NEW OVERLOOK SHELTER
~ by Chrissy Alspaugh
When Mike Riebl told his fellow Brown County Woodworking Club members that he had Stage 4 cancer, his next words were,“ But we’ re finishing the overlook, right?” said fellow woodworker Bill Ziegler.
Exactly one week earlier, the pair had committed to club’ s rebuilding of the Bean Blossom Overlook on Indiana 135 North, which has been an empty site since the dilapidated overlook structure was deemed unsafe and razed. Ziegler said Riebl was determined to see the reconstruction through— even knowing he likely would never stand beneath its finished beams.
The timber frame portion of the new overlook structure is scheduled for completion this month. Riebl, the club’ s helmsman and lifelong community servant, died Dec. 20, 2025 at age 61. Born in Germany, Riebl had long admired centuries-old mortise-and-tenon timber frame structures, said his widow, Tammy Riebl. In 2021, the woodworking club’ s trip to the Helmsburg timber framing business The Beamery fanned the spark into a fire.“ His eyes just lit up,” Ziegler said.
Riebl bought a sawmill, began building, and over time drew in a team of fellow craftsmen who donated innumerable hours to the community. Projects included a structure at Grandview Cemetery, structural reinforcements in Story, and a Habitat for Humanity pavilion that sold for $ 45,000— enough for the nonprofit to purchase land for a home the next day.
50 Our Brown County March / April 2026