Diners love their fish filets on Fridays during Lent, which this year runs from March 5-April 17. Hot catfish fiddlers are a staple all year long at Knob Hill Tavern. A mainstay in Newburgh, Indiana, since 1943, these cornmeal-crusted fiddlers earned Evansville Living readers’ accolades for best catfish in 2024. Many parishes hold pop-up fish fries during Lent, with St. Benedict Cathedral hosting one each Friday. Other established spots for fresh fried fish on daily menus are Tin Fish, also in Newburgh; COMFORT by the Cross-Eyed Cricket, Patsy Hartigan’s Irish Pub, and Major Munch, all Downtown; St. Phillip’s Inn, on Evansville’s far West Side; and via fish and chips platters from Bodine’s Newsstand food truck.
Your Two Cents
Read more about Evansville Living’s 25th anniversary in the March/April 2025 feature.
“Over the years, I have sent gift subscriptions to friends and relatives who live in larger cities like Columbus and Dayton, Ohio, Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania, Atlanta, Georgia, and Indianapolis, and they have all told me that Evansville Living is a better-quality magazine with content and the material used to print the magazines than their own local magazine. Now, I would say that is a compliment!”
— Dennis Hare is an art and history collector whose artifacts have appeared in several issues. His holiday ornaments prominently factored into the “Shiny & Bright” cover of the November/ December 2013 issue.
“Evansville Living is one of the best marketing tools for our city. Over the years, I have made sure it was included in a packet for prospective employees, in a welcome basket for visitors (personally and professionally), and in presentations for work, whether on Capitol Hill or to the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine.”
— Lucy Himstedt has contributed articles about parish picnics and unique homes, and sent in Snapshots from around the world since retiring as the general manager of Channel 14 WFIE in 2004.
“Everyone looks forward to seeing their pic- ture in Evansville Living, including me! When I was asked to take a picture for Evansville Living, I said, ‘No problem.’ I met photographer Jesse Southerland at Veterans Memorial Coliseum and took a few pictures, and that was it. The next thing I know, I’m on the cover of the Best of Evansville issue!”
— Gina Moore is a singer and one half of The Browne Sisters gospel act. She was our editors’ pick for Most Likely to Steal the Spotlight in the 2006 Best of Evansville awards.
“An annual favorite is the Best of Evansville issue. It opens my eyes to what others have discovered and are passionate about in the entertainment, business, and government sectors. This is always a truly educational issue.”
— Randy Wheeler worked 30 years for WIKY-FM before retiring as news director in 2014. He penned the cover story about Newburgh in the March/April 2017 issue.
“I was very flattered to be asked to prepare a lengthy timeline for the 2012 bicentennial issue of City View. We adapted that work for Leadership Everyone’s visioning program and use it quarterly for LE retreats to shape attendees’ views on the area’s past.”
— Kelly Coures retired in January 2024 as executive director of the Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development. He has shared his vast knowledge of local history with Evansville Living readers since 2011.
“When I have what I think is an interesting story idea, I don’t hesitate to reach out, as was the case when I emailed Kristen Tucker in December 2022 about George Relyea and his passion for baking bread. How cool is that? I’m not sure if we lived in a larger community, we would have the option to get to know the magazine’s publisher and editor.”
— Patricia Jackson is a communications specialist for CenterPoint Energy. Her passion for cooking was featured in the September/October 2018 issue.
“(Evansville Living has) an impact on the whole Tri-State and has shown locals and visitors what it means to be here. We live in a great River City. It’s nice to be reminded, ‘Look what’s here.’ You live here; you should be proud of that. … It’s a bold introduction to this community.”
— Kirsten Wagmeister was feted by readers as the Most Active Volunteer on the July/August 2003 Best of Evansville cover. In the magazine’s early years, she also covered events in a section called Soiree.
“Evansville Living has made people know that this is a great place to live with a whole lot going on. It’s made the city more knowledge- able in recognizing people who have done a lot for the city that others didn’t know about. Recognizing people who have lived here and what they’ve accomplished. Hidden treasures. It has brought to the horizon things that peo- ple never knew about.”
— Frank Patton Jr.’s sons Frank III and Jeremiah both have interned for Evansville Living. The retired caterer’s barbecue was featured in the March/April 2016 cover story, “Into The Pit.”
25 on 25
Read more 25th anniversary stories in the March/April 2025 feature.
Picture Evansville in early 2000. Although Y2K hysteria proved unfounded, we were on the cusp of big cultural changes. Email was in its infancy, chat rooms were the rage, and social media — who had heard of that? If we had news to share, we mailed a letter. If we wanted to meet a friend at the Casino Aztar riverboat, we picked up the phone and called them. We swapped stories over plates of schnitzel at Gerst Bavarian Haus, then a new West Side restaurant. We weren’t glued to electronic devices for the simple reason that cell phones — and tablets, and laptops — had yet to break into the mainstream. Meanwhile, Todd and Kristen Tucker asked themselves a question: “Why doesn’t Evansville have a city magazine?” After years of flipping through hyper-local glossy publications while traveling, the Tuckers led a coordinated effort spotlighting the people, places, and things that color Evansville, from beautiful homes and beloved pets to solar eclipses, nostalgia, and our unending love affair with pizza. A quarter-century later, Evansville Living still has plenty
of stories to share. Look back at these 25 highlights since the magazine first rolled off the press in 2000.
1. Let’s Start at the Beginning
Launched in March/April 2000, the inaugural issue of Evansville Living sported a bird’s-eye view of the city skyline shot by Fred Reaves from the Mead Johnson parking lot behind its Ohio Street complex. Inside, an ensemble of notable writers crafted the first features on Scott Anderson’s restoration of the Old County Jail, the Ohio River Scenic Route, and master trumpeter Doc Severinsen. That first issue crackled with excitement and potential. As Kristen Tucker stated in her first editor’s letter, the magazine was “founded on the sincere belief that the Evansville area is an exciting, diverse, and unique place to live and write about.” Readers agreed then, and still do!
2. Longstanding News Anchors Just Now Retiring
Some of the most recognizable faces in any community are its television news anchors, and Evansville is no different – a May/June 2002 article profiled five of them (Randy Moore, then of WTVW; Brad Byrd of WEHT; and David James, Ann Komis, and Mike Blake, all of WFIE). The piece described the quintet as “long running,” but as it turned out, they were just getting started: All stayed on local airwaves way beyond the article’s publication. Both Moore, who moved onto WFIE, and Byrd signed off in 2024. Komis and James retired in 2014 and 2015, respectively. And Blake? Viewers still can tune into “Middays with Mike” on WFIE.
3. Being Starstruck
Evansville Living has enjoyed rubbing elbows with VIPs now and then. Michael Rosenbaum, who was raised in Newburgh and portrayed Lex Luthor in the TV show “Smallville,” was interviewed for cover stories in 2007 and 2012. The magazine has profiled “Roseanne” and “Home Improvement” creator Matt Williams as well as fellow University of Evansville theater graduate Ron Glass. A July/August 2007 interview with Sue Watkins delved into the creative genius of her late brother, the fashion designer and Benjamin Bosse High School alum known as Halston. The River City, of course, also was a setting for the 1992 star-studded baseball movie “A League of Their Own,” and while the production predated Evansville Living, the magazine’s 2011 City View issue recalled that memorable summer when Tom Hanks, Madonna, Geena Davis, Rosie O’Donnell, and other stars roamed Evansville for a little while — “A Film of Our Own,” the article called it.
4. What’s New in Food?
Where to eat? From the beginning, Evansville Living has shared its appetite for memorable dining experiences with readers. The inaugural issue described Regent Court (which rebranded in 2003 as Cavanaugh’s on the River) as “no place to plan a cheap date,” but where diners “get what (they) pay for.” It also praised Gerst Bavarian Haus – then a mere three years old – as the authentic German restaurant Evansville had long needed. Other early editions reviewed Turoni’s, whose thin-crust pizza still stands the test of time, and although it closed in 2022, DiLegge’s Italian dishes live on at Jacob’s Pub. After 25 years, have we had our fill? Not even close.
5. Downtown’s Overhaul
As a Downtown resident ourselves, Evansville Living has had a front-row seat to the neighborhood’s transformation. Old National Bank and the utility now known as CenterPoint Energy opened riverfront headquarters in 2004 and 2005, respectively. The Koch Family Children’s Museum of Evansville opened in 2006 in the former Central Library building. We were around, too, for construction of the Ford Center in 2011. (Can you believe it’s been 14 years?) When the Casino Aztar riverboat sailed off in 2017, gamers moved to the land-based casino now known as Bally’s Evansville. It sits within view of the USS LST-325, which in 2020 relocated downriver from Inland Marina. Let’s also not forget the 2017 debut of the Hilton DoubleTree hotel and the Stone Family Center for Health Sciences a year later, plus many restaurants, small businesses, and housing units. What will Downtown look like in the next 25 years? Stay tuned.
6. Reporting in the Moment
It was supposed to be a swing and a hit. Instead, it was a bad case of whiplash: Class A baseball was coming to Evansville from Georgia, backed by star power like retired Yankee Don Mattingly and Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. as minority owners. “Evansville television stations went live with the announcement, and it had the feel of a genuine pep rally,” Mark Mathis wrote in the March/April 2003 issue. By the very next issue, that “go” was a “no,” as the $25 million concept had been scrapped.
7. Dreaming Up Idea Homes
While touring Coastal Living’s Idea Home in Beaufort, South Carolina, in summer 2002, real estate developer John Pickens and his late wife, Susan, wondered if this same initiative could land in Evansville. The concept showcasing the region’s best in original residential construction and design in one premier home appealed to the Pickenses, who shared the idea with Evansville Living’s owners upon returning to the River City. The idea took root, and a jaw-dropping seven months later, Evansville’s first Idea Home opened in Sutherland, then a new subdivision of Southern-style residences off Covert Avenue. Buoyed by local enthusiasm, five more Idea Homes followed, including a McCutchanville villa with European influences in 2005, an Old World-New World marriage in Cambridge Village in 2007, a lakeside retreat in The Estates at Victoria in 2009, the extensive restoration of a historic property on Washington Avenue in 2010, and a mansion with Southern California cool in Victoria Estates in 2021. Tours of each Idea Home benefited area charities and put local collaboration front and center.
8. Big Moves at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science
Wasn’t it only yesterday that Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science was in the middle of its $14.1 million expansion? Actually, that was 12 years ago. At the time of the January/February 2013 issue, four of the five phases of the construction project were completed, with the final stage being a renovated plaza and planetarium to replace the former 60-year-old dome. The new planetarium has since become a main attraction at the museum, showing the wonders of the universe. Since then, Mary Bower retired as the museum’s John Streetman Executive Director, and the museum’s rediscovered Picasso glass mosaic, “Seated Woman with Red Hat,” was put on display last year. The Picasso’s rediscovery made national news, and it took more than a decade for the public to gaze upon it once again, bringing a once-forgotten treasure back into the light.
9. Evansville at War
Evansville’s wartime prowess is the stuff of legend, receiving major attention since 2005, when the USS LST-325 was sailed up the Ohio River to its new home in a town that produced 167 of them (more than any other U.S. shipyard) during World War II. That, in addition to manufacturing 6,670 P-47 aircraft and 96 percent of the country’s total .45 caliber ammunition, sparked the 2017 opening of the Evansville Wartime Museum to document the city’s staggering war efforts. A national WWII Heritage City designation — an honor only one city per state can receive — followed in 2023, which inspired Indiana officials to create a statewide military trail. “Here on the home front, Evansville stepped up to the challenges as many cities across the country did. World War II changed the fabric of our city in business and industry, societal norms, population, and much more,” read an opening paragraph of the January/February 2021 cover story. Seventy years after the war ended, the city’s hard work is getting its due credit.
10. 420 Main and Main Street
The city has seen subtractions over the past quarter century, as well as fits and starts on certain activities. Nowhere was this truer than on the Main Street block between Fourth and Fifth streets. The former Old National Bank headquarters — at 18 stories, a signature part of the city’s skyline — was eyed in 2019 for a remodel that would whip it back into shape. (The December 2019/January 2020 Evansville Business cover story delved into the concept.) A closer building inspection and the COVID-19 pandemic took a wrecking ball to those plans, and the decision was made to implode it and start anew. That spectacle carried the January/February 2022 issue of Evansville Living. In 2024, we were there again as ground was broken on a four-story mixed-use development, which has been framing up fast ahead of its expected 2026 completion date.
11. Celebrating the Best of Evansville
Each summer buzzes in Evansville Living’s office, as the magazine’s Best of Evansville awards come together. Since 2001, readers have voted for the businesses, organizations, places, and people they think stand apart from the rest in town, and the awards have become a point of pride among winners. Staff get in on the fun for this city magazine staple, too. Editors’ picks have included winners for Best Way to Light Up the Night, Best Unvarnished Look at Evansville, Best Way to Throw Shade, Best Comeback, and Best Glow-Up. The best part? Seeing what readers choose each year, adding new and unique perspectives on our city.
12. Most Beautiful Homes
Home stories are a big hit with readers, and this is one of our most popular issues. Inspired by a concept in St. Louis Magazine, in 2019 Evansville Living editors featured the first profile of the area’s Most Beautiful Homes. It was no easy feat: Eighty-two homes were vetted, and the list whittled down to 10. We start photographing at the first tinge of green each spring. Varying architectural styles are celebrated, and each profile uncovers the details and stories that make each residence unique. Backed by readers’ enthusiasm, five covers have been devoted to Most Beautiful Homes stories, with a sixth on the way — we already are scouting homes to appear in May/June!
13. Chasing Eclipses
What are the odds that we’d find ourselves in the shadow of the sun twice in 25 years? Evansville skirted 2017’s Great American Solar Eclipse and the magazine was all aboard, trumpeting the eclipse on the July/August cover and even printing posters. Community organizers broke out those prints five years later when they started planning for 2024’s eclipse, in which the River City landed a coveted spot in the path of totality. Thousands of umbraphiles — a term for eclipse chasers, we learned — again flocked to Evansville for the celestial event last spring. Consider us starstruck.
14. Stories That Got People Talking
“Did you see that article in Evansville Living?” Plenty of stories have sparked conversation in coffee shops, around the office water cooler, and, more recently, on social media. More buzz came in a July/August 2003 story that asked crucial questions about a splashy plan for an aquarium – it eventually went belly up. A 2009 story about John Hull, a Gibson County farmer who spent years as a CIA operative and factored into the Iran-Contra Affair, resulted in a note from Col. Oliver North thanking the magazine for the story on his “friend and patriot.” On a lighter (figuratively speaking!) note, the May/June 2016 cover story unveiled the discovery of a two century-old wooden mallet in Spencer County that belonged to, drumroll please, Abraham Lincoln. “It was very exciting,” then-Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch told Evansville Living. “… Not just to be a part of it, but to be able to hold it. Something that Lincoln made and held; it was surreal.”
15. Times We Wore Our Heart on Our Sleeve
Events both locally and internationally have reminded us that life shouldn’t be taken for granted. Evansville Living was in its second year when hijacked airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in rural Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001. The devastation touched every corner of the globe, including Evansville. Still raw with grief, the final issue of 2001 encouraged in readers a sense of reflection through images of Evansville houses of worship, and Sept. 11 influenced the magazine’s coverage throughout the next year. A closer-to-home tragedy came on Nov. 6, 2005, when an overnight tornado roared across the Ohio River and claimed 25 lives in Evansville and Warrick County. The next six issues mourned the neighbors we lost and chronicled what happened through survivor and first responder accounts.
16. Songs of Our City
Music is a part of the city’s soul, and Evansville Living’s as well. Readers learn the stories behind performers like the Evansville Philharmonic’s classical musicians and singers, harpist Caroline Roberts, singer-songwriter Brick Briscoe, and Father Claude Burns, a Catholic pastor and rapper. A 2011 cover story declared that the city’s music scene was budding and “about to make some noise.” That proved prescient: When the July/August 2024 issue came around, some of the stages had changed (RIP Duck Inn and Gloria’s Corral Club), but local bands and talent were soaring. The Pits remain a favorite for their big bag of eclectic covers. The magazine winked at multi-instrumentalist Monte Skelton’s many talents on the 2020 Best of Evansville cover. Newer bands such as groovy Georgia Funkadelic and punk rockers The Chugs have made waves and helped usher in Evansville’s first Front Porch Fest in 2015.
17. Pets Who Have Captured Human Hearts
We love our own pets at Evansville Living, and given a chance, we’ll probably love yours, too. Over 25 years, we’ve devoted three covers (so far!) to the beloved animals that enrich our lives. The July/August 2023 cover package, featuring reader-favorite therapy pig Teddy, noted how pets helped us persevere during the COVID-19 pandemic. A 1-year-old Labrador named Little Boss graced the March/April 2019 cover, while the September/October 2013 cover package reported on “pawsitively the most epic showdown of all time” — dog vs. cat — a debate which still causes fur to fly.
18. Championing Historic Preservation
Historic preservation is in Evansville Living’s DNA, and not just because two of the magazine’s three offices have been housed in historic buildings. One early piece was the March/April 2002 cover story detailing resident Kathy Oliver’s battle with the Historic Preservation Commission over her plan to restore a home on Southeast Riverside Drive – the dispute centered on windows, of all things, and wound up in court. By the May/June 2005 issue, the Preservation Commission had approved a lengthy list of rules to guide its work. Other stories have chronicled high-profile commercial and residential projects, like the former National Biscuit Company building as 2nd Language restaurant and upper-level apartments. Multiple issues reported on the years-long effort to bring back the beloved former Greyhound station Downtown — its second life as BRU Burger Bar remains a point of pride. And who can forget Owen Block? The 1882-era French Second Empire building on Chestnut Street would have faced demolition if not for the efforts of Indiana Landmarks, Architectural Renovators, and a group of passionate citizens who called themselves “Blockheads.” On the horizon? Preservation work at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Mesker Amphitheatre, and more.
19. Power Players
The November/December 2001 issue asked, “How has Evansville produced so many great athletes?” There are too many to name, but the city’s starting lineup is stacked, and many have graced the magazine’s covers. In spring 2000, Evansville hoops stars Calbert Cheaney and Walter McCarty posed on the TD Garden court in Boston, Massachusetts, for the magazine’s second cover. New York Yankee first baseman Don Mattingly’s 2003 cover touted a new baseball stadium for his hometown. Pro golfer Jeffrey Overton lined up a putt at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, on the March/April 2006 cover. Putting Olympic gold medal swimmer Lilly King on Evansville Living’s 100th issue cover in 2016 just made sense, as she was celebrating two gold medals earned at the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That athletic star power led to “Sports Town,” a 2024 feature package with stories about renowned River City athletes, the city’s many IHSAA titles, profiles on up-and-coming sports stars, and more jewels in the city’s sports crown.
20. Indulging Nostalgia
The city’s colorful history has given Evansville Living readers plenty of opportunities to reminisce. 2020 kicked off with a look back at Evansville’s 1970s culture, such as the disastrous music festival in 1972 known as Bull Island, the shocking 1977 car bombing death of wealthy oilman and gambler Ray Ryan, and, also in 1977, the reverberating grief of losing the University of Evansville men’s basketball team and others in a downed airplane. Many other nostalgic reflections in the magazine brought joy, like a 2014 cover package full of readers’ memories of growing up in the River City, from seeing Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden’s monkey ship to eating at the Farmer’s Daughter restaurant.
21. Weathering COVID-19
There has not been a greater impact on so many lives in recent years than the COVID-19 pandemic. We started seeing local effects in spring 2020, and the government’s subsequent stay-at-home mandate resulted in the first issue of Evansville Living produced entirely remotely. The May/June issue noted the strange circumstances in a photo essay called Porch Portraits: From a safe distance, Zach Straw photographed family and friends, even the furry ones, from the entrance of their domiciles as the world navigated a new socially distanced normal. Some people had fun with it — striking a silly pose or putting on a mock circus act — while others displayed messages of community solidarity and support for front-line workers. Five years to the month since COVID-19 changed life in Evansville, we find it’s still worth reflecting on.
22. We Still Love Pizza
Over the years, we’ve hungrily enjoyed reporting on Evansville’s pizza palate. A 2015 cover story — “written and devoured” by Evansville Living, the byline read — paid tribute to longtime favorites like the cracker-thin crusts served una-style at Turoni’s, wide gourmet slices at (where else?) The Slice, a Grippos-and-Ski Westsider pie from the Niemeier brothers at Azzip Pizza, and spin-offs like stacked strombolis from Pizza King. What’s been cooking since then? In 2017, we sank our teeth into the Neapolitan and Detroit-style pizzas at Pangea Kitchen. A signature stromboli pie from Spankey’s Una Pizza comforted us while social distancing in spring 2020. And we were hungrily lining up in 2021 when the Square Zip debuted at Azzip.
23. Capturing a Slice of Evansville Life
Stories of the rhythms and energies that make up everyday life are what fuel Evansville Living, and several cover stories have dug into those slices of life. Take a 2011 lighthearted exploration of people, places, and things in the city that define “fun,” or the tongue-in-cheek analysis of what pumps up the male species in 2006’s “The Man Issue.” (We still break out those Best Damn Chili recipes!) A 2009 issue sought to answer “how does it feel?” to catch a ride on Air Force One (then-Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel), score a hole in one in golf (Robbie Kent Sr.), win the lottery (Bruce Rockman did it twice), and sail a boat for three years (Randy Julian). And as Evansville’s multicultural population has grown and evolved, cover stories in 2007 and 2025 spotlighted new residents and the cultures they brought with them to their new hometown — proving that a slice of life in Evansville is anything but ordinary.
24. On The Open Road
Road trip! Just like readers, Evansville Living has traveled from coast to coast, both literally via Snapshots and figuratively in the destinations written about in these pages. Readers have tagged along as magazine staff and intrepid contributors have feasted on oysters along Orange Beach, Alabama; rooted for mail jumpers on Wisconsin’s Geneva Lake; taken a salsa dance lesson at Mango’s Tropical Café in the heart of Miami, Florida’s South Beach neighborhood; sampled Rhône-style wines and adventurous cuisine in Fredericksburg, Texas; and discovered a 20-degree temperature difference along the 2.7-mile Sandia Peak aerial tramway in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A spring 2004 story likened a Caribbean excursion to “sailing through a postcard.” Ten years later, we cruised that idyllic path again. What destination is next on Evansville Living’s itinerary? Stay tuned!
25. Evansville Still is the Center of the World
We know you’ve experienced it: You’re out of town, maybe at a ballgame or a concert, and while engaging with a group of folks in the hotel lobby, you learn one of them grew up in Evansville. What started as a cheeky remark in a March/April 2001 feature story still rings true: No matter where you are in the world, you’re six degrees of separation from Evansville. Inspired by the 1994 game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” Evansville Living staff put their own twist on it and found links to everyone from 1920s singer Al Jolson, Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan, crooner Frank Sinatra, rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Buddy Holly, even the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. After 25 years, we can add more names — and even shorter links — to the list, like singer Bruno Mars, who has won half of his 16 Grammy Awards with his songwriting partner, 1992 Reitz Memorial High School graduate Philip Lawrence. Whether overt or under the radar, the River City’s ties across the world always have a way of coming to the surface.
Buttermilk Road Basics
For nearly 100 years, U.S. 41 has been an essential route for north-south travel, but did you know its boundaries expand far outside the Tri-State?
Today’s 2,000-mile highway stretches from Copper Harbor on Michigan’s rugged Upper Peninsula southeast to Brickell, a high-rise neighborhood in Miami, Florida. It partly follows a trail between the Great Lakes and the Gulf that buffalo and Native American tribes once traversed. During the stagecoach era, a section from Henderson, Kentucky, to Nashville, Tennessee, was called Buttermilk Road after the jugs that farmers left for travelers to quench their thirst.
In 1915, Evansville Mayor Benjamin Bosse launched a campaign to build the Dixie Bee Line, which would link the road with the Florida Short Route (now U.S. Route 280) near Nashville. The Dixie Bee Line became part of U.S. Route 41 and the new U.S. Numbered Highway System on Nov. 11, 1926. An average of 40,000 vehicles cross the Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Twin Bridges every day.
Before a bridge connected Evansville and Henderson, travelers relied on ferries cruising between Dade Park (now Ellis Park) racetrack and Downtown Henderson. The first cantilever bridge, named after 19th century naturalist John James Audubon, opened in 1932, and a second carried southbound traffic starting in 1965. Construction on a new bridge for Interstate 69 travelers is slated to begin in 2027.
More Than A Wish
Wishes are a big part of Granted, but they are just one element of the nonprofit’s mission.
Founded in the 1980s as Wish Upon A Star, the organization offers dreamed-of experiences to children with life-threatening illnesses. As its range of services expanded into emotional and financial support, community involvement, and guidance for navigating steps, in 2016 it rebranded as Granted.
Heather Lawson was introduced to Granted when her 18-year-old daughter, Alexis Rusin, was diagnosed with an aggressive late-stage cancer. Overwhelmed and with little time, Lawson credits Granted Executive Director Susan Washburn for working tirelessly and quickly to ensure that medical equipment, backup plans, and medications were in place for air travel and the Disney visit.
“They took care of all the expenses,” Lawson says with emotion. “When your child’s dying, the last thing you want to say to them is ‘no.’”
After Alexis passed away in December 2021, Lawson became honorary fundraising chair for the House of Hope, a multi-purpose center for Wish families under construction on Oak Hill Road.
Dan Dennison channels his pain into a new mission after losing his 16-year-old son Grant to an extremely rare and difficult-to-treat cancer in May 2022. Dennison became involved with Granted so his son could participate in the inaugural Over The Edge rappelling fundraiser that April but as the date approached, Grant entered hospice.
In addition to giving Dennison a financial gift, “After Grant’s passing, they arranged for us to have precooked meals delivered,” he says. “They kept in contact and included us in with the Granted Guardians website. … We stayed in contact with the organization and new events. Come the next April, I decided to participate.” Dennison now serves as a volunteer board member.
Jason Reeves has had his own unique experience as a Wish kid. Diagnosed with hydrocephalus as an infant, Reeves’ first surgery was when he was one. More than 40 followed. Granted stepped in to assist his family when Reeves was nine and build a lifelong relationship.
Now 19 and considered a Wish “graduate,” Reeves is pursuing a psychology and pre-medicine career track at the University of Evansville. He has joined Granted’s board of directors and is quick to credit the organization for improving his and his family’s lives throughout his procedures.
“I started reaching out to Susan because I just love helping … the people who help me,” he says.
Bridging A Gap
For decades, crossing U.S. 41 at Washington Avenue on foot was a treacherous act, with pedestrians like Benjamin Bosse High School students aided only by sign-carrying guards in florescent vests as they trekked over five lanes of heavy, fast-moving traffic. Now, they can cross with confidence, ease — and safety.
The state long resisted pleas from Evansville mayors and Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation board members, among others, to construct a pedestrian bridge. But a turning point came in 2019, when then-Mayor Lloyd Winnecke and then-Deputy Mayor Steve Schaefer brought former Gov. Eric Holcomb to the intersection. Finally, state transportation officials “got behind the project and pushed it,” says Mike Duckworth, an EVSC board member and himself a 1974 Bosse graduate.
