Robert Pence

A couple of drunken hillbillies were arrested in Auburn for trying to steal one that they hoped to sell for scrap. They damaged it, but didn't succeed in taking it.

I disagree. You're wasting your time when you try to argue with me; I may not always be right, but when I'm wrong, I'll never admit it. :whip: :wink:

Bowling Green has green power - 391 feet tall to the top of the arc and 1.8 megawatts each. The last time I was there, they had four of them. They appear so graceful and placid from a distance, but up close they're almost scary. I don't know how fast the tips of those rotors are moving, but they absolutely roar through the air as they pass the bottom of the arc. Each turbine is almost as powerful as a freight locomotive.

Some interesting stuff, but overall a sad story for a town that once was an industrial powerhouse. Marion was known for Marion Steam Shovels, including some huge machines that dug the Panama Canal, and for Huber threshing machines, steam traction engines, farm tractors, and road-construction machinery. Here are a few shots of a Huber steam engine and some tractors showing their evolution. I have some photos of Marion Steam Shovels, but I haven't scanned or uploaded them yet.

Nice-looking old town in touch with its past.

Mmmmmm! Smuckers! Orrville's contribution to a better world!

The sculptures are the work of J. Seward Johnson. There's an exhibit in Auburn, Indiana, too. I think it runs through September. Good photos. Dayton is an interesting city.

Delightful!

Decatur (Adams County) and Winchester (Randolph County) were identical twins when built, both designed by J.C. Johnson. Boseker was the contractor in Decatur, and A.G. Campfiled was the contractor in Winchester. Both buildings developed structural problems with their towers and roofs, and Decatur's was modified. Winchester's was stripped of its mansard roof and tower. The one in Defiance looks like there may have been triplets; the designs are too alike to be coincidence. Originally Johnson was from Fremont, Ohio, and was a carpenter and self-taught architect.

Excellent photos! I love the gritty shots.

Sorry 'bout the rain. Maybe I can help with Decatur, though.

Bumping this old thread to help fill in the gap between Fort Wayne and Portland.

It's just not fair! That city is so beautiful it's frustrating to even contemplate.

Portland was once a thriving place with lots of bustle. Not so much, any more. All of Jay County is on rather hard times, but the courthouse is quite decent inside and out. That concrete-arch bridge is an oldie and something of a landmark. It's right on US 27, and maybe thirty years ago INDOT wanted to replace it with a new, wider one. I think local interest plus some interest from within the department got it saved and rebuilt, instead. The Jay County Fair is still a significant attraction, and the fairgrounds are old-school, with white buildings and lots of big, old trees. There's also an antique tractor and engine show and flea market there that draws collectors from all over the country and even from overseas. I think Portland's industrial base is still largely based on foundries and custom steel-fabrication businesses. Back around the World War One era, it was in the center of an oil- and gas-producing area, and like Montpelier, Dunkirk and Winchester, it attracted industries that took advantage of the cheap, abundant gas -- Portland and Montpelier were mostly in iron and steel rolling and forging, and Dunkirk and Winchester had sizable glass-making industries.

Two-story detached single-family frame house, about 1,600 sf plus full, dry, unfinished basement. The oldest part was built 1858-1860, followed by five additions about 1880 - 1905. Two-car detached garage and cement-paver patio. I've completly rebuilt the house including electric, plumbing and heating/AC, and removed several non-bearing walls to open up the rooms. It's just about perfect for me, except for the traffic noise. The city has long-term plans, highly speculative at this point, for possibly rerouting arterial traffic out of the neighborhood. I've lived here since 1989, and prior to that from 1972 lived in a 1,200 sf brick house next door that I now rent out. So far as I know, there's only one person on my block (all 4 sides) that has lived here longer than I have.

Beautiful pics!

I have concerns that this thread is devolving to inappropriate levels. carry on. You don't need to worry about me; I'm a paragon of propriety. :-)

I get what you mean, Jeffrey. That's not a bad-looking development, not as sterile as many and with provision for walking/biking, and it will look better as the landscaping grows in and gives it an established look. I can't tell, though, if there are any pedestrian/bike destinations within reach. Getting back to the off-topic discussion that's been bouncing back and forth, I've met few true libertarians -- I can't think of any, right now -- but I've met many people who appropriate the label because they think it's less onerous than "conservative." As just one example, they denounce "subsidies" to mass transit and passenger rail and advocate more "investment" in publicly-owned local airports with budget fares and extra lanes on the feeder roads and expressways to ease their solo commutes. I've never met met a libertarian who believes that limited-access highways should cover their operating expense and amorize their capital costs with user fees, or recover for the municipalities the tax revenue lost when the right-of-way was lost from the tax base.

Older GWM, happily single or maybe just hopelessly jaded. I enjoy an occasional affair, but I'm wary of affairs that begin to deteriorate into relationships.

Something I saw on a Saturday in Sugarcreek - instead of the staid buggies that the families use, I saw young Amish men with two-wheeled carts, drawn by sleek, high-stepping horses and moving briskly along the streets and roads. A local guy said that the horses the young bucks fancy are either retired race-horses from a nearby track, or horses that were bred for racing but didn't quite make the cut. My cousin, who raises Arabians in Southern Indiana, said that they get visits from young Amish men looking for stylish horses for courting. They always visit the prospective buyer's farm before making a deal, and check on the horses later to make sure they're getting good care, and they said they've never been disappointed. At one of the old-time farm machinery shows, during an evening program by a good local country band, I saw a very good-looking young Amish guy get out on the dance floor with the young female driver who brought his family to the event. He was one of the flashiest country dancers I've seen, and the elders in his family seemed to be having as much fun watching the show as he was doing his stuff. I never knew Amish men could be so hot.

What seicer said, I think. Locally, my water/sewer rates keep going up to pay for expansion of service to outlying developments. Meanwhile, the subdivision dwellers pay the same $ per cubic foot of usage that I do. That doesn't seem to follow libertarian concepts. To have an actual "user pays" system, shouldn't the people who live farther away from the municipal sewer & water plants pay more, in proportion to the additional miles of infrastructure it takes to serve them? There's a whole 'nother issue regarding the reduced property taxes on downtown land cleared to provide parking for commuters' cars. It throws an additional burden on us city residents to subsidize parking for suburban commuters, at the expense of revenue for public transportation that would serve more taxpayers in or near the city's core.

I suppose silver prints on fiber-based paper will become an occult art, made only by devotees who make their own paper and emulsion and mix their own chemicals. Add in the effects of peak oil, and one of these days film devotees will be working from wet-plate labs in wagons pulled by mules, and the hard-core guys will be scavenging thermometers and barometers for mercury to make daguerreotypes and getting battier than ever from the fumes. :-o

I'd like to see a similar one for Indiana, and would be willing to help underwrite it if someone could provide the technical expertise to run it, but as it is, there seems to be precious little interest in the few Indiana threads on SSC. I think there are maybe three or four of us that contribute to the Fort Wayne Development thread, and no one ever initiates any give-and-take discussion.

Dahlias are among the most showy of flowers. If you and your SO find yourselves traveling across Northern Indiana in the growing season, keep in mind Bonneyville Mill County Park. It's near Bristol, just east (I think) of Elkhart. In addition to the 1880 water-powered mill and dam and crystal-clear Little Elkhart River, there are large trial gardens where new Dahlia varieties are developed and tested. It's very scenic and a nice place to take a break from the highway.

Looks like a beautiful place. Thanks for posting the photos.