. Abbott also enjoyed<br />

an activity where she learned about<br />

Route 66 and found out that it runs into<br />

California where her sister lives. Abbott<br />

said she gets along with all of the other<br />

friends, and she even takes notice when<br />

friends are absent a day.<br />

While the friends of Peggy’s Place<br />

are given compassionate care, the center<br />

and its staff also pay special attention to<br />

those who are giving care. “We think a<br />

lot about caregivers here,” Jones said.<br />

“If you look at the numbers, it’s pretty<br />

staggering the amount of care that’s provided<br />

by unpaid family caregivers,” but<br />

those caring for others tend to neglect<br />

their own health. Diane Richey, community<br />

collaborator for Peggy’s Place, said<br />

that one spouse caring for another is<br />

usually “totally exhausted, both mentally<br />

and physically” by the time they come<br />

and visit Peggy’s Place. Richey said that<br />

when the caregiver is able to spend some<br />

time by themselves, even for just one<br />

day, they’re able to recuperate and rejuvenate<br />

themselves. Jones also said that<br />

educating caretakers about how to care<br />

for themselves is crucial to the caregiving<br />

process. The staff at Peggy’s Place is<br />

making it their goal to let everyone who<br />

walks through their doors know that this<br />

is your place, too. •<br />

For more information about Peggy’s Place,<br />

visit dnconsult.org/blog/<strong>2017</strong>/03/06/peggys-place-an-adult-life-center-to-open-innew-albany<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 47


Theatre in <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

A New Home<br />

TheatreWorks of <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong> finds a home<br />

in an 1830s New Albany landmark<br />

Story and Photos by Chris Bundy<br />

When Chris Bundy, artistic<br />

director of TheatreWorks<br />

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

the first season of his<br />

theatre venture bouncing around venues<br />

last summer, he made the decision that<br />

in order for the theatre to truly develop<br />

its own identity, a permanent home had<br />

to be found. Jason Roseberry, one of<br />

Bundy’s former students and a New Albany<br />

resident, had been active with the<br />

first season and quickly started seeking<br />

building possibilities in the downtown<br />

New Albany area. With the ever-increasing<br />

dining options, apartment and condo<br />

development, and the addition of many<br />

great shops and events in the area, a theatre<br />

option seemed like a no-brainer.<br />

However, it soon became apparent<br />

that an appropriate building would<br />

likely either be too expensive or would<br />

require costly renovations. Bundy immediately<br />

fell in love with the historic<br />

bank building at the end of New Albany’s<br />

Mansion Row; the only problem<br />

was its hefty price tag. Reluctantly, the<br />

search continued. But then Steve Resch,<br />

the downtown developer who owned<br />

the building, asked Bundy for a second<br />

meeting. Resch expressed an earnest desire<br />

to see the building used as an arts<br />

center and felt the addition would be<br />

beneficial to the downtown area. Terms<br />

were reached and TheatreWorks found<br />

an amazing new home in the heart of<br />

New Albany.<br />

With the papers signed, the task<br />

of transforming the building into and<br />

arts center began. Fortunately, Rauch got<br />

behind the project as well and refinished<br />

the floors as well as built the permanent<br />

stage on the first floor.<br />

Having been involved in the arts<br />

for more than 40 years, Bundy understood<br />

that theatre is an expensive operation<br />

and often cannot be sustainable<br />

based solely on revenue from ticket sales.<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 48<br />

