contents
Cover: Story Inn ~ by Cindy Steele
16 Spears Pottery in Nashville
~ by Bill Weaver
20 Rick Clayton, Moving Spirit
~ by Lee Edgren
24 Family Buys Brown County Inn
~ by Paige Langenderfer
34-35 Photos by Matt Hughes
36-37 Calendar
40 Looking Back at Story
~ by Julie Pearson
44 Fingerstyle Guitar Competition
~ by Chrissy Alspaugh
46 Coyotes
~ by Mark Blackwell
54 The Deer Debate
~ by Jim Eagleman
56 Stolen Melons
~ by Jeff Tryon
58 Outdoor Art in Nashville
~ by Jeff Tryon
62 Weathered Wood
63 Brown County Playhouse News contributors
Mark Blackwell makes his home in an area of Brown County where“ the roadway is rough and the slopes are seamed with ravines and present a meatless, barren, backbone effect.” He was born in the last century and still spends considerable time there. He plays music with the“ Lost Shoe String Band” when he can get away with it, writes for Our Brown County, and only works when he has to.
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.
Julia Pearson wrote for a secular Franciscan magazine for ten years and served as its human interest editor. She and her husband Bruce have made Lake Woebegone Country their new homebase for life’ s continuing adventures. Julie, Bruce, and four-footed Suki are adjusting well. Julia enjoys traveling and visiting museums of all types and sizes, with her children and grandchildren.
Bill Weaver is an author and radio personality currently living in Bloomington. He’ s published The College of Beer: The Story of Nick’ s English Hut, and numerous zines including ER, D’ KNOW, and The New York Squid. He writes for Our Brown County, and the Bloomington Herald-Times Homes section. He’ s known as Gus Travers, the host of WFHB’ s The Dark End of the Street.
Jim Eagleman is a 40 year veteran of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources as an interpretive naturalist, first working at Turkey Run State Park for three years and for the last 34 at Brown County. He and his wife Kay have three sons, all graduates of Brown County High School. Kay and Jim enjoy all outdoor activities, especially kayaking. Jim is currently working on his memoirs.
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 the forthcoming Dada and Surealism for Beginners in the ongoing“ for Beginners” series. He is an awardwinning editorial cartoonist for the Bloomington Herald Times, a graduate of Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Clown College, and a veteran circus performer. Joe lives with his wife Bess, son Brandon, George the cat, and his dogs, Jack and Max.
Lee Edgren, writing since kindergarten, attended journalism school at the University of Michigan. Her career includes writing for a newspaper, for a government agency, and for UM Medical Center. She became seriously interested in yoga during the late 1980s and traveled widely. Lee has a master’ s degree in Wellness Management from Ball State University. She lives in both in Brown County and in northern Michigan and owns River Light Yoga studio.
Paige Langenderfer is a freelance writer and communications consultant. She writes for numerous publications and is a featured columnist in The Republic. She earned her Bachelor’ s degree in journalism from Indiana University and her Master’ s degree in public relations management from IUPUI. Paige lives in Columbus with her husband and two dogs. She can be contacted at < langenderferpaige @ gmail. com >.
Chrissy Alspaugh is a freelance writer and owner of Christina Alspaugh Photography. She lives in Bartholomew County with her husband, Matt and two children. She can be reached at < christina _ alspaugh @ yahoo. com >. View her work at < ChristinaAlspaughPhotography. com > or on Facebook.
photo spread
Matt Hughes is a retired UPS driver who resides in the hills of Brown County with his wife Christy and sons Clint and Clay. Matt was raised in nearby Columbus and has been working in Brown County since 1989. He moved here in 1994. He enjoys hiking, mountain biking, and kayaking and has been an avid photographer most of his life.