Four years ago, we watched our younger son, Jackson, graduate from Reitz Memorial High School on our family room television via livestream from the school’s auditorium. A few days later, our older son, Maxwell, graduated from Butler University in Indianapolis. We were social distancing in Fort Morgan, Alabama. Max’s commencement similarly was livestreamed from an empty Clowes Memorial Hall where Butler President James Danko conferred students’ degrees. We toasted Max, then walked down the boardwalk to the deserted Gulf Coast beach. The following year, the university allowed the class of 2020 to walk in Hinkle Fieldhouse with the class of 2021. In 2022, Max received his master’s degree in person, on campus.
Later this month, Jackson will receive his bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisville in Kentucky. He will graduate in the KFC Yum! Center – the venue is so large, tickets are not needed. Indeed, it has now been four years since the Class of 2020 left high school with livestreamed and drive-through graduations ceremonies, courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic. This May, many of those students who matriculated in four-year university programs now are finishing their studies. Jackson will continue his studies this fall in an MBA program at the University of Louisville.
Here’s to our graduates! Resiliency has defined them, and they will take this necessary life skill onto college and out into the world.
This issue long has been focused on home and garden, showcasing the annual At Home special advertising section (featuring 46 businesses this year). For five years, the May/June issue also has featured Evansville’s 10 Most Beautiful Homes. The concept is to select homes with exteriors that catch our attention. We leave notes for homeowners expressing interest in writing about and photographing their home, and we begin curating the Most Beautiful Homes feature. As we all know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder; our story is not a competition or an awards program. We aim to highlight the broad range of home styles here. Last year, a modern home built in the 2010s made its way to our cover;
in this year’s round- up, the newest home featured is 32 years old. Two were built before or during the Civil War. The stately Riverside Historic District brick Italianate on the cover was built in 1863.
We invite homebuilders and homeowners to keep this project in mind – we like to receive
tips. Maybe we have left a letter at your doorstep about your home. It’s never too late to call us; we already are working on next year.
New Harmony, Indiana, makes an appearance in this issue. Last fall, retired Historic New Harmony director Connie Weinzapfel invited me on a mini tour of the town before our book club meeting, which Connie was hosting at her Posey County home. She wanted to introduce me to some of New Harmony’s newcomers – people who have chosen to relocate to the town on the Wabash River to open new and unique businesses. My tour formed the basis for Senior Writer John Martin and Staff Writer Maggie Valenti to spend an early spring day in New Harmony, meeting the people who are bringing new energy to the town while honoring its history. Read their story beginning on page 44.
As always, I look forward to hearing from you!
Kristen K. Tucker Editor & Publisher
