The average lifespan of a family venture is 24 years, and only three percent of existing family businesses are owned by a fourth generation or later. Increasingly, the odds are stacked against businesses lasting past the founders.

Bill Whorrall, author of “Goodbye, Mom and Pop: Independent Businesses in Southern Indiana,” says he was surprised to find so many upbeat store-owners, despite the presence of big-box stores. “This is a kind of Hoosier attitude that says, ‘Things aren’t as bad as they seem.’” He didn’t hear the token phrases like “Have a nice day!” or “Thank you for shopping at . . . ” in family businesses. People were more personable and real, Whorrall says. One store-owner told Whorrall that he never called the police when people shoplifted. “If they can live with it,” he told him, “I guess I can.”

These stores were known to be more reliable because back in the day, Whorrall says, there was a certain attitude about fairness. The owners and customers knew each other. Owners cared about people coming back. “Tell a big-box store clerk you won’t come back and see if they look concerned,” Whorrall says.

Today, reputation is everything. If your store becomes a town staple, it won’t budge easily. As Bernie Messmer of Jasper’s L.H. Sturm Hardware says: “Success depends on the community.” 812 is here to talk about a few family stores whose communities have supported them: a small yet stubborn hardware store, a medium-sized spice store with global girth, and a large, ever-growing orchard and winery.

What we found to be true is that no matter the size, the “Hoosier attitude” prevails in Southern Indiana.

• L.H. Sturm Hardware
• Huber’s Orchard and Winery
• Marion Kay Spices

L.H. Sturm Hardware

Opened: 1895
Current generation: 3rd

A staple on Jasper’s downtown square, L.H. Sturm Hardware gets its name from its founder, Louie Sturm, who opened the store in 1895. Today, the hardware store battles its archenemies: the Internet and big-box stores.

Sturm Hardware is nestled on the bottom floor of one of the first brick buildings to be built on Jasper's downtown square. Secretive meetings were held on the third floor where Bernie says there is still a cubby hole to give passwords, and the second floor hosted a dentist's office that boasted a sign: Please Do Not Spit On Floor. /Photo by Libby Peterson

“There’s a guy up north who claims to have the oldest hardware store in the state,” says Bernie Messmer. “He doesn’t.”

Bernie, 74, co-owns Sturm Hardware with his wife, Sharon, 72, the granddaughter of Louie Sturm who opened up shop over a century ago and set up, among other store features, the now-sagging plank boards still used as shelves today. Compared to the 1912 sepia-toned picture that hangs in the store’s entryway, Sturm Hardware looks virtually untouched.

Now a part of the National Registry of Historic Places, the store is most popular for its kitchenware, specifically for their cast-iron cooking ware and washboards. Sturm’s home beer- and wine-making section has also been a hit, which Bernie credits for the store’s continued survival. “I think it’s kept us going.”

Their biggest enemies are the big-box stores and the Internet, but they’ve survived so far, Bernie and Sharon say, because their customers don’t like waiting for things to ship. Plus, the pair are personable, a skill Bernie says he picked up from Sharon’s uncle Hugo, the second-generation Sturm who owned the store with her aunt Elsie and father, Carl.

“People still come in today and talk about how great Hugo was,” Bernie says. Before taking over full-time, Bernie helped Hugo with the store every Saturday. Whenever Bernie walked in, Hugo would heave a sigh of relief and hurry out, saying, “Boy, I’m glad you’re here. I’m heading to the tavern for a quick drink,” Bernie recalls with a laugh.

When Elsie became sick, the store’s fate came into question. Sharon’s father had died, and neither Hugo nor Elsie, who lived together all their lives, had children. Hugo asked Sharon and Bernie if they would take over the store. When they said yes, Bernie says, Hugo rushed down to the hospital to tell Elsie. “It put her at ease.”

Sharon left her job to run the store when Hugo had a stroke in 1988, and Bernie later joined her full-time. The hardest part was learning where everything was, Sharon says. In fact, the store is so packed with stuff that they’re still learning today. “And if Bernie decides to move something, I’ll have no idea where it is,” she says. “Everything’s got its proper place. I could point to where things are in my sleep.”

They have a son, Jason, 35, who’s decided to go into horticulture, but “he was raised in the store,” Bernie says. When Jason was in the 4th grade, his parents had a conference with his math teacher who told them, “I can’t figure it out, but Jason is way above and beyond the other children at counting cash.”

Though the store may appear untouched, there have been a few changes since Louie’s time: They’ve added a store cash register that charges credit cards, and they now keep their inventory in a computer that only Bernie uses. “I don’t do the computer,” Sharon says, pointing to the flickering blue screen on their pre-Internet, 1990s-model monitor. Yellowed books and catalogs are piled up the wall in a pigeon hole cabinet behind her. They’re supposed to sort through them, Sharon admits, but they haven’t gotten around to it yet—the last time they de-cluttered, they just threw stuff out the window.

Sharon finds a book among the largely untouched stacks of paperwork and catalogs that is signed by her uncle, father and grandfather. /Photo by Libby Peterson

Out of curiosity, she turns around and leafs through a stack. “Bernie, can we get rid of these Reader’s Digests?” But Bernie is occupied with a customer. She sets them down and picks up a book about explosives. The store used to sell dynamite, Sharon explains as she finds a vendor’s explosive license from 1944. She turns her attention to some books and pulls one out at random called “Indiana Farm Laws” by William K. Williams. She opens the cover and sees on the first page, written in pencil: L.H. Sturm Hdwe. Co., Jasper Ind. June 8/10. She flips open the cover of another book to find the handwritten date Jan. 28, 1921, and three names: Hugo M. Sturm, Carl J. Sturm, Louis H. Sturm.

Keeping Sturm Hardware alive isn’t exactly what either of them envisioned for post-retirement life. Just as Sharon and Bernie have kept the old store going, Sturm has managed to do the same for them. “We don’t mope around or go to the senior citizen center playing cards all day,” Bernie says. Sharon has few words regarding the store’s uncertain future: “I don’t like to think about it.”

People have asked them about buying the store, but Bernie has doubts of that likelihood. “I don’t think they can make a living here anymore,” he says. Sharon had suggested to Bernie that Sturm Hardware might have done better business in a shopping center, but Bernie remains loyal to the Jasper’s bustling downtown: “It’s lively here, so we stay here.”

For more information about Sturm Hardware, visit Bernie’s blog.

Sturm’s superb steals

What you didn’t know you needed at L.H. Sturm Hardware

• Turnip cutters, locally made
• Cast-iron cooking ware
• Washboards
• Hand-powered lawn clippers

Huber’s Orchard and Winery

Opened: 1843
Current generation: 7th

From 80 acres in 1843 to more than 600 today, Huber’s Orchard and Winery has expanded its original farmstead into one of the first combined winery and distilleries in the state. Current owners Ted and Greg Huber are the sixth generation, and can’t wait for it to continue into the seventh and eighth.

The ice cream at Huber's is homemade. The opening of the ice cream factory and cheese shop was another one of their diversification projects to sustain the family business. /Photo by Libby Peterson

Ask Marcella (known as Marcie) Hawk what she remembers about her great-grandma and namesake Marcella Huber, and she’ll tell you about her matriarch’s feel for good produce. Even though Marcella couldn’t see that well towards the end of her life, she could still pick a bad apple out of a bunch just by touching them.

Marcie also worked with produce as a teenager at Huber’s, but with a slightly different goal. “My sister and I could sell you a bag of apples like there’s no tomorrow,” she jokes. As a seventh-generation Huber, Marcie worked for the family from the time she was 14 until she left for college. She served at the snack bar, sold cookies, baked cookies and bread, worked cash registers and did whatever needed done.

Her older brother always knew he wanted to take over the farm someday, but Marcie had other plans. After high school, she left Huber’s to study chemical engineering at Rose Hulman. “I thought Starlight would be in my rearview mirror,” she says.

That fall, Marcie drove away from more than 170 years of history that began in 1843, when Simon Huber settled on 80 acres of land in Starlight. A German immigrant, Simon already knew how to grow fruit and make wine. He passed that knowledge down through 1932, when Carl and Marcella took over the farm. They built a dairy barn, but switched back to growing fruit a couple of years later.

As stores in Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Louisville started stocking their produce, Carl and Marcella transformed their farm into a popular place for people to pick their own fruit. In 1978, the Hubers opened a winery, beginning the diversification trend they have since focused on since. Last year alone, Huber’s took home Double Gold awards from the Indy International Wine competition for their carbonated 2011 Valvin Muscat, brandy and apple brandy.

“When I was 18 years old, I didn’t realize the heritage my family had,” Marcie says. After graduation, she worked in chemical engineering for two years before coming back to the family business. Now, she works under her mom as an assistant executive manager. They handle the office, scheduling and any tasks that pop up during the day.

Marcie calls her mom her best friend. “I work with her every day and never get sick of her,” she says. Overall, the family mixes well at work. To stay close, Marcie and her family eat dinner together every Sunday. She does admit, though, that it is sometimes difficult when your dad is your boss. “You learn to deal with who you are working with,” she says. “At the end of the day, I know that it’s my family and I love them.”

Their closeness means that even on days off, the Hubers can’t stay away. Marcie lives closer to Louisville so her husband has a shorter commute to his work, but she’ll somehow make it onto the farm for lunch or to run something to the bank on her time off. Huber’s only closes four times a year, at Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. Even then, some family members are thinking of the business. “My dad still worries about the weather and the fields,” Marcie says.

The farmstead has multiplied its acreage by over seven times since it opened in 1843. The Hubers started their vineyard in the late 1970s. /Photo by Libby Peterson

It’s hard to plan too far ahead in the future, but Huber’s is still growing. Marcie plans on being there for at least 30 more years. For now, Marcie’s dad, Greg, co-owns Huber’s with Ted. Greg focuses more on the business and farm, while Ted concentrates on the winery and distillery. Marcie and her brother want to stay on the business and farming side, while Ted’s teenage sons already show more interest in the winery and distillery.

She has an infant niece, celebrated as the first of the eighth generation of Hubers on the farm. “That’s everyone’s drive. We want to be able to provide for our family and the future generations that come along,” Marcie says.

For directions, hours and more, visit http://www.huberwinery.com/

Huber’s highest honors

Memorabilia celebrating Huber’s wine collection

• Letter from Barbara Bush
• Secret service certificate of appreciation
• More than 15 governor’s medals
• Indy International Wine Competition golds and double golds

Marion Kay Spices

Opened: 1922
Current generation: 4th

Although it began in St. Louis, Marion Kay Spices has made Brownstown its home since 1950. The grandchildren of founder Marion K. Summers own and operate the nationally known spice supplier, which got its start by providing the original KFC seasonings in 1965.

Kordell Reid, president of Marion Kay Spices, no longer notices the scent of his store — always peppery, but with hints of other extracts or seasonings being made that day. It’s the same pepper that his grandfather built the business on. The pepper’s still washed in the same machine his grandfather purchased. The only thing that’s changed is the ownership.

Marion K. Summers originally set up his spice shop in St. Louis but moved here to Brownstown after exploring the area on a camping trip. /Photo by Libby Peterson

Although Marion Kay sells spices to restaurants around the world now, it started by dabbling in other fields. In 1922, 16-year-old Marion Kordell Summers left high school, without a job or anything in his wallet. To scrape by, he sold silver cleaner to ladies in church groups around the Midwest. From them he got his big idea: to make a better vanilla extract than the imitations currently on the market. By 1928, Summers was doing well enough to open up shop by the name of Marion Kay Products Company in St. Louis.

He outlasted the Depression by selling a wide range of products like vanilla extract and sneezeless pepper, but that wasn’t enough to tide him through World War II. Gasoline rationing prompted him to add a mail-order service that evolved into a full-blown print shop. Then, he let groups sell his products as fundraisers. Any group selling more than 36 bottles of vanilla for a dollar each received a free 48-cup electric coffee urn.

A camping trip brought him to Brownstown, where Summers saw the abandoned Thompson Sled building. Marion Kay had found a new home that could handle the company’s growth. The business would end up staying in Brownstown for more than 60 years, despite a massive loss 15 years after moving. They had earned their fame by producing KFC’s first famous chicken seasoning, but they lost the account in the late 1960s after the Colonel lost a lawsuit against franchisees who weren’t producing chicken the way he wanted. The new KFC decided to go with a different supplier. Marion Kay moved on.

Marion K. Summers got the idea for his store when he set out to make a better vanilla extract than what was stocking the shelves back in the 1920s. Today, Marion Kay Spices has expanded to hundreds of different flavors. /Photo by Libby Peterson

Kordell learned to judge flavors across the street from the store, where he grew up next to his grandparents’ house. Instead of packing a lunch, his dad, James Reid, would bring home food from work during the summers. Whatever was being tested that day made its way onto the table. No one was exempt from the taste-testing. Employees, family, everyone had input on the latest seasonings. “If it needed more salt, more pepper, maybe some garlic, or it didn’t quite taste the way it should, all of us kids would make our opinion and they’d formulate it that way,” he says.

Despite his early involvement and namesake, Kordell had no idea that he would end up in the family business. He attended Texas A&M to study radio broadcasting, graduating in 1984. That same year, he married his girlfriend and Summers passed away. Kordell remembers that his grandfather had been looking for his help in the store, but the newlywed in Texas felt that he was too far away. After his grandfather’s death, his grandmother took over the business briefly. Kordell purchased the business a couple years later with his father and brother to keep Marion Kay in their family.

He promised his new wife that he wouldn’t let the business take over their lives. She worked for American Airlines in Dallas and was transferred to Indianapolis, so they moved to a middle-ground in Columbus, where they live today. The 40-minute commute to work is one of the best parts. “It gives me that separation of business with family. I don’t bring home any hassles of the day,” he says.

Kordell now owns Marion Kay with his sister Pam Warren. Their plans for the future include doing what they’ve always done. “Once people know about us, they’re so loyal,” he says. Marion Kay is still small enough that orders are placed and shipped the same day. However, they want to try to distribute some of their better-known seasonings nationwide.

No matter how well you do, Kordell acknowledges it’s not easy being in business with your family. He focuses on keeping an open mind and having patience. “You’re never going to see eye to eye on every issue, so recognize that everyone has an equal voice,” he says.

Marion Kay does most of their business online now, so visit marionkay.com for some dinner inspiration.

Marion Kay’s mouthwatering merchandise

The bestsellers from Marion Kay

• J.R. Mad’s fish breading
• El dominant one (garlic seasoning)
• Black peppercorns
• Vanilla extract

• Before you leave

• Fighting hunger with fire: surviving the great outdoors like the Boy Scouts

• Fire tips from the Boy Scouts themselves

• How to build the perfect cooking fire

• A Midsummer Night’s cuisine

• Camping experts share the dirt

• Two city girls walk into the woods…

Before you leave

Your must-pack, must-buy and must-know list for flawless campfire cooking.

Must-pack
The list of gear and gadgets is endless — you may find yourself getting a little carried away.

Aluminum foil
Iron skillet
Dutch oven
Tongs
Matches
Paper towel
Standard size fire pan (15 in. x 24 in.)
Swiss army knife
Charcoals and charcoal starter (if you plan on cooking over coals)
Tupperware
Oven mitt

Must-buy
We all have our own campfire-cooking favorites, but this grocery list will prepare you for the recipes featured in 812.

3 oranges
3 medium bell peppers
2 jalapeno peppers
2 red onions
3 lbs. potatoes
3 bananas
Muffin mix (we used blueberry)
Prosciutto, bacon or ham
Olive oil
Salt, pepper
Eggs
Sugar cones
Peanut butter
Mini marshmallows
Chocolate chips
Corn meal
All-purpose flour
Sugar
Baking powder
Milk
Cooking spray
Bisquick
1 jar marinara sauce
1 bag of shredded cheese
Seasoning of your choosing (we packed garlic, oregano and Italian seasoning)
Pizza toppings of your choosing
2 packages pre-cooked sausage

Must-know
Believe it or not, firewood can carry pathogens that can be responsible for devastating DNR property, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources is cracking down on the spread of these pests. Consequentially, firewood brought into state property must meet these DNR standards:

• Wood purchased from a department store, grocery store, gas station, etc., must have a USDA compliance stamp.
• Wood purchased from a campground or outside vendor must bear a state compliance stamp.
• All scrap lumber must be kiln-dried.
• If you are bringing wood from home or a separate Indiana location, the bark must be removed.

