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Bye Mom

joegoda — Wed, 4 Nov 2009 09:45:06 MST

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Bye Mom - ByeMom.jpg

Mom, when she was about 17 or so

Simon Ready to go

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:28:29 MDT

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Simon Ready to go - P8210001.jpg

He's a patient monkey. Just wait, though. This is a trip where a monkey gets pretty bored

Will Rogers Express

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:28:25 MDT

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Will Rogers Express - P8210002.jpg

Starting off early Friday morning. I didn't sleep much the night before. My brain was filled with thoughts of the trip and what sort of state I would find Mom in. See, this trip was a guilt trip. It had been over a year since I saw her in the nursing home. Since I can't talk with her on the phone, I had no idea what her state of mind was in, or even if she had a state of mind to be in. Just a note: Oklahoma raised it's tolls. The Will Rogers Turnpike increased 75 cents to 4.00. That's for 55 miles, folks; 13.75 miles cost a dollar and for that, you'd think we'd have better roads.

Hills. There gotta be hills.

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:28:22 MDT

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Hills. There gotta be hills. - P8210003.jpg

It has always amazed me that the trip to Indiana is always filled with UP. More UP it seems than DOWN. Also, the clouds were building the more East I went. Traffic wasn't exactly light, but oddly polite for the entire trip. There were only 5 Semi-trailers that tried to pass each other on a hill.

Rollin in to St. Louie

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:28:18 MDT

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Rollin in to St. Louie - P8210004.jpg

ST. Louis has always made me nervous. It's big, the roads are turny and have a lot of interchanges and no matter how many times I go there, I always have a fear that I'm going to get lost. I have... twice. I do like the scenery, though.

Nearing the Big Bridge

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:28:14 MDT

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Nearing the Big Bridge - P8210005.jpg

There are two routes around ST. Louis I know of. One that adds 45 minutes to the trip and one that crosses near the arch. I took the one near the arch, which necessitates navigating across the Mississippi River on Hiway 55-44-70. Here I am stopped behind a car, which is stopped behind a car, which is stopped.... see, it's a bout a 1/2 mile to the bridge and traffic always backs up here. There is one little entrance ramp to the bridge and it has a 20 mile an hour speed limit. It is that narrow and steep.

On the Bridge to Illinois

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:28:10 MDT

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On the Bridge to Illinois - P8210006.jpg

This is the view from the entrance ramp leading to the bridge. See clouds? Ominous, yes? Now, I didn't do any clean up on any of these pictures. No brightening, no color mods... so what you see is what I saw. Yep... it was a dark day pretty much.

Into Illinois

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:28:06 MDT

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Into Illinois - P8210007.jpg

And this is 55 leading to 70. Pretty countryside. I know I've always said that Illinois is boooring. It really isn't. It's just when you've driven it for 20+ years, it gets that way. This day, however, it was just pretty. No, that's not a rainbow at the top. That's my windshield.

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joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:28:03 MDT

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More UP. You can see water droplets on my windshield from the recent rain. Also, I thought that particular could formation looked kinda cool.

Blue Springs

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:27:59 MDT

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Blue Springs - P8210009.jpg

This is a sign advertising Blue Springs - Home of the foot high pies. Now, I've never eaten there, but my brother has and he says the pies are a foot high because of the meringue they put on the top. Mebbe someday I'll stop by and get a piece of Lemon. I like lemon. And yes, my windshield is cracked - a memory from an earlier trip, a truck and a rock.

Silos

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:27:55 MDT

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Silos - P8210010.jpg

Pretty standard in Illinois, land of waving corn fields, silage and soybeans. This is part of the boring part.

Pocahontas

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:27:52 MDT

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Pocahontas - P8210011.jpg

About 36 miles in, there's a town called Pocahontas. It's one of my mom's favorite towns. I guess because she's native American somewhere inside her. There is a hotel there, called the Powhatan. I've been there once, on a trip with Mom, grandma and great aunt.. umm.. whateverhername was. Maxine. Great Aunt Maxine. And yes, I think she was the model for those Maxine greeting cards. Same hair, glasses... attitude. The diner there was okay. I mean, I remember it, so it must not have killed me.

Illinois

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:27:39 MDT

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Illinois - P8210013.jpg

No, I'm not going UP, I was shooting one handed. This is just more Illinois. 2 1/2 hours of this. Thankfully, it was the skinny state among all of it.

