Courtesy Cardinal Greenway

The weekend of July 29 and 30 marks the 11th year for the Great Greenway Tour along Cardinal Greenway.  The GGT is sponsored by local businesses and is one of Indiana’s premier rail-trail bicycle touring events.  The Greenway has grown to 62 miles of paved surface, and this summer the tour includes a newly opened segment of the greenway between Losantville and Richmond as well as a family-friendly trail in Grant County called the Sweetser Switch.

Organizers of the tour encourage cyclists of all abilities to join in.  Enthusiastic cyclists bring cycles of all shapes and sizes.  Doesn’t it look like they’re having fun?

Routings are available for rides ranging from 10 to 100 miles.  Riders can travel cross-country using both the Greenway and a few miles of roadway, or enjoy the newly opened urban White River Greenway, exploring the Minnetrista Cultural Center, and the Craddock Wetlands Preserve.

Register early and save $10 off the $40 registration fee.  Lunch at a variety of on-trail venues is included as well as a t-shirt.  Visit the Cardinal Greenway / GGT website for registration and additional information.  There’s no better way to stay fit and explore the environment.  Cardinal Greenway is a showplace the volunteers who maintain the trail can be proud of and a real tribute to the rail trail movement.

We still have plenty of rooms available for the big weekend at McDowell-Nearing House.  Mention this blog when making a reservation for the weekend of July 29-30.  Book one night at $25 off the regular room rate, book 2 nights and the second night is half off.

Here in Muncie we are fortunate to have the Minnetrista Farmers’ Market which was voted best in Indiana for 2010!  The Minnetrista Cultural Center hosts over 80 vendors who display fresh produce, flowers, baked goods, eggs, meat and cheese on Saturday mornings 8am to noon from May to October.  In June Wednesday afternoons from 3:30 to 5:30 are added to the schedule.

Minnetrista has added a canning demonstration on the last Saturday of each summer month at 9 am.  A winter market is held indoors on the 3rd Saturday of the month.

The Minnetrista Center offers a perfect venue for farmers to display their offerings.  There’s plenty of free parking and if you buy more than you can carry, red wagons are in abundance to help.

Here at McDowell-Nearing House we use fresh produce from the farm for breakfast as often as possible.

Cast Photo Courtesy of TheStarPress.com

MCT’s latest is the performance of Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with the first show starting at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 29. The musical tells the story of Joseph, his coat of many colors, his enslavement in Egypt and his ability to interpret the dreams of Pharoah.  Local artist Jennifer Stanley will perform the role of the narrator.

“I kind of fell in love with this particular musical and the part of the narrator,” Stanley said. “I’d been singing it to myself. I think I first heard of it when I was like 16. I love the singing that the narrator does. I love her place in the story. … When Muncie Civic decided to do it, I was just like I have to try for this.” Jennifer told Muncie’s StarPress.

This musical was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice and was first performed in 1968 as a 15 minute cantata.  The stage version went through numerous additions and revisions and was not performed on Broadway until 1982.  It has been staged in several different ways through the years.  The StarPress goes on to explain: 

It’s also a family affair for Stanley and other adults since their children are cast members. Stanley’s daughter, Anna, 8, is part of the children’s chorus, as are Pip Williamson, son of Michael and Laura Williamson, and Annie Wolfert, daughter of Matt Wolfert.

“That has made the experience just even richer for me to be able to share it with her,” Stanley said. “It’s made it tons of fun.”

The children are an integral part of the play, as director Beth Turcotte is telling the story through their eyes.

“I am their Sunday school teacher,” Stanley said. “I am opening Genesis up, and I am telling them the greatest story of all time, … and as I’m telling the story to the kids, it’s coming to life. As I put Joseph on the felt board, he comes to life behind it. The kids are interacting with the characters. It’s a really neat staging of this.”

When to see it:   Muncie Civic Theatre presents Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on the Mainstage Theatre, April 22nd-23rd, 29th-May 1st, & May 5th-7th. Thursday through Saturday performances are at 7:30pm and the Sunday matinee on May 1st is at 2:00pm. Tickets are $15 for adults and $7 for students.

We have plenty of room at McDowell-Nearing House for a Saturday night Date Night if you care to come to Muncie.  Mention Muncie Civic when making a reservation for either April 23, 30 or May 7 for $30 off your room rate… enough for tickets to the show.

