The Craf t of Collec ting Craf t My Color ful Uncles
FIELD NOTES: G ame Reser ve
ingredients make it
wild & tasty TIP
For a delicious spring salad vinaigrette combine our Basil Infused Olive Oil with our Strawberry Balsamic in a jar. Add honey, dijon mustard, garlic, salt or pepper, if desired. Shake until fully emulsified. The standard ratio for vinaigrettes is three parts oil to one part balsamic.
We’ve been bringing great taste to you since 2012 from our inviting little shop in the heart of Brown County, Indiana.
We have curated a flavorful collection for your tasting pleasure with plenty to offer for foodies, the experienced cook, or the novice. It goes well beyond the high-quality olive oils and balsamics we built our reputation on. We’ve added jams, pastas, dipping oils, salsas, sauces, and much more. Come in for a tour of tastes and let us be your guide. You’ll be wild about our shop. Shop us online from anywhere, anytime at www.thewildolive.com
Village Green Building
P.O. Box 157 Helmsburg, IN 47435 (812) 988-8807
Bob Gustin worked as a reporter, photographer, managing editor, and editor for daily newspapers in Colorado, Nebraska, and Indiana before retiring in 2011. He and his wife, Chris, operate Homestead Weaving Studio. She does the weaving while he gives studio tours, builds small looms, and expands his book and record collections.
Joe Lee is an illustrator and writer. He is the author of The History of Clowns for Beginners and Dante for Beginners and illustrator of six other titles, including Dada and Surealism for Beginners, and Music Theory for Beginners. He is an editorial cartoonist for the Bloomington Herald Times, a graduate of Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Clown College, and a veteran circus performer.
Jeff Tryon is a former news editor of The Brown County Democrat, a former region reporter for The Republic, and a former bureau chief for The Huntsville Times. Born and raised in Brown County, he currently lives with his wife, Sue, in a log cabin on the edge of Brown County State Park. He is a Baptist minister.
Jim Eagleman, recently retired DNR naturalist, and his wife Kay, enjoy hiking the many natural areas, preserves, and land trust sites in Brown and neighboring counties. His FIELD NOTES have appeared in this publication for several years. Contact Jim with comments and inquiries at <jpeagleman@gmail.com>.
*Jack E. Harden is a musician, singer, and photographer. Born and raised in Brown County, Jack enjoys sharing his hometown with others through photos and videos on social media. Most days you’ll find him playing guitar and singing out in front of the Carmel Corn Cottage in Nashville.
Ryan Stacy and his wife recently moved to Pennsylvania and continues to stay connected with our Brown County. He appreciates good movies, good food, and enjoys cultural events. His other interests include reading, photography, and playing music.
Mark Blackwell no longer makes his home in Brown County where “the roadway is rough and the slopes are seamed with ravines and present a meatless, barren, backbone effect.” He now resides within sight of the sixth green of an undisclosed golf course. He was born in the middle of the last century and still spends considerable time there.
Julia Pearson wrote for a Franciscan magazine for ten years and served as its human interest editor. She and husband Bruce now reside in Lake Woebegone Country for life’s continuing adventures. Julia enjoys traveling and visiting museums of all types and sizes, with her children and grandchildren.
Boris Ladwig is a Columbusbased journalist who has worked in print, online and TV media in Indiana and Kentucky and has won awards for features, news, business, non-deadline news, First Amendment/community affairs and investigative reporting.
Cindy Steele is the publisher and editor of this magazine. She sells and designs ads, sometimes writes, takes photos, and creates the layout. For fun, she likes to play the guitar or banjo and sing.
Cover: Hope for Hearts Farm ~by Boris Ladwig
Thanks to Kara Barnard for the cartoon.
copyright 2021
Thanks, Mom, for making it happen!
Guess Photo
Lightspinner
Hope for Hearts Farm
~by Boris Ladwig
On a 9-acre farm about a mile outside Bean Blossom, two young sisters recently stood near the center of a horse enclosure and talked in hushed voices to figure out how to get two ponies to mind.
The ponies stood a few feet away, somewhat disinterested, and they initially refused to walk where Awna, 11, and Bristol, 10, wanted them to go. However, the girls’ mother, Erica Bryenton, was elated that their daughters were working together.
“They’re holding hands. That’s, like, major,” the mother whispered, as she sat nearby to watch.
The girls tried different strategies, and eventually their patience and perseverance paid off. The horses walked to the exact spot the girls wanted.
Awna and Bristol are visiting Hope for Hearts Farm about once a week, and their mother said the trust from the horses and patience the work requires have helped the girls with interpersonal relationships and instilled in them a confidence that has helped them at school.
When they finished their task on a recent sunny Monday afternoon, the girls critiqued each other’s performance, as instructor and farm owner Lisa Bowman watched and listened.
Bowman told them that they should continue to work together as one and to put themselves in the other’s shoes.
Awna began taking lessons at the farm a couple of years ago. She had had some rough
Bristol and Awna. photo by Boris Ladwig
years at school, had fallen behind in her schoolwork, and had struggled emotionally. She got help from a tutor and a counselor, and Bryenton spent hours in the evenings to help her with schoolwork.
When a counselor suggested the family try equine assisted learning, Bryenton agreed, in part because she knew the girls had enjoyed riding horses.
The sessions, which do not involve riding, have paid off, the mother said, as Awna’s behavior and schoolwork have improved markedly.
The success with Awna prompted the mother to also send Bristol to the farm to help the sisters overcome some of their sibling rivalry.
Bryenton said that seeing her daughters work together to gain the trust of large animals and the confidence to work together toward a goal was very satisfying.
Awna, who is in sixth grade, said each of the horses has a unique personality, and learning to
interact with the horses has helped her deal with different personalities of people.
“I feel like it helps me with my attitude and my emotions,” she said.
Awna also said that the sessions are fun and relaxing and give her a break from the human world.
Bristol, a fourth-grader, agreed.
“I really like spending time with the horses and sharing my feelings,” she said.
Bowman started the farm in 2013 with her husband, Roland, an engineer who owns a business in Martinsville. Their daughter, Abigail, 16, a Brown County High School student, helps out as barn manager. The farm has chickens, two cats, two dogs, and six horses, including a miniature and two ponies. Bowman, who received training through the Nevada-based Equine Experiential Education Association, said horses have as many personalities as people, and she assigns horses depending on clients’ personalities and needs.
