Honoring Mudlavia with “Magical Mudlavia” Celebration

On February 29, 1920, smoke billowed out of peaceful valley. The smoke belonged to a fire that broke out at the world-renowned Mudlavia hotel. With a strong southeast wind whipping through the valley, the fire blazed at an alarming rate, destroying the entire hotel, the out buildings, and even the well house, which was several hundred yards to the south.

Mudlavia would never be rebuilt with the same grandeur again.

The site today gives little clue to the magnificent hotel that once resided there, and the only way to keep Mudlavia’s history alive is to celebrate it, talk about it, and share our knowledge about it.

On Saturday, February 29, 2020, one hundred years after Mudlavia burned down (twenty-five, if you are looking at it in leap years), I am partnering with Aubrey Dietrich, owner of Heart and Soul Farm, to honor and celebrate the history of Mudlavia, and we invite you to come and celebrate with us!

Our “Magical Mudlavia” evening will begin at 6:00PM at Heart and Soul Farm, where we will kick off the celebration with bitesize refreshments inspired by Mudlavia’s historic menus. During this time, there will also be a few Mudlavia pictures and postcards to view.

At 6:30PM, Aubrey will introduce herself and talk about the connection she sees between Mudlavia and yoga today. Aubrey started hear yoga studio, Heart and Soul Farm, a little over a year ago. Since then, she has used her yoga practice for outreach events in the community through the 4-H program, at Prophetstown State Park, and at the local elementary school. She also provides various yoga series throughout the year at her farm, as well as providing other fun community events, like our Magical Mudlavia celebration.

At 7:00PM, I will be doing a question and answer session about Mudlavia, as well as answering any questions about the writing process. I have been writing since I was a little girl, and encourage the next generation of writers by hosting a youth writing club at our local elementary school. I began researching Mudlavia five years ago to write a novel about Mudlavia in honor of my grandpa, Bill Ringer. I entered my novel in the MMWW contest three years ago, and won. I am currently in the process of trying to get my work published.

At 7:30PM, we will wrap up the evening with a reading of the first chapter of my novel.

All events at Heart and Soul Farm are free to the public, however, donations are welcome and appreciated. Any donations will be split between us.  Aubrey will use them to continue to put on events at Heart and Soul Farm, and I will use them to put towards publishing my work.

We hope you will come and celebrate the history of Mudlavia with us!

Giving credit where credit is due-
Special thanks for my girls, Dessie and Dara Austin, for taking our picture
Special thanks for Gayle Breymeyer for inviting me last fall to come out to the Mudlavia property anytime and take pictures

Mudlavia: Where Gatsby Meets Griffith

One of the most interesting things about Mudlavia is the dynamic of bringing the luxurious city life to the rural setting of Warren County, Indiana. I like to call it a place where Gatsby meets Griffith.

When I think of The Great Gatsby, I think of millionaire Jay Gatsby and the lavish parties he hosted in his mansion. Gatsby brings to life the roaring twenties, and any Gatsby themed party would include the things of the wealthy social circles of the time; prohibition style cocktails, jazz music, flapper dresses, tuxes, lavish food, and fancy cars.

When I think of Andy Griffith, I think of a kindhearted sheriff helping people in iconic Mayberry. Andy can be found doing small town activities from breaking up family feuds, to teaching his boy Opie moral lessons, to going to town picnics, and playing the guitar on his front porch.

You would think that these two very different lifestyles could never mesh. If Gatsby came to Mayberry, Andy would greet him with, “Well hooooowdy, golly that’s a fancy car if I ever saw one, isn’t it Barn?”

Yet, Mudlavia brings these two different dynamics together.

Mudlavia was built in what Henry Kramer coined as “peaceful valley” Indiana. The hotel was made with the most luxurious materials; mahogany, marble, onyx, Tiffany glass, and oriental tapestries. It had the best modern conveniences of the nineteenth century and was famous for its Mudlavia treatment, which included healing mud baths and lithium water.

There were definite differences between the great Mudlavia Hotel and the surrounding area. Mudlavia hosted dances and balls where quartets would play waltzes, marches, and minuets. In the small town of Kramer, where the married Mudlavia employees lived, the townspeople would host country dances with fiddlers playing “The Virginia Reel” or “Fishers Hornpipe”. While the automobile became popular in the city and Mudlavia was called “autolavia” in 1910 due to the sheer amount of automobiles being driven there, they were not a mainstay in Warren County until the 1930’s.

Nowadays, some people joke that Warren County is about ten years behind the times, and I imagine that when city folk came to visit in the early 1900’s, they might have said the same thing too. It must have been a wonder that such a fancy place existed among the sycamore trees and rolling hills of the Indiana countryside.