Greenville

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:27:31 MDT

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Greenville - P8210014.jpg

Greenville is a curious little town, and I'd like to visit it someday. It has a working soda fountain, old timey and such, and a fairly new prison - that we thought was a shopping mall when it was being build.

Old Farm Equipment

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:27:24 MDT

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Old Farm Equipment - P8210015.jpg

This is a big shed that covers a lot of old farm equipment. A sign states that it is a "Farm Equipment Museum", which I guess it is, if you can say that a bunch of old farm equipment housed under an open air roof is a museum of farm equipment. During the fall, the hold tractor pulls and stuff like that. Yee haw.

Little red barn museum

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:27:11 MDT

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Little red barn museum - P8210016.jpg

This sign, poorly shot, but still there, is the sign for the Old Farm Equipment museum. It reads "Little Red Barn museum" Now, it didn't really look like a barn to me, but it is likely that I was missing something. Like a barn. Really... not the sort of place that I'd want to stop and check out, unless I absolutely had nothing to do for hours. Which I didn't. I was driving to Indiana, and it was probably pushing 6 pm. And the clouds just didn't look friendly. Pretty... but not friendly.

Mulberry Grove

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:27:08 MDT

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Mulberry Grove - P8210017.jpg

Wasn't there a Mulberry Grove in a movie? I know there is a Mulberry Street in a Dr. Seuss book.

Silo

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:26:59 MDT

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Silo - P8210018.jpg

Yep. It's a silo. Big and phallic. A Silo. The one in the background must be Jewish.

Illinois

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:26:49 MDT

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Illinois - P8210019.jpg

More Illinois. Corn, corn, silage, soybeans, corn, corn. The corn there grew about 7 to 10 feet tall. Not quite ready for harvest.

Big Cross to Bear

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:26:46 MDT

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Big Cross to Bear - P8210020.jpg

This big ol' cross is about 7 or 8 years old. It's made of corrugated aluminum and I find it to be pretty obnoxious. At night it's lit by floodlights so that folks for miles around can't get to sleep.

Illinois

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:26:41 MDT

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Illinois - P8210021.jpg

Soybeans. Do I really need to say much more. Illinois. Soybeans.

Are we there yet?

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:26:37 MDT

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Are we there yet? - P8210022.jpg

Patient Simon, being Patient.

Clouds

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:26:34 MDT

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Clouds - P8210023.jpg

There is, on top of the left most hump of trees, a rainbow.

Rainbow! Or something.

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:26:28 MDT

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Rainbow! Or something. - P8210027.jpg

This little phenomena caught my camera a bunch. Not quite a rainbow, but diffracted light breaking down into it's component parts in the middle of the air! Very cool, frankly.

Rainbow

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:26:24 MDT

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Rainbow - P8210028.jpg

More of the same.

Rainbow

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:26:16 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Rainbow - P8210029.jpg

And still more fancy light stuff

Rainbow

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:26:13 MDT

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Rainbow - P8210030.jpg

And yet again... yawn. I think I took so many pictures just because I didn't want to lose any of it.

Breaks in the cloud

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:26:09 MDT

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Breaks in the cloud - P8210031.jpg

I liked the way the image looked, so I took a picture.

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joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:26:02 MDT

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This is a rest stop in Indiana. Unlike the rest stops in Oklahoma, it is not a shed with a porta potty attached to it.

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joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:25:58 MDT

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Just across from the rest stop, there's a little dog park, and this is what it looked like. The sign is from the Blue Star Mothers... mothers of soldiers both fallen and not. Indiana is very big on the military.

ClearCreek

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:25:55 MDT

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ClearCreek - P8210034.jpg

This is the official designation of the rest stop. Clearcreek. There are a lot of creeks in Indiana. Clearcreek, Ottercreek, Sugarcreek. The reason for so many creaks is because the population is pretty old. Still, the scenery gives you an idea of what Oklahoma COULD do, since they charge 4 dollars for 55 miles.

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joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:25:48 MDT

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It reads "Indiana Department of Transportation". Yep. Oklahoma could do something like this. They could. It's big, it's bold, it says "Welcome! We're old and we're proud!" I got a map of Indiana inside the place. Free.