For example, 44-year-old pony Rosie, who is almost completely blind, requires clients to be very calm with her and usually is assigned to people who are dealing with stress and anxiety. On the other hand, lead horse Jake helps people step out of their comfort zones. If someone is nervous, for example, Jake, 23, may step even closer to make people even more nervous, Bowman said.
About half of the clients are kids, but Bowman also offers services for adults and groups, including businesses that want to foster more cooperation among employees.
A former nursing director, Bowman oversaw close to 400 people, which required a lot of team building. She said she enjoyed that aspect of her former job very much and appreciates that she can now use those experiences in her work with corporate clients.
Meanwhile, a lot of the younger clients are dealing with anger issues and are struggling to control their emotions, Bowman said. Hope for Hearts provides experiential training to
Continued on 20
Lisa Bowman and Will. courtesy photo
Weed Patch Music Company
Offering affordable instruments to inspire the beginner and locally handcrafted beauties to awe the professional
Musical instruments for all ages and skill levels Lessons, workshops, and more... Your favorite lil’ music store in Brown County, Indiana 58 E. Main St. Nashville (by courthouse) www.weedpatchmusicshop.com 812-200-3300
NEW LEAF
lin & Van Buren Streets Nashville, IN • (812) 988-1058 www.amygreely.com
GALLERY AND MUSEUM
48 S. Van Buren Street
Nashville, IN 47448
812 988-6185
BrownCountyArtGuild.org
help reinforce the theoretical lessons the children learn from their therapists.
Another Hope for Hearts client, Kendall, 16, recently stood in the animal enclosure and placed her right arm over Rizzo, one of the three big horses, whose back reached as high as the teen’s shoulders. The horse and the human stood still for a long while, and the silence that fell over the farm was interrupted only by the occasional chittering of insects. The
exercise allowed Kendall to relax and Rizzo to calm down and release some nervous energy by huffing or shaking his head.
Kendall’s grandmother, Sharon Baker, said the teen moved in with her six years ago as she was acting out because of past family trauma.
Baker said her granddaughter’s confidence has soared since she began the therapy three years ago, in part because Kendall now really understands that the
COMMON GROUNDS
Kendall and Lisa with Rizzo. photo by Boris Ladwig
“I think it just really gave me a lot of happiness back, and that’s something I think I needed”
way she feels about herself will reflect on others, whether horses or humans.
Kendall, a sophomore, said the activities with the horses help her relax from her busy schedule, and she enjoys interacting and cooperating with the animals.
“I think it just really gave me a lot of happiness back, and that’s something I think I needed,” she said.
Hope for Hearts Farm is a nonprofit that generates revenue through fundraising and grants but mostly is sustained through donations, which also provide partial scholarships for the clients. Bryenton, for example, said she pays $20 per child per week.
Bowman said she founded the farm in part because she received help from horses at Trinity Farm in Monrovia.
“I went through a time that shattered my selfesteem, and doing the work with the horses there at Trinity helped me gain my confidence back,” she said.
“I feel like everything I have done and experienced in my life has brought me to this point .… Doing this work is really my life’s purpose,” she said.
You can contact Bowman at 317-496-0189 or <lisa@hopeforheartsfarm.org>. You can learn more about the farm at <hopeforheartsfarm.org>.
photo by Boris Ladwig
PUZZLE
Brown County Artists
Hoosier Buddy Liquors
Cold Beer, Fine Wines & Select Spirits
Cold Beer:
Hoosier Buddy o ers more than 150 di erent beers, including more than 80 craft, micro, and impor ts We proudly o er a wide variety of beers from Indiana’s nest brewers
Fine Wines:
Hoosier Buddy is a wine -lovers type of store With more than 200 wines to choose from, we’ve got something for ever yone. Check out our “A ordable Impor ts” and “90+ Point” selections
Select Spirits:
Hoosier Buddy o ers an ever expanding array of top -notch spirits. Our whiskey categor y alone includes more than 75 di erent choices Whether you’re look ing for a Single Barrel Bourbon or a Single Malt from Islay— we stock them.
~by Julia Pearson
Cemeteries are “God’s acres” within busy communities and abandoned countrysides. They provide solitude to those who visit them and read the stone markers, recording details of the souls who sleep in their borders. In the Brown County Memorial Park is a single stone to mark the sideby-side graves of artists Marie Goth and V.J. Cariani, a small American flag at the head of Cariani’s inscription.
Varaldo Giuseppe Cariani was born February 4, 1891 in Renazzo, Italy, a village near Bologna, to Demizio and Carlotta Alberti Cariani. The family immigrated to the United States when
V.J. Cariani’s Peaceful Valley Rescue
he was three years old and he grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. His artistic talent was evident as a child, and he won a fellowship from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation in Oyster Bay on Long Island. He studied art as he lived in the Tiffany mansion and cared for the gardens. His studies continued in the National Academy of Design, followed by the Art Students League, where he had notable instructors. Popular among his fellow students for his talent, swarthy handsomeness, and easy smile, he met his life partner, Marie Goth. Affectionately called “Cari” by his friends, Cariani and Goth were inseparable, sketching in Central Park or the Hudson River docks in all weather.
When his adopted country entered the “The Great War,” Cari enlisted and Marie
Portrait of V.J. Cariani by Marie Goth.
The Sunny Road to Village by V.J. Cariani.
returned to Indianapolis. Serving with the 103rd Trench Mortar Battery of the American Expeditionary Force’s 28th Division, he saw some of the war’s bloodiest action, at times surviving the trenches for days by eating rats. When he returned to Massachusetts after eighteen months of service, the mental hounds of war left him shellshocked.
Marie and her sister, Genevieve, urged Cari to come to Brown County, where they had a cabin north of Nashville. Genevieve bought one of his sketches to pay for his travel expenses. Cariani later said this saved his life.
He began to paint again in the Peaceful Valley’s surroundings. He built a studio on the Goth property near Marie’s portrait studio. His mind and soul healed as he created his landscapes and still life paintings, raised vegetables and flowers, and fashioned the frames for his and Marie’s paintings. It was known that his abode lacked a kitchen and that he cooked for Marie and himself in her house.
He was one of twenty artists chosen from Indiana to exhibit at the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago. He was a member of the Hoosier Salon, as well as a charter member of the Brown County Art Gallery Association and the Brown County Art Guild.
David Wilcox, board member of the Brown County Art Guild who knew Cariani, remembers:
“V.J. Cariani was a very friendly, kind and gentle person who enjoyed life and always had a twinkle in his eye. He never seemed to be rushed and was always a joy to visit and be with.