Built throughout 2024, the concrete-and-steel bridge features ADA-accessible ramps on both sides and is wide enough to accommodate several lanes of foot traffic.
Christmas came early for students, as the bridge — although lacking finishing touches — opened in December.
“The pedestrian bridge is more than just steel and concrete — it’s the result of decades of advocacy from parents, educators, and community leaders who have refused to accept unsafe conditions for our students,” Bosse Principal Aaron Huff says. “It’s peace of mind for parents, security for students, and a reminder of what can be accomplished when a community comes together for its young people.”
Bosse students, Huff adds, “have been thrilled. While it takes a few more steps to cross 41, we’ll gladly take those steps to ensure our safety.”
Reflections on an Anniversary
Thank you! By reading this letter and this issue you are celebrating the 25th anniversary of Evansville Living! We could not have done it without you!
We are marking the 151st issue with a new look, a redesign, while we look back on reflecting the city for a quarter century. If you are holding this issue — yes, print is having a renaissance; thousands of copies were printed and distributed through the mail! — you might notice the magazine has experienced a growth spurt: The width has increased by a quarter of an inch. This additional space gives Creative Director Laura Mathis and her team just enough extra room to better use our layout grids, resulting in pages that we think are more reader friendly.
The nameplate, or Evansville Living logo, also is new, though it continues to harken back to the original nameplate design (in use until 2012, when the most recent iteration was introduced). Inside, you’ll find the same sections you go straight to — the events calendar and dining guide, for example — but with new, easy-to-navigate designs.
As we reworked the look of the magazine, we took time to look back; after all, anniversaries are occasions to reflect. Loyal readers for 25 years — you know who you are; thank you! — will recognize the cover photograph as a throwback to the inaugural March/April 2000 cover, but with the city’s now grown-up riverfront. Photographer Zach Straw took the striking image in February with his drone camera. (Smack dab in the middle of the picture are the Tucker Publishing Group, Inc., offices.) The main feature story is a huge collaboration by Managing Editor Jodi Keen, Senior Writer John Martin, and Staff Writer Maggie Valenti, along with the art department and longtime sales account executives Jessica Hoffman and Jennifer Rhoades.
They reviewed all 150 issues produced, noted significant stories, and organized them into the feature, “25 on 25,” beginning on page 38. Most of the stories referenced can be read in full on our website; start typing in your browser!
We welcome comments on the redesign. Thank you for your ongoing engagement with Evansville Living!
As always, I look forward to hearing from you. And … cheers!
Kristen K. Tucker
Publisher & Editor
Our Bend In The River
Without this bend in the Ohio River, there would be no Evansville. It has defined the geographical and commercial aspects of our city, and since its inception, our magazine.
We live in the bend, tucked in so snugly that but for a vantage point on Reitz Hill, you don’t really get a grasp of all that you’re seeing. But it’s always there, grounding us.
Some of our city’s biggest moments were shaped by this river, and it continues to define our trajectory. Built up from the water, Evansville still is pulled back toward it, right down to the 45-degree angle that tips Downtown streets toward the water. As our staff mulled the magazine’s new look, the river emerged as a major thematic structure. You’ll find a new section called The Bend near the start of the magazine, and a riverbend end note concluding each story — just like how the Ohio skirts Evansville from beginning to end.
Evansville Living has never been more than two blocks away from the Ohio River. From passing watercraft to stunning sunsets, the water bookends our days with its gentle, steady movements. The river keeps pulling us closer.
A ‘Voice Can Reach the World’
A lot can happen in a decade. Just ask Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band. The Spanish-and-English indie music duo of Diaz and his wife, Alisha Gaddis, a 1999 F.J. Reitz High School graduate, were performing at Wesselman Woods’ Art in the Park when Evansville Living first featured them in the May/June 2014 issue.
The band also was fresh off winning its first Latin Grammy award in 2013 for Best Latin Children’s Album for “¡Fantastico!” With that accolade, Diaz and Gaddis became the first Americans to win a Latin Grammy in a children’s category.
“It is so special that I get to share what I do … in such a fun capacity,” Gaddis told Evansville Living that spring.
Since then, the band has been nominated for three more Latin Grammy awards — winning one in 2019 with the album “¡Buenos Diaz!” — as well as three Grammys for Best Children’s Album.
The Family Jam Band’s latest hardware came on Feb. 2, when The Recording Academy named its 2024 release “Brillo, Brillo!” Best Children’s Album. It was the group’s first Grammy win and a special moment for Gaddis.
“Winning a Grammy is an incredible honor, but what makes it even more special is representing the Midwest on a global stage,” Gaddis says.
“This win is not just for me. It’s for every kid in a small town who dares to believe that their voice can reach the world,” she adds. “It’s a reminder that big dreams can start anywhere, and with passion and persistence, they can take you everywhere.”
Feline Flow
Do you enjoy meet-cutes with adoptable animals? Give cat yoga at River Kitty Cat Cafe a try. Evansville Living staff visited to see how the fur flies.
The Scoop
Since 2023, River Kitty’s cat room has let patrons meet felines available for adoption through Vanderburgh Humane Society. Cat yoga ups the cute ante.
Participants should bring their own mats and arrive 10 minutes early for the hourlong class, which often is led by Elizabeth Maurer and Brooke Armbruster. While a maximum of 15 humans are led through a continuous flow of simple poses, about a half-dozen cats wander between participants.
The Verdict
During Jan. 25’s class, five cats were playful with participants, with some demanding attention or lying down on yoga mats. Others expressed interest in playing with human toes or touching hair. Participants often broke their positions to pet the cats and take photos, giving the class a relaxed atmosphere.
“Spending time with adoptable cats is always a good time for cat lovers, but the cats benefit the most! It’s enrichment for them — meeting new people and experiencing something new,” says Laurie Miller, Development and Public Relations Coordinator with VHS.
Need to Know
Monthly classes are held on Saturdays and cost $20. Registration is required. Half-hour sessions for $8 are subject to availability. Classes are open to participants over age 12 and all skill levels.
Building a Legacy
Reitz Memorial High School opened its doors to students on Jan. 5, 1925, helping mold future generations over the next 100 years.
Memorial educators prioritize holistic learning, tying academics and spirituality through the private school’s affiliation with the Catholic Diocese of Evansville and Brothers of Holy Cross. That cultural aspect has drawn teachers like Randy Hupfer, who has taught math at Memorial for 45 years.
“Overall, the kids are really still the same. They’re trying to figure out who they are, how they’ll be successful,” he says. “… It always feels special having Mass. … It makes me feel more connected to the Memorial community.”
Since its founding by Francis Joseph Reitz, the Blue Ribbon School — A-rated by the Indiana Department of Education — has made its mark on its students and the Evansville community. It has produced a network of 16,000 alumni, and student-athletes have won 25 IHSAA championships since 1942.
“I would consider us highly competitive in the state,” says Angie Lensing, head girls’ soccer coach and health and physical education teacher for 29 years. “I feel lucky to be a part of the ride.”
Future plans first involve a $10 million capital campaign to invest in facility improvements and maintenance, academics and spiritual development, tuition assistance, and more.
President Josh Reising also highlights goals to reestablish a former 90-year relationship with Brothers of Holy Cross, broaden partnerships with local universities, expand workplace readiness programs, and launch a broadcasting department.
“During my time here, my mission is to honor and build upon the legacy of those who came before me, strengthening the foundation they laid, empower our community, and ensuring our school’s tradition of excellence continues to thrive for generations to come,” Reising says.
A History of Home Havens
For writers, editors, and photographers who enjoy residential architecture and home and garden design, working at a city magazine is a good gig. Offering readers a peek inside beautiful homes is a mainstay of the business; we consider it one of the best perks of the job. It’s not uncommon for Creative Director Laura Mathis to share a preview of the Home of the Issue on her socials captioned, “My Office for the Day.” While we are preparing to photograph multiple properties this spring for upcoming issues, here we look back at 25 homes that stand the test of time.
WE’RE ALL ABOUT COLOR
1. MaryAnn Lingo and her late husband Dr. Max Lingo brought a signature bold look to their riverfront home (January/February 2019). “Most people don’t like this much color in their home, but we like color,” MaryAnn said. “I don’t do neutral.”
2. The story on Mary Beth and Michael Guard’s New Harmony, Indiana, loft (May/June 2024) was aptly titled, “House of Hues.” “The color of the glass tile in the kitchen is the same color we used for our wedding nearly 46 years ago,” Mary Beth, who owns Capers Emporium on the first floor of the building, said.
3. Joni Matthews’ home in the University of Evansville neighborhood displays a colorful attitude much like her fashion sense. Featured in September/ October 2014, the sunroom highlights Matthews’ affection for the beach and sailing.
4. An apartment above the former Stratman’s Pharmacy on Main Street (March/April 2023) caught our eye with a big fish peering from the corner window. The fish was a relic from an early 2000s United Way fundraiser; the space was occupied by Rick Kueber and Elizabeth Clark. “We’re always trying to find funky stuff,” Elizabeth told us.
5. Designed and built in 1981 by Dr. Sanford and Jacquie Schen, the notable double geodesic dome home was featured in July/August 2004. The game room makes use of colorful geometric shapes in the art and upholstery to play to the home’s architecture.
HISTORIC BEAUTIES
6. The yellow Italianate home of Kirk and Sherry Wright on Southeast Riverside Drive is an attention grabber (May/June 2014). The couple named the 1869 “Casa Finale” — for it is to be the last home they purchase. The home made an earlier appearance in March/April 2002 in a story called “Price of Preservation.”
7. Scott and Claire Bosma’s Historic Newburgh, Indiana, home (July/August 2019) has a compelling story, not only because it was built in the 1840s, but because the couple purchased the home from Claire’s parents. It’s where she grew up. “This has always felt like another sibling — the house,” Claire said.
8. “Why not Downtown?” then-Evansville mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel asked in 2009 about a potential Idea Home on Washington Avenue. A year later, the Downtown Idea Home opened for public tours (September/October 2010) in the neighborhood that had landed on Indiana Landmark’s “10 Most Endangered” list.
9. Leanne Banna’s early 1860s home on the Henderson, Kentucky, riverfront (March/April 2024) caught her eye decades before she purchased it to remodel. She calls it “the New Orleans house” because of its ironwork and wide porches — and it always was her favorite home on the street.
10. Hiding in plain sight is one of the city’s most historically significant homes (September/October 2012). Built in the 1840s or 1850s, Pete and Vera McCullough’s Federal-style home is the only aboveground remnant along the Wabash & Erie Canal route through Evansville.
A MODERN TAKE
11. A 1955 residence on Scenic Drive owned at the time (March/April 2022) by Dan Hendrickson is recognized as one of the most authentic examples of mid-century modern architecture in the area. A year-long remodel restored it and added modern amenities selected to blend with the existing characteristics.
12. For Nathan and Noelle Mominee, the home that took three years to design before they built in the woods in Boonville, Indiana, is a mixture of functionality, modern design, and comfort (November/ December 2017). “It was a good thing it took some time to finalize because we’ve grown as designers and as people,” Nathan said.
13. Part science, part art, part architecture describes the modern marvel near Darmstadt, Indiana (May/ June 2007). The one-floor, V-shaped handicapped-accessible home with glass walls was designed for Nannette and Jerry Stump by their son, Reggie, an artist in California.
14. Jeff and Misty Bosse’s home overlooking the Ohio River in Newburgh was designed by family friend and Hafer architect Jack Faber (July/August 2024). Once the drawings were complete and the 3D rendering was made, “The house looked exactly like we imagined,” Jeff said.
15. The most modern Evansville Living Idea Home (May/June 2021) to date was built for Dr. Hubert and Maricel Reyes in Victoria Estates in Newburgh. The home design is the popular West Coast Japandi style, combining Japanese and Scandinavian aesthetics.
UNIQUE ABODES
16. The 1938 administration building for the Boehne Tuberculosis Hospital on the far West Side is home to four spacious condominiums (September/ October 2021). Scott Anderson, known for his restoration work on historic buildings, and wife Rene purchased the property in 2008 and began restoration soon after.
17. Living in the 6,000-square-foot former Kasson School in German Township has required patience of owners Frank and Michelle Peterlin. “It took time. There was no need to rush,” Michelle said in the July/ August 2014 issue. “None of it was restored.”
18. In rural Sebree, Kentucky, Brent and Shawn Wiggins have stitched together their home from grain silos (November/December 2023). “I hate building the same thing over and over,” Brent said. “This was a totally unique idea.”
19. Sharon Mosely declared she would not move north of the Mason-Dixon line when her husband Scott proposed they relocate to Newburgh. Mosley wrote about their home, a condominium in the 1854-built former Methodist Episcopal Church in the January/February 2012 issue.
20. John Bassemier grew up playing in Hose House No. 8 at the corner of Third Avenue and Columbia Street, where his father Clarence was captain in the 1950s. “I used to slide down the pole all the time,” Bassemier said. He spent more than two decades restoring the 1909 hose house, featured in September/ October 2017.
OUTDOOR OASES
21. “We feel like we have created Miami in the Midwest,” Lynn Ogle told Evansville Living in March/April 2020. She and husband David bought the lot behind their Newburgh home when they purchased the property in 1997. They transformed the extra backyard space into an oasis after adding a sunroom to their property in 2016.
22. The garden room behind Nancy Gaunt’s 1950s ranch-style home in the Audubon Terrace neighborhood (July/August 2005) is a structure with four walls of flourishing greenery, a carpet of blooming Gerbera daisies, and an oversized mantle in the form of an arbor.
23. Jane Hayden has been the primary caretaker of the backyard garden she shares with her husband Gary for more than 40 years. Readers got a peek in the March/ April 2019 issue. “It’s my retreat before I get my day started,” Jane said.
24. Third-generation horticulturist J.T. McCarty and wife Julie, former owners of Colonial Classics, have continually upgraded the landscaping and gardens surrounding their Jefferson Park home in Newburgh since moving in 16 years ago. In 2021, the couple began a major overhaul of the space, designed around the installation of a temperature-controlled Thursday Pool (November/December 2022).
25. The Vincennes, Indiana, home of Dallas and Susan Foster, owners of Landscapes by Dallas Foster, serves as a showplace for the landscape design the couple and their team specialize in. “Over the years, our designs have developed into what we call well-designed landscapes in a non-obvious way, reflecting nature but still satisfying the elements of design,” Dallas said in the May/June 2019 issue.
Tough Threads
What did you do for fun growing up in Eldorado, Illinois?
Eric: Pre-cell phones, our hobbies were part-time jobs and just being kids, sitting in the car, driving around in circles. We were just kids. We had ultra-blue-collar backgrounds from our fathers working in the coal mines and farm fields. A blue-collar work ethic. But something that connects to what we do now is, we’ve both had an appreciation for clothes. I was voted best dressed in our senior class! We would drive to Evansville and hang out at the mall.
Kathie: I was already flipping my collar up or wearing Oxfords. To this day, I still do that. It’s not something I saw anywhere and wanted to emulate this. It’s just something I’ve always liked doing.
What is one thing that’s always in your pocket?
Kathie: Clinique lipstick — I’ve never worn any brand but that, all through high school and to this day. I worked and saved my money to buy that.
The Kentucky Derby is around the bend. Do you attend?
Eric: We have not been. I’ve been on a horse only one time in my life! We’re more Keeneland people. I love the horse culture and eventing more than racing. We do a lot of Derby coats, though. Clients ask for conservative or flamboyant coats. Guys want to look good, presentable. They want to have color. It’s an opportunity for guys to step out of their comfort zone a little bit.
Do you have a favorite bourbon?
Eric: In the first few years of opening Adams & Sons, that was a common question: “What’s your favorite bourbon?” I don’t know, I’m from Illinois! I once went to a blind taste test and hated every single drop, but we were drinking it neat. Later, I discovered that ice takes the edge off, and since then, I’ve been a bourbon drinker. My favorite is a bottom shelf choice: Buffalo Trace Benchmark #8. Every guy I’ve had blind taste test it has said, “This is really, really good!” It’s $11 a bottle.
Do you have any unexpected talents?
Eric: I grew up in the ’80s, a time when free style BMX was popular. I raced BMX and rode bikes all day long. I can still do that stuff. We have a large picture in the studio … of me on my old ’84 freestyle bike doing a trick, but I’m wearing a suit. People marvel that the guy they’re about to buy this nice garment from is doing a trick on a bike.
Kathie: I’m a major bargain shopper, but I’ll pair items with one of our sport coats, and that’s what I’ll wear. I love to go into stores and try things on.
What’s one piece of style advice you would give to every guy or gal?
Eric: Don’t be too precious or too perfect. A lot of guys are put off by dressing well because they feel they have to be perfect. We notice it with pocket squares. You don’t have to know how to perfectly fold a pocket square. That’s where personal style comes from, having little eccentricities and things that you like. That’s what makes you unique.
Kathie: It’s OK to step a little bit out of the box. But if you don’t feel comfortable, you’re not going to wear it.
STYLE NOTES
Evansville Living readers will remember Newburgh, Indiana, resident Eric Adams as the designer of a caramel-colored leather chaise lounge featured in an early issue. He and wife Kathie long have had a passion for fashion and design. After moving to the Evansville area and forging successful careers in marketing and elementary education, in 2015 they opened Adams & Sons, a purveyor of men’s fine clothing based in Owensboro, Kentucky. They branched out in 2019 with Brit & Blue, a line of luxury tailored jackets designed from duck cloth in a variety of colors and built to go from the job site to the board room.
“Our customers want more clothing that can be worn casually, in the workplace and outside the workplace,” Eric says. “Americans have a work ethic, independence, and can-do spirit. We’ve built Brit & Blue on that.”
Jackets adorned with Eric’s signature have found their way onto clients like two-time Grammy-winning song-writer Kendall Marvel and Gonzague de Montrichard, a French count and financier living in Boston, Massachusetts.
“What’s really neat is when you create clothing, you create for people something they take into their lives,” Kathie says.
‘Nothing Compares to This’
Women and children in crisis now have a new resource to help them get back on their feet.
The Susan H. Snyder Center for Women & Children opened Mar. 13 at 1400 Professional Blvd. Evansville Rescue Mission, which operates the center — designed by L+D Architecture and constructed by Arc Construction — broke ground on Oct. 19, 2024. ERM’s “Safe & Sound” capital campaign raised $9 million to transform the former medical facility into a temporary home. Some areas, including the kitchen, still are under construction, but the facility is almost ready to accept its first residents.
“Over the course of the months ahead, we will … slowly move toward full capacity,” Tracy Gorman, CEO of ERM, said at the grand opening. “We’ll have a methodical course that will follow, so we have time to offer and refine and make sure that our processes and our best practices and procedures are exactly as they should be. After all, we’ve operated a men’s shelter for 108 years, but we’re rookies in this new space. … This place will be a warm, welcoming, safe, and secure space where life change indeed happens.”
In the works for a decade, the center is the first facility in Evansville offering programming expressly dedicated to women and children. Its opening represents a significant milestone for ERM and city officials, who point out that when women and children are in crisis, their needs are not limited to just a place to eat, sleep, and rest. Often, they require the dignity to restore their lives and create a path forward for themselves. The center’s purpose is to provide them a comfortable place as they get back on their feet.
“Today, we gather not just to celebrate the opening of the new building, but to recognize the creation of a true home; a place of safety, healing, stability, and hope for so many women and children in our community,” Mayor Stephanie Terry said at the grand opening. “Some women and children who will walk through these doors are facing the hardest battles of their life … trying to get back on their feet after a streak of bad luck or seeking a safe escape from domestic violence. No one chooses these hardships, but everyone deserves a chance to rebuild. That is what this center represents: a second chance, a fresh start, and a reminder that no one’s story is over yet.”
“By opening the center, more women and children will have a place to call home … to get assistance … to end the cycle of homelessness,” added Nancy Miller, the center’s executive director.
Once women and children walk into the center — whether referred by another local organization or otherwise — they are greeted by a colorful, inviting atmosphere. Women without children first are placed into the emergency shelter with 12 beds, where they can stay for 30 days. This gives them a chance “to get the sounds of the street out of [their] heart and out of [their] system,” says Miller. According to her research, 30 days is the time it takes for someone to feel like they are safe again after enduring such hardship.
“They have to make decisions they’re not fearful of,” says Miller, who has a background in education. She was hired two years ago after a 38-year career in education, including 10 years at Oakland City University as director of graduate studies for its School of Education.
Then, women are encouraged to move into a more permanent space — 15 downstairs rooms are reserved for women without children, and 19 upstairs rooms are held for women with children, stuffed animals included. The center has a total capacity of 125 guests. Residents share communal bathrooms and common areas. They also become involved with ERM programs — which were built by Miller through research and visits to shelters across the country —designed to reintegrate them into the workforce and a more stable living situation. Residents get 77 weeks — a year and a half — of programs designed to help them.
Women and children in the facility also have access to a fitness center, a beauty shop with stations for hair trimming and washing, a daycare center that offers children’s programming for infants, toddlers, and young children, laundry rooms with washers and dryers, and a teaching kitchen. Onsite storage spaces are stocked with hygiene products, clothes, children’s toys, and more.
Miller says that the response to the center’s opening has been overwhelming.
“I just want to almost fall to my knees and say, ‘God, thank you.’ Because it’s just so amazing that there’s so many people who care about people who are struggling … experiencing homelessness or domestic violence or addiction,” she says. “I cannot wait to see that first woman walk in and be able to help them…to get to where they need to go because they need a playing ground that’s level so that they can do what they need to do…Nothing compares to this.”
Remember When
This story was originally published in the 2012 issue of Evansville Living City View.
In 1811, Hugh McGary lived in a small cabin near what is now Princeton, Ind. The fur trader traveled often to see the friendlier Indian tribes in the forest area of extreme Southwest Indiana. He sometimes crossed the Ohio River to the Red Banks (now Henderson, Ky.) to do business with the owner of a mill, Jonathon Anthony. Besides, McGary was smitten with Anthony’s teenage daughter Mary.
As McGary floated across the Ohio to the Anthony property, he gazed back on the bank and decided it would be a good place for a home and his trading. On March 27, 1812, McGary walked to Vincennes and purchased the 440 acres of ground that would become the current Downtown of the River City. He built a cabin on the present site of CBS44 WEVV and started a trading post and a flat boat ferry service to the Red Banks side of the river.
His friend from Vincennes, Robert M. Evans, a colonel in the army, later a brigadier general after the War of 1812, helped him secure the land, and bought some plots from McGary to make a homestead himself. Evans lobbied the state government in 1818 to make Evansville, by then a thriving village of 1,200 people, the seat of the newest county, Vanderburgh, carved out of Warrick and Posey counties. Evansville was on its way.
A Quick Look Around:
1803 – Newburgh, Ind.
Originally settled as Sprinklesburg, one of the oldest towns in the Ohio Valley was renamed Newburgh in 1837.
1807 – Rockport, Ind.
Called Hanging Rock, after a huge wall of rock that jutted out over the river, the town’s name was changed to Mt. Duvall, then Rockport in 1820.
1810 – Henderson, Ky.
Settlers occupied the area as early as 1797; the town wasn’t established until 13 years later.
1814 – New Harmony, Ind.
The town of Harmony was settled by the Harmonists, early utopians, and renamed New Harmony when purchased by Robert Owen in 1824.
1814 – Princeton, Ind.
Patoka was originally to be the seat of the new county, but an outbreak of plague caused settlers to relocate to Prince Town.
1816 – Mount Vernon, Ind.
Settled by Bowling Green, Ky., hunter Andrew McFadden, who happened upon the site by accident in 1806, the site was originally named McFadden’s Bluff.
1817 – Owensboro, Ky.
Settled as a river port along the Ohio River, it was a site of trading and passenger travel.
1822 – Darmstadt, Ind.
The town was mainly a German settlement.
1858 – Boonville, Ind.
Named for Ratliff Boon, a relative of famous Kentuckian Daniel Boone, the town’s name reflects the difference in spelling of the men’s surname.
1913 – Haubstadt, Ind.
The town was named for local businessman and early resident Henry Haub.
Meanwhile, in Evansville:
March 27, 1812 – Hugh McGary buys 440 acres from the U.S. Government in Vincennes and establishes homestead and trading post at the foot of what becomes Main Street and Riverside Drive (WEVV building present day).
1814 – Original Evansville plat laid out. Town named for Col. Robert Evans, friend of McGary and financial supporter of new town.
1818 – Vanderburgh County established with Evansville as the county seat.
1821 – First school established on new town square at Third and Main streets
1822 – Financially strapped and having lost his wife and two children to disease, McGary leaves Evansville, never to return.
1824 – Stagecoach service established to Vincennes.
1833–34 – Early flourmills built along Pigeon Creek.
1834 – Evansville announced as end spot for the new Wabash-Erie Canal. Anticipation leads to influx of settlers. A branch of the State Bank opens; later becomes Old National. First church established (became First Presbyterian Church).
1836 – John and William Law, James McCall and Lucius Scott establish Lamasco (combining their last names) adjacent to Evansville, to the west, to capitalize on development of the canal (Evansville annexes in 1857; becomes West Side).
1837 – Financial panic halts construction of canal for five years.
1841 – Lutheran Church established.
1841–43 – Canal construction resumes. (Completed in 1853, the canal was already obsolete — only two flat barges ever made the entire trip. Basin at Fifth and Court streets became site of 1891 courthouse.)
1845 – John A. Reitz builds planing mill near mouth of Pigeon Creek.
1847 – Evansville chartered as city, population: 4,000.
1848–50 – European crisis leads to West Side influx of German immigrants.
1851 – Riverfront wharf brings steamboat traffic and exploding commercial development. Indiana law prohibits slaves from escaping to Indiana. City leaders disregard, and Underground Railroad helps many slaves move north for nearly 15 years.
1852 – First gas light service is available.
1853 – Railroads reach Evansville.
1854 – First large public school built.
1855 – First Library constructed — 1,000 books donated.
1855–57 – Washington Hotel built at Third and Main, and new County Courthouse under construction on opposite corner. Courthouse burns but is rebuilt in 1857. Washington Hotel still stands, was Farmer’s Daughter restaurant, now apartments.
1858 – Population after annexation of Lamasco: 11,484.
1861–65 – More than 3,000 men from Evansville area serve in Civil War for the Union
1862 – Confederate Gen. John Morgan raids Newburgh, Ind. Evansville escapes attack throughout war.
1867 – Segregated school system established.
1868 – Opera house opens.
1868–71 – Waterworks and Central High School built.
1870 – Population: 21,830.
1870–1915 – Postwar economy booms with new industry spurred by river and rail access, plus raw materials to build furniture.
1878 – First telephone service.
1882 – First electric service generated in Evansville.
1884 – Flood brings Clara Barton to Evansville; her headquarters becomes Deaconess Hospital.
1889 – New Grand Opera House along Sycamore Street (site of Fifth Third Bank) built. Main Street brick-paved, and other Downtown streets within five years. (One bricklayer was Blues icon W.C. Handy.)
