Southern Indiana Living MarApr 2018

Southern 

IndIana 

PURSUING 

A DREAM: 

New Albany HS’s 

Romeo Langford 

Mar / Apr 2018 

Living 

PLUS: 

Dining at Portage House 

Scottsburg, IN 

Coping with MS

Business. 

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IT. 

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to find out more 

and register today. 

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For more information about program successes in graduation rates, placement rates and occupations, please visit: sullivan.edu/programsuccess. 

Mar/Apr 2018 • 2

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Featured Stories 

19 | IN PURSUIT OF A DREAM 

New Albany’s Romeo Langford 

32 | A PLACE TO GATHER 

Dining with a view of the river at Portage House 

38 | CHOOSING LIFE 

A battle with Multiple Sclerosis won’t stop one local 

resident from serving and staying positive 

12 

43 | A REASON TO BE THANKFUL 

Lessons learned during the first year of life with a 

preemie 

Southern Indiana Living 

MARCH / APRIL 2018 

In Every Issue 

7 | FLASHBACK PHOTO 

Basketball Fever, New Albany, IN, 1958 

9 | A NOTE TO BABY BOOMERS 

A Word from that Other Dale Moss 

19 

10 | A WALK IN THE GARDEN WITH BOB HILL 

What Not to Do 

12 | OUR TOWN 

Scottsburg, Indiana 

26 | COMMUNITY PAGES 

Spotlight on Salvation Army, Leadership Southern 

Indiana, and more! 

28 | #BUYLOCAL 

Local Business Spotlight 

31 | REAL LIFE NUTRITION 

Seifan Tacos El Diablo 

32 

45 | EVERYDAY ADVENTURES 

No Walk in the Park 


* Cabinets, table, and island by Schmidt Cabinet Company // Table built by the great grandson of the founder, John H. Schmidt 

Schmidt Cabinet Company is located in New Salisbury, IN. 

Family owned and operated since 1959. 

Photo courtesy of Michelle Hockman Photography 

Visit our showroom Monday thru Friday 8 a.m.—4 p.m. Saturday, Sunday, or evenings by appointment or visit our website at www. 

schmidtcabinet.com and see our unmatched selection of cabinets and countertops for every room of your home and offce. Schmidt 

offers a variety of styles from Traditional to Contemporary, in a wide array of woods and colors. 

Mar/Apr 2018 • 6 

1355 Hwy 64 NE 

New Salisbury, IN 47161 

812-347-2434


IndIana 


MAR / APR 2018 

VOL. 11, ISSUE 2 

PUBLISHER | 

Karen Hanger 

karen@silivingmag.com 

LAYOUT & DESIGN | 

Christy Byerly 

christy@silivingmag.com 

COPY EDITOR | 

Jennifer Cash 

Flashback Photo 

Basketball Fever 

New Albany, Indiana 

1958 

COPY EDITOR | 

Sara Combs 

ADVERTISING | 

Take advantage of prime 

advertising space. 

Call us at 812-989-8871 or 

e-mail karen@silivingmag.com 

SUBSCRIPTIONS | 

$25/year, Mail to: Southern 

Indiana Living, P.O. Box 145, 

Marengo, IN 47140 

Contact SIL 

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812.989.8871 

karen@silivingmag.com 

ON THE COVER: New Albany 

High School senior, Romeo 

Langford, going one-on-one 

with Jasper High School Senior, 

Eric Nordhoff // Photo 

by David Hartlage 

Check out more 

features and stories 

on our EPUB Exclusive! 

www.silivingmag.com 

Photo courtesy of Stuart B. Wrege Indiana History Room, New Albany-Floyd County Public Library. 

Southern Indiana Living is 

published bimonthly by SIL 

Publishing Co. LLC, P.O. Box 

145, Marengo, Ind. 47140. 

Any views expressed in any 

advertisement, signed letter, 

article, or photograph 

are those of the author and 

do not necessarily reflect 

the position of Southern 

Indiana Living or its parent 

company. Copyright © 2018 

SIL Publishing Co. LLC. No 

part of this publication may 

be reproduced in any form 

without written permission 

from SIL Publishing Co. LLC. 

SIL 

Magazine 

is a BBB 

accredited 

business 

This photo from 1958 shows a crowd gathered in the New Albany High School gym for 

Basketball Festival Day on January 18, 1958. 


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The earlier you call, the more we can help. 

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A Note to Baby Boomers 

And Now, a Word from that Other Dale Moss 

Ijust Googled myself. It didn’t hurt. 

Actually, it did a little. 

Another Dale Moss rules that 

roost, and it’s not like he is a king or 

a Kardashian’s husband. The No. 1 Dale 

Moss on Google is an unemployed pro 

football player, a receiver on no one’s fantasy 

team. 

But there he is, the standard bearer. 

The rest of us fall humbly in line. 

I too could take up football, I suppose. 

Instead, though, I swallow my pride 

like other humbled Dale Moss. 

To get old is to get less relevant. People 

my age are old news. We’ve had our 

day. We have gone from having potential 

to having plantar fasciitis. We get run over 

by change, ease back up and get run over 

again. We love naps as much as we used 

to hate them. 

We give up trying to figure out what 

Bitcoin is. 

We struggle to matter. We grit the 

teeth we have left and settle for new roles, 

lesser parts. We helped a friend move a 

piano or pay a bill. We pitched in at the 

fall festival at our kids’ school. 

We eventually realized our parents 

are not the biggest dopes in town. 

To matter today can be to care for 

an ailing mom or dad or to refill a grandchild’s 

juice cup. A good day includes not 

once tripping over the dog’s chew toy. 

Low on energy, we instead offer wisdom 

to younger people willing to listen. 

As if they will. But that’s a whine for 

another day. 

It is easy to be retired, less so to be 

gainfully retired. Staying off the couch is 

good. Staying useful is better. 

Whatever we do, we can do more. I 

exercise, I volunteer, I read and pray and 

unload the dishwasher. Nonetheless, I 

still require the occasional push. I claim 

to want reunions with my rusty trombone 

and with tennis. If only I was better at talking 

myself into things than out of them. 

I will become legally old later this 

year. As Medicare beckons, aches and 

pains pile up. I have something wrong literally 

from head to toe. Still, I can turn off 

the TV and clean out the garage. 

A friend invited me to a University 

of Louisville basketball game. Now those 

are the kind of friends to have. Anyway, 

I watched the players and coaches and 

cheerleaders and it hit me. Rick Pitino was 

not there. Tom Jurich was not there. U of 

L got rid of them — Pitino as coach and 

Jurich as athletic director. 

Life goes on at U of L too. Not even 

Google superstars last forever. 

Way back, an old boss of mine insisted 

that his staff embrace change. He 

wasn’t so clueless after all. We now fill 

our own gasoline tanks. We check out our 

own groceries. Machines take our library 

fines and parking-lot fees. We buy everything 

online, from aluminum siding to 

socks. We more often cremate loved ones. 

Cash is a thing of the past and self-driving 

cars a thing of the future. 

I fell behind technologically when 

we plugged in our first VCR. Catching up 

seems hopeless. I cannot figure out Netflix. 

I am also unfamiliar with most Grammy 

winners or many Saturday Night Live 

hosts. From the pasture, I try to get used to 

life passing me by. 

I am not 24. I am 64. I might be able 

to move around pounds, but I no longer 

will lose many. I will return to skinny 

about the time Pitino returns to the sideline 

in Louisville. 

Like me, Pitino may be over the hill. 

Try to get over it, Coach. It is nothing personal. 

We are blessed for the chance to 

grow old. And getting old never gets old, 

so far. It serves up one challenge after another, 

most more important than keeping 

track of my 2-for-1 Whopper coupon. 

I sure enjoyed the buffet place at the 

Green Tree Mall. It is long gone. I’d give 

anything to still have a mother to fuss over 

me. I do not. How cool if my adult daughter 

finally finds a career to love. 

I run no more marathons. 

But I also shouldn’t just run out the 

clock. Being less relevant is reality. 

Being irrelevant is inexcusable. 

I run no more marathons. But I also 

shouldn’t just run out the clock. Being less 

relevant is reality. Being irrelevant is inexcusable. 

Time wins every time. It should 

not be allowed to win without a fight. So 

what if a jobless football player matters 

more? 

At one time, I was the No. 1 Dale 

Moss on Google. I can live with that. • 

After 25 years, Dale Moss 

retired as Indiana columnist for 

The Courier-Journal. He now 

writes weekly for the News and 

Tribune. Dale and his wife Jean 

live in Jeffersonville in a house 

that has been in his family 

since the Civil War. Dale’s 

e-mail is dale.moss@twc.com 


A Walk in the Garden with Bob Hill 

What Not to Do 

Lessons learned while owning a rare-plant nursery and sculpture garden 


Despite a few million essays, 

lectures, classes and self-help 

books on the subject, the truth 

of human existence almost always 

comes down to one fact: “Life is 

what happens while you’re making other 

plans.” 

If someone had told me 60 years ago 

I would end up enjoying a fulfilling life as 

a writer and media crank, live that good 

life in Southern Indiana and create an 

8-acre nursery, arboretum and sculpture 

garden around my home over 40 years, I 

would have considered them absolutely 

batty. 