Next to his cabin/studio he maintained an extensive garden. This is where he grew the flowers which became the subjects for his floral paintings for which he was well known. However, his talent for his
landscapes showing the beauty of Brown County in all seasons were also very much sought after.”
In 1954, Cari and Marie joined Carl and Genevieve Goth Graf along with George LaChance, C. Curry Bohm, Dale Bessire, and ten other artists and founded the Brown County Art Guild. It has been in the same location in Nashville’s main thoroughfare for nearly 67 years. The nucleus of the permanent collection, which numbers around 1100 pieces, are works of Marie Goth, V.J. Cariana, Carl Graf, and Genevieve Goth Graf.
V.J. Cariani died on December 30, 1969. Marie Goth left his studio unchanged. When she died on January 9, 1975, left behind were twelve portraits of her beloved Cari, including one painted when they were students together and the last one painted two days before his death. This author wishes all veterans of all wars their own Peaceful Valley.
Andra F. Walters, Executive Director of the Brown County Art Guild, notes: The original founders worked tirelessly to promote artistic excellence and membership acceptance into the Guild. However, we now also “protect” and promote artistic excellence because we oversee the vast permanent collection of paintings. The Brown County Art Guild is now open to the public and follows covid-19 protocols.
Note: Cariani adopted the anglicized “Joseph” for Giuseppi, thus his initials are V.J.
Lilacs by V.J. Cariani.
Brown County History Center
Luminox Watches (used by Navy Seals)
Showcasing The Stream
Musicians. Ask their friends, family, and bartenders about them, and you’re likely to hear words like “creative” and “talented” and “brilliant.” Perhaps—meant in a good way—even “sensitive.” What you may not hear so often, though: “highly organized” or “financially solvent” or “super dependable.” (Full disclosure: I’m a musician myself. Which is why I’m allowed to say this about musicians.)
There are exceptions to the stereotype, of course. Such as Kenan Rainwater, thirty-nineyear-old owner and founder of Rainwater Studios, a creative hub east of Bean Blossom, specializing in live and recorded music. For many of Kenan’s peers, music begins and ends with their
ability on an instrument or in their songwriting, and finding gigs. But he sees songs and performances as links in a bigger chain—a chain that secures and protects an entire local music culture. Through his experience, vision, and Brown County DNA, Kenan’s been forging that chain for years now, adding new links as opportunities arise. The result: a mini-empire encompassing music and video production, artist development, internet media, and live performance.
Kenan credits his deep roots in Brown County’s musical community with Rainwater Studios’ growth over the years. “I started playing with older guys in living rooms in my early twenties,” he recalls. Before long, he was playing at places like
Muddy Boots and Big Woods in Nashville and putting together his own bands (Indiana Boys, Rainwater), negotiating with his brothers for use of the family’s four-car garage they used for working on cars. “Initially, I set it up so that we could convert easily between music rehearsal and automotive stuff,” he says.
Always on the lookout for ways to promote his musical projects, Kenan started recording his live shows and streaming video of rehearsals at the garage. “I’d been streaming the band [Rainwater] a little bit on my personal Facebook page, so I committed to streaming every Wednesday night, learning the ins and outs of doing that,” he explains. Sometimes he was joined by the “Swamping Crew,” a bunch of friends who “basically just did a bunch of experimental stuff” as he learned how to work in the
~by Ryan Stacy
March Showcase at the Brown County Playhouse. photo by Nuk Mills
internet medium by trial and error. His collection of video equipment grew with his skills, and soon Kenan had better-produced videos for the dedicated social media pages he’d set up for the studio that had taken shape in the garage. He began to follow an ambitious formula: think big; find the weak points in your process and overcome them; build relationships; and always, always persist.
He hasn’t looked back since. These days, there’s no more car repair in the garage (Sorry, brothers!): it’s a beautiful studio space now, complete with a sound stage and pro lighting. There, along with his partner Mandi Rogier, Kenan produces and hosts The Stream, Rainwater Studios’ live-in-studio streaming show featuring performances by three area artists a week. The studio also offers a full-service experience to clients looking to launch or sustain careers as performers.
Kenan being Kenan, though, that’s too few links in his chain. His master plan goes something like this: cultivate local talent through the studio’s services and booking on The Stream; put the best performances on regular compilation albums, released by the
studio; assemble the artists from the albums into live showcase performances; record the showcases for future use; re-invest revenues into new studio gear, marketin, promotion, and the local music scene. Enjoy the Brown County culture you’ve helped create.
It’s worked out well so far, Kenan says. “We’re making good progress. The Playhouse show was a big encouragement, after a year of having no shows at all anywhere [because of the global pandemic].” After many months of doing what he could to keep the studio’s staff and guests safe on The Stream, Kenan was able to follow through to the next step. On March 20 of this year, the Brown County Playhouse hosted the Best of Stream Showcase Winter 2021, where Kenan was joined onstage by Matthew Marcelle, Steve Plessinger, Eric Hamblen, Michael Moulder, Jason Blankenship, Lexi Len, Wes Eberhardt, and Tay Bronson.
The show, a welcome evening out for a restriction-weary community where the arts are its lifeblood, was a hit for audience and performers alike. After two “writers in the round” sets, all the artists got together to play a cover of “Black Wind,” a song by local favorites the
Continued on 32
Taylor Hernly, Harley Day, and Kristopher Garner jam at a Rainwater Studios The Stream session. photo by Cindy Steele
The Stream airs every Wednesday at 8 p.m. on Rainwater Studio’s Facebook and YouTube pages. More information on Rainwater Studios can be found at <rainwaterrecordingcompany.com>. More information about the July 17 Best of Stream Showcase can be found at <browncountyplayhouse.org>.
Cox Brothers. Among the show’s other highlights, Kenan says, were Michael Moulder’s songs and Steve Plessinger’s “Coal Mine.” Kenan plans to keep the Showcases coming. The next two are in the works, tentatively scheduled for July 17 and November 7 at the Playhouse. He’s also got his sights set on approaching the Brown County Music Center about other shows in the future. But despite his supersized confidence and natural talent for thinking big, Kenan’s
still Brown County through and through. “I’ve been to enough places to realize that they’re great to visit, but it’s nice to come home,” he says. “I like the things I get to do here, I like the streams, the hills, the people. I like the rural feel of it. I like the change of seasons.” He even chops the firewood he burns to heat the studio and his home, he tells me. Note to Kenan, if you’re reading this: the more fingers you have, the easier the knobs in the studio are to turn.
