Sweet veggies shine at local eateriesDomenica Bongiovanni

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PHOTOS: Locally Grown Winter Produce

Note: This is the first of our two-part Winter Vegetables series. To read thesecond part, click here.

Ever bitten into a salad turnip, carrot or spinach leaf in early February, just

after it was plucked from the Indiana ground?

The sweetness in each bursts through first, followed by the crop s̓ own

distinctive notes. Even if your taste buds have previously labored under a

difficult relationship with vegetables, theyʼll be hard-pressed to not be

thrilled by the flavors that pop through whether you eat them fresh, in a

creamy aioli, smooth puree or citrus-drenched salad.

Season extension deserves the thanks for this. The practice begins in winter

to produce a spring harvest and stretches the season out so fresh

vegetables still can be planted in the fall and pulled from the ground in the

coldest months. Similar temperatures during spring and fall allow plants like

kale, arugula and carrots to be planted during both times.

Of course, crops need some help.

Heated basements can be the first home for tender tomato seedlings that

are eventually moved outdoors. Protected structures like high tunnels and

greenhouses can control temperatures for cold-hardy spinach and carrots.

Although season extension is not a new practice, winter vegetable

production is coming more into focus as the cultural and social tide

continues its shift toward fresh, local food. Crop varieties are expanding as

consumer demand increases and growers find creative solutions.

“Sometimes it s̓ as simple as seeing different varieties at the market that

wouldnʼt (have been) there a couple years ago,” said Alan Sternberg,

executive chef of Cerulean in Indianapolis. “I can list of five or six kinds of

squash I can see at the market or that farmers say they have that a couple

years ago they wouldnʼt have (had).”

And the results are showing up on your plate.

If youʼve dined at establishments like Cerulean, Heirloom, Restauration and

The Black Sparrow that use food grown close to home, you may well have

eaten something harvested within a stone s̓ throw of Greater Lafayette.

Winter vegetable production, of course, depends on the whims of the

weather in north central Indiana and the spring, summer and fall growing

seasons. Restaurant owners, managers and chefs work with farmers like

Nate and Emily Parks at Silverthorn Farm in Rossville, Reuben and Becky

Brubaker at The Weathered Plow in Camden, and Kevin and Tracy Cooley at

Cooley Family Farm in Tippecanoe County.

Together, they roll with the inherent unpredictability of winter growth, and

their creativity continues to impact where — and what — you eat.

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Nate Parks pulls back a row cover to look at spinach growing in a hightower at Silverthorn Farm Thursday, February 4, 2016, near Rossville.The spinach was planted last September. Parks said the winter grownspinach is sweeter because the plant drops starches and pulls insugars. (Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier, John Terhune/Journal& Courier)

Where it starts

Youʼve probably seen those big hooped structures as you travel Indiana

highways. Called high tunnels and greenhouses, they hover over the ground

in a U shape and are covered with clear plastic sheets that invite the sun s̓

rays while holding in its warmth.

Although the structures are used year-round to control a growing

environment, in the winter, they shield vegetables from bitter conditions and

increase the minimum temperature. Farmers can employ either to stretch the

season depending on what they want to grow and how much theyʼre willing

to spend.

High tunnels are more difficult to seal and rely only on the sun for warmth,

said Petrus Langenhoven, a horticulture and hydroponic crops specialist at

Purdue University. Greenhouses, on the other hand, are heated and possess

increased insulation that holds temperatures steady during frigid night.

Those attributes make the latter more expensive, he said.

Unheated high tunnels still can provide fresh vegetables during chilly

months. The plastic covering traps the sun s̓ radiation, which bounces

around inside and echoes a greenhouse effect, Langenhoven said. He

compared it to a sunroom in the winter.

At night, farmers cover the rows of crops with Reemay — a type of fabric

that often includes polyester — to hold in heat that radiates out of the soil

and prevent freezing, Langenhoven said. Mulch also can insulate the soil and

keep in moisture, said Liz Maynard, a vegetable extension specialist and

clinical engagement assistant professor in Purdue s̓ Department of

Horticultural and Landscape Architecture.

But holding the temperature steady requires watchfulness.

Even on chilly days, Kevin Cooley said he must keep an eye on the plants

and make sure to remove the covers to avoid overheating the vegetables.

Becky Brubaker said she sometimes opens the doors and rolls up the plastic

sides of the high tunnels to let out excess heat.

Farmers employ other growing methods to fight the cold as well.

For their varieties of butterhead and Salanova lettuce, the Brubakers use a

hydroponic system in their basement. They start the plants in rockwool,

which acts as an insulation, before placing them in the system, where water

circulates through tubes that donʼt contain soil.

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Becky Brubaker picks radishes and salad radishes Monday, February 1,2016, inside a greenhouse at the Weathered Plow in rural CarrollCounty. Spinach, at right, is also grown in the greenhouse. (Photo: JohnTerhune/Journal & Courier, John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

Why so sweet?

While you might not describe the weather these vegetables survive as

sweet, their taste most certainly is — much to the delight of chefs and

anyone else who consumes them. The cropsʼ heartiness and biological

makeup can adapt to the cold, unlike tomatoes and other tender plants.

Among the vegetables in the Brubakersʼ structures are radishes, salad

turnips, carrots, and spinach. The Parkses grow kale, chard, spinach and

other root crops in structures while raising salad mix and arugula in a

greenhouse. Asian greens, kale, bok choy, lettuce and spinach were included

in the winter offerings at Cooley Family Farms, which uses high tunnels and

their smaller counterparts, low tunnels.

But why are the vegetables sweeter?

It has to do with a buildup of sugars for survival.

To explain this, Maynard likens the cells in a spinach leaf to water balloons

packed into a cardboard box. The water between the balloons can freeze

and the plant can live as long as the substance inside the balloons doesnʼt

freeze, she said.

If the vegetables are grown in colder temperatures, they adapt the makeup

of the liquid inside the balloons to build up sugars, which help resist the

harsher weather, she said.

“There are also other compounds inside the plant that kind of get switched

to, I would say, cold-hardy versions of the various compounds that make up

the plant cells,” Maynard said. “And also sometimes plants make special

proteins that will protect those cells from dehydration.”

Fall and spring produce determine much of the schedule, and farmers said

they generally plant their winter crops in September and October, before

temperatures drop too much, and harvest in December and January.

During the chilliest periods, the ground acts as what Cooley calls a living

refrigerator. Maynard said the vegetables arenʼt growing much.

And farmers plan for that. Because the winter s̓ lack of light causes the

produce to grow more slowly, Nate Parks said waiting longer gives them

more mass and therefore more financial viability for sales.

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Kumquat salad Wednesday, March 2, 2016, at Restauration, 731 MainStreet in downtown Lafayette. A special menu item, the kumquat saladfeatures kumquats, fresh kale, mixed greens, cara cara oranges, dates,fresh mint, feta cheese and a honey lime kumquat vinaigrette. (Photo:John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

Doing more with less

Knowing their clients allows farmers to tailor what they grow, even when

fewer offerings are available during colder months.

Brubaker said she raises eight types of Salanova lettuce in her basement in

part because Justin Henry, who owns Heirloom with Jon Hurley, prefers

smaller leaves for his dishes.

“Weʼre just experimenting around with different varieties,” Brubaker said.

Kevin Cooley said he made kale available to Kirsten Serrano — who owns

Restauration and La Scala with her husband, Paco — since she requested it

for a particular period of time. Although he stopped delivering several weeks

ago, a few days of warmth in late February boosted kale he hadnʼt yet

harvested to the proper size for picking. So Serrano worked it into her menu.

Cooley also has grown specific types of radishes, bok choys and Asian

greens for salad blends for John Olakowski, general manager of The Black

Sparrow.

Other winter items used among Cerulean, the Black Sparrow, Restauration

and Heirloom include turnips, spinach, microgreens, beets and carrots

locally through the latter part of fall and winter.

Restaurants use the farmsʼ slimmed-down offerings and combine them with

nonlocal, seasonal ingredients. That protocol works especially well for chefs

who focus on menus that change depending on what s̓ traditionally grown

during a certain time of year.

Menu planners build in flexibility through vegetable plates that

accommodate what farmers have in stock. Chefs can maximize small

quantities of ingredients, too. Sternberg said Cerulean s̓ nightly amuse-

bouche is an ideal vehicle for those situations.

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Flank steak Wednesday, March 2, 2016, at Restauration, 731 MainStreet in downtown Lafayette. The flank steak is served with a pistachioand kale pesto, with roasted red peppers, spinach and prosciutto,topped with melted mozarella cheese, all on a bed of kale. (Photo: JohnTerhune/Journal & Courier)

Winter comfort on your plate

Ask restaurant owners, managers and chefs about their winter dishes, and

the conversation will invariably turn to two key categories: comfort food and

citrus.

Both make sense, considering the season. Heavier foods like meats and

cheeses seem to settle more easily, providing a bastion against

unpredictable, icy winds outside. And citrus keeps the heartier flavors from

becoming overwhelming.

