Here’s some other interesting events planned in Noble County. Have fun and enjoy our community!
Noble County Open House weekend
Noble County Open House Weekend: Scheduled to coincide with National Tourism and Historic Preservation Month on May 1 and 2. The goal will be to market to the surrounding areas to bring people to the county to explore all of the great offerings we have here.
Luckey Hospital Museum Annual Meeting
The Luckey Hospital Museum Board of Directors will hold their Annual Meeting on March 4 at the Luckey Hospital Museum in Wolf Lake.
Dr. James Luckey as well as some nurses that worked at the hospital will be in attendance to talk about the days the hospital was in operation.
All are welcome to come for a light buffet at 6:30 PM and recognitions and reports at 7:30 PM.
Black Pine Animal Park Up close with Cody the cougar
Sitting in the new commissary at the new Black Pine Animal Park in its new home at the 4-H Park just west of downtown Albion, Director of Development Lori Gagen talks about an old and growing problem—the exotic pet trade. She stresses repeatedly the need for people to understand that pet ownership is a responsibility and mentions some of the animals that have lucked out and found a new home at Black Pine—just as the park itself has found a new home.
“Big cats, small cats, primates, birds, camels, reptiles…” Reptiles? Reptiles? She is asked if there are any snakes and she answers, “A Burmese python, two red-tailed boas and a ball python.” She is asked, “Are they within 50 feet of me now?” She answers that there is one right next to me.
That’s the type of answer that will get your attention. And it is a funny situation: I’m amazed that I have been sitting next to a SNAKE for 20 minutes or more…and am not even on a plane. We laugh.
Step away from the rush, to solitude at Quiet Corner, and be serenaded
By Jody Grismore Vance
Off a country road and down a lane and into the woods – go there and you will find a tearoom. In the middle of the dining area with curving walls full of windows, under the wooden-beamed roof that reaches up toward the sky, you will find a scaled down baby grand piano. It is a rustic place with a feel of casual elegance.
This tearoom – The Quiet Corner Tea and Coffee Room – is a personal place of relaxing atmosphere that the owners – Richard and Shirley Rinker – want to share as much as it is a business. In fact, after talking with Dick Rinker, the argument can be made that it is more a labor of the heart than an economic enterprise.
Why do I begin this piece with gentle talk of mood rather than the specifics of teas and coffees available and sandwiches on homemade bread? I think I do because it is the mood of the place that is actually the chief item on the menu.
By Jody Grismore Vance
Russ Becker makes the homemade ice cream at Fashion Farm in Ligonier.
For those of you unfamiliar with Fashion Farm, it is not a clothing mall, nor design business; it is a restaurant, an “Old Memory House,” a greenhouse, a 200-acre farm, the old Ligonier Jail…and the site of October’s Pumpkin Fantasyland. As to the name – Fashion—well, that relates to a heifer purchased in the 20’s by the founder, Charles (Charlie) Williams, Russ Becker’s father-in-law. The animal’s name was Ole Fashion…and the 200-acre farm was her farm.
For those of you unfamiliar with the old-fashioned ice cream machines, they had cranks on them and on hot summer days, family members would take turns turning that crank. Being allowed to crank was almost a rite of passage event – albeit one that was more fun anticipated than performed.
Ask Becker about his ice cream machine while miming the cranking motion, and his response is a hearty chuckle as he himself cranks the air and says, “My ice cream maker is almost to that point because it is 32 years old.”
By Jody Grismore Vance
We know what to expect when the Apple Festival is at the fairgrounds – and we’ve had over a 100 years of experience with the Noble County fair. But twice a year since 1990—on Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends – the Tri-State Bluegrass Festival pitches camp there and, well, we’re not so well versed in its protocol.
The main point is this: It can be a destination for enjoyment. Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association President Jim Winger compares it to a family reunion atmosphere, only here you don’t have to share genes or put up with in-laws – here the connection is music, playing or listening. Read More
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