To properly prepare your wood, the DNR suggests you allow it to season for one year in a warm, sunny location, such as along the south or west corner of your home.

Fighting hunger with fire: surviving the great outdoors like the Boy Scouts

11-year-old Boy Scout Chad Thompson offered us his campfire cooking tips and tricks. /Photo by Victoria Gold

Rule number one: Always make sure you have plenty of kindling to get your fire started. Or is it tinder? No, maybe it’s fuel. Though 11-year-old first-class Boy Scout Chad Thompson may have had a little difficulty keeping the three types of firewood and their descriptions straight, he is still considered a fire-building expert. On an early spring day between gusts of wind pummeling us from all directions, we asked Chad to teach us how to build the perfect campfire, and boy, does he know his stuff.

A member of Boy Scout Troop 121 in Bloomington, Chad is equipped with his Boy Scout Field Book, his Scoutmaster and his Firem’n Chit, which certifies him in both fire safety and proper fire-building technique.

Scoutmaster Clay Slaughter tells me he stopped by Murray Park in Bedford because he had gotten out of work early, but after seeing the relationship between Boy Scout and Scoutmaster, it’s clear that this duo comes as a packaged deal. The two pace around the campsite looking for twigs and dry leaves before filling the fire pan with the most carefully constructed lean-to you’ll ever lay eyes on.

When Chad can’t remember which particular wood to place at the bottom of his fire, or when he forgets what else can be used as kindling, he looks to Slaughter, who shrugs before delivering his classic line, “I don’t know why you’re looking at me!” Chad’s face crinkles up in a battle against smiling, but he eventually bursts out into laughter before the two continue building their fire.

Chad carefully turns our s'mores to make sure they don't burn on the coals. /Photo by Victoria Gold

Now for the flames. Using a pesky book of matches with a cardboard flap covering the front, Chad successfully coaxed his fire into burning on the first strike and flames begin to spread across the fire pan. We’re thoroughly impressed that this 11-year-old Boy Scout is able to get a substantial fire started despite the gusts of wind blowing out several of our matches. Looking up from the growing flames for the first time, Chad wastes no time in replying. “Boy Scouts can light fires in anything.”

Stepping back to admire the results of his training, Chad uses a spare twig to point out the difference between a campfire (open flames) and the perfect cooking fire (burning coals beneath the flames). An experienced camper and outdoor cook himself, Slaughter admits that food is the best motivation for teaching boys how to build their own fires. Chad nods his head.

“The only reason I know these things is so I don’t starve,” he says with such a straight face, you would think he’s a man in the middle of an Everest expedition.

Even the Boy Scouts have to eat sometime.

Fire tips from the Boy Scouts themselves:

• Napkins, dry leaves and dry grass can also be used as tinder to get your fire started.
• Don’t ignore the first rule of fire safety: Never leave your fire unattended.
• The ideal wood to start a fire with is Sassafras, as it burns most easily.
• When you can hold your hand over your fire for 3-5 seconds before wanting to pull away, your fire is at approximately 350 degrees and ideal for cooking.
• After putting out your fire, be sure to dispose of your ashes in the woods where no one will risk running into them, minimizing your impact on the environment.

How to build the perfect cooking fire

Our lean-to fire at the peak of burning. When the flames had produced enough coals underneath, we carefully shifted the burning wood to the opposite side of the fire pan. /Photo by Victoria Gold

1. Stack your fuel (the “big sticks,” about the thickness of your wrist) along the side of your fire pan.
2. Lean the tinder (the “medium sticks,” think pinkie-finger sized) perpendicular along the fuel.
3. Stuff some kindling (the “small sticks” or twigs) in the gap under the tinder and into every nook and cranny of your lean-to.
4. Cram some paper towels in there, too.
5. Light your match, get the kindling and paper towel burning, and watch your fire grow.
6. Add kindling every couple of minutes to keep your fire blazing until everything is burning.
7. Begin adding tinder and fuel to your fire.
8. Once a substantial blaze is burning, carefully shift the flames from one end of the fire pan to another, leaving hot coal and ash at the opposite end.
9. Use the coals as a cooking fire and continue feeding the opposite end to use as a campfire.
10. Start cooking!

A midsummer night’s cuisine

Cooking over a campfire can be so much more than hot dogs and roasted marshmallows. To inspire your next fireside cooking adventure, 812 rounded up the some of the most creative (and delicious) recipes, courtesy of Pinterest. Next time you venture into the woods, try one of these mouth-watering dishes that are so easy, even the least experienced camper can quickly perfect them.

Blueberry Orange Muffins

Our delicious blueberry muffins cooked in orange peels. /Photo by Victoria Gold

These morning delights take a little extra time to bake to perfection, but trust us — they’re well worth the wait.

Ingredients:
-Oranges
-Blueberry muffin mix

Cut the oranges in half and use a spoon to remove the fruit from the inside. Fill one half of the emptied orange peel with muffin mix (prepared by following package directions) and place the other half back on top. Wrap the oranges in foil and place in the fire, turning them often. Check the oranges after 5 minutes to ensure they are cooking evenly. Wait until the batter is cooked through and serve.

Campfire Quiche

This quiche is perfect for a cool summer morning. /Photo by Victoria Gold

This easy camper’s quiche will be ready to serve in minutes, leaving you with more time to spend with the great outdoors.

Ingredients:
-Pre-cooked ham
-1 potato, sliced
-1 onion, sliced
-4 eggs
-Olive oil
-Salt and pepper

Grease the bottom of a Dutch oven and layer the ham on the bottom, followed by potato slices and onion slices. Drizzle olive oil over the top and add salt and pepper. Allow to cook over coals for 5 minutes, or until potatoes and onions are cooked through. Pour the whisked eggs on top and allow eggs to fully cook. Season with more salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Prosciutto or bacon can be used in place of the ham, and cheese can be added to the top of the eggs for extra gooey flavor.

Sugar Cone s’mores

Our s'mores in a cone are Boy Scout approved. /Photo by Victoria Gold

Who can say no to this camping classic? Even the Boy Scouts approve of this new spin on an old favorite.

Ingredients:
-Sugar cones
-Bananas, sliced
-Chocolate chips
-Mini marshmallows
-Peanut butter

Spread peanut butter along the inside of a sugar cone. Layer the inside with the chocolate chips, banana and marshmallows. Wrap in foil and place in the fire, turning often for 3-5 minutes.

Sausage HoBo Dinner

This hobo is simple to make but tastes like a million bucks. /Photo by Victoria Gold

HoBos are a simple, customizable dinner option that will fit anyone’s food preferences, but we couldn’t resist this combination of fresh produce and succulent smoked sausage.

Ingredients:
-1 package pre-cooked sausage
-1 red onion, diced
-2 pounds new potatoes, diced
-3 bell peppers
-Garlic, minced
-Spices for flavor

Roll out 2 square feet of foil, placing all of the ingredients in the middle. Wrap securely and place in the fire for 10 minutes, turning occasionally.

Campfire Pizza

Our gooey campfire pizza didn't last much longer after this photo. /Photo by Victoria Gold

Set out a buffet of everyone’s favorite toppings and create your own mini pizza in minutes!

Ingredients:
-Bisquick
-Water
-Cooking oil
-Marinara sauce
-Cheese
-Preferred toppings

In a separate container, mix Bisquick with water until a doughy consistency has been reached. Thoroughly grease the bottom of a Dutch oven with cooking oil. Pour enough dough into the pan to cover the bottom and spread evenly. Add marinara sauce, cheese and preferred toppings. Place over coals for 10 minutes or until dough has browned.

Indiana Cornbread

Cornbread cooked with freshly chopped jalapeño cooked in. /Photo by Victoria Gold

Eat it with dinner, save it for a snack or cook it purely for the spicy sweet aroma that seeps from the fire when this cornbread gets cooking. We won’t judge.

Ingredients:
-1 cup yellow cornmeal
-1 cup flour
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1 cup milk
-1 cup egg
-1/4 cup oil
-2 jalapenos, chopped

Mix ingredients together and pour into a greased cooking pan, spreading evenly. Allow to cook on coals, turning pan often to distribute heat evenly. Cook for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Camping experts share the dirt

Ben Robards told us there is nothing better than sitting around the campfire, talking about the day’s activities and enjoying a hearty meal that you have prepared in the wild. We were anxious to experience this joy ourselves. However, as we began our plans to cook in the great outdoors we realized neither one of us knew what we were doing. To demystify the art of campfire cooking, we sat down with camping experts who shared insider tips ranging from new uses for your favorite snack foods to the importance of a good spork.

Ben Robards
Age: 31 Hometown: Greenwood
This camper has been in the outdoors since the age of 5 when he joined the Boy Scouts. His love for camping grew when he started rock climbing in college. Robards is an employee and frequent customer of J.L.Waters and Company Adventure Outfitters in Bloomington.
Tip for beginners: Always make sure to keep a close eye on the grill. When you’re camping you don’t bring a ton of extra food. Burning your food is not an option.
Don’t forget: A good spork. It can be used for just about anything.
Favorite campfire meal: Beef stroganoff for dinner and cherry cobbler for dessert.

Barb Clements
Age: 56 Adopted Hometown: Indianapolis
This Midwesterner grew up in Girl Scouts. As her daughters got old enough, she became their Girl Scout leader. She loves being involved with the Scouts’ Day Camp and works there in the summers.
Tip for beginners: Make sure you have dry tinder and kindling to get the fire started. It needs air to breathe. Great fire starters are pine needles and dryer lint. Cheetos and Pringles make great fire starters, too.
Don’t forget: A bandana, scarf or tie to pull your hair back. Everyone thinks they’re safe and will stand back from the fire, but a wind can come up when you least expect it and boom, hair on fire. Matches and foil can be great lifesavers, too. When you get ready to eat, a Sporkif (spoon, fork and knife all in one) is the best.
Favorite campfire meal: Pudgy pie. You can put anything between the two pieces of bread from cream cheese and jam, eggs and bacon or ham, pizza filling or any variety of pie filling. It can go from breakfast to dinner to dessert.

Shawn Goertz
Age: 40 Hometown: Novelty, Mo.
This Midwesterner may not be from Southern Indiana, but he has tons of experience. Goertz grew up on a cornfield in Missouri, and he was only 7 the first time he went camping without supervision. Since then he camps every chance he gets. He particularly enjoys the challenge of cold-weather camping.
Tips for Beginners: Bring a magnesium block with flint. If you have one, you can start a fire in the pouring rain and wet wood if you have enough of it.
Don’t forget: A Swiss army knife—you can’t use the magnesium block without it.
Favorite campfire meal: Green apples, Gouda, ham and pita. These make for a tasty campfire sandwich.

Whitney Dreier
Age: 29 Hometown: Great Falls, VA
During her time in the Midwest, Dreier and her husband did a 400-mile ride across Iowa, carrying all their camping gear, clothes and food on their bikes. Contrary to popular belief, Iowa is not flat, and going uphill with more than 50 pounds gear on your bike can be tough!
Tip for beginners: Think about where you’re starting a fire and how you’re going to put it out. This is particularly important now, as much of the country is still dry from last year’s drought. I would even go as far as to say don’t start a fire unless absolutely necessary. Think about bringing already prepared foods, if possible.
Don’t forget: A can-opener comes in handy.
Favorite campfire meal: Do s’mores count as a meal? I’m a vegetarian, so pasta with veggies is always a good choice.

Monica Ware
Age: 56 Hometown: Indianapolis
Ware didn’t have any experience in the great outdoors until she began working at a camp at the age of 18.
Tips for beginners: Don’t be afraid to try new things and to change recipes and have plenty of spices on hand.
Don’t forget: Bandanas and foil are two items to have. The scarf can be used to shield your hair from the fire, cover your nose if the fire is smoky, can be a potholder or a rag to wash dishes. Foil is the best supply to have outdoors. It can be a scraper, helps to keep cooking dishes from getting to dirty to clean up afterward and a vessel that can be used to cook in
Favorite campfire meal: Deep-dish pizza in a Dutch oven or homemade bread and cake in an orange over the fire. They are delicious!

Clayton Slaughter
Age: 31 Hometown: Marion
Slaughter has been with the Boy Scouts of America for 25 years and  a scoutmaster for 10. He’s currently getting ready for his fourth backpacking trip to New Mexico.
Tips for beginners: Cook on the coals, not the flames. It’s important to regulate your heat so you don’t burn your food.
Don’t forget: Water. You are going to need it when you want to put out your fire.
Favorite campfire meal: Peach cobbler. It’s not your typical “hot dog on a stick” camp food.

Two city girls walk into the woods…

There’s nothing like cooking your dinner over an open campfire, sitting on a log and spending time with old friends under the bright summer stars. Well, there’s nothing like it if you can actually pull it off. For two novices like us, the experience of starting a fire, preparing food and eating outside was significantly trickier than we expected.

As people whose fire-lighting experience started and ended with the wicks of Yankee Candles, we had a lot to learn about gathering and drying wood, fire formations and the difference between a campfire and a cooking fire. However, we’re now proud to report our ability to successfully construct a lean-to formation of tinder, kindling and fuel – a.k.a. twigs, big sticks and bigger sticks.

Our first challenge was the gusts of wind that sent our supplies tumbling off picnic tables and rolling into the woods. We got a workout in chasing a plastic bag across the street, down a hill and into the trees. Lesson learned, Mother Nature. Next time we’ll bring extra potatoes to hold things down.

Starting our own cooking fire would have made for entertaining reality TV, as we’re still not sure that we can justify the outrageous number of matches we used. It’s still a mystery to us if the battle to get our charcoal glowing was due to the early spring wind or a lack of lighter fluid on our charcoal, but we’ll pin this one on the wind.

Then came the actual cooking. We had a basic idea of what we were creating and how to make it, but we were unprepared for the fact that fire burns things. Pizza crusts blackened, marshmallows melted and the bottom of our cornbread charred. Multiple attempts at working with a Dutch oven and heavy-duty aluminum foil taught us to use more oil on the bottom of our pans and to look for places in the embers that aren’t quite as hot (read: not still on fire).

All in all, we city girls had a great time prepping, cooking and especially eating our campfire creations. Allison now dreams of perfecting a campfire cupcake, and Victoria is even thinking of rejoining the Girl Scouts after a 10-year hiatus. We take comfort in knowing that if we ever find ourselves stuck in the woods with some matches, dry wood and maybe a little bit of oil, fresh produce, some salt and pepper and silverware, we’ll have no problem at all feeding ourselves. Not many people can say that for themselves, now can they?

Stan Stecker, 42, Blake Stecker, 14, Martha Steckler, 46, Jeremiah Stecker, 3, Danielle Steckler, 10, Eli Stecker, 7, Joel Stecker, 12, and Samantha Steckler, 16, sit down for a home-grown lunch at the family table. The main dish: rabbit gravy. /Photo by Brittany McNeelan

“If you don’t like it, we won’t hold it against you,” Martha tells me, “and if you do, you’re welcome to more.” Six boys and girls take their seats around the table, leaving two chairs unfilled. One is reserved for 18-year-old Garth, who’s had a little car trouble, and the other is for 19-year-old Gavin, who’s training to be a priest. The family bows their heads and recites the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary and the traditional prayer before meals. Once they finish, Stan asks Martha, “Is that what I think it is?” nodding his head toward the main dish. Martha shakes her head yes and replies nonchalantly, “Rabbit.”

Stan looks at me and tries not to laugh as he explains that the meat perched on top of my mashed potatoes is a rabbit that had been raised by their 14-year-old son Blake. Like most of the family’s meals, all the food we’re eating was grown here on the farm, including the cabbage in the homemade sauerkraut and the beets used to flavor it. The deviled eggs came from their hens and the green beans and onions from their garden. The green beans haven’t made it to my end of the table, though, and when I ask Danielle to pass them, Martha jokingly tells me I’ll have to scoop them off someone else’s plate. “With as many hands and mouths as we have here, you have to get in there and grab what you want,” Stan says.

