November / December 2010

In 1978, soon after graduating from the University of Evansville, artist Brad Hill sketched a tranquil, wintry scene: a police officer standing on a hill under a starry sky, looking down on a snow-covered city. He mailed photocopies of the

The party season is fast approaching. Don’t let new ideas wane. We asked a local event planner and caterer to design a fantasy bash to spark your imagination. Here are the rules: There are no rules. Here is the budget:

Wearing his best Stetson hat and khaki pants, Paul Mann Sr. climbed atop an ancient Native American mound on his farmland, television cameras following him. It was the mid-1970s, and Mann’s Posey County farm — long fabled to harbor rare

Philip Koch swears he was born in Santa Claus, Ind., when the small town one hour east of Evansville had only 37 residents. Today, about 2,500 call Santa Claus home, and every summer, thousands of visitors converge at Holiday World

Growing up in Mexico City with a Spanish father who loved to cook, Sandra Soto remembers eating plates of steaming paella: a traditional dish of fragrant saffron rice, fresh seafood, and vegetables. When she moved to Evansville and began teaching

I met Jerlene Cannon, a co-owner of Stonewall Farms, at Penny Lane’s locals-only market where farmers from within 100 miles of Evansville displayed their fruits, vegetables, meats, breads, and dairy products every Saturday through October. The regional farmer with a

For 36 years, regardless of whether or not it’s snowing, Billie Rothschild has celebrated a white Christmas with family and friends at her Evansville home on Stonegate Road. “My home always has provided a neutral background for my many collectibles,”

What do you get when you combine a former radio personality in St. Louis and a budget-minded mom of three in Evansville? A close friendship, a recently published cookbook, and more than 150 clever recipes inspired by rock ‘n’ roll.

Before the Evansville Living Downtown Idea Home opened to the public in September, Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel noted, “Our hope is that the home at 620 Washington Ave. will be a catalyst for additional revitalization in this historic area, a gateway

Credit the Japanese for Imari, named for the Japanese port city known for exporting the art pieces — white translucent porcelain platters with a cobalt blue underglaze — in the 16th century. The Chinese saw what a racket the porcelain-plate

The snowbirds are calling. Southern Indiana folks who make Evansville their home six to eight months of the year have headed south. By the time you read this magazine, the midday sun here will be sinking to a low spot

Cup & Chaucer Café has reopened in Central Library (200 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.). The menu: sandwiches, paninis, salads, and snacks. … Valerie Ewers has reopened Jeanne’s Gelato & More (2003 Lincoln Ave.) near the University of Evansville.

Today, Deaconess and St. Mary’s health systems employ thousands of Tri-State residents, maintain large medical campuses, and offer state-of-the-art care. Each health system began its legacy of caring for sick and injured residents more than 100 years ago, and pieces

Call us partial, but we like magazines. So does Barbara Kinney, an award-winning photojournalist whose work has been published on the covers of Time, Newsweek, and People magazines. Kinney, an Evansville native, also was the staff photographer for the White

Long ago, Philip Koch envisioned his home in Santa Claus, Ind., like Chevy Chase’s suburban dwelling in the 1980s flick Christmas Vacation. In the iconic comedy, Chase, the middle-class family’s patriarch, goes wild on outdoor Christmas lights, causing a power

Born in the Bronx, a New York City borough with a tough reputation, Frank Spadavecchio lived far from the boot-shaped country of his ancestors. But Spadavecchio, a third-generation Italian, was surrounded by tiny bakeries, meat markets, and delis. When the

One year from now, the new stadium is expected to open Downtown — much to the chagrin of a vocal opposition, a few of whom dubbed the yet-unnamed project “The John” after Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel, a major arena supporter. The

Before 1993, the tree limbs at Garvin Park were bare every winter, but ever since, Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights has transformed the empty landscape into a wonderland of holiday-inspired light displays. For the past 16 years, more than 200,000 visitors

Christian Bennett’s role as a petty officer in the U.S. Navy requires toughness. Look at her picture — the portrait of a fierce warrior. Yet, Bennett, a 20-year-old North High School alumna, is a sweetheart. “She always had a smile

I may pen this column, but I don’t work in the Evansville Living offices. As a designer with Landscapes by Dallas Foster, my workspaces are my clients’ yards and gardens except for a crisis call to this magazine’s office, which

When I was in sixth grade, I was assigned to create a travel brochure on the Taj Mahal, a stunning 17th-century building in Agra, India. I handed in a construction-paper leaflet with images copied from library books and pasted on

Chris Lowery has kept in touch regularly with Walter McCarty since their days attending Plaza Park Middle School together in the mid-1980s. The two Harrison High School graduates have had plenty to talk about. Lowery became an all-Missouri Valley Conference

With 58,559 seats spread across 50 theaters, Branson, Mo., offers more theater seating than New York City’s Broadway. And for many of Branson’s 7.8 million annual visitors, its live music shows are its signature song. But the city’s greatest hit

Before Lisa Dillinger’s fifth birthday approached, she convinced herself she’d become a ballerina. Her parents bought Dillinger a book — heavy on pictures — about dance technique, and the preschooler practiced in her bedroom. At 6, she surpassed her fellow

Christmas season is here, which means it’s time for holiday tunes and movies. Specifically, it’s time for the 24-hour TBS showcase of a leg lamp, a Red Ryder BB gun, and a tongue frozen to a flagpole: the 1983 comedy

Long before Eastland Mall opened and traffic jams blocked Green River Road every weekend in December, shoppers headed Downtown for holiday gifts. With animated storefronts and window scenes, retailers such as Sears, Roebuck & Co. and Schear’s Department Store (pictured

Inspired by local happenings — and news from Evansville Living magazine — we present these links that made us click for more. Before GPS: At the new exhibition at Angel Mounds, archaeologists showcase artifacts nearly 2,000 years old from one

For Evansville Living’s feature story “Dream Parties” (Nov/Dec 2010), independent caterer Ronnie Lee crafted a menu that feels right at home in meat and potato country, but is sophisticated enough for a dinner bash. Lee gave us his recipe for