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December 9, 2017 28.4°F Overcast
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Musical Connection University of Evansville strives to create sense of community through arts BY EMILY PATTON / PHOTOS BY CHRIS BERNEKING
Nov/Dec 2017
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Then University of Evansville alumna Kaitlin Emmert was completing her practicum as a music therapy major, she worked with a mother and her baby in the neonatal intensive-care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital. “She was doing skin to skin contact with her baby,” says Emmert, who is a music therapist at the Cleveland Clinic. “We were singing a couple of her favorite lullabies and I was helping her sing them in the right tempo and tone. She wasn’t a very good singer, and I kept reassuring her that it didn’t matter. She made an obvious connection with her child, which is hard to do when they are in the NICU. “That was a memorable moment for me. I knew right then, I was supposed to be a music therapist.”
Director of Bands Dr. Kenneth Steinsultz conducts the University of Evansville Wind Ensemble at the annual Holiday Pops concert.
The May 2014 graduate is one example of the thousands of
Evansville Living
music students who have studied in the University of Evansville’s five undergraduate degree programs with more than 100 majors offered.
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“The opportunities offered are so varied and meaningful,” says Emmert, who is originally from Ferdinand, Indiana, and returned to Southern Indiana to work for six months before moving to Cleveland. “I felt very much a part of
Evansville Living
the Evansville community. I really became connected with St. Mary’s and the EVSC. Some people go to college
on Thursday
and stay isolated in their college life, but at UE, it wasn’t just college life, but a connection to Evansville as a whole.” Emmert’s take on the department of music at UE is the vision Chair Dr. Thomas Josenhans and his faculty hope to achieve through all of their students — a deep-rooted connection to the community, and a community that is connected to the university, located on Lincoln Avenue. This strong relationship forms while students complete internships at area institutions. Music therapy undergraduates intern in various units at St. Mary’s, at the Evansville Psychiatric Children’s Center, and at Easter
The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra's annual Christmas shows have become classic traditions for many area families. Join the EPO and EVANSVILLE BALLET for the performance of Nutcracker Saturday evening at the Victory Theatre! Learn more about the EPO's holiday
Seals. Music management students have opportunities with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, the Arts Council of Southwest Indiana, WNIN, and the Guitar Center. Music education pupils work with the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. and Warrick County schools. “They are putting things in practice that they have learned in the classroom and they do this for six semesters,” says Dr. Mary Ellen Wylie, a music therapy professor at UE. “We are appreciated by the places we go to. We are valued in the agencies.”
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After cuts to the 2016 city budget, which reduced funding for several local arts organizations such as the Evansville Philharmonic, Evansville Symphonic Band, and the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana, Donald Jones, UE Vice President for Marketing & Communications, says it’s important to keep students active in community outreach so they will be more likely to call Evansville home long after graduating. The music department has a host of successful student examples to pull from including David Smith, the EVSC superintendent, Tad Dickel, president of Mater Dei High School, and Jennifer Nowaki-Pruden, a music therapist at Integrated Music Therapy. “The concern in our city now is the brain drain — how do we keep young professionals here?” says Jones. “We have to think in bigger and longer terms. We need people in the community to fight for us. The city is about to take off, and UE gets that.” UE hopes to bring the public to campus through its concert series; more than 90 concerts a year are hosted on campus with the majority free and open to everyone. The public has opportunities to experience the department’s music off campus through Holiday Pops, a free annual holiday concert at The Victory Theatre, Aces Brass, a pep band that performs at basketball games at the Ford Center, and community festivals and ceremonies. Students also engage with the city’s youth through summer camps, workshops, and clinics. “Music is part of the quality of life for a community, and music is part of the quality and the experience of life for our students when they come here,” says Josenhans. “Music has a lot to offer those students who are trying to be successful professionals; they get to experience working with professionals in the Evansville area and get to interact with those people. We are trying to expose our students to people who are successful.” In order to help further the connection to the community, Josenhans says the university is in need of a performance hall. The current recital hall, Wheeler Concert Hall, is designed for soloists or small groups, like quintets. “As we look at the different cultural districts, UE doesn’t really have a place to bring large numbers to campus,” says Josenhans. “That’s what we would really like to have. Creating a sense of community not just with the city but the area where there is a place to come to see great art, that’s the vision.” For more information about the University of Evansville Music Department, call 812-488-2754 or visit music.evansville.edu.
SECTION: ARTFUL LIVING / TOPIC: EDUCATION, ENTERTAINMENT
Fundraising Fun BY / PHOTOS BY AURORA, INC.