Stan and Martha Steckler and their eight children run Grass Corp organic farm in Leopold. The farm operates with no harmful chemicals and has no employees outside the immediate family.  Their specialties include grassfed meats – such as Normande cows, lambs and goats, chickens and turkeys — free-range eggs and homemade soap. For Stan, the best part of farm life is maintaining an independent lifestyle

The Stecklers are one of a growing number of farm families in Indiana who are converting from traditional to organic practices. Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann believes the switch to sustainable agriculture is important to Indiana’s future. “Stan and Martha are true entrepreneurs, stewards of the environment, and a great Hoosier family,” says Ellspermann, who worked alongside the Stecklers and others to draft legislation allowing the sale of poultry at farmers’ markets.

Take it from these turkeys grazing on the Steckler family's high quality pastures: animals at Grass Corp are grassfed and free of harmful chemicals and antibiotics. /Photo courtesy of Samantha Steckler

The number of organic farms in Indiana has jumped in the past 10 years to 180 operations that cover more than 18,000 square miles of land. Indiana is still catching up to Ohio, with 50,000 acres, and Illinois with 30,000 acres. The southern third of the state is home to 26 organic farms priding themselves on operating without using any harmful chemicals, antibiotics or growth hormones.

The family of 10 works together to be as self-sufficient as possible by providing their own milk, eggs, produce and meat. They use their diversified, 100-acre farm to make a living and feed the family. Though Stan is a second-generation farmer, his organic operation is a lot different from the traditional farm his father ran. His father wasn’t always comfortable with the transition, but he’s come around as he’s seen his son’s family flourish.

Stan steps out of bed at 5 a.m. every day, pulls on a pair of work pants, slips on his heavy, weathered-green Carhartt coat and heads out the front door towards the milking barn. He started milking cows when he was 7, and he hasn’t missed too many days since then. In his family, everyone was expected to help out on the farm as soon as they were

As the goats munch on hay, Eli tells me, "You don't want to get near Teddy, the big brown goat, because he likes to get at you. One time he tried to push me through the bars in the gate. /Photo by Brittany McNeelan

big enough to be productive, and they did. His early work on the farm prepared him to run his own operation.

On the Steckler farm, everyone has chores, and Martha and the kids roll out of bed about an hour after Stan. Samantha and Danielle make breakfast and get food set up for the rest of the day by baking fresh bread and brewing Kombucha, a fermented Russian tea said to be a health tonic. The boys grudgingly head outside to begin feeding and watering the cows, pigs, chickens, lambs and goats. They also have to feed their two dogs, Pup, a giant Anatolian shepherd with the mane of a lion and a roar to match, and a little brown mutt named Mikey. “Chores usually aren’t that bad,” says 14-year-old Blake. “It just has to be done,” agrees Joel, 12.

All the kids admit that while sometimes they’d rather be doing other stuff, their chores come first. And when it comes to feeding and watering the animals, it’s a life-or-death situation. They shoot to finish with morning chores by 8 a.m. Then they head into the house and wash up for breakfast. The kids work together to wash and put away the dishes and sweep the floor. Then it’s off to their bedrooms for school, which for 7-year-old Eli includes a mid-morning break to gather the day’s first round of fresh eggs.

Grassfed cows are one of Grass Corp's€™ specialties, and Stan is experimenting with sprouted barley fodder in hopes that he can have green-growing feed available 365 days a year. /Photo courtesy of Samantha Steckler

In 1996, after adding their third child, Samantha, to the family, Martha decided to leave her job and stay at home with the kids full-time. She’d been itching to try homeschooling because she knew several people who were doing it. With Stan farming full-time and the kids at school all day, they hardly got to see each other. “Stan and I would visit families who were homeschooling, and we realized that’s how we wanted our kids to act,” Martha says.

Her main focus is teaching the kids to read and write well and giving them a good foundation in math. The other part is teaching a strong foundation in their Catholic religion and their ability to choose between right and wrong. The older children help out the younger ones with problems when Martha’s hands are full.

That teamwork is a must for the Stecklers. As the kids finish eating lunch, Samantha clears the dishes while Blake begins to wash. Danielle pours the remaining rabbit gravy into a Tupperware container, scraping the bowl so she doesn’t waste a drop. When she finishes, she grabs the broom and sweeps the floor.  By the time their parents have finished eating, the kitchen is spotless. Sixteen-year-old Samantha says she doesn’t mind the work, and they’d get bored without so much to do.

Each child has special talents. Samantha, the only child with curly hair, crochets masterfully, gives her brothers haircuts and sewed the family out of a disaster this afternoon when Jeremiah woke up from his nap to find a tear in his penguin blanket. Her little brother Eli calls Danielle the “noodle- maker” because she makes them from scratch. It’s a skill she could live without.

“You do your schoolwork, then you do eggs, then you do noodles, and it’s just not that fun,” Danielle says.

"We work together; we play together; we pray together," Martha explains as she prepares a lesson on religion. /Photo by Brittany McNeelan

“It’s usually only once a week,” Martha reminds her.

“Yeah, but still, it’s noodles,” Danielle persists.

Martha raises an eyebrow. “You have gotten out of cleaning eggs before to package noodles,” she says softly but sternly. Danielle doesn’t bother with a rebuttal, knowing they all have to pull their weight around here.

Stan and Martha both grew up on small, family-operated dairy farms, and it wasn’t until 2005 when they moved to their current farm and switched to organic practices. Today, not only is business booming for Grass Corp, but also for organic products in general, which are responsible for more than 3 percent of the country’s total food sales. Organic products have become a staple in three out of four grocery stores in the United States, not to mention the mainstay of specialty food stores, including Sunnyside Natural Foods Market in New Albany and Bloomingfoods in Bloomington.

Stan says he felt pulled to a more natural way of doing things. “I thought that mankind needed to take a step back and do things the way they were meant to be done for our benefit and the benefit of society,” he says. However, making the switch was a time-consuming process that took years to get right. Back in 2005, organic farming had yet to gain a mainstream following. Instead of finding a guidebook filled with tips on how to keep baby chicks warm or build a mobile coop for the pasture, Stan has had to search for the answers himself. It’s been a slow and steady transition, involving a lot trial-and-error. The greatest expense in the conversion, Stan says, may be the lost opportunities during the experimental stages.

The Stecklers’ latest experiment, a bright green plant called barley fodder, is sprouting in the milking barn. “Green, growing feed in the off-season is the goal,” Stan says as he walks me into the barn. Before I could look around, I’m smacked in the face by a thick wall of humidity. My glasses fog up, so I stick them on the top of my head and hope they won’t fall off while I climb the ladder leading to the top level of the barn.

While Danielle and Eli wash and package the day'€™s eggs, Eli explains, "Some chickens are peckers and some aren't. Getting pecked is just part of getting eggs." /Photo by Brittany McNeelan

This room is kept warm to accommodate the fodder. One side is lined with rows of silver-colored trays planted with barley and connected to a drip irrigation system. The plants will sprout and grow about six to eight inches tall. Stan explains that eating the fodder is similar to eating fresh grass. It’s a way to combat drought and even out the food supply for the year. “It allows us to have green growing grass 365 days a year,” Stan says. He hopes that cutting back on the hay the cows eat will lead to an even healthier and tastier meat.

“As a farmer, you can’t expect to eat fast food and have enough horsepower to run your body on a daily basis,” Stan says. His son Gavin agrees. Since leaving home to attend Marion University, he says he’s hungry all the time because the food isn’t as good or as nutritious. The upside is that it warms Martha’s heart when he scarfs down a home-cooked meal.

Grass-fed meat is higher in healthy fats like Omega-3 fatty acids and is packed full of other natural vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, beta-carotene and vitamin E. Grass-fed meat has less fat and cholesterol and fewer calories than grain-fed meat. The quality is important, says Susan Kaempfer, manager of the New Albany Farmers Market where the Stecklers have been selling goods almost every weekend for over three years. “There’s a large following for their product, and it draws a bigger crowd to our market. A lot of people just come for their product and leave,” she says. Plus, she says, it’s nice to see how they work together as a team.

Around 2 p.m., after finishing their schoolwork, Eli and Danielle head to the market barn to wash and package eggs. It’s tedious and takes almost two hours to complete. The market barn is where all the products are stored, and it has five deep freezers containing cuts of beef, whole chickens, legs of lamb, lamb chops and goat stew meat, among other things. The kids use damp cloths to wash the dirt off the eggs, then place them in foam cartons. Packaging the eggs every day helps to keep them cleaner. As they near the bottom of the bucket, Danielle and Eli start counting down. When they finish, Eli is thrilled to have 38 minutes left to play before starting his afternoon chores. He grabs a Nerf gun and runs around the house shooting foam darts at Joel and Jeremiah.

Although Joel says his chores aren'€™t much fun, he jumps right in to help Eli and Danielle package eggs. /Photo by Brittany McNeelan

Martha calls family vacations “kind of impossible” but says she and Stan or some of the kids can take turns getting away and trust that things will be taken care of at home. “We just can’t all go together,” she says. For fun, the family plays board games like Scrabble, Candyland and checkers or a game they invented called Trampoline Dodgeball. They never watch TV on school nights, but they occasionally turn on the tube during the weekends, favoring sports, nature shows and family-oriented movies.

When the clock strikes 4, the kids put on their boots and overalls and begin afternoon chores. Eli and Danielle each grab an empty five-gallon bucket on their way to the barn, and we all duck as Garth runs up in a bright orange pair of coveralls and throws a late-season snowball in our direction. It explodes on the side of the barn as he heads off to help Joel herd up the cows.

In the chicken coop, all I can see is chickens – white, brown, red – everywhere. The clucking is deafening, and the smell of fresh cow manure lingering in the air is less than pleasant. Joel feeds and waters the chickens, leading them to flock toward their troughs. Meanwhile, the kids make their way through the nests and gently pick out the brown eggs, adding them to their buckets one by one. When they finish, every bucket is filled to the brim.

Blake milks the cows, and Joel waters the fodder, then feeds and waters the pigs and calves. The milking machine makes a loud suction noise as it attaches to each teat, followed by a chugging sound as the milk is drained into the tubes. By 6 p.m., the evening chores are finished, and we all head inside for dinner, stopping at the front door to kick off our dirty boots.

The USDA expects demand for organic foods will continue to grow in the future. Organizations like the Midwest Organic Farmers Cooperative and the Hoosier Organic Marketing and Education group now offer assistance to organic farmers. So it’s likely there’s a future in organic farming, but do the Steckler children plan to be a part of it?

While Samantha loves life on the farm, she wants to go to college and study accounting. Her little brother Joel wants his own farm because he loves working with animals. Middle-child Blake expects to build his own operation from scratch as well. One thing they are sure of is that they will continue their father’s legacy of doing things the natural and organic way. While it’s a little too soon for 3-year-old Jeremiah to plan a career path, he knows one thing’s for sure:

“I just love this family staying at this farm.”

The kids and their chores

Everyone pulls their own weight in the Steckler family.

Gavin has traded in his working boots for pens and paper and is a full-time college student whose main chore is homework.

Garth, 18, is the oldest child who still lives at home and helps with whatever needs to be done, like scraping the barnyard of manure, running errands, making deliveries and herding cows into the milking barn.

Samantha, 16, prepares the day’s meals and helps make deliveries.

Blake, 14, is in charge of milking the cows.

Joel, 12, feeds and waters the animals, including taking barley fodder to the cows and hay to the sheep.

Danielle, 10, is the “noodle maker” and helps wash and package eggs.

Eli, 6, is responsible for gathering, washing and packaging eggs.

Jeremiah Steckler, 3, goes out with Eli in the mornings to gather eggs. Otherwise, he shadows his older brothers and sisters.

These are the places John Mellencamp has sung about, where it’s impossible to stroll down the street without seeing a familiar face and the town square is a one-stop shop for dinner, new shoes and a haircut. Despite the threats of big-box stores moving in and schools consolidating, small towns still exist. You’ll find them located off the main highways and tucked in the hills throughout Southern Indiana.

Small towns are the lifeblood of the country, says Dorothy Graham, owner of Persimmon Tree in Paoli. Here, face-to-face interaction is cherished, something you’d be hard-pressed to find in a big city. Quaker pastor, writer and small-town resident Phil Gulley appreciates that he can still ride his bike down the familiar streets and take his children hiking in the same places where he romped as a child. Gulley says some small towns may have dreams of becoming large cities, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. The result is planned out communities with established shops, churches and schools, hoping to grow and thrive.

The rich food, history and people in small towns make up for their lack of size. We’ve created day trips to three Southern Indiana towns in hopes that you’ll realize there’s always another delicious diner to find, a bit of hidden history to discover or a welcoming person to meet.

We mapped out the must-sees, must-dos and must-eats of Clarksville, Paoli and Salem. These destinations represent the best of small town culture that continues to thrive in Southern Indiana. Explore the river town of Clarksville, discover historical Salem and browse through the shops on Paoli’s town square.

Rediscover a simpler life and take a day trip to one, or all, of these small towns. “If you want a high action vacation, that’s one way to do it,” Graham says. ”But there’s natural beauty here. Sometimes we don’t move as fast, but we don’t lose as much either.”

• Clarksville

• Salem

• Paoli

Clarksville

It’s easy to overlook Clarksville. Miss the highway exit ramp, and you’ll find yourself crossing the Ohio River bridge into Louisville. When we first drove into Clarksville, we weren’t sure we were there, given its proximity to Jeffersonville and New Albany. Then we saw the giant Colgate Clock looming overhead, and we knew we’d arrived.

Clarksville is one of three Indiana river towns that make up the area called the “Sunny Side of Louisville.” The people of Louisville don’t seem too offended by this title, according to Linda Hughes, operations manager of the Clarks-Floyd Counties Convention-Tourism Bureau. The town was created when ships couldn’t navigate past the limestone fossil beds that make up the Falls of the Ohio, prompting people to settle along the river.

It’s a good thing we didn’t miss the exit because the breathtaking view of the Ohio was just the beginning of our Clarksville adventure.

FALLS OF THE OHIO

When you visit the Falls of the Ohio State Park, you’ll learn about the Devonian age at the Interpretive Center, experience the area’s thriving nature reserves and be taken back in time to the home of General George Rogers Clark.

The Interpretive Center opened in 1994 on a plot of land that used to be filled with trash and teaches paleontology, glaciers, converging cultures and conservation. When you enter the center, friendly staff greet you and offer their help and knowledge. Visitors can hear about when the area was a warm, inland sea with 20-foot-long armored fish, the formation of the fossil beds and the changes that occurred when the Native Americans met with the first European settlers. A wildlife observation room is a birders’ hotspot, where you might see any one of the 270 bird species in the area. You can also sign up for guided hikes out on the 220-acre Devonian fossil bed, one of the oldest in the world.

A quick five-minute drive or a one-mile trek along the Ohio River Greenway brings you to the home site of George Rogers Clark. The highest-ranking American military officer in the northwest frontier in the Revolutionary War, he was originally asked to accompany Meriwether Lewis on his famous expedition. Believing he was too old, Clark recommended his younger brother William to go with Lewis instead. Although other towns stake the same claim, historian Stephen Ambrose’s research indicates that Lewis and William Clark shook hands in Clarksville, marking the true beginning of their expedition. A statue of the handshake resides outside the museum.

The Clark cabin is not a replica but a representative cabin, meaning it is a real cabin from the same time period brought to the location. A smaller cabin on the property was built to look like Guinea Bottoms, where Clark’s indentured servants, the McGees, lived. Guinea Bottoms was one of the first free African American settlements in the Northwest Territory.

Guided fossil bed hikes from August-October or as scheduled; visit website for park hours, fees and special events http://www.fallsoftheohio.org/index.html

INSIDE SCOOP

• Clarksville is home to the original Texas Roadhouse. Now, it’s a chain with 320 locations in 46 states and one international restaurant in Dubai. If you’re hankering for some fluffy rolls, personable service and a juicy steak, head down to Green Tree Mall.

• You’ll find the second-largest Bass Pro Shop, at 280,000 square feet, here. (Only the Springfield, Missouri, store is bigger.)

• The Ohio River Greenway, a seven-mile path along the river, winds through Clarksville, Jeffersonville and New Albany. Restaurants, parks and the George Rogers Clark home site are along the trail.

• A shady bench at Ashland Park on the Greenway offers a great view of Louisville. If you’re a storm chaser, Hughes says it’s a great place to watch a thunderstorm roll over the river.