My future, my destiny — not to tread 

too much on the word “batty” — was to 

be center field for the New York Yankees. 

Anything beyond that was much too far in 

the distance to contemplate. 

But writer it was. Hidden Hill Nursery 

& Sculpture Garden in Utica it has 

become. I don’t even like the Yankees 

anymore. I’m now mostly with the onceagain-doomed-to-failure 

Chicago Cubs. 

But just in case any one of you 

might wind up owning a plant geek nursery 

and sculpture garden someday — and 

no one to my knowledge has ever written 

a decent self-help tome on that — I offer 

the following truths on the realities of our 

business: 

1 

Yes, we are now into early spring 

2018. What are you doing reading 

this nonsense? You should be armpit-deep 

in catalogs, brochures, wholesale nursery 

offerings, harassing phone calls from 

bankers, second-mortgage possibilities 

and bitter memories of previous plantselection 

failures such as Hardy Hoosier 

Avocados. 

2 

Never — and I mean never — visit 

the garden department of a big box 

store whose name rhymes with “toes” or 

“tires.” You will quickly learn they sell 

plants at lower costs than you can buy 

them, said plants will be stacked 15 feet 

high in all directions and there are two 

more huge trucks out there in the parking 

lot waiting to be unloaded. 

As you look around, you will notice 

their plant offerings are mostly very uninspired, 

but there will be a couple of plants 

you don’t have and want to take home to 

try. 

That, in certain personal cases, will 

require a trip home to don a disguise and 

mustache to purchase them. To do otherwise 

is to stand there in the big box store 

checkout line emotionally naked and vulnerable 

as someone will recognize you 

and say “Hey, aren’t you the guy that used to 

write for the newspaper, and don’t you own a 

rare-plant nursery up in Utica, and what the 

hell are you doing buying plants here?” 

History has taught me there are no 

good answers to those questions. 

3 

If as a rare-plant nursery owner 

with a perhaps more defined plant 

palette and customer base, never — and I 

mean never — go plant shopping at a big 

box store on a Saturday morning when its 

hundreds of customers are backed up 20- 

deep with shopping carts filled with mundane 

offerings, many in full bloom. 

To see that many teeming people in 

a big box store while an eager dozen or so 

may be enjoying the fruits of your nursery 

labor back home is to resist the temptation 

to grab a megaphone, stand up in a shopping 

cart of your own and scream at that 

long line of fake gardeners: 

“Hey, you idiots, why are you buying 

plants already in full bloom, their show-lives 

already half over? Buy them as hopeful babies, 

smaller plugs with all their blooming lives still 

ahead of them. 

“I know just the place to buy those, with 

a much better and more interesting selection to 

boot. Follow me home and I shall lead you into 

a whole new and exciting way of gardening.” 

Then, as big box-store security 

guards rush forward armed with pruning 

shears and 6-foot rakes, make one final 

heroic speech to those garden-impaired 

shoppers before being dragged off to the 

manager’s offce. 

“My friends, I implore you, for the good 

of those plants, for the good of your garden, 

do not plant fully blooming daisies in early 

spring. They have lived all their lives in climate-controlled 

greenhouses owned by corporate 

czars who know nothing of leaky hoses and 

faulty gaskets. They know nothing of the harsh 

realities of our midwestern spring weather. 

“I beseech you. The very lives of your 

plants could be at risk. Let them breath. Give 

them a life of their own. Let them be free. It’s 

the American way.” 

It might be best to wear a disguise in 

that mode of operation, too. 

4 

Do not become angry with those 

many young people working in the 

garden shop areas of big box stores. Yes, 

many would prefer to be home spending 

eight to 10 hours a day playing video 

games. Yes, many have not seemed to master 

the fine art of watering plants packed 

too tightly on pallets on a cement floor in 

stifling summer heat. Yes, many do not 

know an osmanthus from an ostrich. 

But they are all somebody’s children, 

even grandchildren. They have absolutely 

no intention of owning a nursery 

and sculpture garden someday, so why 

should they invest any interest now? 

Some may even root for the New York 

Yankees. 

Plus, many of the department managers 

are plant geeks themselves, dedicated 

gardeners caught up in the corporate 

world with kids to feed and bills to pay 

and conifers to push. They might even 

love the Chicago Cubs. 

5 

As you look around, 

you will notice 

their plant offerings 

are mostly very 

uninspired, but there 

will be a couple of 

plants you don’t 

have and want to 

take home to try. 

That, in certain 

personal cases, will 

require a trip home 

to don a disguise 

and mustache to 

purchase them. 

At season’s end, when you can close 

the nursery gates in early October 

and enjoy the fall colors all your own, and 

not have to sell Christmas trees, or deal 

with another customer seeking a plant 

that blooms all year, never requires watering 

or deadheading and will remain 

hardy at 40 below zero, you are a much 

better person — and gardener — for the 

experience. • 

Hidden Hill Nursery & Sculpture Garden 

in Utica, Indiana, will open its 19th season 

Friday, March 30, with a rare-plant sale. The 

Annual Kite Flying Festival will be Saturday, 

April 7. See hiddenhillnursery.com for details. 

About the Author 

Bob Hill owns Hidden Hill 

Nursery and can be 

reached at farmerbob@ 

hiddenhillnursery.com. 

For more information, 

including nursery hours 

and event information, go 

to www.hiddenhillnursery. 

com 


Our Town 

Our Town: 

Scottsburg, Indiana 

Story by Jon Watkins 

Photos by Michelle Hockman (except where noted) 


Pictured: A statue of William Hayden English in front of the Scott County Courthouse

A 

humble rural beginning is the 

birth of many towns in America. 

Some continue along their 

agricultural paths while others 

head into areas of industrialization and 

technology. However, for the town of 

Scottsburg, Indiana, the hope is not simply 

to create one linear path of innovation 

and industry but an entire infrastructure 

built by dreamers and entrepreneurs. 

Offcially platted on March 27, 1871, 

Scottsburg (originally spelled “Scottsburgh”) 

owes its name to Col. Horace 

Scott, a former general superintendent of 

the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis 

Railroad — a railroad line that started 

in Indianapolis and ran south to the Ohio 

River. Wanting their town to become a 

Fifth Class city, the residents made their 

voices heard on the ballots in November 

1959, but it would take five years before 

the first offcers would be sworn into office. 

But today, a town once striving to 

have its growing populace recognized 

through democracy now seeks to be acknowledged 

as a new type of depot — 

one that houses a growing community of 

innovation in areas of technology, art and 

health while attempting to give back to 

both the local and surrounding communities. 

One of the key figures helping to 

usher in these new areas of innovation is 

Dorrel Harrison. After moving to Scottsburg 

in 2003, Harrison, a former a health 

educator in New York, began to channel 

his focus into barn plaques. “A barn 

plaque is a three-dimensional piece of art 

that has been handcrafted out of redeemed 

barn board,” Harrison said. “They are 

either a framed piece of work, in a shadowbox 

frame, or they sit on top of a piece 

of barn wood that’s 4-by-24-inches.” Harrison’s 

plaques include details that match 

the original storefronts, mills and barns. 

These details range from weathered paint 

to surrounding landscapes, even down to 

making sure the flow of wood grain on 

the barn board matches that of the original 

barn. Harrison’s style of art is not only 

unique locally but nationally as well. 

“Once I started doing my barn 

plaques, and after we had our exhibit at 

Mid-America Science Park, I came up 

with the desire to bring attention to Scott 

County,” he said. “Nobody else in the 

state makes barn plaques.” Harrison was 

given the prestigious title of Indiana Artisan 

in 2008 (and remains the only Indiana 

Artisan in Scott County). “Your work has 

to be juried; it has to be very unique,” he 

said. The Indiana Arts Commission accepts 

an assortment of styles and creators 

for the artisan title, such as culinary artists 

and furniture makers. 

Harrison, now among these ambas- 

A covered bridge created to look like a train // Lake Iola Park 

Lake Iola 

Lake Iola Interurban Site 


After participating in a local craft fair, feedback from people 

suffering with eczema started pouring in. The people began 

experiencing relief from their symptoms with the goat milk 

bars, and Goat Milk Stuff’s growth never stopped. 

Pictured: (this page, clockwise from top left) Bars of goat milk soap are packaged in cloth bags; soy candles are sold in a variety of scents; you can visit the resident goats on a farm tour; 

goat milk cheeses are sold in the sweet shop along with goat milk, drinkable yogurt, goat milk gelato, goat milk fudge, caramel, jams, baked goods, salsa, and local honey. The adjacent 

farm store sells laundry soap, lotions, lip balms, natural deoderants, bath fizzies, perfumes, and more. 

Pictured: (Right hand page, clockwise from top) a barn plaque created by Dorrel Harrison; Dorrell creating a new barn plaque (// photos of Dorrel Harrison from SIL archives); the Mid- 

America Science Park in Scottsburg. 


sadors of the arts, is just one of the innovators 

in Scottsburg. At 112,000 square 

feet, the Mid-America Science Park (MAS- 

Park) is constantly adapting to the needs 

of a variety of occupants. According to 

its website, MASPark “is one of the most 

comprehensive science parks in the country” 

and is able to accommodate everyone 

from “entrepreneurs, military personnel, 

researchers, visitors and students” 

with everything from “customized labs” 

to spaces for conferences, events and offices. 

