My Indiana Investigation

Back in the Day With Mr. J

Hi there…

I’d never set foot in the Hoosier State before last month and yet I’d spent the better part of the last 12 years imagining it. In particular, a 2400-population farm town, Osceola, Indiana, which is where my protagonist teacher character, Mr. J, hails from.

Osceola is about a 10-minute drive due east from South Bend. I went there on a mission — my, ahem, Indiana Investigation, if you will. And so I thought my readers — or, if not yet, my soon to be readers? — would get a kick out of this travelogue of sorts.

Here’s my corn-y Hoosier State report…

A Sweet Welcome To South Bend

Before I even made it into the lobby of my South Bend lodgings (nope, there are no hotels in Osceola), I was greeted by an aptly chocolate-colored wall on the far side of the hotel’s parking lot…

So I already knew what I’d be bringing back as a treat for my wife, a big aficionado of all things chocolate. That was an easy one.

I never got as far north in South Bend as Notre Dame — Mr. J went to Wabash College, anyway, so it wasn’t a must-see — but I did get to several interesting spots in South Bend within easy walking distance from my Marriott Courtyard…

Vroom-Vroom!

The Studebaker Museum, which I’d like to think Martin was taken to by his father during his boyhood “cool cars” phase, was a South Bend highlight. And while there, I couldn’t resist taking a couple of Exit Tickets-style photo bombs…

I also attempted a library visit while in South Bend, but the St. Joe County Public Library was closed, for Juneteenth. But hey, a beautiful facade…

Onward to…

No, we haven’t gotten to Osceola quite yet. That’s because, while Moran Elementary is, indeed, in Osceola, and it’s where Martin went to school as a little boy...

...Mishawaka is where he went to middle school and high school. Osceola just isn’t big enough to have anything beyond an elementary school.

Here's the middle school Martin attended (and where he might currently be teaching social studies these days)...

And I got a kick out of the fact that one finds Penn High, "Home of the Kingsmen," on Bittersweet Road (Amber's prom night was nothing if not bittersweet)...

Mishawaka, much to its credit, has a Barnes & Noble, where I signed a copy of my book. The young woman at the info desk wasn’t aware that my novel’s protagonist hailed from the area, so she said she’d let the buyer know. She volunteered to take a photo of me holding the book that I signed for the store…

While in Misawaka, I also popped into Strikes & Spares, a preferred hang-out of Mr. J’s daughter…

Yup, by the time 2026 rolls around, at age 43 or so, Mr. J has a young-teen daughter. And you’ll never guess who the Mom is… (No, you won’t find that out here, quite yet.)

Say Amen, Somebody!

Martin’s family, being Lutheran, would travel to Trinity Lutheran in Mishawaka for services…

Even though there are over a half-dozen churches in Osceola itself, none are Lutheran.

Indeed, the South Bend/Mishawaka/Osceola area is festooned with dozens of churches of various sorts. This one in particular caught my eye…

Ain’t Gonna Work on the Grand Dragon’s Farm No More

I’d heard that the Ku Klux Klan had been active in Indiana — and in South Bend, in particular — back in the day. To its credit, the town isn't whitewashing its history in that regard…

However, before arriving, I didn’t know about Osceola’s more recent role. It turns out that the Indiana Klan’s Grand Dragon, Richard Loy, had a farm in Osceola, where rallies, “White Pride Fests,” and cross-burnings were happening as recently as 2007, according to reports I read.

It happened to be Juneteenth on the day I was out there, so I thought it appropriate to seek out the farm, even though I’d heard it wasn’t “active” anymore. All I could determine was that it was somewhere on Ash Road, and yet the sign posts, once I was supposedly “on” Ash Road, didn’t have any sort of Ash Road identifier…

One of those — County Road 28 or West County Line — was supposed to be Ash Road, according to Google maps. Very strange. Anyway…

I don’t think the farm was too far from where I took that selfie up-top, with yours truly crouching amongst the corn. And, as far as I was able to determine, this was probably the infamous farm…

If you look closely, you can detect a fellow in the lower left-hand corner. But I decided it might be best not to approach him with any KKK inquiries.

Mr J’s Mr. G’s

Then there is Mr. G’s, which, I’ll admit, was the highlight of the entire trip…

That gathering spot appears in a couple of scenes in Exit Tickets as Mr. J’s — and Cassie’s — go-to bar in Osceola…

It turned out to be a most welcoming watering hole. Bree, the bartender, was a sweetie and a good sport — and she got (or, well, acted) pretty excited over her hometown bar getting a shout-out in my novel…

I signed a copy of Exit Tickets for her, and she promised it would get a reserved place of prominence behind the bar, after she read it. Could an author ask for anything more?

At one point in my novel, Martin recalls taking on all comers as he teamed up with Cassie, playing 8-Ball at Mr. G's. This would’ve been the pool table where brother and sister played…

I didn’t get a chance to play while I was out there, so I’ll have to return to Mr. G's one day.

So, that’s my little travelogue. Doing research for the sequel — tentatively titled My Indiana Investigation — turned out to be more fun than I’d envisioned.

Just FYI: For now, in its first draft, it’s a first-person narrative, with Martin/Mr. J as the “I” character, and I’m playing around with the idea of Martin being an…

It’s my new favorite beer. Martin would toast to that.

TEACHERS’ LOUNGE

We’re halfway through the year, so I thought I’d hit you up with my ten favorite movies so far. It’s hardly a definitive list, given that I still have to catch up with several movies I’ve heard good things about.

Here’s the list (in alphabetical order):

Blue Heron

The Christophers

Disclosure Day

The Little Sister

Mad Bills To Pay

Maddie’s Secret

Miroirs No. 3

Rose of Nevada

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

Yes

School’s Out! Enjoy your Summer!