This mural was so eye catching I had to go around the block for a picture. Isn’t it great?
Brazil, Indiana has a few nice buildings and murals to photograph. It also has a fun old fashioned soda fountain I’ll tell you about soon.
What do you know about the Model T? You know – the iconic car that Ford produced during the early years of the twentieth century? People called it Tin Lizzie and it was the vehicle that opened up car travel to the American middle class, thanks to its affordability and availability.
That paragraph contains about all I knew of the Model T before last week. That and Henry Ford’s famous quote:
“Any customer can have a car painted in any color he likes so long as it is black.”
I had heard good things about the Model T Museum and hoped to stop in at some point during last week’s adventure. Making time for this was a great decision. This place is packed full of beautiful, fascinating vehicles. They have great signage that explains what’s so special about each one and about it’s place in the fabric of our history. I was also fortunate to catch a tour with one of the best tour guides imaginable, Senior Docent and Researcher Justin Mitchell.
It quickly became evident that my knowledge of the Model T was quite shallow and that there is so much more to learn than seemed imaginable when handing over my $3 admission.
The museum consists of two buildings. The first houses a nice showroom, library and gift shop. The annex, located across the street, is packed with more vehicles, including some arranged in themed rooms. One is set up like a twenties garage while another houses agricultural pieces. Work is ongoing to create more specialty rooms that will hopefully be done on my return trip.
They have many fascinating vehicles with interesting stories. Better yet, Justin is an engaging tour guide whose enthusiasm for his work is contagious. I don’t want to spoil the experience for you but want to point out that the Model T story is far more extensive than you would expect.
The collection changes periodically as vehicles rotate in and out on temporary or long term loans. This keeps the museum fresh and exciting, providing reason for repeat visits. At this time they have fire engines, a school bus and an Australian race car. They have farm tractors, a dump truck and some of the shiniest, most beautiful passenger vehicles imaginable. They even have a small airplane!
Justin relayed stories, not just about the cars but about what they meant to people, what they still mean to people. He talked about a retired fire chief who visited and recognized a fifties fire engine that he drove many years ago.
He took the time to explain the inconvenience of stopping for gas in one particular model, given the challenging location of the gas tank and the lack of a gas gauge. This really made me thankful for the gauge on my little Hyundai and for pay at the pump on practically every corner in every American town!
Justin discussed what it meant to a farmer to have access to a kit that would transform his Model T into a farm tractor with twenty minutes worth of effort. At a cost of about $200 this kit allowed the farmer to maximize the capabilities of the family car while saving money.
One of the most fascinating pieces isn’t very pretty but it is ingenious. At one time, you could buy a kit called “Snow-Bird” or “The Mailman’s Special” which equipped a Model T with attachments to provide mobility in snow. At a cost of about $350, it provided rural mail carriers, doctors and others who needed reliable winter transportation the tools needed to safely navigate in bad weather.
They have a car equipped with one of these mail order kits. They also have one that someone made using scrap wood from old cabinetry and other parts. It was a mail vehicle in Massachusetts, if I remember correctly, and was hand made with a little Yankee ingenuity. Like I said, it isn’t pretty but is sure is neat.
Here’s something I have learned, friends. We walk through life with specific interests, those things we know we enjoy. We like a certain band or genre of music. We like cars or model trains, books or science or polar bears or whatever it is that strikes a chord within us. And that’s what we learn about, care about and know.
But if we only learn and care about the things that we know we like, when do we broaden our horizons? What are we missing out on?
I knew little about the Model T before I met Justin and toured the museum. But I thought it was worth risking the $3 and a little time to see if there was something worth knowing from the experience. It was a wonderful experience and I had a great time. So good, in fact, I’m hoping to take my dad to visit sometime this year and I’m looking forward to seeing it all again.
This museum is about 45 minutes from Dayton and is located in a city rich in history with lots to do. There are two antique trails that start in Richmond as well as trails celebrating chocolate and wine. There are fun restaurants and opportunities to get outdoors plus it’s close to Indianapolis which is also rich in fun things to see and do.
If you like old cars or history or if you just want to learn about something new, this is a great place for you.
The Model T Museum is operated by the Model T Ford Club of America which happens to be the largest Model T Club in the world. Much of the work here is done by volunteers and through donations. Volunteers work on the cars and help with construction and other projects. Whether it’s a gift shop purchase, a few bucks in the donation box or a donated car part (or entire car), they will be thrilled to have your support.
I hope you’re fortunate to get Justin as your guide but I’m sure everyone else is great too! If you go, pay special attention to the hours. They do observe more limited hours during the winter time. Check out their website or Facebook for fun events and other information to make your visit more enjoyable.
One more thing – that famous quote about having any color the customer wants, as long as it’s black? Turns out this only applied to some years. These cars also came in gorgeous colors including red, green, blue and brown. I had no idea.
My trip along the National Road last week was unplanned but I had read about this place called the Oasis Diner in Plainfield, Indiana. If I made it that far, I wanted to stop because it sounded like my kind of place.
I was right. In fact, it was so good I ended up having three meals there.
Manufactured by Mountain View Diners in Singac, New Jersey, it was shipped to Plainfield by rail in 1954. According to their published history, the Oasis went through a series of owners before being listed on the 10 Most Endangered Indiana Buildings list in 2010. The town rallied and local residents Doug Huff and Don Rector answered the call to relocate, restore and reopen this fabulous old diner.
And I’m so glad they did.
They did a beautiful job researching and restoring this stunning structure to its mid century splendor.
Today The Oasis is the only diner of its kind on the National Road in Indiana and one of just a handful of historic diners to remain on the National Road from Cumberland, Maryland to Vandalia, Illinois.
