Heartland Family Summer 2024

Reaching milestones

Two local businesses celebrate 75 years

Donohue

Jordan Richart, Melissa VanDePutte sE nior Graphi C dE si G n E r Keely Spitler a dvertising a rt d ir EC tor Amanda Waltz a dv E rtisin G dE si G n

Erin Caplinger, Mar Carson, Katelin Gephart, Rebecca Lecher, Josh Meyer, Wesley Rowles, Robert Wilson rEG ional a dv E rtisin G d ir EC tor Christina Cosner

aCC ount Ex EC utiv E s Alison Johnson, David Hyde, Christy Hubbard r eader services Mailin G a ddr E ss P.O. Box 447 Seymour, IN 47274 a dv E rtisin G i nquiri E s 812-523-7062

C o MME nts

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on thE CovEr

From left, Jill Glover, Margie Strange, Grant Schneider and their dog Lucy at Schneider Nursery in Seymour. Photographed by Melissa VanDePutte

Find something new to read

Recommendations provided by librarians from the Jackson County Public Library.

“Nightbirds”

By Kate J. Armstrong

In Simta, there is a secret. There are girls with powerful magic that can be shared but not used by the ones who hold it. Because of this, these girls are highly sought after and could be in danger if their identities are leaked.

Nightbirds, Matilde, Esa and Sayer are connected in a way they cannot understand. Somehow, together, their powers are stronger, and they are finding that they can do much more than they thought. Plus, it turns out there are many more girls in Simta that have unique powers. They realize that they are already being taken advantage of by the system.

Unable to go back to the lives they had before, the girls must find a way to change things and remove the locks from their gilded cages.

Told at an exciting pace and with a great cast of characters, “Nightbirds” should be under consideration for your next read!

Available in print, e-book and as an e-audio.

Review by Mazie Caudill

By M.K. Lobb

Many citizens of Ombrazia have been found dead throughout the city, and the Palazzo only seems to care about one of them. Rossana Lacertosa and Damian Venturi are determined to solve all the cases and begrudgingly work together.

Childhood friends turned enemies, after a series of events pulled them apart and severed their ties to each other, neither is excited about the arrangement. However, they both know they can accomplish more together than on their own.

Roz is a disciple of patience, and Damian is the head of Palazzo security, which lends to each of them certain advantages. The question they find themselves asking: Is there a dangerous person on the loose or is something much more sinister happening? To our protagonists it is both, they only need to find proof.

“Seven Faceless Saints” has twists and turns and wonderful characters that you’ll be rooting for with the turn of every page.

Available in print and as an e-audio.

Review by Mazie Caudill

“Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales”

By Soman Chainani

Many beloved old fairy tales are reimagined and spring to life in new wondrous ways between these pages. Each tale is more unpredictable and dangerous than the last. Do Beauty and the Beast get their happy ending? Do Hansel and Gretel make it out alive? And does Wendy fall in love with Pan?

You will find suspense and adventure with every turn of the page.

Available in print, e-book and as an e-audio.

Review by Chelsea Busby

“Poison for Breakfast”

By Lemony Snicket

Lemony Snicket started his day like any other, with breakfast. “Tea with honey, a piece of toast with cheese, one sliced pear and an egg perfectly prepared.” But it just so happens on that morning, he found himself reading a note that said, “You had poison for breakfast.”

Between the pages of this book, you can hear Lemony’s inner thoughts as they float along through many philosophical musings, trying to unfold the mystery of how he ended up having poison for breakfast.

Available in print, e-book, and as an e-audio. Review by Chelsea Busby

“Seven Faceless Saints”

for teens

middle grade

“Endlessly Ever After: Pick YOUR Path to Countless Fairytales”

By Laurel Snyder

I love art and games, and this book is a perfect combination of both. The illustrations in this book are detailed, whimsical, beautiful and sometimes quite silly. What makes this book unique is that it’s also a choose-yourown-adventure book. There are countless paths and journeys you can take through this book, dozens of endings and never-ending fun.

Available in print and e-book.

Review by Mandi Coffey

“The Fish of Small Wishes”

By Elana K. Arnold

Kiki Karpovich is a girl who longs for friendship but feels too shy. After discovering a fish in need of help, she displays kindness, which encourages the fish to want to grant Kiki a small wish.

“The Fish of Small Wishes” isn’t just a magical story between a girl and a fish; it’s also a story about being understanding of others’ feelings, and within the book’s soft and colorful illustrations, shines inclusiveness of various people among a helping community. It’s a simple story that opens your heart to the trivial things in life and to the world around you.

Available in print.

