We spent parts of August and September in Louisville getting medical, dental and eye checkups and visiting family. When we arrived we found my father, Thomas Milton Payne, to be in very poor health and he passed away two days before his 96th birthday. He had lived in a very nice nursing home the last 2 1/2 years and was fortunate to have received such good loving care. My father was a remarkable man and I will miss him. He owned and operated Payne's Barber Shop in Irvington, Kentucky 65 years and retired at the age of 85.
 

Escapee Rallies

We drove to Kokomo, Indiana and met Gloria (my sister) and Don Martin. They have a Winnebago Journey and we headed to Portland, Indiana and the Escapees Indiana Chapter 51 Pre-Rally. It should have been a pleasant 66 mile drive on highways US 35 and Indiana 22 and 26 right to the rally site. But Indiana decided to close all their west-east routes in that part of the state for construction and every few miles we ran into "Road Closed Ahead" signs so we had to zig-zag our way eastward by driving north-south-north-south until we finally dropped into Portland an hour and a half late.

The rally was held on the grounds of the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Association and as always, we found the Escapees members to be among the friendliest people we meet on the road. Our friends Stan and Betty Bober helped form Escapees Chapter 51 and it was nice seeing them again. Our rally activities consisted of meals, meetings, Happy Hours, an auction, crafts, a night of entertainment, a tour of a glass museum and watching the Peru Circus.

We drove in a caravan to the city of Dunkirk to tour the Glass Museum which was built in 1976 and is owned by the Dunkirk City Public Library. Natural gas was discovered in the area in 1886 and was used in glass making. At one time there were 100 glass factories in the area including 7 in Dunkirk. Everyone thought the gas supply would last forever, but it was wasted and the gas ran out in 1900 and most factories either closed or moved away. Many people drilled gas wells and let the flames run day and night and one well used 3 million cubic feet of gas every 24 hours. Another well burned over 250 feet high and could be seen ten miles away at night. At night it was bright enough to read a newspaper anywhere in Dunkirk. When the gas ran out a few glass manufacturers remained and used coal to produce gas for glass making.

The museum has over 5,000 pieces of glass from 105 factories, 25 leaded lamps, 25 leaded windows and hundreds of hand-blown and hand-pressed glass creations. There are also some tools for making pressed glass and glass blowing. It is an interesting place to visit and volunteers are available to explain each piece of glass.

The Jay County Hospital in Portland was celebrating their 100th anniversary and invited the community to the hospital grounds for a free lunch (who says there is no such thing as a free lunch) with hot dogs, hamburgers, several side dishes and free drinks. Entertainment was on a stage inside the main tent, but the highlight was the Peru (Indiana) Amateur Circus. The performers were ages 7-21 and they entertained us with juggling, tight rope walks, riding bikes on tight ropes, trapeze, tumbling, unicycles and other athletic acts.

Back at the rally grounds Linda taught making jewelry from beads and Don taught stick-weaving.

After the Indiana Pre-Rally ended we all drove 47 miles to Van Wert, Ohio and the big rally - the Fall Escapade. Escapees always does a great job with the Escapades and this rally was no exception. We kept busy day and night meeting old friends, making new friends, attending seminars, visiting the vendor's booths and The Row where we got information on all Escapees chapters and RV parks. Every night there was quality entertainment and prize give-aways, but we did not win any prizes.

When the rally closed we planned to go to northern Ohio and Pennsylvania for a couple of weeks, but the weather did not look good with cool weather, dark skies and wind predicted. So we changed plans and went to St. Joe, Indiana and visited a pickle factory.
 

Sechler's Fine Pickles

Sechler's has been a family run business since 1914 and their motto is "After 89 Years, we could make them faster, but it wouldn't make them better." (Ok, that is an old motto because they have been in business 92 years.) We began our tour in the masonry building that was constructed in 1937 and walked through to the outside cucumber vats where cucumbers are stored year round even in northern Indiana. The cucumbers are held in a salt brine so they never freeze. Back inside we watched workers mix and cook the pickles and women who hand-pack every jar. All of their pickles are cold packed and their specialities are sweet and candied pickles of many different varieties. We bought four jars and wish we had bought several cases. They were the best pickles we have ever eaten and they don't need to be eaten with other food - they can be eaten as a snack.