I would have thought there would have been a definitive line between the fancy hotel and the rural surroundings, of the wealthy visitors and country workers, but I found that Mudlavia blended the two seamlessly.

I was reading a book about the Titanic and there was a quote from Edith Rosenbaum Russel who said, “There was something about the Titanic, it was so very formal, it was so very stiff. The atmosphere was stiff. The coziness- well you know, that kind of ‘get-together feeling,’ it didn’t exist.”

The cozy “get-together” feeling existed at Mudlavia. I imagine the stiffness and stuffiness that would have existed at other luxury hotels would have been undone by this special place, a place with the same warmth and friendliness as Mayberry.

When visitors first arrived and signed the hotel ledger, they were immediately welcomed as part of the Mudlavia family. A copy of Mudlavia News, a newspaper printed at the hotel, mentions a baseball game played out on the lawn with the employees and the guests. It also mentions the annual field day held on the front lawns. It says the field was "...crowded with guests and employees. Many persons from the little town of Kramer were in evidence and rooted with a good will for their respective candidates. The meet was held to decide a question of long standing as to the supremacy of the office employees and the chef and his lieutenants in the kitchen."

Even wealthy Mr. Kramer had that small town Indiana warmth. He was one of the first people to get an automobile in this part of the state and he would bring it to Attica to give anyone who wanted to a ride around the block!

There were plenty of other fancy hotels and Mudlavia was in the middle of nowhere. I believe what really made it special was the blur of lines between the social classes and the warmth of the people of “peaceful valley”.

Mudlavia: The End

Ask any third grade teacher or one of their students in the county, and they’ll be able to tell you exactly how Mudlavia ends!

It’s a tragic end to a $250,000 hotel (that’s $250,000 back in the early 1900’s- an extravagant amount for that time) with a state-of-the-art steam whistle alarm and sprinkler system that was supposed to make the hotel unburnable… just like the Titanic was unsinkable….

Mudlavia ended with flames and fire and smoke.

Mudlavia’s glory days were cutoff right before the roaring 20’s hit, on leap day, February 29^th, 1920. Newspapers say the fire started in a linen closet on third floor of the hotel, but interestingly enough, don’t say how it started. Local lore passed down over time can only guess at how the fire started and why the perfectly tested fire system didn’t work that terrible day. The stories range from the mundane to the eccentric, and leave a lot of playroom for anyone with an imagination!

I’ve been spending a lot of time concentrating on the last few chapters of Mudlavia. One of the biggest letdowns in the world is a fantastic book with a disappointing ending. I really want mine to be perfect!

Unlike all of the other novels I have written, I know the ending. History has handed it to me, and yet, it’s been one of the trickiest for me to finish.

The thing about the timeframe is that there was a lot going on in the United States leading up to that moment. There was the end of WWI, the Spanish Influenza, women’s suffrage, the beginning of prohibition, and red summer, which had to do with a huge migration of African Americans from the southern states to the northern states due to the gruesome violence they were facing in the South. Our country was facing some pretty difficult issues and they all weave their way into my novel. Somehow I have to take all of these, combine them with the character’s lives and the burning of the hotel, and tie them all together nicely to bring it to a satisfying end.

It’s felt nearly impossible. My hubby told me to look at the last line of the 7^th Harry Potter book for inspiration. Not joking, it ends with, “All is well.” Not going to work with my book! Better turn to some tragic Shakespeare or Edgar Allen Poe for inspiration!

Seriously though, inspiration can come from anywhere. I was reading a popular magazine and came across an article about the devastation caused by California wildfires. Bingo. Then of all things, the next day I put down some toast in the kitchen while I was editing my novel. I started to smell something odd, but I was so engrossed with the words on the page, that I ignored the smell until it occurred to me that something was burning. My toaster caught on fire, with smoke billowing across the kitchen and through the living room. The combination of the heart wrenching article and the smoke lingering through my house played a large part in my story coming together.

I’ve gone over and over the ending, knowing it wasn’t quite right, and now when I read it, it leaves me emotionally worked up, but in the right kind of way!

Facing Rejection

Earlier this school year, my seventh grader jumped in the car after practice and saw my jumbled piles of rewritten query letters and lists of agents. She looked at me and asked if I would cry if I got rejected by an agent. She’s thirteen, and to a young teen, rejection is THE.WORST. THING. EVER.

But guess what? Rejection is inevitable. They say that the average writer receives anywhere between fifty and one hundred rejection letters. I’m about ready to send out my query and that means when I open my inbox throughout the next few months, I’m more likely to receive e-mails starting with… “I’m sorry, but…” or “It’s not the right fit,” or “No thanks,” than I am to see, “Love it! Send me your manuscript!” Sounds like an exciting spring for me, right?!

