Something magical happens when trains couple with Christmas. Be it a model electric train circling the base of a Christmas tree firing up a child’s imagination or a genuine old-fashioned steam or diesel engine chugging through a winter’s night to real holiday delights, trains add to the nostalgia and memories of the holidays like no other… Continue reading.

The hills of Monroe and Owen counties will be alive with the sound of music — not to mention the whirring of wheels, grinding of gears, huffing and puffing, and oohs and aahs of Indiana autumn splendor. The Hilly Hundred Weekend returns Oct. 21-23 for its 54th annual go-round … and up and down.  The… Continue reading.

The “Sunflower State” is Kansas. But Indiana is no shrinking violet when it comes to celebrating the giant, sun-loving flower that brings the radiance of the sun to our fields and gardens. Beginning this month and continuing until the sun starts to fade into fall, Hoosiers will be celebrating sunflowers at various festivals and events…. Continue reading.

When it comes to the world’s fastest motorsports, the 2.5-mile oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is where it’s at during the month of May and Memorial Day Weekend. But the Fourth of July Weekend belongs to the annual Madison Regatta and its 2.5-mile circuit on the Ohio River. Skimming and skipping across the water… Continue reading.

Every grade schooler knows that President Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky — on Feb. 12, 1809. And, he lived in Illinois as a lawyer and a lawmaker before being elected president in 1860. But he did more than just pass through Indiana on his way, as was said upon his death, to belonging “to… Continue reading.

Like most all Indiana counties that border the Ohio River, Dearborn County’s earliest history and economy has been based along that major waterway. The county’s two largest towns, Lawrenceburg, the county seat, and Aurora are the first Hoosier towns travelers heading down river from nearby Cincinnati come to. Aurora is home to Hillforest Victorian House… Continue reading.

Bob Ross was a man who could move mountains at a whim. He could conjure clouds from a pale sky and raise lofty pines with waves of his hand. And he inspired and convinced many others they could do the same. The soft-spoken artist with the bushy hair became a Public TV icon in the… Continue reading.

By Richard G. Biever If sampling a wide variety of chili from cooks all around the Midwest stokes a fire in your belly, then you’ll want to hop aboard the Wabash Cannonball Chili for Charity Cook Off, Oct. 16. Billed as “the largest annual chili cook off east of the Mississippi,” the event has attracted… Continue reading.

Seeking a getaway made in the shade? Shades State Park is a place that lives up to its name. Located in west north-central Indiana straddling the Montgomery/Parke/Fountain county junction, this nature lover’s paradise is a favorite for hikers and canoeists. Its beautiful sandstone cliffs overlook Sugar Creek and trails take you through shady ravines. Trails go… Continue reading.

How a roadside produce stand called “The Big Peach” could become so iconic in the heart of southwest Indiana’s melon country says a lot about marketing. While the popular family-owned market along U.S. 41 north of Vincennes began with a peach orchard on the property in 1954, its giant 20-foot-tall concrete peach alongside a yellow… Continue reading.

To most folks, “bluegrass” probably conjures up the sprightly music played with a banjo, fiddle and mandolin from the hills of Kentucky or Tennessee. But for those who know their bluegrass music, the hills of bucolic Brown County come just as readily to mind. For over 80 years, the Brown County burg of Bean Blossom… Continue reading.

Robert Owen’s Utopian experiment in New Harmony, Indiana, may have lasted only a few short years. But through the coming months of 2021, his legacy in the historic and beautiful southwestern Indiana Wabash River town will be revisited in various in-person and virtual events celebrating his 250th birthday.   Owen was the Welsh-born industrialist and… Continue reading.