“This could be a conference facility; 

we have a presentation hall; we have several 

conference rooms; we have executive 

board rooms; we have breakout rooms, 

and then we have a large banquet hall,” 

said Joe Pearson, MASPark’s executive director. 

MASPark was even able to house 

Henryville High School students after the 

2012 tornado. 

The center also caters to training 

people in various industries. “If you were 

someone here who wanted to be trained, 

whether you were in high school, in industrial 

technology, or industrial maintenance 

or CNC machining, we have a 

training center,” Pearson said. This center 

houses Amatrol training equipment (from 

Jeffersonville, Indiana), a welding laboratory 

and a large area for CNC machining. 

Five manufacturers are currently using 

the area for training. Pearson also stresses 

the importance of making sure people are 

well-equipped to not only do their current 

job, but other jobs going forward. “We 

know today that you’ll do several different 

things in your lifetime,” he said. 

Many Americans are feeling the effects 

of many industries giving way to the 

times, yet many are experiencing a shift in 

career choices by sheer exploration of circumstances, 

just like one Scottsburg family. 

When Jim and P.J. Jonas’ family first 

began cultivating uses for goat milk, they 


never fathomed the journey would culminate 

into a company called Goat Milk 

Stuff. “This was all very unintentional. I 

really just started doing the soap for ourselves 

and the family.” P.J. Jonas said. 

But after participating in a local craft fair, 

feedback from people suffering with eczema 

started pouring in. The people began 

experiencing relief from their symptoms 

with the goat milk bars, and Goat Milk 

Stuff’s growth never stopped. The company 

is the “first and only Grade A goat 

dairy in the state of Indiana,” Jonas said. 

Originally on a three-acre farm in 

Charlestown, Indiana, Jonas and her family 

began searching for a location for their 

company by creating a list of all the qualities 

they were looking for. Among the 

items were accessibility for 18-wheelers, 

high-speed Internet, proximity to shopping 

and good utilities. The family found 

what it was looking for in a 36-acre Scottsburg 

farm. The company now has several 

buildings to stock, create, maintain and 

supply goat milk and goat milk products 

that ship across the country. Jonas’ offce 

is being remodeled into a cheese-aging 

space so the company can add to its list 

of products. The company’s incredible 

success has led it to be featured on such 

shows as “The Doctors” and “The Huckabee 

Show.” Jonas noted that her children 

will be taking over the company one day, 

and an important lesson she hopes to impart 

is forward thinking and innovation. 

Living in an area with artists such as 

Harrison and institutes such as MASPark, 

the future of Goat Milk Stuff and the entire 

community of Scottsburg are sure to 

be ones of inspiration and innovation. • 

Living in an area with artists 

such as Harrison and institutes 

such as MASPark, the future 

of the entire community of 

Scottsburg are sure to be ones of 

inspiration and innovation. 

Pictured: (top) Scottsburg Public Library was originally built with a Carnegie grant from 1917; (bottom) the Scott County All Wars Veterans Memorial stands near the Courthouse. 


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In Pursuit of a Dream 

Cover Story 

Humble and kind, New Albany’s Romeo Langford represents our community 

well in his championship quest and beyond 

Don’t look now, but New Albany 

High School basketball is nearing 

the end of a years-long narrative 

that began when young 

Romeo Langford scored 28 points for 

Mount Tabor Elementary during a fourthgrade 

county championship game. 

The team won, of course, and the 

story has only grown more compelling 

since: 

Langford leads Scribner Middle 

School to three titles in four years, then becomes 

an impact player on the varsity as a 

freshman. Sophomore year, he carries an 

experienced squad to the school’s second 

state title, then nearly drags a younger 

team over the hump in the regional final 

against a tough Castle team as a junior. 

Now, with great fanfare (and a big 

assist from longtime running mate and 

fellow senior Sean East), he’s geared up 

for one more title run with another young 

Story by Cary Stemle 

Photos by David Lee Hartlage 

Bulldog squad that started the season 

ranked No. 1 in Class 4A and currently 

sits at No. 3. That quest was set to start 

March 2 at the Seymour Sectional. 

The manuscript needs an ending. It’s 

Indianapolis or bust. 

Dedicated and Disciplined 

Romeo Langford, commonly known 

as Ro, was born 18 years ago, two years 


Langford is bucking the trend by playing for his 

hometown public high school. Of this year’s crop of 

24 McDonald’s All-Americans, he’s one of only five 

not coming through the prep school pipeline that 

funnels kids to the top college programs. 


after Tim and Sabrina Langford and their 

two daughters moved to Southern Indiana 

from Atlanta He played multiple 

sports until the seventh grade, and grins 

when he says he misses playing football. 

He stood about 6-foot-1 by the 

eighth grade, with both basketball skills 

and poise beyond his years. Early on, his 

laid-back nature could look like dawdling 

on the court, and his mom occasionally 

had to remind him to put some pep in 

his step. That seems like a long time ago. 

Langford today is constant motion, slashing 

to the basket, blocking shots, soaring 

for dunks, gliding around the three-point 

arc, and constantly picking himself up off 

the floor after getting knocked down (or 

tripped) by opposing defenses that tend 

to send two, three or even four players after 

him wherever he goes. 

Whatever happens on the court, his 

deadpan expression rarely changes. You 

may glimpse a smile as he goes to the 

bench with the game in hand, and you 

can tell he’s got more gears when things 

are on the line. But don’t expect any “3 

goggles” after he hits from deep, no chestbumping 

at mid-court after a big play. A 

raised eyebrow, maybe, but never a raised 

voice. 

Off the court he enjoys being a kid 

— he’s particularly fond of cereal, bread, 

gummies and video games (“Fortnite” is a 

current favorite). He’s an honors student, 

answers “yes, sir” and “no, ma’am,” and 

enjoys math but will probably pursue a 

communications degree in college, which 

is important to him regardless of where 

his basketball career takes him. 

Sabrina Langford said Romeo has 

always been a calm kid. “If you know me, 

I’m pretty much the same way. I try not to 

get too rattled — it wastes too much energy, 

in my book. He’s like any other kid. 

He played with his sisters. He got on their 

nerves, they got on his nerves, ‘Mama, 

she’s looking at me, she’s touching me.’ 

He’s just a normal kid.” 

He’s also completely serious about 

basketball. His dad, often in charge of taking 

him to individual strength and yoga 

sessions across the river, half expected his 

son to beg off a time or two after an especially 

tiring day. Didn’t happen. 

Just before the current school year 

began, Langford added a new twist to his 

look by dyeing his hair a light red. “My 

mom and my sisters told me my hair used 

to be a lighter color when I was a little 

kid,” he said, “and I told her she could try 

it on my hair. It came out like this, and I 

kept it.” 

Part of a Team 

Langford is bucking the trend by 

playing for his hometown public high 

school. Of this year’s crop of 24 McDonald’s 

All-Americans, he’s one of only five 

not coming through the prep school pipeline 

that funnels kids to the top college 

programs. The Langfords strongly considered 

that path as well, but ultimately 

were satisfied that he could drive his own 

improvement without relocating. 

New Albany coach Jim Shannon is 

grateful for that. 

In a state that’s synonymous with 

high school basketball, Shannon, 57, is 

a classic Hoosier story. He grew up in 

Anderson, home to one of Indiana’s famously 

large high school gyms, where 

he played and was a volunteer assistant 

while in college at Ball State. He became a 

Pictured (left-hand page, clockwise from top left): Langford soars to block a shot in New Albany’s win over Jasper. Langford often draws two, three or even four defenders. Senior guard Sean 

East (No. 5) has started for three years and brings steady leadership to complement his longtime friend Langford. They played together on the Louisville Legends AAU team, and the East 

family moved to New Albany so they could play nigh-school ball together. 

Pictured this page: Langford patiently meets fans after every game, home or away. Here, he’s photographed with Eli and Emma Barksdale, while their mother Katie (red sleeves) and grandfather 

David Barksdale (bottom left), aka Pop, look on. 


head coach at 24, turning around a struggling 

program at North Decatur, then 

spent six years at South Dearborn. Next 

was a three-rear stop at Lebanon, another 

hotbed where the legendary Rick Mount 

played. 

Twenty years ago, Shannon “hit the 

jackpot” and landed his dream job at New 

Albany, a city school where success is 

measured in tournament wins. 

For four years, the history teacher 

has had both the luxury of coaching a 

once-in-a-lifetime talent and the challenge 

of melding a team around him season by 

season. This year, three-year starter East 

is back as floor general. The 6-foot-1 lefty 

played on the Louisville Legends AAU 

team with Langford and moved to New 

Albany so they could play together in 

high school. A crafty and steady ball-handler, 

East averages more than 18 points 

and 5 assists per game while shooting 

nearly 50 percent from three-point range. 

He currently has a scholarship offer from 

NAIA Huntington and is drawing interest 

from IUPUI, Ball State, UNC-Greensboro 

and Vincennes. 