Royal Inn

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:25:44 MDT

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Royal Inn - P8210038.jpg

There was a place called the Post Hotel. Then, the VFW, who owned the place, couldn't afford it any more, so it lay dormant for years. 2 years, in fact. It was one of my favorite places to stay because it has a restaurant next door and it was inexpensive. The Royal Inn folks bought it, and according to Veshan, the gent at the front desk, they worked 9 months renovating the place. Good thing too. When the VFW owned it, it was pretty run down. Veshan is an Engineering student at Purdue, which is just up the road from Crawfordsville, my home town. The room cost 50.41 for the night. The dinner cost 9.14 for a headsized breaded tenderloin sandwich and fries (made by hand), a full size salad and two glasses of tea. It is 11:00pm Oklahoma time, 12:00 Indiana time and Simon and I are watching the last bit of Warehouse 13 before sleep. Goodnight.

Highway 41 - Indiana

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:25:39 MDT

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Highway 41 - Indiana - P8220041.jpg

Before going to see mom, I wanted to get a last look at Crawfordsville. The fastest way was on Highway 41, a twisty road that goes past Turkey Run, one of my favorite State Parks. This is at 7:30 am, Indiana time.

Still highway 41

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:25:33 MDT

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Still highway 41 - P8220042.jpg

What a lot of folks don't know about Indiana would fill a book or three. You can buy anything from syrup to molasses to white lightning to paper fresh out of the papermill. It's a homey little place with a sparse population. The entire population of my mother's county - Vigo County - is less than the population of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Rockville

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:25:29 MDT

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Rockville - P8220043.jpg

The sign read "Billie Creek Village". One of those old village reconstructions. See, Indiana was dying. They were automotive and agriculture. Then someone got the idea to capitalize on the recreation industry. Everyone wants to get a way from it all and take it all with them. Indiana is perfect for this. I may just have to go visit Billie Creek one day. In fact, I'm not so sure I haven't bought some Sorghum from there... bout 6 years ago.

Old Goat

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:25:23 MDT

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Old Goat - P8220044.jpg

This is the Old Goat Trading Post, and it made me think of my friend, Tim. I dunno why. There are lots of places that sell firewood, because you can't be pickin' up firewood inside a State Park, Jack! It ain't polite, and it's illegal. Now, there's lots of folks willing to SELL it to you, just don't ask where they got it, since they live next door to the STATE PARK.

CORN!

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:25:18 MDT

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CORN! - P8220045.jpg

15 foot tall stalks of corn! Ahhhh!... the kids here are the Children of the Corn! The parents are the Parents of the Corn! The Grandparents are... probably pretty old.

Gobbler's Knob

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:25:12 MDT

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Gobbler's Knob - P8220046.jpg

I'm not really sure what a Gobbler's Knob is. I suspect it had something to do with the large amount of wild turkeys in Indiana and the cold winters. Wild turkeys could fly, by the way. Not very far or very high, but they could fly. Domestic turkeys can't. It's another little country store that you find along with all the Villages and Antique stores and family fish frys in Indiana.

Shady lanes

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:25:06 MDT

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Shady lanes - P8220047.jpg

41 turns to 47. Then you drive and drive for about 45 miles and you find Crawfordsville. This part of the drive is down and up and down and up and hills and trees. Lots and Lots of trees. Indiana has real trees, some have been around since before Columbus. Oklahoma has trees that have been around since the Dust Bowl. Well... some of Oklahoma has trees that are pretty old. But not like Indiana!

Coming to Brown's Valley

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:25:02 MDT

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Coming to Brown's Valley - P8220049.jpg

There was a time, a thousand years ago, when I went with my father to a 4-H county fair here. I remember it very well, as it was the first time I ever won anything ( a tiny toy... red and fuzzy) and got to ride in a helicopter simulator. Notice the rows of corn on either side of the road. Lots of corn, everywhere.

Corn Reference

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:24:50 MDT

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Corn Reference - P8220052.jpg

Remember when I said 15 foot tall corn stalks? The corn is to the right of the picture. Maybe not 15 foot tall, but edging up there, for sure.

Where I'm buried

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:24:38 MDT

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Where I'm buried - P8220053.jpg

Somewhere in here is a headstone that reads "Chester A Beebe" I found it purely by accident when I was about 8 or 9, walking to visit with my cousins, who lived on the other side of the cemetery. I didn't go in to look around this time. I had no earthly clue where to begin. Still... I wanted the shot of it. This is Grand Boulevard, in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

C-c-c-changes

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:24:34 MDT

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C-c-c-changes - P8220054.jpg

This, a thousand years ago, was a little grocery owned by a German refugee. One day, my mom sent me to get some milk and bread from them. I was riding my bike overburdened with the packages and they kept falling off. A college student picked up the loaves of bread from where they had fallen and walked with me all the way home. This was my introduction to Angels among us. The grocery, long gone in this world, still lives in my head and heart.