1890 – Vendome Hotel built. African American population hits 5,500 (had been just 130 in 1861). Baptistown, near central business district, established.
1892 – First electric streetcar.
1893 – Deaconess hospital opens.
1894 – St. Mary’s hospital opens.
1895 – Cook’s Electric Park opens. Amusement rides added in 1912.
1897 – Albion Fellows Bacon begins crusade against poverty, poor housing, and child labor
1900 – Population: 59,000. Evansville is Indiana’s third largest city. Automobile arrives in city.
1903 – Copeland Auto factory produces the Zentmobile. William McCurdy opens Hercules Buggy Company. (Later becomes Servel, when refrigeration process becomes practical.)
1911 – Small bi-plane flies 1,000 feet above Downtown Evansville.
1915 – Bosse Field opens.
1916 – Mayor Benjamin Bosse influences city growth. Building boom Downtown: Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Coliseum built; Citizens Bank tower at Fourth and Main streets is first skyscraper, followed by Old National Bank at Fifth and Main streets. Both are 10 stories. (ONB razed in 1967.) City annexes large areas east to Kentucky Avenue and north to Pigeon Creek.
1917 – St. George Hotel demolished; McCurdy Hotel built on same site by Harold Van Orman. John Bethel Gresham, Evansville native, is among first three U.S. deaths in France.
1918 – World War I effort leads to industries producing war materials; also led to closure of West Side German newspaper. Reitz High School built on far West Side.
1919 – Moores Hill College relocates to Evansville as Evansville College (University of Evansville).
1920 – East Side subdivisions begin to expand from Kentucky Avenue east to Weinbach Avenue. Population: 92,000.
1921 – Victory Theatre built at Sixth and Main streets (first air-conditioned venue).
1922 – Dade Park racetrack opens south of city on Kentucky land; leads to explosion in gambling.
1924 – Bosse High School built on far East Side.
1928 – St. Benedict Catholic Church built. Evansville Airport opens north of city along U.S. Highway 41. Indiana’s first zoo established.
1929 – Great Depression hits Evansville.
1930 – Population: 102,000.
1931 – New Central Library built on site of demolished Evans Hall. Mead Johnson builds river terminal.
1932 – Northbound bridge between Evansville and Henderson, Ky., opens.
1934 – Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration set up headquarters, employing thousands. Philharmonic Orchestra organized. Mesker Zoo expands.
1935 – Chrysler opens Plymouth plant. Sunbeam Electric begins to build refrigerators; along with Servel, positions Evansville to become refrigerator capitol of the U.S. in 1940s and 1950s.
1937 – Thousand-year flood wreaks havoc on city, leaving 400 families homeless.
1937–38 – Buses replace streetcars; streetcar tracks removed. Oil boom brings millions of dollars to local economy to combat depression crisis. Slum area replaced by Lincoln Gardens apartments.
1940 – 25,000 new jobs have been created. Automobiles create need for new businesses, as well as housing east of city near Weinbach Avenue and Evansville College.
1942–45 – World War II. Industries convert to wartime production. Republic Aviation and LST shipyards bring influx of new workers. USO stations operate 24 hours to entertain soldiers crossing U.S. by train.
1945–50 – Postwar expansion of Evansville College to accommodate returning servicemen. Housing boom begins creation of new subdivisions north and east.
1949 – Ross Center opens on far East Side with new theater (demolished in 1993).
1950 – Evansville population: 128,600.
1954 – Mayor H. O. “Hank” Roberts proposes new multipurpose sports stadium east of city near state hospital.
1955 – North Park commercial development begins.
1956 – Municipal Stadium (later Roberts Stadium) opens. North High School opens in former Mechanic Arts School.
1956–58 – Loss of major industries causes unemployment crisis.
1960 – Alcoa arrives in Warrick County, Ind. Population: 141,000.
1962–63 – Airport expansion leads to increased air traffic in Evansville.
1963 – Indiana’s first enclosed mall, Washington Square, opens.
1963–69 – Downtown urban renewal program razes dozens of buildings.
1965 – Local campus of Indiana State University opens in old Centennial School. Arkla arrives.
1967–68 – High-rise Kennedy and Buckner Towers built Downtown for elderly. Racial unrest strikes inner city neighborhoods. Robert Kennedy speaks at Roberts Stadium.
1969 – New Civic Center Complex opens along Seventh Street (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.); replaces Assumption Cathedral and Cook’s Brewery.
1969 – Old National Bank completes new modern high-rise at Fifth and Main streets.
1970 – Population: 137,400.
1971 – Main Street closed to traffic; construction of Pedestrian Mall completed.
1972 – New Central High School opens. Desegregation of public schools begins. Redistricting follows in 1974.
1973 – Recession slows Downtown development. Riverside One apartments are only completed structure for years. Mesker Park amusement rides close; Evansville loses beloved carousel.
1977 – University of Evansville basketball team and supporters lost in plane crash.
1978 – PPG Industries locates in Evansville.
1981–89 – Robert Orr elected; serves as Indiana Governor, second from Evansville.
1984 – Riverfront facelift removes floodwall.
1985 – ISUE achieves independence — becomes University of Southern Indiana.
1986 – Renovation of Main Street walkway leads to new construction Downtown: Citizens Bank (now Fifth Third), Coal Exchange Building, and new condominiums.
1987 – Lloyd Expressway constructed through city.
1987–2000 – Frank McDonald II serves as mayor 13 years, longest in office.
1988 – New airport terminal completed; restructured runway system.
1989–90 – Remodeling of Roberts Stadium lowers floor six feet, causing water problems.
1990 – East Side bypass, Interstate 164 completed around city.
1992 – C-130B plane crash near airport.
1993 – Riverboat gambling approved in referendum.
1995 – Reconstruction of Civic Auditorium. Casino Aztar opens, becoming major city employer.
1998 – Lincoln Gardens demolished, replaced by new housing units. One building saved becomes Evansville African American Museum. Restoration of Victory Theatre completed.
2002 – Signature School opens Downtown, results in national recognition for advanced programs.
2003 – Location of WWII era LST ship expands tourism in Evansville.
2004 – Russell Lloyd Jr. administration constructs Goebel Soccer Complex on North Green River Road. ONB abandons 1960s high-rise for new corporate headquarters at Main Street and Riverside Drive, near original site of Hugh McGary’s first trading post.
2005 – New Vectren Headquarters completed on former site of Riverside One Apartments. F-3 tornado rips through area, killing 25.
2006 – New jail complex built near Whirlpool plant on U.S. Highway 41 North. St. Mary’s Health System teams with Ohio Valley HeartCare to open Center for Advanced Medicine and the Heart Institute. First tower of Deaconess Gateway Hospital opens in Newburgh, Ind.
2010 – Whirlpool closes operations in Evansville.
2010 – Population: 117,400, near the 1940 level. Drop causes consideration of third effort to consolidate city and county government.
2011 – University of Southern Indiana enrollment grows to more than 10,000. Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel administration constructs Ford Center Downtown.
Unless noted, photos are courtesy of Willard Library, DonahueStudiosPhotographs.com, and the Daniel Hayes Collection.
Empty Icons
A drive through the city reminds us of structures and places that time seems to have left behind. Once houses of entertainment, commerce, or sports, these properties have been rendered irrelevant by newer, shinier buildings. Yet, they still stand, with their public or private owners seeking new uses that fit with modern times. Let’s take a look at a few of these properties.
A Waiting Game
After 68 years vacant, a new use still is sought for the Alhambra Theatre.
Working Out?
Housing is the most likely scenario for the old YMCA gym.
‘Cautiously Optimistic’
Mayor’s speech gave Mesker Amphitheatre fans a glimmer of hope.
On the Comeback Trail
County hopes Coliseum updates will spark renovation momentum.
Doors Closed?
Future use of Crawford Door Building faces obstacles.
On the Rise?
Investors assess the potential of four Downtown properties.
American Pie
Editor’s note: Chef Eli Haddix passed away in May 2021. Eli contributed several recipes to Evansville Living over the years, and we continue to share his work as a tribute to this beloved friend of the magazine.
Apples, as in the forbidden fruit, have a long history of provoking lust. Their pie counterpart has a more wholesome characterization: “As American as apple pie.” How American is apple pie? The dessert has taken on different forms over centuries: Dutch apple pie, apple tart, apple crumb pie, etc. The culinary roots of apple pie variations parallel our cultural history as a “melting pot” nation.
This Dutch variation offers a crumb crust and a streusel-type topping. This pie is versatile: If you have a great crust you like, this filling works well for it. I make it in the fall, apple season, because freshness improves the taste. For this pie, I went to Joe Engelbrecht Fourth Generation Orchard (16820 Petersburg Road), where more than 800 apple trees cover 12 acres. There, local experts told me Jonathan apples are the quintessential apple for baking a pie. Good news: Engelbrecht has 105 Jonathan apple trees.
Dutch Apple Pie
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup pecans, crumbled (20 seconds in a food processor works well)
5 tablespoons butter, melted
Mix all ingredients together; mixture should be formable, but not very wet. Press into a greased nine-inch pie pan, aiming for uniform thickness on the edges and the bottom. Bake for 15 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Chill until firm (approximately one hour).
Filling:
4 Jonathan apples (Granny Smith also works well), sliced
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Mix all ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Add to chilled pie crust. Bake in a 375-degree oven for 20 minutes.
Streusel:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) softened butter
Mix all ingredients together until crumbly. Sprinkle streusel topping over apple pie and bake for an additional 25 minutes.
The NEW New Harmony
Nestled on a wooded Wabash River shoreline in Posey County, New Harmony is a unique setting in Southwestern Indiana, distant from some modern conveniences but where history, culture, and nature take center stage.
The around 700-resident town, founded in 1814 and site of early social living experiments, is undergoing a reinvention of sorts, led by entrepreneurs and newcomers who aren’t native to New Harmony but were pulled in by its charm and distinct character.
There’s still much timeless familiarity here: the Roofless Church, Harmonist Labyrinth, Harmonie State Park, and Red Geranium restaurant are the same treasures they’ve always been. Visitors, however, can also discover plenty of “new” in New Harmony — colorful shops, an eclectic mix of events, and food and drink choices that are worth the 40-minute trek from Evansville.
• Practical Meets Whimsy at Capers Emporium •
Michael and Mary Beth Guard looked at New Harmony from afar and saw opportunity and intrigue. Both grew up in nearby Southern Illinois and knew the area. But after making their lives and careers in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and after Mary Beth’s mother relocated to New Harmony about 10 years ago, the couple felt a calling.
“This town grabs people,” Mary Beth says. While visiting, “we found ourselves saying to each other, ‘I feel so relaxed.’ … It was amazing. And within a few hours, we were just driving around town saying, ‘I wonder how much houses go for.’”
Wonder turned to action. In 2016, the couple bought a historic building at Main and Tavern streets. The former Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge dates to 1915 and was under the stewardship of Indiana Landmarks then. It had been a dance hall, deli, and grocery store over the years, but it was empty and in disrepair. The Guards went to work, piecing together a business plan that centered on community and their love of cooking.
Capers Emporium is the result. Opened on June 30, 2018, at 602 Main St., the sidewalk-level storefront sells everything from kitchen gadgets and gourmet food items to puzzles and pajamas, while also hosting a variety of cooking classes. A glass fusion studio and kilns in the basement followed two years later.
Along the way, the Guards decided to make the building’s upper level their own home — a colorful, attractive loft that, like New Harmony itself, blends nostalgia with contemporary touches. (Read more about their apartment.)
Mary Beth says she’s always loved spending time in the kitchen, dating to her Carmi, Illinois, upbringing, and Capers Emporium is a perfect setting for her to cook and share.
“My mother, when I was in sixth grade, said, ‘I can’t find those golden porcelain dishes that Grandmother gave us.’ And I said, ‘Oh, they’re in my hope chest. You weren’t using them.’ I always loved dishes. I loved to entertain, I loved to cook. I wanted to bring people back into the kitchen, but we fell in love with this town, and we wanted to have a store that would give people one more reason to come to New Harmony, and it would also contribute to the locals and give them a place to go to have fun and to shop. We hope we have done that. And after all those years of very serious work, I get to be a kid again.”
• Antiques Find New Life at The Barn •
New Harmony snatched up Jeff and Cindy Smotherman, as well. About 20 years ago, the Tennessee natives and lovers of farm antiques ventured to New Harmony’s annual summer antique show, wound up relocating to the town a short time later, and have been community champions ever since.
Their business ventures are right next to their Brewery Street home in the center of New Harmony. At 403 Brewery St. is The Barn by Jeff and Cindy Smotherman, which retails antique farm signage in a structure that dates to the late 1800s and once was New Harmony Implement Company and a John Deere tractor sales outlet.
The other is New Harmony Cottage. The Smothermans rented the building as a gift shop and spa after buying it, but it is now a popular Airbnb with a rustic air. Everything in the unit is about New Harmony, right down to the books on the shelves.
As an Airbnb, “we make four times as much as we were when we rented it,” Jeff says. Cindy, who Jeff credits for doing most of the work on the Airbnb, adds, “It’s perfect for a couple of nights.”
• Culinary Adventures on the Menu at Say’s •
After a career in restaurants that took him to New York City, Indianapolis, Indiana, and elsewhere, Patrick Schuette, too, felt New Harmony’s calling. He owns Say’s, a restaurant at 500 Church St., in the same building as Sara’s Wine Bar.
Patrick’s parents, Kent and Suzy, had owned a German restaurant in Lafayette, Indiana, while he was growing up. But the family was close with longtime New Harmony arts patron and town advocate Jane Blaffer Owen — Kent Schuette, a former landscape architecture professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, was hired to work in 1998 on the Cathedral Labyrinth at 309 North St. The Schuettes wound up buying a house in the community in 2001.
by Zach Straw
An Indiana University graduate, Patrick eventually settled in New Harmony, and in 2022, he worked on a vision for food at Say’s that would pair well with the drinks and atmosphere offered by Sara’s, while complementing New Harmony’s longtime restaurants.
Say’s eclectic, upscale menu includes a list of sandwiches, salads, and rotating entrees that recently have included choices such as vegetable massaman curry, chicken enchiladas, chop steak, beef lasagna, and pork ragu.
Schuette also updated the space’s decor, and he latched onto the name Say’s — a nod to Thomas Say, an early 19th century New Harmony resident who is considered the father of North American entomology. Say’s Firefly is Indiana’s official state insect.
“I was thinking about legacy and there are so many people who have come to New Harmony to do their passion, to live through their work,” Schuette says. “And (Say) was someone who did that. When we were throwing around names, that kind of came up and kind of flowed off the tongue and was perfect.”
• Passion for Collecting at Artefakts •
The town 26 miles northwest of Evansville makes significant contributions to regional art and history, which has enticed many transplants to plant roots there. Among them are Teresa and Pat Smith, who came from Central Illinois and had been visiting New Harmony since 1999. What started as frequent visits became a plan to open a shop in New Harmony.
“There is something going on here, and we wanted to find out what it is,” Pat says.
Both had worked in antiques in their former lives and transferred that skill to New Harmony in the form of Artefakts, a gallery at 507 Main St. After they bought the space in April 2023 from Larry and Patricia Gosh, the Smiths enjoy running a shop as they had in the past. Artefakts opened on July 4 and displays eclectic items for every walk of life, including clocks, coins, art, musical instruments, oriental rugs, jewelry, and more.
Pat says the goal is to “pass on 48 years of collecting art and artifacts.”
Since moving there, Teresa says “everybody has been so welcoming.” People like Mary Beth Guard, she adds, “remember everyone’s names and make you feel welcome.”
The Smiths also enjoy the many visitors that come to visit during big annual events like Kunstfest, a German culture-themed arts festival in September. First Brush of Spring ushers in its namesake season with painters spread through town painting in the open air. The antique festival continues each June, and during Christmas, New Harmony takes the whole month to celebrate with parades, home tours, a tree lighting, music, shopping, and more.
“It’s a very active community for a small town,” Teresa says.
• Old & New at Lowry Hollow •
Also close to Downtown is Lowry Hollow, a shop of antiques along with garden and home decor at 617 Main St. The building dates to the 1830s and is one of three original Robert Owen-era buildings still standing. Horsehair plaster used during construction is still visible. When the woman who owned the shop retired, Lynn Clark, a former speech pathologist, bought it and reopened Lowry Hollow, a shop she started in New Harmony around 2011, in October 2023. Her commute now is so short, she sometimes bikes to work.
Clark describes her shop as “A mix of old and new.” She is a Southern Ohio native while her husband, Ron, who leads history tours in town, is from Central Illinois. Clark named the shop after a road she grew up on in Ohio, but she wanted a place for the community to come together, so the shop hosts art shows, poetry readings, and family-fun crafting events.
• New Harmony Groups Working Together •
There are many groups steering New Harmony forward. The New Harmony Business Associates — started in the 1970s — has more than 40 volunteers who help promote merchants and community events, led by the group’s Education and Activity Fund.
The University of Southern Indiana’s Historic New Harmony program demonstrates the small town’s history through educational and cultural programming, maintenance of historic properties, and the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art at 506 Main St. Centered around the Atheneum Visitors Center at 401 N. Arthur St., visitors can book walking tours or explore the small town’s history via tram, a recent addition to the program. The tram is one of the many vehicles seen around town, including golf carts, which can be rented.
The New Harmony Artists Guild provides arts education and collaboration in the region by collaborating with more than 100 artisans from several artistic fields. The Under the Beams concert series attracts talent from around the world to perform at Murphy Auditorium.
Indiana Landmarks also has been involved with historic preservation in New Harmony, as has the Working Men’s Institute. Dating to 1838, the institute has served the community as a museum, library, and archive.
New Harmony is a “town that continues to recreate itself,” Lynn Clark says, and its newest residents embody that spirit wholeheartedly. From the original Harmonist settlement to its arts boom under Jane Blaffer Owen’s patronage, all who helped shape and create New Harmony into what it is today carry forward its enduring spirit. Case in point, Clark’s favorite part of New Harmony is the people.
“Everybody supports each other so much,” she says.
Mex in the City
Dipping tortilla chips into a bowl of ranch dip would never be considered an authentic Mexican food practice. For natives of the Evansville area, though, it’s an authentically Midwestern Mexican experience.
Linda Zirkelbach, the general manager at the Darmstadt location of Hacienda, has watched this phenomenon throughout her 31 years working for the Mexican restaurant chain that started in Mishawaka, Indiana, and has four locations in Evansville.
“People who are in other areas, they don’t get that though,” she says. “They’re like, ‘You offer ranch for your chips?’ Yeah, and then you mix it all together — green salsa, red salsa, a little white cheese in there. I always swore people in Evansville should be mixologists, because they mix everything.”
▲ Linda Zirkelbach, general manager of the Darmstadt Hacienda, has worked with the chain for 31 years. She says one of the most popular dishes continues to be the chicken on the beach.
This mixing of foods and cultures is what makes Mexican food in Evansville so interesting and quintessentially Midwestern. Take the popular Mexican food dish chicken on the beach, for example. It’s about as close as you can get to a casserole at a Mexican restaurant. The simple plate of Mexican rice topped with grilled chicken and white cheese sauce is one of the most well-known and popular dishes throughout the region’s many Mexican food restaurants, on almost every single Mexican restaurant menu in town.
Los Bravos, Hacienda, El Patron, Los Portales, and other Evansville Mexican restaurants all have chicken on the beach (sometimes called by its Spanish name, pollo playa) on their menus. Jalisco and Fiesta Acapulco in Newburgh, Indiana, both have chicken on the beach. Lucy’s Traditional Tex Mex in Chandler, Indiana, also has the dish on its menu. Even Azzip Pizza gets in on the fun, adding a chicken on the beach pizza as its pizza of the month last September.
Try researching the origin of chicken on the beach, and the results all will point back to the Tri-State and Evansville region. While some may see this mixing of Mexican and Midwestern cultures as a bastardization of Mexican cuisine, more people are beginning to see it differently — as a separate category of food that isn’t Mexican and isn’t Midwestern but is something in between.
“I’m very respectful to Tex-Mex, because Tex-Mex is a style of cuisine and traditional Mexican food is another style of cuisine,” says Abraham Brown, owner of La Campirana. “The food is a reflection of how our community has been enriched with the different cultural heritages we now celebrate in Evansville. It’s not just diversity through race, but it’s diversity in flavors, too.”
▲ Zirkelbach says one of the most popular dishes continues to be the chicken on the beach.
There is a growing appetite for truly authentic Mexican cuisine in Evansville, which is being satisfied through restaurants like La Campirana and the many taquerías and Mexican groceries that have opened in the last couple of years. Brown says it’s important to remember that just like there is a wide range of dishes and traditions in any culture (Chinese food can be broken down in Cantonese, Sichuan, Hunan, and other varieties, for example), Mexican culture also has a wide spectrum.
When deciding to open La Campirana in June 2015, Brown and co-owner Ezequiel Campos didn’t want to compete with the many Tex-Mex restaurants in Evansville. (In Evansville Living’s Dining Directory, there are 44 Mexican restaurants in the area, the third most popular type of restaurant after pizza places and delis.) They wanted to bring something fresh to the area, so they started offering dishes not found anywhere else.
“With our gorditas, we want to make sure people understand it’s not just an item on our menu,” says Brown. “It’s a way to tell a story through that item by being able to say this is the food the indigenous ate even before they were colonized by the Spaniards. It is a celebration of our culture we still celebrate now.”
Even with the rise of true Mexican restaurants, there still is a place for Tex-Mex in Evansville. After all, restaurants that combine Mexican and American cultures make up the majority of Mexican restaurants in the area. Tex-Mex has been a long-loved cuisine in Evansville from Taco Kid, which opened in February 1970 on Green River Road, to Chi-Chi’s and Casa Gallardo, which the Evansville Courier & Press said in the Sunday paper on Jan. 15, 1984, were the second and third Mexican chains, respectively, to open in Evansville. (Hacienda was the first, which opened on First Avenue in 1981.)
▲ The Bravo family opened the first location of the regional chain, Los Bravos, in January 1992 and today has six locations throughout the area. The restaurant offers an array of dishes ranging from more traditional Mexican dishes to popular Tex-Mex plates.
Luis Martinez, the manager of the East Side Los Bravos, says for the Los Bravos chain it’s about finding balance. The first location opened in January 1992 on South Green River Road, in what is today the parking lot of Barnes & Noble, and now has a total of six locations throughout Evansville, Boonville, Jasper, and Loogootee, Indiana.
“We fit in the middle,” says Martinez. “In Mexico, they don’t sell chips and salsa. We sell chips and salsa. Even our Tex-Mex, it doesn’t taste like Tex-Mex in other places. And if you go to a Mexican restaurant, it has a different taste.”
With Tex-Mex’s history beginning thousands of years before European colonists arrived in the early 1500s to the area that is today known as Texas, it makes sense that Mexican food in Evansville would be different from both Tex-Mex and traditional Mexican cuisines. Drawing from these cultures and combining it with Midwestern traditions creates something new, maybe better described as Midwest-Mex, that still is authentic to Evansville.
“The word authentic has been used so many ways that sometimes people have lost the real meaning of being authentic,” says Brown. “There is even food that is fused with different cultures, and it’s authentic because that is something of its own kind.”
¡SALUD!
Hacienda’s margaritas soothe the soul
On a night more than 30 years ago, Ron Baysinger, a now retired elementary school teacher for North Posey School Corporation, met some friends at Hacienda for margaritas after a stressful day.
“I said I couldn’t wait to get there, that it’s kind of like therapy,” he says. “One of my ex-students was our favorite server. His name was Joe. From that night on, we called it therapy, and Joe was called Dr. Joe.”
For the past three decades, the group has been getting together for their regular therapy sessions, with margaritas on the side of course, to talk about life, work, and everything in between. Baysinger says he no longer even looks at the menu; he has it memorized.
Hacienda’s margaritas have a large following in the community outside of Baysinger’s therapy group (Check out the results of our reader poll on page 57 for proof!), with 22 different tequilas available, daily margarita specials, and unique drink options like the frozen swirl margarita and margarita flights.
“The frozen margaritas are the best, better than anywhere in the country I’ve been,” says Baysinger. “They are not the icy frozen kind most restaurants serve. They are creamy and delicious.”
Lately, he says his favorite has been the Ski margarita, which is refreshing and tastes like Evansville. The recipe was developed two years ago by Linda Zirkelbach, general manager of the Darmstadt Hacienda, while she was working at the West Side location. After creating the special drink, she shared a picture on Facebook. The next morning, more than 1,000 people had shared the image.
“It’s kind of an Evansville thing, but it’s very popular here in the Evansville market,” she says.
Festival Fun
There is no denying the popularity of Mexican food in Evansville, but Mexican cuisine isn’t the only food south of the border that is popping up throughout the area. With representation from countries throughout Latin America, HOLA was founded in 2002 to promote cultural understanding and ensure the success of Latinos in the community.
“We always have strived to be a bridge between the growing Latino population in Evansville and the community at large,” says founding member and HOLA board president Daniela Vidal.
Along with various programs, services, and classes offered through the organization, in 2016, HOLA launched the first HOLA Festival to celebrate Latino music and food and raise funds for the development of new programs and donations to causes in members’ home countries, like supporting victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
This year’s festival will take place on Aug. 18 at Bosse Field, with musical groups performing everything from bachata and merengue to salsa and more than 30 food vendors serving dishes from all over Latin America.
“Food and music are universal languages that bring people together,” says Vidal. “But especially for Latinos, food is a point of pride, a connection to generations of family recipes, and a way to showcase the individual tastes of each country.”
At Your Service
Herradura manager shares a taste of his career
Working with food is a family tradition for Luis Pérez. Nineteen years ago, he started his first job at a Mexican restaurant after moving to the U.S. from Jalisco, Mexico. Now, Pérez has been the manager for three years at Herradura Mexican Restaurant Bar and Grill at 4610 Bellemeade Ave.
“It’s the business my parents started in. Then they grew up and taught us how to do it,” says Pérez. “We keep doing it because we’re passionate about food.”
Herradura’s menu reflects this ancestral passion. With options for lunch, dinner, dessert, and drinks, the restaurant gives customers a fresh taste of Mexico.
Along with the food, the vibrant atmosphere and enthusiastic service ensure Herradura offers an authentic dining experience, says Pérez.
What has been the best part about working in restaurants?
Getting contact with the customers and listening to them. I’ll be working in the bar and people talk about their lives; I like hearing it. I learn something different with each one.
How does Mexican food here compare to authentic Mexican food?
We don’t have enough ingredients to cook with the same flavors as we do in Mexico. It’s the seasonings. We can’t find them here, so we use the ingredients we can find.
What makes Mexican restaurants unique?
The rich flavors, the amount served, music, and fresh food. We try each day to do the best we can. We try to make customers here feel comfortable and like they are in Mexico.
Tamale Talk
In 2016, Papa T’s Tamales hit the streets of Evansville after Tom and Emily Martin decided to continue the work of Arthur McBrayer, Evansville’s original hot tamale man, who passed away in 2009.
“Tom and I remember the tamale man from when we were kids,” says Emily. “This was before any Mexican restaurants were around, so to us, these were authentic.”
