Goshen is one of our all time favorite towns to visit. We go there even more than Elkhart. We enjoy going to the "Old Bag Factory.” It is a renovated factory that houses shops, restaurants and is just a wonderful setting. Across the trolley trail is the Mennonite Service Committee. They have a resale shop there and all the money goes to good works. I usually stoop by the Service Committee and we talk about world issues. I just love being around folks dedicated to peace-making.
Goshen: The Old Bag Factory and Quilt Garden
Across the road is an old converted shop that is the studio for a sculpture. Then there is the old shop and log cabin that also houses antiques. It is next to this the the Quilt Garden was located. The garden had a scope for looking at it from above. It was supposed to be a “Bird’s Eye View” garden. The colors were great but the garden was also showing some weathering. .
Goshen: The Depot
Finally we went to the downtown area to look at a few murals. The downtown is home to restaurants, more antiques shops, the American Red Cross and the courthouse. Beyond the immediate area are churches, lots and lots of churches. Yep, Norman Rockwell would have loved Goshen.
Goshen Wall Quilt
Sunday, October 4, 2009
The Quilt Garden Tour and a Stop in Elkhart
Our next stop was at Elkhart. I love this city. It has so many museums, an elegant downtown and rivers, boy does it have rivers. The Elkhart, Mishawaka and St. Joseph rivers meet here. There is a Railroad Museum, art museums, historical museums and there are historic homes. There are also parks and river walks that take your breath away. So it should come as no surprise that in a city of multiple Quilt Gardens we only saw one!
We only saw one garden because he took a tour of the Ruthmere Mansion. This took about two hours but it was oh so grand. The mansion was built in 1908 by the Beardsley family. It became part of a row of mansion for millionaires. The mansion looks out at the river.
This particular mansion is not enormous and in fact was made simply to entertain visiting guests and business associates. The building is beautiful. The Billiard Room has faux elephant skin wall paper, actually looks much nicer than it sounds. It has an early air conditioning system. There is original art all over the place. That includes Rodans, Tiffany class, porcelains and paintings. The wall papers are of silk and satins. The furniture is opulent and the dining room is just waiting to serve me.
There is a green house for one; it connects to the mansion via an underground passage. It is watered by a system that collected and used rain water. The building was green before we ever knew what that meant.
The garage was even interesting. The cars drove in head first. They parked on a round abut on the ground the round-about turned so the car was then facing out. That is because early cars did not have a reverse. There was even an electric car that had service in the Secret Service.
Nest to the mansion was the Quilt Garden. This one was titled “Flower Basket”. It was big, thirty feet by thirty feet. By the time we made the tour the weather had taken a toll on the garden. We didn’t car. I finally toured the mansion and behind us was the river greenway.
Elkhart: The Ruthmere Mansion: Quilt Garden
After looking at the garden we went over to the river. I walked over the bridge that leads to Island Park. The island is Elkhart Island, named because to the original Native Americans it looked like an Elk’s Heart. This is the land of the Pottawatomie and the Chippewa. The Beardsley’s were the premier settlers and the town could have been named after them. Instead they honored the original inhabitants and kept the name.
Elkhart River and Ruthmere Mansion
I love river cities. They are the site of mills, dams and growing culture (and of course pollution). I keep coming back to Elkhart and I don’t see that stopping in the near future!
Walking to Island Park: Elkhart Indiana
We only saw one garden because he took a tour of the Ruthmere Mansion. This took about two hours but it was oh so grand. The mansion was built in 1908 by the Beardsley family. It became part of a row of mansion for millionaires. The mansion looks out at the river.
This particular mansion is not enormous and in fact was made simply to entertain visiting guests and business associates. The building is beautiful. The Billiard Room has faux elephant skin wall paper, actually looks much nicer than it sounds. It has an early air conditioning system. There is original art all over the place. That includes Rodans, Tiffany class, porcelains and paintings. The wall papers are of silk and satins. The furniture is opulent and the dining room is just waiting to serve me.