The team is filled out with role players 

who focus on defense, rebounding, 

screening and taking advantage of the 

shots that materialize when defenses key 

on Langford and East. Derrick Stevenson, 

a 6-1 forward, shares ball-handling duties 

with the seniors and has scored in double 

figures several times. Trey Hourigan, a 6-5 

sophomore center, is a good rebounder 

and shooter with 3-point range. And Julien 

“Juju” Hunter, a quick-jumping 6-3 

sophomore forward, crashes the boards 

for frequent put-backs and gets his share 

of highlight reel dunks. 

Darin Starks, a 5-8 sophomore 

guard, is first off the bench, usually subbing 

for Hunter or Hourigan and making 

New Albany even faster and more likely 

to press. Chris Johnson, a 5-9 junior guard, 

is seeing more playing time, and senior 

Savion Southers has contributed off the 

bench. 

Hunter, who started last year as a 

freshman, is playing for family pride. His 

grandfather Wilbert Hunter started on the 

1971 team that was knocked off by an upstart 

Floyd Central team in the sectional, 

and his father Chad was a four-year starter 

whose teams won two semi-states and 

three regionals. 

Chad Hunter, now the pastor at 

New Dimensions Christian Church and 

fighting back from recent strokes, held the 

school’s career record for both points and 

rebounds before Langford came along. 

Juju, a star-in-waiting, said playing with 

the guy who broke his father’s records is 

an incredible experience. 

“Romeo is very humble and he talks 

to us about things that can help the team,” 

he said. “In practice, he takes words out 

of coaches’ mouths. He and Sean are quiet 

on the court because they’re focused.” 

Off the court, though, their teammates 

say Langford and East are hilarious 

and keep them loose with silliness. Last 

year, for example, Langford told Hunter 

that coach Jim Shannon needed to see 

him urgently. It was a ruse, and the team 

cracked up when the freshman came back 

to the locker room. Hunter also caught 

the business from Langford again just last 

month: “One day I wore pajama pants and 

slides with no socks,” he says, referring to 

the sports sandals that are a youth fashion 

staple these days. “I don’t know why I did 

it. ... He was making jokes about my toes.” 

Asked what the public might not realize 

about the team, Hunter has a ready 

answer: “One thing most people don’t 

know is we’ve got a nice group of normal 

kids. If we’re not on the court, we’re 

at home. We don’t expose ourselves to 

trouble. 

“When kids ask us to do such and 

such or go to this place and that place, we 

Pictured (this page): The New Albany gym, known as The Doghouse, is routinely filled with about 4,000 fans, many of whom are season-ticket holders. 

(Right-hand page, from top) Langford has signed just about everything — photos, jerseys, tennis shoes, cell phone cases, and even the occasional onesie; Coach Jim Shannon, in his 20th year 

at New Albany, encourages Langford and Derrick Stevenson (No. 11) during a time-out. 


always have to think: ‘Am I representing 

New Albany right? Am I representing 

coach Shannon and coach (B.J.) McAllister 

and the basketball team right? That sways 

our answers. That makes sure we’re doing 

the right thing and saying the right stuff.” 

Championship Quest ... and Beyond 

It’s been a great season so far, with 

the lone loss a 49-47 overtime decision 

at Class 4A No. 4 and county rival Floyd 

Central in the fourth game of the season. 

As the calendar rolled through February, 

New Albany closed in on its 100th win 

during the Langford Era against only nine 

losses. 

The team has been tested at 4A powers 

Bloomington South (No. 5) and Carmel 

(9th); in neutral site games against Class 

4A No. 14 Fort Wayne North and Class 3A 

No. 10 Silver Creek; and home grinders 

against Indianapolis Pike and Princeton, 

ranked 9th in Ohio. 

The Princeton game was on ESPNU, 

and New Albany took a 65-64 overtime 

thriller as Langford fought through three 

separate injuries to score 36 points. The 

Silver Creek game, part of Fox Sports’ 

“Basketball Day Indiana,” was on statewide 

TV and played at Bankers Life Arena 

in Indy, home of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers 

and site of the state championship. 

That scheduling was no accident. 

Regardless of what happens on 

the court from here, one of the big takealways 

from Langford’s time at New Albany 

is how gracefully he’s handled the 

spotlight. People are nuts about him and 

want to see him. 

During New Albany’s state title 

run in 2016, fans began lining up for autographs, 

and now, he sits at a table after 

games, home or away, and patiently signs 

shirts, jerseys, photographs, basketballs 

and more. And with a shy and genuine 

smile, he poses for photos with anyone 

who asks. The typical line of fans lasts 

an hour, and on the Thursday night that 

Langford torched Jennings County for a 

career-high 63 points, the queue of North 

Vernon fans took two hours to clear. 

Tim Langford usually sits nearby, 

often fielding compliments from other 

parents for raising a classy son who’s a 

role model for their kids Reporters have 

asked both Langfords whether spending 

that much time with fans is tiring, but 

they shrug it off as part of the territory. 

“LeBron is my favorite player, and if 

he was somewhere I was and I wanted to 

get his autograph, I don’t want him to say 

he’s tired and not get to me,” Romeo said. 

“That’s why I’m playing basketball. I like 

to see that I’m making people’s day and 

making them happy.” 

- Romeo Langford 


There’s also constant questions 

about where Langford will attend college 

— he’ll announce Indiana, Vanderbilt 

or Kansas sometime after the season 

— and whether he can break Damon Bailey’s 

career scoring record. Langford was 

closing in on 3,000 points as the regular 

season wound down and Bailey’s 3,134 

total could be in jeopardy if New Albany 

makes a deep tournament run. 

Then there’s that thing Shannon 

doesn’t want to think about: what it will 

be like when Langford moves on. 

“I know everybody always says enjoy 

the journey, enjoy the moment. That’s 

what we tell each other. I’m not sure we 

do that. All I do is get ready for the next 

one,” he said. 

“I don’t really want to think about 

(the journey coming to an end). I didn’t 

want to think about it when my kids graduated 

from high school and left for college. 

I didn’t want to think about it when 

my son said he was going to Arizona for 

a job. I don’t really like thinking about 

that stuff. But yeah, he’s not going to be 

here much longer. We’ve still got a ways 

to go, but he’s ready for the next chapter. 

It’s time.” 

As for Langford, he skipped prep 

school for one thing. His hometown 

school plays for state championships. “It’s 

always that,” he says. “The team is playing 

well. We just have to keep our momentum 

going.” • 

Making Memories 

I’ve been following New Albany 

closely this season in hopes of writing 

a book after the season. My twofold 

premise is simple: to chronicle 

the final year of Langford’s high school 

career and the team’s hopefully epic season, 

and to honor how sports brings families 

together to create lasting memories. 

That certainly was the case for me 

and my father Robert “Mainie” Stemle. 

He started as a senior on the 1944 New 

Albany team that cracked the Top 10 before 

losing to a powerhouse Jeffersonville 

team in the opening game of the sectional. 

For as long as I can recall, basketball 

was a frame of reference between us. 

When I was not quite 9, my father toted 

me to Freedom Hall in Louisville to watch 

UCLA and Lew Alcindor defeat Rick 


Mount and Purdue in the NCAA title 

game. (Dad’s friend and well-connected 

fellow New Albany grad, Joe Dean, got 

him the tickets.) 

A few years later, dad took me to 

see the ABA’s Kentucky Colonels — including 

pre-season games against NBA 

teams — after which I’d camp outside the 

locker rooms for autographs 

while he waited patiently. I got Alcindor’s 

signature after he’d changed his name to 

Kareem Abdul-Jabber — it’s either lost 

to history or buried in my parents’ basement 

somewhere. 

But that indelible memory and 

many more are as present today as ever. 

And you can see this bonding play 

out around the New Albany team. Fathers, 

daughters, mothers and sons come 

to the games, and many of them stick 

around to meet Romeo after the game. 

With digital photography, it’s much 

easier to build a permanent record of 

those encounters, ensuring they won’t 

forget. They don’t know how lucky they 

are — but they will. 

Pictured: Author Cary Stemle’s Dad, Robert 

“Mainie” Stemle

One Destination... 

Unlimited Memories 

in Historic Corydon & Harrison County 

Go to thisisindiana.org to plan your Spring Break 

Adventure or to order your Visitor Guide. 

888-738-2137 


Your Community presented by 

Community in Schools 

NEW SITE SPARKS CELEBRATION 

The public gathered recently for the ribbon-cutting at the Communities in Schools of Clark County’s new location at 4403 Hamburg 

Pike/Suite C in Jeffersonville. Thanks to business, community, and volunteer support, the non-profit’s in- and out-of-school programs 

and services touch the lives of more than 4,500 students and their families each year. 

Left: Among the bevy of supporters 

are Jeffersonville Fire Department 

Sgt. Justin Ames, Jeffersonville Police 

Offcer Amber Tharp, and John 

Whitbeck, German American Bank. 

Right: Among the Board Members 

are: Dr. Kim Hartlage, Assistant 

Superintendent/Elementary 

of Greater Clark Schools; Cathy 

Graninger, founding Executive 

Director; Dr. Polly Hendricks, 

Board Chair; Julie Moorman, Executive 

Director; Dayleen Ragains, 

German-American Bank; and Josh 

Kornberg, Ivy Tech Foundation. 