Review by Stephanie Sluder

“Frida”

By Jonah Winter

“Frida” is a fantastic book about the life of Frida Kahlo and her distinct artistic style. The illustrations in the book truly capture the essence of her work while the story narrates how creating art had always provided her solace and comfort, shaping the course of her life.

Available in print and e-book.

Review by Mandi Coffey

show C asing

Tractor enthusiasts turn a hobby into an event

sToRY bY JoRdan RiChaRT

PhoTos bY JoRdan RiChaRT and LoRi MCdonaLd | The TRibune

Pictured: Tractors lined up at a previous Jackson County antique Machinery show.

»Everyone has a hobby, and for Robert Bishop’s father, Melvin, it is collecting tractors, but only one brand will do.

“He’s all Oliver,” he laughed.

“He was raised on Oliver, so that’s always what he’s been into.”

Bishop said his dad started collecting years ago, and his collection has amassed about 60 tractors.

“He’s been collecting forever, and it adds up,” he said.

Soon the public will be able to view some of his father’s collection, and collections

from others, during the Jackson County Antique Machinery Show on June 7 and 8 at the Jackson County Fairgrounds in Brownstown. People from different areas of Indiana attend, but they also get people from Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio, Bishop said. He also said he expects around 75 tractors at this year’s event.

This year’s show will be celebrating its 15th year and will feature Ford, Massey and Ferguson tractors. While those will be the featured

Pictured: Tractors lined up at a previous Jackson County Fair.

brands, all are welcome, Bishop said. A lot of tractor people want a featured show because many of them with a certain brand will follow those features, he added.

“We put all of them together in one spot each year,” he said. “If someone has a certain brand that’s being featured, they will make sure to go to those shows.”

According to Bishop, the board president of the Jackson County Antique Machinery Association and one of the founders of the show, people will even base their travels and what shows they will attend on a show’s featured brand.

Many of the crowd favorites and events are scheduled, including a tractor drive on

Friday at 9 a.m., a swap meet, a flea market, a cake walk, and silent and live auctions. He added that the show will also include children’s activities, such as a pedal tractor pull and a barrel train.

“It’s great to get kids involved,” he said.

In addition to those activities, there will be live demonstrations, including basket weaving, jewelry making, blacksmithing and woodworking. The proceeds from the event keep the show financially solvent, and anything leftover will go toward scholarships or other needs.

“Last year we were able to give $500 to the FFA,” Bishop said.

While their father collects the tractors, Bishop, and his brother, John, are into the engines, and Michigan-built engines are the featured engines in this year’s event.

“I started in old engines about 30 years ago at the Jackson County Fair,” Bishop said. “I just like history and how everything all started because I’m a big history buff.”

Bishop said he would showcase about four engines, but he and his brother have 80 engines in their collection.

“All pretty well will operate, but a few just need a little bit of work,” he said.

Bishop enjoys connecting and meeting with people every year who also are interested in his hobby.

Pictured: antique machines owned by Jon bishop and his brother, Robert bishop, on display at the 2023 Jackson County Fair.

“There’s a lot of people who want a good wholesome thing to go do,” he said. “We go to a lot of shows, and you always meet new people and visit with longtime friends.”

It’s hard to believe it’s been 15 years since the first one, Bishop said, and that it all started because they felt like a show here would be successful.

“We wanted to start a show here locally, and we thought the Jackson County Fairgrounds was a good place, so we started our own club 15 years ago, and it turned into this,” he said. “All nine of our board of directors have been there from the start.”

One concern Bishop has is that many from the general public and the youth are not as involved as the board hopes.

“Everybody has so much going on, and the younger generation is just into other stuff,” he said.

He said he worries about the future of the show and the association if the public and younger people don’t take an interest in what they’re doing. He said some shows have ended because of a lack of participation or attendance.

“It’s hard to keep it going, but there are a few younger ones getting involved,” he said. “If we don’t do something, the past will be forgotten.”

For now, the group will continue to keep doing the show and share the passion that connects all of those who participate.

“We enjoy doing it,” he said.

JACkSON COUNTY ANTiqUE MAChiNERY ShOW

when: 8 a.m. into the evening, June 7 and 8.

where: Jackson County Fairgrounds, 476 East County Road 100 S, Brownstown.

admission: $2, veterans have free admission on Friday, June 7.

activities: The exhibits of around 75 antique tractors and antique engines, a tractor drive, a swap meet, a flea market, a cake walk, a silent auction, a live auction, a ham and beans dinner, a pedal tractor pull, a barrel train, basket weaving, jewelry making, blacksmithing and woodworking.

information: 812-521-8535. day of the show: 812-216-5597

Local businesses celebrating 75 years

sToRY bY JoRdan RiChaRT

PhoTos bY MeLissa vandePuTTe and FiLe PhoTos

Two Seymour businesses, Schneider Nursery and Vick’s Liquor Store, are celebrating their 75th year in business this year. This has given the owners of these third-generation businesses a reason to pause and reflect on the success, difficulties and history that have led to their significant milestones.