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Take down Vectren, Fifth Third Bank, and other successful Evansville businesses and corporations in a friendly competition during Aurora, Inc.’s 10th Annual Trivia Tonight on March 5. Trivia teams can have up to eight players. Teams with four or fewer players may be placed on another team. Participants also can enjoy a silent auction, delicious dinner, and cocktails at Evansville Country Club, 3810 Stringtown Road. The cost to participate is $75 per person or $600 per team of eight, making each ticket $50. All of the money raised through the event goes to Aurora to continue their mission to prevent and end homelessness for individuals and families in the community. “Aurora has three major events throughout the year and two of them are fundraisers,” says Administrative Assistant Shari Gesser. “One fundraising event is our Midwest Gingerbread House Competition and the other is Trivia Tonight. They both go toward furthering our mission.” The trivia isn’t the only exciting part of the evening. The silent auction features many interesting items up for grabs. “In past years, we’ve auctioned everything from jewelry from Brinker’s Jewelers to an inflatable soccer goal,” says Gesser. Companies, individuals, and participants can donate auction items as well as sponsor portions of the evening. For more information on Trivia Tonight, call Shari Gesser at 812-428-3246 or visit auroraevansville.org.
SECTION: CHECK IT OUT / TOPIC: ARTS AND EVENTS
Ride of a Lifetime Dream Car Museum brings international motor experience to Tri-State BY TRISTA LUTGRING / PHOTOS BY HANNAH JAY
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There’s nothing within a 1,000 miles of Evansville quite like the Dream Car Museum. That’s according to Jason Ailstock, a finance director with Bennett Motors and the curator of the Dream Car Museum, located at 2400 N. Heidelbach Ave. “There’s not an open museum to the public, for free, that has such a wide variety,” he says. “Nobody has put it on a scale like this before. The only place that rivals it is the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.” Opened in October 2015, Ailstock says the idea for the museum started as a bit of joke between Larry Bennett, owner of Bennett
Jason Ailstock, curator of the Dream Car Museum, stands next to one of his favorite cars in the collection, a yellow Lamborghini
Motors and Audubon Chrysler in Henderson, Kentucky, and his employees. After Bennett, who never owned a super car, purchased an orange Lamborghini Gallardo, a RollsRoyce Ghost, and a red McLaren MP4-12C Ailstock says he and others persuaded the car dealer to open his own museum. “And we were really just joking, but Larry was like ‘You really think we could start a museum, buddy?’” says Ailstock. The response promoted Ailstock to start some research about car museums in the country. What began as a joke would flourish into the gallery that is open today, featuring some of the 70 cars in the collection ranging from American muscle cars, Corvettes, European super cars, and older models such as the Model A and T. The museum also displays neon signs and various car memorabilia from restored gas pumps to the hoods of early racing Ferraris. “It’s been extremely popular. It’s kind of taken us aback a bit,” says Ailstock. “The collection sets itself apart. There’s so much stuff throughout.” While the museum is free, a charity box made from a supercharger sits at the exit for patrons to donate to the charity of the month. “We match all donations … each month we have a different charity that we give the money to,” says Ailstock. “We match all the money that is collected that month.” Another aspect of the museum that sets it apart is the rotation of cars on display, says Ailstock. “Every three or four months, we’ll pretty much rotate our museum,” he says. “So if you’ve been here once, you come back three or four months later, it’ll be nothing like the same.” For more information about the Dream Car Museum, call 888-482-9864, visit dreamcarmuseum.com, or find the museum’s page on Facebook.
SECTION: ON DISPLAY / TOPIC: ARTS AND EVENTS, BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY, ENTERTAINMENT
20 Years of Tropicana Indiana’s first casino celebrates anniversary on Evansville’s riverfront BY BRADIE GRAY / PHOTOS BY TROPICANA EVANSVILLE
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No matter the season, a flurry of nightlife revolves inside and out of Tropicana Evansville, Indiana’s first casino. Formerly known as Casino Aztar, and often referred to as “The Boat,” “The City of Evansville” riverboat has transformed tremendously since opening 20 years ago at 421 N.W. Riverside Drive on Evansville’s riverfront. “Tropicana Evansville has been an anchor in the Evansville community since its inception,” says Tropicana Director of Marketing Stacey McNeill. “With more than $550 million in
Tropicana Evansville, formerly Casino Aztar, has evolved in its 20 years in the city.
