After touring Madison, Dad and I went up to Columbus, Indiana to have lunch with Aunt Judy and Uncle Larry, and see Mom’s childhood home and where she and Dad got married.
So here goes our visit to my mother’s hometown of Columbus, Indiana – with a short trip to Bloomington and the campus of Indiana University, where Mom and Dad met.
Downtown Columbus, Indiana, complete with county courthouse, a few shops and restaurants and more.
I remember that as a kid, we would go downtown in Columbus, Indiana to go shopping from time to time – particularly when I needed a new pair of shoes.
The courthouse in Columbus, Indiana. Kind of reminds one of City Hall and more at Disneyland, doesn’t it?
This kinetic sculpture is called “Chaos” and was made from junk out of a local junkyard. It sits in what is called the “Commons” in Columbus, Indiana.
The sidewalks of downtown Columbus, Indiana. We are on our way to one of the most important landmarks in the town.
This is, as far as I and many others are concerned, the most important location in Columbus, Indiana. It is called “Zaharako’s.” That was the last name of the brothers who founded it decades ago. We have always just called it “The Greeks.” Great ice cream sundaes, lunches and shakes and more!
Walt Disney actually tried to purchase the parlor for the big apparatus behind the counter where they kept all the sundae and soda flavors for Disneyland. He was planning to put it into Carnation Main Street. But the Zaharako brothers would not sell.
Zaharako’s in Columbus, Indiana. Still the best ice cream parlor in the world!
The main dining area of Zaharako’s has mirrors on both walls, making the restaurant look like it goes on forever.
This player organ is the original, and it was refurbished a few years ago and still works! It is in the back of the main dining area where it has always been at Zaharako’s.
My mother’s only sibling, my Aunt Judy and former babysitter, met Dad and I for lunch this day, and hot fudge sundaes of course, at Zaharako’s.
Yes, when I was a kid I sat many times at this table with my hot fudge sundae at Zaharako’s. The table and chairs are still in their original location in the dining area.
These two houses are important in my childhood. The one on the right belonged to my mother’s mom and dad. The one on the left belonged to the Landers, who were my great Aunts and Uncles.
The Lander home used to have green siding on it, and a hedge in front by the sidewalk. Alas, no more. But it has a front porch and I sat in a swing hanging by hooks on it many a time.
My grandmother’s house (we called her Nanny.) I don’t remember my grandfather on my mother’s side, he died when I was barely three. Notice it too has a wonderful front porch, and swing.
Just a few blocks from my grandmother’s house in Columbus, Indiana, sits the original St. Bartholomew’s Catholic Church in the town. It has moved to a new building on the outskirts of town. But the grand old structure still sits there. The interior was spectacular back in the day.
The stained glass windows are original in the old St. Bartholomew’s cathedral in Columbus, Indiana.
My Dad stands on the steps of the original St. Bartholomew’s cathedral in Columbus, Indiana. He and Mom were married in that church in 1954. Hmmm, same year I was born.
This is one of the buildings on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. My Dad went to college there, and eventually got a Bachelor’s in business. He met Mom there, and they were quite the passionate couple as it turns out.
This tree-lined lane on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana is important in the history of me, Mark Eades. Yes, it was here my creation took place in a parked Plymouth at night under one of those trees in late December of 1953, and my parents were married in February 1954, I was born in August 1954. You do the math.
Well this was our last time in Indiana on this visit. We left from here to start our drive back to California.
Click here to read about the tour of Madison, Indiana, my Dad’s hometown.