Menu planners account for this, knowing that the availability of fresh, local

vegetables depends on the fall and winter s̓ harshness. For example,

Sternberg s̓ menu revolves around more protein, dairy and heartier grains

that he livens up with citrus.

Olakowski said The Black Sparrow focused on meats, cheeses and greens

drizzled with a citrus vinaigrette.

Chefs also use what s̓ available to plan twists on tradition. Heirloom

developed a chicken pot pie with rutabaga and turnips, Henry said. A loaded,

baked sunchoke accompanied a steak at the restaurant, and the vegetable

— pickled — has been part of an aioli slathered on a brunch-time bison

burger.

Restauration served up lasagna and substituted noodles for sheets of

butternut squash, which stores particularly well, Serrano said. During the

winter, restaurants often pull out local produce that has been pickled or

canned when it was fresh — Olakowski mentioned using products from

Indianapolis-based Fermeti Artisan.

And forget waiting till dessert to taste something sweet. Chefs take

advantage of winter vegetablesʼ sugary notes long before that.

“We do (play to sweetness) because people like sweetness,” Sternberg said.

Root vegetables like carrots, he said, handle fat well and provide a warm,

comforting factor. For example, Cerulean cooks winter purees with cream

and few other ingredients to showcase the vegetables. He doesnʼt eliminate

the fat, which gives it the proper texture and coats the palette.

Preparing vegetables in different ways — by pickling or frying, for example

— creates completely different tastes within a single dish, he said. When

their strong flavors are showcased properly, Sternberg said they can be

surprising and livelier than proteins like chicken.

“Root vegetables can be kind of exciting if you treat them well and make

them the star,” he said.

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Chef Alex Hernandez prepares flank steak Wednesday, March 2, 2016,in the kitchen of Restauration, 731 Main Street in downtown Lafayette.The flank steak is served with a pistachio and kale pesto, with roastedred peppers, spinach and prosciutto, topped with melted mozarellacheese, all on a bed of kale. (Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

High tunnels vs. greenhouses

Both high tunnels and greenhouses provide protection from the weather and

maintain a more controlled

temperature for what s̓ growing inside the structure.

High tunnels rely on daylight and

trap the sun s̓ radiation inside the structure. At night, farmers cover rows

with Reemay to hold in the soil s̓ heat and prevent freezing. These structures

are best for heartier vegetables because the overall temperature is colder

inside.

Greenhouses also use the sun s̓ rays

but are heated by other mechanisms, sealed tight, and cost more to build

and operate. They also are more

expensive to construct and maintain.

Low tunnels are close to the ground, less expensive, unheated and also

provide frost protection to rows of crops.

Food businesses struggle with supply,demand

Domenica Bongiovanni

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27 Photos

PHOTOS: Locally Grown Winter Produce

Note: This is the second of our two-part Winter Vegetables series. To readthe first part, click here.

Gaze down the length of an Indiana high tunnel or greenhouse in early

February, and youʼll see vegetables in transition.

Clumps of spinach still are settled into the ground in some places. In others,

crumbled dirt and tiny bits of green leaves lie where chard and kale grew a

short time before.

The scene captures the end of the season extension for winter crops —

mostly cold-hardy greens and root vegetables that were planted in the fall

and can survive cold temperatures. It also shows the beginning of farmers

readying the soil for spring produce.

Ask growers about their schedule, and theyʼll relay the importance of

ensuring the ground is prepared in time for warmer-season vegetables like

and tomatoes. The public anticipates these items, buying them at spring

farm stands and markets.

So where does this leave the winter vegetables and their market?

In the past several years, the use of high tunnels and greenhouses to extend

the growing season for hearty vegetables has tagged along with the overall

tendency toward locally grown farm-to-table ingredients, providing tasty

menu fundamentals and garnishes at restaurants and in the home kitchens

of customers.

State data show a noteworthy increase in food grown in protected

structures, which include high tunnels and greenhouses. In 2009, 32

operations raised about 3 acres of food crops under protection, according to

the Census of Horticultural Specialties. In 2014, the same census showed 66

operations that grew almost 12 acres.

These numbers, calculated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture s̓ National

Agricultural Statistics Service, show operations that produced and sold

$10,000 or more of horticultural specialty products in its respective year.

The products include vegetables, melons, strawberries and sprouts that

were grown under protection and in hydroponic systems.

The rise of growth inside protected structures doesnʼt exactly translate to a

wealth of winter vegetables. That season s̓ market still is relatively small, said

Maria Marshall, professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University.

But it is flexible, in part because it depends somewhat on the whims of

Indiana weather and because it must give in to the schedules of crops

harvested in the fall and spring. The greens and root vegetables that can

survive in chilly temperatures collect more sugar to arm themselves against

the cold, and their sweet results charm chefs and consumers.

Because volumes arenʼt as high as other seasonsʼ counterparts, restaurants

and other vendors cannot fully rely on a consistent stock.

As the culture shifts toward fresh and local food, the winter market struggles

with adjusting for supply and demand. But the need and desire is present.

“If there wasnʼt market for (winter produce), youʼre not going to last very

long,” said Kevin Cooley, who owns Cooley Family Farm in Tippecanoe

County with his wife, Tracy.

But offerings are slimmed down, and customers donʼt always realize plants

actually can grow once farmers markets shut down in the fall.

“This is about the lowest point you can get as far as what s̓ available

(locally),” said Kirsten Serrano, who owns Restauration and La Scala with her

husband, Paco.

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Bella trots through a greenhouse Monday, February 1, 2016, at theWeathered Plow in rural Carroll County. (Photo: John Terhune/Journal &Courier, John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

A shift toward smaller

Some operations have as many as 16 acres under high tunnels that can

produce at least 101/2 months out of the year, said David King, program

director for Indiana Grown, which promotes local products in the state.

But winter vegetables often exist in smaller farms, like Nate and Emily Parksʼ

Silverthorn Farms in Rossville, Reuben and Becky Brubaker s̓ The Weathered

Plow in Carroll County, and Cooley Family Farm in Tippecanoe County. They

thrive in tinier spots, too, like in a hydroponic system in the Brubakersʼ

basement.

“It s̓ kind of a shift away from bigger farming and doing things to keep the

land healthy and extend the season and grow more diverse product and

actually working the land themselves. ... It s̓ been a lot of growth over the

last couple of years,” said Alan Sternberg, executive chef of Cerulean

Indianapolis, who said he has seen an increase in local produce across all

seasons.

State data show an increase in food grown under glass or other protection,

which includes high tunnels and greenhouses. In 2007, 91 farms raised

about 14 acres of total greenhouse vegetables and fresh-cut herbs,

according to the Census of Agriculture. In 2012, the same census showed

203 farms that grew almost 28 acres.

These numbers, calculated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture s̓ National

Agricultural Statistics Service, show farms that produced and sold $1,000 or

more of agricultural products in its respective year.

Consumer desire for local foods year-round along with growing numbers of

smaller farms has prompted more involvement from the state. In July 2015, it

launched Indiana Grown, which was developed by the Indiana State

Department of Agriculture to connect farmer and producers with retailers

and restaurants, help processors focus on state products and teach

consumers about local food.

King said the program focuses on the products and cuts transportation and

other costs that rise as the goods leave the state.

“When our consumers are purchasing roughly $16 billion dollars a year of

food, and theyʼre only purchasing 10 percent of that from Indiana, that s̓

certainly a loss of revenue to our state,” he said.

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Becky Brubaker moves a tray of big beef tomato seedlings Monday,February 1, 2016, at the Weathered Plow in rural Carroll County. Thetomato plants were started from seed at the end of December andgrown hydroponically. The seedlings will be transferred to agreenhouse midway through February. (Photo: John Terhune/Journal &Courier, John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

Where they sell

Although production is limited by temperatures and space constrictions in

protected structures, farmers continue to construct networks to sell

vegetables.

“The hardest part is people s̓ awareness of food that s̓ available in the

winter,” Nate Parks said. “You know, trying to sell (food in the winter) is still a

challenge, no matter how good it is or not.”

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Green, leafy vegetablesgrow in a tower garden

Still, growers manage, though several said they stop producing in January

and February to plan ahead and ready the soil and structures for spring

crops. Silverthorn Farm sells to Heirloom, Restauration and more than 20

restaurants in Indianapolis, and operates a Community Supported

Agriculture program that directly serves about 250 customers. Parks said

the farm is building another greenhouse that will have a storefront where

people can purchase items as well.

The Brubakers are selling lettuce, spinach, salad turnips and radishes at

their store, The Weathered Plow, near the corner of U.S. 52 and Schuyler

Avenue. They also sell to Heirloom and to an Indianapolis chef. The Cooleys

supply customers directly through a stand at their farm between some time

in April and mid-December, depending on their crops. Restauration, The

Black Sparrow, La Scala and EMT Food Truck also purchase goods from the

growers.

“If the restaurant does use something, even if it s̓ not a lot — something in

the winter — it s̓ still an income for the local farm,” Cooley said. “I mean,

because if they have it available and they can sell it, that s̓ something that

they can turn into revenue to help get the next season going or maybe to

save to build another tunnel.”

