Indiana

The state park that wasn’t

sbradford — Tue, 30 May 2023 16:28:18 +0000

The state park that wasn’t

June 1, 2023

This is the story of a failed state park and its lake. To tell it faithfully, though, I need to tell you how I came across it. To do that, I need to first beg forgiveness, because I fibbed 44 summers ago.

When I was a boy, I worked in a supermarket fetching carts and sacking groceries. It was a fun job, a social outlet, and I met a great many wonderful folks. But it was work, after all, and I enjoyed catching smallmouth bass a whole lot more.

Indian Creek was my home waters, and I explored its every reach, from the Indiana line downstream to Millville. On one occasion I faked the flu, skipped work, and headed to the creek. I recall the day for two distinct reasons.

First, I encountered the ruins of curious concrete edifices in the creek bed that were clearly relics from another time. Old sycamores and silver maples grew thickly through cracked concrete. A tall tower stood there, orphaned, in what seemed the most out-of-the-way place. Not 40 yards away, Indian Creek bent into a deep pool beneath sheltering box elders. That leads to the second reason for the memory: It was there that I hooked a smallmouth bass as long as my forearm and thick as a pillow from the smallest of waters. I deserved the private anguish that followed, given I couldn’t tell anyone — especially my parents — about the bass, because I should have been sacking groceries.

So now, about that lake, and that park that wasn’t.

I have come to understand that the concrete relics embody the desire and tenacity of local folks wanting to improve their quality of life during the Great Depression. The Hamilton Chapter of the Izaak Walton League, a national conservation organization, lobbied the FDR administration circa 1935 to have the Works Project Administration build a dam and plant the seeds of a state park with a lake between Hamilton and Reily, a quaint town nestled between gentle hills, bisected by the meandering Indian Creek in Butler County, near the Indiana state line.

The WPA built other small dams in Ohio, but never got to Reily. The Depression waned and the WPA became a postscript to hard times, but the Waltonians never gave up. Finally, in 1947, the Ohio Division of Conservation relented and contracted the construction of an earthen and concrete structure across Indian Creek, projected to create a 185-acre lake within what was to be a 300-acre state park, both named Pater Lake. The dam was completed in December 1949.

Then it rained. And rained some more.

Math problems are unforgiving; they are either right or they are not. Sure, you can show your work for credit, but if the answer is wrong, it’s wrong. And it gets complicated when equations involve measuring rainfall and land surface area and the projection of improbable events that one cannot possibly accurately foretell.

According to records provided by the Reily Historical Society, a National Weather Service rain gauge at Oxford measured nearly 15 inches of rain in the first six weeks of 1950. Pater Lake rapidly filled, and promptly overflowed.

A math error revealed itself. The designing engineers failed to take into account the land surface area in the headwaters of Indian Creek inside Indiana. The road running to Reily flooded, as did farmland. In an emergency measure, the dam was breached to save property and prevent loss of life. Photos taken in February 1950 show a torrent coming over the spillway.

Crestfallen, no doubt, the Waltonians did not give up. They continued to press for a dam repair for several years, but it was not to be. The cost to fix the mistake was prohibitive, and the site was determined not to be as suitable as once thought. State officials turned their energies north of Oxford to Hueston Woods.

Had someone checked the engineers’ math, it would have saved a great deal of money and heartache. Ten years after the expected christening of a new state park, in 1960, Pater Lake Park was accessioned by Butler County’s MetroParks, sans a 50-foot-deep lake. Indian Creek still tumbles on toward the Great Miami, unimpeded.

I confess my irresponsibility that summer day in 1979, but, by gosh, that smallmouth bass was enormous.

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Ohio history

State park

Indiana

Butler County

University Lettering: Home of the iconic FFA jacket

hgraffice — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 20:09:18 +0000

University Lettering: Home of the iconic FFA jacket

December 22, 2016

Damaine Vonada

Features

When general manager Cory Hoops gives tours of the Universal Lettering Company’s Van Wert facility to FFA members, it’s often an eye-opening experience for them. “I remember this schoolgirl telling us she had no idea that so much labor goes into producing FFA jackets,” says Hoops. “She was excited and amazed to see how hers was made.”