Leadership Southern Indiana 

SHERIFFS ON MENU FOR BREAKFAST 

Leadership Southern Indiana’s first program in its popular Breakfast Series for 2018 featured Floyd County Sheriff Frank 

Loop and Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel. Their overview of several aspects of their roles and the communities plus answers 

to audience questions captivated the crowd in the IU Southeast Hoosier Room. Leadership SI’s valuable programs 

to engage, develop, and mobilize regional leaders to serve and transform the communities are enrolling this season. 

Speakers at Leadership SI’s 

Breakfast Series opener were 

(in back) Floyd County Sheriff 

Frank Loop and Clark County 

Sheriff Jamey Noel. With them 

are Matt Neely, Nexgen Program 

Chair; and, in front, 

Advisory Board Member Sue 

Christopher, who moderated the 

program, and Bryan Wickens, 

Leadership SI alumnus. 

Among teens in Leadership SI’s NexGen Program who attended were: Julia Anderson of Rock Creek Community Academy; and Charlestown 

High School students Isabelle Zimmerman, Adela Zimbro, Chase Fellows, Grace Sellers, and Riley Wampler. 


These pages are sponsored by Idealogy

Salvation Army of Southern Indiana 

GALA RAISES SPIRITS, FUNDS 

Rousing live auction bidding, an array of silent auction items, a buffet dinner, special awards, and vibrant 

spirit of support filled IU Southeast’s Hoosier Room recently when the community gathered for the Salvation 

Army of Southern Indiana’s seventh annual Bed and Bread Gala recently. 

WDRB’s Keith Kaiser served as emcee for the evening that raised not only thousands for the Salvation 

Army’s critical services but also enough in spontaneous bidding to provide at least one new van for the 

non-profit that reaches individuals and families in Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, Scott, and Washington 

counties. For long-standing service and heart for the community, volunteer Shannon Kaiser received the 

Service to Mankind Award, and Northside Christian Church earned the Lifetime Achievement Award. 

The Salvation Army’s mission is “motivated by the love of God to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and 

meet human needs in His name without discrimination.” Its central offce is at 2300 Green Valley Road in 

New Albany. For information, call 812-944-1018. 

Shannon Kaiser, one 

of the event’s cochairs, 

received the 

Service to Mankind 

Award. 

Above, left: Silent auction items appealed to Dick and Beth Peterson of New Albany, James and Debbie Hill of Sellersburg, and Bill and Betty 

Russo of Jeffersonville. 

Above, right: Committee co-chairs Chuck Grantz and Roxanne Haley posed with new Salvation Army Maj. Jamey Pennington and, representing 

Northside Christian Church for its award, Mark Stauffer and Ann Kulwicki and, in front, Jeff Riddle and Zach Haley. 

Impact 100 

GIRLS NIGHT OUT INSPIRES 

Hearts for the community + a philanthropic spirit = a lively evening when 

women gathered recently to learn about and celebrate Impact 100. The nonprofit 

empowers women to dramatically improve lives by collectively funding 

significant grants that make a lasting impact on the community. It awarded 

a $50,000 grant last year from among several applicants and hopes to reach 

$100,000 this year. The grant will be awarded to a non-profit in Clark, Floyd, 

and/or Harrison County selected by those who donate $1,000 by May 15. 

Following the national Impact 100 model, the local grant will address needs 

of women and children in areas of arts and culture, education, environment 

and recreation, family, and health and wellness. Impact 100 Southern Indiana 

is the initiative of the Women’s Foundation of Southern Indiana, a fund 

of the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana. For more information, 

log onto www.impact100si.org. 

These pages are sponsored by Idealogy 

6500 State Road 64 • Georgetown, IN 47122 

www.ideology.biz • 812-399-1400 

Top: Enjoying the array of hors d’oeuvres were Lynn Prinz, event hostess Kye 

Hoehn, Margaret Hammond, and Becky Nunn. 

Bottom: Registering for door prizes at the Impact 100 Girls’ Night Out were 

Elaine Murphy, center, and board members Morgan Rumple and Rhonda Parero. 



IndIana 



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Real Life Nutrition 

Seifan Tacos El Diablo 

A meal with easy ingredient swaps for everyone in your family 

Do you struggle with feeding 

picky eaters, or feeling like a 

short-order cook? Taco Tuesday 

in the Koetter-Ali household 

has a twist — I am a vegetarian and my 

husband is not. Lucky for us, we love all 

types of food, so finding common ground 

is easy. 

Accommodating different needs 

and taste preferences does not have to 

involve multiple dishes and long hours 

in the kitchen. It requires a little planning 

that can save time and money. The first 

part of meal planning is finding a recipe. 

The next step is building it your own way 

to meet your family’s needs. 

Every family is different, whether it 

is accommodating meat-eaters and vegetarians, 

food allergies or picky eaters. 

Most recipes can be modified with easy 

swaps to meet anyone’s requests. Simply 

follow the recipe as suggested and 

include the swaps in place of the original 

ingredients. For example, the original 

taco recipe calls for “chorizo” seitan, but 

for my husband’s portion, I’ll use regular 

pork chorizo. If you’re a vegetarian and 

also gluten-free, simply swap out the seitan 

with tofu or beans and use corn tortillas 

in place of flour tortillas (seitan has 

gluten). You can even use bibb lettuce for 

shells or make a rice bowl! 

I’m always looking for ways to make 

dishes more heart-healthy. To do this, 

simply use whole-grain tortillas, fat-free 

plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream 

and chorizo-flavored chicken in place of 

pork. 

Want to make the original recipe, 

but you can’t find “chorizo” seitan? Regardless 

of the protein you choose — seitan, 

tofu, beans or chicken — simply flavor 

your substitute to taste similar to chorizo. 

Sauté one small chopped onion and a tablespoon 

of chopped garlic in a pan with 

two tablespoons of olive oil. Add salt and 

Seitan Tacos El Diablo 

with Kiwi Salsa and Lime Crema 

pepper to taste, and cook for three to five 

minutes. Add your protein of choice and 

sauté 10-30 minutes, until the protein is 

cooked through and slightly crisp. Add a 

chopped green bell pepper and one tablespoon 

of chili powder and continue to 

cook a few more minutes until the dish is 

combined and fragrant. The protein substitute 

is now ready to be used in the taco 

recipe below. • 

Photo and Recipe Courtesy of Hello Fresh. 

About the Author 

Maji Koetter Ali, MS, 

RD, LD, is a licensed 

registered dietitian at 

Baptist Health Floyd 

specializing in diabetes 

and weight management. 

She uses 

a real-life approach 

to nutrition when 

counseling her clients, 

and encourages them 

to strive for progress 

not perfection. She is passionate about helping 

everyone find their own way to living their happiest 

and healthiest lives. 

Ingredients 

1 red onion 

1 poblano pepper 

1 roma tomato 

2 kiwis 

¼ ounce cilantro 

1 lime 

8 ounces chorizo seitan 

4 tablespoons sour cream 

6 flour tortillas 

Prep — Wash and dry all produce. Halve, peel and thinly slice onion. Mince a few slices until 

you have 3 tablespoons minced onion. Core and seed poblano, then thinly slice. Core and seed 

tomato, then dice into ¼-inch cubes. Peel kiwis, then dice into ¼-inch cubes. Finely chop cilantro. 

Zest lime until you have a big pinch, then cut into wedges. 

Make kiwi salsa — Combine tomato, minced onion, kiwis, a squeeze of lime juice and half of the 

cilantro in a small bowl. Season with salt, pepper and more lime juice (to taste). Set aside. 

Cook veggies — Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add poblano 

and sliced onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, until softened and slightly charred, 

3-5 minutes. 

Warm seitan — Add seitan and another drizzle of oil to pan and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until seitan 

is warmed through and starting to brown, about five minutes. Reduce heat to low to keep warm, stirring occasionally. 

Make lime crema — In another small bowl, combine lime zest, a squeeze of lime juice and sour cream. Season with salt, pepper 

and more lime juice (to taste). 

Finish and serve — Wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave on high until warm, about 30 seconds. Fill tortillas with 

seitan mixture, then top with kiwi salsa and dollop with lime crema. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Serve with any remaining 

lime wedges on the side for squeezing over. • 

Recipe courtesy of Hello Fresh 


#EatLocal 

A Place to Gather 

Above: the view from the patio at the Portage House. 

The Portage House offers a unique dining experience right on the river 


Story by Darian Eswine 

Photos by Michelle Hockman

“Stand by Me,” “Time of the Season,” 

“Dream a Little Dream of Me,” and 

“The Sound of Silence” are just a 

few of the songs you’ll hear when 

you walk into Portage House in Jeffersonville. 

You’ll see walls of art by local artists, 

walk past unique light fixtures and — if 

you happen to be seated on the second 

floor — see a beautiful view of the river. 

If the nostalgic music and eclectic atmosphere 

isn’t enough to entice you, just 

wait until you see the food. 

Since opening in October 2016, Portage 

House has been striving to be the 

relaxed, friendly and welcoming place to 

eat, drink and socialize in Southern Indiana. 

“We want to be some place comfortable,” 

said chef Zach Henderson. “People 

come and get really good food, really 

good cocktails and relax with a gorgeous 

view.” 