Space challenges

The sweetness and strong flavors of locally sourced

winter vegetables provide plenty of unique culinary

opportunities. But obstacles still exist to their

reaching as many outlets as those that grow in

warmer seasons.

Scarce sunlight in December and January leaves less

time for plants to undergo photosynthesis and thus

slows growth, said Petrus Langenhoven, a

horticulture and hydroponic crops specialist at

Wednesday, March 2,2016, at Restauration,731 Main Street indowntownLafayette. (Photo: JohnTerhune/Journal &Courier)

Purdue University. The length and severity of winter

affects the market as well — this year s̓ milder winter

yielded longer selling times for farmers.

As far as sales go, spring, summer and fall crops

provide more dependability and financial stability.

Customers and restaurants are eager for tomatoes in June, which growers

start in warmer basements and greenhouses as early as December. Because

of demand and fewer providers in the market at the beginning of the season,

Langenhoven said farmers can charge higher prices and cushion their

budgets.

This gives them incentive to plan their season around those crops and push

out the winter crops to make space to pull the spring and summer produce s̓

season forward. In general in this region, smaller farmersʼ offerings decrease

from late January through March as they clean out their structures, plan and

plant.

“If youʼve got a lot of undercover space, then theoretically you can have a lot

of greens and a lot of things, and you can carry on for quite some time,”

Cooley said.

“Weʼve got about 7,000 square feet under plastic, and I need that space to

be producing things in the spring when the bulk of my customers are ready

to start back into fresh, local produce. And to do that, I canʼt occupy that

space all winter long. You canʼt be planting and harvesting at the same time.”

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Strings used for the growing of tomatoes inside a high tunnel atSilverthorn Farm Thursday, February 4, 2016, near Rossville. (Photo:John Terhune/Journal & Courier, John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

More volume needed

Having space under protected structures, and enough people to work the

crops, is vital to providing the volume required to supply restaurants and

grocery stores. Cooley said restaurants work with farmers when the

uncontrollable variables of growing diminish a supply unexpectedly.

In this area, eateries are able to adapt while using sources from other areas.

“Iʼm a big proponent of buying local foods, and that obviously means

vegetables,” said John Olakowski, general manager of The Black Sparrow. “I

also think that you can go too far and place too much value forcing things,

especially in the winter.”

For example, Olakowski said the Black Sparrow uses about 20 pounds each

of lettuce and Asian greens each week. Justin Henry, who owns Heirloom

with Jon Hurley, said his quantities are similar for greens and that he uses

about 10 to 15 pounds of root crops or more depending on the dish. Parks

said Silverthorn produces about 2,000 pounds of spinach during the winter

months.

Restaurants who want to plate fresh, local vegetables must be sure farmers

are planning for them.

Still in its first year of business, Heirloom dealt with these difficulties.

Because the restaurant opened in August, it received extra produce from

one of its providers, Silverthorn Farm, but wasnʼt in the grower s̓ yearly plan.

As the season continued, Silverthorn couldnʼt consistently supply Heirloom.

To stay true to its mission to use as many locally sourced ingredients as

possible, the restaurant decided to stop serving lunch several days a week

and replace it with a Sunday brunch.

Henry said the switch complements the local offerings, and he has been

talking with Nate and Emily Parks to join their plans this year. Additionally,

Heirloom, which also is open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday, plans

to reopen for lunch in the coming months as produce ramps up, Henry said.

But many grocery stores havenʼt been able to find the volume of winter

vegetables necessary to stock their produce departments. While retailers

say consumer desire is present, several cite a lack of volume as an obstacle.

Marsh sources living lettuce locally but hasnʼt been able to find Indiana

farmers with enough winter produce to depend on them to stock other

vegetables, said Dave Rhodes, vice president of produce for the stores.

Because of a lack of volume, Kroger does not supply its stores in this area

with Indiana winter vegetables, said John Elliott, public affairs manager and

media spokesman.

Fresh City Market in West Lafayette, which has produce primarily supplied

from the Purdue Student Farm, does not stock locally grown produce during

late winter either, owner Jeff Maurer said. Because of the farm s̓ greenhouse,

he said the store was able to keep products stocked into December.

Fresh Thyme Farmers Market and Meijer did not return requests for

comment.

“When youʼre talking about local production, usually one of the barriers has

been, ‘Can you get this quantity consistently?ʼ ” Marshall said. “As you start

producing and you start getting bigger, that becomes the issue. ... Can I get

this quantity the same year-round to be able to meet the demand?”

“I think a lot of the frustration of people who want to source local food is

there s̓ not enough available, first off. You know, there s̓ not enough of me

out there doing what we do,” Parks said.

“If youʼve got the demand for it but you donʼt have any supply, then the

demand falls apart. But you canʼt have the supply unless you have the

people that are buying. It s̓ a constant battle, I think, for all of us — for me as

a farmer and them as a restauranteur or (for) a person that just wants to buy

local food — just getting the sourcing figured out.”

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Green, leafy vegetables grow in a tower garden Wednesday, March 2,2016, at Restauration, 731 Main Street in downtown Lafayette. (Photo:John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

Moving forward

Retailers, restaurants and Indiana Grown are researching and finding creative

ways to offer locally grown produce all year.

Rhodes said he was working with King and Indiana Grown on a program to

organize a central point for local growers to drop off their products, which

would then be distributed to local grocery stores. The two entities also would

like to launch a mushroom-growing operation inside stores that would allow

people to pick them fresh, King said.

Through a partnership with Red Giant Union, a West Lafayette organization

that works to find solutions for local and affordable food, Restauration is

growing a tower garden with greens and herbs inside, Serrano said.

Additionally, researchers are joining with farms to find out the best ways to

grow crops during the winter. For example, Liz Maynard, a vegetable

extension specialist and clinical engagement assistant professor at Purdue,

is working on a project in which data loggers are monitoring light,

temperature, harvesting and other variables on three farms in Elkhart,

Wabash and Hancock counties, she said. The aim is to offer

recommendations that will help farmers schedule crops. Purdue s̓

Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and Purdue

Extension are collaborating on the project.

Consumer education also is part of the agenda. Even with growing demand

for local food, many consumers remain unaware of its benefits and those of

eating seasonally. Because everything is available all the time, farmers and

chefs will tell you people arenʼt sure when vegetables are at their peak.

Cooley said many people still donʼt realize the planning it takes to stretch

and maximize growing seasons — even in the popular spring months that

are just around the corner.

“It s̓ hard for us — it s̓ getting easier — for people when we put the sign out

and say weʼre open, you know, (at) the end of April because even though

they see it, I think they probably think ‘Oh, they didnʼt take it down last year,̓

” Cooley said.

“Because it s̓ still weeks before theyʼre even going to pull the tiller out of

their yard or the hoe and work the ground to plant something.”

By the numbers

Total greenhouse vegetables and fresh cut herbs grown under glass or other

protection. Statistics measured farms that produced at least $1,000 of

agricultural products in its respective year.

In the U.S.

2007: 4,075 farms grew those crops on about 1,418 acres

2012: 8,750 farms grew those crops on about 2,250 acres

In Indiana

2007: 91 farms grew those crops on about 14 acres

2012: 203 farms grew those crops on about 28 acres

*Numbers according to U.S. Census of Agriculture

Delphi Opera House anchorsdowntown revivalDomenica Bongiovanni

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39 Photos

Delphi Opera House reborn

DELPHI — At the north corner of the Courthouse square, historicalvisionaries watch over those who pass them on the sidewalk.

Wabash & Erie Canal contractor Reed Case, poet James Whitcomb Riley,artist Roy Trobaugh. In total, eight people are immortalized on a muralpainted over bricks etched with more than a century of life. At the top, theemblazoned phrase “Pursue the Dream” heralds the movers and shakers,and encourages new ones.

A single element of the figuresʼ diverse achievements unites them: Theyhave carved indelible marks that shaped Delphi and rippled outward.

This historical identity is what many community members recognize as acelebration of the past that can fuel the city s̓ economic development. Theirefforts depend a great deal on a reinvigorated downtown and its singularDelphi Opera House.

Restoring the quirky but endearing performance space, with its intimatelymajestic third-floor stage that was long out of public sight, was thecenterpiece of the proposal that netted Delphi a 2012 Stellar Communitiesdesignation by the state and millions of dollars in funding.

The plan is for the opera house to anchor a cultural and entertainment hubthat will attract patrons from the region. Leveraging its own programmingand ambiance, the venue is working with restaurants, antique and specialtyshops, the Opera House Gallery of Contemporary Art and others to createan experience that will draw residents and visitors.

“A lot of small communities and even bigger communities are using art as aneconomic development tool,” said former Delphi Mayor Randy Strasser.

The blueprint is there. Statistics from Americans for the Arts and the Leagueof Historic American Theatres show how venues like this one can grow jobsand revenue in small communities. Now Delphi must find its specific formula.

The opera house is past the major renovations and in its second season, andthe reality of grinding operational responsibilities has set in fully. Executivedirector Sara Daly Brosman and Anita Werling, the president of the DelphiOpera House Inc. board, know this. They recognize what worked in thesuccessful inaugural season as they carefully continue to navigateuncharted territory.