direct and incentive payments to city, state, and local community projects, the face of our city has been everchanging and Downtown Evansville would be much different than it is today.” In 1993 Vanderburgh County residents passed a referendum allowing riverboat gambling, and construction on the boat. The site where Tropicana and its coinciding district sit currently was once empty. Two years later, in 1995, Aztar Corp. docked the first gaming riverboat in Indiana and opened the casino to the public. In 1996, the Casino Aztar Pavilion and Casino Aztar Hotel opened to the public. Casino Aztar Hotel, now known as Tropicana Hotel, features 243 guest rooms, 11 suites, a 1,660 vehicle-parking garage, meeting, conference and banquet facilities, and a fitness room. The casino took a break from the ongoing improvements until 2005, when construction on The District, the area of nightlife surrounding the casino, began. Along with this construction came Ri Ra Irish Pub, Jillian’s Billiards Club, the Le Merigot Hotel, and Blush Ultralounge. Over the years, new restaurants have been introduced. In 2012, a pedestrian bridge was built to connect The District to the casino. By 2013, Casino Aztar was no more. Tropicana Entertainment Inc. purchased the ownership in 2010 and owned the casino for three years before making the official name change. In November, Tropicana Entertainment announced its multi-million dollar plan for a land-based casino development project that would involve construction of a 75,000-square-foot single-level casino and entertainment facility situated between Tropicana Hotel and the Le Merigot. Tropicana anticipates the groundbreaking to occur in the first quarter of this year. For more information about Tropicana Evansville, call 812-433-4000 or visit tropevansville.com.
SECTION: FINAL DETAIL / TOPIC: BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY
Evansvill Living January / Subscribe Online February 2016 Issue Cover Browse All Issues
Catch of the Day Bonefish Grill remodels interior and introduces new specials and fall favorites BY EMILY PATTON / PHOTOS BY MICHAEL WHEATLEY
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After 11 years in business in Evansville, Bonefish Grill’s Managing Partner Scott West says the restaurant needed to revamp its image both inside and out. In August, the marketfresh fish and wood-grilled specialty eatery unveiled a newly remodeled interior design and weekly discounted specials. Bonefish Grill also introduced its new seasonal featured menu for guests to devour creative fun fall favorites. Bonefish Grill, 6401 E. Lloyd Expressway in Evansville Pavilion, remodeled its core with a blend of earthy tones, golden hardwood accents, and embellished wood flooring.
Swordfish and Pumpkin Ravioli
West says the renovation, which took 30 days of overnight work, created a more open and brighter space with added flexibility for seating parties of all sizes. The restaurant also announced a Hooked on Tuesday three-course menu starting at $14.90, allowing guests to choose some of their favorite dishes with the addition of a fresh crisp salad and dessert every Tuesday for a low price point, and introduced Bang Wednesday, which offers its signature appetizer Bang Bang Shrimp for $6 all night. “We were doing some things on the menu that were not real exciting,” says West, who opened the store in 2004 after seeing a demand for seafood in Evansville’s Midwestern location. “We reflected back on what got us where we are and we said, ‘Let’s go back to what got us to this point.’ We re-established relationships with seafood vendors that we hadn’t been utilizing as much and opened ourselves up to putting in these new recipes when they are available.” By updating the interior design and menu specials, West says it gave new guests the opportunity to order Bonefish’s products at a reduced price and be exposed to different products they may not usually try. Bonefish also introduced its featured fall menu in September, which will remain until mid-November. “This is where we have fun and have some more flexibility,” says West, a Newburgh, Indiana, resident who has worked in the restaurant industry for 35 years. “We get indulgent with the toppings. If I were waiting on the table, I would talk about the core menu and then I would say, ‘OK, now let’s talk about the fun stuff.’” Adventure off the core menu and sample a few of Bonefish’s seasonal choices such as the Swordfish and Pumpkin Ravioli, the Crab Crusted Icelandic Cod, Saucy Shrimp, or the Scampi-style Snapper and Shrimp. My personal favorite, the Swordfish and Pumpkin Ravioli, is one of the most highly requested items when Bonefish’s seasonal promotion ends. The fresh-grilled swordfish is topped with feta, crispy onions, truffle butter, and served with French green beans. Known as the restaurant’s wait staff’s preferred dish, the pumpkin ravioli perfectly complements the season and the Swordfish satisfies your craving of fresh-caught seafood. Icelandic Cod is a lean, flaky fish that Bonefish Grill adds an abundance of flavor through its crab crusted topping. “The cod itself is a very mild fish with not a lot of flavor, so we go ahead and add a