After a long winter, spring has finally returned. Trees are blooming, and the weather is getting warmer. The children have returned to play outside, along with those beautiful classic cars.

During the winter, most of the owners garaged their classic cars to keep their paintjobs from being damaged by the snow. Now that spring is here, I can appreciate those owners because their cars shine so beautifully. Candy apple red, and powder blue are my personal favorites. Those bright, beautiful paintjobs make the springtime even more cheerful.

Sometimes I stare in (more…)

Peru, Indiana, is a beautiful country town with a little over 12,000 residents. This sprawling countryside territory is an attractive location for any wishing to be away from the bright lights and constant sounds of major cities. Relax by spending quality time with your family by playing and hiking in one of the five parks Peru, Indiana, has to offer. Here are three of the best.

River Walkway Park

The River Walkway Park covers 15 acres of land in Indiana. It has fitness trails and large lots to enjoy playing whatever games your family can think (more…)

Nature free, peace and tranquility is the essence of the River Walkway. A asphalted trail connecting the east section to the west, this lush pathway of greenery and nice scenery would be thrilling for any walking enthusiast. Imagine the exhilirating excercise you can get just from casually walking along this route of easy striding.

Suitably the River Walkway is positioned near the Wabash River, which is a teeming playground for the natural wildlife that inhabits its’ banks. The birds and river mammals of various sort provide (more…)

Peru Indiana has some of the finest products available fresh from the farm. Choose from over 40 varieties of fresh apples, picked from mid-July to early November. You can pick your own fruits and vegetables or browse over the farm stand to find what you want. Choose eggs from free range chickens, and honey from local bees. You can even find delicious maple syrup fresh tapped from local trees.All varieties of fruits and vegetables are ripe and ready for your favorite recipe. From asparagus to zucchini and everything in between. Seasonal fruits and vegetables available when in season, like fresh apple cider and pumpkins in the Fall, other items, such as honey, beeswax and soaps are available year round. Fresh corn on the cob and watermelon for your summer cook outs, and many pie fruits available in the Spring. You can also find jams, jellies, and even fresh herbs. Local chickens and turkeys are also available in season.Peru is also known as being the circus capital of the world. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, Ringling Brothers, and many others made their homes here in the winter. You can also visit the International Circus Hall of Fame in Peru.

If you’ve visited (or plan to visit) the Miami County Museum we bet you enjoy museums of all types; and since Indianapolis is less than two hours away we thought we’d take a look at some museums that city has to offer as well; starting with the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) located at 4000 Michigan Road (317-923-1331). The IMA houses the most comprehensive collection of Neoimpressionist paintings in the county and features the work of Georges Seurat and followers. If you appreciate Asian art, you’ll enjoy the museum’s stellar collection of Japanese Edo-period paintings and Chinese ceramics. There are a ton of great exhibits planned for 2011 and if they fall in alignment with the museum’s exhibits of the past year like Andy Warhol and Halston, we know your trip (regardless of what time of year you go) will be noteworthy. If you want to take a piece of your experience home with you make sure you stop by the art store before you leave. You can pick up a (more…)

As the year winds down you may want to check out a few of the last events for 2010 before we usher in 2011: December 11-12 Holiday Open House at Salamonie Reservoir December 28-30: Winter Day Camp at Salamonie Reservoir December 31: New Year’s Eve Party for Kids at the Peru YMCA And now for those planning their 2011, please note the following county holidays that will be observed: January 17: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day February 21: Presidents Day April 22: Good Friday May 3: Election Day for the Primaries May 30: Memorial Day July 4: Independence Day September 5: Labor Day October 10: Columbus Day November 8: General Election Day November 11: Veteran’s Day November 24: Thanksgiving Day November 25: Day after Thanksgiving December 26: Day after Christmas Best wishes to everyone for a happy holiday season and a safe transition into 2011!