This is my house

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:24:30 MDT

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This is my house - P8220055.jpg

707 Milligan street. Long paved over and turned into a tennis court for the athletics at Wabash college. Gone is the front porch that dad would waterproof with linseed oil and then pain over with battleship gray paint. Gone is the old, wise Maple in the front yard who watched over me and told me tales of magic and indian wars. Gone is the lilac bush that would bring thousands of honeybees from all over and the home of the little people that I grew to know and love. Gone is the basement where the monsters lurked and the washing machine that almost ate Sam's arm. Gone, gone, gone. Childhood isn't gone, it just got paved over.

Milligan and Union

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:24:26 MDT

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Milligan and Union - P8220056.jpg

The world was much larger then. The streets seemed much wider. I used to walk down Union street to Wabash avenue and then to the library. A girl named Belinda, who had red hair and acted like a boy, lived down this street. She had a crush on me and never told me. I knew it and never told her.

Up Milligan, towards Wabash College

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:24:21 MDT

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Up Milligan, towards Wabash College - P8220057.jpg

This is the end of my street. There used to be a big arch over that brick walkway. In fact, the brick walkway used to be a street. There were gates there that could close, but never did. The cross street that ran in front of the college is called Crawford Street, named after the man who started this little town. It no longer runs, but stops right there at the stop sign. On the left, the building that you can't see to the left of the truck used to be the Mayor's house. His daughter, when I was young, was the loneliest girl in town, I think. Nobody played with her because she was the Mayors daughter. I'm sure that changed in time because she was a pretty little girl. On the right was the Deans house. A tall three story brick building that isn't there any more. He had two pretty daughters, about five to seven years older than me. I never got to know any of them.

Milligan and Crawford

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:24:17 MDT

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Milligan and Crawford - P8220058.jpg

This is the corner of Milligan and Crawford streets. The big brick building to the right was just barely started when we left in 1968. My brothers and I went down into the excavated area where the basement would be and found a whole bunch of Iron Pyrite - fools gold. It was very cool for us. Now, the spot where the white sign is... that's a college directory for Wabash. The spot where it stands used to be paved road. I used to ride my lil bike right where it stands, and that is the place where the college student asked me if I was okay to ride home, after he had carried my bread for two miles from the old jewish grocery. Memories, friends... memories are all we have and all we leave behind.

A less fuzzy view

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:24:10 MDT

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A less fuzzy view - P8220059.jpg

Here I got smart and turned off the flash. You can see the street sign more clearly as well as the college directory.

Wabash College

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:24:06 MDT

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Wabash College - P8220060.jpg

"Scientiae et virtuti" For Knowledge and For Virtue. That is the motto of Wabash College, as well as a few others. Wabash is one of the very last All Men's colleges in the nation. I kinda like it, because men and women tend to cause a lack of focus when put together. Granted, it can be argued either way, but it's my experience that if you want to concentrate, take sex out of the equation. My dad was a graduate from Wabash, majoring in Physics, Engineering and minoring in Chemistry. He had to put his education on hold when mom got pregnant with me. After I was born, he went back, at least for a while. I don't know how far he got. I don't remember any sort of graduation ceremony. It's weird, but I feel oddly guilty about him not finishing.

Scarlet Inn

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:24:01 MDT

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Scarlet Inn - P8220061.jpg

The Scarlet Inn is also know, or was, as the Student Union. It was the place where students could go to grab a quick bite without leaving the campus. My dad took a bunch of cub scouts, me included, into the Scarlett Inn and introduced us to what he called a Suicide. A Suicide was every flavor of syrup in the soda fountain, with a liberal dash of carbonated water, then stirred and drunk. It was delightful and slightly evil, I think. The Scarlett in had a full working soda fountain back then, in 1966. Not so much now.

Gymnasium and Armory

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:23:58 MDT

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Gymnasium and Armory - P8220062.jpg

This was a wonderful place where my brothers and I would sneak into while the Drama Club was practicing. We watched rehearsals for a number of plays on the second floor. It was my first introduction to live performances. I think I was all of 7 years old at the time.