And with an expanded history center and archives in the works, theyʼre

The Delphi Dramatic Clubtried to keep the third-floor opera house open inthe early 20th century,but the fire inspectorcondemned the space asunsafe in 1914. (Photo:Provided by DelphiPreservation Society)

building more than a performing arts space.

“(We) want visits here to be an experience,” Brosman said.

***

A storied history — and then abandonment

The Delphi Opera House s̓ history — a major selling point — is key torealizing its potential to boost economic development.

The third-floor City Hall, as it was initially called, was part of a three-storystructure that local businessmen Joseph Assion and John Ruffingcontracted with a Lafayette man to build, according to an account by Delphihistorian Charles E. Gerard. Completed in 1865, the first floor containedthree store rooms and residence rooms comprised the second, he wrote.

It was part of a wave of building and developmentthat included larger homes and businesses that werehigher quality than their quicker, cheaper pioneeringpredecessors that were constructed from about1824 to 1855, according to Gerard. Localnewspapers highlighted Delphi s̓ successful businessclimate and beauty. Additionally, the town became acity in 1866 and brought on a mayor, city council andcity officers, he wrote.

Not meant as a government space, the City Hallserved as a spot for July 4 celebrations, dances andother entertainment for the community, according toGerard. Groups including the Young Folksʼ DancingAssociation and the Irish Total Abstinence Society ofDelphi used it.

In the early 1880s, businessman and musician John Lathrope, likely along

with Ruffing, refashioned the City Hall into a new, impressive performing artsspace — the Lathrope and Ruffing Opera House, according to Gerard.During its run, it had competition from other venues but soon rose to be themost prominent, he wrote.

Manager Lathrope, known for his drive and impeccable taste, booked a hugesplash for the opening concert: famous singer Marie Litta with the touringLitta Grand Opera Co. Until the turn of the century, the opera house s̓entertainment reigned with Riley, drama troupes from New York, East Indianmusic, comedy acts, orchestras, bands, community events and more,according to Gerard.

The venue s̓ descent began in 1900, Gerard wrote, which was caused bychanged opinions, an aging Lathrope and a handful of motion picturetheaters, among other factors. The powerful Delphi Dramatic Club triedvaliantly to keep it open. But calls for a new, updated venue increased amidsafety concerns because of the opera house s̓ single entry and exit,according to the historian. The fire inspector condemned it in 1914.

“Delphi is an interesting case because Iʼve never heard of a theater that wasclosed down because it was deemed unsafe and then sat empty,” said KenStein, president and CEO of the League of Historic American Theaters.

Usually, he said, theaters performed well, often converting to movie houseslater on and then suffering once multiscreen cineplexes took over.

Since then, passing decades rubbed away its well-chronicled magnificencein the memories of each generation. While the first and second floors cycledthrough several uses, including a pharmacy, residences and offices, the thirdfloor was relegated to storage and a workshop. A 2009 photo shows peelingwallpaper, weathered seating with store signage and crates stacked on thestage.

That an opera house featuring the famous had once existed on a dirty upper

floor of an old building had practically become a myth.

Writer Stacy Post, who grew up in Delphi in the 1970s and 1980s, was onlyvaguely aware of the performance space after her fourth-grade Indianahistory class mentioned that Riley read there.

“I knew (the opera house) in a vague sense that it was something at onetime,” Post said. “You couldnʼt go see it or visit it. It was not in any shape orform for the public to visit.”

Dan McCain, the Wabash and Erie Canal Association president, didnʼt realizeanything like the opera house existed upstairs until about 20 years ago, hesaid. He grew up in Delphi and has been a driving force behind the canalinterpretive center, trails and grounds.

The Delphi Opera House stood in disrepair in 2009. (Photo: Photoprovided/Alan McConnell)

McCain s̓ uncle told him that his grandfather had performed as a stage actor

there, scribbling his name on the backstage walls as other performers havesince the 19th century, McCain said.

“We sometimes donʼt even know about our own communities, and we growup in them,” he said.

New life

Underneath the grime, Werling saw potential. A newcomer to Delphi in 2005,she became involved with the Delphi Preservation Society and worked as afull-time volunteer. The opera house captured her, and she spearheaded themove to make it into a performing arts center.

“I still get exciting vibes when Iʼm up in that room,” Werling said. “The senseof people from the past, audiences enjoying ... whoever s̓ up on the stage.”

The Delphi Preservation Society bought two-thirds of the building in 1996and the other third in 2007. In the past decade-plus, the building s̓ needswere analyzed and restored. Major structural repairs — including a new roof— occurred along with aesthetic ones, like matching original wallpapers andpainting on faux wood paneling, among many others.

Volunteers put in countless hours. Norm Miller, a retired teacher from DelphiCommunity High School, has been a sponsor and volunteer along with hiswife during the renovations and now. Currently, Brosman is the only full-timeemployee.

Anita Werling looks over the layers of wall paper that once covered thewall and ceiling inside the former opera house in Delphi Wednesday,November 1, 2006. Artists performing in the opera house often wouldsign their names on the wall. With the help of a grant, restoration willbegin on the opera house. The building on the east side of thedowntown Delphi square was constructed in 1864. It was remodeled toinclude the opera house in 1882. Werling is president of the DelphiPreservation Society. (Photo: JOURNAL & COURIER)

“You canʼt pay all these people to do what theyʼre doing because wewouldnʼt be able to survive financially,” Miller said.

The resulting upgrades are a mix of past and present. A grand staircasesweeps visitors from the lobby to second-floor art and reading rooms. Thethird floor captures attention with its warm interior and light wood coloring.Deep maroons, greens and golds jump off the curtains and intricatewallpaper patterns, which offset a wide stage. Ten-thousand square feet,including a banquet hall, kitchen and more, have been added.

The original glass, which appears rippled to 21st-century eyes, remains.Maroon curtains from Target grace the alcoves housing sound equipment.Small unpatched scrapes and painted-over splinters dot the space. Carryingauthenticity, the imperfections tell a story, Brosman said.

“If you would have come in as an individual or a group and repurposed it andreconfigured it, it would have lost something or seem almost sacrilegious tochange it and make it something completely different,” she said.

The restorations cost more than $4 million, Werling said. More than$2,500,000 came from Stellar — specifically the Office of Community andRural Affairs and the Indiana Housing and Community DevelopmentAuthority — and the rest was pledged by the preservation society, she said.The Jeffris Family Foundation and others have contributed to the society,which also has a capital campaign to raise money toward the debt, she said.

But the project is not yet complete. The storied single entry and exit, whichis the original stairwell that leads to the street, hasnʼt been fully refurbished.The mural on the back wall needs to be sealed. An archive room will houseresearch. And at some point that is yet unscheduled, Werling said thepreservation society would like to restore what was once a green room forperformers in the building next door.

The right entertainment

While the history of a venue is enchanting, its programming must deliver aswell.

Stein said that means successful answers to these questions: What does acommunity want? What does it need? What will it support?

No one-size-fits-all solution exists, he said. For example, at the GeorgetownPalace Theatre in Georgetown, Texas — a venue about 30 miles north of thelive music capital of Austin — this meant producing community theater, he

said. For others, it s̓ programming traveling shows that fit a smaller stage.

Jeff Daniels performed at the Delphi Opera House in October2015. (Photo: Photo provided/Mike Lang from M Lang Photography)

Although venues in small towns might not have to directly compete withsimilar performance spaces, they must contend with other easily accessibleentertainment.

“Your biggest competition usually isnʼt another theater or anotherperformance space ... (it s̓) time and whether or not you can convince youraudience, ‘Donʼt turn on the TV tonight — come out and see a liveperformance,̓” Stein said.

“So I always tell theaters, ‘Your biggest competition is ... “Dancing With theStars” or “The Voice” or whatever.̓”

For its inaugural season, Brosman said the venue put together an eclecticmix of artists that would appeal to several audiences.

Thirty-two event days ran from October 2015 through June 2016. Thisseason, theyʼre planning for at least 30 shows. So far, the biggest splash hasbeen actor Jeff Daniels, who played with the Ben Daniels Band. Singer-songwriter Kelley McRae, comedian Drew Hastings and bluegrass band TheWhipstitch Sallies also have graced the stage. Local artists and ensembles,including Scott Greeson and Trouble with Monday and Purdue MusicalOrganizationsʼ Heart and Soul, have performed there as well.

Their prices reflect a variety of events, too, ranging from free to $100 lastyear. Werling said the average ticket cost was about $21, not including thefree concerts, which were meant to give back to the community and offer ano-risk opportunity to try out the theater.

Contributing to the season costs are sponsors — 22 are listed in the fallperformances booklet — facility rentals and ticket sales, Werling andBrosman said. Grants have helped the opera house host free concerts, theysaid.

As Brosman refines the programming plan, she said, she s̓ taking note ofwhom they are attracting. For the first season, Brosman and Werling saidbetween 30 and 40 percent of concertgoers were from Lafayette and WestLafayette.

They aim to reach audiences inside Delphi and beyond its borders. Almost2,900 people reside in the city, about 8,000 in the ZIP code and more than20,000 in Carroll County, according to 2010 U.S. census data. Thepopulation of the five counties touching Carroll is more than 350,000, thedata state.