Left: Flowers bloom inside schneider nursery. // Right: People gather for a recent tasting at vick’s Liquor store.

»Schneider Nursery was founded by George and Mae Ellen Schneider in 1949 along U.S. 50 just west of the Seymour city limits. The property is around 600 acres, which often makes it the largest nursery in the state, a title that can change each year with other nurseries growing, too.

The nursery raises a variety of trees, shrubs, plants and flowers, and also offers supplies for landscaping. The largest part of the business offers wholesale prices, but the nursery also has a large retail offering to its customers.

Like many small businesses, Schneider Nursery is a family business with two of George and Mae Ellen’s children,

Schneider Nursery

Top: The landscape at schneider nursery. // bottom: staff, family and friends of schneider nursery are pictured during the business’ 75th anniversary celebration on april 20.

Grant Schneider and Margie Strange, working and running the business full time with their sister, Annie Prout. Their brother, Jeff, retired from the business after 35 years.

Jill Glover, Grant’s daughter, is the third generation of leadership working at the nursery.

While the nursery is full of descendants of George and Mae Ellen, the business’ employees are dedicated and considered extended members of the family.

“One of our employees, Steve, has worked here for nearly 50 years,” Glover said. “He’s still here every day. A lot of men and women have been here for more than 20 or 30 years, so it’s not just our immediate family, but our employees who are family, too.”

Glover said that is why she believes so many employees have had such a long tenure with the business.

“We really do consider them family,” she said.

Many current and past employees, family members and business friends took time in April to celebrate 75 years with a party at the nursery. They had cake, ice cream, group pictures and more as part of the celebration.

“It’s a celebration that we looked forward to,” Glover said.

Glover had moved away from Seymour for 20 years but returned in 2015.

“This place has always pulled at my heartstrings, and I didn’t realize how much until I was away from it,” she said. “Being back has been a tremendous blessing to me and my own family.”

When she returned to work at the nursery after maternity

leave, Glover knew she wanted to work at the nursery full time and be a third generation working at the nursery her grandparents started. Her son, Drew, is now 10 years old and comes to work with her and enjoys it.

“Just being out here and surrounded by the greenhouse, the plants, the fields and nature with happy customers who are picking things out for the yard makes it a special place to be,” she said.

“I would love to sit down with them and have one more dinner with them

and ask them if this is what they dreamed of and what they envisioned,” she said, adding George died in 1999, and Mae Ellen died four years ago.

“My grandma got to see the growth in the retail center and the growth in the fields, and my grandpa did get to see the growth in wholesale.”

Glover said her grandfather loved planting the trees each year and being out in the fields.

“He was such a visionary,” she said. “I hope we’re doing their legacy justice. I know they’re smiling down.”

Customers browse the nursery at schneider nursery.

»Vick’s Liquor Store

Vick’s Liquor Store opened in 1949 in a small package store at 410 East Tipton Street by Victor Fettig. It was in a small, cinder block building before expanding into its current location at 400 East Tipton Street in 1967.

Keith Yazell, manager and grandson of the founder, said his grandfather started the business after working in a different career.

“He worked elsewhere, but opened up the store,” he said.

Vick ran the store

alongside his wife, Dorothy, and they hired Alf Reynolds and Ross Maschino when they moved into the new location. Dorothy took over the business in 1974 when Vick passed away, Yazell said, and his mother, Norma, started working there, as well It was a family affair growing up.

“I pretty much grew up here,” Yazell said. “Instead of going to daycare, I came here. I had my first job bagging ice when I was 12. It seems that

was every family member’s first job at some point.”

Yazell joked that laws were a little bit different in those days, and he was able to help the family business.

“My grandmother was very kind and helped everyone in the entire neighborhood,” he said. “It was neat that my grandma just knew everyone around and they were supportive of her, and she was supportive of them.”

Yazell started full-time in 1990 running the cash

Pictured: an aerial shot from the early days of vick’s Liquor store.

register, stocking the coolers and shelves and helping customers.

“I got more involved with the business probably 20 years ago or so,” he said. “Now, I have been the manager and operating the place.”

Yazell said his favorite part is the customers and helping them make selections.

“You get repeat customers who become your friend, and then they become your family,” Yazell said. “I feel like that’s really going on now, and we have a great support system through our employees and the customers who really support us.”

Then, there are those special moments when a customer will come in looking for something nice to celebrate a moment in their life or a special occasion.