lot of flavor to it,” says server Julia Morrison of Evansville, who has worked at Bonefish for three years. “The bread crumbs have crab mixed in and then we are going to sauté that so it gets crispy and then top it with more lemon butter and crab meat.” Morrison recommends pairing the dish with a side of garlic potatoes and the spaghetti squash. Another seasonal featured menu item is the Saucy Shrimp, which West says is a guest favorite. The shrimp is sautéed in a lime tomato garlic sauce with Kalamata olives and feta cheese. “This is an item that used to be on the menu and was resurrected by popular demand,” says West. “It originally was on the core menu, but nationwide it wasn’t a big mover. We had a lot of local requests for it, so we were able to bring it back on our feature menu. It was off the menu for about two years. It’s a great old signature item we’ve had for years and years.” The snapper, found in Southern waters, is grilled over an oak fire and then topped with pan roasted shrimp, grape tomatoes, white wine scampi sauce and served with jasmine rice and green beans. “We offer something that, especially in a Midwestern market, you are not going to find in terms of fresh fish,” says West. “It is as fresh as you can get in a commercial setting. The distribution systems that we have set up allows us to get it here and get it fresh, get it cut, and get it to the guests. We are kind of a big city bar. It takes you a little out of Evansville and hopefully when you walk through the door, you say, ‘OK, I’m not in my hometown anymore.’ That is a cool vibe.” If seafood isn’t your style, Bonefish offers more than fish on its extensive menu with wood-grilled steak and chops, pasta, soups, and salads. A can’t-miss appetizer to kick off any meal is the Bang Bang Shrimp, crispy shrimp tossed in a creamy spicy sauce. “The Bang Bang Shrimp is non-threatening and it’s not overly intimidated,” says West. “It’s frequently copied, but never replicated.” Cap your dinner off with the Pumpkin Crème Brulee, a decadent dessert with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg with whipped cream or enjoy fall-inspired martinis such as the Fall Apple Martini, which has fall apples soaked three days in vodka and finished with a touch of honey and cinnamon, or the Fresh Pear Martini with freshly muddled pears, Absolut Pears vodka, St. Germain Edlerflower liqueur, and fresh lemon juice, and garnished with an edible flower. “The bar fresh vibe is something we are so passionate about,” says West. “We do everything fresh, do infusions, do lots of hands-on mixology with our bar chefs. We have contests with our bartenders to create different type of cocktails and they each have their own signature cocktail they like to suggest that they’ve created their own recipe for. Regular guests know to ask for them, because they aren’t on the menu.”
SECTION: LOCAL FLAVOR / TOPIC: BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY, FOOD AND DRINK
Link Up BY EMILY PATTON / PHOTOS BY HISTORIC ROCK CASTLE
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To show how stories in the November/December issue of Evansville Living fit into the broader world, this edition of Link Up brings the Internet to you. Each year, the Reitz Home Museum hosts its Victorian Christmas tours where every room in the 8,000-square-foot structure is decorated. The event is a gateway for visitors who often return again in the summer. Rock Castle, an 18th century home built by Tennessee surveyor and U.S. Senator Daniel Smith in Hendersonville, Tennessee, is hoping to achieve similar success by rebranding its annual Daniel Smith Days into a festival with live entertainment, food trucks, and story telling.
Historic Rock Castle during the holidays.
Smaller than the population of Evansville (120,310), Green Bay, Wisconsin, is rich in football history. Engineering students from the Milwaukee School of Engineering recently designed and built a model of the Green Bay Packers’ stadium, Lambeau Field, out of 130,000 Lego pieces. It’s 15 feet by three feet and stands a little more than two feet tall. Grilled cheese sandwiches are so popular that U.S. residents consume more than 2 billion of these sandwiches a year. New York City chef Amy Stonionis of Murray’s Cheese showed Business Insider how to make the perfect grilled cheese. Her tips: use three different cheeses and press down the top layer of bread to help the melting process.
SECTION: ONLINE EXCLUSIVES / TOPIC: ABOUT THE MAGAZINE
Oh, the Places You'll Go! Where do you go when you need to steal away? BY EVANSVILLE LIVING STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS
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Do you seek the refuge of the mountains, a cultural destination with a dash of southern hospitality? Or do you pursue the serenity of the warmth of the sun and the repetitious sound of crashing waves? Or do you wish to escape to the wildness of the west where rock formations are frozen in time? Whether your dream excursion is large or small, daring or relaxing, we have an experience to inspire you. Evansville Living shares five of our personal favorite getaways that will feed your body and soul.