The Colgate clock, at 40 feet in diameter, is the seventh largest clock in the world. It is perched atop what was once the Colgate-Palmolive Factory. /Photo by Sarah Boyum

• People in Clarksville never have to wonder what time it is because the seventh largest clock in the world sits on a building that was once the Colgate-Palmolive Factory and a state prison. At 40 feet in diameter, Colgate Clock was once the second largest clock in the world.

MUST-EATS

Adrienne and Co. Bakery Café — Kings Island calls on this Italian café in downtown Jeffersonville for special-occasion cakes, and Buddy from TLC’s “Cake Boss” used Adrienne’s cupcakes for a segment in Louisville. Co-owner Bernie Pasquantino used many of his mother’s Italian recipes when he opened the café in 2001. Italian wedding cookies, coconut macaroons and amaretti cookies are just a few of the tasty treats. Fresh-to-order lunch is served daily, and a new cupcake is featured each week.

Don’t leave without tasting a cannoli. “You really can’t get a cannoli like that anywhere in Louisville,” Bernie claims.

Open: Mon.-Tues. 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Wed.-Fri. 7 a.m.–8 p.m.; Sat.8:30 a.m.–3 p.m.; closed Sun. Adrienne’s Café will host the annual Jeffersonville Italian Festival on Sept. 27-29 this year. Described by Pasquantino as a “big street party,” this event outside their storefront features food and drink from local vendors, music and games and attracted more than 8,000 people last year.

Widow’s Walk Ice Cream — Take a break on the Ohio River Greenway and grab an ice cream cone at Widow’s Walk Ice Creamery. Open from mid-March through mid-October, the ice creamery has outdoor seating and boasts one of the best locations to enjoy the Louisville skyline. The creamery shares a Victorian-style house with the Widow’s Peak hair salon. Co-owner Bryan Farley recommends the Proud Mary Peanut Cup Sundae: a warm brownie piled high with peanut butter cups, drizzled hot fudge, whipped cream, nuts and a cherry on top.

MUST-DOS

Derby Dinner Playhouse — If you’re looking for a great show and excellent meal, Clarksville’s Derby Dinner Playhouse can provide both. Opened in 1974, the playhouse is one of the oldest continually running dinner theaters in the country and the only professional theater in Southern Indiana. Now in its 39^th season, it attracts visitors from all 50 states and Canada. Passionate performers, clever costumes and an orchestra liven up every performance.

Located on Marriott Drive; tickets can be ordered online or via phone. Visit the website for additional information http://www.derbydinner.com/

WHAT SURPRISED US

Clarksville is expanding. A building plan called Clark’s Landing will revamp the town’s center with more restaurants, shops and the Colgate Center, a large convention center.

WHY I LOVE THIS TOWN

Kelley Morgan is the interpretive manager at the Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center.

“It’s really a million-dollar view,” she says. “You’ve got the river, and in the evening we have the best view of Louisville. The sunset is beautiful. You can appreciate what you’ve got right outside your window.”

Salem

It’s hard to get lost in Salem. As we drove into town, we saw the quaint downtown and the tip of the courthouse poking through the clouds in the distance. Dawn Powell Camp, the tours and library assistant at the John Hay Center, remembers jumping up and down when the Salem courthouse came into view because that meant they were almost to Grandma’s house. As we continued our drive, we spotted the welcome sign boasting Salem as “A great place to live and make a living.”

Salt licks and lush land originally drew the first European settlers to the area, where the four-season climate was ideal for farming. The railroad attracted business and more newcomers. The town of Salem soon flourished.

You don’t have to venture too far off the square to find what you’re looking for. As Camp says, “If you’re looking for history, you’ve come to the right place.”

JOHN HAY CENTER

Located in downtown Salem, the John Hay Center includes the birthplace of its namesake, the Stevens Memorial Museum, the pioneer village and the Depot Railroad Museum. The Stevens Museum is named for Warder Stevens, who wrote the first 100 years of town history. It includes many artifacts of John Hay, an attorney born in Salem in 1838 who became Abraham Lincoln’s right-hand man. A genealogy library draws people from all over the country to trace their ancestry. Camp even discovered she is a Daughter of the Revolution, a descendent of someone who helped America achieve independence. Museum exhibits include Native American artifacts from the Delaware, Shawnee, Miami and Piankashau tribes, old-time fashions and careers and a military room commemorating local soldiers.

The Pioneer Village, at the Stevens Memorial Museum, is a reconstructed pioneer community that portrays a Southern Indiana settlement. /Photo by Sarah Boyum

The John Hay House in the pioneer village was built in 1814 as a schoolhouse. Families lived there until 1969, and it’s now on the National Registry of Historic Places.  The recreated pioneer village has hosted Old Settlers’ Day on the third weekend in September every year since 1875. The festival celebrates the lives and contributions of the town’s forefathers. The Depot Railroad Museum, behind the pioneer village, recognizes Salem’s role in organizing the Monon Railroad Line between Salem and New Albany.

INSIDE SCOOP

• Salem resident Sarah Parke Morrison was the first woman graduate of Indiana University, but she was not allowed to walk in the graduation because it was thought “unseemly.” Parke attended IU for her third degree in an effort to lobby for other women to attend, and Morrison Hall on IU’s Bloomington campus is named after her.

• One of Salem’s most famed residents, Everett Dean, 1920s IU basketball player and coach and 1940s Stanford coach, was influential in creating the pioneer village at the John Hay Center.

• The Carnegie Library, just off the town square, was built in 1905. Andrew Carnegie established 2,800 libraries across the United States, and Indiana is home to 135, more than any other state.

• Becks Mill is the only surviving gristmill in Washington County. The first corn was ground in 1808, and was powered by the Blue River. Family members continued to operate it for 200 years before donating it in 2005 to the Friends of Becks Mill, who restored the structure.

MUST-EATS

H&R Bakery — Tucked neatly behind a building about a block from the town square, it features baked goods in a display case spanning the length of the shop. Most of the goodies are less than a dollar. Local residents rave about the glazed donuts, and you can satisfy your sweet tooth at nearly all hours of the morning or night.

Located on East Walnut Street; open round the clock from midnight Monday to 8 p.m. Saturday

Christie’s on the Square — A charming red, green and orange awning hangs over the storefront of Christie’s on the Square, with large windows looking out to the courthouse. Step inside and you’ll discover tables and chairs that you’d find in your own kitchen, colorful artwork hanging on the walls and an accommodating staff. Lunch entrees, made to order, are reasonably priced (starting at $6.99) and different desserts are offered daily (Don’t miss the carrot cake!) The chips are fried and tenderloin breaded right in the store. Tara Klinglesmith, a waitress at Christie’s for five years, says you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. Be sure to get there early for a table – this place is a lunchtime favorite for Salem residents.

Visit the website for menu options and hours http://www.christiesonsalemsquare.com/

MUST-DOS

Salem Speedway — Calling all Speedy Gonzaleses! The Salem Speedway opened in 1947 and can accommodate speeds of almost 140 miles per hour. The hilly, oval-shaped track has challenged some of the top racers of all-time, including Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Even if you don’t purchase tickets, stop by the track and get a good look at this historic speedway.

For tickets and an event schedule visit http://www.salemspeedway.com/

Knobstone Trail — The longest trail in Indiana, the Knobstone Trail ends nine miles northeast of Salem at Delaney Creek Park in Washington County. The Delaney Creek Park Trailhead has parking, camping, cabins and showers. The trail is 58

Rebecca Marshall is the pharmacist of Salem Apothecary, located on the town square. Besides medication, the Salem Apothecary serves lunch on weekdays and has a soda fountain. /Photo by Sarah Boyum

miles long and demanding. Serious hikers often tackle the Knobstone in preparation for the Appalachian Trail.

WHAT SURPRISED US

In downtown Salem, you can pick up your prescription and get a drink from an old-fashioned soda fountain in one location. Pharmacist and owner Rebecca Marshall has been running Salem Apothecary for more than 27 years. The site has been a pharmacy since 1876, and in 1985 Marshall took out the tobacco section of the store to add the soda fountain. Healthy lunch options, such as Cuban sandwiches and couscous, are now being served at the soda fountain every weekday.

WHY I LOVE THIS TOWN

Rebecca Marshall was born in Salem, moved away to attend college and has since returned.

“It’s just a nice, small town. You don’t find independent pharmacies anywhere else. People come here because we know each other.”

Paoli

Time slows down in Paoli. When we drove in on a Friday afternoon, the downtown was calm and peaceful. Cars filtered through the town square, driving in, around and off to other destinations. A few parking spaces surrounding the courthouse were filled. Shopkeepers glanced out their windows, waiting for customers to visit.

In 1809, a group of Quakers, led by Jonathan Lindley, were the first to settle in Orange County. The group migrated up from North Carolina, then a slave state. The Quakers opposed slavery and suffered economically as a result. Southern Indiana provided fertile ground and a chance to start over. “It promised to be a new territory where they wouldn’t have to compete with slave labor,” says Chris Lindley, social studies teacher at Paoli Junior-Senior High School and a descendent of Jonathan. “We’ve been here ever since.”

Lindley remembers a time when the town square was the place to be on a Saturday: It was the town’s social network.

In recent years, Paoli has had its fair share of setbacks. An electrical fire in November 2010 burned through an entire row of shops on the square of downtown Paoli. The following November, a tornado swept through town. Many shops are closing their doors for good.

Roslyn's Corner Gifts & Antiques is tucked in the corner of the Paoli's main downtown square. Owner Roslyn Alvey hopes to acquire more antiques for her shop. /Photo by Sarah Boyum

Despite these obstacles, the town is starting to write their comeback story. And Roslyn Alvey, the owner of Roslyn’s Corner Gift Shops and Antiques, is content. “We’ve had good days, and we’ve had bad days, but we’ve loved all the days.”

TOWN SQUARE SHOPS

Take a walk around the Paoli square and you’ll discover a couple restaurants, a barbershop and small shops that sell this and that. But something is missing. No antique stores, Alvey says. Step into her store and you’ll smell the WoodWick candles on display. Alvey, who’s lived in Paoli for 32 years, celebrated her store’s 20^th anniversary in 2012 and hopes to start incorporating more antiques into her inventory because “people are really looking for them.”

Despite Paoli’s small-town charm, Alvey admits that many of the storefronts need some up-do, and a grant from the Hoosier Uplands Economic Development Corp. will help fund the renewal. “When things are bad, people come together,” Alvey says. “We’re hanging in there, and we’re going to get it done.”

Take a left out of Alvey’s shop and stroll down the sidewalk. Pass the barbershop and cross the street, where you’ll find Persimmon Tree Gifts. Dorothy Graham, a friend of Alvey’s, owns the shop that sells plush animals, jewelry and Christmas items year round. “We all work together,” Graham says. “We’re not competing with each other, but complementing each other.” Persimmon Tree’s building, owned by Graham and her husband for the past 15 years, was once a Model T garage, a dress shop and a skating rink.

Follow the sloping side street away from the square and you’ll discover the Lost River Market & Deli. Alvey jokes that her store, Persimmon Tree and Lost River are the “three best stores on the square.” The food co-op has been in business almost six years now. Over 100 local vendors contribute to the co-op, which employs eight people full-time and has 896 members. Co-op member Debbie Turner volunteers whenever she can and recommends the deli in the back, which provides a quick snack or an excellent lunch. Stick around for the Wednesday night “jammers” who appear on the front steps and porch of the deli. Their impromptu concerts are usually from 6-8.

At first glance at Paoli, you see a town square that could benefit from a facelift. But look closer and you’ll see more: the rolling hills that envelop the town, the Greek-revival courthouse standing tall and white in the center and a new sense of purpose. You’ll see the beauty of a town in transition.

INSIDE SCOOP

• Big Locust Farm Bed and Breakfast, located across the street from the Pioneer Village, sits on a plot of land owned by the Lindley family since the 1930s. The B&B offers a large country breakfast, comfy rooms and is a home base for anyone visiting the Hoosier National Forest, Paoli Peaks or French Lick.

• A white-and-blue old-fashioned drive-in sits on the side of the road heading toward French Lick and Paoli Peaks. Shakeburger, known for its to-die-for malts, burgers and tenderloins, is worth the pit stop.

• Meat lovers take note: Porky’s BBQ serves hearty ribs, tangy BBQ sandwiches and more. The restaurant is located just outside of the town square. Look for the pig with sunglasses.

MUST-EATS

German Café – Across from Wal-mart and down the street from Wendy’s, you’ll find a top-notch German restaurant, recently featured in Indianapolis Monthly. Owner Ramona Muenzer and her family opened the restaurant shortly after moving to the United States four years ago. They offer authentic German dishes made with ingredients imported from their home country. Be sure to order Muenzer’s “German Bratwurste” and the delectable goulash. Decorated with quirky items scavenged from German flea markets, the restaurant has a homey feeling. “We can be fancy,” Muenzer said. “It’s eclectic, but people like it.” The restaurant has regulars who venture here from all over the state for a taste of Germany. Muenzer says they have yet to serve a celebrity guest, but she secretly hopes one day her crush Rod Stewart will drop in and enjoy some of her goulash.

Visit http://www.thegermancafepaoli.com/ for hours and additional information.

MUST-DOS

Paoli Peaks — Most people wouldn’t peg Southern Indiana as a ski area. Nevertheless, Paoli Peaks thrives throughout its mid-December to early March season. With two terrain parks, 15 trails and nine snow-tubing lanes, Paoli Peaks has options for skiers of every level of expertise. The Peaks also offers equipment rentals and ski/board lessons and has a shop and food venues on site. There’s no lodging at the resort but patrons can find nearby options.

For events, lodging options, trip planning and more visit http://www.paolipeaks.com/

Springs Valley Trail – Looking for a fun day of activity and beautiful scenery? The Springs Valley Trail, part of the Hoosier National Forest, is 12.7 miles long, open year round and welcomes hikers, mountain bikers, backpackers and horseback riders. Remnants of the old Buffalo Trace, a land route paved by migrating buffalo and used by early settlers to travel west, can be seen from the trail. Enjoy the views of Springs Valley Lake along the way. If you are looking for a longer route, you can take country roads to connect to Youngs Creek Trail.

The Orange County Courthouse sits in the center of Paoli's downtown square. /Photo by Sarah Boyum

WHAT SURPRISED US

The view of the town from the third-floor balcony of the courthouse. Make sure you take the stairs to the top.

WHY I LOVE THIS TOWN

Turner, a volunteer at Lost River Market and Deli, owns a farm with her husband in Paoli.

“We have made the best friends of our lives. We are having a ball here.”

Merrill Hinshaw walks toward his shop, past the orange, rusty barrels stacked three high and 20 deep. Unpolished gems that don’t fit in the barrels tumble from piles. Merrill dug up two-thirds of them himself. /Photo by Ben Mikesell

He shoves his 76-year-old callused hands into the pockets of his Levis. The sky is gray and his brown, pointed-toe cowboy boots blend into the dormant grass of his yard. He wears a cream cowboy hat, and his short, white beard crawls along just the edge of his face.

“I like to deer hunt, I like to elk hunt,” he says with a thick Southern Indiana accent, his eyes squinting as he grins. “And I can’t see deer or elk now because I’m always looking at the ground looking for rocks.”

Merrill Hinshaw is a lapidarist and founder of Hinshaw Rock ‘N Gems, his 52-year old family-owned business in French Lick. A lapidarist is someone who cuts and polishes precious and semi-precious stones. He and his wife of 55 years, Janis, have hunted more than 100 varieties of jasper, agates, crystals and petrified wood. He has dug for Herkimer diamonds in New York and traveled as far as central Mexico and Canada to find treasures buried beneath the surface.

Merrill doesn’t have a college degree. He didn’t want to go to college. He taught himself how to hunt rocks, cut them, polish them and turn them into jewelry. “You had to do something to make a living,” he says. And he doesn’t just do it. He rocks it. The Lapidary Journal Magazine listed Hinshaw as one of the 10 best polishers in the country. He helped identify rocks at Michigan Tech. And his special calcite crystal, found in Anderson, is part of a collection in the Smithsonian.

“He also appraised the agate collection for the Harvard University Museum,” says his daughter Kimberly.

“You don’t need to tell her that stuff.”

“He is also cantankerous,” she adds.