THE STREAM continued from 31
Kenan Rainwater, Mandi Rogier, and Eric Hamblen working the sound and video for The Stream. photos by Cindy Steele
Kristopher Garner talking to Kenan Rainwater on The Stream. photo by Cindy Steele
Mandi Rogier and Kenan Rainwater at the Brown County Playhouse Showcase. photo by Nuk Mills
photos by Jack E. Harden
Calendar
Live music is back again. Many venues provide open outdoor patio areas to experience the joy. Local COVID rules apply.
Country Heritage Winery
May 1 Stant & Moore
May 7 Robbie Bowden & Friends
May 14 Gary Applegate & Joe Rock
May 15 John Whitcomb
May 21 Open Mic Night
May 22 Rythym & Wine Band
May 28 Steve Fulton
May 29 TBA
June 4 Conner Berry Band
June 5 Ross Benson
June 11 John Whitcomb
June 12 TJ & Tyler Too
June 18 Open Mic Night
June 19 Steve Fulton
June 25 Gary Applegate & Joe Rock
June 26 Bakersfield Bound
Music 6:00-9:00
225 Van Buren St. 812-988-8500 www.countryheritagewinery.com
Brown County Inn
Wed. Open Mic Night 6:00-9:00
Thurs. Hill Folk Music Series 6:00-8:00
Sat. Acoustic Brunch Noon-3:00 HILL FOLK MUSIC SERIES:
May 6 Will Scott and Jan Bell
May 13 Jeff Kelly and Rev. Hylton
May 20 Kade Puckett
May 27 Spank n’ Mickey
June 3 Will Scott & Wayne Pennington
June 10 Roger Banister & Denise Kocur
June 17 Feathered Mason with Jennifer Jane Niceley
June 24 Wayne Pennington 51 State Road 46 East 812-988-2291 www.browncountyinn.com
The schedule can change. Please check before making a trip.
Hard Truth Hills
May 1 The Cosmic Situation
May 7 Brad Kleinschmidt Trio
May 8 The Beepline
May 9 The McGuires 3:00-6:00
May 14 Tracy Thompson-Elaine Basham
May 15 8-Bit Audio
May 21 Davey & The Midnights
May 22 Rich Hardesty
May 28 Randall Shreve 6:00-7:30
May 28 Cody Ikerd Side-winders 8:00-10:00
May 29 The Royal Hounds
May 20 Acoustic Edge
most music 7:00-10:00 unless specified 418 Old State Road 46 812-720-4840 www.hardtruthhills.com
Story Inn
May 1 David & Tanya Renbarger noon-3 Live Music 4:00-7:00 Comedy Show 8:00-10:20
May 2 Zion Crossroads 2:00-5:00
May 8 Don Elbreg 2:00-5:00
May 9 Will Scott noon-3:00 Doug Dillman 4:00-7:00
May 15 Stant & Moore 2:00-5:00
May 16 Nick Dittmeier 2:00-5:00
May 22 Dave Sisson 2:00-5:00 Gary Phelps 5:00-8:00
May 23 Don Elbreg 2:00-5:00
May 29 Stant & Moore 2:00-5:00
May 30 Will Scott 2:00-5:00
May 31 Gary Phelps 2:00-5:00
June 5 Don Elbreg 2:00-5:00
June 6 Nick Dittmeier noon-3:00 Steve Fulton 4:00-7:00
June 12 Will Scott 2:00-5:00
June 13 Zion Crossroads 2:00-5:00
June 19 Stant & Moore 2:00-5:00
Malissa & Scott 6:00-9:00
June 20 Gary Phelps 2:00-5:00 Paint & Sip 3:45-6:45
June 26 Will Scott 2:00-5:00
6404 SR 135 S. 812-988-2273 www.storyinn.com
Big Woods Pizza
Tues. 5:00-8:00
May 4 Rich Hardesty
May 11 Charlie Jesseph
May 18 Jon Shoulders
June 29 Kenny Kipp 44 North Van Buren St. 812-988-6004
Mike’s Music & Dance Barn
Mon. Line Dancing w/ Billy 6:30-9:00
May 28 8:00-11:00 Eric Bolander & The Hammer & The Hatchet
June 12 6:00-11:30 City Lights Band 2277 State Road 46 812-988-8636 www.mikesmusicbarn.com
Nashville Farmer’s Market
Sundays 11:00-2:00, Brown Co. Inn parking lot at State Road 135 & 46 intersection Local produce, herbs, bedding plants, flowers, food
Morel Sale & Festival
May 1, State Park Nature Center
Morel sale, mushroom presentations, and hikes 812-988-6406
PVH Arts Week
May 9-15 Nashville
Brown Co. Schools art and essay contests
Marker dedication May 13, 3:30 Downtown Nashville Village Green
Brown County Playhouse
May 15 Back in the Day 70 S. Van Buren St. 812-988-6555 www.browncountyplayhouse.org
Murder Mystery Dinner
May 15 & June 26, 6:30-8:30
Artists Colony Inn restaurant 105 S. Van Buren St. 812-988-0600 www.artistscolonyinn.com
Village Art Walk
Fourth Fridays, 4:00-7:00 April-October. Free self-guided walking tour of downtown Nashville art galleries
Dawg Gone Walk & Fiesta
May 16, Deer Run Park, noon-3:00 Brown Co Human Society fundraiser. Games, contests, pampering stations, information booths, and more. www.bchumane.org
Shelby Spring Fling
May 21-22, Brown County State Park Car show, vendors, picnic.
Info: 812-483-1818 www.insaac.org
John Hartford Memorial Campout
June 2-5 Bill Monroe’s Music Park
Keeping the tradition of the John Hartford festival alive. Some activities or live music
Lots
may be added depending CDC & Brown Co. Health Dept. Check website/ Facebook. 5163 N. SR 135 812-988-6422
https://billmonroemusicpark.com/
43rd Indiana Heritage Arts Show and Sale
June 12-July 10 Brown Co. Art Gallery
Offers over $20,000 in cash awards
June 11 Opening Reception 6:00-9:00 Winners announced in person, on social media, website, and gallery IHAGallery.org
IHA Gold
$5,000
IHA Silver $3,000
IHA Bronze $2,000
Director’s Purchase of Excellence $1,000 Memorial and Merit Awards $250-$500 People’s Choice Award $500 and more
Brown County Art Gallery
Till May 23 -Indiana en Plein Air Show June 12-July 10 -IHA Show & Sale
LIVE music.
