Monday, February 21, 2022
A common refrain on Saturday was, “Will the last person to leave Waldron please turn out the lights?” Mohawk fans packed the arena in Jeffersonville to see the Waldron High School girls play in the IHSAA Girls Basketball Semi-State. Waldron lost a tough game to Tecumseh, 54-42. Scoring for the Mohawks were Bella Larrison, 15; Nichole Garner, 9; Megan Bogemann, 9; Hadlie Ross, 4; Mackenzie Shaw, 3; and Shelby Fewell, 2. Josee Larrison and Hallie Ross contributed, and Cendall Sheaffer, Allison Hensley, Alyssa Benson and Audrey Hogg saw playing time. | photos by JEB BASS
CAPTION CONTEST
Yesterday, we asked for help captioning this Jack Boyce photo. A few of our favorites:
That driver must be from Middletown! - Mark Risley
Forget the three parked vehicles. Why does Walmart allow delivery trucks to park in the fire lane? - Brian Meeke
Some people will do anything to make The Addison Times! - Mark Risley
Local Venues Ready If Nationwide Wedding Surge Hits Home
by KRISTIAAN RAWLINGS
Many couples dream of a destination wedding. For some, Shelby County is that destination.
“We (get) lots of couples from Chicago who just go outside and stare up at the stars and listen to, well, nothing,” Terri Nigh said. She and her family own Coffee Creek Ridge, a 180-acre wedding venue about seven miles northeast of Shelbyville. “It’s an experience we may take for granted, but one that is highly valued by people who don’t often get to experience it.”
Industry professionals predict nearly 2.5 million couples nationwide will experience a wedding this year, the largest jump since 1984 when Baby Boomers were reaching marrying age combined with the disappearance of the hippie generation. That spike in weddings also correlated to a strong economy. In 2021, the U.S. economy grew 5.7 percent from the year before - the largest gain since, of course, 1984, The New York Times reported.
But this uptick is also the product of pent-up demand from the pandemic. Local wedding venues that weathered the two-year storm are finding hope this year.
“We’re definitely seeing a large uptick in inquiries related to weddings for 2022, even into November, December,” Bill Nicholson said. He and his wife, Jessica, own the Queen Anne Victorian Charles Davis mansion on W. Mechanic Street in Shelbyville, dubbed “a woodworking masterpiece” in the Wall Street Journal, and available on AirBnB.
Although a spot for gatherings of all kinds, the property hosted its first nuptials last year, a “costume wedding” for Bill Nicholson’s father, Dave, who married Beth 20 years after his first wife passed away. “All guests wore their favorite costume: character, genre, time period, etc.,” Bill Nicholson said.
Two more weddings are already on the books this year.
“We don’t plan to host anything larger than 75, 50 is probably our sweet spot, as we want to keep things small, intimate and personalized,” Nicholson said.
But Coffee Creek Ridge offers all the traditional options for those with large guest lists. Hiking trails, fire pits, patio areas, a pond and rural roads for biking are a few of the noted amenities. And most couples perform their vows under a 300-year-old massive Sycamore.
“We attract a lot of Indiana State graduates because of our Sycamore tree,” Nigh said.
The reception facility, designated an official Indiana Bicentennial barn, also takes center stage. The barn is held together by mortise and tenon rather than nails. “The exposed three stories of wood and beam structure without a single nail is truly something to behold, and something that makes us stand apart from most venues,” Nigh said.
The Roan family is also proud of their wedding barn, located about 10 miles northeast of Shelbyville.
“Our venue is on property that has been in my family for over 100 years,” Cindy Webster said. “The name of our facility is from my father, Bob Roan. He farmed this land up until the day that he died.”
The venue, which includes ample space for activities, a flower garden, and an outdoor shelter, features items of personal importance. “Several antique items are from (Bob Roan’s) collection,” Webster said.
Personal service and rural history are an important part of what now attracts wedding-seekers, Kaitlyn Orem, with Blessing’s Opera House said. She manages a newly re-opened facility that once served as a hardware store, and before that, an opera house that featured the likes of Frederick Douglass and other famous speakers and performances.
Orem believes Blessing’s can draw local couples who might otherwise have gone out of town.
“With the newly renovated (Shelbyville) downtown and the restoration of Blessing’s Opera House, we can give couples what they have only been able to get by traveling out of town in the past, but now they can stay local and still have that classy feel of a bigger city for a much more affordable price,” she said.
The facility also offers the Metzger room and Silas’ Pub for smaller events, such as bridal and baby showers. Pudder’s restaurant, owned by Alicia and Val Phares and located on the building’s ground level, manages the bar for events.
“I believe that most people haven’t considered how Shelby County’s wedding venues help the local economy,” Nigh said. “From putting people in our local hotels and B&Bs, employing catering and bar services, to all of the other vendors couples may need while in the area, venues contribute to helping our community prosper more than people realize.”
While the wedding service competition seems to be stiffening, those in the business are confident that Shelby County offers a great combination of personal service and price.
“No cookie-cutter weekends here,” Nicholson promised.
NOTEBOOK:
The high school boys basketball sectional draw was held last night. Class 4A Shelbyville will play Franklin Community in Greenwood; Class A Waldron received a bye and will play the winner of Jac-Cen-Del vs. Rising Sun; Class A Morristown will take on Hauser; Class A Southwestern gets Oldenburg; and Class 2A Triton Central will play Milan.
