24 Our Brown County July / August 2016
STATE PARKS AT 100 continued from 17 1980. Three small shelter houses have been built and all restrooms have been gutted and rehabbed. Utilities have been upgraded and expanded to meet demands. Trails for mountain biking have been established.
Doug says,“ I feel very fortunate to have spent my entire career, and most of my life, in a place as wonderful as Brown County State Park. Over the years I’ ve had the pleasure of working with a lot of great people, all of whom have been important to the success and popularity of the park.”
Brown County, along with all Indiana state parks, is marking this 100 th birthday with a summer season of“ 100 Days for 100 Years.” The anniversary will be observed at the Brown County State Park on July 23 with the Centennial Celebration,“ Smokey Safety Day, and M. C. Axe and the Fire Crew.”
There is also the 2016 Centennial Geocaching Challenge. Find Centennial Geocaching Challenge caches at < www. geocaching. com >. •
THE THOMAS TREEHOUSE continued from 21
Even though he is committed to carving, he is not abandoning show business. He’ s already collaborated with the Brown County Playhouse in facilitating Jimmy and Jay Osmond’ s Moon River and Me tribute to Andy Williams which will be at the Playhouse August 10, 2016. And he will also perform in this year’ s Christmas show.
Although Rhett is the out-front presence, the shop is a family endeavor. His wife Wendi is his business partner and all of his five children had a hand in creating the shop space. It was his daughter that noticed the site of their current shop was empty on one of their visits to Nashville. All the items in the shop, representing 42 artists and craftspeople, are made in the USA, mostly from artists within an eight to ten hour radius from Nashville.
“ We don’ t import and we like to keep it handcrafted. We think it’ s important that the art continues. That’ s one reason I love Nashville. The art continues here.” Rhett lists the items they have in stock: everything from wooden housewares, to pottery, to carvings, to painting, decorative items, and sculptures. Even now there are Christmas trees filled with ornaments and Halloween designs.“ We try to keep it fun.”
The Thomas Treehouse is located at 173 Old School Way, in Nashville. You can contact them through Facebook or call( 812) 720-7077. < thethomastreehouse. com > is under construction. •