A cluster of woods gathered on a lot — that was the view Lynn and David Ogle, along with their children, would take in from the back windows of their home located in Newburgh, Indiana. In 2016, the couple decided it was the right time to change that view.
It was Dec. 19, 1944, when Pope Pius XII created the Diocese of Evansville, dedicating an area made up of 12 counties in southwestern Indiana under its guidance. In 2020, the parishioners of the diocese are celebrating this moment during the diocese’s 75th anniversary. Bishop Joseph M. Siegel, who serves as bishop of the diocese, says parishes, schools, and organizations have been encouraged to do service projects linked to the number 75.
Last year, the Evansville Museum of Art, History and Science led 427 unique museum tours across 200 field trips that reached 6,000 students, all of them led by the 35 volunteers of the Docent Association. Docents at the Evansville Museum go through a six-month training process where they learn about every aspect of the museum and every type of tour, like art, science, early childhood education, EMTRAC and transportation, history, and others.
Scroll through Zach Rhea’s Instagram page and Evansville residents will discover a side to the city they most likely have never seen before — a symmetrical view of the Downtown METS bus station, scenic views of the twin boardwalks at Howell Wetlands, and a long-exposure shot of the Lloyd Expressway from the pedestrian overpass near Highway 41.
Kyle Rickenbaugh and Adam James had never visited an axe-throwing facility before wanting to open Plaid & Timber Axe Throwing Company. After seeing the activity become popular across the country, the duo opened their own business in Evansville at 2710 Eastside Park Road in November last year. Before visiting Plaid & Timber, I had only tried axe throwing once. But the experience was enough to make me want to try again.
Mark Stutsman has a thing for filing cabinets. When he sees them at picking spots and markets, he can’t help but examine and purchase them — which explains how he came across one particular cabinet in his store, located at 2201 N. Kentucky Ave. “Any time I see something like [an older filing cabinet], I have to snag it,” he says. “When I saw these, I knew I had to have them. When I was told it was the Courier and Press archives on microfilm, that sealed the deal.”
When building a home with more than 10,000 square feet, there is a lot of work and detail that needs to come together. Luckily for the Evansville Living Idea Home 2020 to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Ohio Valley, the project’s contractor, Hirsch Custom Homes, is moving steadily along.
Rita Meeks said if she could find a spot that felt perfect, she would open a boutique in Newburgh, Indiana. Mid-March last year, she opened R4 Design at 707 State St., in the new complex that also houses The Tin Fish. “The more I was around Newburgh, the more I fell in love with the town,” says Meeks. “The more I came down around the old town, it’s just charming to me.”
Resting on a 1.21-acre lot, the home at 435 Winstead Way provides the perfect package of comfort and luxury wrapped in a decorative brick fence. “If you are on the West Side and are looking for a home like no other, this is it,” says Marc Hoeppner, an Ellis-Schafer Team broker associate with F.C. Tucker Emge Realtors.
Entwined Wine and Cocktail Bar has opened in Downtown Evansville at 303 Main St., offering a robust wine, beer, and cocktail list and a seasonal tapas menu. Serving Mexican favorites like quesadillas, tacos, and burritos, Ghost Quesadilla is open at 4222 Bell Road, Newburgh, IN. Poke River is now open at 6240 E.Virginia St. with a twist on the popular Hawaiian and Japanese dish of poke, like poke bowls, sushi burritos, or poke salads.
The highs are not as high; the lows are not as low. We have heard that phrase about Evansville. We have had our share of lows here in the River City. As well, many indicators tell us we have been living in a pretty darn good era. A low point was painfully recalled for many of us two weeks ago as counties in West and Middle Tennessee were destroyed in an F3 tornado, killing at least 24 people, most in Putnam County. On Nov. 6, 2005, an F3 tornado took 25 lives in Evansville and Warrick County, the greatest number in a mobile home neighborhood on Evansville’s far East Side.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. Susan B. Anthony, who authored the amendment, was in Evansville a number of times in the 1870s, speaking at a Woman’s Suffrage Association convention held in Evansville in November 1887.
Kids around here have game — whether on the court, in the research lab, or out in the community volunteering, our area has some pretty awesome students doing spectacular things. We got the inside information from schools in Evansville and Newburgh, Indiana, asking them to give up some of their most outstanding, talented, unique, cool, fun, aspiring, and inspiring kids. Narrowed down to 10, check out these cool kids who have a knack for standing out.
“My mother always said, ‘Art is the best medicine,’” says AJ Brightman. In the summer of 1980, Brightman’s mother and artist Leslie McCool was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. McCool passed away May 1, 2018, but her son, along with her brothers and sisters, keep her spirit alive through a website and Facebook page featuring her art.
While the travel industry is in limbo with the COVID-19 virus now spreading across the U.S., it is important to remember this, too, will pass, and by summer we are likely to again be freely planning vacations and trips. If your escape is domestic, consider a visit to the Great Smoky Mountains — Gatlinburg, Sevierville, and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and the surrounding counties. (Editor's Note: As of March 26, the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is closed to visitors due to COVID-19 restrictions.)
With recipes handed down through generations, Yak & Yeti has a goal to serve fresh, healthy, homemade, and authentic food to the Tri-State. Located on the East Side at 815 S. Green River Road, the Himalayan-inspired restaurant offers Nepali dishes with bold delicious flavors both on the menu and from a daily lunch buffet. The lunch buffet runs from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. seven days a week, and while many tasty meals are offered on the buffet, several customer favorites are found on the menu.
When Lindsay Locasto was a kid, she always asked to arrange the relish tray for holiday parties. Today, she has grown her love of food boards into her hobby Spread + Slice out of Henderson, Kentucky, making charcuterie boards for family, friends, and local events. “Grazing is an easier way to be social, rather than a sit-down meal,” says Locasto. “It’s a good conversation piece to stand around and say, ‘Try this. Try this with that.’”
A trip to Schymik’s Kitchen doesn’t just lead diners to Haynie’s Corner, it also takes them on a global feast through dishes from most, if not all, continents. The diverse and curated menu is one of many unique aspects the new restaurant at 1112 Parrett St. is bringing to the area. “We came up with what we thought was very different than anything Evansville had to offer,” says owner Scott Schymik. “I don’t know of a single place that does what we do here in town.”
The Illiana Barn Sale in Princeton, Indiana, appears to be a simple flea market, but the antiques inside represent the lifelong passion of Rodney Marvell. “I’ve been collecting since I was 8 years old,” says Marvell, a Fort Branch, Indiana, native. “It’s one of those things that once it gets in you, it keeps building.”
Mattie Miller grew up in Adams, Tennessee, and moved to Evansville when she married her husband William Miller in 1953. Her first teaching job was at Lincoln High School. In 1962, she began teaching at Harper Elementary School as the school’s first African-American teacher before schools had been desegregated. Almost 40 years later after holding several positions within the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, she retired from Harper as the school’s principal.
Currently, Evansville residents, along with all Hoosiers, are abiding by a stay-at-home order issued by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on March 23, 2020. This order mandated that all residents remain in their homes except when they are at work or for permitted, essential activities.
Vote for the Best of Evansville! Tell us the latest and greatest the city has to offer! The 19th annual Best of Evansville competition is your chance to vote for your favorites. So, what people and places stand out to you?