Best of Stream Showcase: Spring 2021
Corner of Main St. & Artist Dr. 812-988-4609
www.BrownCountyArtGallery.org
Brown County Art Guild
Till June 19 Guild Spring Show
Till June 19 Abstraction special show
Till June 26 Spring is in the Air historic collection exhibit
June 25-26, 9:00-4:00 Workshop with Pam Newell-Art of Painting Flowers
48 S. Van Buren St. 812-988-6185
www.BrownCountyArtGuild.org
Brown County Dragway
480 Gatesville Road in Bean Blossom Races take place on weekends through October, weather permitting Check Facebook for schedule 812-327-6968
The Craft of Collecting Craft
Most people are collectors. My chief evidence for this is the proliferation of self-storage joints. They are everywhere. We started out years ago with cramming attics full and then barns and garages. Just about every square foot of unused space is now in danger of becoming stuffed with stuff.
But that’s not the sort of collecting that I’m here to expound upon. No, I’m not talking about the mere amassing of stuff that you can’t throw away— stuff that you keep because little Elwood turned it out as a 4-H project or because you can’t sell it and it’s just too good to throw away. I’m here to talk about finding and possessing those things that bring joy into your life on a continuing basis. For me, one of those things is “my” coffee mug. That is to say that “my” coffee mug is a sacred chalice
~by Mark Blackwell
that no lips but mine must ever touch. It is the vessel that conveys that quantity of liquid ambition that is necessary for an amicable relationship with reality. But, that is not to say that the coffee mug that is “my” coffee mug today is the coffee mug with which I began the adult phase of my life’s journey.
No, I have had a few “my” coffee mugs. My first, I believe, was the size and shape and heft of a standard diner mug. Made by the Walker China company of Bedford, Ohio of white vitrified china thick enough to keep the coffee warm for at least 20 minutes. I think I found in a thrift shop sometime in the early 1970s. What set the mug apart from all of the other cups and mugs was the nice Hunter green stripes; two around the top, one at the bottom and a nice accent on the handle.
That was “my” coffee mug through my bachelorhood, my marriage, six moves, and my first child. However, that changed one day in Nashville in 1982 when I happened into a pottery. My old mug was still serviceable and fairly indestructible, but I had taken up canoe camping and the old mug now seemed heavy and the rim was too wide (bugs could just drop in it). The virtues of the mug I first glimpsed on the shelf of the pottery silently sang to me.
It was saying, “Mark, I am beautiful and practical. I am roundish, tapering toward the top with a tight little rim to keep the heat in (and the bugs out). I hold a full 12 ounces. Buy me and I will be your mug.” The potter noticed me admiring his handiwork and asked me if I wanted to buy it. I did not want to buy it—I wanted to marry it. I was in love and looking towards a serious committed relationship with it.
I told him I thought it would be the perfect camping mug. He said that it was close but not perfect. Then, he put an over-
size cork in the top of the mug. It was an exact fit and then the potter said, “Now it’s perfect.”
That was “my” coffee mug for the next thirty-seven years until I found myself back in that same pottery. The original proprietor had passed away, but his wife still turned out excellent wares. One of them was a muted blue-green glazed mug of perfect proportions. I picked it up and noticed the exquisite curvature of the handle. It felt custom made for me.
This new mug was based on the same design as “my” coffee mug. It was round but with a more sensuous roundness and its perfectly formed rim invited my lips in a way that “my” coffee mug didn’t anymore. And once again I found myself with a new coffee mug. But, what about my other mugs, you ask?
Well, I still have them. I couldn’t part with them; who else could possibly appreciate them the way I have? They are displayed in my office where I can commune with them and reminisce about our shared history. While the story of my coffee mug relationships is not the purpose of this essay, it is a good illustration of how one can fall into collecting things.
I think that there is something about collecting that may be hardwired in our brains from times in history when we just didn’t have enough or at least the right things to make life better. I also think that we all have an ability to appreciate form, color, practicality, and good workmanship. These things are the basics of craftsmanship.
I have spent several hundred words talking about “my” coffee mug but when I look around the kitchen, I see a hand-made cutting board and hand-carved spoons and ladles, and other items that were fashioned by hands that cared about the material and the process they worked with. There is a special aura possessed by wellmade craft items that calls to us not just in their use but in our perception of the esthetics of them.
That is why I collect things, to be in a relationship with those things that have somehow called to me. And most of those things I have found and collected have been created by the talented artisans of Brown County.
Hand-Made Home Decor Boutique Clothing Jewelr y & Gifts
Located in the Redbud Terrace Shoppes 146 East Main Street in Nashville
gently used items to bene t Brown County. Accepting clothing and household item donations.
eXplore Brown County in the trees
~by Boris Ladwig
From zipping, Superman-style, through a lush tree canopy, to ripping your handlebars through hairpin turns on a dirt path, or relaxing at a crackling campfire, eXplore Brown County offers a surprising variety of activities that can hasten your heartbeat or soothe your soul.
The 1,000-acre site, about three miles south of State Road 46 east of Gnaw Bone, includes rustic cabins, a campground for tents and recreational vehicles, and a 165-seat hall for celebrations such as weddings, family reunions, and music festivals. Visitors from all parts of Indiana stop by for day trips or short stays, while longer-term guests hail from Louisville, Cincinnati, and Chicago, all of whom mingle with resident dogs Luke and Barney, who roam the property in search of belly rubs.
Retired engineer Gary Bartels launched the camp 22 years ago, without a business plan, but with lots of ideas, technical know-how, and a good dose of moxie.
“There was nothing here when I started,” he said recently as he stood on a gravel road, scanning his surroundings to see if guests needed his help.
Bartels said he worked for Columbus-based Arvin Inc. for 10 years as a prototype engineer but left the light automotive supplier right after its merger with Troy, Michigan-based Meritor Automotive.
The family had inherited the property, and Bartels had ideas for an adventure retreat, though his wife, Patricia, who taught art at Brown County Junior High School, didn’t relish the idea of razing his Arvin retirement fund to build a zip line.
courtesy photo
“She thought I was nuts,” Bartels said with a laugh.
But his efforts and ingenuity have paid off: Ziplining now accounts for 40% of the camp’s revenue, far ahead of any other activity.
