In Love with Muncie | Volume 13 Issue 2

10 Date Night Ideas in Muncie Page 22

A ‘Soup-erb’ Small Business Page 28

CE A L P E N ON I A I D T ME N E D U ’S ST E T A T ALL S B F O ALL S S E C AC

The Lifestyle Issue - Spring 2022 My Pink Snowsuit

The Truth About Reef-Safe Sunscreens

Add a Little Bit of Spice

Taking Back Tradition

Let’s Fall in Love on a Budget

Local business owners share their journey opening one of Muncie’s most popular vegan spots.

What’s for Dinner?

Muncie’s Hidden Gems

A ‘Soup-erb’ Small Business

A Key Connection

These three locations are easy to miss, but hard to forget.

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 1

From the Editor

Magazine

By Shannon McCloskey

Executive

Visual

Editor-in-Chief Shannon McCloskey

Staff Photographers Shannon McCloskey Janie Arseneaux Katie Catterall Nathan Abbott

Executive Editor Haley Boyce Managing Editor Arianna Sergio

Staff Designers Kami Geron Alex Bracken Milo Hardison Josie Santiago Emma Fullen Audrey Freeland

Art Director Kami Geron Co-Art Director Alex Bracken

Adviser Lisa Renze-Rhodes

Associate Editor Evan Chandler Photo Editor Janie Arseneaux

@ballbearingsmag

Editorial @ballbearingsmag

Social Media Editor Olivia Campbell Staff Writers Shannon McCloskey Kailey Armstrong Evan Chandler Kami Geron Brianna Morton Haley Boyce Arianna Sergio Rosie Mitchell

hey cut it. They cut it right open, exposing my long underwear underneath. I was beside myself, riding in the back of a bumpy, roaring ambulance with gentle men in uniforms that I had never seen before. For a 4-year-old, those daunting scissors that chopped open my snowsuit were so distressing. That is one of the most vivid memories I have from the day that I almost lost my life.

It was soon after my parents’ divorce, early January of 2005. My dad picked me up from my nana and papa’s house, where my mom and I were staying. I was all bundled up, like a marshmallow in boots. I hopped in the car with my dad, and we headed off to the Lake County Fairgrounds to go sledding, as dirty snow crunched underneath the tires. My mom had sent me with her sled; it was black and pink and unnecessarily heavy. Fancher Lake is situated right on the outside of the fairgrounds in Crown Point, Ind., and it has some of the most popular sledding hills in the city. The layer of ice atop the water certainly looked a lot thicker than it was with snow piled on the surface.

I tended to have little fear, and just so happened to be awfully quick, as most little ones are. Before my dad knew, I was down the hill on a sled that weighed more than I did. The hill led right to the lake, where I swiftly slid past the bank. I was several yards away on the ice from my dad back on land, who was now witnessing a parent’s worst fear. The ice cracked under

@ballbearingsmagazine

bbmagazine@bsu.edu

Cover Photo By Shannon McCloskey Cover Design By Alex Bracken and Kami Geron

2 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings Editor-in Chief. Becca Foerder, Ball Bearings

Illustrations: Kami Geron me, and my small body plummeted into the dangerously-cold water.

The one thing keeping my head above water was my instinct to hold on to the sled. My mittens were soaked and quickly freezing, but I remember the way my fingers felt fighting to maintain feeling to hold on. The firefighters and EMTs there tried to distract me from land, asking me my favorite T.V. show — obviously Spongebob. But, this situation was much different than the couch where I normally played the flute on my nose, just like Spongebob’s intro.

From being 4 years old to now 22 and graduating college, it seemed fitting to reflect on major events in my life as another life-changing shift is about to occur. I felt drawn to tell a part of my story at the end of my college career because I have spent the last four years telling the story of others. I had to ask myself which event had the biggest impact on the way I view life now.

A few days after I was released from the hospital, my mom treated me to Ponderosa, which is probably unknown to many since I haven’t seen an operating one in probably 10 years or better. We sat down at our booth with fresh plates from the buffet. An older woman approached my mom and asked if I was the little one from the newspapers that fell through the ice. She asked my mom’s permission to touch me because she wanted to “touch someone who had been touched by God.” My mom hesitated because a stranger had just asked to touch her child. But the

She asked my mom’s permission to touch me because she wanted to ‘touch someone who had been touched by God.’” - Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings Magazine Editor-in-Chief old woman was gentle, and she handed my mom a medallion with an angel on it.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and one that I find pokes its way into my thoughts quite often.

I look back to that woman and her words frequently. They remind me that for some reason, known to me or not, I was meant to be here. Whatever powers exist above knew it wasn’t my time. I had a purpose. That mindset is something I need help with often. Between my own mental health struggles and the state the world has been in, I’m guilty of being blind to my own importance. But, I could have left this earth that day, and I didn’t.

Being that little, it was hard to wrap my head around a mindset so profound.

It took me until my adult years to develop the confidence I needed to tell myself that what I do everyday is special for one reason or another. I found my affinity for words, meaningful ones that people read and relate to. My photographs capture moments of someone’s life in a way they can hold on to for as long as they want.

I found one hell of a voice. But, I have never told my dad that it wasn’t his fault.

These tragic situations are called accidents for a reason, and it never made me love him any less. I have never told my

mom and nana that the image of them sitting near my hospital bed is an important one that I remember. I have never told the firefighter who saved me, Tim Tully, who I grew up to be.

That last one I checked off on April 1, 2022. Facebook really is a special place these days. I found Tim’s page and sent him a message. I read that message over and over, wondering if he’d remember and if I was including the best information I could, as if I had a limited time to speak with him.

I cried. Reading his response started the flow of unexpected tears that I wasn’t able to stop. He remembers me, vividly, and I no longer see our moment to communicate as limited. The girl who delivered the firehouse a tray of treats for all they did that day was now 22, and sobbing in her shoebox college apartment because of a Facebook message.

Things change, but the things that changed me have not. I tell a lot of stories, and really incredible ones, at that.

But, writing this has been one of the most transformative pieces of my college career. I leave this piece here, on Ball State’s campus, where I grew up to love my own story. g

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 3

By Kailey Armstrong

4 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

Don’t get burned by microplastics and toxic chemicals in sunscreens. here isn’t a cloud in the sky. The sun is warm and bright, enveloping your body in a blanket of comfort and relaxation. Remembering the regular lectures from your mother about skin cancer, you reach for the bottle of sunscreen in your bag.

As the summer months are approaching and temperatures rise, students are flocking to stores in search of beach towels, swimsuits and most importantly sunblock.