Papa T’s Tamales brings the beloved food stand to a new generation with a small selection of tamales, tacos, and nachos at varying locations in Evansville.
“It gives us the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people,” says Emily. “We offer a unique experience, which can’t be found in a restaurant.”
The Sweet Life
Miguel Ochoa brings traditional Mexican bakery to Evansville
Glass display cases filled with a variety of sweet breads. Trays lined with rows of doughnuts and sugared churros. It’s hard not to be entranced by all the sweet and savory offerings of Panaderia San Miguel, 2004 Washington Ave.
Opened in January 2018 by owner Miguel Ochoa, the bakery stocks not only American favorites, but offers up something unique to the Evansville community — authentic Mexican bakery treats.
“It’s been pretty good. We’ve gotten a lot of big support,” says Ochoa. “Pretty much everyone is happy when they come in. They really like it, and that makes me happy too.”
Ochoa moved to Evansville at the end of 2017 from Indianapolis, wanting to open a bakery offering Mexican desserts and breads after he noticed the lack of such a shop in the city.
“It inspired me to bring something like this here, something new,” he says.
Each day, Ochoa comes in and fills his cases with conchas, churros, Mexican cheesecakes, yeast doughnuts, slices of tres leches cakes, and more. His savory breads are winners with customers as well, especially the bolillos and bolinachos. After 18 months, the popularity of Panaderia San Miguel has Ochoa turning out 400 to 500 items daily.
Ask Ochoa just how many options he has, and he smiles, “There’s a lot of things!” His most popular items are the bolinachos, cream horns, and the tres leches cakes.
Tres leches cakes (“three-milk” cakes popular in Mexico and many Central and South American countries) traditionally are sponge or butter cakes soaked in a combination of evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk or heavy cream, then finished with a whipped topping. Ochoa offers both a vanilla and chocolate option for his tres leches cakes.
“I think the bakery is a little different from other things we have [in Evansville],” he says. “People say there’s a lot of competition, but I don’t see it that way. It’s just something different.”
Mother Knows Best
The walls of Cleo’s Bakery and Brown Bag Lunches at 9 W. Jennings St., Newburgh, IN, are adorned with simple décor that put the spotlight on delicious delicacies in the display case, but one item stands out from the rest.
A vintage framed photo of a young woman holds the secrets and origins of Cleo’s success. The 19-year-old captured in time is Cleo’s namesake, Cleo Brochin — the mother of the bakery’s co-owners and siblings, Jeannie Kellams, Jerry Brochin, and Susan Paradis.
While Brochin passed in 2007, her beloved recipes lived on with Kellams dreams for the future.
“[Opening a bakery] was always something I always wanted to do,” the Pike County native says. “I wasn’t sure it would ever come true, but we got together and decided let’s just do it.”
In October 2012, Cleo’s officially opened, serving customers breakfast, lunch, and dessert Wednesday through Sunday. While Kellams handles all the baking, including their most popular item the cream of coconut cake, her son cooks the remaining menu items.
Cleo’s is known locally for their cakes, bread puddings, and honey rosemary buttermilk biscuits, which Kellams’ son even uses as the bread for their breakfast sandwiches.
“We’re just a small family owned business — everything we make is from scratch,” says Kellams. “It’s corny but I like customers to feel like family.”
Icing on the cake
facebook.com/cleosbakerynewburgh
Funny Guy
Landing at Los Angeles International Airport on the afternoon of Oct. 20, 2006, I checked my Blackberry for messages:
r u ready for tomorrow. dont want to wear u guys out.
I texted back: landing now. call me in the a.m.
“OK,” I assured my traveling companion, Tucker Publishing Group Associate Art Director Jesse Southerland. “We’re in touch and he knows we’re out here.”
We’d arrived in Los Angeles to interview actor Michael Rosenbaum, best known as Lex Luthor on the long-running Superman drama, “Smallville.” The Rosenbaums lived down the street from me growing up in Newburgh.
The welcoming – and foretelling – text message was a continuation of a lively banter that began six weeks earlier when an e-mail from an unfamiliar address arrived:
Hey, It’s Michael Rosenbaum.
My mother’s been going on and on about Evansville Living. I’d love to talk to you about it. Hope all is well.
Sincerely,
Michael Rosenbaum
Of course, we’d like to do a story! Anyone can do a phone interview, I told Michael. “If Evansville Living does a story on Michael Rosenbaum, we’ll come out to L.A. to see how you live, who you hang out with, and just what it means to be a kid from Newburgh who’s made it big – really big – in Hollywood.”
Pastrami and Toilet Paper
Beginning Saturday morning at 9 a.m., when Michael picked us up at a hotel off Sunset Boulevard – screaming down the street in his new silver BMW M5 convertible and wearing a Castle Knights T-shirt – Jesse and I spent 20 fast, furious, and fun hours with Lex Luthor. Our adventures began with a stop at the Canyon Market, an upscale deli at the base of the mountain where Michael lives (for pastrami sandwiches and toilet paper) and ended at the 50th birthday party of “Star Wars” actress Carrie Fisher, at her Coldwater Canyon home (formerly the actress Bette Davis’s home) where Michael presented the birthday cake with famed director George Lucas.
In between, we shopped all day, Michael’s favorite pastime. Clearly, Michael’s threat to wear us out was not idle. But before the shopping extravaganza began, we unloaded our camera and overnight bags, and dined on our pastrami sandwiches, at Michael’s home of three years, located near the top of Holly-wood’s Lookout Mountain.
“The neighborhood is like a Greenwich Village on the hill,” says Michael’s mother and Evansville resident, Julie Engel-hardt. “I get the feeling there are a lot of musicians and artists living on the street.”
The three-story Arts and Crafts style home is perfectly suited to the 34-year-old bachelor. His collections – music, books, guitars, movie art, action figures, and toys – fill every shelf. The closet in his master bedroom houses at least 100 pairs of cool, urban-style shoes; his hundreds of T-shirts (Michael’s main uniform), including several Castle Knights and Sharon Crusaders T-shirts, are neatly hung and folded.
The lower-level game room features a vintage Galaga video game, Michael’s first big purchase in New York City when he started to make a bit of money, and a “wicked” karaoke machine. Viewers of MTV likely have seen Michael’s home on the show “Cribs,” which takes a look into celebrity homes. In it, he and buddy Christopher McDonald, a producer on PBS’s Tavis Smiley Show, practice karaoke singing to Wham’s pop hit of 1984, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.”
Parked out front, alongside his sweet BMW, is Michael’s custom van. “I wanted a van so bad as a kid,” Michael says. “The Currys, down the street (in Newburgh, growing up), had one and I was so jealous because my parents had sports cars. So now I have my van, totally customized, perfect for that road trip to San Fran.”[pagebreak]
Code Word: The Mall
But it wasn’t the van we took out shopping in Hollywood.
We hopped in the convertible and headed out to the Third Street Farmer’s Market, west L.A.’s oldest open-air market, and The Grove, a stylish pedestrian shopping area next door to the market. The energy, intensity, and humor Michael emanates requires plenty of calories, so our day was punctuated with several stops for snacks and Jamba Juice – with immunity boosters.
Michael’s father, Mark Rosenbaum, who now lives in Manhattan, says, “Michael’s a bit of a hypochondriac, but he never was sick growing up, ever. We used to think he was super human, honestly.”
To say that Michael is “on” constantly doesn’t begin to describe his demeanor. He is the most high energy person I have ever met. His parents and friends agree, saying Michael’s energy and drive is matched only by that of his younger brother, Eric, a technical manager for a pharmaceutical company in Long Beach, Calif., who possesses the same gift.
From the moment our feet hit the Hollywood pavement, Michael was in high gear. His friend, Christopher McDonald, joined us and together their wit was a formidable force. Babies, dogs, street vendors, retail clerks, glamorous women and fans all provide Michael and Chris with plenty of friendly amusement to fuel their non-stop banter. They were both totally in their element at the mall; in fact, they have a long-running joke that the “code word” – for anything – is “the mall.”
When we’d done all the damage we could do at The Grove, we headed to Melrose Avenue in search of cool vintage T-shirts and to browse Fred Segal. After 40 years on West Melrose, this collection of ultra-hip boutiques is a common destination for celebrities. Like all things truly cool in L.A., Fred Segal doesn’t look like what it is – more an ivy-covered bungalow than the home of L.A.’s hippest gear of the moment. It also houses a café, where we ate a late lunch and where our cute waitress held considerable interest for Michael. Outside we ran into Rebecca Gayheart, Michael’s co-star in “Urban Legend,” who recently had a role in the cancelled FOX series, “Vanished.”
Carrie Fisher’s Cake
With the Southern California setting, our shopping expedition ended and we drove back to Michael’s home, where we planned to shoot our cover photograph and rest up for Carrie Fisher’s birthday party.
To Michael’s friends and family, his friendships with celebrities are not surprising. They’re accustomed to late night phone calls from Michael with the announcement, “Mom, here’s Dustin Hoffman. Say hi.”
Michael’s high school friend, Kent Brenneman, who lives in Evansville and is owner of the real estate firm House Hunter LLC, explains his charisma. “We go out to visit him, and he’s the same in Hollywood as he is in Newburgh. It’s that charisma and wit. Big time stars flock to him, just like people do here; it’s just a different crowd. He’s a caring guy who’s the center of attention wherever he goes.”
From the moment we walked up the enchanting drive to Carrie Fisher’s famed Hollywood compound, Jesse and I knew we were in for a special evening. It was an intimate party for about 90 of her closest friends. We were amazed to be sipping champagne amid celebrities like Ms. Fisher and her lovely mother, Debbie Reynolds, and others, including Sharon Stone, Matthew Perry, Robert Downey Jr., Courtney Love, Beverly DiAngelo, Greg Kinnear, and Megan Mullally.
The most amazing aspect of the evening, though, was Michael. It was Michael, the kid from Newburgh, who absconded the Princess Leia-styled cap, hand-knitted by guest Tracy Ullman for Ms. Fisher’s birthday present, and wore it through the buffet line. It was Michael who encouraged me to meet the famous architect Frank Gehry. And, when it was time to honor the birthday hostess, against a backdrop of slick Hollywood videos projected on a giant screen nestled in the trees, it was Michael Rosenbaum and George Lucas who sang the loudest and presented Ms. Fisher with the cake.
Making a Mark
Libraries lend their books to members of the community, but sometimes they get more than books back in return — bookmarks. Through these forgotten items, Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Central have a found a unique way to liven up their space and connect with readers.
While no one can remember exactly when or how the tradition began, Heather McKinney, EVPL writing and social media specialist, says the staff has been finding and displaying bookmarks in the workroom for more than eight years. After being sorted automatically by a machine, books are checked for damages or hidden content that has a chance to make it into the collection.
“Whatever we find that looks interesting, we hang it up,” says McKinney.
While many traditional bookmarks are displayed, Uno cards, postcards from other states, photos of celebrities, and hand-stitched designs cover the walls near the automated materials handler.
Sometimes more memorable and bewildering items are found. Personal documents, like social security and insurance cards, are often found and returned to their owners. The craziest bookmark ever left in a book? A real piece of bologna.
The collection not only serves as decoration, but also gives the staff a visual and personal link to readers.
“I like that it’s really representative of the community we support,” says McKinney. “It shows that no two readers are the same and people read for a variety of reasons.”
Like the staff, the community loves the bookmark wall. A photo McKinney posted on Facebook in October was instantly popular. Despite the attention, the bookmarks will remain a private staff collection for the foreseeable future.
“It could be fun to see some of the best displayed, but for now we’re going to keep it back here,” says McKinney.
Become a Bookworm
812-428-8200
evpl.org/connect/locations/evpl-central
Golfing for a Cause
“Would the community embrace an all-ladies golf classic?” Jayne Manis asked 30 years ago as a group that included Pam Rausch, JoAnn Robinson, Holley Brundick, and Marian Shymanski brainstormed what would become the Deaconess Classic For Women’s Health.
“Several in our community said that such an outing would fail,” says Linda White, vice president and chief administrative officer at Deaconess Henderson Hospital. “Well, 30 years later and over $4 million generated by this event, we are here to thank those (who) created this worthwhile outing.”
Of the original quintet of organizers, only Manis is alive. She hasn’t missed a moment of the classic, handling promotion of the women’s mammograms fundraiser. White, then director of nursing at Deaconess Health System, connected the committee with Deaconess Foundation, which helped attract sponsors and donors.
“We couldn’t have done it without this community,” Manis says.
At the inaugural Women’s Classic on May 15, 1995, 100 women signed up for $125 per person, and it was a standing room only audience with former Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh’s wife, the late Susan Bayh, in attendance alongside former first lady Marilyn Quayle and pro golfer Michelle McGann.
The event “just took off after that,” Manis says. “To see where we’ve gone with it has been unreal.”
“We have sold out every year,” says Theresa Phipps, Deaconess Foundation’s donor relations and event specialist. Tickets for this year’s event on May 13 had sold out by April.
Each year sees about 130 participants — and usually grosses around $140,000 — at Evansville Country Club and follows a different theme. One of its biggest accomplishments was helping fund Deaconess’ Mobile Breast Center, which meets community members where they are to provide mammogram screenings.
The classic includes a breakfast and pro clinic, with prizes and awards given to donors and supporters. An example is the Spirit Award named in Rausch’s memory, awarded to community members who go above and beyond to support cancer survivors.
Manis is stepping down after this year. At 94 years old, she says it’s time to pass the baton.
“There will be a special place in my heart forever for this committee,” Manis says.
We Love Pizza
Editor’s note: This feature story originally published in the March/April 2015 issue.
Why do we love pizza?
That’s an easy answer — but not a short one. It’s customizable, shareable, delectable, portable, and we can’t get enough of it, making Evansville a perfect place for us. Pizzerias cover this city and its surrounding areas, each with its own twist on a piece of pie.
People Behind the Pizza
Pizza makers explain their passion for their pies By Jenny McNeece • Photos by Jerry Butts
Eric Weber
By The Slice Gourmet Pizzeria
The idea for By the Slice Gourmet Pizzeria, 2011 Lincoln Ave., near the University of Evansville, started 20 years ago as a graduate school project while owner Eric Weber was a student at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. He envisioned a pizzeria where customers could come in, choose a slice from an assortment of specialty pizzas, then sit a spell while it baked to bubbling, browned perfection.
“That’s how I like it best,” says Weber. “We usually make 12 different kinds of pizza, some daily, but others vary on different days of the week. And we try new stuff all the time, too.
“Customers can come up to the counter, take a look at what we’ve got made for that day, pick what they want, and we put it back in the oven to finish it off.”
Weber says his pizzeria, which opened in 1994, has become a popular place for young professionals looking for a quick slice of pizza on their lunch hour or even groups of regulars who look forward to the ever-changing daily specials. Some of their most popular pies, he says, are a spinach and feta cheese pizza garnished with garlic, olive oil, and mozzarella, and another with creamy ranch dressing, red onion, mozzarella, and tomato.
Weber has created pizzas that meet the rules of popular fad diets, all because his goal, he says, is to give people what they want all while encouraging them to think outside the usual pizza box.
“We have a group of regular guys who always comes in on Tuesdays,” says Weber. “They’re the kind of customers I like because they usually like to play around a little bit with what they choose.
“But I think the idea for a pizzeria like this works because there are a lot of times when you don’t want a whole pizza,” he says. “You just want a snack, and we can give you that.”
For more information about By the Slice, call 812-402-8518.
(Eric Weber sold The Slice to Tom Ruhl in summer 2024.)
Tom and Kathy Groves
Kitchen Sink Pizza of Evansville
People often ask Tom and Kathy Groves about the meaning behind their pizzeria’s name, Kitchen Sink Pizza.
And the answer is just as one might expect.
“Well, it comes from the phrase ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ because that’s exactly what we put on our pizza,” Tom Groves says with a laugh. “That is our specialty, and we try to keep those in stock at all times because people love them so much.”
Kitchen Sink’s business model is different than most. The couple doesn’t operate a store front business; they simply assemble the pizzas at 1815 John St. two days a week, and Tom Groves does daily deliveries.
The popular Kitchen Sink pizza is available most days. But those who want multiple pizzas — the minimum order is two — or other recipes must order ahead.
The pies then arrive frozen and ready to bake.
Tom Groves’ family once owned Evansville’s popular Pour House Restaurant, an establishment that originally opened in the 1970s as a bar on Mount Vernon Avenue. Groves tended bar while a student at Ball State University, and when he returned, his family opened the music club together.
But it was their entry into the craft of making specialty pizzas that catapulted them into the local restaurant business, and they operated successfully until 1986.
“I never thought another thing about making pizzas,” says Groves. “Then about five years ago, somebody mentioned something on Facebook about the pizzas we used to make. It got all kinds of hits and likes, so we started making them again for friends and family.
“From there, it just took off.”
Tom, a sales associate with Indoff, an office supply and furniture company based in St., Louis and Kathy, a fourth-grade teacher at Holy Rosary School, have enjoyed their return to the pizza-making business, but they have no employees and don’t necessarily want any.
“It has worked really well for us,” says Groves. “We are as busy as we want to be, and we hope to continue doing this when we retire.”
Orders can be emailed directly to kitchensinkpizza@gmail.com or called into 812-305-4412. They also can be found on Facebook by searching Kitchen Sink Pizza of Evansville.
Brad Niemeier
Azzip Pizza
Brad Niemeier opened Azzip Pizza — that’s pizza spelled backwards — in February of 2014. Fresh out of college and armed with $20,000 in prize money after winning Purdue University’s Burton D. Morgan Business Plan Competition, he searched high and low to find the perfect spot to implement his plan of providing quick, made-to-order personal-size pizzas.
“I thought about doing it at Purdue, but I decided I wanted to bring my idea back to Evansville,” the hometown boy says. “I knew all the support and connections I had made in this community, and I eventually found the perfect spot on the West Side.”
Azzip Pizza, 5225 Pearl Drive, offers what Niemeier likes to call “fast, casual pizza.” The pizzas come in either 8- or 11-inch sizes, and customers pick their preferred toppings.
“They make it right there in front of you, and it bakes in just 2 minutes and 30 seconds,” he says proudly. “And all of them are made with fresh ingredients, fresh dough we make and roll out in-house everyday.”
The community he loved embraced him as well. Azzip has done well on the West Side, says Niemeier, who is partnered with local chef Blake Kollker, formerly of the Evansville Country Club. He recently opened a second location in Newburgh, Indiana, at 8680 High Point Drive.
Kollker has since helped Azzip to launch some of its most unique specialty pizzas, ones like the Westsider, which features Marx Barbecue sauce, cheese, pork, red onions, and crushed Grippos sprinkled on top, as well as the Mr. Potato Head, which boasts a ranch-based sauce, red-skinned potatoes, bacon, cheddar cheese, and chive sour cream.
“The response has been great,” says Niemeier. “We’ve got people who have come in every week since we opened. It’s been phenomenal.”
For more information about Azzip Pizza, call 812-401-3572 or visit azzippizza.me.
The Right Rise
Experiment in the kitchen, and find your perfect hand-tossed pizza crust.
By Eli Haddix • Photos by Heather Gray
When experimenting in the kitchen, sometimes using a recipe is best. Particularly when it comes to baking, essential chemistry for a great final product can be missed if you’re not careful. On the other hand, half the fun of novelty can come from “winging it.”
Pizza exists firmly in both of these categories. For the crust, knowledge of how various ingredients interact can determine whether or not you achieve the perfect texture. From a thin, cracker-style crust to a thick, deep dish, Chicago-style pie, the yeast (or lack thereof) is the key. How you handle yeast determines, for the most part, how much rise you will have in your crust.
My personal favorite, stylistically, is a hand-tossed crust — not too thin, not too thick, flavorful, but not so much that the flavor takes away from the toppings. This style provides for a more artisan aesthetic as well, leaving symmetry to be an afterthought. Adding your best-loved meats, veggies, and cheeses gives this pizza an end result much greater than the sum of its parts. Let the little ones join in, because this pizza is fun for everybody!
Ingredients:
• 2-2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 packet (¼ ounce) of rapid-rise yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• Various herbs of your liking
• Pizza sauce (Marinara sauce works)
• 1 cup warm water (120-130 degrees)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Cornmeal (available in the baking section)
• Granulated garlic
• Toppings of your choice
Instructions:
Begin by combining two cups flour, dry yeast, salt, and sugar. Mix in a generous amount of granulated garlic and dried (or fresh) herbs. Add warm water and olive oil to flour mixture. Slowly add just enough flour to pull the dough from the sides of the bowl and make it nice and soft. I prefer to use my stand mixer for efficiency, but just a fork and some elbow grease works just fine. Using the bread hook attachment (or just your hands), knead until smooth and elastic, roughly 5 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and let your dough rest on a floured surface for up to 30 minutes. Depending on how long you let it rise and how large you choose to make your pizza, you can get up to two whole pies out of this crust.
While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 400, and lightly oil a round pizza pan. Sprinkle pan with cornmeal (this adds texture and helps keep it from sticking). Shape your dough into a smooth ball, and begin rolling. As I mentioned earlier, symmetry is almost impossible to achieve, so delight in the imperfections. Leave a little extra dough on the edges for a risen crust feel.
For this example, I softened a 1/3 cup of butter and combined it with 1 tablespoon of granulated garlic, a 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, a 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, 1 teaspoon of oregano, and 1 teaspoon of basil. Using a pastry brush, generously coat the entire crust with the garlic butter mixture. With the remaining toppings, less is more. A little of each ingredient goes a long way. I used spinach, sliced cremini (baby bella) mushrooms, prosciutto, capocollo, roasted red bell peppers, and shredded mozzarella (any pizza blend works). Cheesing the pizza on top or directly on the crust has little to no bearing on the final product, merely the presentation. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the edges are golden brown and cheese is melted.
A Slice of Heaven
Photos by Michael Wheatley
Try not to drool — here we give you a rare side-by-side visual comparison of slices from select pizza joints around town. We welcome you to taste your way through each piece and place.
WHAT: Angelo’s Supreme
WHERE: Angelo’s Italian Restaurant, 305 Main St.
WHY WE CRAVE THIS PLACE: Angelo’s menu options range from Veal ala Limone to this loaded slice. Perfect for a dinner date or lunch meeting, Angelo’s combines atmosphere with a sophisticated cuisine and extensive wine list.
WHAT: Spinach and Feta
WHERE: By The Slice Gourmet Pizzeria, 2011 Lincoln Ave.
WHY WE CRAVE THIS PLACE: Creative pizza slices like this Spinach and Feta piece are on display when first entering By the Slice. Customers pick a piece and sit back or play pool while the sumptuous slice bakes in the oven.
WHAT: Schaum’s Special
WHERE: Schaum’s Pizzeria, 210 S. Green River Road
WHY WE CRAVE THIS PLACE: Schaum’s Pizzeria, formerly Greek’s Family Pizzeria, is known for a family-friendly environment and its Schaum’s Special. Customers chat, chow down on the Gourmet Wings Pizza or the Cordon Bleu Pizza, and can listen to a band each Wednesday night.
It’s Hip to be Square
Photos by Michael Wheatley
Through our tasty research, we discovered Evansville is a square-town. The tradition of the una style — a light cracker-thin crust, cut in a grid — began in Evansville more than 40 years ago, and it’s caught on.
WHAT: Roca Pesto
WHERE: Roca Bar, 4600 Washington Ave.
WHY WE CRAVE THIS PLACE: Roca Bar offers daring flavor combinations. Surprising pies include the breakfast pizza and this sundried tomato, spinach, and black olive combination.
WHAT: The Supreme
WHERE: Kipplee’s, 2350 E. Division St.
WHY WE CRAVE THIS PLACE: Kipplee’s has a long history in Evansville, starting as Harold’s Tavern in 1948. Today, it’s known for tasty pies, like the BBQ Chicken, Cajun, and this Supreme.
WHAT: Spankey’s Supreme
WHERE: Spankey’s Una Pizza, 714 N. Sonntag Ave.
WHY WE CRAVE THIS PLACE: With its cracker-thin crust, melted slices of mozzarella, and fresh vegetables, it’s no wonder people keep coming back for these delicious squares.
WHAT: Ham and Pineapple
WHERE: Deerhead Sidewalk Cafe, 222 E. Columbia St.
WHY WE CRAVE THIS PLACE: Deerhead serves up its famous double decker pizza alongside live music. Deerhead also offers traditional pies like this ham and pineapple piece.
Una and Only
Una-style pizzerias serve Evansville’s signature style
It’s difficult to miss the multitude of pizzerias proudly displaying the phrase una pizza: Steve’s, Spankey’s, Harmes’, Jimmy’s, Rick’s, Stan’s, Una-Tu, and Covert — eight locations in the area from Boonville, Indiana, to the West Side. Though all use the term una, the restaurants do not make up a chain and are wholly unaffiliated except for the style of each shop’s handmade pizza pies.
“We’re not a chain,” says Ryan Huck, co-owner of Spankey’s Una Pizza at 714 N. Sonntag Ave. “Spankey’s put una in its name because of the style of pizza we serve. But we don’t have a connection to the other una pizzas. Other pizza places make una-style pizzas, like Turoni’s (Pizzeria), but they just don’t put it in their name.”
A tradition more than 30 years old, Stan’s Una Pizza, 1101 Harmony Way, is one of Evansville’s most enduring una pizzas.
“Stan’s Una Pizza was started through Roca Bar,” says Judy Davis, an employee of Stan’s. “It’s a recipe that goes back over 40 years, and Stan’s revived and tweaked the una pizza recipe.”
The una-style pizza starts with the light crust. Taking a piece of pizza dough, the una chefs fold it multiple times and use a dough press or roller to achieve the iconic cracker-thin crust. Then they slather on the sauce, layering meat on top. That’s right — the meat is baked under the cheese, which is sliced rather than shredded. Then any combination of fresh vegetables is heaped on top. Once assembled, the pie is popped into the brick, wood-burning oven atop a pizza stone. According to Huck, the sliced cheese layer holds the heat closer to the baking stone.
After being a part of the region for so many years, the una-style pizza has become integrated into our food culture.
Pizza Spin-Offs
We’ve all been there — the waitress asks if you’d like to add anything else to your order, and the temptation sets in. Maybe you select a hold-you-over appetizer, delicious dessert, or an alternative to a pizza pie altogether. Here are four tasty takes we can’t resist.
▲ Photo by Julie Hope
Nom! Nom! Strom! Strom!
A Midwestern stromboli, the baked-in-foil sandwich sold by University of Southern Indiana Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the Fall Festival or made every day at Pizza King, has little in common with the Italian version of the sandwich, which is made in pizza dough with Italian meats and cheese, layered and rolled, baked and sliced. Sounds great, but that’s not our stromboli. Pizza King is an Indiana brand — there are 74 stores throughout Indiana. In Evansville and Newburgh, it has operated for 45 years. Pizza King strombolis (6-inch or 12-inch) are made with zesty sausage, specially seasoned cheese, onions, and tomato sauce on a crusty-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside Vienna loaf. We call the Pizza King stromboli an Evansville tradition. Of course, a place called Pizza King should do pizzas well, too, and they do.
