Contents
Contributors
Contents
13 COLORING CONTEST 15 HISTORY MYSTERY
SUBSCRIBE
16 Happy Hollow Camp ~ by Bob Gustin
22 Save the Red Barn ~ by Brian Blair
28 Nashville Wellness ~ by Mandi Rainwater
34 Chainsaws ~ by Mark Blackwell
38-39 Photos by Ray Thomas *
40-42 CALENDAR / EVENTS 44 Playhouse Highlights 48 Friends of Park Projects
52 The Tent Commandments ~ by Paige Langenderfer
56 IN Fingerstyle Guitar Fest
60 Insects ~ by Jim Eagleman
64 Sampler at Hoosier Thai
70 ChamberFest Brown County 72-74 INFO PAGES
Cover: Saddle Barn at State Park ~ by Cindy Steele
OUR BROWN COUNTY P. O. Box 157 Helmsburg, IN 47435
( 812) 988-8807
ourbrowncounty @ outlook. com ourbrowncounty. com
Also at issuu. com / ourbrowncounty Facebook at OUR BROWN COUNTY
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.
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.
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.
Contributors
Mandi Rainwater is a freelance travel / lifestyle writer, and also runs Rainwater Studios with her husband Kenan. She promotes local musicians and supports the Southern Indiana music scene. She lives in Nashville with her husband, children, and cats.
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.
Thanks, Mom, for making it happen! copyright 2025
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.
Amy Huffman Oliver has lived in and around Brown County most of her life and raised two kids here with her husband, Jim. She grew up with“ newspaper in her blood” by way of her parents, Jane and Stu Huffman, who were both journalists. She writes as a freelancer after working most of her career as an attorney and a seventh-grade teacher.
Bob Gustin worked as a reporter, photographer, managing editor, and editor for daily newspapers in Colorado, Nebraska, and Indiana before retiring in 2011. He and his wife, Chris, operate Homestead Weaving Studio. He enjoys expanding his book and record collections.
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.
Brian Blair is a former longtime features writer for The Republic in Columbus. His work has appeared in publications ranging from the Miami Herald to U. S. News and World Report.
* Ray Thomas is a recent transplant from Arizona, where he retired from a career as an elementary school teacher. Before that, he worked in IT with medical systems and as a photojournalist for newspapers and magazines. He also took many photographs while serving in the Navy and as an adventurer in the U. S. He believes Brown County is a slice of heaven.
July / August 2025 • Our Brown County 9