From Left to Right, Bob Porter – Culver Utilities Superintendent, Jack Jordan – State Representative, Dale Cramer – Lake City Bank, Joel Samuelson – Culver Town Council, Kevin Berger – Easterday Construction Co., Inc., Tammy Shaffer – Culver Town Council, Ginny Munroe – Culver Town Council President.
I was pretty impressed with the turn out for the Sand Hill Farm Ground Breaking Ceremony last Tuesday, November 5th. There were around 35 people there including representatives from the Town, County and State. Town Council President – Ginny Munroe, County Commissioner – Kevin Overmyer and Lake City Bank Representative – Dale Cramer all spoke in support of the project. I truly appreciated the kudos. We broke out the gold shovels and made a showing of it for the Press.
Speaking about Workforce Housing at the Stellarbration on November 5th. From Left to Right, Kevin Berger – Easterday Construction Co., Inc., Brian Meek – Elkay Wood Products, Karen Shuman – Culver Community School Corp., Don Fox – Culver Academies
The theme from everyone was how this was a first step towards addressing Culver and Marshall County’s workforce housing needs. Currently, Marshall County has an unemployment rate of less than 3%. The general “rule” is that once it gets below 4%, everyone that wants to work is working. Since there are still jobs going unfilled, the next step would be to recruit labor from outside the County. That’s difficult when there isn’t housing available for those new workers. Sand Hill Farm hopes to be a first step towards addressing this. This is Easterday Construction being a community partner/leader.
Along with the several of our area newspapers, we received coverage from the three major networks, ABC 57, WNDU 16 and WSBT 22. See WSBT links for video clips of the Stellerbration event and ABC 57 and WNDU 16 for a little more about the Sand Hill Farm ground breaking. They were all kind with their video editing and made us look good!
Housing was the signature piece of Culver’s Stellar Communities application and I truly think we wouldn’t have scored as highly without the Phase I portion of this project underway. It showed that even without winning Stellar designation last year, Culver moved forward, addressing the needs identified in our Strategic Investment Plan. Having Regional Cities also put money towards this project was positive too. It showed a regional commitment that the State values. At several of the presentations, I was pleased to stand with Culver’s three largest employers, Elkay Wood Products, Culver Community School Corporation and Culver Academies, as their representatives spoke about the needs this project was addressing and how this needs to be just the start.
Tuesday was a true ground breaking as we made our presentations with an excavator working in the background. Currently the building pad is nearly complete and the excavator should be cutting in footings in the next week. the site looks quite different.
We’re racing the weather to get the slab done so we can work through the winter. Since it is slab-on-grade construction, that means a fair amount of underground utility work needs to be completed as well. Cross your fingers for us!
It sounds like the Town will delay their street work until Spring. That shouldn’t affect us as long as they are complete sometime in June. The goal is to be open next summer before the new school year starts. That would meet many of our goals, i.e. increased Town population, increased school enrollment and an expanded labor pool.
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Thanks to Nancy Tyree at MCEDC for the pictures.
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Easterday Construction belongs to Indiana Landmarks. Their recent email newsletter includes some pictures of the Shady Rest Home on the east side of Plymouth. For anyone one interested, the County is looking at options to repurpose this facility since Bowen Center‘s decision to cease operations there. The following is an excerpt from the Indiana Landmarks site regarding the home.
“In the days before welfare and social programs, and before the establishment of hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted-living facilities, people in need often had nowhere to turn. In 1848, Indiana passed new legislation requiring every Indiana county to “provide a public place wherein the unfortunate poor might have care.” Eventually, all 92 Indiana counties established “poor farms,” where able-bodied residents worked to offset the cost of residential care.
Local fanfare accompanied the Marshall County home opening in 1893. As the architecture makes evident, the county intended to create a quality home for their neediest citizens. Wing and Mahurin — a firm renowned for its Romanesque Revival public buildings — designed a grand Superintendent’s Quarters, with living and work space for the director and residents. Originally called the Marshall County Infirmary, the place earned its “Shady Rest” nickname from the many shade and fruit trees planted on the property.
Shady Rest Home today
Unfortunately, demolition has claimed a majority of Indiana’s historic county homes. In continual service for more than a century, Shady Rest is an anomaly. The county sold the facility in 1998, but it continued to serve as the Otis R. Bowen Center Shady Rest Home, a private residential center for adults who suffer from mental illness.
The Bowen Center closed Shady Rest this summer, and Marshall County commissioners are looking for ways to put the campus back in use. The five-acre property includes the main building, a large c. 1893 barn, a 1920s well house, and a garage.