When the lights are out

The opera house defines the intimate performance setting.

Without tables or space for dancing, the bottom floor holds about 200

patrons seated, and the balcony accommodates an additional 33. Audiencemembers are spread wider than they are deep, which creates a relativelyclose proximity to the stage, even for those in the back row. Zeroing in onthe performer is easy.

“You felt like you were close enough to the stage that you could get eyecontact with every single person,” said Pete Circle, a patron and restaurantowner in Delphi. “It s̓ more engaging to the crowd, you know. It s̓ notoverwhelming.”

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Metal brackets on the balcony Tuesday, October 25, 2016, at the DelphiOpera House in Delphi. (Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

Performers have an enviable view as well. The opportunity to sit on such ahistoric stage — one that even retains the limelight trough that illuminatedthe acts — isnʼt lost on the artists who play the opera house.

Before his 2015 show, Daniels told the Journal & Courier he loved venues likethis.

“The fact that a community like Delphi, you know, put in the time and moneyto redo it, youʼve got to come. Youʼve got to go and play places like that,”Daniels said.

“I want to be one of the people that goes to Delphi and plays that new operahouse versus just goes to Chicago and goes on to Minneapolis orsomething.”

In the middle of her September show, singer-songwriter Carrie Newcomercalled the venue a gem.

For those who have come back, the space has the same magic. In June,Post saw the premiere of her play, “All Washed Up.” She grew up in Delphiand now lives in Danville, Indiana.

“It s̓ not lost on me that James Whitcomb Riley read there, you know, andthen my work has been there,” Post said.

“It gives me chills.”

***

A fresh look for Delphi

Hang out in Delphi for a bit, and youʼll notice a personable atmosphere.

People on the street will give you detailed directions if youʼre turned around.Greetings from workers behind the counter at eateries arenʼt perfunctory.Business owners sometimes hang closed signs in the window or postrevised hours on Facebook when they attend important family events — andeveryone wishes them well.

The spirit is evident to newcomers and longtime residents alike. Miller knew

shortly after he moved to town in 1968 that it would be his home. It was thepeople, he said.

Circle echoes this. He and his wife, who is the principal of Delphi CommunityHigh School, live in the Battle Ground area but are very much involved inDelphi. After becoming the owner of the Sandwich Shop and now the newBrick and Mortar Pub, he s̓ met many residents over the past few years.

“It s̓ neat to be involved with a small town where when you walk down thestreets or walk to Wallmann s̓ (Quality Foods) or get in your car to leave, youlook in the window of a car or business and you know (people),” Circle said.

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An original mural from Delphi Opera House still remains on stageTuesday, October 25, 2016, at the Delphi Opera House inDelphi. (Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

Four years after its designation as a Stellar Community, Delphi is finishing up

a multipart plan to improve its downtown and trails with the intention ofboosting its economy, quality of life and tourism. Mayor Shane Evans andStrasser said the strategic community investment plan has received about$18 million in state and federal funding from the program, which comprisesstate agencies that partner to support development in smaller communities.

City funds and matches from property owners are among other sources thatpaid for Stellar improvements. The opera house renovations did not use localtax dollars, according to a Delphi city document that tallied the totals.

With the opera house as a centerpiece of the project, other parts of the planinclude improved downtown facades, funds to renovate houses in coreneighborhoods, loft apartments, street lighting, new curbs, sidewalks and aconnecting trail.

The city still is wrapping up streetscapes, a trail project and housingrenovations, Evans said.

Many say these improvements are welcome, that the developmentcounteracts some difficulties and uncertainties Delphi has endured over thepast decade-plus.

When major employers Globe Valve and Chromcraft Revington closed in2005 and 2008, respectively, the city lost 700 jobs, according to Journal &Courier archives.

U.S. Census data show Delphi as having 3,015 residents in 2000 and 2,893in 2010. Carroll County s̓ population remained practically the same over the10-year period, according to the data.

Opinions have been mixed about the Hoosier Heartland highway. Thesection between Lafayette and Delphi was completed in 2012 and takesmotorists around the city instead of through it, as Old Indiana 25 did. Whiletraffic is more comfortable in four lanes instead of two, some have worried

the new quick route would make it easier for drivers to pass up Delphicompletely instead of stopping in.

“With ... the gravity that s̓ created by Purdue and Lafayette and WestLafayette, with a four-lane highway, how do we keep some of the gravityhere and become part of that gravity and not just dry up and have things falldown?” said Strasser, who was mayor when Delphi was selected as a Stellardesignee.

Now, along with businesses including Bill s̓ Rock Shop, the Sandwich Shopand others, Strasser said Delphi has something that will stand out and theroom to grow is in place. Evans said persuading people to visit once,whether through the Indiana Bacon Festival or another avenue, helps themrealize return visits are worth it. The popular summer festival brought in9,000 people this year, said Julia Leahy, executive director of the CarrollCounty Chamber of Commerce.

The changes have come with some doubt, however. Strasser, Miller andMcCain have heard the skepticism. While Circle served up food at hisSandwich Shop, he said some customers told him they thought the operahouse renovations were a waste of taxpayer money.

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Metal brackets on the balcony Tuesday, October 25, 2016, at the DelphiOpera House in Delphi. (Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

Krista Watson, who owns Delphi Hardware and Paint with her husband, Jeff,said she thinks the opera house s̓ objective is a good idea but has mixedemotions.

She commended Brosman s̓ work at the venue and thought the renovationplans were beautiful, she said. Watson hasnʼt yet seen the completed projectbut attended a few activities there in the early stages of repairs, she said.

“I think Sara Brosman is doing a wonderful job,” Watson said.

But Watson would have preferred to see citizens have a choice to fundraiseor donate to make improvements for the Stellar work, she said.

“I am not a person who s̓ in favor of using taxpayersʼ money to promote or to

build an entity such as this” regardless of whether the tax dollars were local,state or federal, she said.

Overall, Watson said she thought the Stellar changes were too drastic andoccurred too quickly.

“It couldʼve been kept to a minimum and still achieved a good purpose forthe buildings and community,” she said.

How the opera house fits in

As the centerpiece of the Delphi Stellar Project 2012, the opera house ismeant to help pull the downtown upgrades together.

When choosing designees, OCRA senior project manager Matt Crouch saidthe Stellar committee looks for a single central project that unites and drivesthe rest of the changes. Projects that have fit the bill include parks, officecenters for entrepreneurs and theaters, he said.

The performing arts hold a special place in community development.

“Ultimately, when youʼre looking at creating that quality of place, there s̓ theimportance of that creative class,” Crouch said.

“This project, and I think this program, is helping remind communities tofocus on that creative class as they look to develop and increase theirpopulation.”

Stein and Crouch also touted a small theater s̓ ability to boost thebusinesses around it. It can bring people back downtown outside workhours, Stein said, and cause them to dine out, hire a baby sitter and evenpurchase new clothes, depending on the show.

In a city with less than 50,000 people, one historic theater can create$950,000 in spending from it and its audiences, according to research from

Americans for the Arts and the League of Historic American Theatres. Thereport goes on to state that the same theater can sustain 27 full-timeequivalent jobs, create $84,000 of revenue for state and local governments,and supply $568,000 to household incomes.

The numbers come from averages of communities with similar populations,the research stated, and the estimates arenʼt a replacement for a city-specific economic study.

A theater also can work with other businesses to attract particular audiencesfor certain shows, Stein said.

“A theater has the ability to be as specific as its community needs to be andas broad as its community wants to be with its programming,” Stein said.

“So because of that, theaters are tremendous economic generators thatdonʼt just feed themselves.”

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Artists who have performed, including Jeff Daniels and the Ben DanielsBand, leaves their signatures backstage Tuesday, October 25, 2016, atthe Delphi Opera House in Delphi. (Photo: John Terhune/Journal &Courier)

Downtown revitalization was a central reason for restoring the Delphi OperaHouse, Werling said.

“Let s̓ do it right,” Werling said. “Let s̓ make this a performing arts venue andcommunity center that will not only be there for our residents but which willdraw people from outside and help us to restore the vitality of the downtown,as well as the building.”

Brosman said she has already worked with restaurants, including GardenGate Tea House. When out-of-town groups come for lunch, for example, theestablishment suggests they tour the opera house and vice versa, she said.

Werling said the venue s̓ close proximity to Martha Rose gifts and interiors,the Opera House Gallery of Contemporary Art and the Stone HouseRestaurant and Bakery bumps up the businessesʼ traffic on event days. Forexample, Times Past Antiques vendor Billie Hedde stayed open an extra hourto accommodate the number of guests who came to shop after leaving the“Abraham Lincoln Through Song” show in February 2016, she said.

“I think businesses can feed off of what the opera house is doing and thecanal is doing,” Hedde said.

Circle, who owns the new Brick and Mortar Pub on East Main Street, seesthe venue as a vital part of the nightlife he wants to create downtown. Themomentum in Delphi is a factor Circle feels he can harness and help grow.

His pub boasts a comfortable menu with familiar food in an atmospherewhere he wants people to feel they can fit in, Circle said.