With younger generations becoming more involved with environmental issues and climate change, many people have noticed this new label: “Reef-safe.”

The Haereticus Environmental Laboratory (HEL) has published a list of ingredients to avoid in sunscreen, which include microplastics, nanoparticles, oxybenzone, octinoxate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor, octocrylene, para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), parabens (methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, benzyl), triclosan.

It’s really just a sales gimmick at the moment.”

- Michale Gonsior, associate professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science

HEL says on their website that they are “a non-profit, scientific organization whose mission is to conserve wildlife and ecosystems.”

According to the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD), oxybenzone, octocrylene, octinoxate and ethylhexyl salicylate have proven difficult to remove from water sources across the world.

“Oxybenzone has been implicated specifically as a possible contributor to coral reef bleaching,” according to the January 2019 article from the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology.

Additionally, it says that “4-methylbenzylidene camphor, oxybenzone, octocrylene, and octinoxate have been identified in various species of fish worldwide, which has possible consequences for the food chain.”

Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) conducted a study and published a press release in October 2018, saying that, “chemicals can cause abnormalities in and kill the offspring of zebrafish by entering the food chain. As the genetic structure of zebrafish resembles that of humans, the results imply that these contaminants could pose a risk to humans.”

With so much ambiguity surrounding the “reef-safe” label, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of choices in stores. Luckily, there is a more dependable certification to look for.  The Protect Land + Sea certification requires products to be tested by HEL to ensure that they do not contain any ingredients listed above.

Additionally, certification only lasts for two years. This ensures that products can be tested for any new ingredients from the list.

Brands that possess this certification include Olen, Stream2Sea, Badger, and Tropic. When we compared the prices of these four natural sunscreens to the prices of four popular drugstore sunscreens, there was a significant difference.

Of the brands highlighted, there was an average cost difference of about 70.5%, meaning the PL&S certified sunscreens cost that much more than the drugstore brands. Badger sunscreen can be purchased at health food stores such as Whole Foods and Fresh Thyme. g

Protect Land & Sea Certified Sunscreens Specialty Brands Average: $16.88

Stream 2 Sea 3oz: $18.95

Badger

3oz: $18.61

Tropic

3oz: $14.99

Olen

3oz: $14.95

Drugstore Brands Average: $11.89

Sun Bum 3oz: $13

Neutrogena 3oz: $9

Hawaiian Tropic 3oz: $3.38

CeraVe

3oz: $22.20 Source: haerecticus-lab.org Illustrations: Kami Geron

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 5

From rubbing Frog Baby’s nose to traveling club competitions, students reach to keep traditions.

By Rosie Mitchell magine walking down McKinley Avenue on a warm Friday afternoon.

You hear the distant cry of “Happy Friday!” by someone in a morphsuit.

You can also see people jumping into the Frog Baby fountain, dressing the statue in goofy costumes and rubbing her head.

Traditions can be a foundation to relationships, and missing these moments can possibly lead to missing opportunities to create core memories. During college, as people from all walks come together in the same few buildings, people seek to lean back on traditions to adjust to a new step in their lives.

According to Donna Rockwell, a licensed clinical psychologist and CEO of Already Famous: Embracing Inner Celebrity, in the article “The Importance of Tradition”, having an action or behavior

6 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

that is repeated is important because, “​​As we honor traditions, so we learn to honor ourselves, and in the final analysis, each other.”

Worldwide, events such as weddings give people the ability to participate in traditions that bond two families into one. According to a Statista report in 2020 studying couples in the United States, 86% of couples kept the standard cake-cutting ceremony during their reception, and 70% maintained an open bar.

People engage in societal and individual traditions every single day. Participating in traditions can create new opportunities by the bonding of people who may not have met otherwise. Jalen Pleak, a junior at Ball State, majors in both business administration and human resource management, but some of his best friends

s we honor A traditions, we learn to honor ourselves, and in the final analysis, each other.”

- Donna Rockwell, Clinical Psychologist

in his fraternity study things like finance, marketing, or economics. When they rush, though, it’s purely about the bond formed. COVID-19 may have changed the influx of possible recruits, but the bond hasn’t changed.

“These are all my best friends now. I have various group chats with them or different things I can do all the time. I’ve found people who are probably going to be at my future wedding, maybe as groomsmen,” Jalen says.

Similarly, Ball State junior Parker Abrell also felt better connected to his community through the traditions that he participated in as a member of the Ball State Speech Team, a place he didn’t think he’d find himself in.

“The speech team has been something unexpected for me, and that it’s been very much a rock through this entire time of college, finding my place in everything, as well as going through an entire pandemic,” Parker said. “When I look back to my freshman year versus now, I definitely missed the team and the community more than the tradition. But, the traditions were what gave the opportunity to become a community with the team.

They were just great things throughout the year to just look forward to and have a good time.”

No experience someone has can always turn out as expected, but they can lead to creating strong relationship foundations. Traditions don’t need to be big events, such as weddings or graduations, for them to be impactful though.

The little things you can learn about yourself and your community by planning Homecoming activities, participating in Air Jam, attending Late Nite, playing yard games like “Stump,” and throwing yearly celebrations, can create lifelong friendships and grow stronger bonds.

One of Parker’s favorite speech team traditions is called, “Ahas, Appreciations, Apologies.”

The speech team has been something unexpected for me, and that it’s been very much a rock through this entire time of college.”

- Parker Abrell, junior at Ball State “That’s kind of just a time at the end of the meeting for the team to come together and just talk freely about what they learned about the team this week, what are we grateful for with the team and the speech community this week, or what did we kind of made a goof on that we want to apologize for,” Parker says.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted every organization and their ability to come together, slowly the

mandates are being lifted. As the world starts to heal, organizations start to come together and resume the traditions they have had to forego.

“We’re back and better than ever,” Jalen says. “I always think there’s room for improvement. I hope [Phi Kappa Psi] takes these next years, hopefully pandemic-free, to really grow. I hope they’re able to take this and get people excited to start talking.”

The speech team has begun to resume competitions in person. With this change, Parker realizes the positive effect that contact has on the group.

“I think we’re still kind of reacting right now to the whole pandemic, so our team is looking very small right now,” Parker says. “But I think it’s overall made us a lot more tight knit as a community, and so it’s a lot stronger. We lean on each other a lot, and that’s something that I am very grateful for.”

Every single semester, fraternities and sororities throw philanthropy events.

While this year’s activities may be finished, people can look forward to the coming philathropy events in future semesters.