Started in the 1920s to provide agricultural education, work experiences, and leadership training to farmboys, the National FFA Organization has evolved into a congressionally chartered, intra-curricular organization that now includes girls, with specific provisions for including minorities and city kids. Some middle school and collegiate chapters exist, but most FFA members are high-schoolers studying everything from aquaculture and agribusiness to food science and natural resources.

While the Indianapolis-based organization has experienced growth and change over the years, two FFA icons have remained constant — the blue and gold emblem that adorns the back of every FFA jacket, and the blue corduroy jackets themselves. The jackets have been part of FFA’s official dress uniform for 84 years, and countless young people have worn them with pride.

“The jacket gives FFA members confidence and makes them feel that they’re part of something larger than themselves because it’s so steeped in tradition,” notes Lee Anne Shiller, division director of the organization’s membership and merchandise services.

The jacket originated after the advisor of the Fredericktown FFA chapter contacted Van Wert’s Universal Uniform Company. “Dr. Gus Lintner had seen a blue corduroy jacket with a chenille bulldog on the back in a store window,” says Hoops, “and he asked Universal Uniform, which was our company’s predecessor, to produce a similar one for his chapter.” When the Fredericktown band members sported them while performing at FFA’s 1933 national convention in Kansas City, the new jackets looked so handsome that the delegates voted to adopt the design.

Cory Hoops, general manager of Universal Lettering, shows off one of the iconic FFA jackets that his company helped bring to the masses.

Styled with long sleeves, a pointed collar, and buckle tabs at the waist, the FFA jacket has stayed basically the same since 1933. “There have been only subtle changes because the jacket is so important to FFA members,” says Hoops. While jackets initially had front snaps, square pockets, and an embroidered emblem, current jackets have a zipper, rounded pockets, and a patch emblem.

Until hard times forced it into bankruptcy in the late 1980s, Universal Uniform made about 150,000 FFA jackets annually. Lima CPA Mark Hoops and other investors revived the business in 1991. They renamed it Universal Lettering, acquired high-tech sewing and embroidery equipment, and eventually moved its operations to a modern industrial park. Today, Universal Lettering produces branded apparel as well as custom chenille patches for clients that include 4-H clubs, varsity sports teams, marching bands, corporations, and clothing companies.

As for FFA jackets, most are now made in Vietnam, but Van Wert workers still play a major role in producing and delivering them.

“Universal Lettering cuts and sews about 25 percent of all the jackets, but we do 100 percent of the embroidery and shipping to FFA members,” says Hoops. “We’ll ship about 80,000 jackets this year.”

Each FFA jacket consists of 26 individual pieces of cotton fabric, and from attaching the emblem on the back panel to double-stitching seams, Universal Lettering employees complete 35 separate sewing operations to make a jacket. During the busy season, they turn out 1,000 jackets with customized embroidery every day. “Starting the second week in September, we embroider 24/7 for two months,” says Hoops.

Imported FFA jackets cost $50, but for an extra $15, members can buy a made-in-the-USA jacket from Universal Lettering. For additional fees, the company also tailors new jackets and, in a nod to its singular FFA heritage, re-letters vintage ones. “Our workers put a lot of care into every stitch,” says Hoops. “They think about the extraordinary number of FFA jackets that have been made in Van Wert over the years, and some are FFA moms themselves.”

Tags

Indiana

The 'other' Columbus

hgraffice — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 18:19:42 +0000

The 'other' Columbus

March 30, 2017

Sarah Jaquay

Features

When Americans conjure a place called “Columbus,” many imagine Ohio — home of The Ohio State University and its legions of Buckeye football fans.

There is, however, another Columbus not too far away — west across the state line to just south of Indianapolis. While its population is only about 45,000, the town enjoys an outsized reputation as a modern architectural Mecca.