People have come from as far as New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, Germany and Denmark to see his shop. “This is actually a very big field, just not very many people in it,” he says. “There are millions of people that don’t know what lapidary means, but when you get to one that does they will look up a shop like mine.” And they do find it, in advertisements in Travel Indiana Magazine, local newspapers and visitor bureaus. Yelp lists Hinshaw as one of the top five places to visit in French Lick.

Hinshaw is a lapidarist and founder of Hinshaw Rock ‘N Gems, his 52-year old family-owned business in French Lick. He took his favorite rocks and cemented them into the front wall of his shop. All of them have stories, and he knew if he used them to build his shop, he wouldn’t cut them up and sell them. /Photo by Ben Mikesell

Today, Merrill’s work is found all over the world. A pair of his bookends, just a polished rock cut in half, sits on somebody’s mantel in New York City next to an Oscar. The family doesn’t remember the name of the owners since they sold them to the father of the guy’s wife, or something like that. He’s also sold polished rocks to author Tom Clancy and custom buttons to Baltimore designer Lee Anderson for her clothing line.

“It is his depth of artistic talent that makes him so good,” Kimberly says. “He can look at something and see things other people can’t see. I don’t know how to describe it except to say it is a gift from God.”

In the yard outside his shop, barrels, orange with rust and age and stacked three high and 20 deep, overflow with unpolished gems. The ones that wouldn’t fit in the barrels tumble from piles. He dug up two-thirds of them himself. Digging was his favorite part of rock hunting. Now that he just works out of his shop, he has to try and keep the interest alive. “I can’t hunt anymore,” he says. “My knees won’t walk.” Agate weighs 160 pounds per cubic foot, and boulders as heavy as 400 pounds are mixed into his hard-earned piles.

The Hinshaws used to work in Winchester, then formed a business with friends and went to Oregon for three years. However, things didn’t work out as they planned, and they found a place in French Lick that was exactly what they were looking for. When they moved here 30 years ago, it took a couple of semis to move the 150 tons of rocks. Janis says she’ll never move again.

Merrill strolls over to a pile of brownish-gray rocks the size of tennis balls. They all look the same to me. Just a pile of rocks. But it isn’t just rock, it’s Missouri Lace, an agate with a lace pattern inside. He paws through the pile and snatches one up.

“Do you notice anything different in it than what it was over there?”

I look at him blankly and shrug, “I don’t.”

“This is rock hunting.”

**********

Merrill’s father, Everett, liked the outdoors around their home in Winchester and picked up arrowheads every chance he got. As they hunted for relics, they’d pick up other rocks if they were pretty, if they had color in them or if they had any other defining feature. The small distinctions are what made Merrill curious about what was inside, and they started cutting. The father-and-son duo spent $150 for two machines, a rock cutter and a grinder, both of which Merrill still uses today.

Hinshaw presses a rock into a grinder in his shop. He stops because the rock isn’t completely flat, and he says if he keeps going it will shatter. Merrill and his father Everett spent $150 for two machines, a rock cutter and a grinder, both of which Merrill still uses today. /Photo by Ben Mikesell

Merrill had an eye for arrowheads but not always for the rocks he wanted. He took a class called Rocks for Fun at Earlham College and learned how to look. When he was getting ready for a rock expedition, he’d go into a rock shop and buy a piece he knew he’d be hunting. Then he’d toss it into the yard just to see if he could find it again. And he would. Eventually. That’s how he found his knack for hunting. “The same way you hunt mushrooms,” he says. “You either learn what they look like or you miss them.”

Kimberly says her dad was born about 100 years too late. “He would have been at the forefront of the expedition out west,” she says. “If you told him he couldn’t do something, he would. He’s persistent.”

We walk into Merrill’s small, two-car garage. One side is filled with polishing machines and grinders, green and rusty with a flat, silver wheel perched in the center. The other has three saws of incremental proportions.

“Can you tell what that is?” he asks, shoving a round, baseball-sized rock toward me.

“A rock?” I say hesitantly, looking at the rough gray mass.

“It is basically a geode. It’s called a coconut. It has nothing to do with coconuts but it is always round,” he says. “Now, any idea what’s inside? Anyone who tells you they do just lied to you. I can’t even tell ya what’s inside, but I’ve got a pretty good idea because I cut a lot of them.”

He walks over to the smallest of the three saws and carefully places the geode on top. He rocks his body from side to side looking to make sure it’s perfectly centered. He takes a step back and flips the switch. The saw roars to and its $5,000 diamond blade starts cutting the stone at the rate of six inches an hour. The blade screeches as it hits the rock, but about 10 minutes later, the geode splits into two even pieces. Small, sharp grayish-blue crystals burst from the walls of the tiny caves inside.

“What you got there is a thin layer of quartz with a little calcite on the quartz,” he says, holding it close to his stomach and pointing it toward the ceiling light. “And there is no way to tell me this is going to be like that.”

Kimberly holds a board explaining all the steps they go through when they cut and polish rocks. “Most people say it’s too much work,” Kimberly says. /Photo by Ben Mikesell

Merrill mostly works with agates. He pulls a knife out of his pocket, flips it open and presses it into a small, pink rock. It skids across the surface leaving a skinny, white line in its track. “See how that knife cuts into that? It won’t cut good like an agate.” If the knife can’t scratch the rock, then he knows it’s what he’s looking for. Also, he says if the daylight goes through a rock, it’s an agate. If it doesn’t it may be jasper. Agate, jasper and flint are all varieties of quartz, and he tells the difference by the way the light plays off them.

Once the rock is cut, he takes a brass pencil and marks smaller slices to cut. He uses brass because lead washes off too easily. After it’s cut a second time, he uses a machine to flatten the rocks. If they aren’t flat, then the grinder will polish some parts and not others, and too much pressure will make it explode.

After it’s flat Merrill can start polishing it. He uses wax to mount it to a short wooden stick the size of his hand. It gives him better control on the grinder. Six grinders stand in a row, and he has to put the rock through each one. If he skips a step, he’ll find a scratch in the rock later and have to go back, which can make the rock thin and fragile. Merrill’s grandson Chanc Pearson slides on a thick plastic apron and flips a switch to start the first grinder. He twists a knob above the machine to start water flowing around the spinning wheel. The water keeps the rock cool.

“Most people say it’s too much work,” Kimberly says, explaining that we’re only about halfway through the process. They used to teach classes from their shop. Merrill’s philosophy is if one person can do it, so can another. There is no big trade secret, it’s just grinding and polishing and getting good at it.

“You will find out you’re not good at it,” Chanc says.

“You’re going to find another job,” Merrill adds, grinning.

Merrill would tell his class they were going to cut at least one stone right. What they did after that was up to them. One older student took his class three times. Every time she worked with Rhodochrosite, a pink gem. “She finally came up to me and said, ‘This is even better than you can do.’ And I said, ‘You’re probably right, but I wouldn’t have spent three years doing it,’” Merrill says with a deep chuckle.

Once the rocks are polished, Merrill sets them in silver to make necklaces, bracelets and earrings. He copies the rock onto a piece of paper so he can design a setting around it. He grabs a Crazy Lace agate. “Look at the pattern in that,” he says. “That’s what turns you on. That’s what keeps you going. You can’t duplicate that. That’s the natural art. I don’t float on a cloud. I just enjoy the beauty in some of them.”

When he’s satisfied with a design, he cuts and bends metal around his precious stone. Some have elaborate silver swirls and braids, but others are simple. His goal is to highlight the stone. His rocks and jewelry sell between $10 and $500. Some of the larger ones become small tables, bookends or just decoration.

Merrill taught himself how to hunt rocks, cut them, polish them and turn them into jewelry. “You had to do something to make a living,” he says. And he doesn’t just do it—he rocks it. /Photo by Ben Mikesell

The Hinshaw rock business is in its fourth generation. Janis and Merrill have three children, and two of them, Kimberly and Matthew, both fell in love with rock-cutting. Kimberly studied geology at Indiana State University. And Matthew has been cutting rocks since he was 14 years old. Now, Kimberly’s son Chanc, a student at Indiana University, is a skilled rock cutter and polisher himself. The family hopes he will keep the business going once Merrill is gone.

Falling in love with rocks is about seeing beyond their nondescript exteriors. Janis says their rough rock collection could mean as little as a gravel driveway if they didn’t take the time and effort to transform it. “It would be expensive driveway gravel, but that’s a possibility,” she says. “Until we do what we do to it, it’s just rock.”

Walsh made his money from three growing bank accounts in the Windy City. He funneled the Chicago bank funds to build a railroad through Southern Indiana, purchasing the Evansville & Richmond line in October 1897 for $179,000. He changed its name to the Southern Indiana Railroad, creating one of the largest lines in the state and revolutionizing intrastate communication.

Resort hotels popped up along the line, in Martin County’s Trinity Springs and Indian Springs, all thanks to Walsh’s innovation and investment in Southern Indiana. The Southern Indiana Railroad became more than a cargo carrier. Passengers climbed aboard, leaving small towns for other locations on the train, or, even, the big city lights that gleamed far in the distance.

Despite his contribution to the 812 region, however, Walsh landed in jail for five years after being charged with misapplication of bank funds.

The Southern Indiana and other railroads that crisscrossed the Hoosier state in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries were integral in intrastate communication, shipping and receiving goods that traveled across the state to tiny towns that dotted these Hoosier hills. Railways linked the small towns that dotted the sloping terrain and dense forests.

The steam engines and depots of yesterday are relics. But their stories still compel Hoosiers to visit their tracks, museums and trails today.

• In pursuit of the trestle
• Southern Indiana depots: pulling into yesterday
• Spirit of Jasper: riding in style
• Rails to trails: finding new uses for old rails
• Directions to train depots and sights

IN PURSUIT OF THE TRESTLE

The Richland Creek Viaduct, also known as the Tulip Trestle, spans Richland Creek, between Tulip and Solsberry. The trestle appears, as if out of nowhere, from the hills, its massive structure the highlight of this small valley. /Photo by Emma Grdina

After two and a half hours of winding county roads; after a pit-stop for mint chocolate chip ice cream and directions; after endless cows, horses and the occasional chicken; after interrupting a turkey vulture’s lunch; after reading directions written on the back of a receipt; after getting a little motion-sick from the up-and-down of the Greene County hills: We found it. The Tulip Trestle.

Climbing out of the stagnant silver Toyota Corolla, we were refreshed by the rush of cool air. Dwarfed by the trestle’s size, we paused outside the car doors, peering up at the massive structure. How had we not heard of this before? And how had we missed it?

Built in 1905, the Greene County Viaduct, also known as the Richland Creek Viaduct or the Tulip Trestle, was the third largest of its kind in the United States. The massive steel structure, 18 towers in all, spans a verdant valley  and allowed the trains to pass through without changing grade. In fact, trains still use the trestle today, traveling through Greene County on their way to their destinations. But it’s also a tourist destination hidden in our 812 backyard.

Sue Wilcox, a board member and researcher for the Greene County Historical Society, remembers the Sunday afternoon drives she used to take as a little girl with her grandparents. That, she says, must have been when she first saw the Tulip Trestle. Names that dot Sue’s family tree appear in the lists of men who helped build the viaduct. Many local families, Sue says, can find their names, too, among the many who lent a hand to this historic construction project.

Cheryl Helms, a local artist and Solsberry resident, created pieces for the centennial celebration of the Tulip Trestle in 2006. She also happened to marry into the Tulip family. Cheryl’s father-in-law’s family sold the  property where the trestle was built. His family still owns some of the land around and underneath the viaduct.

Despite these strong local ties, the viaduct also has a distinctly foreign flavor. After all, locals weren’t the only ones who built the bridge. African, Italian and Chinese immigrants lent their hands, backs and spirits to the construction. The bridge would carry trains full of coal heading to Bloomfield and passengers and timber traveling to Bloomington. Every man was needed for the project. Nearly 110 years ago, it was no small feat.

And today, it’s no small feat to find.

Located about 22 miles south of Bloomington, the trestle is technically in Tulip, just outside of Solsberry. It’s 2,067 feet long and is still in operation under the Indiana Railroad Company. The viaduct crosses Richland Creek, a small stream that adds to the natural beauty around this man-made behemoth.

Archibald Stuart Baldwin led the construction of the massive viaduct, directing a group of primarily immigrant Italian laborers. Foreigners flocked to the area to build it. The small Greene County town, quiet and secluded, filled with the sounds of metal being heaved up and down the hills and men with different accents and languages worked together towards one goal.

The language barriers among the men building the viaduct led to mishaps. The failure to understand each other caused accidents, some of which were fatal. On June 26, 1996, a blasting accident rocked the camp. It was only six months before the project was slated to be complete. Angelo Sacchetti, an Italian, died the morning after the blast and now rests in Solsberry. Other workers were badly burned and carried lifelong reminders of the work they did in Tulip.

Today, there’s not much buzz or noise around the viaduct. But in 1905 and 1906, life in the work camps was anything but quiet. Life and death were close companions beneath the trestle construction.

Poor food, boredom and tension among the workers bred restless behavior and violence. Gambling and drinking permeated the camps. Nights offered little respite from the day’s work. The foreman of one of the camps, William Lewis, was murdered by another foreman. And a well-known troublemaker from a camp on the west side of the viaduct was killed in a fight. Constructing the trestle might have been just as dangerous as sleeping among those who built it.

Standing under the great steel beams in the silent valley on a spring afternoon, it’s hard to imagine so many people here. It’s hard to hear the different languages flying in the air. It’s hard to picture the fighting and gambling. On this particular afternoon, it was just us and the trestle. Until we heard the bats.

The high-pitched cries squeaked like an instrument horribly out of tune. The sound was so loud, we looked at each other in confusion – what could possibly be making that noise?

“Are those birds?” I asked.

Then we saw them. Hundreds of bats swooped together among the trees lining the trestle. Undulating as a single mass, the bats challenged the trestle in its size. We weren’t alone anymore.

Now the workers are gone. Their tools, dreams and voices laid to rest. But the trestle will always belong to Southern Indiana, to Greene County and to Tulip. To those whose families helped build it and to those who crossed the seas to assist. To the train buffs who still seek out the hidden relic on sunny afternoons and to those lost on back roads who stumble upon it.

SOUTHERN INDIANA DEPOTS: PULLING INTO YESTERDAY

Trains did more than transport passengers, grain and lumber. Their presence helped communities economically. The impact of railroads extended beyond the 4-foot-8 ½-inches of tracks. Their legacy is more than the steam churning from the engine or the lurching of metal cars up a steep incline.

Railway depots were the connecting points and social centers along the many miles of tracks. Those still standing today bring the romance of another era to life. You can imagine women in the late 1800s, cloaked in their best travel clothes, gossiping on the train platforms. Or see mothers and fathers sending soldiers off to war.

In 1914, almost 1,500 depots dotted the tracks of the railways crisscrossing Indiana. Fewer than 250 exist today.  These two depots are one of the few still standing in Southern Indiana. Take advantage of these historic landmarks before they run out of steam.

PRINCETON

Sixty-six thousand and forty acres of land bought the town of Princeton 60 years of economic prosperity. The Princeton Depot opened in 1890. Newspapers and mail from across the state arrived at the Princeton Depot. Locals would leave the depot for shopping day-trips to Chicago, returning at night with their goods in tow. The town acquired the depot in 1986, which led to the restoration of what remained. A Wabash caboose, restored in a brilliant red, rests on the tracks near the depot. Visit the caboose and dream about the luxurious day-trips taken long ago.

SALEM

In July 1847, businessmen from Salem and Albany met at Borden and organized the New Albany & Salem Rail Road. The tracks were to run from the Ohio River to Salem.

On January 14, 1851, the first passenger train pulled into Salem, traveling from New Albany. Five thousand people crowded into downtown Salem to witness the historic event.

That business idea developed into the Monon Railroad, which was known as the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railroad. Tracks snaked from the hills of Southern Indiana to the flat farmlands of the north. They crossed into the urban hub of Chicago and also veered east, connecting Lake Michigan with the rest of the state.

The Monon pulled Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train in April 1865 at 5 mph from Lafayette to Michigan City. It was such an important transportation system in the 19^th century, that the state’s choice to put Purdue University in Lafayette rested partly on the fact that the Monon passed through there. The Monon also served Wabash College, Depauw University, Indiana University at Bloomington and Butler University, carrying students to and from campus.