From big to little patterns every single day, people complete and participate in traditions. It isn’t just the activities themselves that draw people to participate and carry on traditions each year. The events and traditions themselves are not what matter, but the communal and personal growth within is what truly makes traditions important. g

Late Nite Carnival Decorating Frog Baby Students come around every year to decorate Frog Baby for the holidays, and to rub her nose for good luck before exams.

Late Nite holds an annual Carnival at the end of the spring semester. Attendees can expect thrill rides, games booths, food vendors, fireworks, and more.

Frog Baby Film Festival An annual Ball State student-run film festival, ​​ featuring films created by undergraduate students.

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 7

Sea Salt & Cinnamon is located on Walnut Street in downtown Muncie. They branded themselves as “festive and friendly” for customers walking by.

Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

8 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

Local business owners share their journey opening one of Muncie’s most popular vegan spots.

By Evan Chandler Amanda and Kyle Reninger had to come up with a plan. After being told their cholesterol levels were too high, Amanda quickly began to research ways she could lower them. Without the aid of health insurance, the challenges of dealing with this issue became a mission complete with lots of personal initiative. She found that the best way to lower her cholesterol was to cut out animal fat. Before long, both Amanda and Kyle went vegan.

“We didn’t want to be on cholesterol pills in our 20s,” she says.

Their lives became a series of experiments in the kitchen. Without the luxury of smartphones to help her, Amanda remembers writing down ingredients of different foods, going home, and searching to find out if they fit with her and Kyle’s new diet. Kyle, on the other hand, had his star moment perfecting a vegan breakfast burrito.

Amanda says the root of this creation was a desire for a new breakfast food after one too many stops at Burger King for hash browns and french toast sticks, two menu items she says every vegan knows about.

Amanda and Kyle are lifetime Muncie residents and recall a time when there was nobody doing anything vegan in town. This was what led them to start their business Sea Salt & Cinnamon nearly eight years ago in June 2014.

According to a 2017 study, just one percent of U.S. consumers were vegan the year the business opened, compared to around six percent in today’s time.

This one percent equated to roughly three million people.

Dietician and nutritionist Debbie Whiteside works for River City Correctional Facility as a menu planner, as well as meeting monthly with anyone with dietary concerns. She says she sees these specialized diets becoming more popular as the food industry shifts in that direction.

“The food market is going to just jump on the bandwagon and start creating more dairy and gluten-free [products],” Whiteside says. “Wherever they can make money, they’re going to produce easier items so that being vegan is going to become easier if they see that as the trend to go to.”

Amanda Reninger co-owns Sea Salt & Cinnamon with her husband, Kyle, which opened in 2021. They opened a store front after running the business without one since 2014. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Amanda and Kyle’s journey started with allergy-friendly cupcakes. While Amanda explored and grew the baked goods, Kyle worked on and expanded the savory side. Once a variety of different

We tried to create brand loyalty and brand awareness over the years, but we had never really been able to do that.”

- Amanda Reninger, local business owner

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 9

Sea Salt & Cinnamon searched for a space to build their vegan kitchen. They needed a spot to match their aesthetic. All the paper decorations were made by an employee. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

recipes were perfected, they began operating as a ghost kitchen, with little public presence. This format, Amanda says, made it hard in a few aspects for the business.

“We tried to create brand loyalty and brand awareness over the years, but we had never really been able to do that,” she explains.

They also were able to take their foods to local farmers markets and weddings.

Over time, the business continued to grow in popularity and the two began working with a Midwest distributor, along with developing 15 partnerships across the state. Their products can be found through their partners in places like Fort Wayne, Greenwood, and Indianapolis.

Kyle says their largest market remains in two key places.

“We’re in a lot of universities and hospitals,” he says.

Whiteside says hospitals and nursing homes are places where it is almost required

10 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

We just want to offer options and show people that it’s possible and just start a conversation.”

- Amanda Reninger, owner

to have at least a vegetarian option, and she sees this expanding in the future. The biggest reason? The health of the residents.

“If the person has been vegetarian their whole life then they go into a nursing home and they start having to eat meat, they’re going to be sick,” she explains.

“They’re not going to be happy in their home.”

It was only in September of last year, however, that Amanda and Kyle made one of the biggest moves in the history of their business: opening the storefront in downtown Muncie. This was an idea the pair had been thinking about for a while.

The building, located on Walnut Street, took longer than expected to obtain.

“We always really loved this space,” Amanda says.

It wasn’t until a friend of theirs, Kimberly Ferguson, purchased the building that the opportunity arose. Amanda remembers rent not fitting perfectly within their budget, but after sitting down with Kimberly, a lease was signed in May 2021.

With more distribution deals on the way and a growing vegan market, Amanda and Kyle are looking forward to moving ahead with their end goal: taking over the world. According to a study by Allied Market Research, the global vegan market is expected to reach $7.5 billion dollars by 2025. Sea Salt & Cinnamon will be a definite part of this increase.

Kyle hopes to be alongside other major food companies in the future, offering an expanded menu of needed vegan counterparts.

“They may do one vegan thing and a couple vegetarian things,” he says. “We really want to be alongside them… Let them do that, and let us do this.”

The opening of the shop was an affirmation of Amanda and Kyle’s belief in slow growth. Even today, Amanda says she wants to wait awhile before doing something like working with a national distributor. Kyle says that, despite the desire for a second shop in Indianapolis, Muncie is their focus.

For now, they will continue offering foods like coffee cake, chocolate chip cookies and mushroom sausages, some of Amanda’s favorites, with one goal in mind.

“It’s not our goal to turn everyone vegan,” she says with a smile. “We just want to offer options and show people that it’s possible and just start a conversation.” g

Muffins and coffee cake are not alone in the vegan-friendly , gluten-free store. Amanda and Kyle offer savory breakfast and lunch items, such as their rotating soups, breakfast burritos, and sausage and cheese croissants. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings Amanda and Kyle’s storefront offers a few booths for customers to eat in. Sweets and savory items are available at Sea Salt & Cinnamon every day except Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Coffee is on Sea Salt & Cinnamon’s radar, and they’ve started working with some distributers of specific coffee brands. They also offer a variety of teas, ranging from Wild Jasmine to Campfire S’mores. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 11

How local groups are fighting to feed Muncie by researching our farmers and community

By Kami Geron Are you hungry? Is your head feeling off to one side and foggy? Is your body aching each time your stomach calls for attention?

You’re thinking about the last thing you ate as you read this, aren’t you?

One in seven Americans struggles to get enough to eat. This isn’t just about money, it’s about availability. While poverty and hunger go hand-in-hand, a large issue that gets brushed aside is food insecurities. Having limited or uncertain availability of food that is nutritious and safe is a huge obstacle for the 37.2 million people living in foodinsecure households.