Located just three hours from Ohio’s capital, this Hoosier hamlet has long been a transportation hub — especially for railroads. Its major employer, Cummins, Inc. (f.k.a. Cummins Engine) is an integral part of why this small municipality boasts more than 70 buildings and landscapes designed by celebrity architects from around the globe. Family vacation planners take note: Columbus captivates kids with a massive indoor playground and a three-story children’s museum. The whole family can indulge their sweet teeth at an old-fashioned ice cream parlor with vintage soda fountains.

The best place to start exploring is the Visitors Center on Fifth Street, where visitors may view films on Columbus’ architectural significance and preview one of its crown jewels, the Miller House and Garden. The Visitors Center offers two-hour bus tours that include historic and contemporary structures and tells the backstory of how this place came to be ranked among the world’s top destinations for innovative design.

A brief summary: Local businessman J. Irwin Miller suddenly became the CEO of Cummins Engine during World War II when his great uncle died unexpectedly. After the war, Columbus experienced rapid family growth, and projected a need for new schools. The first two prefabricated schools were built hurriedly. So Miller offered funding for the design of the next one, as long as school board officials would select an architect from a list provided by the Cummins Foundation (the company’s charitable arm). That was the start of renowned modern architects building public structures and art there: I.M. Pei’s Cleo Rogers Memorial Library, Kevin Roche’s Columbus Post Office, and sculptor Henry Moore’s “Large Arch” that unifies the plaza between the groundbreaking First Christian Church (designed by Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen) and the library.

A must-see is the Miller House and Garden designed by Eero Saarinen, Eliel’s son. Eero gained international recognition for St. Louis’s Gateway Arch and the TWA Flight Center at JFK International Airport, and was crucial in selecting Jorn Utzon to design the Sydney Opera House. Among architecture aficionados, Miller House is as revered as Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Fallingwater in Western Pennsylvania.

Travelers who visit this summer and fall will experience the inaugural Exhibit Columbus (Aug. 26 through mid-November.) There will be five large temporary installations at important architectural locations in the downtown area, including “Wiikiaami,” located at the First Christian Church and designed by studio: indigenous, a Wisconsin-based firm known for expression of American Indian culture; and the “Conversation Plinth,” located at the library and designed by IKD, a Boston firm known for its work at the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum.

Smaller installations also will be placed along Washington Street (Columbus’ main thoroughfare), and local high school students will produce their own installations. While this charming town has long been known for its mid-century architecture, civic leaders believe that the biennial event will put Columbus “back on the map,” even for those who have visited before.

The Columbus in Hoosierland may not have a football team to root for, but this burg is once again rooting for and promoting quality modern design.

For the kids

After a large dose of architecture, visitors with kids can head for Washington Street, where they’ll discover “kidscommons,” the three-story, 12,000 square-foot children’s museum.

In keeping with the design theme, it offers hands-on exhibits that allow visitors to design their own communities, while subtly exposing them to tenets of architecture and urban planning. There’s a 17-foot climbing wall and Bubble-ology — a contraption that creates body-sized bubbles. Kids can let off even more steam at The Commons, a community gathering space with a 5,000 square-foot indoor playground featuring a Luckey Climber — a free-of-charge multi-story structure laced with mazes and jungle gyms, designed by the late architect and sculptor, Tom Luckey.

When hunger pangs set in, Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor and Museum, across from The Commons, should help. The institution was started in 1900 by three brothers. After they attended the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, they were inspired to buy two ornate soda fountains. Today, “soda jerks” still draw carbonated water from these machines to make handcrafted ice cream delights.

Sarah Jaquay is a freelance writer from Shaker Heights.

Tags

Indiana

art

Shipshewana, Indiana: Great food, great shopping

hgraffice — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 15:38:10 +0000

Shipshewana, Indiana: Great food, great shopping

March 28, 2018

Damaine Vonada

Features

It was 25 minutes past noon when I scored the last serving of the Friday lunch special — scalloped potatoes and ham — at the Auction Restaurant in Shipshewana, Indiana. Just seconds after I ordered, a young man sat down and asked for the special too. “It’s all gone,” said the waitress, a pleasant, middle-aged woman wearing an apron, plain blue dress, and white bonnet. “Well, I was wanting it all morning,” he complained, then settled for a prime rib sandwich.