• Lecturer: Talker inside a show.
• Liberty Horses: An act of from one to twenty four horses working in a ring with no reins being used by the trainer.
• Lunge Rope: The rope held by a person outside the ring which is threaded through a pulley above the ring and attached to the safety device of the performer who is working in or above the ring.
• Menage: The performance of ‘high school’ type riding in a circus arena by one or more persons and their horses. Thirty or more riders in one display was not uncommon on the larger circuses of fifty years ago.
• Night Riders: Bill posters on ‘opposition crews’ who went out at night and tore down or covered up the advertising paper of another show playing their show’s route.
• One Day Stand: Most circus dates were of day’s duration.
• Priviledge: The consideration paid for the right to place a concession on a carnival midway. Early day circus owners sold privileges for almost everything on the lot except the performance itself.
• Pitchman: A person who sells merchandise with lectures and demonstrations.
• Ringer: A substitute person or animal passed off on the unwary as the person or animal they expect to see. All the big name circus stars had understudies ready to go on in their place.
• Shill: One who pretends to play a game, or to buy a ticket to an attraction, in order to entice others to join or follow him.
• Sunday School Show: A clean show. No crooked games, no dirty ‘gal shows’, no other illicit activity tolerated by the show owner.
• Take: The cash taken in from a performance, a concession, a series of performances or a string of concessions.
• Trouper: A person who has spent at least one full season on some type of traveling amusement organization. By then, they are usually hooked.
• Wild Cat: Book and play into new territory on very short notice due to problems on the old route.

• Ace Note: A dollar bill
• Back Yard: “Off Limits” to the general public.
• Bally Broads, Bally Girls: Woman and girls who sang and danced in the circus spectacles.
• Boss Hostler: Perhaps the most picturesque figure on the circus grounds was this man who had charge of all the baggage (work) horses on the show.
• Candy Butchers: Concession salesman who sells concession items on the circus seats before and during a performance.
• Crier: A later term (1870-1880s) for the side show talkers.
• Dike (Klondike): Brass or copper sold as scrap.
• Dukey Run:This term became common usage for any unusually long distance.
• Educator: The Billboard Weekly
• Fireball, a Fireball Outfit: A show with a poor performance which allowed so many dishonest practices on its grounds that the towns played by it were literally “burned up” for any show that tried to follow it.
• Flea Bag: A disreputable, ragged and dirty show
• Gimick: A trick used to win. The mechanical device used to control crooked games.
• Grinder: A person who has a certain set speil, or sequence of words that he delivers on the front of a show or a midway attraction as long as the doors are open.
• Haul: The move between the circus train and the show lot.
• Herald: Type of advertising for individual reading. Many sizes and shapes printed on colored newsprint in one, two or four pages. These heralds were handed out to people on the streets, or put into the front doors of homes.
• Horse Opera: A Wild West exhibition.
• I.W.W.: International Workers of the World. This far left labor union issued red cards to its members. It’s stronghold was in the lumber camps from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest.
• Joey: A clown. From the famous European clown, Joe Grimaldi.
• John Robinson: A much shortened circus performance.
• Kip: A sleeping place, a bed.

As the International Circus Hall of fame reports, a portion of the circus journey can begin at the Circus Winter Quarters in Peru, Indiana — home to the Circus Hall of Fame established by Ben Wallace in 1892.Here circus wagons were repaired, painted and carvings received gold leaf; and during the height of the winter respite thousands of horses roamed the fields and hundreds of exotic animals were housed and trained in scattered barns.To listen to the old timers, they would tell that it was not at all unusual to see zebras and camels grazing on snow covered ground, and this resulted in visitors passing by daily just to see what was going on.But the history of the circus goes much farther back than Peru, Indiana in 1892 in fact, Ancient Romans began the process with their Circus of Rome and its chariot races, jugglers, and trained animals which were thought (more…)

When you first step through the door of the museum you’ll be immediately greeted with a 1955 Fleetwood Cadillac at the Cole Porter exhibit.Yep, it was the composer and songwriter’s personal automobile the same Cole Porter who contributed to the musical comedies Kiss Me Kate and Fifty Million Frenchmen. How fitting since he was born in Peru, Indiana where he learned the violin at age six and the piano at age eight. And I guess we should mention his operetta at age 10.Next you’ll see (more…)