Goshen & Shipshewana, Indiana

While still camped in the Elkhart area, we toured Goshen and Shipshewana. Back in the early 1800s there was a bit of a controversy as to where the Elkhart County Seat should be located. Ultimately, Goshen was chosen, as it was more central than the City of Elhart. Along with the neighboring small town of Shipshewana, in LaGrange County, this is the heart of Indiana's Amish County and the third largest Amish community in the world. Not surprisingly, there are many Amish food, furniture and antique stores. We were delighted to find yogurt cheese, one of our favorites. Shipshewana is the only Indiana community listed in the publication, "1000 Places To See Before You Die." Quilt gardens are popular in Northern Indiana Amish Country. Elaine, one of our traveling partners, and Gloria are shown here exploring one of them.

One must be careful on the highways, as scores of horse-drawn buggies "permeate" the highways, especially in the Shipshewana Area. The people are courteous, reverent, thrifty, and friendly; but they do not take kindly to being photographed. Yoder's General Store is a business one must explore while here. The parking lot is usually filled with buggies and horses stomping and swishing their tails to get rid of flies. Everything you need in the way of clothing and staples is here.

Also in Shipshewana is the famous Hudson Museum containing 48 Hudsons from different eras. The entire collection was donated to the community by the Hostetlers, and it was well worth the price of admission, as every vehicle has been beautifully restored. Hudson purchased Essex back in the 1920s and went on to produce some of America's most beautiful, sporty, and powerful motorized vehicles.

The 1937 Hudson pickup truck had the first bed to be large enough to carry a flat piece of 4 x 8 plywood. It took the "Big Three" three more years to catch up with this needed innovation. President Hoover once rode in a Hudson Limo (see photo at left with flags) while in Mexico. When we were born, most cars resembled the one pictured with a 1935 license plate. The 1936 Hudson Terraplane was the first car to sport a semi-automatic transmission. Following World War II America was hungry for new automobiles, and Hudson sales were brisk; new cars were manufactured after early 1942. We recalled that chrome was still scarce after the war, so the 1946 Hudsons were shipped with painted, wooden 2 X 4 bumpers. New owners were alerted when the new bumpers arrived at the dealers. In 1954 Hudson was in financial trouble and merged with Nash; the new company was called American Motors. Soon the Nash Rambler became the flagship vehicle of the new company, and sadly, the famous old Hudson name left the automobile scene for good after 1957. Fortunately, the Hostetler Collection helps preserve the history of a wonderful car virtually unknown to young people today. The Amish, on the other hand, are obvious to these rare examples of American ingenuity. They have seen them come and have seen them go. Their fine steeds and buggies look like they did 100 years ago. As we departed the museum, Gloria took time to daringly touch up her lipstick using the external big mirror of a fine rare coupe.