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joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:23:52 MDT

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Many years ago, there was a place where the Housekeeping staff lived. My mom lived there before my dad married her. Mom was a dishwasher at the College, as well as food prep. She told us horror stories of pealing shrimp and having them stare back at her with their cold, dead eyes. The Housekeeping staff lived in this very ordinary looking, white frame house... something out of the colonial south, it looked like. Big old front porch, all screened in, wrapping around two thirds of the building. It was only two stories tall. I remember meeting one of the women, a black woman, that my mother used to work with at this dormitory for the staff. Oddly, we never had much race problem or issues, because it was a NON issue. Everybody worked hard, played hard and realized the only way to survive was to do it together. That old dorm was torn down and turned into this building. I don't even know what they study here. Black history, I guess. A sign of racism in a world where race wasn't even an issue. But that was long ago. Today is a different world.

Lane Place

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:23:49 MDT

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Lane Place - P8220064.jpg

Henry Lane was quite the accomplished person, and when he died, his land went to the city to be used as a park. There were hundreds of warm summer nights spent listening to the Crawfordsville Municipal Orchestra, eating out of picnic baskets and chasing bats or lightning bugs as night fell. Dad was in the orchestra, playing Bass or Sousaphone. Sometimes Tuba. Very cool times. Mom never came with us, that I remember. She didn't like the Orchestra, because it took Dad away from her, I guess.

Hotel Monon

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:23:43 MDT

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Hotel Monon - P8220065.jpg

This is for Tim. Though you can barely see it on the small version, there is a playboy bunny logo just to the left of the Monon name. I thought it was funny, and it also gives a sense of how the downtown looks. You can google the Hotel Monon for some of it's history.

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joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:23:40 MDT

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This statue has been there forever and ever. I remember seeing Santa Claus standing under it, while the snow fell all around. It's military, of course. A tribute to the men who fell in the Civil, Spanish-American, WWI, WWII, and the Vietnam war. Crawfordsville, like so many other towns, had a number of their young men not come back.

The Courthouse

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:23:36 MDT

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The Courthouse - P8220067.jpg

I took this picture standing in front of what used to be a Buster Brown shoe store. I bought my first sneakers there. The building, which is just to the right of the Statue, is the Court house. Notice the two colors of stone. The orangy, grayish, yellowish stone is natural limestone. The red is brick. The brick came later, after a fire, I believe.

Statue detail

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:23:30 MDT

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Statue detail - P8220068.jpg

The inscription says "A Tribute to her Heroic Dead" Indiana tends to be pretty matter of fact about things. No flowery words, unless it gets straight to the point. Not the brave fighting men, not those lost in honor.. but the Heroic Dead. Can't get much clearer than that. A close up will show that this side was for the Spanish American War.

Courthouse backside

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:23:27 MDT

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Courthouse backside - P8220069.jpg

Just another view of the Courthouse. Looks pretty darn big, doesn't it? You should stand next to it, it is enormous, considering how small the town is! Then again, Crawfordsville is the county seat of Montgomery County, so maybe there was a lot going on in there, huh?

A shot of Downtown

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:23:22 MDT

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A shot of Downtown - P8220070.jpg

This is a shot of the colorful and very old buildings in Crawfordsville. Indiana folks don't like change, are fairly conservative and tend to hold onto the past like a junky and his last needle. I liked the blend of colors.. the red on the right all the way to the yellow on the left. The spot I was standing in was right across from where the Strand theater used to be. It was a full blown movie house where I saw first runs of the Sound of Music, Heidi, and where I shook the hand of the Three Stooges!

Plaque of the gone

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:23:19 MDT

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Plaque of the gone - P8220071.jpg

This little plaque marks the spot where the Crawford Hotel used to stand, right next to the Strand Theater. A fire department captain gave his life trying to save a landmark.

Tafel Beer!

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:23:09 MDT

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Tafel Beer! - P8220072.jpg

This is the park where the Crawford Hotel stood. The sign.. I dunno if it's original or not.

Alleys!

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:23:06 MDT

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Alleys! - P8220073.jpg

Alley ways were the highways of the young. There wasn't any place we couldn't get to, hidden, sneaky, though an alley. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of them left in Crawfordsville.