In Delaware County, over 17,000 people have food insecurities. Surrounding counties have seen spikes in the increase of food insecurities from the pandemic. Grant and Madison County had similar food ratings prior, but are now joined by Blackford, Jay, Randolph, Wayne, and Henry County.

What does all of this mean? It means that Muncie is officially classified as a food desert. According to the USDA, a food desert is an area that has poor access to food outlets, meaning it’s a low-income and lowaccess community. Think about how far a supermarket is from your home–could you walk there?

Issues like this aren’t solved overnight.

It’s been a struggle for all research on food deserts. In 2018, graduate student Andrew Imboden and associate professor of environmental, geology, and natural resources Joshua Gruver wrote a research paper on Muncie’s food insecurities and mapped its food desert. Their research Artwork by Kami Geron

12 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

Get Familiar with USDA Vocabulary Low-Access Community Urban census tracts with more than 33 percent living more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store or rural census tracts (geographical region containing 1,000 to 8,000 people) that are more than 10 miles from a supermarket or large grocery store.

Food Desert A food desert is a low-income census tract where either a substantial number or share of residents has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store

Food Insecurity

Low-Income Community Poverty rate of 20 percent or higher, or a median family income at or below 80 percent of the statewide median family income

The state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.

Illustrations by Janie Arseneaux

Income by Census Block with low income areas in green, normal/high income in white. Delaware County's Food Security Assessment 2018.

Grocery store access and poverty rates combines to show the food access available to Muncie residents. Green dots indicate grocery stores, blue squares are apartment complexes,

Grocery store access by Census Block, Delaware County's Food Security Assessment 2018.

Delaware County's Food Security Assessment 2018.

pointed them in the direction of increasing market access to local producers in order to provide nutritious food to the communities. Just as they got a chance to practice these solutions–a pandemic hit.

“The pandemic has really opened up people’s eyes to the issues that we have here,” Gruver says. “This town and surrounding areas have especially [been at risk] after a lot of the manufacturing jobs left. With COVID, people being laid off, people being out of work, the need for emergency food has increased dramatically.”

Gruver came to Ball State to work with farmers, not to study food systems.

It was through them that he realized all the issues surrounding food insecurities.

Taking his research to the community, several organizations have stepped up to help. Second Harvest Food Bank, Muncie Food Hub, Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, the Ross Community Center and church groups are just some of the groups working with farmers to bring food to the people of Muncie. However, their work has created unique issues, such as hours of waiting for food because of the demand. “[Food deserts] are evolving into a constant part of our conversation here in Muncie,” Gruver says. “Before you had Purdue Extension, you had the university

and people who were interested in food, emergency food, nutrition, and those kinds of things. Over the past five years, we’ve done a lot of work in connecting those pods. Now, we all meet once a month to check in, how are we doing, what are the things that we need to be doing sharing resources. We’re able to leverage each other’s services and come together a lot more than ever.”

CEO of Second Harvest Foodbank of East Central Indiana Bekah Clawson discussed just that. Through the organization, they go beyond food distribution and help with utilities and rent. All of their hard work is through Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 13

volunteers, which was limited by the pandemic and can, even if it’s high in acid, like spaghetti sauce or soup, replaced with the National Guard social workers. But, can still be consumed 12 to 18 months after the date currently, supply chain issues and high gas prices have on the can, but a lot of people just don’t know that and brought a new issue to deliveries. they figure, ‘oh, gosh, this is expired, something to throw “We took a field trip recently, [and] there are several out.’ We’re just a middle person, but I just don’t want food banks in Indiana who run to see good food that could be their own markets,” Bekah says. consumed in the landfill.”

“Folks can come in and actually Still, the issue is delivering shop and you get points. So for fresh food to Muncie. Most of the instance, if you were to get 30 food that is provided by these points, then each of those items groups, no matter the funding, in that particular store would is shelf-stable food. This means have points assigned to them. they are preserved, processed, Sometimes it has to do with vacuumed, sealed, or frozen– how much you have available which requires chemicals. Fresh and how much you can give food like cabbage is easier to each person. Produce is usually distribute, but it doesn’t make free because that’s one of those a healthy balance. The problem things that you want people to is bringing the farmers to the get. It gives people dignity, they people, and the solution isn’t have the option to come in and just a farmer’s market. get a card, it looks like they’re “I started talking to farmers gone to a grocery store, they who grew food that people just don’t use money, they use can eat right away, it doesn’t points.” have to go through secondary While the idea of community processes or through animals, gardens and delivery for for us to then eat the animals. farmers sounds good on paper, People grow broccoli, honey, the reality is blunt. Talks of - Joshua Grover, associate professor all that stuff,” Gruver says. “We hydroponic systems to help and director of the Muncie Food learned that there are a lot of lengthen the period for farmers Hub people here who are passionate to grow more food have been about growing food, but they struggling for years. Bekah says didn’t have places to sell it. At it’s part of multiple solutions, that time, there was just the but the reality is to focus on specific neighborhoods.

Minnetrista farmers market. Farmer’s markets actually “What is very confusing about food labeling is the can be a struggle, they’re quite demanding.” sell-by date and the expiration date,” Bekah says. “You The idea of connecting fresh-grown food to the see [produce] and it might have a little brown spot on it, people brought the Muncie Food Hub to fruition. does that mean it’s not good? I mean a lot of food banks Getting funding and grants to pay farmers the true put together these sort of food coding guidelines, which cost of their produce, while providing it for a low cost say how long something is good. For instance, food in a to the community, would require mobilizing farmer’s

This town and surrounding areas have especially [been at risk] after a lot of the manufacturing jobs left.

With COVID, people being laid off, people being out of work, the need for emergency food has increased dramatically."

By the Numbers

16%

of Delaware County residents experience food insecurities.

Source: feedingamerica.org, USDA

14 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

546

farms in Delaware County.

25%

of Delaware County farms sell less than $2,500 worth of crops per year

This map shows food barriers to Muncie residents. By overlaying three maps of barriers, we can see how the factors of poverty, lack of access to grocery stores, and lack on transportation create vulnerable areas for food deserts. In blue are areas most affected by low vehicle access census tracts. In tan are areas most affected by low income census tracts. In green are areas most affected by low access census tracts. Delaware County's Food Security Assessment 2018.

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 15

Illustrations by Kami Geron The first step in food preparation is always about cleanliness. You should wash your hands before ever handling your food.

Step 1: Examine Your Produce Cut away any blemishes or bruises Step 2: Rinse Your Produce Before you peel or cut into your product, you should rinse it so no dirt or bacteria spread.