There is a green house for one; it connects to the mansion via an underground passage. It is watered by a system that collected and used rain water. The building was green before we ever knew what that meant.
The garage was even interesting. The cars drove in head first. They parked on a round abut on the ground the round-about turned so the car was then facing out. That is because early cars did not have a reverse. There was even an electric car that had service in the Secret Service.
Nest to the mansion was the Quilt Garden. This one was titled “Flower Basket”. It was big, thirty feet by thirty feet. By the time we made the tour the weather had taken a toll on the garden. We didn’t car. I finally toured the mansion and behind us was the river greenway.
Elkhart: The Ruthmere Mansion: Quilt Garden
After looking at the garden we went over to the river. I walked over the bridge that leads to Island Park. The island is Elkhart Island, named because to the original Native Americans it looked like an Elk’s Heart. This is the land of the Pottawatomie and the Chippewa. The Beardsley’s were the premier settlers and the town could have been named after them. Instead they honored the original inhabitants and kept the name.
Elkhart River and Ruthmere Mansion
I love river cities. They are the site of mills, dams and growing culture (and of course pollution). I keep coming back to Elkhart and I don’t see that stopping in the near future!
Walking to Island Park: Elkhart Indiana
Saturday, October 3, 2009
The Dutchman of Essenhaus
Our next stop was in a tiny town of Essenhaus. The garden was weathered. The area was a small convention center. It was special to us for a personal reason. We knew the restaurants might be closed and we brought a picnic. We sat in over-sized hand-made rocking chairs and had a fine meal between the log cabins and Amish-like structures. The company and the conversation matched the food. Now that was a nice respite.
We had to make some decisions; there were far too many gardens and towns to see. So, we did not go to Middlebury which is a favorite stop for us. Ignore the tape, you are looking at Essenhaus. Well, it is time to move onto to Elkhart Indiana.
The Dutchman: Essenhaus: Quilt Garden
We had to make some decisions; there were far too many gardens and towns to see. So, we did not go to Middlebury which is a favorite stop for us. Ignore the tape, you are looking at Essenhaus. Well, it is time to move onto to Elkhart Indiana.
The Dutchman: Essenhaus: Quilt Garden
Shipshewana and the Quilt Garden Tour
Our first stop was to Shipshewana. This is a small town, a village actually only miles from the Michigan border. A little over 500 people live here. However, it is the center of Amish community. It has one of the largest flea markets in the world. It is the home of simple foods, tools, arts and crafts. It is the home of the Menno-Hof Amish/Mennonite Museum. It was a good place to begin a tour.
The first garden was on the museum grounds. It was titled “Dove at the Window.” “Peace” was a reoccurring theme for many of the gardens. The garden consisted of over 3,500 Begonias, that’s a lot of flowers! The setting was great. In front of the museum was a clothes line with Amish and Mennonite clothes hanging on the line. Behind the garden was a pond. It was all simple, consistent with Amish living.
The Menno-Hof Museum is a wonderful place to learn about all the different types of Anabaptists. There is a replica of the 16th century ship. There are displays that describe the persecution the Amish experienced in Europe. There is plenty of information about the world of the Amish today. It is definitely worth a visit, just not on a Sunday!
Quilt Garden Show: Shipshewana Indiana
There was a small reflecting pond between the museum and the road. It simply highlighted an already beautiful garden.
Menno-Hof-Amish/Mennonite Museum: Quilts Continued
Across the road was the Farmstead Inn. This was not an Amish structure. It is a massive hotel (massive for a town of 500) that serves the many visitors to this part of Indiana. The garden was titled “Shoofly Garden”. It was big, It replicates a quilt found in the town hall. The Shoofly represent a conductor on the underground railroad, again, social justice is an important value in this part of the state. The garden is made up of Periwinkles. There are 2010 white Periwinkles and 2810 rose colored Periwinkles, yep, that’s a lot of Periwinkles. If we were here any day but a Sunday we could cross the road and have a nice piece of Shoofly Pie.
