History

Central Indiana polygonal barn built in 1910

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In 1910 a Mr. George Rudicel constructed a rather unusual barn. It has twelve sides, thus the name polygonal. The cone shaped roof is capped with a polygonal cupola and it topped by a square smaller cupola. There is also a large dormer facing the road. This barn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. It can be found  in Noble Township, Shelby County, Indiana.

Nice profile of the barn

Note the face of the dormer matches the polygonal angled panels

Christmas star on cupola

Round barns were designed for dairy farming, and were not useful for general farming use. By the late 1920’s round barns had fallen out of favor. There was a nationwide agricultural depression after WWI, and easy  to construct prefabricated barn packages were now available. There were 226 round barns in Indiana but 100 of these have vanished from the Hoosier countryside. Many round barns have been restored and are well maintained. The Rudicel barn, also known  locally as the Montgomery round barn, is in need of some maintenance and a good coat of paint.

 

 

A unique tree grows from the roof of Greensburg Indiana’s courthouse

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In the early 1870’s in the then small town of Greensburg, Indiana, some citizens noticed some odd greenery on the roof of the Decatur County Courthouse Tower. As the years went on, the green tree seemed to thrive as it grew. Local officials began to be concerned that the tree could cause structural damage to the apex roof of the tower. Legend says that in 1888 a steeplejack was hired to “trim the tree”. He was said to have found not one, but two individual Large Tooth Aspen trees growing quite nicely on the roof.

Decatur County Courthouse and Clock Tower

Word spread rapidly that Greensburg had two trees growing out of the courthouse clock tower roof. The tree drops leaves seasonally like all deciduous trees. Mystery surrounds the origin of the first Aspen seed that sprouted in the roof. Large Tooth Aspens are not native to Central Indiana. Thus history and legend began to grow around this Indiana town.  For over 130 years trees have sprouted, grown and perished in a cycle that continues to this day. No, the tree you see today is not 130 years old. But Greensburg remains a National Treasure for its oddity known as the famous Tower Tree.

Greensburg is on I-74 between Indianapolis, Indiana and Cincinnati, Ohio. The Old Michigan Road, (U.S. 421) runs through and by the Tower Tree. Oh, and by the way, do you know how the tree gets water?  Answer: From the spring in the clock.   (cue rimshot)

Bascilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle is a National Shrine in Texas

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The Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle is a remarkable place in the Rio Grande Valley of Southern Texas. The Basilica has a fascinating history that traces back to the 1600’s in Mexico with a reported miracle. The current location has been the goal for pilgrimages for decades.

The bell tower

The Sanctuary

 

 

 

 

 

While we were staying at an RV resort near by Sher and I decided to go to the Basilica on a Sunday for mass. The Sunday schedule has masses all day, with Spanish, English and bi-lingual. There is a mariachi band providing the music on Saturday and Sunday masses. We opted for the 3 o’clock English mass. The mass was very inspiring.

The sculpture on the sanctuary wall

First Station of the Cross

Free Holy Water fountain

When we arrived, the 1 o’clock mass had not yet let out, and the parking lots were very full. I was able to find a handicapped spot. The complex has lots of support facilities. There is a hotel for pilgrims and a very large gift shop. We went to the gift shop as we had time before the 3 o’clock mass. The gift shop was filled with about any kind of religious item you can imagine. The stations of the cross are set up along a beautiful path that winds through the grounds.

When in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas you should consider a visit to the Basilica. Read up on the history and other information before you go. This is the website link.

We shopped the famous Highway 127 Yard Sale

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Map of the Sale Route

Every August a truly massive American event takes place along the Highway 127 corridor as it stretches 690 miles across six states from Addison, Michigan to Gadsen, Alabama. This is the world’s longest highway yard sale and  is currently taking place from Thursday thru Sunday August 9th.  Sher, our son and I packed some snacks, drinks and headed towards Cincinnati , knowing we’d cross the north south running route 127 just inside the Indiana – Ohio border.

We found our first sale just before we hit 127. A steep driveway led to a fairly large yard already full of customer cars. Driveway and garage full of stuff! Found a couple of items we bought, so off to a good start.

The two important type of signs today

We centered our searches for sales in and around Fairfield, Ohio, 25 miles or so west of Cincinnati. Lots and lots of homes were taking advantage of the crowds , Yard Sale signs were everywhere. Often you could park your car within walking distance of three or four houses selling. No pictures of houses and setups for privacy.

Inside a church sale, a bit of everything available at this stop

The types of items for sale at these stops is quite frankly rather amazing. Some houses had a majority of used clothes. Some have single categories like sports cards, furniture or framed art work. Others have a mix of anything and everything. That is part of the fun of shopping at the yard sales: you never know what you’ll find.