Today, in Indianapolis, the Monon has been converted into a 10.4-mile biking, running and walking trail as part of Rails to Trails’ push to convert old railway lines into usable paths.

The depot museum commemorates Salem’s role in the Monon, an innovation that connected Hoosiers across the state and catapulted the region into the railway era.

SPIRIT OF JASPER: RIDING IN STYLE

At their peak of popularity, trains offered the opportunity to dine with friends, wear the finest furs, and enjoy a night on the rails. Jasper offers an updated version of this experience in the twenty-first century.

Passengers can choose from two options in Jasper: They can board the Ride and Dine for a 2-2 ½ hour train ride on the rails catered by the local Schnitzelbank Restaurant, or, for a day trip, they can ride the Spirit of Jasper, which includes a 1-hour-45-minute ride to French Lick. Passengers can take in the domed West Baden Springs Hotel or try their luck at the French Lick Springs Resort and Casino.

Restored by town and city volunteers, each of the three cars’ rich interiors make it obvious why Jasper is known as the woodworking capital of the world. The Lounge Car offers tables for two to four, while light pours in through the large open windows. The Club Car has stationary plush chairs and dark wood paneling that creates a more intimate setting. Passengers can also mingle near the 19-foot bar in the Parlor Car.

Diners on the Ride and Dine can try every meal as the food is served buffet-style, including classic home-style favorites such as fried chicken, roast beef and mashed potatoes, BBQ beef brisket, Italian chicken breasts and cheesy potato casserole. The Jasper to French Lick Express, on the other hand, just offers snacks for purchase, so don’t come too hungry!

The scenery is enjoyable, the meal is great, and the experience is awesome, according to Ken Buck, Jasper Parks and Recreation Department Director.

Quick facts:

• Jasper Ride and Dine
• Cost: $45/ person
• Duration: 2-2 ½ hours
• Distance: From French Lick to Dubois County (about 50 miles roundtrip)

Tips:

• Leave your pets at home
• Don’t forget to bring cash if you are over 21
• Book your ride 48 hours in advance

Jasper to French Lick Express

• Cost: $35/ person
• Duration: 10:30 a.m.-8:15 p.m.
• Distance: From French Lick to Dubois County (about 50 miles roundtrip)

When you are there:

• The train arrives in French Lick at approximately 12:15 p.m.
• Take in the Casino or the West Baden Hotel’s rich history for six hours.
• The day concludes at 6:15 p.m. with the journey back to Jasper.
• Dine at French Lick or West Baden

RAILS TO TRAILS: FINDING NEW USES FOR OLD RAILS

Some railroad treasures are, thankfully, easier to find than the Tulip Trestle.

Slicing through bustling cities and along winding country roads, Indiana’s 327 miles of open trails offer an escape for both the nature-obsessed and those who just want to explore for the day. The Hoosier Rails to Trails Council advocates for land previously occupied by railroads to be converted to walking and bicycle trails. “Railroads were built so they couldn’t be built more than 3% grade,” says Eric Oberg, the manager of trail development at the Rails to Trails Conservancy Midwest Regional Office. “It doesn’t matter if you’re 5 or 85. They are open to anybody.”

The longest trail in Southern Indiana is the Cardinal Greenway exceeding 40 miles. Bloomington opened the B-Line Trail, a favorite of locals. The path stretches 3.1 miles, running through downtown, with small plazas where you can take a pit stop and rest. A bonus is the Bloomington Farmers’ Market, one of the busiest markets in the state, which bustles every Saturday between April and November. Colorful fruits and vegetables, homemade breads and other goods may tempt you to linger.

Art, made by local clubs such as the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington and area artists like Joe LaMantia, adds color to the trail – or at least beautiful distractions when you’re out of breath on the path.

Hikers, bikers and trail-goers will enjoy seeing rare plants and flowers along the different routes. The land near the rails has been preserved because sparks from passing engines created small grass fires that kept the ecosystem intact, Oberg says.

However, sometimes it’s the people themselves who make the trail experience the most memorable. “People get caught up in their own lives, but when you’re on a trail, it forces human interaction,” Oberg says. “People-watching on a busy urban trail – man! It can be as interesting as watching the wildlife on a rural trail.”

DIRECTIONS TO TRAIN DEPOTS AND SIGHTS

Tulip Train Trestle

From the North:

1. Take 37-S onto IN-45 S.
2. Turn right onto Co. Road 450 N.
3. Continue onto Co. Rd. 480 N.
4. Left onto IN-43 S
5. Continue onto Co. Rd. 420 N
6. Follow Co. Rd. 420 N. slightly left onto Co. Rd. 375 N.
7. Continue onto Co. Rd. 540 E.
8. Turn left onto Co. Rd. 390 N.
9. Take the left at the fork onto Co. Rd. 480 E.

From the South

1. Take I-69 N.
2. Turn left onto US-231 N.
3. Continue onto IN-157 N.
4. Turn right onto Co. Rd. 325 N.
5. Continue onto Co. Rd. 340 N.
6. Continue onto Co. Rd. 325 N.
7. Continue onto Co. Rd. 380 N.
8. Continue onto Co. Rd. 300 N.
9. Turn a slight right onto Co. Rd. 400 N.
10. Continue onto Co. Rd. 410 N.
11. Turn right toward Co. Rd. 410 E.
12. Take the first right onto Co. Rd. 410 E.
13. Continue onto Co. Rd. 400 N.
14. Continue onto Co. Rd. 390 N.
15. Turn right onto Co. Rd. 480 E.

Princeton Depot

From the North

1. Take IN-37 S. onto IN-45 S.
2. Turn right onto IN-45 S/ IN-58 W.
3. Turn right onto US-231 N
4. Turn left onto I-69
5. Take exit 33 for Indiana 64 toward Huntington/ Princeton
6. Turn right onto IN-64 W.
7. Destination is on the right.

From the South

1. Take IN-62 E/ E Lloyd Expwy.
2. Merge onto US 41 N. via the ramp Indiana 62 E/ Vincennes
3. Exit onto IN-64 E/W Broadway St. toward Princeton
4. Destination is on the left.

Salem Depot

From the North

1. Follow signs for I-70 E/ Columbus OH/ I-65 and merge onto I-70 E.
2. Take exit 80 onto I-65 S toward Louisville
3. Take exit 29B for Indiana 56 W. toward Salem.
4. Turn right onto IN-56/ W. McClain Ave. Continue to follow IN-56
5. Turn left onto N. College Ave.
6. Destination is on the Left.

From the South

1. Take I-164 N onto I-64.
2. Take exit 21A for I-64 E.
3. Merge onto I-64 E.
4. Take exit 105 toward Palmyra.
5. Turn left onto IN-135 N/S State Road 135 N/S State Route 135
6. Turn right onto E. Cherry St.
7. E. Cherry St. turns left and becomes S. College Ave.
8. Destination will be on the right.

Spirit of Jasper

From the North

1. Take In-37 S.
2. Turn right onto US-50 W.
3. Turn left onto US-231 S.
4. Turn right onto W. 6^th St.
5. Destination will be on the right.

From the South

1. Take IN-62 E/ E Lloyd Expwy.
2. Merge onto I-164 N. via the ramp to I-64.
3. Take exit 21A for I-64 E.
4. Merge onto I-64 E.
5. Exit onto US-231 N.
6. Destination will be on the left.

Southern Indiana Counties with Rails to Trails

• Posey
• Vanderburgh
• Dubois
• Washington
• Clark
• Jefferson
• Scott
• Jennings
• Dearborn
• Jackson
• Bartholomew
• Brown
• Monroe
• Morgan
• Johnson
• Vigo

Mike Homoya keeps his eyes on the ground, scanning.  He doesn’t often speak—hunting down this native Indiana orchid is my job today, and he’s just along for the ride. Spanning 32 acres of moist temperate forest, the Hougham Woods Biological Field Station in Johnson County is home to a recorded population of aplectrum hyemale, also known as Adam-and-Eve or the puttyroot orchid. Rather than having a growing season from spring to fall like most plants, puttyroot consists of one overwintering, pinstriped basal leaf from October until late April. In May, the leaf will wither and die, and a flowering stalk will emerge. To pass the orchid-hunting test set before me by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources botanist, I must find this four-inch long leaf. But today, a half hour into my walk around the preserve, the puttyroot orchid is nowhere in sight.

***

Orchids are one of the largest families of plants on Earth, numbering around 30,000 species that grow in a wide variety of habitats across the globe. But don’t just think steamy greenhouses or lush paradise— Indiana is home to 43 native orchid species. Tropical Hawaii has only three, so to properly introduce yourself to the orchid family, look no further than the hills, marshes and woods of Southern Indiana.

Cypripedium parviflorum is more commonly called the yellow lady slipper. This orchid was found at Lindley Tract in Park County by DNR botanist Mike Homoya. /Photo courtesy of Mike Homoya

The orchid has long been prized for its mysterious, complex beauty; in his book “Orchids of Indiana,” Homoya dubs them “floral royalty in the kingdom of plants.” The family reigns with its variety: Platystele jungermannioides flowers measure as small as the head of a pin, while Grammatophyllum papuanum can reach heights of 15 feet. Vanilla planifolia gives us fragrant vanilla extract and the flowers of Drakaea mimic the shape and appearance of a male wasp, down to the shiny head and furry body.

The flashy orchids often seen in Hawaii are actually exotics— they’re not even the varieties native to the state. In reality, native Hawaiian orchids are very small; most people wouldn’t recognize them as an orchid.

Some of Indiana’s species are unrecognizable, too, Homoya says. They’re just green, from the stems, to the leaves, to the flowers. A small, modestly colored plant may not make the best prom corsage, but upon closer inspection, even these orchids are worth noticing.

Take Coeloglossum viride, or frog orchid for example. Rarely have two individuals of the plant been found together, so its unsociable nature makes finding the frog orchid more rewarding. Its flowers are green spikes, but look closely and you can spy small frog-shaped petals layered tightly in a column. Compare this orchid to the showy Cypripedium, or lady slipper, whose large, brilliantly colored blooms often attract the most attention of any native species. In the Indiana orchid family, Cypripedium may be the beautiful sister, but leaving out Coeloglossum would be neglecting a plant worth the extra effort.

***

Before orchids there were crawdads. Growing up in small town Southern Illinois, Mike Homoya lived surrounded by nature, and the crawdads swimming in a drainage ditch beside his house became his first introduction to wild things. It didn’t take very long to walk a railroad track or ride a bicycle to get out of town, so Homoya soon found more nature to be interested in beyond his backyard. He explored Shawnee National Forest, hiking its trails and cultivating his childhood interest into a lifelong appreciation for the great outdoors.

“The more I saw, the more I wanted to learn about these natural things, and what comes with that is a desire to protect natural areas,” Homoya says.

Protecting wild things and the natural areas they live in became Homoya’s life work. Hired by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources as a botanist and ecologist in 1982, he quickly took to the job. With a packed field bag complete with a notebook, compass, poncho and camera, Homoya and his colleagues in the Division of Nature Preserves tracked down endangered and rare plant species in the state, identifying their habitats in order to preserve them. As he completed his fieldwork across the state, Homoya continued to find orchids, one of the wild things from his Illinois youth that kept his interest.

Mike Homoya surveys an area of Hougham Woods in Franklin County. Homoya is also the author of "Orchids of Indiana," the premier field guide for identifying orchids in the state. /Photo by Victoria Gold

Homoya describes his first encounter with orchids not as a sighting but as a meeting. On a winter hike as a high school senior in Southern Illinois, Homoya met the evergreen leaves of the rattlesnake plantain orchid and became fascinated by a plant that could still be so showy in such cold temperatures. The orchid family became his interest and hobby. Soon after moving to Indiana and the DNR job, he decided to write a book on orchids and began documenting each native species he found over the next ten years, eventually checking off all 43 still living in the state.

“I was so impressed by the fact that orchids grow here in our part of the world when most people think they’re only in the tropics,” Homoya says. “They’re just mysterious and uncommon so there’s that rarity factor I suppose, almost like finding a treasure.”

Published in 1993, Homoya’s book “Orchids of Indiana” has since become the premier orchid field guide, listing the plants alphabetically, identifying their blooming periods and habitat locations, and offering detailed descriptions of what makes each species different from the next. It’s the only complete guide, and since its publication, Homoya has heard from plenty of people who share his interest of orchids.

“There are people out there who stalk them in a sense,” Homoya says.

Nowadays, rather than digging them up, orchid enthusiasts will go and photograph them. Digging up specimens not only damages the natural habitat, but it’s also pretty pointless, Homoya says. Wild orchids don’t do all that well in pots. Instead, people tend to bring their cameras out and contain the flowers’ beauty in an eight-by-ten glossy matted photograph. One such orchid fan lives somewhere in Northwest Indiana, Homoya says. The man contacted Homoya as the state’s orchid expert, asking if there were any places he could go to see certain species. His goal? To go around the state and photograph every species of native orchid. It’s nothing more than a hobby, but it’s one more human becoming seduced by the irresistible charm of the wild orchid.

***

To find a specific plant specie in 36,418 square miles of Indiana landscape means becoming a detective. The clues aren’t found through fingerprints and anonymous tips but instead inside the musty-smelling file cabinets of herbariums, collections of preserved plant specimens. At Indiana University, the Deam Herbarium inside the Smith Research Center holds about 140,000 pressed and dried specimens, about half of those native to Indiana. It’s not a gallery open to the public but rather a research museum and organizational filing system—a library of dead plants.

In any given year, only a handful of people stop by to visit the herbarium. The Deam Herbarium is not a hub of activity— it serves mainly as a research facility open to graduate students and visiting specialists. But the plants aren’t alone; herbarium director Eric Knox presides over the filing cabinets preserving the history and documentation of once wild things, available to those who come find them.

Dressed in a splashy Hawaiian shirt and jeans, Knox pushes up his wire-framed glasses as he talks. Unlike gardens or greenhouses full of living specimens, the herbarium lacks the upfront visual display of plant diversity, but that’s a good thing.

“At the herbarium we want dead flat plants—dead is good in our book,” Knox says.

Dead flat plants provide information on flower shapes, leaf arrangements, seed structures and more. Maybe most important for botanists like Homoya, the person who collects the plant takes precise notes, leaving clues about the living species in their natural habitats.

I visited the herbarium looking for orchid specimens, the first step in narrowing down the search for a wild orchid. Although his own work focuses on other plants, Knox understands the draw of the orchid— it has a rareness factor to it, he says, since you don’t often find specimens together in one spot. The flowers often attract dedicated pollinators like bees that evolve with them, ensuring the plant’s survival over time. But here in the herbarium, preserved orchids will last just about forever.

Deam Herbarium director Eric Knox unfolds a fragment envelope on a preserved specimen of native Indiana orchid Spiranthes cernua. The herbarium holds approximately 450,000 plant specimens, with about half of those native to Indiana. /Photo by Dianne Osland

Knox leads me to filing cabinet number 29, stacked full of filing folders—manila-colored if the species is from Indiana, orange if it’s found elsewhere. Cabinet 29 holds families Iridaceae (irises) and my sought-after Orchidacae, species Aplectrum hyemale to Zeuxine. He slides out the manila folder labeled Aplectrum hyemale, careful to lift it at the bottom to keep the contents from spilling out. Under the herbarium’s fluorescent lights, I see a puttyroot orchid for the first time. The collector’s notes date it Oct. 5, 1927, almost 86 years old. But the key fact isn’t its age, it’s where it was found. “Location: Monroe Co., Ind. Near Griffy Creek. Habitat: Rich woods. South end of 1^st ridge west of 2^nd Huckleberry Hill,” the notes read. If I was going to find a puttyroot, the herbarium and its specimen just narrowed down my search.

***

Bare-branched trees filter sunshine down to the forest floor, but it’s not illuminating any orchids. Scientific names for plants have a funny way of sounding like magic spells. A-plec-trum hye-ma-le, I chant silently, willing the plant to appear somewhere, anywhere, in my line of sight. No such luck. Since Hougham Woods didn’t have any entries in the herbarium to point me in the right direction, I’m on my own.