The new building offers several opportunities<br />

for creating additional income. The<br />

second floor boasts a domed ballroom<br />

that can seat up to 80 for showers, parties,<br />

rehearsal dinners and meetings, as<br />

well as small weddings. A large muted<br />

rose mural was added, along with a large<br />

central chandelier suspended from the<br />

oval skylight. Off of the newly named<br />

Rose Garden Ballroom is a bar area with<br />

an art deco mirrored wall. The room off<br />

the bar was once the bank offce of New<br />

Albany’s legendary Samuel Culbertson<br />

during the building’s early use. The Culbertson<br />

Club Room features an ornate<br />

fireplace and an elegant Victorian theme.<br />

The main floor of the building<br />

was converted into the theatre space that<br />

seats nearly 100 patrons. Bundy wanted<br />

intimacy rather than a large, impersonal<br />

space. The color scheme for the room<br />

includes deep indigos with gold leafing<br />

throughout. Comfortable seating<br />

andLED stage lighting help transform<br />

the room into a space well suited to productions.<br />

An actor’s lounge area is to the<br />

right of the main stage area and a small<br />

offce is under the back stairway.<br />

The main entrance opens to a<br />

small lobby area with the box offce and<br />

a boutique featuring items from downtown<br />

shops. An art gallery is along the<br />

hallway leading to the theatre, and art<br />

is also along the walls of the stairway<br />

leading to the ballroom. The building is<br />

handicap-assessible with an elevator to<br />

the second floor. Parking is available just<br />

a half block behind the building.<br />

The theat has received overwhelming<br />

support. Sponsorships have<br />

poured in to cover the cost of renovations<br />

and theatre seating, as well as tables and<br />

chairs for the ballroom. A grant from the<br />

Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County<br />

paid for the LED stage lighting. The first<br />

two productions of the season sold out<br />

all performances and led to the addition<br />

of other shows. Several shows remain for<br />

the current season, with more offerings<br />

in the works. TheatreWorks also plans<br />

to offer classes throughout the winter<br />

months and Saturday events for children.<br />

While the imposing Greek structure<br />

at 203 E. Main St. previously housed<br />

a bank, church, Red Cross building and a<br />

nightclub, its transformation into a theatre<br />

is a welcome addition to the downtown<br />

scene and one that TheatreWorks<br />

hopes will remain for years to come. For<br />

information about shows and other offerings,<br />

visit theatreworksofsoin.com.<br />

For more information about the gala or to<br />

purchase tickets before the deadline of Friday,<br />

Sept. 8, call 812-542-2290, or email<br />

Harpenau at aharpenau@nafcs.k12.in.us.


Strengthening Our Nonprofit Community<br />

Strong nonprofits have strong boards. Strong boards<br />

effectively govern their organizations. Effective board<br />

governance ensures nonprofit organizations fulfill their<br />

missions and create positive change in their communities.<br />

As the leaders and ultimate decision-makers, a nonprofit’s<br />

board of directors is charged with defining and acting upon<br />

the organization’s mission.<br />

The Harrison County Community Foundation is<br />

committed to strengthening nonprofit organizations in our<br />

community. One of the ways we do this is by offering<br />

nonprofit board governance training opportunities.<br />

Nonprofit board training helps participants increase their<br />

knowledge and sharpen their skills in the most critical<br />

elements of board governance. Training sessions are open to<br />

new and experienced board members. These sessions have<br />

also proven beneficial for community school board members,<br />

nonprofit staff and leaders in local government.<br />

Topics covered in HCCF-sponsored nonprofit board<br />

training sessions include:<br />

• Board development<br />

• Fundraising<br />

• Strategic planning<br />

• Managing change<br />

• Financial management<br />

• Board evaluation<br />

• Holding effective meetings<br />

• Roles and legal responsibilities<br />

Starting in 2018, HCCF will require all nonprofits<br />

submitting a grant application to have at least one current<br />

board member who has completed an HCCF-approved<br />

nonprofit board governance training program.<br />

To learn more about upcoming training programs,<br />

including dates and times, contact us by calling 812-738-6668<br />

or visit our website, hccfindiana.org.<br />

“The training itself was well-done, well-structured,<br />

with sound content and guidance for not only starting<br />

and developing boards, but also nurturing them<br />

over time as their effectiveness grows.”<br />

-Ron McKulick, executive director of Region 10<br />

Workforce Board, Inc. and WorkOne <strong>Southern</strong> <strong>Indiana</strong><br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 49


