Jerome Pohlen - Oddball Indiana: A Guide to 350 Really Strange Places

Copyright 2017 by Jerome Pohlen

All rights reserved

Second edition

Published by Chicago Review Press Incorporated

814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

ISBN 978-1-61373-849-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Pohlen, Jerome., author.

Title: Oddball Indiana : a guide to 350 really strange places /Jerome Pohlen.

Description: Second edition. | Chicago, Illinois : Chicago Review Press, 2017. | Series: Oddball series | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016042392 (print) | LCCN 2016043086 (ebook) | ISBN 9781613738498 (trade paper) | ISBN 9781613738504 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781613738528 (epub) | ISBN 9781613738511 (kindle)

Subjects: LCSH: IndianaGuidebooks. | Curiosities and wondersIndianaGuidebooks. | IndianaHistory, LocalMiscellanea.

Classification: LCC F526.6 .P65 2017 (print) | LCC F526.6 (ebook) | DDC 977.2dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016042392

Cover and interior design: Jonathan Hahn

Cover image: Couchs Body and Frame Shop; photo by Jerome Pohlen

Interior photos: All photos by Jerome Pohlen, unless otherwise indicated.

Printed in the United States of America

5 4 3 2 1

To

Olga, Tom, Taylor,
Kyle, and Kat,

my longtime Indiana friends

Q uickwhat do these things have in common: Ben-Hur, the birthplace of the automobile, Oscar the Monster Turtle, the Worlds Largest Egg, Johnny Appleseeds grave, and the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction? Drawing a blank? What about the invention of the pay toilet, Hollywoods first Tarzan, the original Peoples Temple, and the Worlds Largest Stump? Still without a clue? How about the birthplaces of corn flakes, Dan Quayle, square donuts, and Wonder Bread? Thats righttheyre all in Indiana!

While other travel guides tell you about yet another oh-so-quaint bed and breakfast, one more bike trail through Brown County, or that small-town diner where you can waste away the day with a bottomless cup of coffee while chatting with Flo, Oddball Indiana gives you the information you really need. What happened when the good folk of Plainfield decided to dump a former president of the United States into a mud puddle? Why is Nancy Barnetts grave in the middle of a county road? How did David Letterman get fired from his first broadcasting gig? Who invented Alka-Seltzer? And where can you go to contact your dead aunt Clara? These are the Indiana questions people want answered. Or at least weird people. People like you.

And theres no excuse for not hitting the Hoosier highways in search of the strange. Its the smallest state west of the Appalachians (except Hawaii), and whats more, its the Crossroads of the Nation. Seven interstates pass through its borders, creating more interstate intersections than in any other state. Plenty of roads and even more odd things to see so what are you waiting for? You should be laughing on your vacation, not lounging. Get moving!

But first, a little advice. In this book, Ive tried to give clear directions from major streets and landmarks, but you could still make a wrong turn. Dont panic, and remember these Oddball travel tips:

1. Stop and ask! For a lot of communities, their Oddball attraction might be their only claim to fame. Locals are often thrilled that youd drive out of your way to marvel at their underappreciated shrine. But choose your guides wisely; old cranks at the town caf are good for information; pimply teenage clerks at the 7-Eleven are not.

2. Call ahead. Few Oddball sites keep regular hours, but most will gladly wait around if they know youre coming. Some Indiana sites are seasonal or can close at a moments notice if the proprietor needs to run an errand. Always call.

3. Dont give up. Think of that little old lady whos volunteered her days to keep that small-town museum open; shes waiting just for you. Shes not standing out on the corner, hollering at passersbyyou have to find her. Thats your job.

4. Dont trespass! Dont become a Terrible Tourist. Just because somebody erected a gigantic monument to a peach doesnt mean youre invited to crawl all over it.

5. Persevere: Road-tripping is hard work. If you find yourself out of sorts after hours in the car, remember these Indiana folk cures: for arthritis of the fingers, catch and strangle a weasel barehanded; for a stuffed-up head, sniff a dirty sock nine times; and for stammering, a smart slap in the face with raw liver should do the trick.

Do you have an Oddball site of your own? Have I missed anything? Do you know of an Oddball site that should be included in a third edition? Please write and let me know: Chicago Review Press, 814 N. Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610.

I f all you know about northern Indiana is the toll from East Chicago to Angola, perhaps you should slow down. And while youre at it, show a little respect. First of all, if it wasnt for this admittedly flat and corn-covered region, your vacation might be a whole lot less enjoyablethese folks practically invented the Great American Road Trip. The Prairie Schooner wagon, probably the first long-distance family car, was manufactured for pioneers by the Studebaker family of South Bend. Road technology was perfected on the coast-to-coast Lincoln Highway that still bisects the region. And today, most of this nations recreational vehicles and motor homes are manufactured in and around Elkhart. When youre touring the back roads of Shipshewana, Winamac, and Napanee, youre driving on hallowed ground.

And not just hallowed ground but strange ground. Look around. Where else can you find a 3,000-pound egg, a skinny-dipping ghost, a collection of historic outhouses, and Oscar the Monster Turtle? Where will you find the birthplaces of Alka-Seltzer, heavier-than-air flight, and Michael Jackson? And where can you find the remains of Johnny Appleseed and the Worlds First Ferris Wheel? Nowhere in the world but the top third of the Hoosier State, thats where.

Hold on, compulsive gamblers! The Lottery Bowl isnt a new scratch-andwin game from the Indiana legislature. No, in this lottery you play for your life.

Resting in a simple cabinet on the top floor of Trine Universitys athletic facility is one of the Selective Service Systems most recognizable artifacts: the Lottery Bowl. This two-foot-tall goldfish tank was purchased by the government from a Washington, DC, pet store at the outset of World War I. It was used to select numbers that translated into draft notices to thousands of young American men from 1917 to 1918. Following the Armistice, the draft ended and the glass bowl was mothballed in Philadelphia.

But just before the United States entry into World War II, FDR sent a limousine to pick up the Lottery Bowl and escort it back to the nations capital. The Selective Service was reactivated in 1940 and continued drafting young men through 1970. For all but one of those years it operated under the direction of General Lewis B. Hershey, Tri-State University graduate and namesake of this colleges gym.