Friday, 7 June 2019
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| today's route |
Morning drive
On the bypass highway around Logansport I saw the fairly substantial building of the Cristo Cristiano Bethel. I haven't seen much of anyone except Caucasians since I got to Indiana, but I don't know why I hadn't realized there might be a sizeable population of Latinos here, though this church tells me there are.
I drove through Peru on my way to Marion, and decided it resembled nothing as much as a raddled old lady with a past. Once beautiful, now tired.
I passed the factory of the Ebert Machine Co., and when I looked it up was pleased to learn it was begun in 1940 by Maynard and Thelma Ebert to make tools; now it's still a family-owned business but they do custom parts manufacturing nowadays. The all-American way.
Smithfield (the ham people) has a very large processing plant just outside Peru.
I passed many many plowed fields.
I came to a dead stop in the middle of my lane on this 2-lane state highway because there was a large blue tarp smack in my lane, and I couldn't tell whether there was anything under it but, even if not, did not want to drive over it. Luckily, in the oncoming traffic there was an Indiana State Police car, which stopped and an energetic-looking guy wearing shorts and a baseball jacket jumped out, waved to the woman sitting on her front porch right next to the road (definitely small town, even in the country), picked up the tarp and shook it out, found nothing in it and stuffed it into his back seat. Then he waved at me and I waved back, and off we (and all the traffic behind both of us) went. Glad it was just a 2-lane road, and very glad the police car came along - I sure didn't want to be the one out there checking that tarp out.
Not much farther down the road I saw a bunch of cars parked along the roadside on a curve. I couldn't see around the curve but thought maybe there was an accident or construction up ahead and started braking. Good thing I did because when I came around the curve I saw the car in front of me suddenly swerve onto the grass verge because there was another car straddling both lanes just ahead. Worse, there were 2 women and a baby walking along the road right there that didn't seem to realize they'd almost been hit - and all of this was about a yard sale at that house on the curve. Very close call, because if I hadn't already been braking I'd have had trouble stopping in time.
Today was a day for rummage sales (as the signs called them). I saw them all along the road. One whole town was having town-wide sales today (their signs said).
Every now and then Dexter sits up on the passenger seat (which he's staked out as his) and looks around for a bit, then his eyelids start to droop and he yawns and he looks around a bit more, and then he drops back down to the seat and goes to sleep again. Some copilot he is. Though whenever I slow down or stop, he's always up and checking things out.
I came to "historic downtown Converse" (though I'm not sure why it's historic) and saw a sign saying it was established 1848 and the home of the Bordermen. Not sure who or what the Bordermen were so I looked it up and learned a lot more than I expected. https://conversejournal/whats-in-a-name/
Marion, Ind., was the hometown of Jim Davis, creator of Garfield. Driving into Marion I also saw the CLE company factory (a full-service civil engineering firm, they say), and a GM stamping plant (whatever that is). I also saw that the city of Marion picks up yard waste from the road in front of people's houses (today was collection day). I haven't seen that since I left Austin.
The Marion area also seems to have a strong Quaker community - I passed both the Amboy Friends Church coming into town and the First Friends Church driving through town.
Is anybody else getting automated phone calls in Chinese? (It sounds Chinese to me, though I don't honestly know what language it is.) I've gotten several of these in the last few months and can't for the life of me figure out where they got my number.
Quilters Hall of Fame
This organization is housed in a beautiful old home, the original owner of which was herself a noted quilter who invented patterns that were printed in newspapers for others to use. She loved flowers and many of the quilts inside were inspired by her designs.
Most of the quilts on display were made by Sue Nicholls and Pat Holly, sisters who have just been inducted into the Hall of Fame. I only took photos of some of them, but these will give you an idea of the kind of work that's celebrated there.
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| "Saffron Splendor" |
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| "Imagining India" |
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| "Valley of Forgotten Dreams" |
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| "May Tulips" |
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| "Wales" |
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| "Feathered Stars" |
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| "The Anniversary Quilt" (look closely at the border) |
There were many more quilts, but I couldn't get this stupid computer program to put them in the way I wanted them to look. But this is enough to give you an idea.
Nice little neighborhood and I walked the dogs a couple of times along the sidewalks under the trees (I really need to get Gracie a haircut because it's getting too warm for that double coat of hers).