Yazell said they will usually be looking for something that is special and meets the moment.

“It makes you feel good when they choose you to be part of those moments because it makes us a small part of it, and you’re happy for them for whatever they’re celebrating,” he said. “We’ve had people come in here wanting a higher-end bourbon for retirement, a good wine for an anniversary, some beers to share with friends on wedding days and so much more.”

Over the last couple of years, Yazell has started to offer more events and tastings at the store. This year, he offered multiple tastings and helped Hard Truth Distilling launch its first bourbon through a sampling and promotions event. He also teamed up

with Tito’s Vodka to help raise awareness and promote pet adoption through an event where customers could get information and even adopt a dog in the business’ parking lot.

“It’s those kinds of things we’re doing to support the community because the community has supported us,” he said.

Yazell also has planned a unique way to commemorate Vick’s Liquor Store’s 75th year. Yazell traveled to Starlight Distillery to pick a special bourbon to be bottled specifically for the store.

The bourbon will have the Starlight labeling on it that includes Vick’s special 75th anniversary logo.

The bourbon is Starlight’s whiskey that has been finished in maple syrup barrels, creating a unique flavor profile that will only be around once.

“This limited release is exciting because it’s the first time we’ve ever done this, and it’s a way for us to mark 75 years, but also give our customers the opportunity to have a unique product and keepsake to enjoy as we sort of toast 75 years.”

The sign for vick’s Liquor store.

Pictured: david Moore, who performs as black Jack davey, jamming during a concert. he will close the season in september.

in The suMMeR

Seymour City Jam is back and better than ever

sToRY bY JoRdan RiChaRT subMiTTed PhoTos

»All summer long, one of Seymour’s popular music traditions will return for another year of fun.

Seymour Main Street’s Seymour City Jam will take place at 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month, May through September, at Crossroads Community Park. Food and drinks will be available beginning at 6 p.m. before each show, and those who attend can bring lawn chairs.

The season starts with the popular Beach Boys tribute band Sounds of Summer on May 16.

“I’m really looking forward to all of this year’s concerts,” said Brian Terrell, Seymour Main Street’s promotions committee chairperson.

“We lined up some really good acts, and I think everyone that attends will love each show.”

Other acts slated to play are Cousin Roger on June 20, Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustle on July 18, MellenCougar — a John Mellencamp tribute on August 15 and Black Jack Davy on September 19.

If you look at the lineup, you will see a variety of music that features a range of genres. Terrell said that is exactly what organizers have in mind when booking the bands for the series.

“We try to book artists that will appeal to most people, but we really want to give everyone a good variety of shows,” he said. “This year is no different, and we have a few cover bands lined up, as well as an Americana band, and the last show of the year will feature a blues band.”

David Moore, who is the lead singer of Black Jack Davey, said he is excited to bring his brand of bluesy rock to the Seymour City Jam stage.

“Music keeps me busy, and it’s almost like another fulltime job,” the Indianapolis musician said.

During the day, Moore works as a mechanic at Allison Transmission, but then spends evenings with his

guitar either performing or practicing.

“I play out about three times a month,” he said. “I frequent The Slippery Noodle and do blues festivals, but also play acoustic shows.”

Moore has performed since he was 14 when he joined a band comprised of several seniors. The group won the Battle of the Bands at Ellen Berger Park, and Moore has been performing ever since.

Over the years, Moore has focused on his craft of blues and rock and said he cannot wait to bring it to Seymour. He is considered a talented blues musician, having earned the status of an international blues challenger three times. He’s also performed on Beale Street in Memphis and has been a semifinalist in those blues competitions.

Moore said he is looking forward to bringing his band to play at the Seymour Main Street Seymour City Jam.

“I have never played in Seymour, but I’m honored and super excited about playing there and for the opportunity to make new fans,” he said.

“I’ve heard the people and hospitality of the community is very welcoming.”

Terrell said he and other organizers look forward to bringing Seymour City Jam back for another year and using the event to bring awareness to what downtown Seymour has to offer.

“Seymour Main Street loves to bring people together into our downtown,” he said. “Our hope is that people will come early and do some shopping, go to the event, and then stick around to go to one of our amazing restaurants.”

Terrell said events like Seymour City Jam help promote the downtown the way Seymour Main Street intends, and it helps people discover just how much there is to do and come back for.

“Our downtown has so much to offer, so if we can get them here, I’m certain that they will keep coming back,” he said.

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Experience and expertise matter.

Schneck Primary Care has cared for families in our community for over 40 years.

From pediatrics to geriatric care, our experienced providers see patients in Seymour and Brownstown.

Don’t delay the preventative care you need.

We are accepting new patients! Call 812-523-5862 to schedule your appointment.