Natural Beauty Door County, Wisconsin, offers a blend of seaside charm in the heart of the Midwest By Kristen K. Tucker How Door County, Wisconsin, is on my very short list of favorite vacations — the slim finger of a peninsula jutting out into Lake Michigan I’ve visited only twice — is best told by a Door County Trolley (doorcountytrolley.com) Lighthouse Tour Guide wearing a Hawaiian shirt.
For the full feature see page 38 in the November/December issue of Evansville Living.
The gregarious tour guide, John Berns, introduced himself to our group at the Cana Island Light House. Earlier in the day, we had toured the county on a trolley (a large operation) on the Scenic Tour. Berns had brought a group to the lighthouse and was departing as we arrived. “Travel writers!” said Berns. “I can tell you my best Door County story real quick. A few years ago I was visiting Hawaii, my wife and I were at a Tower Records store in Honolulu where a guy saw me wearing a Packers shirt and asked me where I was from. Well, to make it easy, I just said, ‘the Green Bay area.’ Well, he said, ‘No, where exactly are you from?’ And, I said, ‘My wife and I are from Door County.’ ‘Door County!’ he said, ‘My is that beautiful. What are you doing here?’”
s The Landmark Resort in Egg Harbor offers stunning views from its many paths and patios. Photo by Wesley Teo. Below, the Cana Island Lighthouse north of Bailey’s Harbor in Door County, Wisconsin, with its 89-foot tower serves both as a navigational aid and a museum. Visitors walk across a causeway to reach the lighthouse and the keeper’s quarters, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Photo by Jon Jarosh/Door County Visitor Bureau.
Jon Jarosh, director of communications and public relations at the Door County Visitor Bureau (doorcounty.com), describes the allure of the county where he lives with his family and works: “A bucolic sliver of land that juts into Lake Michigan in Wisconsin’s northeast corner, Door County offers seaside experiences in the heart of the Midwest. Few places in the Midwest provide a combination of natural beauty, small-town charm, and a sense of history as rich as Door County. Amidst its scenic beauty are waterfront villages offering museums, performing arts venues, boutique shops, galleries, golf courses, and restaurants. Along with the county’s 300 miles of shoreline, five state parks and 19 county parks combine to make Door County a wonderfully special getaway destination.” From Evansville, Indiana, driving to Door County will take you about nine hours straight up Interstate 57 or U.S. Highway 41-N. I flew to the Appleton International Airport (connecting through Detroit from Evansville). From the airport, it’s about a 90-minute drive to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, at the southern end of the county. Roughly three quarters of Door County’s 2 million annual visitors come between early May and late October, but the shoulder seasons are becoming increasingly popular thanks to the abundance of winter sports and leisure activities available (ice fishing, snowmobiling, and snowshoe hiking), as well as the quiet serenity of the winter peninsula. The Lay of the Land Founded in 1851, Door County is named for Death’s Door, the aptly named water passage that lies off the tip of the peninsula where the waters of Lake Michigan and Green Bay converge. Death’s Door is the English translation of Porte Des Morts, the name given to the treacherous water passage by early French explorers based on Native American stories they heard and their own perilous experiences. By the late 19th century, Lake Michigan was the nautical superhighway for schooners and freighters. A journal kept by the Cana Island lighthouse keeper in the late 1800s noted that in one summer he counted more than 4,000 passing ships. With the clashing waters of the bay and the lake, not all ships passed safely — the waters around the county hold more than 200 registered shipwrecks; experienced divers say there are more than three dozen shipwrecks that can be explored. Door County has 11 historic lighthouses that dot the peninsula’s shores, one of the largest concentrations of lighthouses for any county in the U.S. Three are open for tours. As Jarosh noted, the county has five state parks, 19 county parks, as well as a large number of local parks, nature preserves, and state natural areas — more than 23,000 acres of public and preserved land. The county has beaches galore — 54 Lake Michigan and Green Bay public swimming beaches with around 6.5 total miles of sandy shoreline. Despite development pressure of recent decades, the vast majority of Door County’s land mass remains undeveloped. Outside of Sturgeon Bay, the county seat, visitors see no chain hotels, restaurants, or gas stations. In fact, you won’t hit a single stoplight leaving Sturgeon Bay and driving north to the tip, on either the bay side or the lakeside of the peninsula. Which Door to Explore? You don’t have to choose which Door County communities to explore; you’ll want to get acquainted with all 14 towns, four villages, and one city along the 70-mile long peninsula covering 492 square miles. Each community has its own tone and style, yet the overarching culture and hospitality unites the 28,000 residents of the peninsula and its visitors. Here, I’ll highlight the communities I recently visited. Sturgeon Bay (sturgeonbay.net), population 9,100, at the southern end of Door County is a year-round waterfront community dating to 1835. The city is located on the bay of Green Bay, which flows into Lake Michigan through the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal, dug between 1872 and 1881. Be sure to visit the Door County Maritime Museum (dcmm.org) on the busy Sturgeon Bay waterfront. Our docent, Jon Gast, a retired newspaper manager and editor who now owns Edible Door magazine (edibledoor.com), gave an excellent tour of the museum’s four attractive and interactive galleries, and its recently restored Tug John Purves, an immaculately restored 1960s era Great Lakes tugboat. (The tug was built in 1919 as an ocean-going tug.) Don’t leave Sturgeon Bay without stopping in Door County Coffee & Tea Company (doorcountycoffee.com); visit at breakfast or lunch so you can enjoy their delicious menu. Call in advance and bring a small group, and owner Vicki Wilson will make a delightful presentation in the Coffee College conference room about the history of coffee beans and the company’s efforts to source only the highest quality coffee, which is roasted and flavored inhouse. Who knew that in ancient Turkey, not offering a wife sufficient coffee was grounds for divorce!