Dunkirk is also the home of a fascinating museum, a few blocks off the main street and in an annex to the Dunkirk Public Library.  The Glass Museum is a collection of over 8,000 pieces of glass from 110 factories around the world.  It is open May through October, Tuesday through Saturday.  Volunteers make sure all the pieces stay dusted and are knowledgable about glass manufacture.

The museum is well lighted, and the collection is housed in display cases so that everything sparkles. 

This is part of a collection of  over 1500 cup plates dating from the 1800′s.

Glass crowns used to adorn the gas pumps of the Standard Oil Company

This handpainted glass dinnerware set was made in Dunkirk at the Indiana Glass Company

This glass chandelier was also made in Indiana. 

This museum’s variety interests not only the serious glass collectors, but also anyone who appreciates beautiful artwork lovingly cared for.  It’s another jewel to be seen in East Central Indiana.  We would love for you to visit!

Want an alternative to watching the NCAA Final Four Tournament at home? Come join the fun at McDowell-Nearing House and watch on our big screen plasma TV! Butler plays VCU at 6 pm on Saturday night. We have rooms available on Saturday and on Monday for the championship game!

We welcome Butler fans.  Mention this blog and ask about discounts for Butler fans and Butler alums when you reserve your room.

Cornerstone Center for the Arts is one of Muncie’s gems.  Located in the Masonic Temple building and including the EB Ball Auditorium, the Colonnade Room, and office space and studios for many artistic groups, Cornerstone’s mission is to nurture community connections by providing opportunities for creative expression, educational programs, and events in a historic setting.

Arts programming at Cornerstone includes classes in dance, theater, writing, kindermusik, as well as individual instrumental lessons.  The center is now the site of the annual Cornerstone Art Show as well as the Harvest Moon Film Festival each fall.  Taste is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon and benefit a worthy cause.

Mark your calendars now for Muncie’s other food celebration, the Annual Downtown Rib Fest to be held on Saturday August 7 and Sunday August 8.  We go all out to bring you the best in barbequed ribs, live music and family fun.  We close the streets and set up stages for the music.  There will also be an antique car cruise-in, craft vendors and games for the kiddies.

Courtesy Muncie Downtown

If you are interested in having a good time at either of these downtown Muncie celebrations, mention Taste of Muncie or Rib Fest when you reserve a room at McDowell-Nearing House Bed and Breakfast and we’ll discount your room by 10%.

Courtesy of Cardinal Greenway

Spring will come to East Central Indiana.  Although we had another 5 inch snowfall at the end of February, it is time to think about spring.  Now spanning nearly 60 miles, Cardinal Greenway is Indiana’s longest rail-trail, and it won’t be long until it looks this beautiful again.  Trail volunteers are readying the trail by cleaning debris and repairing fences. 

Walk Indiana will be held on September 10th.  This is a non-competitive community event that challenges walkers to quarter-, half-, or full marathons along the greenway.  The 6.5 mile quarter marathon will be held along the newest part of the trail along the White River.

We are encouraged to train for this event through the spring and summer with free training walks held each second Saturday starting in March. 

Reserve a room before May 1 at McDowell-Nearing House for any Walk Indiana Saturday and get $25 off the usual room rate.  You can book online, just mention Walk Indiana to receive your discount!

Joe’s “Fall off the Bone” Rib Dinner was truly amazing.  So good, in fact that we went back the following night for more ribs!  For $5.99 Joe offers a ribs sidecar to any entree.

The wait staff is enthusiastic, and their motto is “Whatever your question … the Answer is Yes”.

We love to send our guests from McDowell-Nearing House to local restaurants with great food.  Check out the menu.

When my father applied to medical school about 70 years ago an important part of the application process was for the applicant to write an essay telling why he or she should be selected for admission.  This was a long time before the Medical College Admission Test was a standard.  Family lore tells that a sizeable portion of my dad’s essay was a tribute to Dr. Ephraim McDowell, pioneer surgeon of Kentucky.  Dad claimed to be a relative and went to great lengths explaining that the first Dr. McDowell was his inspiration for going into medicine.  When the story was told to us younger McDowells, we were informed that Dad had no idea whether he was a relative or not, but we called him “Uncle Eph” anyway. 

