Work In Progress - Bean Harvest

© Robin Edmundson, 'Bean Harvest', watercolor.  18 x 24 inches.  

This is a current work in progress.   It might be done, but I want to let it simmer for a bit.   I got the idea from a photo I took of a bean harvest last year on the highway near Worthington, Indiana.   I had a big wide view.   Two combines and a tractor with a trailer full of beans.   And lots of dust in the air.

I did an initial draft and got some expert feedback from someone who had actually driven one of those things.   He approves of this version.

Pleasant Bethel Cemetery

Happy Halloween!

It's Spooky Day!   I hope you have something wonderfully fun planned for this evening.   We are going to snuggle up with a fun movie [The Ghost and Mr. Chicken] and a bowl full of chocolate. 

In the grand Halloween tradition of the blog, I bring you another wonderful rural cemetery.   This one is located between Freedom and Worthington, Indiana - off Highway 231 a few miles down Pleasant Bethel Rd. 

It's across the street from an old white church and it's nestled between corn fields and woods.   It's peaceful and beautiful there.

This year I noticed the wonderful types of carvings on the stones here.   I loved the stylized carving on the granite stones. 

The were several examples of art deco type carvings, like the corners of the John and Clara Nation stone.

The Mitten family area had many beautiful stones.  I loved Ella Mitten's stone.   Notice the anchor.   According to this site, anchors are often used in places where sailing is common.  That is not the case in southern Indiana, so it must mean something else.  Anchors are also symbols for steadfastness and that is most likely the meaning here.

This is the stone of Gracie Mitten.   Notice the gates on this stone and the stone above.   These are the Pearly Gates - the gates of heaven.  Open to allow the person in. 

I loved the simple carving on John C. Mitten's stone.   I saw the flower on several stones from the Mitten family.

This is the Colenbaugh stone.   I think those are stylized weeping willows - or perhaps columns? - just above the names.   I couldn't find any information on them.  

I love finding stones like these.  Notice Sarah's dates.

She was born Nov. 16, 1848, but she never died.   A perfect Halloween grave!   She'll be 166 years old in a couple of weeks.  

And speaking of the undead.   I found a couple more old stones with names of the undead.

Here is Josiah Trent's stone.   He was born February 7, 1828.  Apparently, he didn't die.   He's 186 this year.  

This is John Wesley Workman and Cristine C. Workman's stone.   Cristine was born on my birthday [July 16] in 1835.   No death date.  I hope this means that July 16th is a lucky date and I'll rocking the country life forever.  Or at least for 179 years or so.

Stacked log headstones are often markers of the graves of men who belonged to the Woodmen of the World fraternal organization.   Those graves usually have an axe carved on them, too.   I didn't find an axe on this marker, so I'm not sure if the stacked logs are symbolic or not. 

This site has a lot of information about the WoW grave markers.  See what you think.

And speaking of logs and wood, in almost every old cemetery out here, you'll find a marker like this one.   A carved tree trunk with broken limbs.    The symbolism is of a life cut short.   The carvings are marvelous and painstaking. 

This is Charles Dyer's stone.  He died in 1893. He was 23 years old when he died.   So sad.  

Someone clearly loved and missed him very much. 
There are ferns carved at the bottom of back of the tree and ivy climbing up and through the broken shield.   There's a lily at the bottom in the front. 

[But there's no axe.]  

There is a verse carved in a curve on the shield, but it's so worn that I can't read it at all.  Blow up the pic and do your best.


I hope you enjoyed this year's spooky cemetery tour.   If you want more, then here are previous years' tours.

2013 - Tulip Cemetery
2012 - Solsberry Cemetery
2011 - Philpot Cemetery

Old Coal Stove

On a concrete slab next to the railroad tracks in Worthington, Indiana, sits this old coal stove.  I'm guessing it's from the 1920's and heated some sort of commercial building that's long since been torn down.   It's amazing that the old stove is still there - probably a testament to the watchful eyes of the neighbors and the amount of immovable cast iron in the thing.  

I've heard people say that these old stoves heated very well and kept larger structures nicely warm.  

I wonder what building it heated.

A store?

A workshop?

A mechanic's garage?

I wonder whose job it was to keep it heated.  

And who gathered around it to warm up of a morning?

Here are more interesting stoves.   And more.  And another stove similar to this one.

If you've seen one of these before or have stories, shout out in the comments.   

Route 67 Diner - Worthington, Indiana

The last time we went to Worthington, we noticed the addition of a brand new diner right on the main drag.    The Route 67 Diner opened a couple of weeks ago and on our last girls' day out, we stopped to check it out.

I am very pleased to say that it is delightful.

And delicious. 

And fun.

The hours are 10:30am to 9pm Monday through Saturday and 10:30am to 8pm on Sunday.    There is seating outside, at tables inside and at the counter.   Service is fast and friendly.

Here's a write-up from the local paper.  Bert Clark is passionate about boosting the local economy and he's got a great thing going here.   Here's the link to their facebook page. 

The place is bright and clean and the food is fantastic.    It was a burger kind of day for us, so we all got burgers with sides.  

Burger and fries.

Burger and onion rings.    My favorite.

Burger and homemade potato chips.   You have to try them.  They're amazing.

And then, then we had the ice cream. 

O. M. G.  

This is a great place to bring the family for a nice meal and great atmosphere.  

As a bonus, it's located right between a bunch of antiques stores, including one that's attached to the diner.    We had a great time walking off the ice cream while we explored the local shops.  

I hope you get a chance to check them out.   Soon!

Old Signs

In Worthington, Indiana you can still see some of the old signs that were painted on the sides of the brick buildings that make up the downtown.

I love old signs.

They are barely legible and the bright sun didn't help.  I need to go back on a rainy day and take some more pics to see if more words show up. 

This one says 'Meats'.  It's part of a larger sign.

Below the 'Antique Alley' sign, you can barely see another one.   'Green's Fresh Meats and Groceries'.   Meats above that door goes with that sign.

It's clear that the door was added later - it cuts off the bottom part of 'groceries'.  

And in the second window above you can see a coffin standing on end.   Creepy.    The kids check for it every time we drive by.    What will they think when it's missing one day?