More driving
I'd intended to take a road back to Peru that runs close to the Mississinewa Reservoir, one of Indiana's largest lakes. But I got detoured by highway signs telling me the road ahead was closed and drove up to Wabash instead. As I drove I remembered that one of the reasons I'd ended up staying at Logansport was that several campgrounds - including the one at Mississinewa - had warning notices attached saying parts of the campground were off-limits due to extremely high lake levels. Made me think those campgrounds were likely to be soggy so I went elsewhere, which is apparently what happened to my drive today.
I'd heard Wabash has some lovely old houses and, thanks to the detour, I got to see some of them. Actually, the first old building I saw was the courthouse - and that spire is visible for several miles away.
I was fighting a strong wind all day and having to hang onto the steering wheel to keep on the road at times.
Peru
Peru was the hometown of Cole Porter, premier songwriter, and today would have been his birthday. To celebrate, the town of Peru has an annual Cole Porter fest, which was planned for this weekend. Anyone who can write, "Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it ..." and "It was just one of those things ..." deserves his own festival. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/almanac-cole-porter/
My goal was a little less direct: though he lived most of his life elsewhere (including years in France), he ordered 12 pounds of fudge every month from Arnold's Candies in Peru. That store has closed but a brother and sister have opened So Good Candies that revives the old candy store atmosphere. They tracked down Arnold's old recipes and figured out how to adapt them for a modern age (they called for pounds of water, for instance, not a measurement we use today), and they now proudly sell Arnold's Fudge, which I of course had to try. I mean, if it's good enough for Cole Porter . . . though I asked for a quarter pound only (I'm still enjoying the fudge Anna and David brought me from Scotland).
I walked the dogs around the neighborhood (where I took these photos) and passed something called the Dunkard Brethren Church, which I've never heard of. Turns out to have its roots in the Anabaptist movement but to be even more conservative than the Amish, as far as I can tell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkard_Brethren
I'd sort of thought of going to the Circus City Museum - Peru claims the title of Circus Capital of the World because of it being the HQ for the Peru Amateur Circus since 1960. But I'm not as big on circuses as I am on carousels - or not big enough to overcome being tired from today's travels. So I gave it a pass. Maybe I'll get a chance to go back.
If you're looking for a job, Indiana Packers Corporation is now hiring for 2,400 jobs, according to the billboard I pass on the way to the campground. They produce pork products. Tyson foods also has a large plant at Logansport.
More driving
I'd intended to take a road back to Peru that runs close to the Mississinewa Reservoir, one of Indiana's largest lakes. But I got detoured by highway signs telling me the road ahead was closed and drove up to Wabash instead. As I drove I remembered that one of the reasons I'd ended up staying at Logansport was that several campgrounds - including the one at Mississinewa - had warning notices attached saying parts of the campground were off-limits due to extremely high lake levels. Made me think those campgrounds were likely to be soggy so I went elsewhere, which is apparently what happened to my drive today.
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| Wabash courthouse |
I'd heard Wabash has some lovely old houses and, thanks to the detour, I got to see some of them. Actually, the first old building I saw was the courthouse - and that spire is visible for several miles away.
I was fighting a strong wind all day and having to hang onto the steering wheel to keep on the road at times.
Peru
Peru was the hometown of Cole Porter, premier songwriter, and today would have been his birthday. To celebrate, the town of Peru has an annual Cole Porter fest, which was planned for this weekend. Anyone who can write, "Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it ..." and "It was just one of those things ..." deserves his own festival. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/almanac-cole-porter/
My goal was a little less direct: though he lived most of his life elsewhere (including years in France), he ordered 12 pounds of fudge every month from Arnold's Candies in Peru. That store has closed but a brother and sister have opened So Good Candies that revives the old candy store atmosphere. They tracked down Arnold's old recipes and figured out how to adapt them for a modern age (they called for pounds of water, for instance, not a measurement we use today), and they now proudly sell Arnold's Fudge, which I of course had to try. I mean, if it's good enough for Cole Porter . . . though I asked for a quarter pound only (I'm still enjoying the fudge Anna and David brought me from Scotland).
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| these tiles covered many sidewalks |
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| unusual gingerbread |
I'd sort of thought of going to the Circus City Museum - Peru claims the title of Circus Capital of the World because of it being the HQ for the Peru Amateur Circus since 1960. But I'm not as big on circuses as I am on carousels - or not big enough to overcome being tired from today's travels. So I gave it a pass. Maybe I'll get a chance to go back.
If you're looking for a job, Indiana Packers Corporation is now hiring for 2,400 jobs, according to the billboard I pass on the way to the campground. They produce pork products. Tyson foods also has a large plant at Logansport.
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