Pizza King, East Side, West Side, and Newburgh, Indiana; pizzakingevansville.com. Local and nationwide delivery.
▲ Photo by Heather Gray
Calzone Prone
For those who want the great pizza taste without ordering a pizza, calzones are the way to go, and Milano Italian Cuisine serves seven flavors of the tasty pastry hot and fresh everyday with a side of marinara sauce. Milano’s fuses two Italian classics with the stromboli calzone. Stuffed with ground beef, Italian sausage, green peppers, and onions, the stromboli calzone is a favorite among Milano’s customers. For those who prefer meatless, choose spinach or a cheese calzone. Each pastry is baked for 10 minutes until the tops reach golden-brown perfection, leaving the crust soft on the inside.
Milano Italian Cuisine, 500 Main St., 812-484-2222, facebook.com/milanositaliancuisine.
▲ Photo by Heather Gray
A Sugary End
After enjoying a pizza, Heady’s Pizza offers a finger-licking good dessert that will have sweets lovers wanting more. Akin to their savory garlic knots with melted butter dipping sauce, Heady’s serves up cinna-knots with a warm white icing dip. Think of a cinnamon roll with the cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla, but instead of a pinwheel formation, Heady’s ties knots with its homemade dough. Offered in orders of six, the knots are never complete without the white icing dipping sauce. Made from powdered sugar and butter, it’s tempting to lick the container clean.
Heady’s Pizza, 4120 N. First Ave., 812-437-4343, headyspizza.com.
The Art of Pizza
Artisan pizzas’ popularity rises rapidly
Artisan pizzas are the newest culinary trend sweeping the nation, and pie lovers are rejoicing. Forget the mess or dripping grease of a quickly thrown together pepperoni and cheese — that’s child’s play. An artisan is defined as a skilled worker who practices a trade, which describes the mastery and craftsmanship applied to each pizza. While there are many artisan pizzas waiting to be devoured in Evansville, here are four pizzas in particular that make our mouths water.
Vecchio’s Italian Market & Delicatessen
Vecchio’s Italian Market begins serving its artisan pizzas at 11 a.m. each day. They are available as long as supplies last, which means around noon you may be out of luck. Newburgh, Indiana, native Anna Smith, who has worked at Vecchio’s since its opening, admits to stashing pizza away for her own consumption. “We are never sad when there are leftovers and we get to eat them,” says Smith. “There aren’t leftovers very often. I will admit to taking some and hiding them in the back.” Vecchio’s recently moved from 14 W. Jennings St. down the road to 300 W. Jennings St. in Newburgh after chef and owner Amanda Hancock received a liver transplant. The market also is for sale. The pizza dough and sauce are made from scratch everyday with the freshest ingredients. Generally, Vecchio’s serves three types of pizzas — a cheese, meat, and veggie — but those can change depending on what fresh ingredients are available and “what we feel like making that day.” A typical veggie pizza is topped with spinach, Boar’s Head mozzarella cheese, bell peppers, mushrooms, black olives, artichokes, and roasted red peppers.
(Vecchio’s has closed since the publication of this article.)
Azzip Pizza
Azzip Pizza makes personal pizzas entirely customizable to your taste, and the options are endless. With sauces, meats, cheeses, and vegetables, Azzip cooks an 11-inch Big Zip or an 8-inch Small Zip in 2 minutes 30 seconds flat. The pizza crust is made daily, in-house. “It’s a thinner, crispier crust,” says Azzip owner Brad Niemeier. “We also add some of the Azzip Pesto into the dough to give the crust a little more flavor.” With two locations at 5225 Pearl Drive on the West Side and 8680 High Pointe Drive in Newburgh, Indiana, Azzip artisans construct your pizza while you make your way down the line. The sauce varieties include zippy ranch, garlic butter, and sweet and sassy barbecue, and the meat selection is just as extensive with choices like Marx BBQ shredded pork and Gerber’s Amish Farm Chicken. The last step is veggies, which seem nearly unlimited: sundried tomatoes, baby Portobello mushrooms, and chopped garlic to name a few. But if all the options are overwhelming, try the specialty “Potato Head” pizza, with a ranch base topped with red-skinned potatoes, or the “Kraut Pleaser,” with Thousand Island dressing and corned beef, strewn with sauerkraut.
For more information about Azzip Pizza, call 812-401-3572 or 812-490-0588 or visit azzippizza.me.
The Pizza Revolution
At The Pizza Revolution, owners Aaron and Stephanie Peckenpaugh insist on fresh, homemade ingredients. Specializing in Neapolitan style pies, Pizza Revolution stretches their in-house, handmade dough, crafted from high heat flour imported from Italy, and starts from curds to make a creamy mozzarella cheese. Popping up at events and festivals, the mobile pizzeria uses a wood fired oven to bake pies to perfection. Constructed from tile stone and firebrick, the oven reaches temperatures of about 1100 degrees in the dome and 900 degrees at the floor, burning seasoned hardwoods like Ash and Oak. “Wood fired ovens are more traditional and old school,” says Aaron. “And you don’t just let the pizzas sit. You have to turn them, and look at them, and see where the pizza is cooking and where it needs more heat.” One of the most popular pizza pleasers is the sweet and spicy “Buzz Killa,” including a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, spicy pepperoni, chili oil, and a drizzle of honey. The “Fig ‘N’ Pig” is another staple in their pizza line-up, with fig preserves, salty prosciutto (a dry-cured Italian ham), Gorgonzola, and mozzarella cheese crumbles.
For more information about The Pizza Revolution, call 812-430-5945, or thepizzarevolution.com.
Pizzeria Pangea
Our eyes and noses already are on the future opening of Pizzeria Pangea, which plans to open this summer. Owner Randy Hobson of Evansville recently retired from Berry Plastics after 25 years. The name Pangea is inspired by the scientific term for the supercontinent and Hobson’s way of bringing Italy to Evansville. Located in the former retail space formerly occupied by Excursions at 4910 Lincoln Ave., Hobson plans to serve Neopolitian pizza, which is cooked in a wood fired oven, very similar to the way pizza was first cooked in Naples, Italy. Pangea also will serve gelato ice cream. “We will be using a lot of ingredients imported from Italy, and all of our equipment is imported from Italy. We want to bring the very heritage of where pizza began to Evansville, with simple ingredients that are very good and very artisanal.”
Destination Pizza
This short list is all the excuse you need to get out of town
Clear your schedule for next weekend and push back catching up on the yard work. Once you experience even a whiff of these pizza places, you’ll be out the door and heading north on Interstate 69.
Villa Pizzeria
Jasper, Indiana • 67.1 miles
Traveling youth sports teams and TripAdvisor reviewers have discovered Villa Pizzeria in Jasper, Indiana. I did, too, on a recent trip to the county seat of Dubois County for a grade school basketball tournament.
Villa Pizzeria is located just across the railroad tracks from the Jasper Riverwalk and across the Patoka River from the Jasper City Mill — a pretty part of town. Its website says the establishment is family owned by Bob and Michelle Cates. They opened the restaurant at its current location in 2006.
The interior of Villa Pizzeria looks like a diner. Online reviewers note its convenient and tasty lunch buffet. Pizzas can be built from fresh regular toppings or premium toppings, or a specialty pizza can be ordered. I arrived late in the afternoon and ordered a small Popeye & Olive (fresh spinach, fresh garlic, black olives, Roma tomatoes, mozzarella and provolone; $9.99, $12.99, $16.99). It was hot and delicious, and exactly as billed. I was tempted by the Southwest Fiesta (ground beef, red onion, green peppers, Roma tomatoes, banana peppers, and black olives over a bean sauce, topped with cheddar and mozzarella, served with a side of fresh salsa; $9.49, $11.49, $17.49).
Oven baked subs (choose from eight, with chips and a pickle) and several sandwiches, as well as a kids menu are offered. Dessert is warm baked cinnamon sticks with icing, almonds, or chocolate chips, or a root beer float. Beer and wine are offered. —Kristen K. Tucker
Villa Pizzeria, 124 Third Ave., Jasper, IN; 812-482-2555; villapizzeria.com.
Mother Bear’s Pizza
Bloomington, Indiana • 124 miles
Every time I visit Bloomington, Indiana, Mother Bear’s is always my first or last stop — sometimes both. During my most recent stop, my swift decision to wait 40 minutes to be seated while the first half of the Indiana University basketball game began without me was worth it.
Nestled on Third Street with a view of IU’s campus just across the street, the restaurant is frequented by students, parents, alumni, and high school seniors fresh out of orientation. The dim, cabin-like dining space provides a cozy and inviting atmosphere to socialize and reminisce. The wooden walls and booths are masked with doodles, signatures, and promises of forever love authored by past patrons.
Most online reviewers credit Mother Bear’s with “the best pizza in Bloomington” and “the place for comfort-food style pizza, a must-have.” Between traditional pan crust, deep-dish, and toasted sesame thin crust, customers choose their favorite dough and have the option to create their own or choose from the 18 specialty pies.
My family, who often visits with me, orders the deep-dish Deluxe pizza ($8.55, $15.30, $22.60) with a generous blend of pepperoni, sausage, onions, mushrooms, and green peppers, all topped with the award-winning Mother Bear’s red sauce. My choice is the Treasure of Monte Cristo ($7.65, $14.05, $20.75), layered with white sauce, mozzarella, spinach, bacon, tomatoes, and fontina cheese. The flavors and corresponding names range from funky to classic throughout the menu pages, bright with scribbles like a child’s coloring book.
Also on the menu are salads topped with yellow Goldfish crackers, homemade brownies, hot subs, pasta dinners, and pre-meal breadsticks. Beer and wine are available for dine-in and delivery. —Katelyn Phillips
Mother Bear’s Pizza, 1428 E. Third St., Bloomington, IN; 812-332-4495; motherbearspizza.com.
Napolese
Indianapolis, Indiana • 174.7 miles
In Indianapolis, “Martha” refers to only one person: the pioneer of Indianapolis’ farm-to-table culture and Patachou Inc., her mini-empire of popular restaurant concepts.
Martha Hoover, (who Evansville can claim just a bit, as her brother-in-law, Dr. Michael Hoover, and his wife, Dr. Maria
Del Rio Hoover, reside here), is a former public sector attorney who founded Patachou Inc. in 1989. Her biography states, “Once I moved to Indiana, I couldn’t help noticing that the best ingredients were growing in the back yard. The best tomatoes, melons, wheat — the best beef, turkeys, and pork — were being raised on the farms in Indiana. … I was dumbfounded that a restaurateur in Indiana could not make the leap from the best ingredients to the best food. ”
Thankfully for all of us, Martha does pizza, too — and her pizzeria, Napolese (with three locations) is well worth the drive. I dined at its location near Monument Circle. As advertised, the pizzas pulled from its brick oven are classically Neapolitan with thin, blistered crusts.
The menu lists tempting Artisanal and Freestyle pizzas, where diners are advised to not pile on the toppings — the crusts are best with no more than three. Any pizza also can be made white, with extra virgin olive oil substituted for tomato sauce. Our party tried Hamaker’s Corner (pepperoni, Italian sausage, provolone, and mushrooms; $14) and a Freestyle with roasted tomatoes and imported green olives ($15). We also shared a vegetarian double chopped house salad — highly recommended ($10).
Napolese, 30 S. Meridian St., 114 E. 49th St., 8702 Keystone Crossing, Indianapolis, IN; napolesepizzeria.com.
Quick Trips for Tasty Pies
Sometimes a good pie calls for a little drive.
Only a few miles outside of Evansville, these places make our short list of where we’re heading for a slice — or four or five.
Lombardi’s (513 Barrett Blvd., Henderson, KY) promises a New York-style experience in Western Kentucky. Try the Sicilian Square Pizza, made from ingredients imported from Italy and a deep dish that tastes as if you’re in Brooklyn. For more than 20 years, Mister B’s (Henderson and Bowling Green, Kentucky) has perfected the combo of pizza and wings. Be sure to ask about specials when combining the two! Bordy’s Pizza (4222 Bell Road, Newburgh, IN) opened last September and is a popular destination for pizza and Italian sandwiches and pastas. If you want toppings packed to the edge on your pizza, Gardo’s Italian Oven (13220 Darmstadt Road, Darmstadt, IN) slices its vegetables daily and only uses fresh mushrooms. Patrons frequent Sandy’s Pizza (Fort Branch) for the food — and the atmosphere. On your next visit, sit in a room dedicated to Coca-Cola products (it seats 80). We first learned about Woody’s Pizzeria (518 Main St., New Harmony, IN) through Angie and Mike Woodburn’s second restaurant, Bliss Artisan, an ice cream shop. Both the Woodburn’s pizza and ice cream are made from scratch. Also in New Harmony is the Yellow Tavern (521 Church St., New Harmony, IN) known for its yellow historic structure and fresh ingredients on its pies. Susan Bobe’s Pizza’s (101 W. Broadway, Princeton, IN) reviews online are peppered with comments calling it “the best pizza in Princeton.” Try the Princeton Tiger with Italian sausages, hams, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, three cheeses, and black olives.
People and their Pets
Erin Miller starts her evenings at home with a “Good evening, ladies and gentleman” greeting to her four rabbits.
The Evansville resident and development communications coordinator for Easterseals Rehabilitation Center has owned rabbits for more than 20 years. Her first bunny was a family pet named Peanut, an extra-large reddish-brown male, who Miller bonded with immediately when she was in elementary school.
“He was such a happy part of my life that I’ve continued to welcome pet rabbits into my life ever since,” she says.
Her current furry family consists of Tobey, a male black and white Dutch; Michiko, a female grey and white Dutch and Netherland Dwarf mix; Bonnie, a female white Blanc de Hotot; and Thelma, a female brown French Lop. Each has their own personality, much like dogs and cats act differently from one another she explains, and discovering those traits is one of the most rewarding aspects of owning rabbits.
“I think a lot of people see rabbits as shy because they have innate prey characteristics,” says Miller. “It takes time to build trust with a rabbit but the reward is an adorable furry friend with a great personality.”
Miller’s rabbit family all are adopted, and she is a huge “Adopt Don’t Shop” advocate, recommending those who are looking for a bunny of their own to check out local shelters — locally, the Vanderburgh Humane Society and animal control have adoptable rabbits. After the Easter holiday, shelters will see an influx of rabbits, Miller adds.
“A lot of people assume they can let a pet rabbit ‘go free’ and put them outside. That’s not true at all,” she says. “Domestic rabbits have lost a lot of their survival skills, so it’s always better to contact VHS or animal control about rehoming.”
Miller says what makes her rabbits so special for her is just being a part of their lives. With each being a rescue, she says there is an extra special bond she shares with them.
“It sounds simple, but maybe that’s another reason why it’s so special? It doesn’t feel like I picked them; it feels like they chose me,” she says. “Each one of their personalities shows me a different side of my own, and I get so much joy from that experience.”
Fixing the Pet Crisis
In January, the Vanderburgh Humane Society released its statistics for 2018, citing many impressive achievements. Last year, 2,903 animals were sheltered at the VHS and 2,111 were adopted. The most notable figure, however, was that for the first time in the VHS’ history, no animals were euthanized due to lack of space.
The shelter did have to euthanize 282 animals last year — 163 for aggression, lack of socialization, or behavior problems and 119 for severe health issues compromising quality of life — and 21 animals died of natural causes, either from unforeseen medical issues or old age. However, last year was the first time in its 62 years the VHS didn’t have to euthanize a healthy, adoptable animal because there wasn’t space for it.
“No animal shelter or rescue wants to have to euthanize healthy, adoptable animals,” says Amanda Coburn, development coordinator for the VHS. “Reaching this point is every agency’s dream. Last year still was difficult and sometimes very emotionally draining for our staff, figuring out where we were going to put all these incoming animals and how we would care for them.”
Most of the credit for the milestone goes to the shelter’s Davidson-Rausch Low-Cost Spay and Neuter Clinic that opened in 2007 and is available to anyone regardless of income or where they live. In 2008, the first full year after the clinic opened, the VHS had to euthanize 1,804 animals. Since then, the euthanasia rates have steadily decreased down to last year’s number of 282, an 85 percent decrease since the clinic opened.
The VHS stresses that spaying and neutering pets is the only permanent solution to pet overpopulation. For decades, many owners got pets through neighbors and never had them fixed. When those pets had a litter, they would give them away to more neighbors.
“That is how we got into this predicament in the first place,” says Coburn. “It’s imperative people get their pets fixed. It’s better for the animal’s long-term health, for the owner’s sanity, and helps relieve the burden on our national shelter system. We cannot adopt our way out of this crisis.”
▲ Jim and Christine Keck brought Boss, left, and Sister, middle, into their home last February to join their Australian Shepherd mix Brother Bear, right.
Full House
One picture of two furry puppies curled together and the deal was done — Christine and Jim Keck decided to adopt the brother and sister pair into their home.
Shared with the couple by their friend John Pickens, who is a fellow realtor with Jim, the two rescue puppies were being fostered by a client of Pickens for PAAWS No-Kill Animal Rescue. Seeing the photo prompted the Kecks to visit the young dogs.
“We go in and they were all bundled with each other. They were just little babies curled up and loving each other,” says Christine, the managing director of federal government affairs for CenterPoint Energy, which recently acquired Vectren. “That just started the journey.”
The Kecks brought the puppies — Sister and Boss — home Feb. 17, 2018, joining their 14-year-old Australian Shepard mix Brother Bear. Affectionately called Brother, the older dog is the couple’s first, which Jim gifted to Christine for their 15th wedding anniversary to start their furry family. Brother also was a rescue, given to Jim by a client at just 12 weeks old. A few years later, the Keck family would grow again with the addition of a border collie mix, Miss Indiana (Indy for short), in 2008. Indy passed away in February 2017, a loss that deeply affected Jim and Christine.
“She was a very beautiful dog,” says Jim. “We adopted her from an older family — she was just too rambunctious for them.”
Though the loss of Indy was difficult, the Kecks knew they still wished to be a family with a few dogs, which promoted them to begin thinking of adding a new dog in 2018.
“For us, it’s always been very serendipitous how these dogs come into our lives,” says Christine.
Two brand-new puppies brought a lot of changes into the Keck household. The first year was tough with the rambunctious pair, but obedience classes and bonding helped the couple work toward acclimating Sister and Boss to other dogs and people (they credit the crews at All Breed Grooming, Boarding, and Daycare and Evansville Obedience Club for their help). Christine and Jim are quick to tell humorous stories about the siblings — from bringing uprooted plants into the house to fighting over a rock from the backyard. Sister is inquisitive and much more bossy than her brother. Boss may not live up to his name (Christine calls him a “love bunny”), but he is very possessive and loves attention.
The two young pups’ presence also gives Brother Bear a “spark in his step,” says Christine. They may wear him out a bit, but Brother is quick to get out and join in on the fun. While the family enjoys walks through the Historic Riverside District in Downtown Evansville, near their home, the best play times are when the Kecks head to the park, where Sister and Boss can run free off leash, chasing each other and tennis balls, and wrestle about in the grass.
“They are crazily bonded with us and to each other, more so than anything,” adds Jim. “They just add a bunch of joy into the house.”
One enjoyable part of their furry family is watching the puppies grow and find their place in the “pack” and the world around them.
“Every day throughout the day, there are new discoveries for them,” says Christine. “It’s just a constant learning environment.”
▲ Brian Buxton makes long trips to Louisville, Kentucky, for food to donate to local shelters, while Mosby (above) operates her own rescue/adoption program, Buddy’s Promise — Furever Home.
Pawsitive Support
Brian Buxton and Missy Mosby take different approaches, but they have the same objective
— to speak for abused and neglected animals and to support organizations that share their passion.
Both Buxton and Mosby are busy enough without being animal welfare advocates. Buxton is a food writer and entrepreneur with multiple businesses. Mosby is an Evansville City Council member and realtor.
Yet, Buxton is never too busy to promote a fundraiser on social media or to drive to the Rescue Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, for donated pet food that will end up at area shelters and animal rescues. Mosby is more “hands on.” She can’t turn away an animal in need of a “furever” home. Mosby has fostered 90 dogs, two kittens, and one cat in the past four years; she has adopted 12 dogs (three boxers and nine Yorkies), plus four birds — two cockatiels and two parakeets.
“It is very time consuming, but for me, it’s heartwarming,” says Mosby. “With so many bad things happening, this warms my heart and makes me think there is some good in the world.”
For Buxton, it’s a matter of repaying the companionship of animals he’s enjoyed throughout his life.
“I want to be one of those people who makes a difference, who makes up for all the mistreatment and abuse that some animals receive,” he says.
Mosby and Buxton are dog people at heart, and both are partial to Yorkies. Buxton’s Yorkie, Brando, is nearly 14 years old and accompanies him nearly everywhere. It was a Yorkie named Buddy who inspired Mosby to start her own rescue/adoption program in November 2018 called Buddy’s Promise — Furever Home.
Mosby says when her beloved Yorkie died in 2014, she resolved to honor his memory by rescuing dogs and raising awareness of animal rights issues. Working with local shelters and rescue groups, Mosby posts a weekly video on Buddy’s Facebook page and regularly appears on WEHT-TV’s noontime pet segment.
A passion for animals also influences Mosby’s work as an elected official. She pushed to establish a database of convicted animal abusers that can be accessed through the Evansville Police Department website. She also supported efforts this legislative session by state representatives Ryan Hatfield and Wendy McNamara to enhance state penalties for animal cruelty.
Both Mosby and Buxton are quick to praise their fellow advocates who give of themselves for the sole benefit of animals who have been mistreated by humans.
“Animals are not like people,” says Buxton. “People can get up and leave a situation. A dog can’t unchain himself.”
At Your Service
Dr. Darbi Haynes-Lawrence stands in front of a first-grade class at Newburgh Elementary. By her side stands a dog, named Jaeger, which she asks the kids to ignore.
“He is not a unicorn shooting rainbows out his nose,” she jokes, getting lots of giggles from the students.
Haynes-Lawrence is visiting the class to teach service dog safety and disability awareness, a role she never imagined for herself when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2008. In the summer of 2015, Haynes-Lawrence had a relapse during a vacation in Florida. A few months later, it was solidified she couldn’t walk without assistance and was in a wheelchair.
Three years ago the director of child studies for Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, discovered the Indiana Canine Assistant Network (ICAN), which helps pair people with disabilities to service dogs. The process was intensive and lengthy, requiring written essays from Haynes-Lawrence, letters of recommendation, and an hours-long interview with her family members. She tested with eight different dogs and matched perfectly with Jaeger.
Jaeger is a mobility service dog and keeps Haynes-Lawrence upright while walking and helps with tasks like laundry, shopping, picking items up off the floor, and even passing papers and pencils out to students.
“I do what’s called a proprioceptor response for my brain,” she says. “If I tap (on the harness he wears), my balance stays better. If I start to fall, I hold on to his harness, he feels it, and he’ll counter pull forward and to the left because I fall backward to the right.”
When the Newburgh, Indiana, resident began going out with Jaeger, instead of allowing the dog to focus on Haynes-Lawrence and his job, some adults would fall to their knees and bear hug him. She has been cursed at for asking people to refrain from petting Jaeger, and one time she says a woman even pushed her over.
This sparked the idea to design a program for elementary school kids to teach them how to behave around a service dog. There are three basic principles — don’t touch the service dog, don’t talk to the service dog, and, if you have questions, ask the handler directly and politely.
“The idea is our dogs provide a service that without which we would be harmed,” says Haynes-Lawrence. “He helps me to keep my job, be mobile, and live my life.”
▲ Access Academy founder Casey DePriest works with student Josh as he cuddles Hoover on a recent visit to the therapeutic day school.
Heart of Gold
It’s hard not to be attracted to Hoover when he enters a room.
At almost 3 years old, the wired-haired pointing Griffin with amber eyes and a curly coat is very much a teddy bear in nature and a little in looks as well.
Hoover and his owner Ray Hubbard live in Princeton, Indiana, and once a week the two make the trip to Evansville to help those in need. For the past year and a half, Hoover has been licensed as a therapy dog and is a member of Pet Partners of the Tri-State.
“Each therapy animal is different and has their own personality,” says Ray. “Hoover wants to be with people. You might say he’s a leaner or a lap dog.”
Ray and Hoover work with Deaconess every Tuesday, visiting the Linda White Hospice Center and VNA Home Care and Hospice — the two are a part of a group that includes other therapy animals and their handlers (Ray speaks fondly of Kris Meckert, Gloria Brennan, and Cindy Goodwin). They also make visits to the Arc of Evansville and Access Academy in Newburgh, Indiana, every other week. During finals week, the pair have special visits to the campuses of the University of Southern Indiana and Ivy Tech.
“The reason I have a therapy dog is because I can bring a little comfort, joy, or happiness to people with Hoover,” says Ray. “I enjoy the simple reward of bringing a little joy to people.”
Hoover was trained through classes at Doggie Do Right in Fort Branch, Indiana, completing five different courses at the school. Though the pup learned all his good manners from the classes, Ray is quick to point out his personality is a big reason why Hoover makes such a great therapy dog and companion.
“You can’t do all of it in the training. This is nature,” he says. “This is Hoover, it’s just how he is.”
Free As a Bird
If you’ve been to Haynie’s Corner during First Fridays or other community events, you’ve probably seen Ronald Sisk and his scarlet macaw Barron.
Sisk found Barron four years ago, and the two have become inseparable ever since. While Sisk is a native of Evansville, the two migrate south to St. Petersburg, Florida, during winter.
“We just got back from the laundromat, and I take her down to the fishing pier,” says Sisk. “She likes going. She does not like to be left behind.”
Barron also loves dancing, especially to blues. Sisk says she wakes up every day and listens to blues music and, when she is really feeling it, is known to sing. She also has an extensive vocabulary that includes phrases like “I love you,” “pretty bird,” “hello,” and “come here.”
There are many people who would love to care for 22-year-old Barron (macaws can live up to 75 years in captivity) says Sisk, but he eventually will pass her on to someone in his family. Over the past few years, he says the best part about Barron is having the company.
“I’ve not needed for somebody to complain to, brag about, or talk to,” says Sisk.
Lovers Not Fighters
Crystal Kelsoe’s home is full of personalities. And though most of her pets are various snakes, none of them have slimy attitudes.
There’s Lucy, a 19-year-old Colombian red-tail boa who doesn’t know any boundaries. Kanani, also a Colombian red-tail boa who is just 3 years old and albino, is a snuggler. Albino corn snake Phoenix is Kelsoe’s wiggle-worm who tries to get everywhere. Oliver, a 17-year-old ball python nicknamed Ollie, is like a sack of potatoes, she says, and doesn’t do much. There also is 9-year-old Debo, a Hog Island boa who is a bit goofy and a “class clown.”
“They are all lovers,” says the 31-year-old board member of the Tri-State Herpetological Society. “Some of them are a little more snuggly than others.”
Along with her five snakes, Kelsoe also is the owner of three crested geckos, one leopard gecko, and Pink Toe and Mexican Red Knee tarantulas. All of her reptiles have come through the rescue efforts of the herpetological group, while the tarantulas she purchased from a breeder to help her overcome her own fear of spiders (education is key in overcoming fear, she says).