It’s a long story but circumstances were such that I ended up eating three meals there – one lunch and two breakfasts over three days. There are plenty of other dining options in town but none are a cool old diner so, by my estimation, there was no reason to try them.
This place is light and bright and airy. Extremely clean with some vintage advertising pieces and other fun decor. It feels timeless and welcoming. It’s the kind of place that has regulars and waitresses who remember how you like your eggs and who seem genuinely concerned that you’re comfortable and happy.
It’s so hard to find decent vegetarian food in most restaurants but good mom and pop diners usually have some tasty options that aren’t limited to limp iceburg lettuce salads and greasy grilled cheese. The Oasis doesn’t have a ton of meatless options but they offer enough that I had choices and I made a point of thanking my waitresses for that. For all you meatetarians out there, they have some really unique sandwiches and breakfast items that you won’t find anywhere else as well as the usual burgers, soups and reubens. Here’s the menu if you’re inclined to fantasize about fun diner fair.
The verdict is that The Oasis Diner is well worth your time, especially if you’re a diner nerd like me. Here are a few more pictures to entice you to drive to Plainfield, Indiana.
I ran away from home last Wednesday. With a week of vacation and no desire to be home but no place in particular to be, I did something that this overplanner wouldn’t normally do. I drove away without a real plan.
I had some maps, my phone, some supplies ( in case I couldn’t find a hotel) and my passport in case I went rogue and headed for the border. The plan was to pick up the National Road in Ohio and drive as far west as I wanted. The journey was the destination. That meant no hotel reservations, no goals and no stress.
It was amazing.
I followed the National Road to Terra Haute, antiquing along the way, eating mostly in mom and pop restaurants, and stopping to rest wherever I got tired. The weather was beautiful the first day, horrible on day two and mediocre the rest so this wasn’t a great picture trip. But I did get a few photos I’ll eventually share here with some thoughts on special places along the way.
There are so many things that make me want to go back. Main Street America, with all its idiosyncrasies, is fascinating and I have several small research projects to answer questions from the road. Also, I was driving the modern National Road and would love to go hunting for some of the old alignments just to see what’s what. In Indiana, the road has been expanded to four lanes most of the way and I suspect there’s a lot of interesting stuff to see off the beaten path.
Stay tuned. I want to tell you about a cool old diner, a Model T Museum, my favorite antique stores (guys, there are more antique stores than you can count out there) and several other nifty sights from along the way. Look for more soon!
I’m not a huge fan of the New Year’s Resolution. Maybe it’s because I believe every day is a perfect time to commit to doing something that’s necessary or good. Maybe it’s because I see how quickly most people fail with their resolutions. It takes at least a month of commitment to form a new habit. Sadly it takes one bad decision and about five minutes to revert back to our old ways. Then discouragement sets in and before we know it, we’re waiting for next January 1 to repeat the process.
Last spring, my beautiful friend Sarah introduced me to the Whole 30. It’s designed to help kick a sugar addiction and it’s an elimination diet to help folks with health issues figure out their allergies or other food related problems. For me, it became more of a lifestyle to stave off sugar cravings, lose weight, have increased energy and greater mental focus. I even found that food was causing some mild Rosacea like symptoms.
I quickly learned that I am happier when I eat whole foods and avoid heavily processed stuff.
It’s a real commitment to be a Whole 30 Pescaterian. It’s a lot of cooking and most convenience food is off the table because it’s packed with sugar and all sorts of nasties you can’t pronounce and probably shouldn’t digest. For most Whole 30’ers, the prospect of eating in a restaurant is enough to incite panic. In other words, it’s a commitment and a challenge. And unlike most diets, if you make a mistake today, you don’t just pick up and go on tomorrow. You go back to day one with every slip up. So if your goal is to just get through the thirty days, it’s stressful when you’re new or when you’re trying to eat on the go.
Like I said, I have achieved a place of lifestyle where I try to stick with it as much as possible but am not bound so tightly by the rules of being on a thirty day round. This healthier diet gave me more energy for hiking, working out and going on adventures. After a few months of being really strict, I gave myself a season of leniency – more or less to see what my tendencies are, what my weaknesses are and what I do if given some leeway.
Turns out, my weaknesses and natural tendencies are appalling.
So today I start a new Whole 30 round and recommit to some of the lifestyle choices that made me so happy last year – drink lots of water, fuel my body with good food, get outdoors when possible, hike a lot, read good books, listen to amazing music, write daily, and surround myself with people and things that make me happy.
I’m also doing a reset on my budget. The holidays and poor self control on this last road trip tell me that I simply cannot be trusted with food, money or anything else. Ha, ha… ahem.
So, I’m not making a resolution. Instead, I’m making conscious decisions to recommit to what’s good for me and to what’s really important.
If you are among the many today who are committing to a resolution, here’s my advice – PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!!! Write out your strategies, write down what you’re doing, study your choices and reward yourself for good performance.
If your goal is to cut spending so you can pay off a credit card, you would need to make a budget, write down every penny you spend, study your spending habits and chart your progress as the credit card balance decreases. Then periodically reward yourself with something special but not necessarily something that costs money. Maybe you invite a friend over for coffee or take a long, hot bubble bath. If you have kiddos, plan a picnic at a local park.
You get the idea.
Whatever you do, remember that the thing you want – the slimmer body, the fatter bank account, the life without cigarettes, or whatever it is – you can work toward every day of the year. You don’t need a calendar or a silly annual tradition to make it happen. You WILL need some elbow grease and a commitment to make it reality.
I have my plan together and I have a goal to be good to myself. And really, my friends, what’s better than committing to being kind to yourself?
Best wishes with your resolutions or goals or whatever it is you call them. Go forth and conquer every day this year! Let’s make 2019 our best year yet!