While each touts the other in posters and conversations, Circle said he has

been in talks with the opera house to see what kind of in-depth cross-promotion they can do.

“It s̓ like taking a trip to a town and knowing that they only have that onething that we like to do over there, so that s̓ nice,” Circle said.

“But if you can ... create more things to do than a one-stop shop and leave, Ithink that makes people s̓ decision really easier for them to say that theywant to go to town.”

***

The power of the past

Maybe people crave the sense of identity embedded in history. Or maybetheyʼre simply fascinated with the differences between the past and present.

Delphi s̓ Wabash & Erie Canal has come to symbolize the power historywields. The interpretive center, grounds and trails have become adestination point, and it is enough of a part of Delphi s̓ identity that its canalboat is pictured on the city trademark.

Once an eyesore with stagnant water that smelled and provided acomfortable home to mosquitoes and algae, the canal transformationprocess began in the 1970s when an association formed, McCain said. Thespot includes a museum that explores the canal s̓ story and impact onDelphi; a multibuilding village that includes a contractor s̓ home,smokehouse and fur trapper s̓ cabin; and a network of trails.

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The Delphi Opera House as seen from the Carroll County Courthousesquare Tuesday, October 25, 2016, in Delphi. (Photo: JohnTerhune/Journal & Courier)

The canal has many similarities to the Delphi Opera House and Stellarproject. Devoted volunteers cleaned up the space and continue to run it. Andit took some proving — many people initially felt the improvements were awaste of time, McCain said. Nonetheless, the association s̓ vision andcommunity membersʼ hard work helped change the tide.

“We lost major industries and ... it did hurt because that was the lifeblood ofthe community for a while,” McCain said.

“The north end of Delphi was kind of a down area ... and then the canalcould show and illustrate, ‘Hey, you know what? This is not such a bad-looking area after all. There s̓ lots of things we might be able to do to sprucethis up.̓”

While the history magnet reaches far and wide, its manifestation in theatersis especially present with the younger crowd. Community leaders say theywould like to draw this population segment to Delphi.

“I know when I came back from college and saw what theyʼve done with thefacades ... I didnʼt realize how beautiful some of these buildings were, justthe architectural style of them, until the facades had been worked on,” Evanssaid.

Stein said staying true to a historic space is a marketing advantage andgalvanizes fundraising help for the inevitable repairs old venues require.Mustering funds is difficult, he said, but community investment — once won— sticks. Staying on top of repairs and rolling out superior programming arethe two biggest future challenges for theaters like the opera house, Steinsaid.

“(People and especially the younger generation) love an authenticexperience, and a small vintage theater is much more attractive to the youngcommunity than a brand new performing arts center because of the intimacyand the history that the younger generation actually considers to be part ofthe show experience,” Stein said.

Certainly that helped Brosman book Daniels. His agent responded to hercold call, she said, largely because the actor and musician admires historicalspaces.

“Places like Delphi need you to come in and celebrate opera houses likethat. ... That s̓ the entertainment history of this country, places like that,”Daniels told the J&C before his 2015 show at the opera house.

Those heavily involved maintain the excitement that has driven them allalong.

“The very first time I was up on the stage, just sort of the hair on the back of

your neck, you know, kind of stands up and you sort of sense what it musthave been like playing from that stage to audiences, ladies in hoop skirts andgents in their ... suits or vests, their top hats tucked under their chairs,”Werling said.

“Now when you stand on that stage and you look out, it s̓ the same type ofexperience, only you know there are real people out there. It s̓ just anamazing room, and to see it alive again is just kind of overwhelmingsometimes.”

By the numbers

According to the Delphi Opera House, the venue:

• Sold 30 to 40 percent of its tickets to Lafayette and West Lafayetteresidents.

• Has 30 to 45 percent of its patrons coming from outside Delphi.

• Broke even or made money on all shows except for the Metropolis Quartetduring its first season.

• Sells 44 percent of tickets online.

Upcoming events

At the Delphi Opera House, 109 S. Washington St. in Delphi

Tickets available at delphioperahouse.org.

• “Frankenstein” Radio Play with Lafayette Civic Theatre: 7p30 p.m. Monday.$10-$25.

• Singer Karli Edging: 7p30 p.m. Nov. 4. $15-$35.

• Songs My Mother Sang: Glory-June Greiff with a Veterans Day tribute. 3

p.m. Nov. 6. Free.

• A Christmas Carol: 7p30 p.m. Nov. 18-19. 3 p.m. Nov. 20. $10-$15.

• Harpeth Rising: Chamberfolk on banjo, violin and cello. 7p30 p.m. Dec. 9.$25-$50.

TIPPECANOE COUNTY — It’s the relics that are often conduits to understanding craftbrewing in Lafayette.

A Star City Lager bottle from Thieme & Wagner Brewing Co., made before Prohibition,found buried under a tree stump. A bottle that held Apple-Ade created by the samebrewers when they tried to outlast the strictures on alcohol sales. A wooden kegdiscovered under a house.

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Reading about the objects is enough to set your imagination in gear. Did revelers tap thekeg at a basement party in the Moses Fowler House? Did someone throw back thecontents of that bottle at one of the reputedly wild shindigs aboard a boat on the WabashRiver? Shenanigans like these formed the colorful reputation of “Old Lafayette.”

Over the years, residents who dug up these items wrote into the local newspaper, curiousabout the backstories. Others — including Walt Griffin, who married a member of theThieme family — became collectors, scouring eBay and antique stores to fill out theirknowledge of a thriving beer culture before consolidated national companies took over inthe mid-20th century.

The “Old Lafayette” days and their memorabilia are again becoming a popular topic ofconversation with the descendants of a once-famous juggernaut brewery — Thieme &Wagner (https://www.facebook.com/thiemeandwagner/) — announcing in April that theywill open a brewpub(http://www.jconline.com/story/entertainment/dining/2016/04/14/historic-brewpub-open-downtown-lafayette/83045056/) downtown bearing the same name. A focal point for thebar will be the objects and photos brothers John and Brian Thieme and their family havecollected.

But these pieces offer more than just stories. As the U.S. has shifted back to supportingthe smaller craft breweries that were popular in the first half of the 20th century andbefore, the bottle tops, labels and recorded history carry the bits of culture andauthenticity that root Lafayette’s beer makers in the age-old tradition and show them howto continue it.

“We always like to circle back to who we are, and we find out about ourselves when wecircle back,” said Rita Kohn, craft beer writer for NUVO. “You know, what was it that ourgreat-grandparents liked? It gives us a connectivity.”

“Old friends”: Before the Prohibition

Like so many other towns, the roots of local beer culture are buried in hospitality.

You can see indications of this in a Thieme & Wagner Brewing Co. sign from about 1900in Lafayette resident Griffin’s collection. In the center of a painted, dark wood-grainbackground is a comfortable scene labeled “Old Friends”: Three jovial, gray-haired menlounge around a table in a cozy tavern chatting, reading the newspaper and smoking. Youfeel like you could pull up a chair and they’d ask about your day.

This homey sense began when travelers stayed in European monasteries starting in theMedieval Age, according to Douglas A. Wissing’s “A Traveler’s Guide to Indiana’sBreweries.” Housewives had their day ruling the domain, too, Kohn said.

“We brewed and baked at home,” she said. “When transportation came about, it broughtthe stranger who was away from home and needed a little bit of hospitality.”

The concept of a tavern that provided housing, food and beverage grew out of this, shesaid.

So how much did this industry impact mid-19th century Lafayette? Quite a bit, as it turnsout, for what was an exploding population.

Agriculture, the river trade, railroads and digging the Wabash and Erie Canal providedjobs and a place to raise a family, according to Bob Kriebel’s book “Old Lafayette: 1811-1853” and Colby Bartlett, vice president of the Tippecanoe County Historical

Thieme & Wagner beer memorabilia that is part of Walt Griffin'scollection Thursday, July 7, 2016, in his Lafayette home.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

Association’s board of governors. For example, thousands of Irish immigrants who dugthe the canals performed what Barlett called horrific work, and alcohol helped ease theburden.

“The beginnings of Lafayette are about as blue collar as you could possibly imagine, andso there was an awful lot of drinking going on in this town,” he said.

Built after the successful steamboat industry, the canal, paired with the Wabash River;telegraph; and railroads brought in advances in the 1840s and 1850s that weresubstantial — they boosted transportation, trade, freight for farm products, commerceand more, according to “Old Lafayette.”

Different European cultures, including immigrants from Ireland, Scotland and Germany,brought their beverages of choice as they migrated to Indiana and the Midwest in the late18th and early-19th centuries, Bartlett said.

According to Wissing, the English-style ales were popular for colonial beers. Those left toferment longer became stronger, while the home-brewed variety contained less alcohol,he wrote. Ales took hold since they required little waiting, Kohn said, and wereconvenient to drink without delay.

But as more German immigrants entered the U.S. during the 19th century, lagers’polished tastes became popular. With increasing numbers of breweries after 1850, thestyle overtook the previously popular corn whiskey in Indiana, Wissing wrote, andsaloons and beer gardens became embedded into the Hoosier mentality.