Zipline tours start at $25 and last at least 45 minutes but can take more than 2.5 hours and include rappelling and a free fall to a landing mat.
People who want to feel the brush of fresh air and see the burst of color in the Brown County hills meet at a cabin where they gear up before they’re driven to the jumping off points.
Camp guest Kristopher Tate, 43, of Zionsville, recently rented a cabin at the camp with his wife and two kids. The whole family thoroughly enjoyed its zip tour.
Even Tate, though he said he is afraid of heights. “It was a blast,” he said.
The zip tours run even during the winter, so long as temperatures exceed 25 degrees Fahrenheit, though Bartels said spring and fall are the busiest zipping seasons. For an interesting twist, the camp offers zip tours at night, with the canopy illuminated only by headlamps, tiki torches, and moonlight.
Tate visited Brown County for a spring break getaway. He thought about driving to Nashville, Tennessee, but settled on Brown County in part because of its proximity.
“Feels like you are in a different place,” he said.
The family brought hot dogs, hamburgers, and other food, and Tate said he enjoyed the change of pace from cookouts to riding all-terrain vehicles through the hills of Brown County.
On a recent sunny afternoon, Bartels advised
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courtesy photo
EXPLORE BC continued from 45 some visitors on good eateries in the area before he struck up a conversation with a guest who was staying with his family in one of the camp’s cabins.
Bartels’ prior career has come in handy for many parts of the camp. For example, he designed, built, and installed much of the zipline system himself. He even designed and installed a proprietary breaking system. He estimates that rebuilding the same zipline course elsewhere would cost more than $1 million.
He’s proud of what he has built, but also careful to make sure it remains in working order. He has the system inspected by a third party every December. The inspector’s report goes to Bartels’ insurance company.
Bartels recently turned 70 and keeps threatening to cut back on his hours, but still visits the camp just about every day.
“I enjoy coming to work,” he said.
His presence also is needed, though, in part because of a pandemic-induced labor shortage. The park shut down for about three months last year, and Bartels said that prompted some guides to leave. He said he’s trying to expand his 18-member staff. He said prospective employees must be fit, friendly, and not afraid of heights. Bartels said he can teach anything but personality.
The work is seasonal, and many employees work parttime. Some have day jobs and just work at the camp on the weekend, to do something fun, he said.
Bartels has added lots of activities over the last 22 years, including mountain biking, paintball, and arrow tag—a blend of dodgeball, paintball and laser tag, in which helmeted participants shoot rubber-tipped arrows that don’t leave any bruises.
Bartels said that he thinks he’s done with the camp expansions. He said that when he eventually steps down from his leadership role, his sons will be involved in management, but they have their own careers—one is a dentist, the other a pilot and flight instructor—so they’ll probably hire someone to run the place.
Meanwhile, you can expect to see Bartels striding through the camp to provide guests with directions, tell them stories about the camp’s beginnings, or offer advice on which of the zipline tours might be most suitable.
Even after more than two decades, Bartels said he still gains immense gratification from seeing people enjoy the camp’s activities.
To schedule a tour call 812-988-7750 or visit <explorebrowncounty.com>.
Gary Bartels. courtesy photo
courtesy photo
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Bob Blass Makes a Plahaus
~story
and photos by
Bob Gustin
Bob Blass set out to create a different sort of tourist home when he built Plāhaus north of Nashville.
After surveying the market, he decided many facilities offered in the county were log cabins, so he used his background as a graphic designer and branding expert to attract those who wanted a more modern aesthetic with a clean, contemporary style.
He found about 12 acres featuring a stream, hills, trees, and a spot to build his barn house with living quarters on the upper level. In 2016, he moved in. But the land had another building site Blass was drawn to, and it eventually became the tourist home which opened in August 2020.
“This feels right to me,” he said, from the living room of the 820-square-foot, two bedroom Plāhaus (pronounced playhouse) located on Helmsburg Road.
“I remember standing here and looking around and thinking I would like to share it and see the joy in other people.”
So he hired an architect and general contractor, found a woodworker and went to work with some
“big picture” ideas of his own. What evolved was a bold geometric design on the outside, and an uncluttered interior with hardwood and slate tile floors, a concrete block wall anchoring the middle of the house, with plywood wall coverings on some of the outer walls and modern lighting. Splashes of color include his favorite shade of orange.
He said friends told him to be careful not to furnish the home with expensive items, but check out garage sales and thrift shops for furnishings. Instead, he looked for high-quality new furniture and kitchen items that matched his vision, saying he likes to surround himself with nice things, and he wanted to provide them for his guests.
One side of the concrete wall has a metal sign for Diamond Tool and Die Co. That’s the sign from over the front door of a business his grandfather opened in 1947 after emigrating from Germany. After the tool and die company closed, Blass got the sign and “dragged it around with me for 15 years” before it found a second home.
He likes the sign for the aesthetic and nostalgia it holds, but it also reminds him of his grandfather’s work ethic and visionary style, as well as his craftsmanship and entrepreneurial spirit. And those are traits he works to incorporate in all his projects, whether they be the tourist home or his ongoing work in graphic design and branding.
Plāhaus has been a popular retreat. Airbnb has named him a Superhost. With two bedrooms and one bath, the retreat will accommodate four guests, with an internet connection, Netflix, and YouTube TV. Blass’s self-designed guest book contains recommendations on things to do in Brown County and local restaurants.
Brown County resident Trisha Fobes has been working with Blass since the tourist home opened, cleaning and getting the home ready for guests.
Blass calls her “my right arm, who is essential to this operation. She is the absolute best.”
Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Blass studied at the Columbus College of Art and Design, and previously worked for Thomson Consumer Electronics in Indianapolis, doing graphic design and brand development before starting Brainstorm, a branding and design company, in 1995, which he ran for 16 years.
He now owns oornj (pronounced orange), a branding design and marketing company which his son
Ryan was a part of for eight years. Ryan now runs his own business. Another son, Jake, was the 2018 Enlisted Person of the Year for the U.S. Coast Guard, and his daughter Emma is a massage therapist. All three live in Florida.
Blass’s journey to Brown County really began, he said, when his mother got terminal cancer in 2013. Blass made a pact with his sister that their mother would not have to go into a treatment facility. For 11 months, Blass took care of his mother Monday through Friday, commuting from Indianapolis to Dayton, while his sister, a registered nurse, took the weekends.