Ben Hur Life

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:22:58 MDT

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Ben Hur Life - P8220074.jpg

Ben Hur was written in Crawfordsville! There's a lot of things dedicated to that fact, like this building. It's the Ben Hur Life building, which has always been an insurance building. On the third floor was my optometrist and my dentist. When we were done with the dentist, he would give us cards to get a free ice cream down the street at Murphys... a dime store. Yep... it was a neat way to drum up return business.

A bit more of downtown

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:22:54 MDT

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A bit more of downtown - P8220075.jpg

The dark red, little building on the right is the original Journal building, where Crawfordsville's first newspaper was printed.

The back of the Ben Hur life

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:22:50 MDT

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The back of the Ben Hur life - P8220076.jpg

I liked this shot because it showed the back of the building, which I tend to find more interesting than the front. Notice that every floor has a back entrance, in case of fire or tax collectors.

Just a boring building

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:22:46 MDT

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Just a boring building - P8220077.jpg

So here we have the modern, boring world encroaching on the old time buildings. There's a historical marker infront of this building. The sign says that this was the location of the first Land Management office for Montgomery County.

Jail Museum

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:22:38 MDT

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Jail Museum - P8220078.jpg

At one time, Crawfordsville had a very modern jail. This was the building, and I think it's a darn cool building. It contained one of very few rotary jails in the country. The cells were on this giant drum that rotated back into the building. It's kind of a hard concept, but you can google Rotary Jails and find out a lot more than I can say.

Rotary Jail Sign

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:22:28 MDT

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Rotary Jail Sign - P8220079.jpg

Here's the sign at the front of the museum. It tells about the museum, the type of rotary jail, which was the first built in the country.

The Incinerator

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:22:21 MDT

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The Incinerator - P8220080.jpg

This was on the backside of the Rotary Jail. It may have been an incinerator, or a bakery or something like that. I liked the way it looked.

Rotary Jail sideview

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:22:16 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Rotary Jail sideview - P8220081.jpg

Here's the side view of the jail. Pretty darn impressive, yes? Can you see the German influence?

Driving along the hiway

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:21:46 MDT

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Driving along the hiway - P8220083.jpg

This is a quick view of Crawfordsville's power and light generating plant. Old, old. Sugarcreek lies down below, a place where you can hunt for mussels and crawfish.

My School

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:21:39 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

My School - P8220084.jpg

I spent 4th through 6th grade here. It was Mills Nicholson elementary at that point. It was the last school I attended in Indiana.

Changes

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:21:35 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Changes - P8220085.jpg

This used to be the playground where the kids would do laps and exercise for gym. It's now the school parking lot, obviously.

This tree

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:21:30 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

This tree - P8220086.jpg

There was this little mute girl at school. I think she was my first serious relationship. She lived in the very poor side of town, but for some reason, we struck up a friendship, and used to sit during lunch time, in this tree, talking. Granted, she didn't say anything verbally, but our time together was something I never forgot. She disappeared from school, but not from my life. Heck, I don't even remember what her name was

Russel street

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:21:26 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Russel street - P8220087.jpg

These are some of the houses across the street from my old elementary school. This is were where the rich kids lived. Lots of brick in use here.

This was my school

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:21:22 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

This was my school - P8220088.jpg

From Kindigarten all the way through 3rd grade, I walked from home to this place. Well, really, the original school was a three story brick behemoth. That tree to the left is the only thing left of the original school yard. The school burned down and the newer, more modern school was build. That's the building you see here. Now, though, it's not even a school. It's a re-employment center, whatever that is.

This house

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:21:18 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

This house - P8220089.jpg

Used to be a small grocer where I would stop and buy some gum or maybe a hostess cupcake. Now, someone lives in it, but it looks pretty much the same.

Canteen

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:21:14 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Canteen - P8220090.jpg

This house used to be the Canteen building. Canteen would supply vending machines with goodies and coffee machines with coffee. Quite a bit like the Imperial company does now in Tulsa.

This yard

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:21:02 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

This yard - P8220091.jpg

There used to be a time when the snow would come down in not inches, but in Feet! My brother Gary once made an Igloo, right there, in the center of the picture. He used one of my mom's fudge pans, packed it with snow and built the thing. It was way cool! The family who lived there didn't care. We were just kids doing stuff, and that was okay with them. Way back then, that is.

The RR Donnely house

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:20:53 MDT

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The RR Donnely house - P8220092.jpg

The RR Donnely company is a paper company. They were, at one time, the richest family in town. They also lived just down the road, and before this fence went up, we kids would use their hill to go sledding in winter. I like the house, and somewhere I remember having hot chocolate there.