A lover of all animals, Kelsoe says animal advocate Steve Irwin (who passed away in 2006) inspires her in her care for her snakes and work with the herpetological society.
“He made me a hardcore reptile lover. He definitely made you pause and reconsider the animals most people define as unlovable,” she says. “His passion for education and enthusiasm and love for the animal kingdom is beyond that of anyone I’ve ever seen.”
One of the biggest misconceptions Kelsoe faces from others is the myth all snakes and reptiles are mean or violent. In reality, snakes are just like cats and dogs, she says — socialization with humans is key.
“You can’t just leave your animal in a tank and not ever mess with it,” she explains. “If a snake is aggressive, most of the time it can be fixed with handling — most can be rehabilitated that way.”
For Kelsoe, she not only enjoys being able to foster and nurture her snakes and reptiles, but she also feels blessed to be able to share with others the true nature of her snakes.
“They are sweet, they are loving, they are just another animal that needs attention, love, and care,” she says.
As part of the herpetological society, Kelsoe and others attend many local events to educate the public. They also help reptiles that have been surrendered due to an owner’s inability to care or health reasons. Board members can help new owners find a reptile that fits their lifestyle as well and set up the husbandry needed to care for a snake or other animal. The group always is looking for new volunteers, and Kelsoe encourages anyone who is curious about reptiles and helping to reach out to the group to join.
“Reptiles are awesome and a great alternative for those who don’t have time for cats or dogs. They are not slimy and gross. They are cool little guys, and they are just great pets to have,” she says.
Happily Ever After
Archer was lonely. Owner Shelley Chase adopted the almost 2-year-old tabby cat at a shelter in Indianapolis in January 2018 before moving to Evansville to take a position teaching third grade at Hebron Elementary School. With her long work hours, she decided it would be good for Archer to have a friend.
Chase decided to look at cats at the Vanderburgh Humane Society and noticed a gray, 1-year-old cat, called Grayson, following her back and forth behind the glass. When she got Grayson out, he cuddled right up onto her lap.
“He was just timid enough where I didn’t feel like we would have a turf war between him and Archer,” says Chase. “Archer is afraid of everything, so I wanted to find another cat with a similar personality, and Grayson matches him almost perfectly.”
Chase adopted Grayson in early February and began the integration process with Archer. The two cats were kept separated for a couple of days. When Grayson and Archer met for the first time, Archer let out a small distressed whine. Chase separated them for another day, and on the second attempt the two became friends instantly.
Grayson’s shy nature works well to bring timid Archer out of his shell, but shelter life didn’t mix as well with Grayson’s personality. Though he was adopted out of the Vanderburgh Humane Society, Grayson also spent time at River Kitty Cat Cafe. The café exclusively partners with the VHS to bring adoptable kitties into its cat room. A hidden stairway allows the cats to move between the cat room and the private basement area, where their food and litter boxes stay. Grayson’s shyness not only kept him in the basement but also prevented him from being seen by potential adopters. The decision was made to take him back to the VHS, where Chase met him.
“Oftentimes animals with issues get overlooked or abandoned,” says River Kitty Cat Cafe co-owner Annette Gries. “Allowing them that second or third chance at finding a new family is very rewarding. After all, we all deserve second and third chances. This is what River Kitty Cat Cafe and the VHS is all about.”
By adopting Grayson, Chase gave him a safe space and also gave Archer a new friend to bring out his personality. In the shelter, Grayson looked a little dull and had issues with shedding due to stress. Now, he has a gleaming gray coat.
“Grayson has come so far since we first got him,” says Chase. “Archer has made a lot of progress, too, since we brought Grayson in. Bringing Grayson in really opened Archer up. He’s just less lonely; he’s less afraid of things.”
Sacred Spaces
Religious buildings — among the most historic, architecturally distinguished, lavishly ornamented structures in a community — belong not only to the people who worship in them, but to the neighborhoods they anchor.
The Historic Evansville website (historicevansville.com) lists 247 historic churches in Evansville; dozens have been razed. Still, dozens remain, physically connecting us to our past while serving as centers of faith and community.
We wanted to explore every historic church in the county! That being not quite possible, we present a tour of 10 of Evansville’s historic churches, all currently serving a congregation.
Trinity United Methodist Church
216 S.E. Third St., trinityevansville.org
- Constructed: Completed in 1866
- Architectural style: English Gothic
- Denomination: United Methodist
The U.S. was in the midst of the Civil War when the congregation of Trinity United Methodist decided to start construction on a new church building at Third and Chestnut streets.
“They realized it was quite a challenging and courageous thing to build during the war,” says church historian Bill Bartelt.
While Trinity’s first church on Locust Street had been simple in its architecture, the present-day church in Downtown reflects a shift that happened in Evansville in the 1860s. As the city grew, the buildings began to reflect a sense of pride in the town.
“When the church was being built, it was supported not just by the members of the congregation, but by others as well,” says Bartelt. “Churches were ornaments of the town and said something about the city. That was the case with Trinity.”
Designed by Evansville architect Henry Mursinna, Trinity UMC’s appearance was inspired by St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. The original sanctuary is one of the best examples of Gothic architecture from the time, says Bartelt. A narrow structure with two distinctive spires rising from the front entrances, Trinity UMC’s building immediately calls visitors’ eyes upward.
“That was the whole purpose of Gothic architecture,” says Bill Bartelt. “I always can tell when someone is a visitor to the church because when you walk in, you’re forced to look up.”
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
301 S.E. First St., stpaulsevv.org
- Constructed: Completed in 1886
- Architectural style: English Gothic
- Denomination: Episcopal
While crosses are a common symbol in most churches, the cross atop St. Paul’s Episcopal Church has been a welcome sight to many throughout the community. Standing at 12 feet and weighing 850 pounds, the copper cross on top of the church served as a guide for those navigating the Ohio River and was even electrified in 1925 to direct travelers.
Even the foundation of the church building lies in the shape of a cross. In 1887, the Viele Chapel was constructed adjacent to the church and in 1956 a two-story parish hall was completed, all of which are connected to the original structure.
“The space begs to be filled with sound,” says St. Paul’s priest Reverend Holly Rankin Zaher.
Like many other churches in Evansville, St. Paul’s experienced a fire a year after the flood of 1937 that completely destroyed the interior of the church. The only relics remaining after the blaze were a stained glass window in the bell tower and a baptismal font, which remain in the church today.
“One of the things I love about being an Episcopal priest is being connected to our past, to our traditions, to our history and thinking about how we live this life with God today and in the future,” says Reverend Holly Rankin Zaher.
St. Mary’s Catholic Church
613 Cherry St., stsmaryandjohnparish.org
- Constructed: Completed in 1867
- Architectural style: Gothic
- Denomination: Catholic
Of all the statues and stained glass windows in St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Downtown Evansville, many say the Assumption of Mary into Heaven over the main doorways of the sanctuary is the most stunning. It may not be original to the 150-year-old church, but it is original to the Evansville community.
When Assumption Catholic Church was razed in 1965, the window was saved and stored in boxes before it was given to the Evansville Museum. Forty years later, as St. Mary’s began an extensive renovation, an opening was discovered behind the organ on the balcony above the entrance.
“When we found the window at the museum, it was in pieces and boxes. It was black and dark,” says church director of communication and membership Lee Griggs. “The museum gifted it to the Diocese and we put it in the opening there. It’s really neat, the whole story of it.”
One of the oldest church buildings in the city, St. Mary’s features a 50-foot-high center ceiling as well as a 175-foot tall outdoor spire, which houses the church’s three bells — St. Michael, St. Mary, and St. Aloysius.
“There are such stories here,” says Lee Griggs. “And we have parishioners who know all the intricate details of every bit.”
St. Ananias
3401 Bellemeade Ave., stananiasorthodox.org
- Constructed: Completed in 1950
- Architectural style: French Normandy, built with St. Meinrad, Indiana, sandstone
- Denomination: Orthodox
Until St. Ananias was founded in December 2009, Evansville was the largest metropolitan area in the country without an Orthodox church. However, the building has housed other denominations and congregations since its beginning. It first was home to First Community Church, later housing the Pentecostal Church of God of Prophecy until St. Ananias purchased it in April 2016.
The building has since undergone major renovations, like the removal of the second-story sanctuary put in place by the Church of God of Prophecy with Sunday school rooms below on the first floor.
St. Ananias priest Father Daniel Hackney says he knows the “hand of God” was at work to bring the congregation to the church building. The biggest indication was a bishop’s throne donated to St. Ananias, which featured iconography of Jesus that matched a panel on St. Ananias’ altar painted by the same iconographer. The date on the throne’s image was 1949 — the year construction began on the church building St. Ananias now calls home.
“Church buildings point toward a higher purpose in life,” says Father Daniel Hackney. “They can answer questions to the ultimate meaning of why we are here and our ultimate destiny.”
First Presbyterian Church
609 S.E. Second St., firstpresevansville.com
- Constructed: Completed in 1874
- Architectural style: Castellated Gothic
- Denomination: Presbyterian
With roots dating back to 1821, First Presbyterian lays claim to being the oldest religious organization in the city. The sanctuary the congregation calls home today, however, would not be erected until five decades later. On the corner of Second and Mulberry streets Downtown, the church cuts an imposing figure among the homes in the Riverside Historic District.
“We are very welcoming,” says church office administrator Lora Blaylock. “Places like this can be scary, but we always are welcoming.”
Inside the castle-like gothic chapel, First Presbyterian houses a large organ boasting almost 2,000 pipes, 30 stops, and operates all through mechanical action. It was installed in 1991 and designed by CB Fisk Organ. The company used American Walnut and built the organ to harmonize with the Victorian Gothic architecture of the building.
Another dazzling feature of the sanctuary and fellowship hall are the original stained glass windows, including a Tiffany Easter window depiction. As the sun moves across the sky and through the windows, various colors appear throughout the sanctuary floor and walls.
“Sometimes you come in and get a little gift of light,” says Lora Blaylock. “We’ve been fortunate to have lots of people who really care about this building.”
Trinity Lutheran Church
1000 W. Illinois St., facebook.com/Trinity3in1LCMS
- Constructed: Completed in 1871
- Architectural style: Gothic Revival
- Denomination: Lutheran
Laureen Baggett, church secretary, office manager, and board of trustees member, is the fifth of seven generations of her family to attend Trinity Lutheran Church. However, countless generations have worshiped at Trinity since it began in 1841 as Evansville’s first protestant German church, later producing Zion United Church of Christ in 1845 from members of its own church body.
Three decades later in 1871, the current church building, which lies in the shape of a cross, was constructed with 85 families of the congregation present for the dedication. The structure’s most impressive features are the Charles Lamb stained glass windows in the sanctuary. The depiction of Jesus as a child particularly impresses, as it is not pieced together but rather poured to achieve the look of a folded cloth garment.
“Your salvation is not in this particular brick and mortar building,” says Laureen Baggett. “But it just elevates you — the beauty of the place, the fact that God is meeting you there every Sunday, and the fact our forefathers had the thought to put their resources into this church for future generations.”
St. Benedict Cathedral
1328 Lincoln Ave., saintbenedictcathedral.org
- Constructed: Completed in 1928
- Architectural style: Lombard Basilica
- Denomination: Catholic
When St. Benedict Cathedral was completed, it was the largest church in Evansville.
“There was absolutely no clear reason at that time to build a church of that size for that congregation,” says Father Godfrey Mullen, parish rector of St. Benedict. “But they had a vision for what would one day be needed and they weren’t afraid to go after it.”
Along with 65-foot ceilings, a seating capacity of 900, and a 1928 F.X. Zettler stained glass window from Munich, Germany, a claim to fame for the cathedral is the large baldachin over the altar. In the 1960s it was decided to move the canopy forward 25 seats, but no contractor in Evansville said it could be done. A trucking company eventually was hired which attached a truck on Lincoln Avenue to the baldachin inside and pulled it forward to its current location.
“This was built in faith by the people who worshipped here not only for themselves, but for future generations,” says Father Godfrey Mullen.
St. Boniface Catholic Church
418 N. Wabash Ave., saintbonifaceevansville.com
- Constructed: Completed in 1882
- Architectural style: Roman with a touch of Byzantine
- Denomination: Catholic
St. Boniface Catholic Church was built to fulfill a specific need for the community — to provide a place of worship for German Catholics on Evansville’s West Side. Even the name alludes to this purpose, as Saint Boniface is the patron saint of Germans and served as a missionary in the country.
While the church building was finished in 1882, a fire in 1902 destroyed everything except the exterior walls. It was restored later that same year, and the roof was lowered with the steeples dropping to 175 feet from 202 feet. St. Boniface was struck by a weather disaster once again when the flood of 1937 destroyed the grotto underneath the church, which was later reopened in 1972.
A decade later in 1982, St. Boniface Catholic Church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“That’s what churches are for, not just to bring people together to pray, but to inspire people,” says Richard Preske, a retired deacon and author of “St. Boniface: A Living Legacy.”
Liberty Missionary Baptist Church
701 Oak St., find Liberty Missionary Baptist on Facebook
- Constructed: Completed in 1885, rebuilt in 1886
- Architectural style: Gothic Revival
- Denomination: Baptist
Summer was kicking off in Evansville in May 1886 and the parishioners of Liberty Missionary Baptist Church, Evansville’s first African American Baptist church, were preparing to celebrate with a festival. But as the church members worked, a storm struck the city bringing with it a cyclone that would destroy the entire church save for the bell tower.
After the storm passed, members of Liberty saw only one option — rebuild.
“They called in what was known at the time as a ‘colored contractor’ to rebuild the church, and he did it in seven months,” says church pastor Rev. Todd M. Robertson, who has been with the church for 20 years.
Liberty was founded in the heart of the city’s largest African American community, an area known as Baptisttown. The exterior of the church features red brick with limestone trim and the original, single bell tower still stands, though there is no bell and Rev. Robertson says he’s not sure there ever was one.
Today, the congregation of Liberty remains strong, with celebrations every year to mark the anniversary of the founding of the church.
“Our congregation still is strong and vibrant,” says Rev. Todd M. Robertson. “We culminate every year the idea that God has allowed us to be able to practice and worship here in this building and area.”
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
100 E. Michigan St., stpaulslcms.org
- Constructed: Completed in 1908
- Architectural style: Gothic Revival
- Denomination: Lutheran
When St. Paul’s Lutheran Church was completed, three services were held the day of dedication Feb. 23, 1908; one in English and two in German. Today, remnants of the church’s German past remain in the form of a German inscription of the church’s name on the outside of the building. During WWI, the congregation talked about erasing the German from the stone but decided it would be too costly.
While St. Paul’s is Gothic Revival, Karin Marie Kirsch, a member and archivist for the church, says it’s a specialized form of the style.
“There was a whole movement to build churches that looked like theaters starting in the mid 1800s,” she says.
St. Paul’s is representative of this movement with its floor in the sanctuary that slopes down toward the altar and its lack of a center aisle. Instead, the church has two main aisles, which gives the sanctuary a unique feel and flow.
This architecture, however, is not unheard of around the country, and Kirsch says many of St. Paul’s features will be familiar to churchgoers throughout the Midwest.
“I love the altar,” Karin Marie Kirsch says. “It’s what struck me when I first came, and I still love it. You don’t really see the church if you don’t see all the good things in it.”
Tragedy and Resilience
A new exhibit at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science explores the deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
“The Tri-State Tornado: Tragedy and Resilience” traces the steps of a March 18, 1925, F5 tornado that raged through parts of Southeastern Missouri, Southern Illinois, and Southwestern Indiana. Winds peaked at 300 miles per hour, resulting in 695 fatalities, 2,027 injuries, and 15,000 homes destroyed along the twister’s 219-mile path.
“We want people to remember this event and honor the individuals who lost their lives, and those who provided relief and assistance for recovery,” says Tom Lonnberg, Evansville Museum’s chief curator and curator of history. “It’s an overview of the entire event.”
In Southwestern Indiana, the tornado traveled through Posey, Gibson, and Pike counties before dissipating just southwest of Petersburg. The Red Cross, along with the three major hospitals at the time — St. Mary’s, Deaconess, and Walker — and the National Guard, assisted thousands.
To create the exhibit, Lonnberg collaborated with regional historical and genealogical societies as well as public libraries, the University of Southern Indiana, Willard Public Library, and New Harmony, Indiana’s Working Men’s Institute. He also used books about and newspaper records of the event as resources. Jeff Lyons, chief meteorologist with Channel 14 WFIE-TV, assisted with vetting information. The exhibit includes a video produced in 2007 by then-student Matt Mahrenholz for F.J. Reitz High School’s Feel the History class.
“Relearning this information has been fascinating,” Lonnberg says. “In some ways, I think the storm has been forgotten.” The exhibit runs through July 6.
Changing the Narrative
Editor’s Note: After this story was published in August/September 2022, Evansville Police Sgt. Anna Gray was named a supervisor in EPD’s Adult Investigations Unit in March 2024.
Jennifer Kissel
Senior Associate Architect ~ Hafer
Evansvillians likely are familiar with Jennifer Kissel’s work, even if they don’t know her. The AIA senior associate, architect at Hafer has been the design mind behind major projects such as the Deaconess Aquatic Center and Evansville Christian High School. Gender isn’t Kissel’s defining trait, but being driven is.
“I don’t do (architecture design) because I’m a woman; I do it just because that’s my personality,” the Evansville native says. “I like to think as a mother and a wife, and a woman, I bring a unique perspective to the table.”
Growing up with a grandmother who took her on neighborhood walks to appreciate houses, Kissel always enjoyed art and design. After a brief interest in equine veterinarian medicine during high school, Kissel shifted back to her childhood fascination and attended Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, graduating in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in architectural sciences.
It was a milestone time for her professionally and personally, as she married her husband, Gregg Kissel. She went straight into the job market, but being a licensed architect has more requirements. In 2013, when her son Carden (now 14) was only three, Kissel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, earned a master’s degree in architecture in 2014 and completed all seven levels of the architect licensing tests.
She then worked for PCI Skanska (now Salas O’Brien) before joining Hafer in 2017. Now one of approximately 140,137 total architects in the U.S., Kissel makes up part of the 23.2 percent of women architects, according to a 2022 report from the research firm Zippia.
While the percentage of women architects is rising, the field still is majority male, but she says recognizing the gender label doesn’t mean it has to be the focus.
“I think the (rising) numbers speak for themselves,” Kissel, who is also the director of ANEW, President of the Southern Indiana Section of the American Institute of Architects, and a Junior Achievement of Southern Indiana volunteer, says. “I think you have to learn, unlearn, and relearn, so knowing what is there and being aware of it is important.”
She says educating the next generation of women about opportunities and roles in architecture is key to turning the tide and inviting more women into the field. A field that requires wearing a lot of hats, from initial client conversations to overseeing construction.
Kissel’s advice to anyone trying to find their place in the workforce goes beyond data, titles, and traditional gender roles: It goes back to drive.
“If you want to do it, do it because the time is going to pass anyway,” she says.
Sgt. Anna Gray
Public Information Officer ~ Evansville Police Department
Evansville law enforcement has been at the center of recent high-profile incidents, such as helping capture fugitives from Alabama to assisting in a federal drug bust. Each time media cameras turn toward the Evansville Police Department, public information officer Sgt. Anna Gray is front and center.
On the force for more than 18 years, the public information officer born in Saint Joseph, Michigan, has called Warrick County home since she was eight years old. Growing up, Gray didn’t know anyone in law enforcement and had never even fired a gun.
“When I was in high school, the concept of it (police work) interested me,” she says. “I always wanted to lend a helping hand. I wanted to get involved in the community.”
As a student at Newburgh’s Castle High School in 1998 and 1999, she shadowed deputies as part of the Warrick County Sheriff’s Office’s Explorers ride-along program. Gray earned a criminal justice degree from Vincennes University in 2001 and spent one year working as a civilian in Warrick County until she turned 23, the minimum age to join the force. (The age limit has since been lowered to 21.)
Only weighing roughly 99 pounds, people were somewhat shocked at Gray’s desire to pursue law enforcement, but she had fallen in love with the field.
“For me, it was easy. I just realized right away that I had a passion for it,” she says. “My parents always made us feel that we could do anything. It didn’t matter whether we’re male or female — whatever we wanted to do; you work hard at it.”
In 2004, she joined EPD’s motor patrol unit before serving in the crime prevention unit and adult investigations unit as a detective. Upon becoming a sergeant in 2021, she transitioned to her current role as a media liaison, facilitating daily reports, press conferences, and Freedom of Information Act requests.
Although one of only 25 women on the 275-officer department, Gray often doesn’t feel overlooked, even when she’s the only woman in the room.
“Once I was on the police department, never once did I ever feel that I was overshadowed by the men,” she says.
Statistically, men have dominated law enforcement, and it isn’t changing the way other industries are. According to the National Institute of Justice, women made up fewer than 13 percent of officers in 2019. That percentage drops to seven percent when narrowed down to state departments, according to a 2021 report by Pew Charitable Trusts. In 2000, that number was only one percent lower.
“Unless I stop and think about it, I just think I’m with my brothers in blue, and it doesn’t ever really feel any different,” Gray says. “I always felt like everything was very fair in the department. Everybody always made it feel like if you’re wearing blue, you’re family.”
Sara Schapker
Journeyman Electrician ~ International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
One of the stickers on journeyman electrician Sara Schapker’s white hard hat reads, “There is no brotHERhood without her.” It’s a simple message, but one that resonates with the St. Wendel, Indiana, native who is one of 27 women out of the 1,025 member-strong International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 16.
“More times than not on a job site, I’m the only female,” she says. “But I never really thought I couldn’t do it or anything because of that.”
Growing up, Schapker’s life was centered around “male-dominated” activities. She helped her handyman dad complete odd jobs for family and close friends. Later, she studied engineering at Purdue University in Terre Haute, Indiana, before switching to computer graphics technology and graduating in December 2008.
The recession made her job search difficult, and in 2014 Schapker began a role that didn’t relate to her degree.
“It was my dad’s idea when I did apply for the apprenticeship,” she says. “We saw a commercial on TV for IBEW Local 16.”
She completed a five-year apprenticeship program in May 2020. Currently working on updates at Cleveland-Cliffs — formerly AK Steel — in Rockport, Indiana, Schapker is a commercial and industrial electrician for maintenance and new construction.
Her duties vary day-to-day, but often aren’t what people expect from an electrician. Most of her work consists of running conduit to place wire inside of, or ensuring that work is up to code requirements. The one consistency: she loves her work.
“A lot of what makes the job good and fun is the other electricians that you’re working with,” she says. “You have to get your work done and do it safe and do it good, but most of the time it’s pretty relaxed.”
Attending the IBEW international women’s conference in 2018, Schapker came to realize just how special her union companions are. Many speakers told stories of their male counterparts making it clear women weren’t welcome on their job sites. Some women believe industry titles, like “brotherhood” and “journeyman,” should be changed, but the terms do reflect the industry’s data: According to Data USA, 97.8% of electricians in 2019 were male.
“I definitely feel like it is my responsibility to show other people that women can do it and it doesn’t need to be male-dominated,” Schapker says. “But here in Evansville, I’ve always had very supportive guys that I’ve worked with. The difficulty I had going through several interviews to get the apprenticeship made me push myself harder so that I would come out on top (and) prove everyone wrong.”
Aimee Stachura
CEO ~ Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana
Women earned roughly 57 percent of all American undergraduate degrees and nearly 60 percent of master’s degrees in 2020, but according to data from consulting firm McKinsey & Company, women made up only five percent of CEOs globally who were appointed in 2020. While Girl Scouts of Southwest Indiana CEO Aimee Stachura cultivates an environment by women, for women, her title is still breaking historic gender roles in the non-profit industry.
An Evansville native who is the wife of Andy Stachura and mother to Eva (6), Cora (10), and dog Ella, Stachura is a music graduate from Belmont University who used her theater skills to pave a career path in non-profit leadership.
Following her mother’s footsteps directing theater at F.J. Reitz High School and working part-time at an HR and staffing firm, she then joined the Girl Scouts’ program department in 2010. After taking a brief hiatus in 2014 to run a children’s ministry, Stachura rejoined the organization in 2016 as CEO.
“We really preach to our girls, no matter if you’re five years old in kindergarten, you can be a leader,” she says. “Within this organization, that’s our culture; we all have investment to lead and to be who we want to be and make an impact.”
In the past six years, Stachura has helped facilitate programs, from selling cookies to campouts, that inspire female future leaders. Her co-workers even joke she almost takes on an intern role, taking on whatever duties are unattended on the to-do list each day.
But heading a women-focused company doesn’t put Stachura in a bubble.
“As a non-profit leader, I have to sit at every table. It’s not just women-focused tables, I have to be at youth development tables, I have to be at mental health tables,” she says. “I have to come in and showcase the value of girl leadership every single time, which I shouldn’t have to. I shouldn’t have to explain why it’s important for us to invest in girls early on.”
According to data from Girl Scouts, three out of four girls firmly believe that women have to work harder than men to succeed, but Stachura says leading by example is one of the easiest ways to change the narrative. Even her own daughters believe they can be a CEO because they know their mother is one.
“Ultimately, I think we do need to recognize that women still have a long way to go when it comes to leadership,” Stachura says. “And at Girl Scouts … what we do best is champion girl ambition. No matter what her ambition is — whether it is to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or the president of the United States or the best mom that she can be — we want to champion that.”
A Basketball Bash
Get ready for a college basketball extravaganza throughout March.
For the eighth straight year, Evansville’s Ford Center will host the Ohio Valley Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournament. The March 5-8 event features the top eight men’s and women’s teams in the OVC, and the No. 5 University of Southern Indiana women’s team looks to defend its 2024 title.
USI defeated Nashville’s Tennessee State University 90-66 in its opening game of the tournament Wednesday afternoon and will next play the University of Arkansas at Little Rock at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
Automatic NCAA Tournament bids go to the men’s and women’s champions, although USI and Lindenwood University of St. Charles, Missouri, remain ineligible because of Division I transition rules. (USI officials on Feb. 13 announced their intent to accelerate the school’s transition to full membership in Division I athletics.) If USI or Lindenwood win, the regular-season league champion instead will advance to the NCAA.
The following week, March 13-16, the Ford Center hosts the Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball tournament for the first time. All 12 women’s teams in the MVC, including the University of Evansville, Murray State University, Indiana State University, and Southern Illinois University, will be in action. The champion is an automatic NCAA Tournament qualifier.
Finally, Evansville continues its tradition of closing out its own brand of March Madness with the Division II men’s Elite Eight, which will have quarterfinals on March 25, semifinals on March 27, and the national title game on March 29.
The stacked schedule of hoops adds up to a busy month for Brandon McClish, executive director of the Evansville Regional Sports Commission. “What’s crazy about it is that looking at the calendar, March has 31 days, and I am at the Ford Center for 27 of them,” he says.
McClish notes the national television exposure that college basketball tournaments bring the city and the Ford Center. The OVC and women’s MVC championship games are shown on ESPN networks, while the men’s Division II title game is aired by CBS.