HOOSIER NEWS: Officials at Perfect North Slopes in Lawrenceburg are celebrating after two regulars, Nick Goepper and Justin Schoenefeld, won medals in ski events during the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Goepper, who grew up partly in Lawrenceburg where Perfect North is based, earned a silver Wednesday in the Slopestyle event — his third Olympic medal. He medaled in previous Olympic games in 2018 and 2014. Earlier, Schoenefeld, who’s from Lawrenceburg, earned a gold medal in mixed team aerials — his first medal and Indiana’s first gold in an Olympic skiing event. Perfect North, near the Ohio state line, was founded in 1980. It offers a vertical drop of 400 feet for skiing and snowboarding as well as three terrain parks. Goepper fans launched a petition to name one of Perfect’s terrain parks after him. (Indiana Public Media)
This Week in Shelby County" works by George L. Stubbs Sr. are owned by the Shelby County Historical Society (Grover Center) and used with permission.
THIS DAY IN SHELBY COUNTY HISTORY
News around Shelbyville and the surrounding area as reported on or about this date in history. Selections are curated from the Shelby County Public Library Genealogy Department.
20 YEARS AGO: 2002
The Shelby County Players performed “Steel Magnolias” to mark the 10th anniversary of the Shelby Community Theatre on S. Tompkins St. It was the theatre’s 55th play, and the first play to be repeated since the 175-seat theater opened in 1992. The group performed five plays per year, directed by the likes of B.J. Fairchild-Newman, Mindy Kuhn, Mary Carter, Jay DeVore, Jeff Wilson, Kent Lockman, Noell Krughoff and Brinda Watkins.
30 YEARS AGO: 1992
Shelby County’s first female sheriff’s deputy, Stacia Zamudio, shared thoughts on her new job in a Shelbyville News article. “I’m not invincible, but I’m not afraid,” she said. “I’m definitely going to have to prove myself because it’s a male-dominated career.” Zamudio had previously worked as a security officer in the Air Force and as a dispatcher and reserve officer for the Shelbyville Police Department. She was a licensed barber - not a beautician, she stressed to the reporter. Sheriff Mike Herndon had hired Zamudio, first as a jailer, then as a deputy.
Lead actresses in the Shelby County Players’ production of “Steel Magnolias” were Jennifer Barlow, Carole Schuneman and Nancy McNulty.
David Lee, owner of a property near I-74 and E. SR 44, reaffirmed that a $1.2 million Shoney’s restaurant would be constructed soon.
40 YEARS AGO: 1982
The Owen Reed Chevrolet dealership in Franklin closed due to the economic downturn. Reed was a former Shelbyville and St. Paul resident. His attorney, Bob Good of Shelbyville, blasted General Motors for having “some responsibility to their dealers that they’re not keeping.”
Tom Meloy received the Conservation Farmer of the Year Award at the annual meeting of the Shelby County Soil and Water Conservation District. Meloy was commended for cleaning out a 7,500-foot open drainage ditch that went through his farm 20 years prior and continually maintaining it. SCSW’s district chairman was Tom Everhart.
50 YEARS AGO: 1972
Mark Tuley and Sharon Wisker were named king and queen of the Southwestern High School Sunshine Society Sweetheart Dance. Present for the crowning ceremony were Dale Ann Dunham, crown bearer; Polly Tomlin, who crowned the king; Kevin Siebert, who crowned the queen; and Mike Denton, crown bearer.
Dale Amos, chairman of the Amos-Thompson Corp. and the Edinburg State Bank, died.
Shelbyville Patrolman Robert M. Nolley graduated with the 13th class at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. He was one of 77 men to complete the 240-hour course.
60 YEARS AGO: 1962
Linda Knight was named REC Sweetheart during a dance. Finalists in the competition had been Ann Woodmansee, Carolyn Anspaugh and Carol Brokering.
Ten thousand special issue, 4-cent postage stamps commemorating the previous day’s historic space flight of Lt. Col. John H. Glenn Jr., in which he orbited the earth, were made available at the Shelbyville Post Office. “They’ll go like hot cakes,” Postmaster Louie C. Neu predicted. The stamp was twice the size of an ordinary stamp and was printed in blue and yellow on white paper.
70 YEARS AGO: 1952
Police said they would “crack down hard” on motorists who parked their cars illegally in the vicinity of Paul Cross Gym while attending a game. Cars were continually being parked in alleys, private driveways and on lawns, Chief of Police Lloyd Mellis complained.
Shelbyville Schools superintendent W.F. Loper dismissed school at noon on Friday so that teachers could assist with sectional tourney tasks at Paul Cross Gym.
80 YEARS AGO: 1942
City Engineer Keith Cawood established new traffic regulations on streets leading to Paul Cross Gym to reduce hazards usually experienced during the annual sectional tournament. Restrictions included setting one-way traffic on Tompkins, Second, Elm, West and Meridian Streets during the tournament.
90 YEARS AGO: 1932
The Shelbyville Republican newspaper unwittingly started a controversy by naming “the oldest coin” owned in Shelbyville. Their office was soon flooded with those wanting corrections to the story and claiming ownership of the actual oldest coin. After review, The Republican declared Fred Steffey the winner. He had brought in a Roman copper coin likely from the time of Caeser. The Republican noted they were “inclined to think that this is just about the oldest piece of money in Shelbyville.”
100 YEARS AGO: 1922
The first robin of the year was observed in Shelbyville, “singing merrily in a tree on West Franklin Street,” The Republican reported.
Will Karmire and Marvin Hill filed suit against John James, who lived near Manilla, regarding possession of a dog. James asserted he had loaned the dog to Karmire, who subsequently lost it. James said the dog he had was not the original. Kamire and Hill claimed otherwise.
OBITUARIES
None today