I could curl up in a ball and hide under my bed until next fall, or cry, or tape my rejection letters to the wall and throw darts at them.

I thought about all this as I pulled out of the school parking lot. Someday my daughter will face rejection. I want her to know that rejection doesn’t mean that life is over. I want her to know that you can face rejection and grow from it, you can use it to make yourself better, it can make you stronger, and it can lead to other opportunities.

I told her a few stories of my own rejections, disappointments, and doors that had closed, only to find that God had been faithful and used those rejections to do something greater. I explained that I’ve spent a lot of time not only praying about my book and my writing, but also about the process of finding an agent, and that faith is trusting that God would open the right doors and close the wrong doors.

The querying process comes with a mixture of hope and excitement and, if I’m honest, a little fear, but I keep these words by Shauna Niequest taped to my desk, which are a good reminder of the attitude I want to have.

She says, “I’m practicing believing that God knows more than I know, that he sees what I can’t, that he’s weaving a future that I can’t even imagine from where I sit this morning

Unlocking A Novel- Pine Village Football

When I first started researching Mudlavia, I researched everything that happened in Warren County during 1918 and 1919. My research led me to the Pine Village football team and included reading The Good Ol’ Day’s “Game In Progress” and Doris Cottingham’s book, Pine Village Football The Inside Dope.

I wanted to tell the story of Mudlavia because of my grandpa, but while I was working on it, I discovered so many other fascinating stories about Warren County’s history, and the idea of telling the story of the Pine Village football team took root. There was a line in The Good Ol’ Day’s “Game In Progress” that caught my attention. It said, “The story of this man is a most interesting one and I sincerely hope that someday it will be told in full.” (The man they are referring to is Claire Rhode, the Pine Village football team’s manager.)

For two years now that sentence has been haunting me, and the facts, stories, and headlines about Pine Village’s football team have been rattling around in my head. The problem was that I could not figure out how to put that information together to create a compelling work of historical fiction.

I knew it would be hard to focus on a single player on the team (as well as Claire Rhode), because I don’t have a lot of individual information on the players and didn’t want to make a bunch of things up. There was also the fact that the team ran from 1898 until 1927, which is a huge span of time. Should I start at the beginning? Should I focus on the glory years? Should I try to fit all of it in?

For two years every idea I came up with felt wrong.

This past year I partnered with Simon Herrera from Vintage American Football to try and bring a vintage football game to Pine Village. I presented this idea to various people in our community and we formed a committee to make this game a possibility. Recently we were sitting in a meeting talking through ideas and someone mentioned something we could do and the meeting continued on.

I’ve had all this information in my head, all these ideas, all these facts, and suddenly her words unlocked them. I needed to be in the right place at the right time. A few simple words blew the whole thing wide open, and as I drove home, the storyline came to me.

If you are writing and you are stuck, keep researching and taking notes and writing. Be patient. As all that information gets filed in your head, at some point you’ll hear something or read something or experience something that will unlock your story and turn it into something magical!

Mudlavia and Gangsters and Prohibition, Oh My!

 “All the records of the hotel were destroyed and the only means at hand tabulating a list of the patients was the remarkable memory of Harve Jackson, the day clerk of the hotel.” – Attica Ledger, March 5, 1920

Almost 100 years later, I can attest to these words! There aren’t a lot of resources on Mudlavia. After the hotel burnt down in 1920, what survived were mostly memories, stories, rumors, and local lore.

Local newspapers reported that the fire burned down on February 29, 1920, from a fire that started in store room 12. It was discovered by a maid retrieving linens.

What is interesting to me is that there is a Mudlavia ad at the Warren County Historical Society that claims Mudlavia was unburnable! Mudlavia boasted of its technology, which included a state-of-the-art sprinkler system with a steam whistle alarm. Some sources state that this was tested and worked perfectly, but it did not work the day of the fire…

The Attica Ledger also stated that they did not know the cause of the fire, so whenever I talk to people about Mudlavia, I always ask how they think the fire started.

There are two main rumors. The first one is that the maid was smoking in the store room and she left her cigarette on the linens, and they caught fire.

The second rumor is that members of the mob were hiding out at Mudlavia, and members from another mob found them, disabled the sprinkler system, and started the fire.

If the second rumor is true, we have to entertain the idea that gangsters hid out at Mudlavia... And oh, the local lore on Mudlavia's gangsters!!!

Mudlavia was situated in what Henry Kramer called “peaceful valley” in Warren County, Indiana. The hotel was nestled away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, making it the perfect place for the gangsters to flee to when things got “too hot” in Chicago.