Step 3: Dry the Produce Using a clean towel, pat the food down to remove any additional bacteria. If it’s something like lettuce, remove the outermost leaves and dry.

Source: mayoclinic, ewg

Did you know that there are many types of cutting you can choose for your next meal? If not, try these: Baton & Batonnet The simplest style of cutting, this technique turns produce into thick sticks than can then be cut into dices.

Julienne A French originating cut best for long produce like carrots and potatoes, this technique chops food into small matchsticks.

Brunoise For small bites, this technique turns produce into tiny cubes by combining the julienne and diced cuts.

Paysanne For your round produce, sometimes it’s easier to cut into this circular shape rather than a rectangle.

Chiffonade Best for leafy vegetables and herbs, this technique is done by stacking layers of your produce, rolling them together tightly, and then cutting long strips.

Source: Michelin Star

Now that you have your food all ready, how should you cook it? Here are some easy ways to make it a delicious and healthy meal.

The Methods In order to keep your food as healthy as possible, try steaming, broiling, grilling, or roasting your food.

Explore Spices and Flavors Salt is a great seasoning component, but can get unhealthy very quickly. Try some spices, marinades, or herbs to get a deeper flavor.

Source: FDA

16 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

Less Water, the Better Did you know that certain vitamins like B and C are broken down by water? In order to keep them and other nutritious minerals in your food, cook them in small amounts or little time in water.

markets, which takes us back to Andrew’s original research paper. The maps show that the big issue with food deserts is mobility–it’s hard to get transportation to the supermarkets. Mobilizing food helps reach the areas that need the resources the most, efficiently and effectively.

You’re probably wondering by now what the next obstacle is. Once the community has food, they’d need to know how to actually consume it.

Education has been an underlying theme in all of the issues from the beginning but being able to cook was lost in the numbers. Delivery would have to come with instructions or website tutorials that can be accessible to everyone. It’s easy on paper to argue the solutions–but it’s up to volunteers and the community to come together and make this possible.

“We need all the help we can get, all the talent that we can get to help us look at these issues from multiple perspectives, and I think, you know, the more we do this, the more we figure stuff out as a community, and it’s kind of amazing,” Gruver says.

“This area’s an amazing place in that there are a lot of people who care. That’s been humbling for me, coming in here [from the East coast].”

What’s next? There is no one solution. And as the pandemic has taught us, we need to act now.

Executive director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry Emily Weikert Bryant has just the information for you.

“I wish people knew that there is a network of food banks and pantries out there to provide them help when they need it,” Emily says. “There isn’t really any single solution to food deserts. Every community need and situations are going to be different. My job, and our organization, focuses on advocacy and public education, as well as running programs and bringing together coalitions to assist our eleven member food banks and the clients they serve. We work with other statewide organizations in agriculture, human services, food producers and retailers, donors, as well as several state and federal agencies and state and federal legislators. The overarching policies that would alleviate food deserts or minimize their impact would be more focused on alleviating poverty and improving transit options.”

If you are struggling with food insecurities, you are not alone. To find a food pantry near you, call 211. g

We need all the help we can get, all the talent that we can get to help us look at these issues from multiple perspectives, and I think, you know, the more we do this, the more we figure stuff out as a community, and it’s kind of amazing."

- Joshua Grover, associate professor and director of the Muncie Food Hub Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 17

These three locations are easy to miss, but hard to forget.

By Brianna Morton

Illustration by Janie Arseneaux

18 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

Photo provided by The Island Muncie

The Island Muncie

Small towns throughout the United States have held their own compared to bigger cities for a reason. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “smart growth strategies” help promote growth to these rural areas, but maintain the charm that has kept residents coming back.

ast Central Indiana is home to a 62-mile trail, the Cardinal Greenway, which spans from Marion to Muncie and all the way over to Richmond.

Located right off the Cardinal Greenway on McGalliard Road is a small beach area that serves non-dairy fruit smoothies— with flavors ranging from carmel green apple to wildberry. In addition to this, they have ice cream and a couple food options, a specific one being hot and spicy Jamaican jerk chicken plated on a bed of jasmine rice.

Shop owner, Roger Conatser, used to go to do photography in Jamaica where he would photograph reggae music festivals. One day when he and his daughter were making smoothies, the 6-year-old gave him the idea to set up a tropical smoothie shop for people on the Greenway.

“We took the last two summers off because of COVID, but with cases dropping and an end in sight, we’re going to open up again in the spring,” says Roger.

He plans to open up again in mid to late May, weather or pandemic permitting.

Planning where development should or should not go can help a rural community encourage growth in town, where businesses can thrive on a walkable main street and families can live close to their daily destinations.’’

- EPA, Smart Growth in Small Towns and Rural Communities Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 19

McCulloch Park his park was donated to the city of Muncie in 1901 by George McCulloch. Being the largest park in Muncie, it was once home to a children’s zoo in the 1950s. This zoo was short-lived, with it only lasting for a few years.

It is now home to recreational activities that visitors can participate in.

This includes two playgrounds, a disc golf course, basketball courts, a baseball field, Soap Box derby track, and areas to

20 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

have a picnic.

Wayne Woolum has been going to the park since the ‘50s and still goes with his wife.

“We’ll get some food from a fast food place, and we’ll go [to the park] in the summertime and sit there and relax and watch,” he says.

Wayne remembers when he was a kid playing miniature golf at the park where people now play frisbee.

Gavin Winebrenner, a sophomore

Photo by Katie Catterall

at Ball State, says “My friends and I picked up disc golf as a little hobby. We looked around and our closest course was McCulloch Park.”

He says proximity was a big factor in choosing what park to go to, especially being college students, because freedom and time is limited.

Both Wayne and Gavin would like to see the park cleaned and modernized by the city.

Cammack Station

eople in search of nostalgia and vintage photo opportunities may be interested in Cammack Station. Originally constructed in 1931, the restaurant used to be the home to a variety of grocery stores and gas stations.

Dick Howe purchased the building in 2007, and it has been managed by Shane Shafer since 2015.

Shane explains that Howe purchases properties around the Cammack area to “restore them.”

The restaurant hosts car shows during the summer, attracting customers all across the U.S. In addition to this, multiple people come throughout the year to see the old-time gas station and lights.

The most famous item on the menu is the pork tenderloin sandwich. Shane says that the menu has many options that have fresh ingredients from local farmers.

