Much of my childhood was spent growing up in Indiana, and like Kentucky, it’s a wonderful place to live. In the summer of 2007, Kemal and I accompanied my parents on a road trip to Johnson County, Indiana and Indianapolis, Indiana to see our old “stomping grounds.” We wanted to see if the familiar places we remembered had changed much over the years, as well as to show Kemal the places that were meaningful to us.
We visited my childhood homes in Ninevah and Greenwood, and we also went by my old middle school and high school in Trafalgar, as well as the elementary school I went to in Greenwood. Some places had changed a lot while some places looked pretty much the same.
Here’s the photos of the house I grew up in from the time I was in sixth grade until the time I graduated from high school. It’s located in Ninevah, Indiana, and I have a lot of wonderful memories of this place. My folks built the lake that’s on the property, and the tractor that’s pictured is one that Dad used back in the late 70’s. When Mom and Dad sold the house, the tractor stayed behind. Unbelievably, the the people who bought our house are still using that tractor. That’s one hell of a machine! 
Trafalgar, Indiana is where I went to middle school and high school. Here are some photos of the schools, as well as rural Trafalgar which is only a few miles from Ninevah. All the photos (except the two school pictures) were taken from a moving car.
We took U.S. Route 31 through Johnson County so we could see Franklin and Whiteland, and then finally Greenwood, where we stopped to see my parents’ first house, as well as the elementary school I attended when I was in first grade. While we were driving by our old house in Greenwood, we stopped in at the Metzgers’ who were our neighbors back in the early 1970’s. What’s amazing is that they’re still living there in the same home!
So many memories came flooding back, especially when we drove by this little ice cream store that we used to walk to when I was a little girl. It’s right across from a park we used to go to, and the park is very close to the library. Of course, we all had to stop and get something cold and refreshing there!
The first two pictures show two landmarks on U.S. 31 that stand out in my mind…Franklin High School and the Wishing Well Hotel. The other pictures were taken in Greenwood as we visited our old home, school, and neighborhood.
After spending some time in Greenwood, we went to our hotel in Indianapolis. We spent the next several days sight-seeing in Indianapolis. We visited the duplex my parents rented on Perry Street. I think I was only four or five years old when we lived here, but I have a few memories of that place. Here are a few photos of Indy:
We had a wonderful time in Indianapolis and and Johnson County. We enjoyed a day at the zoo, having dinner with parents’ friends at Olive Garden, and doing some shopping at the Greenwood Mall. We also really enjoyed The Eiteljorg Museum, as well as dinner later that night at a fantastic Greek restaurant (I’ve already forgotten the name.)
Before heading back to Kentucky, we spent several hours in Nashville, Indiana which is located in beautiful Brown County, Indiana, and is also very close to Johnson County, Indiana where I lived for many years. It’s a wonderful place to spend a day or two, especially in the fall when the leaves have turned. Here are a couple of pictures Kemal and I took while we were there.
Other towns in Indiana we visited included Columbus, Edinburgh, Camp Atterbury, Center Grove, Bargersville, New Whiteland, and Southport. It was nice to see all these lovely Indiana communities and neighborhoods again that used to be a part of my every day life.
The memories that came flooding back were welcome and made me smile….the Strawberry Festival, the fish frys, the Johnson County Fair, the Burger Chef and Jeff, the crater back in the woods, swimming in the pond, sledding down the ravines, the archery and rifle range in the ravine, Omar Sharif, Kim Bayes, Gretchen and Bob, learning to ride my bike, the sounds and smells of construction, enchiladas and chocolate bars, Raglafart, and hayrides and roasting hot dogs over a bonfire.
Those are just a few of the wonderful memories this trip brough back, each of which I could devote a whole post to…and maybe I will one day. But for now, I think I’ll just sit here and daydream about apple cider, hot chocolate, ooey-gooey toasted marshmallows. Yummmmmmm!