s The Eagle Bluff Lighthouse is located within the Peninsula State Park. Bottom, bakery treats at Scaturo’s Baking Company and Café in Sturgeon Bay tempt diners. Photo by Kristen K. Tucker. Photo of Eagle Bluff Lighthouse by Jon Jarosh/Door County Visitor Bureau.
Sturgeon Bay is a working town, still involved in shipbuilding and fishing. Eat like a local at Scaturo’s Café and Baking Co. (scaturos.com); it’s not uncommon for it to open at the crack of dawn to serve fishermen. Egg Harbor (eggharbordoorcounty.org) was the location of my accommodations, Best of Door County perennial winner the Landmark Resort (thelandmarkresort.com), also the largest resort in the county with 294 suites. The resort is located just south of the town, on a bluff with fantastic views of the bay of Green Bay, foliage, and the Alpine Resort and Golf Course (36 holes). It’s about a 15 minute walk to town — remember once you walk down the steep road that is Highway 42, you have to walk back up to the resort; it’s a workout. Dine at the Shipwrecked Brew Pub (shipwreckedmicrobrew.com), a tavern since 1882, and an inn, too, since 1904. In the 1920s, it was a favorite hideaway of Al Capone, because tunnels (now closed) ran under the building and all through Egg Harbor. Today the brewpub prides itself on offering nothing but 100 percent handcrafted Door County beers, including the beers brewed on site. The village of Fish Creek (visitfishcreek.com) will charm you. Evansville resident and travel writer Tracey Teo remarked that the town reminded her of Maine’s coastal villages. It’s in Fish Creek that you will find the entrance to Peninsula State Park (dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/peninsula). High bluffs and sandy beaches, a 1860s lighthouse, an 18-hole golf course, and professional summer theater performances make this 3,776-acre park a destination. Hiking and bicycling are the preferred ways to explore trails that wind through the interior of the park and offer outlooks from the 200- to 300-foot bluffs of the Niagara Escarpment (geological formations stretching through Door County and creating its dolomite rock bluffs). Visitors may also tour and climb the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse at the park. Door County is among the top cherry producing regions in the country with more than 2,500 acres of cherry orchards and annual cherry harvests from 8 million to 12 million pounds of cherries. Orchard Country Winery & Market in Fish Creek (orchardcountry.com) has been planting, harvesting, and producing quality fruit products in Door County since 1955. Situated on 100 acres of blossoming orchards and lush vineyards, the family estate is home to a winery, cider mill, and farm market. Come during one of Orchard Country’s three festivals and try your hand at the cherry pit-spitting contest. The orchard offers guided winery tours daily May through October; you can warm up with wine and cider tastings daily through the year, including winter. Villaggio’s (villaggios-doorcounty.com), with a Fish Creek address but really in the tiny of settlement of Juddville, is the Door County destination for authentic Italian dining. Try the ravioli special, always stuffed with fresh seasonal ingredients. I ordered mushroom stuffed ravioli with a glass of Chianti. Sister Bay (cometosisterbay.com) is home to what is arguably the most well known Door County restaurant — Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant. Al Johnson’s is an authentic Swedish family-owned restaurant with goats grazing its sod roof. While the goats don’t come to work in the winter, Al Johnson’s goat cam is always on, so come spring, check it out (aljohnsons.com/goat-cam). Inside the casual dining room, servers in Scandinavian garb offer limpa bread, Swedish pancakes with lingonberries, and Swedish meatballs. The restaurant and its gift shop pay homage to the Scandinavians who immigrated to Door County two centuries ago. Also stop in Grasse’s Grill (grassesgrill.com) and meet owner and chef Jimmy Grasse and his wife Jessica, who have turned their building, a former