Everyday Adventures<br />

The (Not So)<br />

Perfect Pumpkin Pie<br />

Not just anyone can fix a good<br />

pumpkin pie. Oh I know the<br />

recipe is simple enough, but<br />

you have to be paying attention<br />

or you can ruin it. That’s what happened<br />

on my daughter’s birthday a few<br />

years ago.<br />

See, when you have a fall birthday in<br />

my house, you don’t always get a normal<br />

cake. Sometimes you get pie, which is not<br />

an altogether bad deal, unless, like I said,<br />

someone messes it up.<br />

My wife meant well, but she had a<br />

lot going on. We were packing to leave<br />

town for a few days, and she was just trying<br />

to do too many things at once. When<br />

she pulled the pie out of the oven, the<br />

edge of the crust was almost burned.<br />

She thought it was fine, but I couldn’t<br />

let it go. This was my daughter’s birthday<br />

cake for crying out loud. I wanted it to be<br />

picture perfect. “Don’t worry about it,” I<br />

said. “I’ve got this.”<br />

So, I grabbed a new pie crust,<br />

whipped the ingredients together and<br />

popped it in the oven. I, however, wasn’t<br />

going to make the the same mistake my<br />

wife did. I stood by the oven and watched<br />

it like a hawk.<br />

When the timer went off I pulled it<br />

out, and I don’t mean to brag here, but<br />

this pie looked so good it would have<br />

made Martha Stewart weep with envy.<br />

The crust was golden brown, and the custard<br />

was baked to a deep caramel color,<br />

it’s nearly flawless surface ever-so-slightly<br />

cracked around the edges, cooked to perfection.<br />

The pie was so beautiful that I didn’t<br />

know whether to put it on the table or<br />

donate it to a museum. However, since<br />

it was my daughter’s birthday, I figured<br />

she should actually get to try to bite. I just<br />

hoped my wife didn’t feel too bad about<br />

me showing her up in the kitchen.<br />

The pie was so beautiful<br />

that I didn’t know<br />

whether to put it on the<br />

table or donate it to a<br />

museum.<br />

After lunch we put candles in the<br />

pie and sang Happy Birthday, and it was<br />

finally time to enjoy the fruit of my labor.<br />

I couldn’t wait to dig in. I served up a<br />

slice to the whole family and, then being<br />

the servant that I am, went to the fridge to<br />

grab some whipped cream before I tasted<br />

it myself.<br />

Just as I opened the refrigerator<br />

door, my wife yelled, “Don’t eat that!”<br />

Wow, I knew she’d be jealous, but this<br />

was a bit much. When I saw the look on<br />

my mom’s face, however, I knew something<br />

was wrong.<br />

“What is it?” I asked.<br />

My wife smiled and said, “You left<br />

out the sugar.”<br />

I couldn’t believe it. I tried it myself<br />

just to see how bad it really was, and I<br />

nearly gagged. In case you’ve ever wondered,<br />

sugarless pumpkin pie is disgusting.<br />

Fortunately we had a back up. My<br />

wife pulled out her rejected pie, and even<br />

though it wasn’t picture perfect, it was absolutely<br />

delicious.<br />

No surprise there. After all, there<br />

was a law of the universe at work that day<br />

that applies to both pies and people. It’s<br />

what’s on the inside that counts, or as God<br />

said it in 1 Samuel 16:7, “People judge by<br />

outward appearance, but the Lord looks<br />

at the heart” (NLT).<br />

You can be picture perfect on the<br />

outside, but if your heart’s not right, it<br />

won’t long take for people to figure it out.<br />

And, of course, the opposite is true, even<br />

on those days when you’re feeling a little<br />

burnt around the edges, a heart sweetened<br />

by the love of God is a delicious treat<br />

for anyone who comes near your table. •<br />

* Excerpt from Holiday Road: An Autumn<br />

Devotional by Jason Byerly, available October<br />

<strong>2017</strong> at Amazon. For more information on the<br />

Holiday Road devotional series go to www.<br />

jasonbyerly.com.<br />

Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 50<br />

Now Available on Kindle:<br />

Holiday Road<br />

A Christmas Devotional<br />

www.jasonbyerly.com<br />

Photo credit: Shutterstock.com / Romawka<br />

Jason Byerly is a writer, pastor, husband and<br />

dad who loves the quirky surprises God sends<br />

his way every day. You can catch up with Jason<br />

on his blog at www.jasonbyerly.com or on<br />

Twitter at www.twitter.com/jasondbyerly.


Sept/Oct <strong>2017</strong> • 51


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