The main building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, which could make it eligible for Federal Rehabilitation Tax credits. Check out the National Register nomination for more interesting history about the Marshall County home. For more on efforts to find a reuse for the property, contact Marshall County commissioner Kurt Garner, 574-936-0613 or kurt.garner@gmail.com.”
Easterday Construction completed some renovation work on the facility back in the early 80’s. I was a plumber’s helper on part of that work, so I got to see some of the facility at that time. Unfortunately there wasn’t much effort to document projects at that time, so I don’t have any real details on what was done. I remember demolishing some nasty showers though!
It would be sad to lose this piece of history, though repurposing the facility may be challenging. Generally a buildings highest and best use is its original use and once that use has run its course, change is difficult. I’m sure with a little creativity, the County’s Committee on repurposing the building, currently being lead by Commissioner Kurt Garner, will find a suitable third life for this historic building.
Did I call it, or what? A few years back I wrote an article here that went viral. Well, it got picked up by the Culver Citizen and the MCEDC newsletter anyway… The post, “If it Ain’t Burr Oak, Don’t Fix it” talked about the potential renaissance for Burr Oak, citing the access to electric, rail, State Highways and proximity to Culver. Since that article was written, the sub station renovation is nearly complete. I drive through there several times a day every weekday and I can tell you the train traffic has increased as well. And apparently Kevin Overmyer has decided to lead Burr Oak’s renaissance. Last year he began hosting events in the family barn with Burr Oak Barn Rental and this year he renovated the old General Store building and opened it as the Burr Oak Whistle Stop this past July. (Grand Opening article here.)
My article title came from my friend, Eric Freeman, who enjoyed a good play on words. In the case of the Whistle Stop, Kevin Overmyer decided there was something broken there and he took it upon himself to fix it. He remembered the history of the building from his childhood and was disheartened by the building’s deterioration. With the work he has done, it is nearly unrecognizable.
Is Burr Oak likely to see a true renaissance from these small beginnings? Hard to tell. Does Kevin have other plans for the Town? He’s not saying. But there is another commercial building there that could be put back into operation and the drive-by exposure is pretty good there. Maybe he’s started something. At the quarterly County Development for the Future meeting MCEDC hosts, I asked Kevin if he was planning to start giving a report on Burr Oak and it’s goals and progress. He just laughed, but there was a twinkle in his eye and he didn’t say no.
I’ll have to let Eric know that Burr Oak may be looking for a Mayor soon. Though he may have to run against Kevin, who’s always been a shrewd politician…
When you donate to eligible endowment funds at the Marshall County Community Foundation on Thursday, May 25, 10% will be added to your gift! Do you need more reasons to donate? Here are mine…
I became a MCCF board member because I see the transformational work the MCCF accomplishes and knew some of the important community leaders that had served before me. Leaders such as Richard Ford, John Zeglis, Carolyn Kline and Barbara Winters. The privilege of working with them or following in their footsteps has been an honor. I strive to do justice to them.
I serve on the MCCF grants committee where I see how unrestricted funds are used to support causes in the community. Through this I’ve learned about many of the good people and organizations throughout our county that make a difference. I’ve been able to support fledgling groups like the Culver Community High School Archery Club and Culver Main Street get off the ground, and helped the Culver Boys and Girls Club and the Lake Maxinkuckee Environmental Council expand their mission. Do you love the West Pavilion on Lake Maxinkuckee? A MCCF grant helped restore that Culver treasure!
I also serve on the MCCF investment committee where I see the time, effort and careful consideration that goes into marshaling the Foundation’s funds to do the most good while keeping an eye on the conservation of their value.
I became a MCCF contributor for various reasons. I have given to the unrestricted fund to help support those groups that come before the grants committee. I have donated to dedicated funds that support causes with missions I believe in, such as Hospice and Habitat for Humanity. And finally, I have contributed to remember and honor friends. I served on the Culver Chamber of Commerce board of directors for over a decade and lost two friends who were fellow board members during that time. For that reason I have contributed to honor the memory of those friends, Ron Tusing and Marianne Ransdell, both of which have memorial funds that give scholarships to CCHS students.
For those of you familiar with Marshall County Community Foundation, you’ll see Marshall County Match Madness as an opportunity to make your charitable donation go further. For those of you unfamiliar with the Foundation, get to know them!
On Thursday, May 25, make sure to donate at: www.marshallcountycf.org and 10% will be added to your gift. Or, you can go to the Community Resource Center at 510 West Adams Street, Plymouth, and talk to nonprofits and MCCF staff and ask any questions you may have.
Remember, Marshall County Match Madness is on May 25. Let’s make this a stellar day for Culver!
Kevin L. Berger
MCCF Board Member