” I was jumping out of an airplane, basically, with not much of a parachute. But it was a tremendous lot of fun.”
— Pam Gould
Despite having little experience in hospitality herself, she enrolled in a hotel management course at Ivy Tech. Securing financing proved even more difficult than mastering the business, as high interest rates and lenders’ skepticism tested her resolve. But Pam persisted, and on Oct. 1, 1993, she opened what would become the Cornerstone Inn at 54 E. Franklin St.
Map of downtown campus.
“ I was jumping out of an airplane, basically, with not much of a parachute,” she said.“ But it was a tremendous lot of fun.”
The venture opened with 16 guest rooms, no internet reservations and just one employee.
There were plenty of challenges. Pam’ s teenage son sometimes worked overnight shifts and slept beneath the front desk. To save money, the family hauled sheets and towels to the laundromat several times a week. Unexpected property-tax bills and equipment failures strained cash flow.
“ My 16-year-old son made more money than I did off the place for quite a few years,” Pam said. Gradually, however, the business found its footing. In the meantime, another transplant to Brown County was building a life of his own in Nashville. Bruce Gould, who grew up in Peru, Indiana, had served in the U. S. Army before joining the U. S. Postal Service. After working his way through a series of postmaster appointments in small Indiana communities, he arrived in Nashville in 1984 and never left.
The two met through community involvement and married in 2003. While Pam continued to oversee the growing hospitality business, Bruce spent years helping with maintenance, repairs, and improvement projects around the property while still working full time as postmaster.
Continued on 52 Nov./ Dec. 2026 • Our Brown County 51