The events also deliver an economic jolt to Evansville, although McClish says the OVC packs the biggest punch with 16 men’s and women’s teams.
Past OVC tournaments in Evansville drew thousands of Murray State men’s basketball fans. With the Racers having moved to the MVC in 2022, McClish says the USI women’s team, as well as fan bases from schools such as Morehead State University in Kentucky and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, likely will move the most ticket sales.
The OVC’s men’s and women’s basketball tournament is committed to Evansville for 2026, and the conference holds an option for 2027, which McClish says must be decided by summer of this year.
McClish is optimistic the OVC will stay for 2027 and beyond. “We are looking at extending (the league’s stay in Evansville),” he says. “The presidents and athletic directors love it here.”
Evansville is getting the women’s MVC tournament for this year only. McClish says the competition will be strong — Missouri State University in Springfield leads the league, with Murray State and Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, also having strong seasons.
It’s not yet known, of course, who the men’s Division II Elite Eight will bring to town. Fans can hope for a championship battle as exciting as 2024, when Minnesota State University in Mankato won its first-ever title on a late-game shot.
The Elite Eight has been played on the Ford Center’s court annually since 2021, and in 2019, 2015, and 2014. Roberts Municipal Stadium hosted the event from its beginning in 1957 through 1976, and again in 2002.
This year’s Elite Eight will be Evansville’s last one, at least for a while. It leaves for Indianapolis in 2026 — the Hoosier State’s capital city is hosting the NCAA Division I, II, and III men’s basketball championships next year.
Fort Wayne, Indiana, landed the Elite Eight men’s and women’s events for 2027 and 2028. McClish says Evansville will bid with the NCAA to recapture the Elite Eight in future years.
In the meantime, Evansville is chasing another high-profile college basketball showcase.
McClish tells Evansville Living that the city is a finalist to host the semifinals and finals of the new NCAA Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament in 2026. The 2024 championship, won by the University of Illinois over Villanova University, was held at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. This year’s tournament also is at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The NCAA WBIT would bring Evansville a Division I championship, likely with nationally known teams, McClish says. He expects to learn by summer if Evansville has landed the tournament.
It’s time for ‘Arch Madness,’ too
The MVC men’s tournament, which has been anchored in St. Louis, Missouri, for 34 years, is coming up, as well. UE heads to “Arch Madness” March 6-9 at Enterprise Center.
The Aces are the No. 10 seed in the 12-team tournament and will play No. 7 seed Murray State at 6 p.m. March 6. The winner advances to face No. 2 seed Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, at 6 p.m. March 7.
Arch Madness is circled on the annual calendar of devoted Aces fans such as Scott and Stephanie Morris, who are making the trip again this year with friends Don Shymanski and Kelly Gates, purple attire in tow.
Between games, the group enjoys exploring St. Louis. Ballpark Village outside Busch Stadium is one popular pregame and postgame hangout for MVC fans.
“We have a good time going and supporting and being fans,” Stephanie says.
Stuffed to the Gills
From Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, religiously devout Tri-State residents will refrain from eating meat on Fridays while observing Lent. Although Lenten traditions vary between Christian denominations, no-meat Fridays are common, and so are regular fish fries. The weeks leading up to Easter are filled with these community gatherings focused on fish and fellowship. Here are a few in the Evansville area through April 18.
St. Benedict Cathedral has a fish fry scheduled for 4:30-7 p.m. every Lenten Friday starting March 7 at the school cafeteria, 530 S. Harlan Ave., with fish dinners served to adults for $15, children 6-12 years old for $5, and children under 6 for free. Carry-out dinners are available.
Head to Germania Maennerchor, 920 N. Fulton Ave., on March 7 for the first of its four Lenten fish frys. It’s a $13 plate featuring two breaded and deep-fried filets, potato salad from Nisbet Inn, coleslaw, baked beans, and rye bread. This fish fry runs 4:45-7:30 p.m.
St. Boniface Parish will offer drive-thru and dine-in options at its annual fish fries April 4 and 11 at its Saint Agnes campus, 1620 Glendale Ave. From 4:30 to 7 p.m., patrons can feast on fried fish, mac and cheese, potato wedges, coleslaw, a drink, and dessert for $13 per person.
St. Wendel Catholic Church’s fish fry at the Knights of St. John Home, 11714 Winery Road, Wadesville, Indiana, is slated for 5-7 p.m. March 14 and April 11. For $13, diners can dine in, drive-thru, or carry out a full plate of fried fish, potato salad, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, grilled cheese, and cornbread.Children’s plates cost $6.
Switch things up with a shrimp boil 5-7 p.m. Feb. 23 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 5528 Hogue Road. Throw in potatoes, corn, and sides like green beans and cornbread. Plates start at $13 and are cash and drive-thru only. Don’t forget the Cajun dipping sauce!
St. Clement Catholic Parish, 422 E. Sycamore St., Boonville, Indiana, will hold a fish fry 4:30-7 p.m. every Friday during Lent — except Good Friday — with fried or baked fish fillets, cornbread, slaw, sides including choices of potato salad, green beans, baked beans or macaroni and cheese, and a homemade dessert. Plates cost $15 for adults and $6 for children 12 years and younger. Dine-in and carry-out are available.
Resurrection Catholic Church, 5301 New Harmony Road, offers fish sandwiches, chips, and dessert for $7 drive-thru only from 4:30 to 7:15 p.m. p.m. March 5. Two days later, patrons — dine-in, carryout, and drive-thru — can fill up on fried fish, mac and cheese, sweet and sour coleslaw, baked beans, cornbread, and dessert for $13 each.
On March 14 and April 4, Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, 918 W. Mill Road, serves up fried fish, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, slaw, cheddar biscuits, dessert, and a drink for $10 (kids 8 and under eat for $5). Dine-in and drive-thru are available.
Fill up on fish filets, German potato salad, baked beans, coleslaw, and cornbread at St. Joseph in the County, 6202 W. Saint Joseph Road. Plates are $14 per person 5-7 p.m. March 7 and 21. Meals are carryout only.
St. James Catholic Church, at 12300 County Road 50 West in Haubstadt, Indiana, offers baked or fried Alaskan pollock, grilled cheese, German potato salad, baked beans, cornbread, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, dessert, and a drink. Adults can eat for $14; children’s plates cost $7. Dine-in and carryout are available 4:30-7:30 p.m. March 14 and April 4.
The Men’s Club of St. Philip Catholic Church, 3500 St. Philip Road S., Mount Vernon, Indiana, hosts a fish fry starting at 4:30 p.m. April 11 that includes baked beans, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, and cornbread.
St. Matthew Catholic Church, 421 Mulberry St., Mount Vernon, Indiana, holds its March 21 and 28 fish fries from 5 to 7 p.m. Put on by the St. Matthew Men’s Club, the menu includes fried fish, coleslaw, hush puppies, fries, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, and cheese pizza. Plates are $12 for adults and $8 for kids.
Observing Lent while dining at a restaurant? Major Munch, 101 N.W. First St., Suite 100, does a brisk lunch business and serves a deep-fried catfish sandwich each weekday, in addition to a shrimp sandwich and catfish shrimp po’boy.
Cast a line into the fillet-filled menu at Journey’s Fish & Chicken, 825 Green River Road. Choose from meals starring cod, whiting, ocean perch, tilapia, and catfish available individual or for family-size orders.
Comfort by the Cross-Eyed Cricket, 230 Main St., offers fried catfish fillets, Atlantic salmon, and Icelandic cod starting at $16 for lunch and dinner.
Diners at Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano, 6401 E. Lloyd Expressway, Ste. 3, can select from sea scallop risotto, Dijon salmon, parmesan-crusted tilapia, crab-stuffed cod, and seafood-based entrees.
Fish dinners are a menu staple at St. Phillip’s Inn, 11200 Upper Mount Vernon Road. Catfish sandwiches can be had for $9.49. Catfish steaks start at $11.49; add a second filet for $2.50. All fish dinners are served with two sides and cornbread.
At The Tin Fish, 707 State St., Newburgh, Indiana, patrons can tuck into platters of mixed fish including salmon, swordfish, tilapia, trout, or walleye.
Irish hospitality is served at Patsy Hartigan’s Irish Pub, 203 Main St., including fish. Cod is beer battered and deep fried to a golden crisp before being served with Irish chips, tartar sauce, and slaw. Take your cod on a Martin’s Potato Bun, or for dinner order a chargrilled salmon filet served with barley risotto and lemon dijonaisse. On the go? Grab an order of fish and chips from Bodine’s Newsstand.
Model Citizens
This article originally published in March 2022.
Every March, Women’s History Month offers a special opportunity to celebrate generations of women who have strengthened our nation and paved the way for others. To honor local contributions, we are shining a light on five of the women who have helped shape the River City over time.
Albion Fellows Bacon
Perhaps one of Evansville’s most impactful women, Albion Fellows Bacon was a reformer and author who fought to improve public housing standards. Born in 1865, the Evansville native was married to banker Hilary E. Bacon and together they raised four children.
Fellows Bacon dedicated her life to improving living and working conditions for women, children, and the poor, and as a tribute, Evansville’s Albion Fellows Bacon Center is named after her. The center provides free, confidential services to survivors of domestic violence and abuse. It works to prevent domestic violence by educating the community about the dangers of abuse and advocating for survivors.
Fellows Bacon’s legacy does not stop there. She also helped organize the Indiana Housing Association in 1911 and was instrumental in the passing of the state’s safe housing law in 1917. She assembled several organizations including the Men’s Circle of Friendly Visitors, the Flower Mission for poor working girls, a Working Girls’ Association, an Anti-Tuberculosis League, and the Monday Night Club of influential citizens interested in charitable work.
She was also involved with Indiana’s Commission on Child Welfare and Social Insurance and served as the head of the executive committee of the Indiana Child Welfare Association before her death in Evansville on Dec. 10, 1933.
Mattie Miller
Mattie Miller was Evansville’s first Black teacher before local schools were desegregated. Miller was born in Tennessee in 1938 and moved to Indiana in 1953 after marrying William Miller. In 1959, 21-year-old Miller landed her first teaching job at Lincoln High School, an all-black school in Evansville.
When Lincoln High School closed in 1962, Miller began teaching English at Harper Elementary School on Evansville’s East Side, a position that made her the first Black schoolteacher at a segregated school in Evansville. (The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation began desegregating schools under federal mandate in the early 1970s.) Miller then moved to teaching at F.J. Reitz High School in 1975 and stayed there for 10 years, after which she served as the assistant principal at Plaza Park Middle School and returned to Harper Elementary School as principal. In honor of her lifelong dedication to education, the elementary school’s auditorium now bears Miller’s name.
Miller directed the first federally funded “Right to Read” program at Glenwood Leadership Academy and retired from Harper in 2001. She was inducted into the EVSC Hall of Fame in 2010 and received the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash and Leadership Evansville Lifetime Achievement Award. Miller is also involved with the Evansville African American Museum, at which her husband was curator and president — a position their son Kori now holds. Miller died April 2, 2022 at age 89.
Sylvia Weinzapfel
Civic leader Sylvia Weinzapfel was born on April 4, 1936, and graduated from Reitz Memorial High School, the then-Evansville College, and Indiana University. She married Ralph Weinzapfel and they had six children, one of whom is former Evansville mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel.
Throughout her time in Evansville, Weinzapfel served as the assistant director of Continuing Education at the University of Southern Indiana and the Executive Director of Vanderburgh County CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocates.
Weinzapfel notably spent 22 years as the Executive Director of the YWCA, where she launched several initiatives including a mentoring program for at-risk girls, a shelter program for women and their children, and transition housing for women in recovery. Weinzapfel’s passion for social justice was evident in her volunteer work with the League of Women Voters, United Way, and A Network of Evansville Women. She died July 26, 2017, at the age of 81.
Daniela Vidal
While growing up in Venezuela, Daniela Vidal earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Universidad Metropolitana in Caracas before immigrating to the U.S. In the more than 20 years since she moved to Evansville, Vidal has blazed a trail for women and Latinas in the plastics industry. A master’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern Indiana gained her entry to management positions at large companies such as Procter & Gamble Latin America, Mead Johnson, GE Plastics, and Berry Global. Vidal then segued to education, teaching engineering and coordinating advanced manufacturing and industrial supervision degree programs at USI. At the time Vidal was appointed chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College’s Evansville campus in 2020, she was the vice president of operations at Vidal Plastics and had been with USI for more than 10 years, most recently as the director of Opportunity Development, and had set a goal of reaching out to diverse communities with the benefits of higher education.
Vidal is active in the Evansville community and was a founding member of HOLA, a Latino non-profit in Evansville. She received the 2009 Leadership Evansville (now Leadership Everyone) Celebration of Leadership Award for her community and neighborhood leadership. Vidal lives in Newburgh with her husband Alfonso and has three children.
Dr. Stella Boyd
Although born in Oregon in 1899, Dr. Stella Boyd made her mark on Evansville history as the first local female obstetrician/gynecologist.
In the 1930s, the University of Chicago graduate took over the practice established by her late husband, Dr. Elmer Boyd. She set up her office in the Hulman Building in Downtown Evansville and provided diaphragms – a form of female birth control – for married women. While more widely available today, birth control was a controversial practice in society and even was illegal in that time. Through this tactic, Boyd was instrumental in providing family planning services to underserved women during the aftermath of the Great Depression in the 1930s and ’40s. She also educated female patients about their birth control options.
An amusing story about Boyd can be found in her obituary in the Feb. 25, 1969, issue of the Evansville Press newspaper. “For sterilizing purposes, Dr. Boyd often boiled her rubber gloves in her office, but she would get so busy with other tasks that she would forget about them,” the article says. “They would burn, and people would chuckle and say, ‘Dr. Boyd’s boiling her gloves again.’”
The 1940 U.S. Census shows Boyd as having four children and living on Kentucky Avenue. She died of cancer in Downers Grove, Illinois, in 1969 and was buried in Evansville’s Oak Hill Cemetery.
Both Boyd and Fellows Bacon were honored in the 2016 production of “Her Story: Evansville Women in the 20th Century,” which commemorated the accomplishments and impact of Evansville women.
Bank On It
Look at Forbes’ list of America’s Best Banks for 2025, and you’ll see a name that has become familiar throughout the Evansville region.
German American Bancorp is No. 2 on the list of 100 institutions ranked, trailing only Southern BancShares of Mount Olive, North Carolina.
“We’re really honored,” says Neil Dauby, chairman and CEO of Jasper, Indiana-based German American. “Our being recognized as a top performer across the nation is nothing new to us. But rising to the level of No. 2 is special. We could tell our team members they are doing a great job and give them internal recognition and acknowledgment, but when an independent and prestigious company like Forbes gives you that validation, it takes on a whole different meaning for our team.”
Now 115 years old, German American has about $8.3 billion in assets and $3.7 billion in wealth management assets under management. Its presence is in western, central, and northern Kentucky and central and southwest Ohio, as well as central and southern Indiana.
German American has conducted business at its Downtown Evansville location, at Southeast Third and Locust streets, since 2017.
John Lamb, chief commercial banking officer and senior president of German American’s Southwest Region, says the nod from Forbes “is very meaningful to our employees in our regions and our markets. They all have played a long-term part in making our performance possible.”
In addition to the diligence of those team members, Lamb says German American’s success is keyed by local governing within its six regions, all of which have distinct demographics and lending needs.
Each area where German American operates has “local people making local decisions,” Lamb says.
In its list of America’s Best Banks for 2025, Forbes notes that smaller often is better when it comes to financial institutions.
No banks in the top 10 have more than $25 billion in assets, and JPMorgan Chase is the only trillion-dollar institution on the entire list.
German American officials say they have been able to retain the smaller, community bank-style model even as the company has expanded to 46 locations in Indiana and 28 in Kentucky.
“We’ll out-local our competition with a relationship-based, community bank model,” Dauby says. “Corporately we want to provide the necessary resources to our local leadership teams and empower them with local decision-making and autonomy. We want them to be nimble and responsive to our customers and community’s needs.”
In rating institutions for 2025, Forbes looks at 11 metrics measuring growth, credit quality, and profitability for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2024, as well as stock performance in the year through Jan. 10, 2025.
The 200 largest publicly traded banks and thrifts by assets were eligible for the list. Forbes ranked the top 100 of that group.
In recent years, German American has grown its presence in Bloomington and Columbus, Indiana, as well as Louisville, Kentucky, and the 2024 acquisition of Heartland Bancorp will cast its net into Ohio.
Dauby says German American will remain involved with all types of organizations within its footprint.
The No. 2 national recognition from Forbes “should instill confidence in those who bank and invest with German American because it demonstrates our financial focus, strength, and stability,” Dauby says. “It also brings trust in the advice and counsel of our local team of banking and wealth management professionals. I believe our customers and communities will be prideful of our national ranking as well. It validates the strength of German American Bank and the communities we serve.”
Moving in A New Direction
After being an outbound state for many years — meaning significantly more residents were leaving than coming — Indiana is seeing its migration pattern pull close to even.
The Evansville region, meanwhile, has a goal to boost its own stagnant population.
Whether because of cost of living, professional opportunity, family considerations, or something else, imports in the Hoosier state caught up with exports in 2024, showing nearly a 50-50 split. That’s according to data from Evansville-based Atlas Van Lines, Inc., which tracks interstate and cross-border household goods moves state by state.
The trend for 2024 was stark. Among movers to and from Indiana, Atlas figures show that 49 percent were arriving in the state and 51 were leaving. Atlas considers that a “balanced” pattern. Between 2015 and 2023, departures from Indiana were between 57 and 60 percent annually.
“Let’s hope it’s a trend,” Atlas Chairman and CEO Jack Griffin says. “If we go back to negative outbound next year, we’ll know it was a blip.”
Among Evansville’s neighboring states, the data are rosier for Kentucky than Illinois. The Bluegrass State’s migration has recently weighed toward arrivals — last year, 56 percent of movers were coming into Kentucky while 44 percent were leaving.
Illinois was nearly the opposite, with 57 percent moving out and 43 percent moving in, which is actually better than the state has done lately. Atlas data for 2023 showed that 63 percent of movers were outbound from Illinois.
Griffin says many Midwest states have shown outbound patterns for several years — with one reason being the baby boom generation’s retirement and relocation to warmer climates.
The Atlas migration data is broken down by state and not regions within states. The Evansville area’s population has been flat for several years, and the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership wants to change that.
Census data show the City of Evansville’s population estimate for 2023 was 115,332. That’s down 1.7 percent from the 2020 official census count, which was 117,292.
In total, Vanderburgh, Gibson, Posey, and Warrick counties in 2024 saw year-over-year population growth of 0.1 percent, while peer regions grew nearly 1 percent, according to E-REP. Most of the region’s increase is happening in Warrick County, which has about 65,867 residents.
E-REP’s Talent EVV initiative has set a goal to add 10,000 people to the four-county region by 2030, with half of those relocated residents being early in their careers.
E-REP cites some modest early successes toward that end. The region participates in MakeMyMove, a nationwide program to financially incentivize relocation for remote workers.
In 2024, MakeMyMove lured 25 households with an average annual income of $127,823 to the Evansville area. The program’s goal for 2025 is 50 households.
Another population-boosting effort is called Belong Here, which also offers incentives and targets workers to fill local jobs in traditional fields such as healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and education. E-REP launched this in 2024 and says that since April, it has brought in 15 households (33 individuals) with an average $97,000 annual income.
E-REP is financing MakeMyMove and Belong Here with funding from the state’s READI program, the American Rescue Plan Act, and other sources.
Population growth is important to bolster the local workforce and bring fresh perspectives and talents to the community, says Tyler Stock, executive director of Talent EVV.
Together with increased population, Stock says the Talent EVV initiative also has goals to boost the region’s average wages and education levels, improved health outcomes, and cutting poverty, through a variety of investments, strategies, and partnerships.
Stock says Talent EVV is about “casting a vision for where we want to be five years from now.”
Love All Around
Looking to celebrate your Galentines? We have you covered. Scroll to the end for ideas for your gal pals!
Valentine’s Treat Box
If your partner has a sweet tooth, treat them to boxes filled with raspberry Parisian macarons, chocolate strawberry gelato cake, heart-shaped vanilla bean sugar cookies, passionfruit chocolate truffles, and more treats from Pangea Kitchen.
Three Days of Valentine’s Dinners
Feb. 13-15, Comfort By The Cross-Eyed Cricket, 230 Main St.
Find love at first bite off two different menus at the Downtown Restaurant. Starting Feb. 13, tuck into crab bisque, seared sea bass, bone-in Berkshire double pork chop, cheesecake and more on Comfort’s daily menu. Feb. 14, bring your love to brunch, then return for dinner in the Upper Room with a four-course meal of oysters, tomahawk steaks, chocolate torte, and more.
Bingo With Your Valentine’s Date
3:30 Feb. 14, Pay it Forward, 2227 W. Michigan St.
Is your sweetheart on the competitive side? Take them out for a night of bingo benefiting a local charity. Refuel with walking tacos and sausage dogs.
Valentine’s Day Concert
6 p.m. Feb. 14, Your Brother’s Bookstore, 504 Main St.
The Pink Pearls headline this Champagne Jam concert with Woe_Boy, a local bedroom pop band, and singer-songwriter Dyland Gaston. Cover charge is $10.
February Art Show: “If You Ever Loved Me”
6-8 p.m. Feb. 14; 2-5 p.m. Feb. 15, Twymon Art Gallery, 1015 Lincoln Ave.
New works by Southern Illinois-based oil painter and sculptor Jaeda Thomason shine a light on domestic abuse.
Valentine Week Group Salsa + Bachata Lesson
6:30-8 p.m. Feb. 13, The Attic at Chaser’s Bar & Grill, 2131 W. Franklin St.
Take a 45-minute dance lesson in salsa, bachata, and merengue — no partner needed! Open dancing follows the lesson. Cover charge is $15 per person.
Miscast Cabaret: Valentine’s Edition!
7 p.m. Feb. 14, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 3600 Oak Hill Road
Singers share their best not-ready-for-Broadway numbers during this musical comedy. Performers will be seated in the audience when they are not onstage. Admission is $25 and includes treats, mocktails, and coffee.
Swipe Right Night
6:30 p.m. Feb. 14, Ford Center, 1 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Unattached? The Thunderbolts want to play matchmaker. Join a round a speed dating in the Suite Club before the hockey game against the Quad City Storm. During the game, mingle with other singles in a special seating section, then participate in a blind date during the first 20-minute intermission for a chance to win a “perfect date.”
Love/Sick
7:30 p.m. Feb. 14-15; 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Feb. 16, STAGEtwo at 321, 321 N. Congress Ave.
Nine slightly twisted short comedic plays directed by John Cariani explore the pain and joy of being in love. Pre-sale tickets cost $18. Day-of tickets are $20.
Paint Your Partner Date Night
6 p.m. Feb. 15, Fired Up! Joe Schmoe’s Art Studio, 2121 N. Green River Road
Painting novices and experts alike can use their lover as their muse, with a twist: Partners cannot see the work until the painter is finished. Tickets cost $55.
The Poisoned Rose: The Art of a Dying Love
6:30-11 p.m. Feb. 15, Henderson Haunts, 2480 U.S. 41 Unit 180, Henderson, Kentucky
Do you prefer jump scares over romantic meals? This one-night haunted house experience ups the ante by taking place in complete. Hold hands — hey, that can be romantic! — and make your way through the shows to the poisoned rose. Single tickets cost $15.
The Shelest Piano Duo: Four Hands, One Great Love
7:30 p.m. Feb. 15, Murphy Auditorium, 419 Tavern St., New Harmony, Indiana
Part of the Under the Beams concert series, this husband-and-wife duo of Anna and Dmitri Shelest, from the Kharkiv Special Music School in Ukraine, perform piano music. Tickets start at $40.
Mutts at Myriad: Valentine Edition
noon-3 p.m. Feb. 16, Myriad Brewing Company, 8245 High Pointe Drive, Newburgh, Indiana
Show your best furry friend how much you love them with a Valentine photo booth, kissing booth, and cookie decorating for $10. Meet Warrick Humane Society pups available for adoption. Mother Truckers Pizzeria will be on hand as well and donating $2 from each pizza to WHS.
Galentine’s Day
Popularized by Amy Poehler’s hit sitcom “Parks and Recreation,” Galentine’s Day falls on Feb. 13 and celebrates your best gal pals.
Galentine Jewelry Design
3-5 p.m. Feb. 15, Memo, 209 Main St.
Create three unique pairs of earrings with Jen Bretz, owner of JenArt Ceramics Studio. Bretz guides attendees through cutting and decorating ceramic earrings. The class costs $80 and can be registered for online or in Memo.
Girl Talk
6 p.m. Feb. 13, Mo’s House, 1114 Parrett St.
This annual mixer — at a locale Evansville Living readers have twice voted the best place to have a drink — features charcuterie, custom cocktails, a photo booth, and giveaways.
Galentine’s Getaway
Craving a weekend away with your best friends? Bloomington, Indiana, has crafted a full itinerary for a girls’ weekend. Among the highlights are relaxing at Bloomington Salt Cave, brunch, shopping, and toasting to friendship with stops at Butler and Oliver wineries — the latter is hosting a Chocolate Lover’s Weekend Feb. 14-16.
Mid-States Vision
Two houses shimmer in their frames, garbed in Christmas lights and aluminum siding. They seem nostalgically familiar, as if you have seen them on a suburban street or rural road.
Both are the subjects of “Aster Drive” and “Atom Road,” two oil paintings on display in the 62nd Mid-States Art Exhibition through March 23 at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science. Created by artist and Missouri State University Professor Sarah Williams, the paintings’ uneasy Midwest vibe feels closer to David Lynch than Architectural Digest.
“My pride and passion for the rural Midwest … comes through in my paintings like a witness’ perspective,” Williams says.
Cheyenne E. Miller, the museum’s Virginia G. Schroeder Curator of Art, was excited the museum acquired “Aster Drive” for its permanent collection. “I appreciate its subtlety and all the detail in the shadows,” she says. “It’s a beautiful painting.”
The museum also purchased “In Hindsight, He Never Had a Chance,” a striking charcoal work from the exhibition by Paducah, Kentucky, artist Randy Simmons.
The exhibition had its start in 1948 as the Tri-State Art Exhibition, Miller says, with 72 entries from artists within a 50-mile radius of Evansville. It later expanded to include artists from Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee. Acquisitions from the show have added 332 pieces to the museum’s permanent collection.
“As an institution, it’s important we share what contemporary artists are up to in different cities, different states,” Miller says. “It’s art history in motion.”
Beyond their Mid-America ethos, this year’s 44 paintings, sculptures, collage, and drawings challenge the viewer, representing the state of contemporary art.
Significant to the Tri-State, one in five works is by a local art educator or student — “a sure sign that our art community is alive and well,” Miller says.
She and juror Lauren R. O’Connell, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona, worked closely on selecting works for the exhibition.
