GREENCASTLE (March 20, 2015) – This morning “Your Town Friday” is headed to Greencastle! You’ll find the Putnam County community 49 miles southwest of downtown Indy. When you think of Greencastle you may think of DePauw University, but this city is more than just books and college classes. Greencastle dates back to the mid 1800s and while the city has changed a lot over time, there is one place that is bridging generations…connecting communities…and preserving the past.
Consider visiting the Putnam County Museum located just outside the downtown square.
“It’s all local! It emphasizes things that have happened here in Greencastle and it’s a wonderful display particularly for fourth graders who are studying Indiana history and it’s a wonderful refresher course for their parents and grandparents,” said founding member Jinsie Bingham.
“Right now we have a bridge display and exhibit by Dr. Jim Cooper. He is the premiere Indiana bridge authority and he lives here in Greencastle. We have a wonderful photography display, early cameras and stories of how that related to settling Putnam Count. We also have things from former department stores here in Putnam County. This cash register is certainly one of a kind! It was upstairs on the mezzanine of our biggest department store downtown, Prevo. It had been in two different locations in Greencastle but this is certainly the iconic memory that everyone has of that store.”
Jinsie points out the rotating student art display that brings in hundreds of people every year.
“We have our entire entrance hallway devoted to student art; these represent various grades from the local schools.”
Perhaps you’ve been to Eitel’s and Company Florist…or maybe your parents have…even your grandparents! This little shop has been around since 1908 and they still use a cooler from the early 20th century.
Owner Jenny Sullivan says Eitel’s is a legacy in Greencastle she is trying to continue.
“I feel like every phone call, every person that comes in, and internet orders, that’s a person that we are helping to provide beautiful flowers and gifts for some special occasion in someone’s life,” said Sullivan.
Eitel’s is more than just a flower shop though. They sell small gifts and they have a prom boutique where girls and guys can add some bling to their bouquets and corsages. Jenny says she wants her shop to be an experience for customers.
“We’ve really worked hard to try to have made-in-Indiana items, we have a pottery line from Nashville, Indiana, we have a logo for Putnam County, a candle line, a few other lines and several food companies from Indiana which we’re really excited to have.”
Just a few blocks away, an establishment celebrating 25 years this year! Almost Home restaurant started back in 1990 as a tea room. It expanded to a restaurant in 2001 and a few years later, The Swizzle Stick Bar was added next door.
“We want people to know who we are. People come in and enjoy our cuisine and enjoy the friendliness and when they leave I want them to feel like they can’t hardly wait to come back to Almost Home,” said owner and chef Gail Smith.
Their homemade chicken salad is a huge hit!
”And we serve it on croissant or wheat bread and then our soups are wonderful, we make a cream of broccoli and cheese soup; we’ve been making ever since day one,” she said.
“We have been making desserts from day one, that’s kind of our signature thing, every day we have a baker coming up with all sorts of things, obviously our strawberry pizza is an award winning dessert. It’s made on a pizza pan, it has cookie crust and in the middle is a cool whip and cream cheese powdered sugar delight, fresh strawberries in a jello kind of sauce and it is put on the top. It looks like a pizza, so that’s why we call it strawberry pizza!”