About 1910, 27 Indiana breweries had German owners or brewmasters, while a smallhandful comparatively were from England, Scotland, Switzerland and France, said BobOstrander, who wrote “Hoosier Beer: Tapping into Indiana Brewing History” with DerrickMorris.

Titans of brewing: Rival firms set up shop

On Griffin’s wall is a poster, a reproduction of an artist’s lithograph of the Thieme &Wagner brewery, originally created about 1910. It portrays a powerful juggernaut ofindustry.

A sprawling red structure, several stories high, towers over stoic portraits of ownersFrederick A. Thieme and John Wagner. Thick smoke pouring from a chimney into the skyechoes the productivity of the bustling workers and wagons on the ground.

Such was the headquarters for Thieme & Wagner, thesecond of two major breweries in Lafayette helmedby German immigrants.

The first, Newman & Miller, was founded by John H.Newman from Mecklenburg, Prussia, and his brother-in-law Abraham Miller in 1842 near Ellsworth Streeton the Wabash and Erie Canal, according toOstrander and Morris’ book.

After Miller drowned in the canal, the breweryunderwent several partner and name changes. Iteventually became known as Spring Brewery from1857 to 1868 before adding in the names of partnersDietrich Herbert and then George A. Bohrer.

The spring becamecentral to the brewery when Newman moved it to Fourth

and Alabama streets and acquired a water source near the property. Not only did he pipein water and use the steam to make beer, he constructed a tunnel from the brewery to hisnearby three-story home so excess steam could heat the residence, Ostrander andMorris wrote.

Newman could even walk to work through the tunnel — which was about 15 feet wideand 18 feet high — and use it for lagering, according to “Hoosier Beer” and archives atthe Tippecanoe County Historical Association.

He also sold water to his neighbors, put in a fire hydrant and constructed a bathhouse,according to the book. With so much use, the spring unsurprisingly ran dry.

Bohrer, a Bavarian immigrant who married into the Newman family, bought out Herbert’sinterest, and then the Newman heirs’ interest once John Newman died in the 1880s,Ostrander and Morris wrote. The business delivered to Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and allover Indiana, according to an article by Harry Counceller in The Breweriana Collector, thejournal of the National Association Breweriana Advertising.

Travel down Fourth Street to Union Street, and you’d run into the landmark Thieme &Wagner, which was founded by Herbert and John Wagner, an immigrant from the Germanprovince of Weimar, around the 1850s, Ostrander and Morris wrote.

Later on, Frederick A. Thieme, also from the Weimar province, decided make a home inLafayette and bought Herbert’s interest. Thieme’s great-great-grandson, Brian Thiemeand his son, David, said Thieme & Wagner became incorporated in 1863. The family isn’tsure why Thieme came here, but John Thieme said family stories have it that Frederick A.Thieme found the city classier than other Midwestern towns.

Frederick A. Thieme was a brewer, John Thieme said, who brought his own yeast to theU.S., a practice that Greg Emig, who co-owns Lafayette Brewing Co., said was common.Several years into his ownership of the brewery, Frederick A. Thieme and his wife traveledback to Germany to purchase modern, expensive special equipment that met thesensitive needs of lagers, David Thieme said.

At its height, Thieme & Wagner produced about 35,000 barrels — holding 31 gallonsapiece — per year, according to Ostrander and Morris. Counceller wrote that the brewerydelivered to Covington and Kokomo, among several other cities in Indiana, and Kankakeeand Danville in Illinois.

While Thieme & Wagner and Bohrer were Lafayette’s juggernauts, Ostrander and Morrismention other smaller breweries in Lafayette: City Brewery (1851-1868) and Hannaganand Fitzgerald (about 1900).

Lafayette residents reputedly drank their part to support the establishments.

Wissing wrote that the city was “considered ‘the wildest place on the Wabash,’ a slightlyshady town with a booming Fourth Street brewery, biergarten, saloon, and bordelloscene, and wild Wabash River excursion boats that were little more than floatingtaverns.”

The Knickerbocker Saloon, which received the first state-issued liquor license in 1835,saw its share of the party. The saloon likely carried beer from local breweries along withBlatz, Budweiser and Schlitz, Ostrander said.

A 1915 postcard featuring Ye Tavern Brew by The Thieme & WagnerBrewing Co. is part of Walt Griffin's Thieme & Wagner collectionTuesday, July 26, 2016, in his Lafayette home.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

Owner Jeff Hamann said the establishment — first called the Cherry Wood Bar and partof the Lahr Hotel before changing its name — essentially was a men’s club that served upshots, beer, shaves and haircuts. A player piano installed in the 1870s made the saloonespecially noteworthy.

Fun also was in the DNA of Frederick J. Thieme — John and Brian Thieme’s grandfather.While attending a private all-boys high school at St. Joseph’s in Rensselaer, hebefriended Brother Dave.

“(Thieme) would have beer shipped up there in wooden boxes marked ‘barber supplies,’”John Thieme said. “Of course the Brother’s a younger guy, and he liked to drink beer, sohe’d go over to the barber shop.”

The Beer De Luxe: Ye Tavern Brew and other flavors

In still-vibrant hues, Griffin’s “Ye Tavern Brew”postcard, copyrighted in 1913, depicts a quaint teamof horses pulling a wagon of smartly dressed peoplein red coats and top hats. The travelers are kicking updust as they trot past what looks like a homey inn.

The bustling scene echoes a description from anearly-20th century Thieme & Wagner ad, a copy ofwhich resides at the Tippecanoe County HistoricalAssociation.

“There is ‘Class’ to Ye Tavern Brew, The BeerDeLuxe,” reads the text, which is beside a drawing oftwo dapper gentlemen strolling outside anestablishment called “Kings Inn.” “Its popularity isbased on real merit. This pure, sparkling, snappybrew finds favor with the majority of the peoplewherever it is sold because its superiority isrecognized. Let us deliver a case today to yourhome.”

Historians and brewing experts can only guess at the exact makeup and taste of pre-Prohibition lagers. Brian Thieme said the family doesn’t have a recipe — the brewmasterlikely had it memorized or written down on something that’s not in their collection.

What experts do know is that Indiana’s beveragesreflected Germany’s range, including lagers,bocks, fruit beers and wheat beers, Ostrandersaid. Emig said pre-Prohibition lagers were morerobust, maltier and possessed a higher hopcontent and IBU, which measures bitterness.Bohrer’s brewery created Indiana Pride, AmberBeer and Special Brew for family use, Ostranderand Morris wrote.

Thieme & Wagner made a Bohemian beer forChristmas, giving it to the families of breweryemployees, Brian Thieme said. Lager-types T&WSpecial and Lockweiler also were offerings.

Over time, the suds developed individualreputations.

A Thieme & Wagner's Bohemian beer bottle that is part ofWalt Griffin's Thieme & Wagner collection. Griffin said thebottle is probably dates to around 1910. Griffin added that itis extremely rare to have both labels still on the bottle.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

For instance, Kriebel’s “Old Lafayette: 1854-1876”refers to “Herbert’s Lager,” which was notableenough for a local newspaper to joke about.

Meant to be a spectacle for the entire region,celebrated balloonist John Wise visited town in1859 to lift off and take a bag of mail processedby the post office to New York City. In the midst of several mishaps that caused the eventto flop — after a few tries, Wise made it only 6 miles south of Crawfordsville — thenewspaper blamed the balloonist for having drinks in a local brewery before taking off.

When Wise faulted bad winds and Lafayette’s gas for the disappointing result, thenewspaper fired back that the failed flight might be a “‘treatise on specific gravity ofHerbert’s Lager ... and the brain-softening qualities of that seductive beverage,’”according to Kriebel’s book.

An apple a day: Reinvention during the Prohibition

Apella’s label goes a long way toward persuading you to pick up a bottle of the applejuice.

Described as “A TONIC — A FOOD — A HEALTHFUL DRINK” and “NATURE’S BESTBEVERAGE,” the wording assures potential consumers that the company uses “selected,sound, carefully washed apples under absolutely sanitary conditions” to produce itsunfermented, sparkling drink. A bottle, with some brownish liquid still sloshing aroundinside, is included in Griffin’s collection.

Apella was part of Thieme & Wagner’s survival effort during Prohibition, which took effectnationwide in 1920, though Indiana issued a state ban in 1918. Perhaps to anticipate thechanging alcohol laws, Ostrander and Morris wrote, the brewers started the National FruitJuice Co. as a subsidiary in 1916 and manufactured the drink.

The fruit juice company also produced near beers— beverages with no more than one-half of apercent of alcohol — called Yette and Ye Tavern,along with Apple-Ade, a carbonated drink.

A Thieme & Wagner's Apella Apple-ade bottle that is part ofWalt Griffin's Thieme & Wagner collection. Thieme &Wagner transitioned to the National Fruit Juice Co. duringprohibition.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

But the venture didn’t work out, and the brewerssold it to the Val Blatz Co., Brian and DavidThieme said. W.G. Hanger and his corporationbought it for $200,000 and began manufacturingbeer in 1933 at the end of Prohibition, accordingto Journal & Courier archives. Consider that in1911, the Thieme & Wagner owners had beenoffered $1 million for the business, archivesstated.