Ephraim and Jane’s story is a tale of two brave pioneers.  Dr. McDowell was born in Virginia, studied medicine in Staunton, VA, and Edinburgh, Scotland.  He was one of the first physicians to move across the Appalachian mountains into Kentucky where he built an apothecary and home in Danville in 1795.

In December 1809, when Ephraim and Jane first met, surgery was still in its infancy.  Mrs. Crawford was thought to be pregnant.  Nine months came and went, and there was no baby even after midwives tried everything they could think of to induce labor.  Dr. McDowell was summoned, and after he examined her he explained that he thought her swollen belly was due to a tumor of her ovary.  This type of tumor was not uncommon, and was known to continue to grow until a slow painful death could be expected.

By Dr. McDowell’s account, published in 1817, Jane Crawford persuaded him to attempt to remove the tumor in spite of the fear of most physicians that the surgery would result in death due to infection.  Up to this time there was no general anesthesia  and the need for antisepsis was unproven.  Mrs. Crawford made the 60 mile trip on horseback to Danville where she was operated on Christmas Day, 1809.

"The Dawn of Abdominal Surgery" Wyeth Laboratories

Historians differ in opinion as to why Christmas Day was chosen for the surgery.  Dr. Owen Wangensteen, a surgical historian, contended that there was a lynch mob in the front yard waiting for her to die and her surgery was done as soon after her arrival as possible to limit the number of angry people who might be in that mob.  I like the explanation of the docents at the McDowell House better.  It was known that Dr. McDowell was a religious man and an elder in the local presbyterian church.   Christmas that year was on a Sunday, and Ephraim asked that the congregation pray for him and Jane during the operation.  He wrote a prayer on a piece of paper which he kept in his pocket during the surgery.  We are told that Mrs. Crawford sang hymns and recited Psalms during the 25 minute procedure.  Not only did Jane Crawford survive her surgery, but she lived to be 79, outliving her surgeon by 12 years.  Ephraim is thought to have died from a ruptured appendix.

It was not until the 20th Century that Ephraim McDowell’s home was reclaimed.  At the time of its purchase by the Auxiliary of the Kentucky Medical Society, the house had become a rooming house and had deteriorated significantly.  It is significant not only for the historical surgery performed there, but Dr. McDowell’s was the first apothecary west of the Appalachians.  I have made it a point to visit the McDowell House, Apothecary and Gardens through the years.  The collection of antique pharmacy jars and period antique furniture continues to get more extensive each time I visit.  To learn more, visit the McDowell House site.

In addition to the historic marker at the McDowell House Museum and Apothecary in Danville, there is also a monument on the grounds of the McDowell House to Jane Todd Crawford erected by the Kentucky Medical Society.  This monument may be the first time that a patient was honored by a group of doctors!  “Uncle Eph” is one of the two Kentuckians to have a statue in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol.

Photo by Dan Fisher

The third state to honor Jane Crawford is Virginia.  Amazingly, her birthplace and the birthplace of Ephraim McDowell are both near Lexington, Virginia, and are closer to each other than the 60 mile horseback ride she took in 1809.

There are two Kentucky hospitals of interest, the Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center in Danville, and the Jane Todd Crawford Memorial Hospital in Greensburg.

In conclusion to this long story, my father was accepted to medical school, in spite of his essay.  He became a surgeon.  He met my mother, an Army nurse, at the end of WWII, and had three children who all attended Indiana University School of Medicine.  My pathology professor was happy to know that I could match the particular ovarian tumor with the right story.  He was a little confused though when I claimed Uncle Eph as kin, and my brother, taking the class a few years later denied any relationship to the famous surgeon.

Developer Dick Howe spent summers with his grandparents who operated a grocery in Cammack for nearly 25 years.  He has purchased and restored the hardware store which awaits the right tenants and has turned the filling station into a popular restaurant called Cammack Station.

Antique gas pumps outside and inside add to the nostalgia.  Inside decor includes other filling station memorabilia, an old fashoned Coca Cola vending machine and a black and white television airing Andy Griffith Show reruns.

The food is typical Hoosier fare, with sandwiches named for the Cammack old timers.  There is also a fried bologna sandwich which rarely shows up on any restaurant menu, but has become a favorite of many of the Station’s regulars.  Hand dipped ice cream is available for dessert, or for a special treat, put a hot fudge brownie under the ice cream and whipped cream on top.

A short drive out West Jackson Street will take you to Cammack where the food is good and the experience is even better.