“It was one of the toughest times of my life,” he said, taking care of his mother while continuing his day job. Before she died, Blass and his mother took a “bucket list” trip to Mackinaw City, Michigan, in a rented RV. Both Blass and his son ended up buying Airstream trailers (made in Ohio, he points out), but have since sold them.
After her death in September 2014, and with his children living in Florida, Blass needed to make a decision on the direction of his own life. About a month later, he bought the Brown County property, and it turns out it was just what he needed.
Ryan had lived in Brown County for about 18 months, and Blass got a taste of what it would be like to live here as a local, savoring the arts community and outdoors experience.
“There was no looking back,” he said. “I loved it here.
“The whole endeavor has been conducive to who I am.”
For more information: <Plāhaus.com>, 317-652-9661 or <bob@plahaus.com>.
My Colorful Uncles
~by Jeff Tryon
Both of my parents were born at the tail end of large families, so when I was growing up I had scads of aunts and uncles on both sides.
Uncle Bud was the oldest of Mammy’s 12 children, and after her husband, my grandfather, Robert Jordan “Jerd” Arnold died at the age of 56 in 1931, it was Bud that moved the family from northern Alabama to Brown County.
You may have been driving down Spearsville road and seen a handmade sign proclaiming
that you are passing through “Arnoldville.” This is where all of those Arnolds come from.
We speculate that Uncle Bud had an economic survival plan, to move the family north so that all of the older boys could find work in industrial jobs in Indianapolis. But there was no way he was going to get Mammy to move out of “The Holler,” ensconced in the beautiful foothills of the Appalachians and to a big northern city.
He must have struck upon Brown County because the hilly terrain somewhat resembled those fondly-remembered mountains of northeastern Alabama. Also, land was dirt cheap.
So the older boys worked in factories and workshops in Indianapolis and the unmarried girls and younger children lived in Brown County.
Maybe it was a sign of their generation, or a sign of the times, but the women in the family all appear to have been good and sweet and nice on the order of everyday saintliness, but the men were all wheeler-dealers, hellraisers and—well, let’s just say
they were “colorful.”
We have an old newspaper clipping describing the escapades and eventual arrest of two of my uncles after they made a wrong turn on to a railroad track, and apparently drove several miles before they discovered their mistake, which is what made the item newsworthy. Alcohol may have been involved. Uncle Bud had a plating shop in Indy, electroplating chrome bumpers and so forth. This was back in the day, a long time before OSHA, the EPA or, really, common sense. At some point Uncle Hugh put the wrong chemical in the vat where the items were dipped, and everybody was lucky to escape the building before the ensuing explosion. I’ll bet there’s a clipping about that one, too.
Uncle Will had a framed newspaper clipping on his wall from the front page of the Indianapolis Star. It is a photo of the state capitol dome, showing a man suspended by a rope, sitting on a board, painting the dome with a brush. An inset close-up shows the man, Uncle Will, dangling from the board
drawings by Joe Lee
and painting away. The caption read: “That little dot…” (in the big picture) “is this.” (inset picture of uncle Will).
Uncle Cam was on a bomber crew in World War Two and they got shot down over occupied France. He was picked up by the resistance underground, and spent the rest of the war hidden away in the attic of a chateau, sampling the local vintages.
After a somewhat wild teenage and young adulthood, in keeping with his brothers, Uncle Curly (Clarence) Arnold became a preacher and a school teacher. I actually had him as a teacher in the sixth grade when he was teaching at Sprunica Elementary.
Uncle Curly just kept banging away until he eventually got a master’s degree in education. That’s a long way from Eureka, Alabama.
Although my Tryon uncles weren’t nearly as colorful as my Arnold uncles, they were still an interesting lot.
They grew up here in Brown County, mainly up around Peoga and Spearsville and north of there in a place they always called “possum holler,” but which historical research has revealed was actually named “Blossom Hollow.”
Uncle Edward was my father’s fraternal twin, and while they weren’t identical, they of course bore a strong resemblance to one another. Uncle Edward was first born and was like a bigger, more vital, more adventurous version of my father. Dad was the intellectual one, the smart talker. Garnet Parsley told me once, “Edwin would start the fights and Edward would finish them.”
Uncle Edward had a big white horse and when I was little he would put me up in the saddle and then make the horse rear up like the Lone Ranger. This seems like it would be fun, but is in fact terrifying to a five year old.
Uncle Edward did important work in the invention of the automated change machine, back when it was entirely mechanical. He once saved his family when their house burned down in the middle of the night.
He and Uncle Bob rode motorcycles, big Harley Davidsons, and they would come roaring down to our house where there was a simmering debate between my older brother and father about the relative safety and sanity as well as the political
implications of motorcycle riding. But he couldn’t say that stuff to his big brothers.
Uncle Bob had been a wing walker. He earned enough flying hours to qualify for his pilot’s license in exchange for being the number two in a barnstorming act, a job entailed walking out on the wing of an old biplane as it zoomed around to thrill and amaze the locals.
He also worked as a “Hell Driver,” driving souped-up cars around a figure-eight track, jumping over ramps and through flaming walls and so forth, again, for the amusement of the locals.
Uncle Bob was also one of the first long-haul truckers, driving some of the first freight trucks cross-country before power steering or the modern highway system.
Uncle Roy worked his whole life on the Western Union Railroad.
Uncle Elmer saved many family artifacts that no one cared about or remembered to keep track of, including my grandfather’s fiddle. Each one of these could take up a story of their own with all of their exploits and adventures. They made my childhood in Brown County a lot more colorful.
Not to mention all of my amazing aunts. But we will have to save that for another time.
FIELD NOTES: Game Farm
“The purpose of the State Game Reservation in Brown County is to preserve the game therein. No hunting will be allowed. It will also serve as a refuge for game hunted in other parts of the county. The overflow will scatter over the boundaries and be helpful in stocking lands adjacent.”
This excerpt from a report was filed with the Indiana Department of Conservation (now the Department of Natural Resources) in a central office in Indianapolis, September 30, 1925. It designates the land as a state game reservation before Brown County State Park was established in 1929.
Another term for game reservation was game farms.
Statewide attempts to replenish wildlife took place on properties that over time had been abandoned due to massive timber removal and poor agricultural practices. Management on the reserve began in 1926 with the plantings of wildlife food plants.
~by Jim Eagleman
The report further states: “In order that land values be not inflated, the Department employed an agent to secure options on the various tracts selected. Although employed by the Division of Fish and Game, the agent secured many options in his own name. When all that could be secured were in his hands he recorded them and later on transferred the options to the Department. Mr. Lee Bright, a resident of Nashville was appointed land agent.”