Rival brewer Bohrer carried on his business untilProhibition ended its run. Before closing, itproduced about 14,000 barrels per year, accordingto Ostrander and Morris. Counceller wrote thebrewery had made 20,000 barrels in 1909.

During Prohibition, the company became BohrerProducts Co. and turned into a soft drink and icecream enterprise. According to J&C archives, 24soft drink retailers vied for business in Lafayette atthat time.

But Lafayette residents craved beer and otherbeverages with more than the half-percent of alcohol set by the Volstead Act.

Although J&C archives state that the final night of legal drinking in April 1918 was “wetbut orderly,” many citizens by no means obeyed the restrictive new laws.

“There’s a lot of jokes ... that Lafayette was the wettest place south of Chicago duringProhibition,” Bartlett said.

People in town officially complied, but looked the other way, when people drank. Bartlettreferenced myriad speakeasies, trips to Chicago to obtain alcohol and a taxi driver whodelivered booze in his truck.

The shenanigans weren’t foreign to the upper echelon either.

Cecil Fowler’s son ran a speakeasy called the Crock Club in the Fowler House’sbasement, where his friends and select Purdue University students paid 50 cents for allthey could drink, Bartlett said. For sustenance, the gardener, Shorty, cooked up 5-centhamburgers.

JOURNAL AND COURIERProhibition ends; brewery opens

(http://www.jconline.com/story/news/2016/08/18/prohibition-ends-brewery-opens/87920862/)

After Prohibition: Moving forward, past in hand

Once alcohol flowed legally again, Ye Tavern beer returned.

The Derby Tap Room and Cafe, 1015 Main St., recommended the suds on its 1930s-eramenu — another piece of Griffin’s collection. A bottle of the suds set patrons back 15cents in the 1930s — 5 cents less than Budweiser and Schlitz. Patrons likely downed afew with a liverwurst, corned beef or cold baked ham sandwich, which were among thefood offerings.

A menu from the Derby Tap Room that is from the Thieme andWagner collection of Walt Griffin. The Derby Tap Room was located at11th and Main streets in dowtown Lafayette. The menu dates to the1930s.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

Although the famous beer’s name and manufacturinglocation were unchanged after Prohibition, its makerswere not. In 1933, Lafayette Brewing Inc. beganproducing the beer, along with a line of others, in timefor Christmas.

According to Journal & Courier archives, theequipment inside the spot at Fourth and Unionstreets was updated from the pre-Prohibitionoperation. The archives claim Ye Tavern was thesame recipe as its former counterpart — includinghops from Oregon and Czechoslovakia — and thebrewmaster was Louis F. Panther, who had previouslyworked for Bohrer. Along with Ye Tavern cameTippecanoe Beer and Kopper Kettle.

Lafayette Brewing Inc. produced about 100,000barrels a year in its heyday, according to Ostranderand Morris.

“After ... Prohibition, then it was a whole new market, whole new everything,” Ostrandersaid, “and the Lafayette Brewing that popped up there ... was distributed quite a bitfurther.”

Consolidation and the growing popularity of mega-breweries forced Lafayette BrewingInc. to shut down in 1953, along with many of its counterparts. The majestic building wastorn down in the late 1950s and early-1960s to build the Harrison Bridge.

Its fate echoed that of Bohrer’s brewery, which came down in 1939 to make way for aKroger supermarket.

Pre-Prohibition culture informs new frontiers

In 2010, Chris Johnson, who co-owns People’s Brewing Co., began the process of re-creating Ye Tavern — first called Lay Flatter Lager and then Ol’ Tavern — as an homageto the pre-Prohibition lager that once flowed freely in Lafayette.

Ostrander said brewing an exact replica of pre-Prohibition beer is controversial at best.The source materials available for ingredients have changed, Kohn said, and so haveconsumers’ palettes.

“The water is different, the wheat is different, the malt is different, the hops are verydifferent now than what it was,” Ostrander said. “So you cannot really replicate those oldbeers, not in truth.”

What’s more, today’s consumers might not even enjoy what was considered delicious200 years ago, so brewers adjust the framework to modern profiles, Kohn said.

For Ol’ Tavern, Johnson said he relied on research and tried to mimic the Americanlager’s original methods and ingredients.

“It’s full-flavored, but it’s light and refreshing, very well-balanced,” he said.

“It’s one of my favorite beers,” Brian Thieme said. “It’s a good beer to (go) fishing, it’s agood beer to have a dinner or parties or whatever.”

Other throwbacks don’t aim to re-create a specific taste, but play to history instead.

Before the city tore down Newman’s house in 2013,Johnson said People’s brewed Newman’s Extra SpecialBitter, imagining that the former brewery owner was angry

about the situation. They stopped once the house — also the former site of the Soller-Baker Funeral Home — was demolished.

When Emig’s wife was pregnant with their daughter, he said Lafayette Brewing Co.created a groaning ale traditionally meant for the mother and midwives to consume andwash newborns in.

Emig and Johnson’s homages to history and creativity outline some of the traits modernbrewers possess. As a whole, Kohn uses the word “vibrant” to describe the current craftbrewing culture, which has exploded in the past few decades.

Growing in part out of homebrewing circles, small breweries began to take hold againtoward the end of the 20th century. The year 1989 brought Indiana’s first of the new erawith Indianapolis Brewing Co., which eventually ended up selling, according to Wissing.Broad Ripple Brewpub — still operating — came next. Emig’s Lafayette Brewing Co.followed soon after and received the first small brewer’s permit under the new law in1993, he said.

The modern culture takes many cues from the past. Much like their 19th- and early 20th-century ancestors, brewers are involved in philanthropy that directly improves theircommunities, Kohn said. Emig pointed out that many owners run their businesses inhistoric buildings, therefore keeping them viable.

According to 2015 Brewers Association statistics, 115 craft breweries operate in Indiana,a number that has climbed steadily over the past few years and ranks 15th in the nation,which has 4,225 total. What Emig initially thought would be a viable business — albeitone that would require a good deal of public education — has turned into a scene thatkeeps expanding.

“It’s certainly exceeded my wildest expectations,” Emig said.

Kohn characterizes brewers as fearless and ahead of the curve. She mentioned seeingmore rye malt, malted wheat and sours with a barley base and fruits. The descriptionechoes statesman Benjamin Franklin’s comments about the resourcefulness of earlyAmerican brewers, who used corn, wheat, molasses and sassafras, according toWissing.

“Brewers show their passion, and they’re willing toput themselves out there and lead before peoplewant something,” Kohn said.

Plenty of modern brewers feel a sense of kinshipwith their counterparts from previous centuries.They’ll tell you today’s landscape looks a lot like itdid before the large domestic companies grabbedthe market.

Brian and John Thieme want to launch their newbrewpub, at 652 Main St., into this culture.Although Brian Thieme said the new Thieme &Wagner won’t create its own brews at this point —that is planned for the future — he will serve craftbeer from around the state. The Thiemes areaiming for a mid-September opening.

Ol' Tavern Beer by People's Brewing Company. The beer isbased upon Ye Tavern Brew, which was produced yearsago by the Thieme & Wagner Brewing Company inLafayette.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

The establishment is the family’s way of circlingback to its roots and celebrating severalgenerations in the beer industry. After selling thebrewery, the Thiemes continued working in thefield in different capacities.

They established Thieme, Wagner and Watson, adistributorship that handled Champagne Velvet and other area brews, Brian Thieme said.Because of a change in state government leadership, the company was unable to renewits license. From there, he said his grandfather and great-uncle Charlie worked sellingChampagne Velvet in Terre Haute before his great-uncle retired.

Thieme’s grandfather and father continued work for different companies in the industry.Thieme began helping his dad as a teenager before becoming a sales representative atMid-America Beverage Inc. in Kokomo and then setting up and furnishing beer forevents. David Thieme now works for People’s Brewing Co.

Over the years, the family has collected memorabilia from the brewery and the area. Theywant their brewpub to be a museum of sorts — a place where people can take in theknickknacks, pictures and stories. Brian Thieme states its mission rather simply.

“Ask questions, and talk about it, and have a beer, and enjoy the conversation.”

JOURNAL AND COURIERProhibition ends; brewery opens

(http://www.jconline.com/story/news/2016/08/18/prohibition-ends-brewery-opens/87920862/)

JOURNAL AND COURIERThieme & Wagner became casualty of Prohibition era

(http://www.jconline.com/story/news/2016/08/18/thieme-wagner-became-casualty-prohibition-era/87922680/)

JOURNAL AND COURIERPeople's brewing up new ale for bicentennial

(http://www.jconline.com/story/entertainment/dining/2016/08/18/peoples-brewing-up-new-ale-bicentennial/88075516/)

JOURNAL AND COURIERArea beer-making history dates to 1850s

(http://www.jconline.com/story/news/history/2016/08/18/area-beer-making-history-dates-1850s/87939576/)

Call J&C reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 765-420-5247. Follow her onTwitter: @DomenicaReports (https://twitter.com/domenicareports).

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