Henderson took over as chef in 

January after working at El Camino and 

Decca in Louisville. Paul Skulas was Portage 

House’s previous chef and remains 

a co-owner along with Floyd Denton and 

the DOERS Restaurant Group. 

Skulas said he wanted to open Portage 

House because he saw how much Jeffersonville 

was growing. The restaurant 

building used to be a home, and Skulas 

said it took about a year and a half of work 

to get the doors open. 

Waiter Andrew Thomas Wadsworth 

said one of the neat things about working 

there is hearing patrons’ stories. He said 

one woman came in who had lived in the 

building when it was a house from 1964 

to 1968. 

“She brought photos and the man 

that was with her — they had actually 

dated back in high school around that 

same time,” Wadsworth said. 

Unique stories play into the atmosphere 

and overall welcoming environment 

of Portage House. 

Skulas plans to remain co-owner 

while opening another restaurant in Louisville, 

which will focus more on his background, 

including time in Alabama and 

Mississippi. 

“Something that will embrace my 

time in the South,” he said. “Expect cracklins, 

boudin, gumbo and smothered pork 

chops.” 

Skulas said that what makes Portage 

House unique to the community is that its 

operators have always strived to be themselves 

and focus on food that is made with 

passion and love — a theme Henderson 

plans to continue. 

“I always joke about Sabor de Amor 

— you taste the love here,” he said. 

Since opening 

in October 2016, 

Portage House has 

been striving to be 

the relaxed, friendly 

and welcoming 

place to eat, drink 

and socialize in 

Southern Indiana. 

A display case at the entrance of the pharmacy highlights its 86-year history. 


Everything from the 

decorations to the plating 

and the music welcomes 

you into a unique experience 

right on the river. 

Henderson said he credits much of 

the restaurant’s recent success to the employees 

already in place when he arrived. 

“I have a team of really talented linecooks 

who execute at a really high level, 

so I walked into a gorgeous team and a 

gorgeous restaurant,” he said. 

Wadsworth said many of the staff 

members are artists or musicians of some 

kind, and their artwork is displayed and 

sold at Portage House. 

Southern Indiana Living photographer 

Michelle Hockman and this writer 

were recently able to check out the Portage 

House and sample the menu. Wadsworth 

was the waiter for the evening and Henderson 

provided a variety of foods. Hush 

puppies with Broadbent country ham and 

black pepper pimento cheese were served 

first. Next came the Korean fried broccoli 

with sesame seeds and green onions, followed 

by the house pickle plate featuring 

pickled green beans, pickled eggs, and 

bread and butter pickles, among others. 

The two main entrées were the 

whole roasted trout with an arugula salad, 

and the Indiana chicken thighs with 

rice grits, Brussels sprouts and pepper 


vinegar. Pudding with shaved chocolate 

was offered for dessert. 

Each dish was equally delicious, and 

the unique thing about this restaurant 

is that it encourages you to step outside 

your comfort zone. The broccoli and pickled 

eggs were quickly devoured. 

Henderson’s favorite menu item is 

the double cheeseburger, which is made 

with ground chuck from Hensley Homegrown 

Farms. 

“We do it diner-style, so potato bun, 

house-made special sauce, two thin chuck 

patties, American cheese and shaved raw 

onions,” Henderson said. “It is the best 

diner-style burger; grease dripping down 

your fingers.” 

Henderson said they are also noted 

for their fresh oysters, raw or chargrilled 

with herb or chipotle butter. 

“My goal is for you to come when 

the weather is hot, sit on the patio, drink 

beer, watch the river and eat oysters,” he 

said. 

Allison Hartley, Seth Stock, Gina Lamaster 

and Lukas Olson also recently enjoyed 

drinks and food at Portage House. 

They had the steak and potatoes, 

catfish, chicken thighs and Korean broccoli 

as well as several drinks including a 

Suffering Brave, a Blackberry Pimms Cup, 

an Apple Brandy Old Fashioned and a 

round of Lone Stars. 

“I grew up in Louisville and didn’t 

come to Southern Indiana much, but more 

and more places like this that open make 

me want to,” Hartley said. “It’s a really 

good view — I’ll come back just for that.” 

Henderson said he would love for 

more people to come over from Louisville, 

especially with the walking bridge being 

so close. He suggests people park in Louisville, 

walk over and skip the tolls, get 

hungry and come to Portage House. 

“Let us feed you, have a Bloody 

Mary, you know, walk back over,” he said. 

“We want to be some place convivial and 

congenial. Sit here, listen to tunes, (have) 

good food, good craft-made cocktails…” 

Convivial and congenial is definitely 

the vibe you get at Portage House. Everything 

from the decorations to the plating 

and the music welcomes you into a 

unique experience right on the river. 

Outside of cities such as Indianapolis 

or Louisville, it can be diffcult to find

new places to eat with unique food. That 

makes Portage House a real gem in our 

own backyard. • 

Portage House is open 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to 

Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 10 p.m. on 

Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. To 

see the full menu, visit eatportagehouse.com or 

check the restaurant out on Facebook. 


SPRING HAS SPRUNG 

MARCH 

• March 8 Mardi Gras Theme Cooking Class 

• March 12 Washington County YMCA “Tea Fundraiser” 

Call YMCA for reservations 

• March 19 Sister’s Style Show 

at Christie’s. Call Sister’s for reservation 

(812) 883-1776 

• March 22 Rick McDonald to perform...”Starlight In Salem” 

Live Entertainment Musician 

APRIL 

• April 1 Easter Sunday Buffet Reservations required (no fooling!) 

• April 12 “Spring is in the Air”Cooking Class 

MAY 

• May 10 “Summer Time” Cooking Class 

• May 12 Mother’s Day Sunday Buffet (Reservations Required) 

JUNE 

• DinnerTheatre “Smoke on the Mountain” 

• Check out our spot with“Secrets of the Bluegrass Chefs” 

(check out their website or youtube) 

103 S High St. • Salem, IN 47167 • (812) 883-9757 

Follow us on Facebook 

christiesonsalemsquare.com 


2018 Keynote Speakers: 

March 7 - Pat Harrison 

Broker | RE/MAX FIRST 

Owner | Pat Harrison Enterprises 

June 6 - Cile Blau 

Senior Judge, State of Indiana 

Join us for a breakfast to remember. You will hear 

from our successful keynote speaker and engage oneon-one 

with outstanding women professionals for an 

in-depth discussion that will leave you energized and 

motivated to identify your own action steps 

and tackle new challenges. 

September 5 - Nikki R. Jackson 

Senior Vice President and Regional Executive 

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Louisville Branch 

December 5 - Summer Auerbach 

Owner, Rainbow Blossom Natural Food Markets 

8:00 a.m. 

Kye’s II 

500 Missouri Ave. 

Jeffersonville, Indiana 

Cost: $35 for 1si members 

$50 guests 

To register visit 1si.org or call 812.945.0266. 

Registration is required. 

business resources 

economic development 

advocacy 

HARRISON COUNTY LIFELONG LEARNING 

812.738.7736 

 

Adult Education Classes 

 

Test Proctoring Services 

 

High School Equivalency 

 

Accuplacer Exam 

Testing 

 

College & Career 

 

Computer Education 

Preparation 

Sow the seeds of hard work, determination and 

endurance and reap the rewards of achievement, 

success and self-fulfillment. 


People of Southern Indiana 

Choosing Life 

A battle with Multiple Sclerosis won’t stop one local resident 

from serving and staying positive 

Story by Sara Combs 

Photos by Michelle Hockman 


If she’d listened to the prognosis after 

being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 

(MS) in 2007, Brenda Bye would be 

confined to a wheelchair. “They told 

me I had at least a 50 percent chance to 

be in the wheelchair full time in 10 years,” 

she said. “I thought, ‘No, that isn’t going 

to happen.’” 

Instead, 11 years later — in spite 

of advancing symptoms — she manages 

with the help of a rollator walker and a 

cane. Well, several canes. “When my balance 

got so I couldn’t wear my heels, I decided 

to get canes to match my outfits,” 

said Brenda, 55, a mother of three and 

grandmother to five grandsons. 

When Brenda and her husband, 

Larry, Realtors and property developers 

in Marengo, heard “MS,” they were not 

surprised. She had battled knee and neck 

pain, numbness and other symptoms for 

15 years and they had done extensive research. 

“We pretty well knew what we 

would hear,” she said. “I would feel bad 

for two or three days, then feel fine. My 

right side hurt and I had trouble with my 

right arm. It wanted to drop. I had to hold 

it up.” 

Brenda said her symptoms would 

come for a while, then disappear. “That 

is what makes MS so hard to diagnose. 

It took a long and winding road to get 

there.” 

“The first big thing,” Larry said, 

“was in 2002 when we thought she was 

having a stroke.” 

Brenda woke up in the night with 

neck and head pain and went to look for 

a Tylenol. “When I reached up to get the 

medicine bottle my right side went numb 

and I fell to the floor.” 

Larry called for an ambulance. “By 

the time I got to the hospital, I felt some 

better, but was in a lot of pain,” Brenda 

said. She underwent tests and was treated 

with medication and therapy. 