The Bright, Williamson Insurance Company in Nashville, operating since 1921 on North Jefferson Street, was Lee’s business. His clients were Brown County farmers, many destitute and living on scarred and eroded land, unwilling and unable to purchase policies. But when he approached them, this time with an offer to buy their land, they were more receptive, some anxious.
In Bright’s notes, there are 18 residents with whom he negotiated. Names, property size, price per acre, and comments were recorded in his journal:
Joseph Roberts 155A $12.90/A -Bought a better farm out on good road, is prospering.
Allex Mullis 120A $18.35/A -Bought much better farm on Schooner and is happy.
John Kritzer 73A $11.10/A -Bought small farm, 40A; died short time later.
Harry Smith 80A $40/A -Put up nastiest objection of all; took his money and went to Ohio… made the remark that he would not take back the old place if it were given to him.
The land that now makes up Brown County State Park, Indiana’s largest, had first experienced extensive timber removal, then short-sighted attempts at farming, and later a game farm. Initially “a total of 10,662 acres of land that was purchased with funds provided by the hunters and fishermen who buy licenses,” this statement from the 9th. annual report of the Department of Conservation, 1927. Lee Bright’s first intention was for a park to
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The
T.C. Steele State Historic Site unveiled a new sculpture by Brown County metalsmith and jewelry maker Amy Greely–the first piece of
T.C. Steele Site unveils Amy Greely sculpture
contemporary art by a local artist to have a home at the site–on Saturday, April 17, as part of the Arts of the Earth Day program.
A short ceremony took place, and Greely talked with visitors and answered questions about the sculpture.
Greely was the T.C. Steele site’s artist in residence in June 2019, a residency funded by the Indiana Arts Commission’s Arts in the Parks and Historic Sites grants. In her 2019 grant proposal Greely said she would spend the month of June at the site, offering workshops during the day in the new Singing Winds Visitor Center, and creating a sculpture based on
Peacefulthe gardens at the site.
She worked on the sculpture into the fall, with plans to unveil it in April 2020. That didn’t happen due to the COVID-19 shutdown.
“This is a sculpture that’s been waiting for its moment to go into the earth here by the Visitor Center,” said Cate Whetzel, site program developer.
Greely nicknamed her water lily metal sculpture “Audrey” after the plant in Little Shop of Horrors. Its lotus petals are a faint pink, its lily pad green. Its dimensions are roughly 22 inches wide by 30 inches tall, with the lily pad about 28 inches in diameter.
Arts Week in the Art Colony
Valley Heritage (PVH) is partnering with Brown County Schools and others to celebrate the arts in our community for a week this spring—May 9 through May 15.
Winners of student visual art and essay contests will be honored with cash prizes. A generous anonymous donor made the monetary awards for these contests possible.
ESSAY CONTEST is open to all high school age students in Brown County. Top prize for the Essay Contest will be $1,000 with five honorable mentions of $100 each. The theme has three parts. #1] What would BC look like if the artists never came? #2] How did these artists influence the local culture and help create a vibrant art community? #3] What will Brown County look like if we were to focus on the arts when considering our collective path forward?
VISUAL ARTS CONTESTS
K–4th grade Top prize $250
Two honorable mentions of $100 5th–8th grade Top prize $500
Two honorable mentions of $100 9th–12th grade Top prize $1000
Two honorable mentions of $100
PVH is working with other partners to provide additional events during the week to educate the public about Brown County’s rich art history and engage them with local artists and artisans.
PVH has successfully completed its third application for a state historical marker recognizing the “Art Colony of Brown County.” This marker will be dedicated at the northeast quadrant of Nashville’s Village Green area during Arts Week on Thursday, May 13, at 3:30 p.m.
Amy Greely posing with “Audrey” at T.C. Steele State Historic Site’s Visitor Center.
GAME FARM continued from 58
benefit locals and tourists, but he knew that would come. First, land had to be secured and the Brown County game farm was a start.
Game farms were established by the early Division of Fish and Game, now the Division of Fish and Wildlife, by securing poor, abandoned farmland to serve as release sites for animals reared in captivity. At Brown County, game birds like ringneck pheasant, wild turkey, bobwhite quail, ruffed grouse, and Hungarian partridge, were raised in several pens along “a prominent open area in the park.” From early photos, I suspect this site was the large playing field by the park’s fire tower. Later, the first deer release program took place at the Brown County reserve with animals transported from Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. A pending release program for elk was never completed.
Early attempts to replenish native Indiana wildlife were eventually met with failure. High mortality resulted from pen-reared birds and animals when they were released. The wildlife was expected to simply adjust to the new environs.
This was true on the Brown County Game Farm, but as managers reported disappointing findings, one specialist in the field of game management appeared, biologist and author, Aldo Leopold. An eight midwestern state survey assigned to Leopold required him to collect various munitions data for his employer, the Sporting Arms, Ammunition and Manufacturing Institute (SAMMI) in Madison, Wisconsin. This trip also allowed him to gather information for his eventual text, Game Management
Leopold visited Midwest universities and local libraries and consulted hunters. His journal and map show him traveling thru Indiana, and Brown County, May 13 to June 14, 1929. While he questioned the artificial rearing and release of native species with mounting skepticism, his first purpose was to determine what game was popular with hunters.
After a few months on the job, Leopold began to find more evidence of an important
trend of the times: the intensification of agriculture was eliminating food and cover plants required by game species. Fence rows, borders, woodlots, and wetlands were disappearing from the Midwestern landscape and game species were disappearing with them. This was not a new realization, but Leopold had begun to give it factual substance and definition.
The Brown County Game Farm experienced these same issues—a property stripped of resources, reduced in productivity.
Indiana game farm management slowly evolved with wildlife plantings, water holes, and food plots. By the mid-thirties, abused, uncultivated land recovered slowly as a brushy, early successional stage, supplying wildlife what was needed. In time, suitable range for native species, with food, water, and cover on the landscape, proved more successful—not releasing penned birds and animals. “Set the table for wildlife, and they will come,” said a veteran game farm manager.
Today’s views from park vistas, some stretching 10 miles over 16, 000 acres, provide a most serene perspective, far removed from early history of land abuse, struggle, and poverty. Natural and historic places don’t just spring up, they evolve, fueled by the ideas of locals who want something better, and helped by managers, new in their skills, who learn through trial and error a better way to care for the land.
