AMERICA'S HEARTLAND - INDIANA

As we meander down from Northern Michigan to Indiana it occurs to me we are truly in America’s Heartland… Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. … referring to the region’s role in the nation’s manufacturing and farming sectors with a patchwork of commercial cities and small towns that, combined, represent the American culture.    

Twenty five percent of the US Presidents were born in this region.  Entrepreneurs in technology that runs the country were from this area:  airplanes, automobiles, electric lighting, petroleum and steel production to mention a few. 

We are in the “RV Capital of the World”……Elkhart, Indiana, a northern Indiana town located near the Michigan border.  There were many campgrounds located throughout the Amish countryside.  

We are in Elkhart Campground which is central to downtown Elkhart and the RV museum but not far from the Amish areas.  Now that I understand the area better, the campgrounds in Shipshewana are in the HEART of the Amish country as well as Eby’s Pines RV and KOA Campground in Bristol.  But nothing is really that far away and Elkhart Campground is a very nice one, great facilities and has high ratings.

Upon arrival we drove to the Visitor’s Center about a mile away to pick up the CD’s and map to the Heritage Trail as well as any other brochures that would tell us about the area.  We then drove downtown to the river walk area  to have a bite to eat at a Elkhart brewery called … Iacyda!  Don’t have a clue how to pronounce it but the beer was good and the pizzas were great!

The weather has warmed up to a point that we turned on the AC to get the MH cooled down.  However by 1 AM  the heat went on for the night temps!  All in all, the weather has been superb, low 70’s sunny and clear skies. 

A word about September travel…..it’s great.  The crowds are down so the areas we visited were not teaming with fellow tourists.  Campgrounds are available so we are able to make last minute decisions about where we are going and pull into a campground to get a site.  Weather is great.  It’s my favorite time to travel around.

STINK BUGS

As if fruit flies and biting flies weren’t enough, we are now in the Stink Bug territory!  These are beatle-like insects that don’t fly, they flop!  And they stink when you kill them.  And they get into your RV and live there!  The Alden’s were finding stink bugs in their RV months after they left stink bug territory!

They are easy to kill because they don’t really move.  Too fat to fly.  They like to sit on the screens and the windows.  Reminds me of a science fiction movie with the stick bugs covering the screens.  I pulled out my RAID flying insect spray and sprayed the screen white.  They still came back!   I put the shade down so I didn’t have to see them but they made an eerie shadows on the shade.  We will undoubtedly be bringing them to Ohio with us!

HERITAGE TRAIL

We drove the Heritage Trail leading through the heart of Indiana Amish Country. The CD driving tour provided directions and highlights routing us through Bristol, Middlebury, Shipshewana, Goshen, Nappanee, Wakarusa, back to Elkhart.    Along the way were Quilt Gardens as well as Quilt Murals on the buildings.  The Quilt Gardens are a patchwork of flowers that bloom until October 1^st when they are pulled and replaced by mums for the Fall Flower Carpets. 

Our first stop was the Bonneyville Grist Mill established in the mid-1830s and continues to produce flour by harnessing the power of water.  This is Indiana’s oldest continuously operating grist mill and is located in the Bonneyville Mill County Park. 

The history of this mill is of particular interest to me.  In the mid-1830’s Edward Bonney located the grist mill on the Little Elkhart River due to the proximity to the Toledo/Chicago trail and St Joseph Rivers.  

However the railroads by-passed the site and the proposed canal system never was built.  He sold the mill and went into the tavern business, accused of counterfeiting with his plates being discovered buried along the Elkhart River, and he fled the area.

On the plus side, Bonney had installed a horizontal water wheel to produce larger quantities of power than the traditional vertical water wheel which enabled the mill to function as a progressive mill.   Now comes the interesting part:

In 1918 Robert Blood traded land in Michigan for Bonneyville Mill and farm.  The Bloods (my father’s family) settled in Rutland VT in the late 1700’s moved to Elmira NY during the westward movement then on to Illinois and Indiana.  My grandfather was from Indiana so when I saw the name Blood, it got my attention. 

Robert’s son Michael born in 1905 (2 years after my father) took over the operation of the mill in 1928 when Robert became disabled.  During the depression the Bonneyville Power and Electric Company in 1932 was formed supplying hydroelectric power to about 45 customers.    Michael sold the mill in 1962 to become a full-time farmer.

We proceeded along the Heritage Trail to Middlebury stopping in at the Das Dutchman Essenhaus where a double wedding ring quilt mural was displayed on the side of the building.  It was too early for lunch, so we continued on down the trail. 

About here we took a right instead of a left (or maybe visa versa) so bypassed Shipshewana and went directly down to Goshen.  Along the way we passed many Amish farms as well as horse and buggies on the road and Amish riding bicycles.  

Since we were traveling at a rate of speed that precluded pictures, I didn’t get any!  However, I began to identify the Amish farms by the wash hanging on the line.  

One particular house had all the dresses hanging on the line on hangers, hats hanging together under a tree and the shirts and socks on another line.  Wished I could have gotten some good laundry pictures because the laundry was very interesting.

In Goshen we spent some time at the Old Bag Factory.    From 1896-1910 this was the Cosmo Buttermilk Soap Company .  The production building manufactured laundry soap, fine bathing soap and toilet paper.    In 1920 it was purchased by the Chicago-Detroit Bag Company manufacturing waterproof burlap sacks to the fine, sheer paper used in Hershey’s Kiss wrappers.