On April 27, 2007, Susan Stein, a 

nurse practitioner in Dr. Curtis Thill’s 

offce, listened as Brenda described her 

symptoms and determined that she 

should have an MRI. “Dr. Thill first ordered 

an MRI on my neck. Before we left 

the hospital the radiologist contacted him 

to also order a brain MRI,” Brenda said. 

“I was on my way home when the 

phone rang. It was Dr. Thill’s offce with 

the MRI results. I was told there were 

trouble spots on my neck and a small spot 

on my brain.” 

She was referred to a neurologist 

who looked at the scan and didn’t see 

anything. “He diagnosed me with muscular 

skeletal disorder and torticollis,” she 

said. 

“Then the pain got worse and the 

numbness continued, so I asked Dr. Thill 

Brenda with grandsons Baylor and Blaine 

“I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me. 

I don’t pity myself. 

That doesn’t get you anywhere. 

Without my faith this wouldn’t be possible.” 

- Brenda Bye 

to recommend a neurologist for a second 

opinion.” He sent her to Dr. Rajaie Obaid, 

in Jasper, who ordered another MRI and 

detected a large lesion on her neck and a 

smaller one on the brain. “He said it could 

be lupus, Lyme disease or MS.” 

The MS diagnosis was confirmed 

with a spinal tap. 

“My condition rapidly deteriorated. 

I couldn’t walk. My legs felt like noodles; 

it felt like I had shoes made of concrete 

blocks,” Brenda said. 

In July 2007, a wheelchair became 

necessary. “I was sent to Dr. David Mattson 

at the Indiana University Medical 

Center in Indianapolis, and then started 

with Rebif injections.” Brenda’s symptoms 

lessened, and she was able to get 

out of the wheelchair and walk without a 

cane. 

“In 2015 I could ‘furniture walk’ — 

get around by touching various pieces of 

furniture.” 

But in the next year, things got 

worse. She began fainting and had to use 

a cane. “I was treated at an Evansville hospital 

and put on a new drug.” 

She has run the gamut of MS drugs 

with injections, infusions and pills, keeping 

the symptoms somewhat at bay. 

Today, Brenda relies on her rollator 

walker or a cane because of balance issues 

caused by a foot drop. A stairlift helps her 

navigate her three-story home. 

Larry said that in spite of what she is 

going through, Brenda doesn’t complain. 

“She stays positive. I don’t know how 

she does it. And she doesn’t talk about it 

much, but she has to fight depression.” 

Brenda has always been active, 

working in real estate, caring for her family 

and home, mowing the lawn and assisting 

with the farm work. She was handson 

in building homes in subdivisions they 

developed, Larry said. 

“Now, I struggle to dress myself,” 

Brenda said. “Even though I fight fatigue, 

I am not sleepy. My mind never rests. I see 

things I want to do, need to do. And I can’t 

even clean my own house. It is so humbling 

to see someone else doing my job. 

“I can’t drive a car. I have a lot of 

cognitive issues. I rate my pain at six on a 

10-point scale. I have to search for words. 

I constantly fight fatigue.” 

The family has diffculty scheduling 

activities. “We can’t plan,” Larry said. 

“She has good days, but there are days 


she isn’t well. We just never know.” 

However, Brenda doesn’t just sit 

around. “Most days I have a small window 

of time that I feel fairly good and I 

take advantage of that. I can do laundry. 

I love to iron. I get tired so I iron awhile, 

rest a bit, and go at it again.” 

She looks forward to alternate Fridays 

when she, with the help of her adult 

son, Travis, cares for her two youngest 

grandsons, Baylor and Blaine Broughton, 

4 and 2, respectively. “I can’t physically 

play with them, but I find ways to connect. 

We play board games, read, sing, 

cuddle, nap and get along just fine.” 

Brenda also helps with projects at 

her church, Hillview Christian. “I try to 

find things I can do,” she said, “like setting 

salt and pepper shakers on all the 

tables when we are serving funeral dinners.” 

She gives Larry a lot of credit for 

making her journey work. 

“Without Larry’s support, I couldn’t 

have done this,” Brenda said. “He told me 

at the beginning, ‘We are in this together,’ 

and he has really been there for me. He 

has even learned to cook and clean.” 

The couple has been together since 

they were teenagers. Their first kiss happened 

at a birthday party when she was 

14 and he was a year older. 

They reconnected a year later at a 

hayride celebrating Brenda’s brother’s 

birthday. “That is when we had our second 

kiss,” she said. They began dating on 

Sept. 15, 1978, and on Sept. 15, 1979, they 

exchanged wedding vows. 

The young couple moved into a twobedroom 

mobile home and Larry went to 

work in his dad’s sawmill. 

In the early ’90s, they got into the 

real estate business. “Larry got his Realtor’s 

license in 1991 and I got mine a year 

later,” she said. “After we opened the office 

on State Road 66, I mostly worked in 

the offce, occasionally showing homes.” 

Besides their son, Travis, the couple 

has two daughters, Trena Broughton and 

Laura Helterbrand, Brenda’s sister whom 

they adopted. “We adopted her when she 

was 23. It is unusual to adopt your sibling, 

and unusual to adopt someone at that age, 

but she stayed with us until she married, 

and when she had Austin she wanted us 

to be his legal grandparents.” Austin has 

two brothers, Devin Thone, 15 and Boley, 

9. Brenda’s favorite Bible verse is Philippians 

4:13 — I can do everything through 

Him who gives me strength. “I have a 

pendant with that inscribed on it,” she 

said. “It is the verse that I rely on.” 

Her faith helps her maintain an upbeat 

attitude. “I don’t want anyone to feel 

sorry for me. I don’t pity myself. That 

doesn’t get you anywhere. Without my 

faith this wouldn’t be possible,” she said, 

explaining that throughout her MS journey, 

she has relied on prayers, both her 

own and those of her family and friends. 

“I know God didn’t give me MS; 

He only allowed me to have it. And it has 

given me many opportunities to witness 

for Him.” 

She has also found help in the Tri- 

County Multiple Sclerosis Society support 

group in Evansville. “It is comfortable 

confiding in other MSers, as we call ourselves,” 

she said. The group holds informational 

seminars and social events. 

Whether the future holds a wheelchair 

or she is able to continue with outfitcoordinated 

canes, Brenda is determined 

not to let MS control her. “I choose to live 

life and that is what I do,” she said. • 

For more information, go to nationalmssociety.org 

and tristatems.org 

“When my balance got so 

I couldn’t wear my heels, 

I decided to get canes to 

match my outfits” 

- Brenda Bye 


nonprofit SUPPORT: no icing needed 

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which contains new tax 

reforms negotiated by Congress and signed into law by the 

president, is causing several people and organizations 

across our nation, including nonprofits, to worry. Some 

nonprofit leaders have expressed deep concerns that the 

elimination of the charitable tax deduction as a result of the 

legislation will drastically reduce support from donors. This 

did not occur during previous tax reforms, and we do not 

believe it will occur now. 

Many studies over the years have shown the tax break is 

not the motivator for charitable giving. We Americans give 

because we believe in the work of the nonprofits we 

support. We like to help others and make our communities a 

better place to live. We love our churches, our schools and 

youth sports. We abhor the reality of hunger and loathe the 

abuse of the vulnerable. The tax break is, or rather was, just 

icing on the cake for our charitable giving. 

Our nonprofits are still out there teaching, feeding, 

protecting, healing and entertaining. They need our 

financial support no less today than they did before the new 

tax reform legislation was passed. Everyone in our 

community can continue to give time, talent and treasure to 

help our nonprofits. It won’t hurt a bit to go without the 

icing. 

We encourage you to partner with us to support your 

favorite charitable causes. You can donate lots of ways, 

including cash, check, online, securities or agricultural 

products. You can also establish an endowment fund or plan 

your giving by leaving HCCF in your will or estate plan, so 

you can leave a lasting legacy. 

For more information, review our website at 

www.hccfindiana.org, or give us a call at 812-738-6668. 

The tax break was 

just icing on the 

cake. It won’t hurt a 

bit to go without 

the icing. 


THANK 

YOU 

for your support in 2017! 

Pictured above: Music therapist Tyler Dippold with Drew, a client, at our music 

therapy showcase held in December. 

We are so excited for all of the ways we were able to serve the community in 2017 

because of your generosity and we are even more excited for 2018. Our Music 

Therapy Department, which began three years ago, has been rapidly expanding. We 

now have a full staff of music therapists seeing, combined, over 100 clinical hours 

each week. 

This month, we are expanding our offices. The Music Therapy facility will be 

building out three new clinic spaces in order to see more clients more efficiently. We 

want to thank AML General Contractors and CEO & Owner Bobby Libs for his 

generosity in donating materials, making this project possible. 

Personal Counseling Service, Inc. will be hosting a ribbon cutting and Open House 

in April - like our Facebook page to keep updated! 

Personal Counseling Service, Inc. 

1205 Applegate Lane 

Clarksville, IN 47129 

812-283-8383 

pcs-counseling.org 

facebook.com/personalcounselingserviceinc 


A Reason to be Thankful 

People of Southern Indiana 

Lessons learned during the first year of life with a preemie 

Just looking into the huge blue eyes of 

this happy, inquisitive, funny, perfect 

baby boy provides a strong neural 

signal from the amygdala, which registers 

an emotional reaction, and well, the 

eyes go into auto-mist and I become a big 

ole’ pile of sentimental mush. 

