Contents
Contributors
Contents
Contributors
12 HISTORY MYSTERY 13 SUBSCRIBE
16 Michael’ s Flowers ~ by Paige Langenderfer
24 Friends of State Park ~ by Rachel Berenson Perry
30 Musings: Old as the Hills ~ by Mark Blackwell
38-39 Photos by Lucy Schultz * 40-43 CALENDAR / HAPPENINGS
46 Brown County Art Farm ~ by Chrissy Alspaugh
50 The Guild ReEnvisioned ~ by Julia Pearson
54 Field Notes: Jays and Oaks ~ by Jim Eagleman
60 Bonafide Bites ~ by Jeff Tryon
64 Amplify Nashville ~ by Jeff Tryon
68-70 INFO PAGES
Cover: Mike and Syd Nickels ~ by Paige Langenderfer
OUR BROWN COUNTY P. O. Box 157 Helmsburg, IN 47435
Jeff Tryon is a former news editor of The Brown County Democrat, and a former regional reporter for The Republic. 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.
Rachel Berenson Perry is fine arts curator emerita at the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. She lives in Brown County, where she hikes in the woods, makes ceramic creatures, and writes books about Indiana artists.
Chrissy Alspaugh is a freelance writer and owner of Christina Alspaugh Photography. View her work at < ChristinaAlspaughPhotography. com >. She lives in Bartholomew County with her husband Matt and three boys.
Jim Eagleman is a 40-year veteran naturalist with the IN DNR. In retirement, he is now a consultant. His program“ Nature Ramblings” can be heard on WFHB radio, the Brown County Hour. He serves on the Sycamore Land Trust board. He enjoys reading, hiking, music, and birding. Jim and his wife Kay have lived here for more than 40 years.
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.
Mark Blackwell no longer makes his home in Brown County where“ the roadway is rough and the slopes are seamed with ravines” 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 now resides 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.
Paige Langenderfer is a freelance writer and consultant. 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 daughters.
Joe Lee is an illustrator and writer. He is the author of Forgiveness: The Eva Kor Story, The History of Clowns for Beginners, and Dante 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.
* Lucy Schultz was raised in Brown County. She received a degree in psychology from Florida State University where she played women’ s rugby. She also played women’ s professional football in Orlando. She spent some time in the Peace Corps and then became a nurse, working primarily with babies and children. She volunteers at the Brown County Hour monthly WFHB radio show and helps her parents with the Art Farm.
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Michele Pollock contributed the poem and photo on page 66.
Thanks, Mom, for making it happen!
10 Our Brown County • Nov./ Dec. 2023 copyright 2023