As we walk, Homoya points out the expansive wintercreeper, an invasive groundcover that spreads from a nearby neighborhood and is taking over native habitats. It’s choking out the rest of the plant growth as it stretches across the ground. An hour passes and I’m afraid I’m choking, too. I can’t seem to spot even one of the 305 puttyroot specimens recorded for this preserve.

“I thought we would have found one by now,” Homoya says, shaking his head.

***

Orchids act sometimes like Goldilocks, growing in habitats not too cold, not too hot, not too wet, and not too dry. But it’s not bears that may be affecting these plant’s survival in the wild, it’s climate change, says Ellen Jacquart, an Indiana stewardship director for the Nature Conservancy. As rainfall and temperatures change and the plants are no longer as adapted to a particular area, Indiana’s 43 native orchid species may dwindle. Only time will tell.

Most of the trees in Hougham Woods are ash. Native to the state, the ash tree is widespread in natural forests, but it’s also often planted in urban areas because it tolerates adverse conditions. But the millions of ash trees growing in Indiana forests and lining city streets are under attack. The Emerald Ash Borer, an exotic beetle brought over from Asia, threatens to kill the trees with its destructive feeding. With no method to stop the insect’s spread, Hougham Woods’ future is uncertain. In 20 years, Homoya says, all the ash trees could be gone. And if the habitat were disturbed, the puttyroot orchid would disappear not just from my sight, but altogether from this region.

***

Reporter Dianne Osland finds these Aplectrum hyemale or puttyroot orchid specimens in Hougham Woods, Franklin County. Puttyroot consists of one basal leaf during its reverse growing season: October through late April. /Photo by Victoria Gold

Branches snag my hair. I lose sight of Homoya, and I still haven’t seen one measly little puttyroot leaf despite walking the entire perimeter of the preserve.

“Still no luck?” Homoya asks as we reconvene.

I’d done my research. I knew what I was looking for. I found the proper habitat—moist forest, but no standing water. Hougham Yet the plant was still evading me. I wonder how long Homoya will stay out looking for an orchid with me. Puttyroot or bust, I thought.

“Well, we’re about back to where we started,” Homoya says.

I look up to see the white Ford Edge SUV through the trees, parked in the grass near the preserve. I sigh, and look back down. And do a double take.

“Wait, I think I found one!”

After successfully finding a puttyroot orchid, DNR botanist Mike Homoya and 812 reporter Dianne Osland rest on a fallen tree in Hougham Woods, Franklin County. The pair searched the preserve for nearly two hours before spotting a specimen. /Photo by Victoria Gold

One, meaning three shriveled basal leaves of aplectrum hyemale, my trophy puttyroot, complete with a few holes bugs chewed into the leaves.

“Congratulations, you’ve found an orchid,” Homoya says, as we sit down on a fallen log to rest.

My puttyroot may be a little banged up, not in bloom, and a little less attractive than other members of its orchid family, but hey, this is no time to be picky. I’m officially a successful orchid hunter.

Tanner Gibson is not afraid of Greedy the chicken. /Photo by Nick Clark

Chickens are a little silly and often surprising, but they can make a great addition to a home.  Taji says they’re like pets, and their seven hens all have names: Fancy, Mary, Greedy, Sally, Name-me, Cheagle (a combination of chicken and eagle) and Wyno the Wyandotte, who is not an alcoholic.

Backyard chicken flocks used to be as scarce as hen’s teeth in towns and suburbs.  The last few years, though, have seen a change.  It’s difficult to say where this movement started. After all, people have been raising chickens for a long time.  But in the 1990s Martha Stewart began showcasing some pretty green and blue chicken eggs in her magazine. Martha helped bring to light the sustainable living trend, and showcase the simplicity of home-grown food.  The trend remained cooped up for a while, but in the 2000s it took off again.  In 2006 Backyard Poultry printed its first issue, and now they circulate almost 100,000 copies every two months.  More recently, cities like New York, Chicago, and Indianapolis began setting up classes for want-to-be chicken owners.

IUPUI added a personal interest class in 2011 called “How to Raise Backyard Chickens” that has roughly 10-15 seats open each semester. Chicken advocate Andrew Brake teaches that class, and the rest of the time he runs his advocacy group, NapTown Chickens. This chicken advocacy group works to get chicken coops into the yards of urbanites who could use the eggs and meat.  They also work to change legislation to allow for backyard hen raising in places where it is still prohibited.

Now, Bloomington, Terre Haute and Evansville have all changed their ordinances to allow chickens inside the city limits. The municipal code of Bloomington, “recognizes that the keeping of urban chickens is a growing phenomenon that has avocational, educational and sustainable value”.

Brake says backyard chickening is part of the larger green movement.  They’re great for composting, and they’re easy to live with.  “A lot of people don’t think about this,” he says, “but chickens will eat anything and give you back an egg.”

• Chick TV
• Eggs, eggs, eggs!
• All right, I want some of those fresh eggs now
• Know your flock

Chick TV




On a typical weekday, Chris Robbins arrives home from work, grabs a nice, cold ale, and heads outside to see the chickens.  He and his wife, Mary, sit in their green Adirondack chairs and watch their flock.  Hanging out with the chickens is one of the family’s favorite pastimes, something they call “Chick TV.”

Right now they’ve got two dozen hens and a rooster.  The rooster, Chris says, sometimes chases their 13-year-old son, Tommy, around the yard, and crows every morning to welcome the day.  The family eats the eggs, and later, the meat.

They began raising chickens several years ago, when Mary, who grew up on a farm, brought up the idea.  They live on a few acres of land in Owen County and the rest of the family liked the idea, so they set out to buy some chickens.  Backyard farming gets incredibly modern at this point, because the Robbins’ preferred method of chicken acquisition is an online hatchery. Boxes of baby chicks are sent to your local post office. You get a phone call, and then go pick up your chicks.

The family keeps the little ones in what’s called a brooder box next to their woodstove for about two months. “Day-old chicks are actually the cutest thing,” Chris says. “They are just these tiny little balls of fuzz that fit on your hand, and fall over a lot.” When the chickens leave the brooder box, they have their feathers and are ready for their close-ups on Chick TV.

It’s possible, though, to buy your chickens fully mature.  Taji and Shane got their chickens at 16 weeks old, when they were fully feathered and laying eggs.  “We got them kind of on a whim,” Shane says.  For Tanner’s 10^th birthday, they got their five ISA Brown hens, and they beefed up their flock two months later with the Wyandotte and Leghorn.  Taji claims they were not ready to play host to a flock of chickens, because their coop wasn’t completely finished and they hadn’t decided whether their birds would be free-range or not.  They weren’t even sure what their subdivision would think of backyard poultry. Shane, Tanner and Sawyer, though, refused to chicken out. Shane looked up his neighborhood’s homeowner’s rules.  They were able to get their chickens hassle free and without a permit.  Now with seven birds pecking around in her yard, Taji can’t bring herself to disagree.  They are pets and a true part of their family.

“I think if we left the door open they would just casually walk in, like, ‘Hey guys,’” Shane jokes. Tanner, though, likes the idea. “We could put some special carpeting down that could be, like, cleaned, and we could let them in!”

“Ah, no,” Taji says.

“It’s gonna happen.”

“No it’s not.”

“No, you know like that fake grass?”

“Seriously. No.”

“I’m just saying!”

“I totally get that, but no.  No chickens in the house, that’s definitely a house rule.”

Eggs, eggs, eggs!

Around a month after they’re fully feathered, hens will start laying eggs.  Chris and Mary raise their chickens primarily for eggs.  “We have so many that we give away eggs every week to different friends,” Chris says.  The Gibsons only have a seven-hen flock, but they consistently retrieve five eggs a day.  “We’ve got so many, we don’t know what to do with them,” Taji says, offering a dozen to this pair of journalists who happened to ask her about their chickens.

Theresa Malone walks across her quaint backyard in downtown Bloomington making her way towards the chicken coop. She emerges from underneath the blue tarp, and walks through the rusted gate that serves as the entry to the chickens’ home. “Look, I got an egg! I always get so excited,” says Theresa. She holds it up in her hand, gazing down at it with joy.

It’s perfectly symmetrical and golden brown, shaped like a giant teardrop. Theresa snags the egg from her chicken coop before Ruthie, a Barred Rock hen, and Bobbie, a buff Orpington, realize what’s happening.  Ruthie crows while Bobbie wanders back into the coop, unaware of the theft that has just taken place. Theresa’s neighbor Kevin Bird peeks into her backyard, as Ruthie’s crowing grows louder. “You don’t need a rooster when you have that one crowing all day,” he says, sharing a laugh with Theresa. Joanie, a buff Orpington, recently went to what Theresa calls “chicken heaven,” leaving the burden of laying eggs on Ruthie and Bobbie.

Theresa always wanted chickens, and after Bloomington passed an ordinance saying you no longer needed your neighbor’s consent to raise them, she had no more excuses.  “I guess I’m a farm girl at heart without a farm,” Theresa says.  She found three pullets, or young hens, in Martinsville, just by going on Craigslist. Following an inspection by the city, the Bloomington Animal Shelter gave her a permit. She used an old kitchen cabinet perched on an end table and covered with chicken wire to create a backyard home for her hens.

Theresa Malone warms up with Ruthie in her arms. /Photo by Feroze Dhanoa

Named after her aunts and her mother, Theresa’s chickens mean a lot to her. And they do seem to be beautiful and happy animals.  Theresa bends down to scoop Ruthie up in her arms. She holds the hen firmly and strokes her head. “They’re so warm. If you’re cold, you can just grab one and they’ll warm you up,” she says with a smile.  Theresa likes the chickens’ easy-going and aloof attitude; the eggs are just an extra benefit.  Ruthie gives her an egg every other day while Bobbie is less regular, maybe an egg every two to three days.

Theresa has upgraded her chicken coop with a doghouse from Lowe’s.  She reaches into the coop and cleans up the mess every two to three days and gives it a proper cleaning every couple of months. Ruthie and Bobbie aren’t too demanding as long as they have fresh water and food.

Chickens in general are pretty good at taking care of themselves.  The Gibsons’ flock is free range, and they rarely need to eat the seed from their feeder.  Free-range chickens can feed themselves most of the time, but they do still need a good supply of clean water.

Chickens work to keep themselves clean, too, and it’s fun to watch a hen “bathe” itself.  Every now and then the birds will wander toward a dry patch of dirt and begin scratching like crazy.  Once it turns up enough dirt and dust, it dives to the ground and rolls around in the dirt.  It looks for all the world like a dog trying to scratch its back in the grass.

Shane says the hens cover their skin in a layer of dirt.  That dirt smothers any parasites or bugs they may be on their skin.  Staying clean by getting dirty: Sounds a little bird-brained doesn’t it?

Not all chickens can be free range, though.  Bloomington requires owners to have a fenced-in chicken run, although that doesn’t mean you can’t take your chickens out into your yard sometimes.  And the runs and coop sometimes need to be a specific number of feet away from neighbors or fences. Evansville’s municipal code requires that coops stand “no less than 50 feet from a property boundary.”

Sawyer Gibson embraces his flock's dominant hen, Fancy. /Photo by Nick Clark

While chickens aren’t known for their smarts, they do know that people mean food.  “When we open the door, zoom, here come the chickens,” Shane says.

Taji says that when she gardens, the chickens are right there at every hole she digs, pecking at bugs and fighting for worms.  “I just like how social they are,” she says, “They’ll follow you around, kinda doing their own thing, but they will always be there.”

As chickens age they begin to lay fewer eggs.  At this stage, many owners elect to slaughter their poultry, where permitted, and eat their home-grown meat.  “They stop laying as consistently after about a year, and then they become chicken soup, or chicken salad,” Chris says. It’s his least favorite part. “Nobody likes to kill something they’ve raised from a baby,” he says.  “But we haven’t had to buy meat from a grocery store in a long time.”

Theresa can’t bring herself to butcher her chickens, even though it’s allowed. “I guess I’m just going to keep them till I have really old hens in my backyard,” she says.

The same is true for the Gibson family. After all, they have names.  Fancy, the dominant female, pecks around the compost area while Mary and Greedy follow behind.  Sally and Name-me are scratching in the grass near the boys, Sawyer and Tanner, while Cheagle and Wyno poke around in the bushes.  Clucks and laughs float on a light breeze.

If you care for your hens, they’ll hang around with you, the highest form of chicken affection.  You can’t expect too much of these birds: some scratching, some feather rustling, lots of torn-up grass and a fair amount of noise.  But somehow that all leads to laughs, companionship and an endless supply of fresh eggs.

Tanner and Sawyer feed their hens some spicy popcorn. /Photo by Nick Clark

Sawyer and Tanner run across the backyard with their steel bowls of hot sauce seasoned popcorn in hand.  Greedy leads the charge towards the popcorn and the other hens flock after her. The boys toss handfuls of kernels to the hungry birds. “They like hot sauce,” says Tanner. “The chicks are grown up like me!”

All right, I want some of those fresh eggs now

Thinking about raising your own chickens?  We’re going to tell you how to cock-a-doodle do it with some help from Andrew Brake.

Can I raise chickens in my backyard?

Check with your local Animal Control Office first.  Websites like urbanchicken.com and backyardchicken.com allow you to contact other chicken owners in your area, and sometimes can link you straight to your city’s municipal code.  Always check with your local government and homeowner’s association before buying anything.

Where can I get chickens?

First figure out how many chickens you want.  Now start looking, you can find chickens all over!  There are online hatcheries like Murray McMurray.  Local farmers will often have chicks or pullets for sale in the spring, and feed stores or Tractor Supply stores often stock baby chicks around the same time of year.

What if I want to raise them from chick hood?

Brake says raising birds from chicks involves a lot of work. But if you do decide to take on this task, you’ll need a brooder box where the chicks aren’t too cramped up.

Fill the box with some kind of bedding. (Avoid newspaper shreds, as the ink can get real messy.)Make sure they have a feeder and a water bowl as well as a light pointed at them to keep them warm. Change their food and water regularly and make sure their living conditions are hygienic.

Do I need a rooster?

Nope.  If you have a flock of chickens, the rooster will take the dominant role in the “pecking order.”  Without a rooster, the biggest hen will usually take over and act like a rooster.  She’ll be more aggressive, flapping her wings while clucking at potential threats.  Sometimes dominant hens will even stop laying eggs.

What are some of the basic necessities I would need to raise chickens?

Once you know how many birds you want, the first things you should invest in are feeders, waterers and chicken feed. For their housing needs, you need to build a coop. The coop doesn’t need to be too fancy as long as the birds have ample space to move around inside. Make sure you clean out the coop about once a week so that the chickens have a clean living environment.

How often do chickens lay eggs?

Most breeds will lay an egg every one to three days. 3 birds in your backyard will give you 900 eggs a year.  Some breeds, called layers, can be counted on for an egg every day.  Other breeds, like meat birds or rare breeds, are less productive.

Can I have other pets and still raise chickens?

You can, but keep an eye on your animals.  Cats may attack young chickens but are more apprehensive of full grown birds.  The Gibsons have two cats and no problems.  Dogs will sometimes kill fully grown birds also, but if you have an aggressive rooster or a dominant hen, he or she will show that dog who’s boss.

Do chickens get sick?

Big industrial chicken farms give the birds a bad name. If you have three to five birds in your coop, you’ll notice if one is sick, and you can take care of it immediately. In a giant chicken farm, it isn’t as noticeable and diseases can spread. Of course, anytime you take care of any chicken business, make sure you wash your hands. Watch out for pests like raccoons and hawks, they’ve been known to disturb the chickens’ peace.

Chickens are easy, and there isn’t much lying in between you and those healthy eggs.

Know your flock

Barred Rock – Easy-going birds with a gentle demeanor.

Buff Orpington — Friendly birds that can be the victims of bullying.

Wyandotte — Dominating birds with a calm demeanor.

ISA Brown– A mix of the Rhode Island Red and the Rhode Island White, ISA Browns will give you a large quantity of eggs.

Leghorn — Typical white chicken that will give you a good amount of eggs.

Steam rises from an enormous pot as jars jiggle inside. Cucumber skins cascade from the trashcan. Coriander seeds spill off the counter and bounce on the hardwood floors. Pungent vinegar wafts through the kitchen and lingers in the sticky air. Strawberry juice stains the ruffles on our aprons.