Donnely house

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:20:43 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Donnely house - P8220093.jpg

This is the side view of the house.

RR Donnely company

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:20:36 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

RR Donnely company - P8220094.jpg

This was a bell tower that would chime the hour, every hour, for every day I lived near it. It is only 5 blocks away from where my house was, and it chimed the Westminster chimes. It was built specifically so the employees would know what time it was.

RR Donnely company

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:20:29 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

RR Donnely company - P8220095.jpg

This is the side view of the Donnely company. Still making paper, too. Notice the windows? Crawfordsville was using those glass blocks way before they became cool. Yes, it's all original from over a century before.

Substation

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:20:00 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Substation - P8220096.jpg

Right across from the Donnely building, there is this power substation, humming and crackling. Yes, it was there when I was a child, and yes, I used to walk by it on my way to school. I wonder if it had any effect on me?

Typical house

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:19:56 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Typical house - P8220097.jpg

This is a very typical house in Crawfordsville. Brick and wood. Neat little hedges.

Garage

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:19:48 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Garage - P8220098.jpg

Lots of houses in Crawfordsville, and Indiana in general, have detached garages. That's because most of the houses were built before the automobile was invented!

The Big Four Arch

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:19:43 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

The Big Four Arch - P8220099.jpg

The four arch is a place of mystery and legend. There are four arches here. There's the train trestle built above, the roadway below and there is a creek below that. College kids used to jump from the train trestle down to the creek below, back when the creek used to run deep. My mom bragged that she did it. Rumors are that the place is haunted by one of the kids that broke their neck jumping.

Four Arch

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:19:39 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Four Arch - P8220100.jpg

A bit closer look at the arch. The creek is down below.

The arch wood

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:19:35 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

The arch wood - P8220101.jpg

This is the wood just off of the arch. There is a creek here, which used to run 8 to 10 feet deep. No more.. it's just a few inches. Still, it's deep enough that my brother Sam almost drowned in it one winter. And poison Ivy? Copperhead snakes? You betcha, Red Ryder. We had it all!

Creek

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:19:30 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Creek - P8220102.jpg

More of the creek under the arch. There's lots of minnows down there, too. We used to walk for miles along this creek, making up stories about pirates and crooks and bags of money and all sorts of stuff.

The Arch

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:19:23 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

The Arch - P8220103.jpg

Detail of the roof of the arch. Native limestone, still standing, but a bit rough around the middle. Apparently the center has fallen at one time. I believe there was a gas light there at one time, when I was a young boy. It's not there anymore, and the very center has sort of deteriorated.

Arch

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:19:19 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Arch - P8220104.jpg

More detail of the arch. Yeah, it's old and there's moss and vines and all sorts of green things growing around it.

P8220105.jpg

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:19:13 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

P8220105.jpg

Yeah, okay.. but look at the construction! Each stone had to be hand carved, pulled from the limestone quarry and shaped and then placed exactly where it is now. This arch has been around longer than your grandparents!

Goodbye Arch

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:19:08 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Goodbye Arch - P8220106.jpg

And so we leave the arch. It's time to go home now. Back to Terre Haute, to see my mom. It was fun, and I was glad I went. I may come back, just for you, arch. Just for you.

Before we go...

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:19:03 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Before we go... - P8220107.jpg

This is, or was, Crawfordsville High. Home of the Trojans. No jokes, now.. See.. Crawfordsville was very big on Greek mythology. Hence, the Trojans are the sports teams there. You can see the greco-roman influence in many of the buildings and downtown stuff.

Milligan park

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:19:00 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Milligan park - P8220108.jpg

This is a war memorial in Milligan park. It is for both the Spanish - American and the Civil war. The left rectangle said "Remember the Maine!" and the right said.. umm.. something else.

War Memorial

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:18:54 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

War Memorial - P8220109.jpg

This was for the sailors who died in WWII. The plaque reads "To our grand old man"

War Memorial

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:18:48 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

War Memorial - P8220110.jpg

The War Memorial perspective.

Milligan park

joegoda — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:18:45 MDT

joegoda posted a photo

Milligan park - P8220111.jpg

Milligan park, home of many an Easter Egg hunt, family reunion, frizbee toss, music festival, picnic, hide and seek, lovers first kiss, baseball toss... everything that every happened to anyone, has happened here. I even finished reading Watership Down here, long after I move away.