Heavy Pewter Paperweight bought during our adventure at the 127 Yard Sale

Our eBay listing for the horse paperweight: click here

The skies darkened, ominous clouds and far off rolling thunder soon ended our shopping as folks began to cover their items with tarps or other covers. Soon there were no more houses with goods for sale. We headed back home to Indiana driving through unbelievable amounts of driving rain.  This added to our adventure for sure. But we made it home safely after a successful day of yard sale shopping.

 

 

Historic Starr Piano and Gennett Recording Studio

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Original Gennett Records logo

Richmond Indiana is a history filled city on the Ohio-Indiana border in the central part of the state. Both I-70 and Historic US 40 run through Richmond. One of the historic sites in Richmond is the remains of the old Starr Piano manufacturing plants and the Gennett Recording studios.

Starr made high end pianos beginning in the 1870’s. The remaining Starr pianos are highly sought after by collectors and musicians alike. The Gennett recording Studios were in business from 1920 to 1934. The records were made in a primitive concrete and brick building with little acoustical features. Legend says that an Oriental rug from the Gennett mansion was used as a wall hanging to deaden the echo sounds during the recording sessions.

Louis Armstrong’s place on the Walk of Fame

Today the Starr Gennett Foundation continues to keep the music history of the 20’s and 30’s alive with many events at the site of the old factory building. One of the many memorials to music is the Walk of Fame. The Starr-Gennett Foundation website details this feature and a special event in September 2026: “In 2007, as part of its ongoing effort to promote and celebrate the music legacy of Starr Piano Company and its subsidiary, Gennett Records, the Foundation inaugurated the Gennett Records Walk of Fame to honor those who recorded for Gennett Records and whose work contributed significantly to American history. Selected by a national panel of music experts, those honored are musicians who created the distinctly American musical genres of jazz, blues, country, gospel, and popular music. However, the Gennett studio recorded the spoken word as well as the music of American Indian and other ethnic groups.”

Many famous musicians of the times got their first recordings made at Gennett. Hoagy Carmichael’s big band recorded there. Louis Armstrong got his start in the Gennett studio. The Great Depression, however, signaled the end of Gennett Records as it did many other record companies of the times.

The old factory now refurbished for concerts

Unique view of the old factory

 

 

 

 

 

The remaining portion of the brick factory now has a modern steel structure and metal roof system. This building is used for concerts, meetings and other civic events. It is interesting to think of the tremendous musical history represented at this Indiana site. Hand made pianos and the beginnings of several genres of music began here. When in Richmond be sure to seek out the old Starr Piano building. You just might hear echoes of music from the past.

The Alki Point lighthouse in Pugent Sound Washington

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Seattle’s Puget Sound is home to 13 working lighthouses

We got this photo on a cruise from Seattle to Tillicum Island.

The first unofficial light established at Alki Point was a kerosene lantern reported to have been hung on the side of the barn sometime in the 1870s.  A permanent large light was placed on a wooden post by the U.S. Lighthouse Board in 1887. Hans Martin Hanson was the property owner and farmer and became an official paid lightkeeper at a salary of $15 per month.

The Alki Point lighthouse is currently an operational fully automated facility operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. It is the southernmost of the 13 lighthouses on the Sound. This is a beautiful structure when seen from any angle. It has been open for free tours in the past however the lighthouse is now closed for maintenance and repairs dependent upon the U.S. Coast Guard securing funding for the project in future years. Time will tell…

Mission San Xavier del Bac, the White Dove of the Desert

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About 10 miles south of Tucson, Arizona you will find the “White Dove of the Desert” also known as the Mission San Xavier del Bac. This magnificent Spanish mission was completed in 1797. The first Spanish missionary, Father Eusebio Kino, arrived at the site in 1692. Throughout the years the location has been part of New Spain, Mexico, and finally a part of the U.S. after the Gadsen Purchase of 1854.

My postcard-like photo of the Mission

When you enter the church you cannot help but be amazed by the incredible amount of 18th century statuary and murals. The impact varies for everyone who walks the interior of this powerfully spiritual place. Candles are always lit and displayed. A shrine to St Francis is a prominent feature and one of solemn devotion.

Inside the sanctuary

Prayer chapel and garden next to the church

Sacred statuary

 

 

 

 

The edifice is still a functioning Catholic Church that primarily serves the Tohono O’odham tribe, formerly known as the Papago. Being one of the most popular tourist stops in Tucson, we were fortunate to visit when there were very few people there. It was almost as if we had the place to ourselves. This is a site that is filled with history as well as a sacred place for contemplation, meditation and prayer. Do not miss a chance to visit San Xavier. You will be moved.