There were more murals in town but it was time for us to move on.
Farmstead Inn: Quilt Garden
The first garden was on the museum grounds. It was titled “Dove at the Window.” “Peace” was a reoccurring theme for many of the gardens. The garden consisted of over 3,500 Begonias, that’s a lot of flowers! The setting was great. In front of the museum was a clothes line with Amish and Mennonite clothes hanging on the line. Behind the garden was a pond. It was all simple, consistent with Amish living.
The Menno-Hof Museum is a wonderful place to learn about all the different types of Anabaptists. There is a replica of the 16th century ship. There are displays that describe the persecution the Amish experienced in Europe. There is plenty of information about the world of the Amish today. It is definitely worth a visit, just not on a Sunday!
Quilt Garden Show: Shipshewana Indiana
There was a small reflecting pond between the museum and the road. It simply highlighted an already beautiful garden.
Menno-Hof-Amish/Mennonite Museum: Quilts Continued
Across the road was the Farmstead Inn. This was not an Amish structure. It is a massive hotel (massive for a town of 500) that serves the many visitors to this part of Indiana. The garden was titled “Shoofly Garden”. It was big, It replicates a quilt found in the town hall. The Shoofly represent a conductor on the underground railroad, again, social justice is an important value in this part of the state. The garden is made up of Periwinkles. There are 2010 white Periwinkles and 2810 rose colored Periwinkles, yep, that’s a lot of Periwinkles. If we were here any day but a Sunday we could cross the road and have a nice piece of Shoofly Pie.
There were more murals in town but it was time for us to move on.
Farmstead Inn: Quilt Garden
Our Quilt Gardens Tour of Northeast Indiana: 2009
On September 13th Cathi and I, along with our adult niece went on a little road trip. We spent the day in Northeast Indiana. We went from town to town looking at some special gardens. This was the Quilt Garden Tour. There were 16 gardens along with Quilt Murals.Now it wasn’t the best time to go. We missed the best time by about two weeks. Also we went on a Sunday. That meant some of the gardens had lost their brilliance, some were damaged a little by wind. It also meant that we were traveling on a Sunday in Amish/Mennonite country. That meant the stores, restaurants and museums were closed. We did not mind. We knew this area very well.
We drove to Shipshewana, the center of Amish country in this area. We went to Elkhart and Goshen, two of our favorite digs. We also visited Essenhaus and some country gardens.
We say plenty of Amish. They were attending their house churches. That meant that early on we saw all kinds of buggies on the road. However, soon we only saw homes with buggies parked in the yard. But there were so many buggies parked in those yards.
It was a great day. The weather was sunny, the skies blue and the fields were showing that autumn was on its way. Most of all we had good company. The following will be a brief review of a wonderful day.
Amish Horses and Buggies in Wakarusa, Indiana
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
The AFCU 2010 Symposium and the USF Campus
We are planning for the biannual Symposium of the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities (AFCU.) The University of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne will host this event, with the help of other Midwest schools, in June of 2010. The following video clips are prototypes of videos we will consider using to let other schools know what our campus looks like and how it fits so well with our symposium theme.
We will not be using these clips. This is my work, “work” being used loosely here! They are to let someone who knows what they are doing know what we are looking for. We will need someone who uses a clean lens, someone who does not keep moving the camera all over the place, someone who can keep the conversation simple. In brief, someone who is not me.
The Rolland Art Center is a converted warehouse. It is part of our art complex. We hope to have a reception among the art.
Rolland Art Center
The Doermer Family Health Building is the home of all our allied health programs.
Doermer and John Paul II Center
Sandwiched between Mirror Lake and Doermer stands the John Paul II Center. The John Paul II Center is the home to three of our schools, the library, student services and an internet cafe. It is also a place of art and beautiful vistas. This will be the site of most of our symposium activities. On the side of the building, embedded in the wall are Stations of the Cross. Outside the library is a favorite meeting place on campus, the clock tower.