We’re first-time canners. And no, we look nothing like your grandma — although we’re probably using some of her recipes. Canning and pickling might seem an unlikely hobby for two girls in their twenties. However, as more individuals embrace the idea of local and sustainable produce, a renewed interest in food preservation has surfaced throughout 812. And we’re not the only ones who’ve noticed.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation reports that one in five U.S. households has tried canning. That’s a lot of Ball jars.

Annie Corrigan, producer for the WFIU Public Radio segment “Earth Eats,” has documented the trend in interviews with local canning and pickling experts. She believes the shift toward local and homegrown produce has sparked the interest in home-canning. “People are growing their own food, which means they’re getting more cucumbers than they know what to do with. So instead of throwing food away, they’re canning.”

Processing your own produce can seem daunting. So we at 812 have researched the science of canning, interviewed the experts and tested the recipes to compile an insider’s guide to preserving your Indiana produce this summer.

• Market research
• Grocery list
• Know your spreads
• A step-by-step guide to canning high-acid foods
• Canning chemistry
• A tale of two canners
• Recipes

Market research

So maybe you don’t have a backyard garden. You can still incorporate canning into your life. Before you stumble aimlessly around the produce section, listen to Megan Hutchison, manager of the Local Growers Guild, and her recommendations on how to find and choose the best local fruits and vegetables to preserve.

What to get:

Green beans

Green beans peak in May and can be enjoyed all summer. Small, tender beans are best in recipes like Hutchison’s pickled beans. “I’ve been feasting on dilly beans, made with green beans that I canned at the end of the summer.”
Tomatoes

Indiana tomatoes ripen in July and often last through early fall. Look for ripe and firm varieties. “You can make sauces, salsas, juice, chutneys, and can whole tomatoes with them.”

Thornless blackberries

Avoid sour berries by canning them at their ripest in July and August. Thornless strains make for easier jellies and spreads. “The whole house smells of sweet fruit and jams. They serve as great gifts, too.”

Apples

Apples enjoy a long growing season throughout the Midwest, lasting from July to October. Use firm, sweet apples to make perfect applesauce. “You can’t go back to store-bought after you’ve made your own.”

Where to get it:

If growing your own isn’t an option, Hutchison suggests staying local. She recommends frequenting your local farmer’s market for the freshest and cheapest finds. Bustling markets in Jeffersonville, New Albany and Bloomington open seasonally and offer tasty ingredients, music, entertainment and a chance for fellow canners to exchange recipes and their latest creations.

Dedicated foodies also have the option of farm-to-table produce with a Community Supported Agriculture subscription. Subscribers receive a predetermined volume of fresh produce directly from the farmer each season. Visits to the farm are also included, as well as a chance to experiment with a wide variety of local selections.

But for the more relaxed food enthusiast, Hutchison suggests befriending your neighborhood produce manager in order to snag the freshest option at the grocery. “They can help you choose the ripest vegetables and fruits in the pile.”

Grocery list

You’re equipped with the freshest local produce. Before the steam starts rising, you’ll need a few gadgets and gizmos to turn your home-canning experience into a professional endeavor. Canning aficionada Sara Minard walks you through what you need to get started.

Jar lifter

These specialized clamps help you handle hot jars. They’re inexpensive and can be purchased at local hardware stores. Minard swears by hers.

Canning funnel

Avoid excess mess with a funnel to spoon ingredients into the jars.

Canning bath or heavy pan with rack

“You don’t want cheap pots. Your stuff will scorch, especially if you’re working with sugar,” she says.

Vinegar

Since pickling requires large amounts of vinegar, Minard recommends buying in bulk. Check online or at local restaurant supply stores.

Sugar

“Plenty of sugar, just white sugar, especially with jams. When you start messing with other sugars, such as honey, it gets expensive.”

Spices

Minard forages throughout Bloomington for Notting Field Garlic Seed Heads for recipes. She encourages others to riff on their own with unexpected spices and herbs.

Pickling salt

She suggests using the same salts for fear of over-salting. Good canning recipes detail the type used, but pickling salt is a safe option.

Your produce
“You can pretty much go to the market and say, ‘Oh, these are in season right now. Today I can go home and make something.’”

Rubber kitchen gloves

“The cauldron steams, and if you have on a rubber glove it protects your hands from the hot temperatures. You can also momentarily dip your hand in if you need to.”

Journal

Keep a journal close by to document changes or additions to recipes. “You think you’re going to remember things, and then you don’t.”

Friend

Minard’s best recommendation? Canning with a friend. “Having someone there to help you prep and talk to is really fun. It’s a good way to just be social with your friends, and if you can get a group, it’s a great way to trade.”

Know your spreads

You know you love it on your croissant in the morning, but are you sure it’s a jam? Maybe it’s really marmalade. Or a conserve. Some of the greatest canning triumphs come in spreadable form. Learn how to tell what’s what.

Jams

Crush fruits for a jam and then mix with sugar to form a spreadable gel. Be creative and use multiple fruits for modern twists on the classic strawberry or blackberry favorites.

Jelly

Cook up a jelly by combining fruit juice and sugar. The high water content in grapes makes them ideal for smooth, delicious jellies.

Relish

Prepare relishes by dicing fruits or vegetables and cooking them in spices and vinegar. For an extra kick, add some hot peppers or sweeten things up with a dash of sugar.

Preserves

Whip up a preserve by keeping fruit in larger pieces so that the chunks retain their shape when cooked down with sugar.

Chutney

Go heavy on the spices if you’re craving chutney. These combinations of fruits and vegetables cook for long periods of time with sweet and sour spices for a hearty taste.

Conserve

Take a jam and mix in nuts or raisins to create a tasty conserve. But don’t add nuts until the last five minutes to avoid soggy, slimy textures.

Marmalade

Save your peels and rinds for marmalades, which are similar to jam in their gel-like texture. Citrus-fruit rinds make tangy and balanced marmalades.

A step-by-step guide to canning high-acid foods

Ready for the real thing? Here’s our step-by-step guide to canning high-acid foods like jams, jellies and pickles. We talked with Kayte Young, a canning expert and nutrition education coordinator at Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard in Bloomington. Young teaches canning classes in hopes of spreading the can-do attitude to others. Here are her tips to avoid self-proclaimed “cantastrophes.”

• Wash your jars (and your hands!) in hot, soapy water before beginning the canning process. Check for nicks, cracks or uneven rims, which could prevent correct sealing or cause breaking.
• Sterilize your jars by fully dunking them in water and boiling for 10 minutes. Keep the jars in warm, simmering water until you’re ready to fill them.
• Read your recipe carefully, and follow instructions as directed.
• Although rims and lids can be simmered in a small saucepan, Young suggests pouring boiling water over the lids while in a large bowl or pan. Don’t ever bring lids or rims to a full boil.
• Now you’re ready to fill your jars. Using the funnel, fill each warmed jar one at a time with your recipe. Make sure to allow the proper head space — do whatever your recipe suggests.
• Remove air bubbles by sliding a nonmetallic spatula around the sides of the jar. Special tools come in most canning kits, but Young says a plastic or wooden spoon works just fine, too.
• Wipe the rim of the jar with a damp cloth. Young uses an old clean T-shirt to avoid threads or cloth fuzz mixing with the food.
• Place your lid on the jar and screw on your rim. The rim should be tight by fingertip standards, so no need to work up a sweat.
• Place the jar in the canner and repeat the previous steps for all your jars.
• Once all the cans have entered the warm bath, crank up the heat. Begin counting your processing time after the water reaches a full, roiling boil.
• When your timer dings, turn off the heat and carefully remove the jars with your jar-lifter. Place them on a towel or cooling rack to avoid cracking.
• As badly as you want to sample, let the jars rest undisturbed for 24 hours.
• Make sure lids have a seal that does not flex and cannot be easily removed. Quick — immediately refrigerate or reprocess any unsealed jars for food safety.
• Stock your pantry and enjoy your preserved creation within one year.

Looking for some perfect beginner recipes? Young recommends The Ball Blue Book of Canning and Preserving Recipes and Putting Food, both by Ruth Hertzberg. Check them out at your local library before someone else does.

Canning chemistry

You’re finished. You did it. You think you’re done but you’re left wondering, “Is this food really safe to eat?” In order to understand why your food sits safely on your shelves, we’ll take a look into the science behind the steam.

The heating process of canning ensures the safety of preserved foods. The high heat kills molds, yeasts and enzymes, and the vacuum seal keeps microorganisms out.

High-acid foods should be processed in a boiling-water canner. These include preserves, jellies, pickles, fruits and tomatoes. According to Denise Schroeder of the Purdue Extension, low-acid foods process at a temperature higher than boiling water, which means they require a pressure canner. Vegetables, meat, soups, seafood and poultry generally have low acid levels.

Once you fill the jars and submerge them in hot water, the contents expand and gases are expelled. When you lift the cans out of the water, the atmospheric pressure outside of the jar is greater than the pressure inside the jar. This change in pressure creates the satisfying “pop” that signals a canning success.

Schroeder emphasizes that canning recipes must be followed precisely to ensure safety. If done incorrectly, the results can be fatal. Botulism, a protein produced under anaerobic conditions caused by bacterium Clostridium botulinum, can develop if the acidity level drops below a safe level or the jar does not reach a high enough temperature to eliminate all of the spores.

However, Schroeder says fear of botulism should never stop anyone from canning. It is incredibly rare and easily avoidable; prevent botulism by eliminating air and adding heat. The combination of high-acid levels and boiling temperatures eliminate any chances of the protein surviving, Kayte from Mother Hubbard’s cupboard explains.

A tale of two canners

The sugary strawberry syrup bubbles on the stove. It slowly rises as the boil strengthens. I mix the soon-to-be jam with my wooden spoon. It creeps higher. I’m pretty sure it’s thickening. That has to be the reason it’s nearing the top. A little higher. There’s plenty of room . . . I think. The bubbles quicken. I stir faster. The syrup skims the rim of the clad-iron pot. Maybe my stirring will calm it down. I can’t turn down the heat. That’s not what the recipe says. Stir. Stir. Stir. Higher. Higher. Higher.

Oh no . . . I think we messed it up.

At the grocery store the strawberries seem sweet and far less intimidating than the cucumbers and their vinegar counterparts. The strawberries just need sugar. The cucumbers require smelly vinegar and spices we’ve NEVER? heard of. Grandmas make jams. Who makes pickles?

We unload the groceries and tear open the Ball brand canning-accessory kit. Out flies blue plastic tools that resemble toy knives and spatulas.  Let’s start with the strawberries. We’ve heard jam is for beginners.

Strawberry stems pile up on the counter. We dig through the kitchen drawers until we find the outdated potato masher. Who knew crushing strawberries took such upper-arm strength? Sweat builds on our brows. This is harder than we thought.

We add the pectin. Then some lemon juice. We dump in what seems like a sand dune’s worth of sugar. That’s when it happens. The sticky syrup starts to rise slowly at first before erupting onto what seems like every surface in the kitchen. The crevices of the stove are caked in reddish-pink slime. The burnt syrup smokes and crackles on the burners. I’ve got strawberries in my hair.

We rush to fill the jars with the bubbling substance. The funnel helps but my hands stick together and seeds dig under my fingernails. We’ve got to hurry up before the jars cool. Syrup coats the granite countertop. I try to lick off the strawberry-flavored glue. My mom is going to kill us.

We finally get the jars inside the water bath. Ten minutes pass, and we safely lift them onto the cooling rack. We stare at the jars, waiting anxiously for the “pop!” everyone has told us about. It’s silent.

After five minutes of waiting, we start to tackle the goo-covered kitchen. Did the overflow mess it all up? We tried so hard. As I scrub the stove vigorously with a Brillo pad, I feel defeated. I don’t even want to try the pickles.

Pop!

In one second it’s all worth it. Screams fill the house as we jump for joy and our aprons suddenly seem cool again. We did it! This is so fun! We love canning! The success of one single pop, (ultimately followed by others) reminds us of why we canned in the first place. Sharing time with friends and making something from scratch.

Bring on the pickles.

Recipes

Some of our canning contributors share their favorite recipes for you to try at home.

Spicy Peach Chutney

Recommended by Kayte Young

Ingredients:

4 lbs. sliced peeled peaches

1 cup raisins or dried cranberries

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup chopped onion

5 ounces chopped preserved ginger

1 ½ tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon mustard seed

1 teaspoon curry powder

4 cups packed brown sugar

4 cups apple cider vinegar

¼ cup pickling spice

In a large pot, combine peaches, raisins, garlic, onion, ginger, chili powder, mustard seed, curry powder, brown sugar and cider vinegar. Place pickling spice in a cheesecloth bag and add to the pot. Bring mixture to a boil; then cook over medium heat until it reaches the desired consistency. This process will take around 1 ½ hours for a proper, thick sauce. Stir to prevent scorching. Remove the spice bag and ladle the mixture into hot, sterilized jars. Wipe the rims and seal the jars with lids and rings. Process the jars in a barely simmering water bath for 10 minutes. Make sure the jars are completely submerged.

Sweet Watermelon Pickles

Recommended by Annie Corrigan

4 lbs. watermelon rind

2 cups white vinegar

2 cups water

4 cups sugar

3 cinnamon sticks

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1 teaspoon whole allspice

1 lemon, sliced thin

Brine

¼ cup salt

1 quart water

Pare watermelon rind and remove all pink portions. Cut rind into 1 x 2-inch pieces about 1 inch thick. Soak rind overnight in brine made by dissolving ¼ cup salt in each quart of water. Drain rind and wash in fresh water. Combine remaining ingredients and boil together 5 minutes. Add rind a few at a time and cook until rind is clear. Simmer about 30 minutes. Pack rind in hot jars. Cover with boiling syrup and seal.

Passengers aboard Jasper's Ride and Dine will enjoy a catered meal on the rails. The Ride and Dine operates on various weekends from June to the first weekend in November. /Photo courtesy of the Spirit of Jasper

Jasper’s Ride and Dine train transports passengers back to an era of luxury and relaxation in three kelly green cars with gold decorative letters.

“Everybody knows somebody who loves trains,” Jasper Parks and Recreation Department Director Ken Buck says. “Everybody’s got a little bit of ‘train’ in them.”

Hop aboard and you’ll find friendly attendants in each of three train cars—the Lounge Car, Club Car and Parlour Car. With each car’s renovated woodwork interiors, it’s no wonder that Jasper is known as the “woodworking capital of the world.”

The Crane Naval Depot, twenty-five miles south of Bloomington, donated the cars in 2006 after they sat unused for more than twenty years. Town and city volunteers from companies such as Master Brand Cabinets, Buehler Foods and Jasper Engine and Transmission restored each car over the course of two to three years.

In the Lounge Car you’ll find light wood and modern furniture, with seating for 48 diners at tables attached to the wall. This car once transported the bodies of World War I soldiers to their hometowns, and was originally called a “coffin car.”

Wander over to the Club Car, renovated in 2009, for 46 additional cushioned seats around comfortable dining tables for two to four people.

Stop in the Parlour Car for a drink. It seats 26 people, leaving ample space for a 19-foot-long bar that stretches the car’s entire length. Passengers can sit on barstools  to take in the scenery.

As 25 miles of rolling hills and shallow creeks pass outside, passengers enjoy a 2-2 ½ hour train ride on the rails catered buffet-style by the local Schnitzelbank Restaurant.

Meals onboard include home-style favorites such as fried chicken, roast beef and mashed potatoes, BBQ beef brisket, Italian chicken breasts and cheesy potato casserole.

When the train pulls in to French Lick, the adventure is just half-over. On the return trip to Jasper, diners enjoy desserts including fruit cobbler, coconut cream pies and bread pudding with bourbon sauce.

The scenery is enjoyable, the meal is great, and the experience is awesome, Buck says. “This trip is unbelievable. This is the only dinner train in Indiana. Period.”

Quick facts:

• Cost: $45/person
• Duration: 2-2 ½ hours
• Distance: From the Jasper Depot in Dubois County to French Lick (about 50 miles roundtrip)
• Dates open: June 1, 15, 16, 29, and 30; July 6, 13, 27, and 28; August 30; September 7, 14, and 28; October 6, 12, 13, 20, 26, and 27

Before you go:

• Leave your pets at home
• Bring cash if you are over 21
• Book your ride at least 48 hours in advance