Greenfield Indiana

When it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…

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Riley statue at the courthouse

You have no doubt heard the saying “When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.” That quote is from James Whitcomb Riley, the Hoosier Poet. He is from Greenfield, Indiana, a small town east of Indianapolis.

Riley was noted for his down home use of dialect that epitomized rural Indiana. He is famous for his remarkable volume of poems. He wrote and published over 1000 verses. His most popular are “Little Orphant Annie”, “The Raggedy Man,” “Our Hired Girl,” “A Barefoot Boy,” “The Bumblebee,” “Granny,” and “When the Frost Is on the Punkin.”

Mural with verses from his “Wet Weather Talk” poem

Wooden Bear Brewing

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Sunday afternoon seemed like a good time to have an adventure. So it was off to Greenfield, Indiana for a stop at the Wooden Bear Brewing company. Wooden Bear is in an old auto repair garage, and it is quite spacious.

Seating with bar on back wall

Company namesakes

 

 

 

 

 

The Wooden Bear has quite a nice selection of brews on tap. We decided to start with a four sample flight each. You can have as many as you like, with six being a full set, or as our waiter said, six is the most he can carry in one hand.

Sher’s flight

Maj’s flight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A local pizza restaurant happens to be in the back of the building. Very handy, and we certainly enjoyed the thin crust pizzas. They got to our table quickly after we ordered them.

Black olives!

Pepperoni!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We liked the NEIPA (hazy) so much we got a growler to go

Lazy Sunday afternoons are perfect for relaxing, enjoying a pizza and a flight of different brews. It is also a perfect time when you can spend it with the love of your life and the most important person in your life. Sundays don’t get any better than that.

Even though it is one of a chain…

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…the Lincoln Square Pancake House in Greenfield, Indiana is more like a small town  independent diner. This group of 9 restaurants has a fascinating story. The restaurants are scattered around central Indiana, and unlike other chains no two buildings are alike in design nor size. They are the result of decades of hard work of George Katris ,  first generation Greek immigrant who came to North America at age 18, where he bussed tables in Toronto.

Hoosier tradition breaded tenderloin

Yummy waffles covered with goodies

 

 

 

 

 

Fast forward to today, and the Katris family still owns and operates the restaurants. A diner? Yes, in the typical definition of good food and lots of it! Sher and I were told of the Lincoln Square Pancake House by one of the shop proprietors.  We got there at 2:00 PM with an hour to spare. The restaurants, in true pancake/breakfast tradition, open at 7:00 AM and close at 3:00 PM.

Sher and I enjoyed very tasty and very filling meals. We’ll look for other Lincoln Square Pancakes Houses as we travel around Indiana.

James Whitcomb Riley, The Hoosier Poet

/ Roadtirementvintage / 21 Comments

“When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.” We know you’ve heard that saying before. Did you know that is a quote from James Whitcomb Riley, know as The Hoosier Poet? Riley was born in 1849 in Greenfield, Indiana.  His home is preserved and is open for tours.

Riley’s birthplace in Greenfield

Front door signage

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riley was noted for his down home use of dialect that epitomized rural Indiana. He first wrote under a pen name (farmer Benj. F. Johnson, of Boone) for newspapers in Anderson and Indianapolis. As a boy Riley worked as an assistant to traveling patent-medicine hucksters.

Historic Marker outside the home

Riley is famous for his remarkable volume of poems. He wrote and published over 1000 verses. His most popular are “Little Orphant Annie”, “The Raggedy Man,” “Our Hired Girl,” “A Barefoot Boy,” “The Bumblebee,” “Granny,” and “When the Frost Is on the Punkin.” Many of his poems were aimed at children as well as adults.

Have a seat with Mr. Riley, he might share a poem with you!

Riley’s birthplace and the next door museum provide an most enjoyable attraction in Greenfield. Located on the historic National Road (US 40) the home is east of Indianapolis.

 

Mmm…..hand crafted chocolates

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Sometimes the window of a business will make your head turn. That happened to us when we passed the Greenfield Chocolates storefront in downtown Greenfield, Indiana.

Cases filled with delicacies

The business is owned and operated by Jayne Hoadley, an award winning Chocolatier, and a designated Indiana Artisan.  The shop creates hand crafted artisan chocolates, toffees, caramels and confections from the finest and freshest ingredients with no preservatives.

Shelf after shelf of deliciousness

“I’ll take one of each..”

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as you walk into the store you are treated with visions of delicacies everywhere you look! Prepackaged treats are displayed on shelves and racks. The cases are jam packed with beautifully decorated morsels of all types.

Where the magic creations occur

Everything is made on site in the historic building at 15 West Main Street. (It is right next to the statue of the bison we posted earlier.) Go ahead and stop in this delightful shop. You won’t walk out empty handed: we sure did not!

Where the buffalo roam

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This afternoon the weather was nearly perfect for outside activity. We headed for the town of Greenfield for some sightseeing and who knows what else.  At one point we were walking around the downtown area and we came upon an interesting sight.

There between two bushes was the statue of a bison, sometimes erroneously referred to as a buffalo. Well, the camera had to come out for that! Especially when I saw the body of the bison behind its mane was painted in a mural.

 

 

 

 

 

Turns out this animal was commissioned for the Indiana Bicentennial celebration  in 2016. This bison was named “Whitcomb” in honor of James Whitcomb Riley, Greenfield’s famous author. The paintings traces the history of Indiana natural history and agriculture from the Ice Age to modern times. The Bisontennial (get it?) statues were seen all over the state in different designs and colors.