One bite of the special, and I understood his disappointment. Served on a divided plate with corn and applesauce, the mound of not-too-cheesy potatoes liberally laced with ham tasted like something Grandma used to make, and for $7.99, it was quite the wholesome, hearty bargain. So, when the waitress mentioned that the pie was homemade too, who could resist a slice of custardy peanut butter crowned with whipped cream and a dusting of crumbles?

The Auction Restaurant sits at the main entrance to the Shipshewana Trading Place Auction & Flea Market, the dual enterprises that turned a tiny Indiana village with deep Amish-Mennonite roots into an enormously popular destination. “It started in 1922 with a small livestock auction,” says Shipshewana Trading Place marketing director Lora Gates. “The flea market organically grew when auction-goers began selling things from the trunks of their cars.”

Today the auction sells antiques and livestock year-round, and the flea market is the Midwest’s largest, boasting 900 booths and bringing upwards of 350,000 people to Shipshewana (population 703) between May and September. As a result, the village is hardly isolated or humdrum. Surrounded by the nation’s third-largest Amish community, it’s a family-oriented place where “plain people” seamlessly coexist with their “English” neighbors; where buggies and bicycles are as common as pickup trucks and SUVs; where incredibly eclectic shopping options range from village specialty shops to “shingle shops” on Amish farms, to anything-and-everything at the Flea Market; and where 2018’s events include a Quilt Festival and the world’s largest Clydesdale sale and convention.

“Lots of things can surprise you here,” says Beth Thornburg of the Shipshewana/LaGrange County visitors’ bureau, “and the food is phenomenal. It’s like Thanksgiving every day.”

The following is a mere sample of the many attractions that lend Shipshewana its appealing flavor:

Menno-Hof

This museum and visitors’ center is ideal for acquainting yourself with the beliefs and culture of Shipshewana’s Amish-Mennonite residents. While its exterior channels a typical local farmstead, rooms filled with realistic vignettes — including a dungeon and a sailing ship — reveal their remarkable journey of faith across centuries and continents.

Blue Gate Theatre

Shipshewana’s most entertaining venue specializes in musicals, shows, and concerts by the likes of Ricky Skaggs, Amy Grant, and the Oak Ridge Boys. In a nod to Shipshewana’s favorite dessert, the theatre often gives away pie before performances.

Blue Gate Restaurant & Bakery

Its buffets and family-style dinners feature the Amish comfort food trifecta — chicken, noodles, and mashed potatoes — plus an extraordinary assortment of fruit and cream pies.

Davis Mercantile

Locals and tourists converge in Shipshewana’s version of a mall. Enjoy butter-dipped pretzels and flavored mustards at JoJo’s Pretzels; get designed-in-Shipshewana apparel at Shipshe Casuals; buy locally made Plyley’s Candies at Aunt Millie’s; and take a whirl on a carved horse, cow, chicken, or dog on the carousel.

E&S Sales

Shop alongside the Amish at this bulk food bonanza. Buy fresh cinnamon rolls (with caramel or buttercream frosting) at the bakery; grab a sandwich at the café; find seldom-seen items like hog casings and super-sized cheeses; and check out the buggy parking lot on the store’s north side.

Shipshewana Trading Place

The Auction, Flea Market, and Auction Restaurant are only three components of this multifaceted family business, which also includes an inn, an RV Park, and events such as an Antique Festival and Ship-Chic Craft & Vintage Shows.

Yoder’s Meat & Cheese Company

There’s a reason it’s always busy — a vast variety of choice, carefully sourced meats and cheeses as well as goodies like homemade ham salad, liver sausage, and head cheese (a pork terrine).

Yoder’s Department Store and Yoder’s Shipshewana Hardware

Two enterprises under one gigantic roof equals superstore-style shopping for everything from wood-burning cookstoves and microbrew soda pops to bib overalls and quilting supplies.

Tags

Indiana

shopping