The San Xavier website is packed with info for your assistance in visit planning .

Devils Tower: the first U.S. National Monument

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Northeast Wyoming is home to one of the most remarkable landscape features in the United States. The towering mass of volcanic rock known as Devils Tower has long been the destination of curious travelers and is the source of several Native American legends describing the origin of the rock formation. In the fall of 2014 we were on our way from Indiana to Seattle and decided to make a short detour to see this striking and beautiful gift from Earth.

One of, if not the most striking geologic feature in Wyoming

Detail image of each “column” that is about 8 feet across!

One of the legends of the origin of the tower tells the story of girls who were pursued by a huge bear. The girls prayers were answered when the Great Spirit caused the rock to raise from the ground with the girls safely on top. The bear attempted to climb the smooth sides of the rock, and his claws made the distinctive shapes we see today.

Geologists tell us that the tower was made when volcanic intrusions of lava pushed up into thick layers of sandstone, now eroded away after millions of years. The rock, an igneous basalt type, took on the shapes of columns when it cooled. Called a columnar formation, this shape is not uncommon and can be found in rocks all over the world.

The Devils Tower was the first designated US National Monument, so declared by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1906. The first Caucasians saw the tower in the 1850’s. It was also the site of the famous ending of the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Rare Unique White Bronze cemetery monuments

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When you come across a blueish colored grave monument you can’t help but wonder how it has maintained its lettering and clarity of the dates. No, it is not a later replacement, it is the original zinc metal grave marker. Manufactured by the Bridgeport, CT. Bronze Company, these long lasting  but somewhat fragile monuments were custom made from 1876 until 1914.

When you tap on the surface of these monuments you can immediately tell it is metal. The seams where the individual pieces are joined are also obvious.  Each piece was cast in Bridgeport and then shipped to the cemetery for installation. Customers dealt with sales reps armed with multiple catalogues with unlimited possibilities for choice of monuments.

Name/dates of deceased and panel with “Shaking Hands”

“HOW DESOLATE OUR HOME BEREFT OF THEE”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The zinc-tin alloy used in the castings did not rust and resisted the growth of mold or algae. Each monument was custom ordered, so all are one of a kind. The designs included panels that were screwed in and could even be changed at a later date, if desired.  These were perfect for symbols like the shaking hands, sheaves of wheat or personal messages in addition to the name and dates of the deceased.

A smaller monument

Name/date still legible after nearly 140 years

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The material of these was advertised as White Bronze. White Bronze doesn’t exist. These are made with a zinc-tin alloy. The company, however, felt that White Bronze is a much classier and sophisticated name than zinc. They also claimed (of course!) that their monuments would outlast any stone monument. In a way that was true, however these zinc beauties were susceptible to breakage from, for example, falling trees. In addition, very tall monuments could suffer over time from settlement of part of the bases.

This panel would have been custom ordered for the monument

The next time you are enjoying a relaxing walk through a cemetery or graveyard keep an eye out for different looking monuments. Go have a look, it just might be a one of a kind White Bronze monument that was cast in Bridgeport, Connecticut between 1876 and 1914.

 

The Homer Covered Bridge dramatic saga of survival

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Yes, this marvelous covered bridge has what can be described as a life history of epic proportions. Here’s the Reader’s Digest version: Built in 1881 over Mud Creek in Rush County Indiana. Disaster struck when it floated away during the flood of 1892 and ended up downstream in a field. The farm owner cleverly turned the bridge into a barn. This barn started falling apart over the years. Local Pioneer Engineers (antique farm machinery club) dismantle bridge/barn and rebuild it on their Club’s grounds as a pedestrian bridge in 2009. Bridge saved!

Used as a barn in 2008, photo courtesy Bridgehunter.com

Rebuilt on new location at Caldwell Pioneer Acres

 

 

 

 

 

 

This bridge, originally built by A.M. Kennedy and Sons is constructed with Multiple King trusses. These are not the more common Burr Arch trusses used by Kennedy. Surprisingly, the lumber in the trusses was still in excellent condition after time and floods. Only the foundation lumber needed total replacement, along with siding and roofing.

Good view of the Multiple King trusses. Note the diagonals notched into verticals

Reproduced name and date on the reconstructed bridge

 

 

 

 

 

” For Machinists, Steam and Pump Fitters Work. Go To W.H. Moffett & Co.”

The advertisement sign above had made it through the years and was noticed when the bridge timbers were salvaged at the farm where the 1892 flood had placed the bridge. It survived all those decades. Now the sign, as well as the bridge itself, continue to provide a nostalgic look back into Indiana history.