dairy carrying the family name, into a restaurant with thoughtful food preparation and community mindedness. You’ll want to explore Door County from land and water. From the Sister Bay Marina, take an excursion onto the bay of Green Bay with Shoreline Charters (shorelinecharters.net) offered daily (in season, before the bay freezes). The company’s captains and crew will show you cliffs, caves, lighthouses, shipwreck locations, and waterfront estates, and will share local history and nautical folklore. Bailey’s Harbor (baileysharbor.com), on the eastern shore of the peninsula, is home to the Cana Island Lighthouse (dcmm.org/cana-island-lighthouse). In season, ascend the 97 steps of the tower, 80-feet up, to the open observation gallery and a view of the lantern room containing the lighthouse’s lens (first lit in 1870), which is a third order Fresnel lens built in Paris. Bailey’s Harbor also offers a unique hiking opportunity — a naturalist-guided walk at The Ridges Sanctuary (ridgessanctuary.org), Wisconsin’s oldest nonprofit nature preserve, so named because the preserve is dominated by a series of 30 ridges formed by the retreating of post glacial waters that began nearly 1,200 years ago. The Ridges recently opened a beautiful new interpretive center, the first LEED certified commercial building in Door County.
s Guests stand back for the dramatic boil over before proceeding to the buffet. Photo by Wesley Teo. Below, Jewel Ouradnik, owner of Rowleys Bay Resort and Restaurant, shows off the steaming whitefish, potatoes, and onion from the fish boil. Photo byJon Jarosh/Door County Visitor Bureau.
A taste of Door County’s finest dining can be found in Bailey’s Harbor at the Harbor Fish Market & Grille (harborfishmarketgrille.com), serving New England style seafood with white tablecloths and amazing views of Lake Michigan. For a cocktail, try a Door County Mule, made with tart cherries, Grey Goose Vodka, and ginger beer, and served in a chilled copper mug. Long ago, when settling Door County, Scandinavian immigrants brought with them an ingenious method of feeding lots of people, on the cheap. Today, coastal communities dotting the shores of the county carry on the tradition that is part meal, part spectacle — the fish boil. Your trip to Door County is not complete without experiencing it. From May to October, as many as 15 restaurants offer fish boils several times a week. It’s best to make reservations. I visited Rowleys Bay Resort (rowleysbayresort.com), located on Rowleys Bay, for one of its last fish boils of the season. Guests gather around as the resort’s master storyteller (a retired English professor) spins the history of Rowleys Bay and the fish boil while the boil master tends to the flaming fire under the huge iron cauldron, filled with freshly caught Lake Michigan white fish, onions, and red potatoes. Guests then enjoy the purest tasting white fish they’ve ever tasted, of course with as much melted butter as desired.
SECTION: FEATURES / TOPIC: TRAVEL AND LEISURE
We Know Who You Are BY KRISTEN K. TUCKER / PHOTOS BY JERRY BUTTS
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I hardly can believe the holiday season is here. Producing the November/December issue always gets us in the spirit, though we stop short of playing Christmas carols in October as we are working on it. This year, it was the Reitz Home Museum that really put us in the mood. For the cover, Creative Director Heather Gray and photographer Jerry Butts worked with Matt Rowe, executive director of the Reitz Home Museum, and volunteer decorator Doug Patberg to festoon the home’s grand entry early enough for our photo session. Victorian Christmas, the Reitz Home’s annual holiday tour, has guests standing in line to see the gilded family home of one of the city’s most recognized philanthropists decked for the season (see story on page 162). The home is spectacular; I enjoy visits throughout the year. If you’ve never visited the Reitz Home Museum, let
Letters to the editor can be sent to
[email protected]. Keep up with Kristen's blog at evansvilleliving.com/blog.