The term “bagology” was coined meaning “to elevate the production of bags to the level of science.”  The Bag Factory closed in 1982.   In 1984 it was purchased and restored . The Swartzendrubers made it the headquarters for their handcrafted custom furniture and other artists and merchants made their home in this building and surrounding area. 

Dave spent a great deal of time in the used musical instruments shop while I poked around all the little stores in the complex.  

After about 45 minutes I returned to the music store to give Dave the “stink eye”.  Then I saw an autoharp  and came within inches of buying it!  Still thinking about it!

New use for the old console TV .... turn it into a dog bed!

Back on the Trail our next stop was Nappanee.

EMBRACE THE PACE NAPPANEE

TIME Magazine called Nappanee one of America’s best small towns.  US 6 the nation’s longest highway starting in Providence RI and ending in Long Beach, CA (or visa versa) goes through the center of town.  It is the center of furniture crafters. 

In 1876, Coppes Brothers sawmill opened up and by the 20^th century, Coppes became a common household word.   I have always wanted a Hoosier in my kitchen and these cabinets were built in Nappanee.  Between 1920 and 1925, forty different companies were manufacturing Hoosiers cabinets.

Coppes built the Dutch Kitchenette, a small kitchen in itself with a flour sifter, sugar bin, meat scale, food grinder & sliding tabletop to provide additional workspace. 

In 1921  Herbert Hoover, then Commerce Secretary, commissioned a study to determine how many steps a lady would save preparing a meal at the Dutch Kitchen.  Once the results were published, the kitchenette became extremely popular. 

The towns are busy pulling up their “quilt gardens” and replacing them with Fall Flower Carpets.  Mum’s the word!

AMISH ACRES

Our lunch stop was at Amish Acres located across from the Chevrolet dealership.  I mention this because on one side of the highway is 21^st Century technology  and..on the opposite side was the National Historic Site preserving the Amish way of life, circa 1800’s.

We had a great lunch …. No not an all you can eat one …. But good none-the-less.  I wanted to make room for Shoo-fly Pie so had soup and salad.  The squash soup was delicious and filling .. could hardly eat my pie.   Dave had homemade noodles and beef over mashing potatoes (?)!  He didn’t think it was unusual to have a starch over a starch.  The noodles were fantastic.  After lunch I purchased two bags of the homemade noodles.  Yummy! 

While eating, a peacock decided to perch in our window and preen.  Probably needed to get away from the guys for a while for some quiet time!

There are horse & buggy tours of the farm.  The driver looked the Amish part and I hoped he really was Amish and not a make-believe who would soon get into his Corvette and take off.  As we left the restaurant, I saw the driver cycling out of the parking lot.  Gave me faith!

Shows are performed in the Round Barn Theatre and is a national home of Plain and Fancy a 1955 Broadway musical about the Amish way of life.   The company is created from annual auditions held in NYC and cast members are housed in three houses on Amish Acres’ campus.  The Joseph Stein Young Actors Studio holds a series of classes and camps for children 8-12 and full productions put on by HS students.

RV MUSEUM – A WALK IN TIME

Our second day in Elkhart was spent at the RV Museum.    For over a hundred years we’ve indulged our love of the open road in RV’s of all sorts.  It’s amazing how these vehicles started out.  

The smallest Airstream ever built, the “Little Prince” designed to appeal to Germans!

1916 T “Telescoping Apartment” 

1934 AA Housecar

1935 KUMFORT TRAVEL TRAILER

1954 HOLIDAY RAMBLER

1957 TEARDROP .. This style is still popular.  I'm seeing more and more of these today in campgrounds.  The rear area is much the same and some have a canopy attached to the back so you can cook in the rain.  The interior is a king-size bed!  The beauty is you can tow it with a small car!

1962 MALLARD

 1933 FORD KAMP KAR!

 The blocky blue 1931 Chevrolet Housecar built by Paramount to bribe Mae West into making moves

1935 Bowlus Road Chief that looks like an Airstream with a tail!

1969 PACE ARROW  .. laid out similarly to MH's today.

Are we Tin Can Tourists????  I thought we were Digital Nomads!

After about two hours of walking among the RV’s, we headed down to Shipshewana,  a town we missed yesterday.  It is most famous for its Miscellaneous and Antique Auction held every Wednesday.  On Tuesday and Wednesdays are the flea markets and the horse auction is held on Fridays.  

Although Shipshewana is a very small town, it is full of antique and country-style décor shops and restaurants with a strong Amish flavor.  We had lunch at the Blue Gate Restaurant and was pleased to see many Amish folks also eating there.

Between the Blue Gate Theater, the Davis Mercantile, Yoder’s Department Store and specialty shops, it draws many, many visitors.  It is the only place in Indiana listed in 1,000 Places To See Before You Die.

 HORSE & BUGGY PASSED By A CAR ALONGSIDE A MAZDA REPAIR BUSINESS!

Driving right alongside of all the cars heading through the area were the horse and buggies of the Amish.  It’s amazing how they can live with one foot in the 21^st Century and the other in the 19^th Century! 

Saturday must be shopping day because they were all out in full force.  I tried to take pictures an unobtrusively as I could so I missed some great shots!

DAVIS MERCANTIILE

Now that I know the area a little better, if you’re coming here for Amish immersion then the Shipshewana RV Parks (North & South) would be a good choice.  You can cycle to the attractions, shops and restaurants (along with the Amish) right from the CG.

So ends our stay in Elkhart, Indiana.  Thank you Stella for your email update of your trip earlier this summer or I would never have known about the Heritage Trail! 

Life is good in the slow lane!