The ice cream served at the restaurant comes from another family-owned small business in Indiana, Sundae’s Homemade Ice Cream. Cammack Station’s menu features a wide selection of 24 different, and sometimes seasonal flavors. g Photo by Nathan Abbott Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 21

Couple and Ball State seniors Jerico Barr Redmond and Noelle Byrer sit on a stage at the David Owsley Museum of Art. The couple is set to be married in September 2022. Katie Catterall, Ball Bearings

22 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

10 Date Night ideas under $25 in Muncie

By Haley Boyce here’s something about being young and in love. It’s the thrill of getting to know someone’s interests, quirks, and personality that makes dating in college fun.

With a mixture of new found independence and maturity, college is a place where love creeps in and out as students navigate hookups and relationships.

When a relationship does start to blossom in college, it can be easy to get swept up in studies and social life and forget about an element of dating that makes a relationship flourish.

Datenight.

Going on dates during a relationship is crucial in strengthening communication, increasing intimacy, and staying committed to a partner.

Despite the importance, going on dates as a college student may be a challenge, if

the cost of school, housing, groceries, and other necessities are your responsibility.

Several college students work either full time or part time to help cover any expenses they may be in charge of.

According to the Urban Institute, in 2015, 41% of full time college students had a part time job. For full-time dependent students with jobs, they made an average income of $3,900 that year.

For students who fall under independent, they averaged an income of $13,880.

Managing any financial responsibility and going on dates with your significant other can quickly become a stressful, financial burden.

However, it’s possible to be money cautious and still spend special time with a partner.

No matter what the season, there are affordable date night ideas waiting for you and your partner in Muncie.

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 23

1

3

Build a Bouquet at Barnside Blooms

Estimated price: $7.50 - $20.50 Spend time with your significant other by picking out flowers to make your very own, unique bouquet. Located south of Muncie, Barnside Blooms offers an array of blooms for bouquet-making. Whether you add some sweet thai, pampas plume, or strawberry fields, spend some time under the sun, crafting a colorful arrangement.

(I wouldn’t add the Love Lies Bleeding flower, though.)

Ball State students and couple Paloma Sutter and Devin Holmes visited Barnside Blooms earlier this year and recommend it as a date night spot.

“The weather was super nice and there was a huge variety of flowers still there,” Devin said. “The people were very friendly and even offered to take our picture for us.”

While their 2022 opening day for cut flowers and bouquets has yet to be announced, the farm had their opening day on June 26, 2021 last year.

2

Fall for Each Other at the Fair

Estimated price: Free From July 10-23, grab your significant other and head to the Delaware County Fair. Checkout the exotic pet show, fair rides, and all of the funnel cakes during this classic summer date idea.

24 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

Cozy up for a Concert on the Green

Estimated price: Free Catch a free concert with your partner at the Yorktown Civic Green. The Yorktown Chamber of Commerce is putting on 10 free concerts this summer in their downtown area.

At 6 p.m., hit the food trucks and cash bar (for those 21+) and enjoy

the concert at 7 p.m. Spend your date night enjoying live music and each other.

2022 Concert on the Green performers: 05/20/22 - Mike Milligran and Steam 06/03/22 - GrooveSmash 06/17/22 - Big Roscoe & The Hammers 07/15/22 - Andrew Young 07/29/22 - My Yellow Rickshaw 08/05/22 - Southridge 08/20/22 - Indy Annies 09/10/22 - JamBox 10/01/22 - Stella Luna

A couple visiting Barnside Blooms with their bouquet built. Photo provided by Paloma Sutter.

4

Pumpkin Patch Date

Estimated price: $16 Once the leaves start to turn orange, it’s time for all things pumpkin. What’s more classic than a pumpkin patch?

Checkout Landess Farms in Daleville.

Their “Fall Fun on the Farm” special will run from September 19 - October 31, 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., Sunday - Friday. Admission is only $8 per person, making this date affordable for students. A ticket will get you a small pumpkin, hayride, and an unlimited pass to their corn maze.

Checkout the patch and get lost in the corn maze with your special someone.

Couple and Ball State seniors Mason Mast and Dalton Dietrich on a date together. Photo provided by Mason Mast

5

Go on an Enchanted Walk at Minnestrista

Estimated price: Free Bundle up and grab your partner’s hand for the enchanted luminaria walk at Minnetrista. Start the winter season off looking at twinkling lights with good company. This free event will take place December 2 and 3.

For Ball State senior Mason Mast, being a busy college student is something he feels shouldn’t stop couples from finding personalized date ideas that work for them and their partner. His partner, Ball State senior Dalton Dietrich agrees.

For Mason and Dalton, they do homework, binge watch shows and movies, have picnics, and dinner together to keep their relationship exciting and change their scenery every once in a while.

The couple has also shared their two favorite obsessions with one another.

“I’ve become a huge fan of Drag Race and we will be seeing some famous queens on tour later this year,” Mason says. “Similarly, Dalton has started sharing articles about Marvel theories and doing his own research and obsessing before we go to movie premieres together.”

Dates allow the opportunity to escape reality for even the smallest amount of time to just be together as a couple and show that your relationship is a priority.”

- Dalton Dietrich, Ball State Student

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 25

Couple and Ball State seniors Jerico Barr Redmond and Noelle Byrer at The David Owsley Museum of Art. Katie Catterall, Ball Bearings

7

Date at DOMA

8

Explore the farmer’s market at Minnestrista

Estimated price: Free What’s more romantic than looking at art with your very own muse by your side? The David Owsley Museum of Art is open to the public year-round, closing only on holidays and important university dates. While it’s closed on Sundays and Mondays, visiting DOMA is the perfect date idea if you’re planning something last minute and haven’t had payday yet. The museum features a variety of collections and exhibits to see and is the perfect spot to wander around in and get lost in with your special someone.

Estimated price: Free On every third Saturday of the month, Minnetrista hosts Muncie’s farmers market. You and your significant other can explore the outdoor market from May - October and the indoor market November - April. Full of local vendors, the farmer’s market is the perfect way to get out in the community while making a date out of it.

26 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

9

Hit the Thrift

Estimated price: Free Spend the day checking out some local thrift stores with your partner. Pick out an outfit for each other or make up background stories for the different items you find.

This date idea is great for simple fun and free, unless you pick something out, of course. Stop by the Attic Window thrift shops for a special Muncie thrift experience.

10

Go to the Greenhouse

Estimated price: Free Full of events all year, the Dr. Joe and Alice Rinard Orchid Greenhouse is a great place to spend time with your partner while being surrounded by flowers and greenery. Take home a succulent in May and sample edible tropical plants in November.