this be the year you do! Proving they indeed are in the holiday spirit, several Tucker Publishing Group staff members (and Todd) share their most memorable holiday traditions and memories on this page. One of my earliest childhood Christmas memories is of visiting my Granny in Evansville when my family still was living in Iowa (before returning here to my father’s hometown). The image I most recall is sitting on the sofa of her Englewood Avenue home with my sister Miekka and our six cousins, all girls — eight little girls ranging in age from 4 to 10 (my youngest sister wasn’t born yet) — holding the new dolls Granny and our step-grandfather (Leonard) had bought for us. This also is the time of year when we process thousands of subscription renewals, orders, and gifts. It occurred to me to share with you that we know who you are. At TPG, we are very hands on. My husband or I open our mail; we see the subscription renewals and orders come in, and work with staff members to process them. We don’t employ a receptionist at our office and we all answer the phone, so if you call our office with a question about your subscription, you perhaps will speak to Managing Editor Emily Patton or Art Director Hannah Jay — both are quick to look up from their computer screens to help a caller. Indeed we give your subscriptions a number, but, dear readers, you are far from a number to us. We know who you are, and, as always, I look forward to hearing from you. May your holiday season be the brightest!
Kristen K. Tucker Publisher & Editor
What’s Your Favorite Christmas Tradition? “Because the anticipation for Christmas Day was too much for us children, my parents would always let us choose one present to open on Christmas Eve. We would go through shaking and feeling every present the night before to make sure we made the right choice on which present to open early. The best year was when I saw a guitar-shaped gift addressed to me from Santa.” Emily Patton, Managing Editor “On Christmas Eve night, after checking to see if Santa had arrived (Santa never seemed to visit before 8 p.m. when I was a child), my family would drive around my hometown of Tell City, Indiana, to see all the Christmas lights decorating the homes. My favorite home was the Groves’ on 19th Street. Their entire yard is filled with lighted holiday scenes every year.” Trista Lutgring, Staff Writer “I love going out to Goebel Farms to get a real Christmas tree. We did this as a family growing up and now I’m the only one in my family that carries on the tradition. I have a lot of ornaments, so the tree needs to have plenty of room for hanging. The smell of the tree is one of the best parts.” Jessica Hoffman, Account Executive “My cousin Lee and I are one month apart in age. Although we live several hours apart, we have spent almost every Christmas together. We’re more like brothers than cousins and always have told each other what we knew the other was getting for Christmas. Then of course we acted surprised. We each have two sons who also are the best of friends. Here I am getting the present lowdown from my cousin in this photo circa 1963.” Todd Tucker, President, Tucker Publishing Group
SECTION: EDITOR'S LETTER / TOPIC: ABOUT THE MAGAZINE, HISTORIC PRESERVATION, PERSONALITIES
Forever Remembered A decade after the deadliest tornado hits Indiana, Evansville Living looks back on lives lost BY EMILY PATTON
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At 1:46 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2005, after a particularly warm and breezy Saturday in the Tri-State, Vanderburgh County officials alerted the community by setting off tornado alarms. Four minutes later, an F2 tornado with winds up to 157 miles per hour, ripped through Ellis Park Racecourse and began its 41mile path of death and destruction into Southwestern Indiana. The twister remains the deadliest storm in Indiana in the last 40 years taking the lives of 25 people ranging in age from a newborn baby to a 78-year-old woman. A year after the natural disaster, Evansville Living paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the storm in the November/December 2006 issue and in a 64-page account called “Remembering November 6.” Today, we reflect on the 10th anniversary of the horrific tornado. A cold front across the Midwest paired with humid air ahead of it allowed thunderstorms to thrive and pick up intensity as they moved toward Southwestern Indiana. Security guards on duty at Ellis Park, located in Henderson, Kentucky, first spotted the funnel cloud forming. The racetrack suffered millions of dollars in damages as the tornado killed three horses, and injured dozens more. A groom Tommy Lester also was injured. Ten barns were damaged as well as the track’s main grandstand and facilities. As the twister crossed the Ohio River, it grew in intensity and became an F3 tornado traveling at 200 miles an hour and 400 yards wide. The storm tore through Eastbrook Mobile Home Park, just off of Interstate 69, where it damaged more than 150 mobile homes and killed 20 residents. Its path of destruction continued to Newburgh, Indiana, where it heavily wrecked more than 600 homes. The tornado was unrelenting as it sped toward Boonville, Indiana, where a young woman died, and raced into Degonia Springs, Indiana, where it took the lives of an entire family of four, before finally lifting near Tennyson, Indiana. Ten years later, the community still remembers the hundreds of firefighters, rescue workers, police officers, military personnel, neighbors, and community volunteers who flocked to Southwestern Indiana to aid in search and rescue efforts. Today, visitors can pay their respect at the Tornado Memorial Park, located at the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park off of Lynn Road.
SECTION: EPILOGUE / TOPIC: LOCAL CULTURE
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