“I chose works that had something personal to say,” O’Connell says. “Some started with a colloquial Midwest viewpoint, but then played with it. Instead of showing you beauty, they flipped the perspective and spoke to a contemporary moment.”
Speed King
This article originally appeared in the March/April 2022 issue.
From 1924 to 1936, the Colored Speedway Association’s Gold and Glory Sweepstakes was the premier racing event for people of color barred from the segregated Indianapolis 500. In the race’s last year, one driver lost control of his car in the second lap, causing a 13-car accident that would cost one of racing’s greatest drivers his career and, later, his life.
Born in Evansville on July 15, 1897, Charlie Wiggins was destined to be a car man. As a shoeshiner at 11 years old, he picked up mechanical skills by watching engineers through the open door of the neighboring auto shop. By 1920, Wiggins had moved to Indianapolis to work at another garage and began constructing his soon-to-be-famous racing car, the “Wiggins Special.”
In 1924, he entered the Gold and Glory Sweepstakes for the very first time. He would go on to win the 100-mile dirt track race at the Indiana State Fairground four times from 1924 to 1936, earning him the nickname “Speed King.”
In 1934, Wiggins snuck into the Indy 500 disguised as a janitor to be lead engineer on Bill Cumming’s Boyle Products Race team, but wasn’t allowed to stand on the podium.
After losing his right eye and right leg in the 1936 crash, Wiggins became a mentor for young Black racers and advocated to end segregation in racing. While he died in 1979 due to infection in his amputated leg, his legacy lived on and he was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2020. Wiggins is also commemorated by a historical marker adjacent to the Evansville African American Museum.
Welburn Media Productions will begin production on a feature film titled “Eraced” adapted from an Emmy-winning documentary about Wiggins’ life in late spring 2022.
Growing Something New
There are changes afoot at Colonial Classics Landscape & Nursery, but longtime shoppers can expect to see familiar faces.
Backed by a group of local investors, Andrew and Jesse Diekhoff have purchased the longtime landscaping business and garden center from Julie and J.T. McCarty. The latter’s father, Jim, opened the business in 1958, and it remained in family hands for the next 66 years.
The winds of change began blowing a few years before the December 2024 sale. Andrew Diekhoff had served as Colonial’s landscape design manager since February 2018. The Reitz Memorial High School grad had formed a strong relationship with the McCartys, which got him thinking about the future. Andrew was ready to take the next step in his career, and he knew the McCartys did not have another generation to carry on the family business. Sentiment also played a part.
“I love the place. I met my wife there. J.T. was our wedding officiant. I knew I wasn’t going to make a career change, and I didn’t want to move and start somewhere else. I remember going there with my grandparents,” he says. “It seemed like a dream come true to be able to do that, instead of starting from scratch. … I thought, I can pull this off.”
The McCartys agreed.
“We felt very good about that transition because we know how much passion he has for the business, and he’s a local person,” J.T. says.
That last point was significant to the McCartys, who over the years had rebuffed offers to sell to larger corporations.
“Colonial is as good as it is because of Andrew and Jesse and all employees there. I wanted to make sure Andrew understood that he kept all these people here. You continue to expound on what we’ve got going on here, and you’ll be successful,” J.T. says.
Andrew stresses he’s not trying to reinvent the business on Epworth Road, even if some new services — like an irrigation department — are on tap.
“We want to build on the foundation that’s already there. We don’t want to do things differently as much as we want to add to what we’re doing,” he says. “Having the longevity it’s had, you don’t get there by being big. You offer quality service, being fair, taking care of staff and customers, and offering a good, quality product, whether it’s something in garden center or a project at someone’s house. You deliver a trustworthy service.”
“I think I’m kind of surprised that I’m not more nervous about it than I am,” Andrew laughs. “I just know there’s such a good team in place. We can keep growing.”
J.T. “knows we’ll take care of a legacy that’s very personal to him,” Andrew says.
The McCartys, meanwhile, are embracing retirement.
“When you close one door, two more open. Julie and I are very adventuresome, and we like to travel. Now, because the good Lord’s been good to me, we’re going to start giving back to society,” J.T. says. “Andrew is a younger generation, and they have a lot of energy and ideas. We look forward to seeing the next evolution of Colonial Classics.”
A Point of Contention
Southwestern Indiana residents now have a better idea of how much their CenterPoint Energy base electric charges will rise.
CenterPoint on Feb. 3 received the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission’s approval for a rate increase, but less of one than the Texas-based utility sought. CenterPoint has since added details that the average residential customer – one that uses 799 kilowatts per month – can expect their bill to initially jump $7 and eventually $26 per month by early 2026.
That’s roughly half of the rate hike CenterPoint had petitioned the state agency to levy. In total, the IURC lowered the potential bill impact by about $6 million, says Mike Roeder, CenterPoint senior vice president for external affairs.
IURC members came to Evansville for a public hearing in February 2024 and faced a packed ballroom of residents who angrily denounced any rate increases. Dozens of people, including Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry, testified that the higher electric charges would be a hardship for those whose budgets are already stretched.
IURC members, who are appointed by Indiana’s governor, listened but made no comments at the hearing.
CenterPoint — which entered the Indiana market with the 2019 purchase of Vectren — had been charging the highest residential electric rates in Indiana, but as of mid-2024 its rates slipped behind those of the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO). Roeder says that NIPSCO and other utilities serving Indiana have sought, and received, IURC approval for rate increases, with citizen opposition also being aired.
According to CenterPoint, the added customer costs will support a list of upgrades in the utility’s Indiana footprint, some of which have already been financed over the past 14 years.
CenterPoint cites a need to upgrade its transmission and distribution system, replacing outdated equipment and modernizing its energy grid; automated metering technology; new generation facilities and power sources to support growth; and projects to comply with environmental regulations.
“These are investments for reliability,” Roeder says. “We are always trying to balance these investments for reliability with affordability.”
Roeder pointed to the IURC’s decision to lower the total requested bill impact as evidence that the opposition aired by area residents was heard.
The $6 million reduction “is significant,” Roeder says. “From the minute we filed this rate case, we wanted to phase in the impact. We wanted to keep affordability at the top of our mind.”
Terry and some other elected officials released statements condemning the IURC’s approval of an electric rate increase for CenterPoint Energy.
“At a time when so many are struggling to make ends meet – to find affordable housing, to afford groceries – this increase in the cost of a basic necessity is devastating,” Terry said in a Feb. 3 statement posted to her social media.
As for when CenterPoint customers might start to notice the higher bill, it apparently won’t be long.
“The short answer is it will be a least a week,” Roeder says. “The longer answer is we have to make a compliance filing with the (IURC) that allows them to double-check our math for all the customer classes before we implement rates.”
First Impressions
Culture shock comes in many forms. For international athletes on the Evansville Thunderbolts professional hockey team, several of their biggest “newcomer” moments involved the basics: food, weather, and traffic.
More than half of the 18 athletes carving up the ice for the city’s SPHL team come from outside America. Nine call Canada home, while two hail from Europe. Unlike the group of international residents profiled in the January/February cover story, Bolts players arrive in Evansville each October and make the River City their home for the next six months. Set up with apartments in an East Side complex, many drive their own vehicles, set up a cell phone with an 812 area code, and have the autonomy and free time to explore their temporary home.
Grayson Valente, a 24-year-old defenseman from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, who is in his second season with the Bolts, relishes the area’s easy travel time. He recalls being surprised at “how close everything is. It’s not often that you have to drive more than 15 minutes to get where you need to go,” he says.
Conversely, Jordan Simoneau found the roadways hectic.
“I dislike the traffic,” says Simoneau, 26, who joined the Thunderbolts in March 2024. “Coming from a small town and farm, I’m not used to the busy roads.”
However, the gregarious left wing from Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Canada, is loving the milder weather.
“(It’s) a great change for me. I’m used to freezing cold and lots of snow during the winter,” he says.
He may be in his first season playing the U.S., but for Vili Vesalainen, adjusting to culture shock is old hat. A 27-year-old center from Jyväskylä, Finland, Vesalainen already has played for teams in his home country, plus France, Sweden, and Germany.
Easing his culture shock in Indiana, Vesalainen says his hometown is about the same size as his new city. He also credits his introduction to Evansville to Joe Leonidas, a Canadian defenseman who played 11 games for the Bolts in 2022-23.
“He gave me a good talk about the place, so I knew something,” Vesalainen says. “People here are very social and easy-going. It’s easy to talk to people.”
The Bolts’ other European player is Robin Eriksson, a 23-year-old defenseman from Södertälje, Sweden, who also is in his inaugural season with Evansville. Both he and Vesalainen were consulted for the Bolts’ Feb. 7 theme night spotlighting European hockey hallmarks, like a golden helmet that is given as an award to the best player in the Finnish Liiga league.
If you have found yourself chuckling at the Canadian players’ accents, they’re probably having a good laugh listening to you.
“The biggest culture shock was hearing people’s accents here,” Brady Lynn, a 26-year-old right wing from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, says. Simoneau echoes his teammate, marveling at “being criticized about my Canadian accent while thinking everyone else has a crazy accent.”
The Bolts fill their free time by playing golf — “Evansville has many great courses,” Simoneau remarks — hanging out in Downtown Evansville and along the riverfront, working out, and bonding as teammates.
“We hang out lots as a team in each other’s apartments, whether it’s breakfast club, movie night, or watching sports,” Simoneau says. “We are lucky to have great gym facilities and basketball courts and a swimming pool that make for a fun time with the guys.”
On days off, players enjoy exploring the region, with Nashville, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky, mentioned as frequent destinations. Still on several players’ bucket lists: Saint Louis, Missouri.
Also on their weekly itinerary is touring the local restaurant scene, hardly surprising for a team of pro athletes in their mid-twenties. Vesalainen and Lynn list coffee shops as some of their usual hangout spots. (For the latter, Best of Evansville award-winner Honey Moon Coffee Co. is a favorite.)
Valenti and Lynn remember their amazement at the food options when they each arrived in the River City. Lynn recalls being impressed with “how good the food is — and how cheap the food is.”
“Evansville has a wide variety of restaurants, so going out for lunch or dinner and trying new foods is great,” Simoneau says.
“I like the variety of food spots. There is a place for anything you’re craving,” Valente adds. “The only challenge is the lack of sidewalks in some areas to get around.”
As for acclimating to Southwestern Indiana, international Bolts validate the Midwest’s reputation for niceness.
What has surprised Lynn is “how welcoming everybody is,” he says. For Simoneau, his favorite part about playing in the U.S. is “the amount that these southern states love hockey,” he says. “It makes me feel like I’m playing back home in Canada.”
Black History Month
Black History Month Activities
Now through Feb. 28, Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Oaklyn Children’s Area, 3001 Oaklyn Drive
Children can learn about Black heritage through scavenger hunts, coloring sheets, and more.
New Traditions Diversity Series
6-7 p.m. Feb. 6, Nazarene Missionary Baptist Church, 867 E. Walnut St.
The Eykamp String Quartet performs Sawney Freeman’s fiddle tunes, George Walker’s “Lyric for Strings,” and Wynton Marsalis’ “At the Octoroon Balls.” This concert is free and open to the public.
Community Racial Justice Prayer Service
2 p.m. Feb. 9, University of Evansville, Ridgway University Center’s Eykamp Hall, 1800 Lincoln Ave.
As a part of the BRIDGE (Building Respect & Integrity in Diverse Greater Evansville) Racial Justice Faith Week, which includes all faith communities, this prayer service focuses on social and racial justice.
True Black History Museum
10 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 11, University of Southern Indiana’s University Center East 2217-2218, 8600 University Blvd.
This traveling museum makes a stop at USI to teach about Black history using rare artifacts to preserve the history of African Americans. The public can view the museum at no charge.
The Trailblazer Black History Program
9:30-10:15 a.m. Feb. 16, St. John’s East United Church of Christ, 7000 Lincoln Ave.
Guest speaker Alex Burton, a first-term state representative and former Fourth Ward member of the Evansville City Council, leads the church’s annual Black history program celebrating Evansville trailblazers before the 10:30 a.m. worship service.
Black History Unity Concert
6 p.m. Feb. 16, Victory Theatre, 600 Main St.
The theme for this year’s concert is “Love | Unity | Justice” and features the Black History Month Unity Choir and Children’s Choir under the direction of the Rev. James Hamler. Tickets are available for $10 and must be purchased in advance.
STEAM Club: Famous Black Scientists
4-5 p.m. Feb. 18, Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Red Bank Children’s Activities Room, 120 S. Red Bank Road
The contributions of Black scientists — including the late meteorologist June Bacon-Bercey, the first Black woman to earn a degree in meteorology — are discussed at this event designed for children, who will learn how to make an anemometer to measure wind speed.
James MacLeod: “Race Relations in Evansville: A History of Violence”
6:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 18, Willard Public Library, 21 N. First Ave.
Author and University of Evansville professor James MacLeod presents a historical review of race relations in Evansville, hosted by the Southwestern Indiana Historical Society.
Dr. John M. Caldwell Memorial Lecture Series
noon-2 p.m. Feb. 22, Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1800 S. Governor St.
Melissa Duneghy gives the address at this year’s Soul Writers’ Guild event honoring the memory of the late longtime Zion Missionary Baptist Church pastor and Fourth Ward city council member.
“They Fought the Law and They Won”
1 p.m. Feb. 22, Lyles Station Historic School & Museum 953 N. County Road 500 W., Princeton, Indiana
At the site of the historic Black settlement in Gibson County, Lyles Station Board Vice President Juenell Owens discusses successful lawsuits in the 1800s brought by three Southwestern Indiana residents — Polly Strong, Mary Bateman Clark, and James Roundtree — that raised the awareness of the rights of Black people.
Desegregation and Busing in Evansville: Did it Work?
5:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 25, Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Central Browning Event Rooms, 200 S.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Watez Phelps, a former University of Evansville African American Association president and one of the first cohorts of Black students bused in Evansville, leads this discussion on the successes and failures of local desegregation and busing efforts in the 1960s and ’70s.
Driving It Home
When he arrived at January’s National Automobile Dealers Association Show in New Orleans, Louisiana, Ray Farabaugh knew he was one of 49 nominees for the 2025 TIME Dealer of the Year, one of the industry’s most coveted honors.
But Farabaugh, who is co-president of Evansville-based D-Patrick Inc. dealership company, had no idea he was among five finalists for the award. And he certainly didn’t know until he was on stage with those other finalists that he would bring it home.
“They say a little bit about you and then they say, there’s five great people up here, envelope, please,” Farabaugh recalls. “… So, it was really a surprise. And then they bring your family up and they take a bunch of pictures.”
Being nominated for TIME Dealer of the Year is an honor by itself, as more than 16,000 franchised dealers across the U.S. are considered. To winnow the 49 nominees to five, and then pick the winner, a panel from the Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan reaches out to automobile manufacturers, financial institutions, and others who know the award candidates well.
Another criterion is community impact, and Farabaugh says he’s proud of what D-Patrick has accomplished on that front during his 36 years with the company. In total, he says D-Patrick has contributed more than $4 million to local organizations and causes over that timeframe.
D-Patrick can make those donations because of the quality of its team, Farabaugh explains.
“We always have been involved, and we really encourage our employees to be involved,” says Farabaugh, who since 1998 has been co-president of D-Patrick alongside his brother-in-law, Mike O’Daniel. “Our employees also do such a great job with our customers, and because they do a great job, customers come back and they buy again. We can build our company and make it stronger, and then we have the resources to be able to contribute to the community.”
As this year’s award winner, Farabaugh can direct a $10,000 donation from Ally Financial to the charity of his choice.
Farabaugh views the 2025 TIME Dealer of the Year honor as a symbol of all that work.
“Somebody has to accept the award, but it’s really an award for all of the things D-Patrick and the people who represent D-Patrick do for our community,” he says. “The other thing I think is important is we’re big on hiring local and promoting local. Many of our managers and leaders in our company started at entry-level positions and worked their way up over the years. We spend lots of money in education and training and all the kinds of things that get people better at what they do.”
More than 40 percent of D-Patrick’s team has been with the company for at least 10 years, making them members of the Decade Club. In total, D-Patrick has a workforce of just over 500.
The O’Daniel family’s dealership history stretches back to 1934, when Joseph O’Daniel opened O’Daniel-Ranes Oldsmobile in Evansville. His son D. Patrick established his eponymous dealership in 1971. Farabaugh is D. Patrick’s son-in-law.
The company has Ford, Lincoln, Nissan, Honda, Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Evansville; Ford dealerships in Boonville and Lebanon, Indiana; and used car dealerships in Evansville and Crawfordsville, Indiana. It operates three body shops in Evansville and one shop in Lebanon.
The TIME Dealer of the Year award is presented by TIME as well as Ally Financial. In addition to D-Patrick’s community impact, the companies also cited Farabaugh’s support of the Automobile Dealers Association of Indiana, where he has served as president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer, and currently is on the board of directors.
“The TIME Dealer of the Year award celebrates the country’s top dealers who understand that their businesses thrive when they give back and help their communities grow, and Raymond truly embodies those qualities that make this award so special,” Doug Timmerman, Ally’s President of Dealer Financial Services, said in a statement.
The other four 2025 TIME Dealer of the Year finalists hailed from Madison, Wisconsin; Pittsfield, Massachusetts; Jerome, Idaho; and Huntsville, Alabama.
Moving On
His service as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana spanned only three years and three months. But Zach Myers says his office achieved much in that relatively short time, and he enjoyed his frequent trips down Interstate 69 from the state capital to Evansville.
The Indianapolis native resigned Jan. 18 ahead of the change of the U.S. presidential administration – that practice is common, he explains. Myers was unanimously confirmed in 2021 by the U.S. Senate. Until his successor is confirmed, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Childress is serving as acting U.S. Attorney for 60 counties in the southernmost part of the Hoosier State.
Myers notes that the U.S. Attorney is the lone political appointee in an office of nonpolitical, professional staff, and he understood this upon taking the job.
“I was proud to serve in the administration I did, and I think every attorney general and president should have leadership that is aligned with their goals and vision,” Myers says. “Of course, it makes sense for every administration to have their own person.”
Myers says that while U.S. Attorney, he and his staff spent ample time prosecuting cyber crimes, in addition to several drugs and weapons cases. Along the way, Myers often was in hiring mode. He brought on board a significant chunk of the office’s staff, including about 35 percent of its lawyer force.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Indianapolis also is preparing to change locations to the BMO Plaza building.
“It was a unique point in time in this office to really build,” Myers says.
Myers spoke to Evansville Business in April 2023 about the challenge to tamp down gun violence, a task made tougher by the presence of so many illegal firearms. He says he worked with Evansville authorities on that issue and others.
Evansville has the only staffed U.S. Attorney’s office in Southern Indiana, outside of Indianapolis, and he visited often. Offices in New Albany and Terre Haute are unstaffed.
“One of the things I really loved about this role was getting to know Evansville and the Tri-State area better,” Myers says. “It’s such a fun city. I loved staying Downtown, and you have a fantastic police chief, sheriff, and prosecutor, everybody across partisan lines, which don’t really matter in this work. … That was so gratifying, getting to know that community and the leaders there.”
Myers was the first Black U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. Before his swearing-in ceremony in November 2021, he was Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland from 2014- to 2021 and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana from 2011 to 2014.
He earlier worked in private practice at the Indianapolis firm formerly known as Baker & Daniels (now Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath). While there, his focus was business litigation and white-collar internal investigations.
Myers says he’s contemplating his next career steps, adding “I’m sure it will work out just fine. I’m transitioning back to the private sector for the first time in almost 14 years. I’m hoping to find some good new challenges and opportunities to do some good in the world.”
Meanwhile, Myers says, federal prosecutions and law enforcement in the Evansville area and throughout Southern Indiana will continue under the next U.S. Attorney, appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
“Everyone in that building other than me is a career employee hired on a merit basis and is sworn to work on behalf of the United States,” he says. “Career professionals are the beating heart of the office.”
Just a Sensible, Ordinary Man
Just before Christmas, seemingly like everyone else, I was running errands too numerous to count. I remembered I had a phone call I needed to make. So, I pulled over in a subdivision to look up the number. Job completed, I was driving around the block when four kids, all under age 10, I believe, jumped up and down to draw my attention to the “office” in their nearby yard. As it was cold, I assumed they were selling hot chocolate. My rule is, if kids are selling something, buy it. (And no one is jumping up and down when they see me unless they are angry or trying to sell me something.)
I had found 2 Cousins Jewelry and four associates. I asked what they were selling. “Friendship bracelets!” the leader told me. She added, “Here is our price list,” and handed me a sheet of notebook paper. Written on it in pencil was a list of inventory that, given the many crossed-out figures, had gone through several rounds of changes. “How much are the bracelets?” I asked. “It’s right there on the sheet,” she replied, like how could I not know? So, I purchased three bracelets for $2 and handed her a two dollar bill from my wallet. “Is that real money?” she asked. As I assured her it was, the whole group gathered around her, curiously looking at the bill. I was already forgotten as the kids were excited. I’m not sure who had more fun in this high-level business transaction.
Evansville lost a great man on Jan. 12. Raymond Fredrick Beckwith Jr. wasn’t a doctor, lawyer, or business owner. As a matter of fact, he never graduated from his beloved Reitz Memorial High School, as he discontinued his formal education to go to work. I would argue that Ray made as big of an impact here as anyone I can think of. Instead of trying to remember all the organizations Ray devoted time to, it may be easier to list what he didn’t help with. An amazing man of tremendous warmth and energy, he was described by the priest during his funeral Mass as being the man “who, if there was ever anyone that lived up to being a true servant leader, it was Ray Beckwith.” We all have people in our lives we always enjoy seeing; Ray was one of mine. He always was at Memorial events taking tickets or manning the concessions stand. He put so much time and effort into everything Memorial that, in 2016, he was honored with the Distinguished Service Award. He continued to serve until 2024, when he was 95. During his eulogy, it was noted that “the go-to guy for everything is no longer there.”
I first met Ray many years ago when a table of “truth stretchers” — my father was among them, if you can imagine that — moved from the old Wesselman’s Coffee Shop at Lawndale to the nearby restaurant The Carousel. This group of retired men enjoyed friendship and camaraderie there for many years.
Ray loved and was proud of his Catholic faith and was a terrific family man and husband. His impact on so many people and organizations is immeasurable. I can’t say it any better than how he was eulogized: “Ray was a sensible, ordinary man who did extraordinary things.” He lived up to that, and more.
As always, I look forward to hearing from most of you.
Todd A. Tucker, President
Wild Ambitions
On any given day, Sam Bradley could treat a crane’s joint injury with laser therapy, perform an ostrich ultrasound, or check up on a baby porcupine. It may sound far-fetched, but for Bradley, a veterinarian at Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden, getting close to wild animals is her job.
The New Jersey native found a way to fuse her longtime love of animals — she had declared her intent to be a zookeeper in her kindergarten yearbook — with an interest in medicine.
“As I got older, I fell in love with medicine, and then I figured out that I could combine them,” says Bradley, a University of Illinois graduate who completed rotating internships at VCA Valley Animal Hospital and Emergency Center and Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Arizona, and a specialty internship at the Indianapolis Zoo before joining Mesker in July 2024. “The fun part about being a vet is that the job changes daily. Some days I never see my desk, and some days I’m at my desk all the time.”
Her job entails caring for more than 700 animals and 140 different species, which requires a jack-of-all-trades skill set. The daily routine varies in the vet building — built in the 1980s and updated in the 1990s — and consists of Bradley and 17-year vet tech Kristine VanHoosier. Their days can involve one long procedure or up to 20 animal checkups. Vets also participate in research projects to promote conservation, oversee nutrition plans, create and update standard operating procedures, and aid in creating and approving training and enrichment plans. They also care for animals that come to the zoo, including breeding and social recommendations. The job involves collaboration, occasionally bringing veterinarians, vet techs, and zookeepers from across the nation together to assist with more specialized and complex procedures.
“I thought that Mesker Park was a really good fit. … I felt like I could get to know the animals really well. I felt that I could give better care to all the animals because I was more involved in different aspects of their life here,” Bradley says. “What really drew me to the facility was the size and atmosphere. The people here are really passionate about the zoo.”
Since joining Mesker’s staff, Bradley’s most complex procedure has been a camel’s six-hour plasma transfer to treat a gastrointestinal disease in August 2024. Animal care and vet staff traded breaks while making sure the camel was safely monitored and comfortable the whole time.
“We were able to figure out that she needed a plasma transfusion rather quickly and were able to source llama blood from a facility four hours away. Our registrar drove up, got the plasma, brought it back down, and we were prepared by the next day,” Bradley says.
She also has overseen the birth of approximately 10 animals. Among them were the December 2024 births of porcupines Zuzu and Bomani to parents Cece and Bic. Initially, they received weekly checkups to ensure both were healthy and safe. Those checkups will wind down as the porcupine babies age.
The keepers who oversee the animals’ daily care are the most involved in monitoring the birthing process, keeping the vet apprised of any changes Bradley performs routine checkups on pregnant animals, including the imaging of a fetus via X-rays or ultrasound. She observes and evaluates the health of the babies after they are born.
Her job is fulfilling, Bradley says, not just because she gets to work with animals all the time. There’s never a boring day.
“It’s just a very rewarding position. It definitely is hard work,” Bradley says. “But not only can I make individual impacts on the animals that are here that I’m treating, but just an overall global conservation impact as well.”
The Person Who Asks “Why?”
To say Jennifer Evans is in her element at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science may be an understatement. The 1993 Central High School alumna’s new job as the museum’s John W. Streetman Executive Director quenches her lifelong curiosity —something piqued by the 45,000-plus artifacts in the museum’s permanent collection. In her new role, Evans — who held past director positions at WNIN, Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden, and Leadership Everyone — pairs that thirst for knowledge with her nonprofit work experience.
“I didn’t go to school to be a historian or a scientist or an art curator, but I have a deep appreciation for those things,” she says. “My vision is to be the person … who helps encourage and make things happen that others want to see happen, and to do it in a thoughtful way that makes sense and honors the people who laid such a great foundation for the museum.”
EVANSVILLE BUSINESS: WHY DID YOU JUMP AT THIS JOB OPPORTUNITY?
Jennifer Evans: I love our museum. I experienced it throughout my life, starting as a child with my parents and on field trips. I’m curious … and I get to work with an organization that … hits all those things that please me as an individual. I’m a person who loves to ask why.
EB: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MUSEUM’S STRONGEST ATTRIBUTES?
JE: People who love the museum and support it — staff, board members, donors, public, and members. And the history of our museum and how long it has been such a cultural mainstay. We are so lucky to have the cultural institutions we have.
EB: WHY DOES THE MUSEUM INVEST IN CHILDREN’S PROGRAMMING?
JE: Exposing them to our history and culture and universe and wonderful works of art, you never know what that may inspire. It can be part of their life and [foster] a deep appreciation, or they can build a career from it.
EB: SHARE SOME OF YOUR OTHER INTERESTS.
JE: I absolutely love gardening. It’s something I’ve been doing since I was a child. I love traveling to … new and familiar places, learning about those cultures. I’m very passionate about music — everything from classical and jazz to yacht rock and rap.