You can’t get them off your mind. You spend the majority of your day thinking about them (some research shows people in love spend nearly 85% of their day obsessively thinking about their partner You’ve started feeling a (healthy) amount of emotional dependency for your partner, and maybe even a little jealousy You feel your partners pain - you sympathize with their tragedies and struggles

You only feel romantic feelings for the person - no one else

You’re experiencing mood swings within you’re relationship: you feel the euphoric feeling of love the feeling of pain when your relationship suffers You find yourself daydreaming and thinking about things that remind you of them

You’ve started to think about what a future with them would look like, and how their life fits into yours

Your feelings of passion, emotional and physical, are nearly uncontrollable

You reorder your priorities and interests to better align with theirs Source: LiveScience

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 27

Kate Crow shares her cooking journey and opening up her local soup business in downtown Muncie.

Editor’s Note: The writer of this story, Arianna Sergio, is friends with Kate Crow’s son.

By Arianna Sergio ate Crow’s first memory in the kitchen is from when she was around 9-yearsold. Her mother had gone for a walk with her brother, and there was a Shake n’ Bake chicken left cooking in the oven. The oven timer went off, and Kate’s mother was still gone. Kate thought she had to be the hero and take the chicken out before it burned. As she was pulling the chicken out, she didn’t have a tight enough grip on the tray and it tipped over, with two of the chicken breasts falling onto the electric coil, starting a small fire.

Kate immediately shut off the oven and sprinted down the street to find her mother.

The chicken fiasco didn’t keep Kate out of the kitchen. She remembers helping her mom prepare for dinners with her siblings. She recalls eventually cooking one of her first foods — salmon patties. Kate was in middle school when she took on this daunting task. There was only one issue — she didn’t realize she had to pick each and every bone from this fish in order to make them. Though she did it, and still makes salmon patties to this day, she remembers it being an “awful” experience at the time.

As she grew older, her relationship with cooking grew stronger. Kate says she is a big people-person, so when she was in college, she would always have

friends over and occasionally cook for them. She says she wasn’t great, but she had a couple of recipes that worked for her. She would cook some of her favorite recipes from her childhood, or she would borrow them from friends.

“The beginning of all of this was just recognizing that I enjoy feeding people,” Kate says.

When Kate would learn a new technique, either by reading it in a cookbook or by watching someone else do it, she realized that her cooking could only improve from there. After watching one of her close friends cook for her and her husband, she became extremely interested in exploring various flavor combinations. She jokes that meals don’t have to be just “meat and potatoes” all the time. “[Cooking] became important to me because I enjoyed [the food] tasting better and coming from my fingertips,” Kate says.

Her passion for cooking shined through, and this is when she realized she wanted to start a food business of her own, and Runaround Soup was born.

Someone wrote to me that they may have licked at the bottom of their bowl at work in public. That’s what it’s about.”

- Kate Crow, owner of Runaround Soup

28 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

Working out of a shared kitchen for other businesses like hers, Kate Crow makes her newest batch of soup, which will help prepare her customers for the warm weather.

Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 29

You can actually take the time to sit down with your family, even if it’s only 15 minutes between things you have to do, but at least you didn’t have to spend an hour fixing up dinner. I was hoping [Runaround Soup] would help people do that.”

- Kate Crow, owner of Runaround Soup

Kate Crow brings more supplies up front to finish her boiling soup. The kitchen was empty when Kate was preparing.

Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Runaround Soup is a to-go soup and bread service located in downtown Muncie. Each week Kate sells one soup and bread option, with the varieties changing every week.

“For soup you can have a main course in one pot. And the bread, it just seems like soup needs bread because you have to be able to get that last bit out of the bottom of the bowl. Someone wrote to me that they may have licked at the bottom of their bowl at work in public,” Kate shares.

“That’s what it’s about.”

Kate’s favorite soup and bread that she cooks: Greek lemon chicken soup with cucumber dill bread.

“That combination is probably the best I have. It’s a signature sort-of flavor because it’s so different from what you can find at other places here [in Muncie],” she says.

Kate’s inspiration behind the name Runaround Soup is people whose lives are always so go-go-go that they can’t catch a break. Their supper is solved.

“You can take [the soup] home, heat it, and eat it. You can actually take the time to sit down with your family, even if it’s only 15 minutes between things you have

30 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

to do, but at least you didn’t have to spend an hour fixing up dinner,” Kate says. “I was hoping [Runaround Soup] would help people do that.”

The mother of four explains that she would often see children leading very busy lives.

“They’d have a granola bar, or they’d have a bag from McDonald’s or Taco Bell or something like that. I just thought, ‘Oh, I think we can do better than that.’

That doesn’t mean that the parents are doing anything wrong. That was the option, right?” Kate explains. “It’s simple to take [my soup] somewhere, and you don’t really need any other tools, except a spoon I suppose.”

Overall, it took Kate four years to open Runaround Soup. She says part of this late opening was due to COVID, part of it was being a mother to her children while working her then job as a chemist, and part of it was trying to figure out what exactly her business would look like.

When Kate officially opened Runaround Soup’s doors, it wasn’t soup season, it was the exact opposite. It was July. She persevered and sold her soup and bread at various farmer’s markets to get the name

out there, see if people were interested, and if they even liked her products.

“I got very good feedback and would sell out quite a bit,” she says. “I couldn’t believe it because it was really hot out, but people will eat soup all year round if their house is air conditioned,” Kate jokes.

She says it was very fun to see the regulars come to her tent at the farmer’s market.

I keep saying I have a favorite [soup], then I have another favorite, and then another.”

- Carol Seals, Runaround Soup Customer

Vegetarian options for customers are made using ingredients like Impossible meat. Kate Crow is using the Impossible meat for her vegetarian lasagna soup. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Kate Crow chops onions to mix in with her lasagna soup. She had tools to help dice, but she came in manually before adding them in. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Kate Crow’s kitchen supplies and ingredients rest on the counter of her shared kitchen space. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 31

Kate Crow scrapes the last of the vegetables to put in her vat of soup in her new storefront in Muncie, Indiana.

Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

32 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

“My favorite was a guy who would come up first thing Saturday morning at Minnetrista with his bag, and he’d come straight to my tent. He said, ‘This is my favorite. My wife and I really look forward to our Saturday night,’” Kate says. “There was another woman who would come every week, and she would just walk up to the tent and ask, ‘What do you have this time?’ And I’d tell her, and she’d say, ‘Okay, I’m going to walk around for a little bit.’

She’d always come back to me. I loved it.”

One of Kate’s regulars at the farmer’s market, and now her storefront, is an accountant at Ball Associates, Carol Seals. She first tried Runaround Soup’s black bean soup at the farmer’s market.

She says it was “wonderful” and that was the moment she became a regular.