In all fairness, our little guy didn’t 

have it easy coming into this world; therefore, 

everything about him is a miracle to 

his loving family. Davis James “DJ” Dawson 

kicked his way out of his mother’s 

womb two months early and we watched 

and prayed as he grew ounce by ounce in 

an incubator with tubes and needles giving 

life support. 

During this past year as a first-time 

Mimi, this is what life with DJ has taught 

me about the most wonderful job on earth 

— grandparenting. 

1. To sit or not to sit … 

Typically, grandparents are in their preretirement 

or retirement years and are 

thinking about filling time voids with 

traveling, hobbies, volunteer work and 

leisure. Then this amazing being comes 

into your life and his parents ask you to 

watch the baby a couple of days a week. 

Throw time constraints and logic to the 

wind and say yes! Nothing can replace 

this time in your grandbaby’s life. 

2. Create traditions. 

Every morning when DJ is with me, we 

open the front door, look outside and 

cheerfully say, “Hello world, DJ is here!” 

Okay, I say it, but now he smiles with anticipation 

as we approach the door. Create 

traditions that create memories. 

3. Prepare to repeatedly fall in love 

When DJ looks up at me from his car seat 

and grins or when he holds his arms up 

to be held, I am overwhelmed by how 

deeply I love this child. Every minute with 

your grandchild is priceless and you will 

fall in love each time you are together. 

4. Consider boot camp 

Start working out even before the first 

baby shower. Think about how strong 

your forearm needs to be in order to hold a 

23-pound grandbaby and a 20-pound car 

seat simultaneously (Hint: As soon as the 

baby can sit unassisted, leave the seat in 

the car.) Then there is the 90-degree bentover 

walking assistance we employ after 

the baby gets his land legs. To accomplish 

this takes super human core strength. 

Stock pain-relieving medications and sign 

up for boot camp — you will need both. 

5. Don’t use the past 

Get over talking about how we did things 

when our children were babies. Those 

days of putting a baby in a forwardfacing, 

front passenger car seat are over, 

along with placing your child on a tree 

branch for the perfect picture or giving the 

little one ice cream for lunch. Telling your 

child how they survived these things will 

be ignored. 

6. Don’t fret over entertainment 

Let the parents coordinate future baseball 

or dancing lessons. As grandparents we 

get to live in today. Let the grandchildren 

do what you are doing. When I feel the 

urge to dance, I pick DJ up and we dance. 

When I feel like a walk, DJ is happy to 

be included. I see a future of having fun 

mostly doing simple everyday activities. 

7. Prepare for fun times ahead 

Virtually everything is more fun with 

your grandchild. We get to experience this 

Story and Photos by Carol “Mimi” Dawson 

new life in a different, softer light than we 

did with our own children. Our relationship 

(typically) is not to raise the grandchild, 

but to love them to pieces and create 

terrific memories. 

8. Don’t buy stuff 

Many millennials are minimalists. That 

means they don’t want stuff for the baby 

all over their house; instead, whatever 

you buy for the grandbaby stays with 

you. My home looks like a day care, with 

toys that allow DJ to jump, scoot, rattle, 

slap, or just sit and play — he even has 

a mini drum set. As soon as the drums 

were unwrapped, my son started with, 

“You know…,” and I finished with, “… 

they stay at Mimi’s house.” No problem, I 

always wanted to play the drums. Maybe 

DJ will teach me. 

9. Know that bumps happen 

You are going to occasionally move slower 

than the baby; don’t beat yourself up. 

The first time DJ bumped his head while 

learning to sit up, I was devastated, and we 

cried together. When his mommy came to 

pick him up, the redness was gone, but I 

instantly ’fessed up. She handed me the 

“get out of jail free” card by advising that 

it happens to them also. 

These are my takeaways from the 

wonder year of watching DJ two or three 

days a week. The most important advice 

I can pass along to new grandparents is 

to make that grandchild’s time with you 

their time. No television, no housework, 

and only work or cellphone time when 

they are asleep or doing something so 

amazing that you can’t avoid getting out 

the phone for a picture or video. Every 

minute with DJ has been priceless and I’m 

thankful every day to have this healthy 

and growing baby boy in my life. • 

Editor’s Note: This is a follow up to our first 

story when DJ was born premature. 

Pictured: (above) Carol’s grandson, DJ. 


Flowers aren’t the only things 

blooming as Spring approaches... 

Washington County 

welcomes Spring & Visitors 

with a lineup of great events, 

new shops, restaurants 

and much more! 

Visit our website at 

WashingtonCountyTourism.com 


washingtoncountytourism.com

Everyday Adventures 

No Walk in the Park 

Idon’t recommend hiking in the Grand 

Canyon in the snow. The path I took 

was called the Kaibab trail, which descends 

the South Rim of the canyon 

in a series of narrow switchbacks. I don’t 

remember any handrails or fences, just a 

steep drop into the rocky abyss. Standing 

on the rim, it reminded me of every Roadrunner 

and Coyote cartoon I’d watched as 

a kid. All I was missing was a set of Acme 

bat wings. 

It was college spring break, and I was 

starting to wonder if I should have gone to 

the beach like almost every other student 

I knew. Instead, my friends and I were on 

a mission trip in Arizona and took a side 

excursion up to the Grand Canyon for a 

few days. 

It seemed like a good idea at the 

time. After all, it was spring. When we’d 

flown into Phoenix, it was 93 degrees. Of 

course, three hours later, when we’d made 

it to the mountains, we found six inches of 

fresh snow on the ground. That doesn’t 

happen in Indiana. 

Unfortunately the Grand Canyon 

had picked up some of this snow as well. 

The Kaibab trail was well-traveled, which 

meant the snow had been packed into an 

icy glaze. It looked more like a luge track 

than a hiking trail. Just to make matters 

more interesting, I was wearing a wornout 

pair of cheap tennis shoes. I didn’t 

want any fancy cleats or hiking gear to 

slow this guy down. 

Just take it nice and easy, I told myself, 

one step at a time. Forget about the 

fact that the canyon is 6,000 feet deep. 

Forget about the sign I had just read that 

said people die here every year. Forget 

about the mules who are about to run me 

off the path. 

The mules were climbing up the 

path as we were descending, but instead 

of freaking out with each step, they were 

sauntering up the canyon like it was a 

walk in the park, which I guess technically 

it was. Just not the kind of parks I 

was used to. 

For the mules, however, it was no 

big deal. They were loaded with packs 

and passengers and strolled right past 

us as we flattened ourselves against the 

The Kaibab trail was well-traveled, which meant the 

snow had been packed into an icy glaze. It looked 

more like a luge track than a hiking trail. 

canyon wall. They didn’t look too worried 

about the snow or the heights or steep 

drop. They were sure-footed, confident 

and relaxed. 

When I think that about those mules, 

it reminds of something the poet David 

once wrote. He said, “God arms me with 

strength, and he makes my way perfect. 

He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling 

me to stand on mountain heights” 

(Psalm 18:32-33 NLT). 

We all face slippery slopes in life, 

those precarious situations when we’re 

uncertain about our next step. Sometimes 

the things we thought we thought were 

solid—our jobs, marriages, health, finances, 

friendships—begin to crumble. 

The ground under our feet doesn’t 

feel as secure as it used to, and we can 

see potential disaster waiting around every 

bend in the trail. Our knees become 

shaky and our footsteps hesitant. Some 

days we don’t feel like we can stand at all. 

However perilous your circumstances 

may seem today, though, just remember 

that you’re not walking this path 

alone. The God who walks with you is 

steady and strong. When you place your 

confidence in him, he can help you navigate 

even the most treacherous of life’s 

trails and give you the strength to stand. • 

Above: A 1995 snapshot of Jason Byerly at the Grand Canyon 

Jason Byerly is a writer, pastor, husband and 

dad who loves the quirky surprises God sends 

his way every day. You can catch up with Jason 

on his blog at www.jasonbyerly.com or on 

Twitter at www.twitter.com/jasondbyerly. 


THE ONE AND ONLY. 

2018 Jeep Wrangler 

EXPERIENCE THE CADILLAC ESCALADE 

JOHN JONES CADILLAC 

1450 S. State Rd 60 

Salem, IN 

47167 

JohnJonesCadillac.com 

© 2018 General Motors. All rights reserved. Cadillac ® 


ADVENTURE WHEREVER YOU GO 

Rugged style meets legendary capability. The 2018 Wrangler Sahara dominates the 

trails and looks good while doing it. The iconic seven-slot grille and plenty of open-air 

freedom will inspire you to grab every opportunity for adventure. 


HEART ATTACKS 

SELDOM LOOK LIKE THEY DO IN THE MOVIES. 

ESPECIALLY IN WOMEN. 

A WOMAN’S HEART ATTACK SIGNS MAY BE SO SUBTLE, THEY’RE EASY TO MISS. Often, there’s no chest pain. 

Instead, signs may include dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, or neck or jaw pain. If you are experiencing these 

symptoms, call 911 and get to the closest ER. 

Corbin | Floyd | La Grange | Lexington | Louisville | Madisonville | Paducah | Richmond 

BaptistHealth.com

Southern Indiana Living MarApr 2018

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