Across the lake is the jewel of the campus, the Bass Mansion. It is right next to the Campus Ministry Building. We hope renovations are complete on the Mansion in time for the symposium.
Bass Mansion
Across the street from the Mansion is North Campus. That is where we will have our meals and plenary sessions.
Beyond Trinity Hall are the residential halls. This is where our participants will be staying.
Clare Hall
Finally there is one more view of the lake. This is a quieter perspective.
Stadium and Mirror Lake
Bad filming? Absolutely. Beautiful campus? For sure!
We will not be using these clips. This is my work, “work” being used loosely here! They are to let someone who knows what they are doing know what we are looking for. We will need someone who uses a clean lens, someone who does not keep moving the camera all over the place, someone who can keep the conversation simple. In brief, someone who is not me.
The Rolland Art Center is a converted warehouse. It is part of our art complex. We hope to have a reception among the art.
Rolland Art Center
The Doermer Family Health Building is the home of all our allied health programs.
Doermer and John Paul II Center
Sandwiched between Mirror Lake and Doermer stands the John Paul II Center. The John Paul II Center is the home to three of our schools, the library, student services and an internet cafe. It is also a place of art and beautiful vistas. This will be the site of most of our symposium activities. On the side of the building, embedded in the wall are Stations of the Cross. Outside the library is a favorite meeting place on campus, the clock tower.
Across the lake is the jewel of the campus, the Bass Mansion. It is right next to the Campus Ministry Building. We hope renovations are complete on the Mansion in time for the symposium.
Bass Mansion
Across the street from the Mansion is North Campus. That is where we will have our meals and plenary sessions.
Beyond Trinity Hall are the residential halls. This is where our participants will be staying.
Clare Hall
Finally there is one more view of the lake. This is a quieter perspective.
Stadium and Mirror Lake
Bad filming? Absolutely. Beautiful campus? For sure!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Global Village and a New Acadmic Year
It is the beginning of a new school year and already it is exciting. Today we had the dedication and blessing of our new residence hall, Clare Hall. The building is a green or earth-friendly building. It connects to Bonzel Hall. Bonzel is named after the foundress of the order that sponsors our school, the Sisters of Saint Francis of Perpetual Adoration. The wall connecting the two buildings has a wonderful statue of Mother Bonzel.
Part of our tradition of dedicating new buildings is to identify a local community need and assist. This year we are involved with Habitat for Humanity. We will be making a house for one family during October and November. That is pretty exciting. Today the gifts that were collected for house-warming presents were blessed. That included a washer and dryer. Many of our students who participated in Workfest plan on assisting with this project.The theme for our first year experience students is “Global Village.” Our goal is to connect them to one another, the campus community and the world community. Well, it is a great theme.
It is easy to incorporate world music and art. It is easy to connect the theme to their areas of study. Global warming, poverty, sociology, medical care, communication, you name it, it fits with the theme. Best of all, the students see the connect. We are a small campus. We do not have the diversity of larger school. Still, the Global Village is alive and well here. A past graduate has been to Haiti three times for mission trips.
We have a graduate serving in the Peace Corp. in Kazakhstan. She recently moved from the desert to the Siberian section of the country. She writes and blogs regularly. We are very proud of her.
Our department has a student from Malaysia. She is teaching us all about Ramadan. She will make a great counselor, her area of study. By the time she leaves our school she will have touched many lives here.
We are planning two mission trips this spring. One to Eastern Kentucky with Christian Appalachian Project. This will be our third year working in the hills and hollows building homes.
The other trip is new. It is an urban ministry trip to Chicago. We will be working with Emmaus Ministries.
This does not even take into account our science trips to the Bahamas, Appalachia or the South West. It also does not take into account the business trips to Asia, the art trips to Europe or the language trips to Central America.
All and all it has been an exciting beginning for the academic year. Our students will have many opportunities to impact others and to learn how the world impacts them. They will learn that they have the power, for good or bad, to transform the world and to be transformed by it. Now that is the basis of an education for living.
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