“I keep saying I have a favorite [soup], then I have another favorite, and another,” Carol says. “[Kate] has such a variety and that’s what I like about it. I also like it because I’m a single person. I work downtown and where she does it on Tuesdays is right downtown. So, at the end of the day I just pick it up and bring it back to the refrigerator at work and then I have it for my lunches the next two days.”

Carol even got a few coworkers and her neighbor to try Runaround Soup.

“One time a neighbor was out on a trip and she was getting in late. I knew she was coming in late and didn’t have groceries because she’d been gone for like three weeks, so I stuck one of the soups and the rolls on her porch, because she was getting in at like two in the morning,” she explains. “She said the soup was perfect.”

After almost two months of selling her soup and bread at other locations and events, Kate finally opened Runaround Soup’s storefront this past September.

“It [opening] was all very exciting, but scary. Very, very scary. I really was very nervous. In fact, I was working up to be in Mamma Mia! at [Muncie] Civic [Theatre].

I was in the ensemble. Going into that tech week, I was unable to really eat like normal because I was so nervous, and I realized it wasn’t about the show,” Kate says.

She says she was so terrified about opening because she didn’t want to mess up. Luckily for her, Runaround Soup has been a success.

“It’s been fascinating to see how many doors start to open as soon as people know you’ve opened something like this. I don’t know if this happens with all

businesses or just with food. There are people asking about delivery, if I’m ever going to do vegan food, about donating soup, if I will ever get gift cards, there’s all kinds of options,” Kate says. “These doors just go ajar and then you have to decide which one to walk through and discover if you can handle it or not. The learning part of that is one, being excited that your community is interested in what you’re doing and finds it valuable. But two, it’s learning that I have to focus first, and make sure I’m succeeding at what I’m doing in my plan before trying to expand too much.”

You can order your serving of soup and bread through their website on or before each Thursday. Once you’ve completed your order, you pick it up the following Tuesday between 4-8 p.m. One order of soup and bread is $15-$16, before tax, and it feeds up to two people. Kate also makes vegetarian options for a selection of her soups.

These doors just go ajar and then you have to decide which one to walk through and discover if you can handle it or not.”

- Carol Seals, Runaround Soup Customer

Kate Crow makes her lasagna soup. She uses a stool to see over the tall pots since all three were rolling with soup. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 33

Maggie Mercer leans on her 1955 Pontiac in Muncie, Ind. She found her Pontiac on Facebook Marketplace and traded for her Volkswagen Beetle. Her family bought, sold, and traded for the 13 cars they own. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

34 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

A Muncie family fosters their love for cars at local car shows, and even in their own garage.

By Shannon McCloskey The baby-blue hue of Maggie Mercer’s 1955 Pontiac, Lucy, nicely reflected the sunlight, and the original interior got some fresh air as she rolled up with the windows down.

Lucy is actually completely original, except for the fresh paint job. She takes after the ‘55 Pontiac convertible from “I Love Lucy” that cruised Los Angeles.

“The dash is just so beautiful. You know, there’s something about the dashes on the old cars that they just don’t do anymore,” Maggie says.

Maggie’s whole family revels in the vintage-car culture. Her daughter, Morgan, is almost ready to get her license and hop in the 1957 Ford Fairlane that she’s been working on herself. She

has been surrounded by cars coming and going out of her garage all of her life, but something about this one was different.

“When he traded for my 1957 Ford Fairlane, I didn’t really think much of it, as I figured it would be gone soon after,” Morgan says. “Once [my dad] started to paint it, I absolutely fell in love.”

Maggie fell in love with a Volkswagen Beetle first, and then her Pontiac, but she has always loved the ‘50s and ‘60s classics.

“When the Space Race began, they started really trying to put like space-age looking things into the designs of cars. So that’s why you’ll see some things that have a crazy bubble top, or they have those big tail lights that come out,” Maggie says.

Morgan, too, has always had an affinity for history, and vin-

Pontiac, Mich. gave Pontiacs their name, after producing the first one in 1926, according to Consumer Reports.

Pontiac cars were discontinued in 2010.

Maggie’s is a 1955, an era of vehicles that has a special place in her heart.

Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 35

tage cars tell an old story, from the interior to the rims.

“My car is not only a direct bridge to the past, but also to my family,” Morgan says.

With a total of 13 cars at their house, Maggie and her family could be considered enthusiasts. Morgan has been attending car shows with her parents since she can remember.

Muncie’s vintage car owners have been presented with more opportunities around town to get their prized set of wheels out and about. The DWNTWN Muncie Car Show, being held next on June 4, is a moment for all the traditional rides and hot rods older than 1980. Once again back on the calendars is Cruising South Madison Street, an event that fell off until about 2018.

Cruising South Madison Street is set to start in April and run until November on the third Saturday of each month. Times and any updates can be found on the City of Muncie’s calendar and Cruising South Madison Street’s Facebook page. g The dash on Maggie Mercer’s classic Pontiac is completely original, and she says the black will match any interior. “Thankfully, the interior is black. I loved that because I can do anything I want with this car,” Maggie says. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Many original features still exist on Maggie’s car, even though she has plans for a few cosmetic changes. But, there’s value to keeping its integrity.

“For me, it’s awful if someone cuts up the interior. Like you see a classic car and someone’s cut a hole in the dash to put a stereo in it, and it’s just it’s horrible,” she says. “That to me is a big thing. I don’t want something someone’s cut apart.” Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

36 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

Classic cars are surrounded by a community in Muncie with annual shows and rides. Maggie Mercer says it’s extended past Muncie into Delaware County as a whole. “If you see someone, even if you barely know their name, and their car is broken down on the side of the road, you know that someone in this community will stop and help you,” she says. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 37

The Mercer

Garage

38 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

Maggie Mercer’s Pontiac takes after the 1950’s and the colors they enjoyed back then, but she plans to change some of that. “Right now, it’s kind of an aqua green combination that I like, but I don’t love,” she says. “Someone at least repainted it from the original. The original was hideous.” Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

Spring 2022 | Ball Bearings | 39

More stories, more often.

Visit us online ballbearingsmag.com

@ballbearingsmag 40 | Ball Bearings Magazine | Spring 2022

@ballbearingsmag

@ballbearingsmagazine

LOOKING FOR A NEW PLACE TO CALL HOME?

the

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT...

THE PREMIER HOUSING AND APARTMENT RENTAL GUIDE FOR BALL STATE AND MUNCIE

BallStateDaily.Com/Roost

discover

come something new at minnetrista.

Only one mile from campus!

minnetrista.net

1200 n. minnetrista pkwy. muncie, in 47303 · 765.282.4848