Some articles on the internet claim that famous criminals like John Dillinger and Al Capone stayed at Mudlavia. In some ways it makes perfect sense. Mudlavia was hidden away (they definitely would have taken advantage of the secluded area), there was a train that went straight from Chicago to the Attica Station, making for an easy escape, and even though Mudlavia was in farm country, it was still extravagant and would fit the lavish lifestyle of these criminals.

First, let's discuss John Dillinger. He didn’t start his life of crime until 1922, and the original, luxurious hotel burned in 1920. By the time the hotel reopened in October of 1934, Dillinger was already dead. When you study the timeframe, Dillinger is out.

But what about Al Capone? That's a fascinating thought that he might have hid away at the extravagant hotel, possibly in a secret room with a secret tunnel! 

When you study Capone, you'll find that he lived in New York until 1919-1920, depending on what source you read, and then went later to Chicago at the request of mobster Johnny Torrio.

There’s a very small window between his arrival in Chicago and when the hotel burned down. When he came to Chicago he was a twenty-year-old bouncer, not the crime boss we all know him for. He did not take over the Chicago Outfit and become famous until after the original Hotel Mudlavia burned down. 

Okay, so there's a pretty slim chance Capone would have visited the first hotel... but what about the second one? The second very modest hotel was built in 1934, and Capone was prosecuted in 1931 for tax evasion, not looking good for Capone as a guest at Mudlavia.

 The thing is, there are so many rumors about gangsters at Mudlavia... could there be some truth to those tales? And if so, who fits the timeline?

The mob was around during the glory years of the first hotel. Big “Jim” Colosimo is credited to starting the Chicago Outfit, and ran gambling joints, brothels, and drug rings from 1902 until 1920. He was nicknamed “Diamond” Jim, because he wore white suits accented with diamonds. Mudlavia flourished from when it was built in 1890 to when it burned down in 1920, fitting Colosimo's timeframe exactly. He also had proximity to Mudlavia, and very expensive tastes, so it’s plausible to entertain the idea that he could have stayed there.

He brought in his nephew Johnny Torrio from New York, who became his second in command. Torrio was the one who brought in Capone in 1919/1920. When prohibition went into effect, Torrio wanted the Chicago Outfit to get involved in the lucrative bootlegging business, but Colosimo refused to, and was ambushed and murdered shortly after that.

I’ve also heard rumors about speakeasies and bootlegging at Mudlavia, an intriguing thought if I do say so myself. The Wartime Prohibition Act went into effect on June 30, 1919, which stated that liquor stronger than 1.28% could not be sold. The Volstead Act, which went into effect on October 28, 1919 carried out the 18^th amendment, which prohibited the sale, manufacturing, and transport of alcohol. The 18^th amendment went into effect at midnight on January 16, 1920. Considering that Mudlavia prided itself on its fine moral reputation, and didn’t allow vices such as alcohol and gambling, it’s hard to believe that the original hotel had any type of speakeasy, especially since it burned down just a month after the 18^th amendment went into effect.

One of the last things that people love to talk about are the secret tunnels. The rumor is that there was a secret tunnel system for the mob to escape from if they got caught at Mudlavia. Some people say that the tunnel went all the way from Mudlavia to the train station in Attica. That would have been over five miles of underground tunnels! I can’t find any actual evidence that there were tunnels, but it is brought up so often that I have to wonder!

So, are the rumors true? Did the mob hideout at Mudlavia? Did Al Capone walk its halls? Were there tunnels beneath the hotel? Was there illegal alcohol?

Primary sources don’t attest to any of these things, but there are many tales, and as the saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire… especially at Mudlavia.

Mudlavia and The Cottage Garden

I have never considered myself a historical fiction writer. I love writing fantasy and am often doing some sort of historical research for my fantasy novels, but when I decided to write Mudlavia and pursue it seriously, I wondered how in the world I would pull off a historical fiction.

It’s funny how you can find connections to a place that was built and burned down so many years ago. As I researched, I found myself being drawn to the old menus and food, to the vegetable gardens, the animals, and the flowers. It turns out that the love of food and gardening and flowers can span one hundred years and still touch a reader like me today.

I fell hard for any information on Mudlavia’s flower gardens, feeling an immediate connection to them due to my own love of gardening. When we moved into our home six and a half years ago, the neighbors who lived there before us said they named it “The Honeymoon Cottage”, because it was old, cute, and small, like a little place you would rent for your honeymoon. I loved their nickname for our house and started looking up cottage gardens and old-timey flowers. Since then, my flower beds have been a labor of love, so when I came across information about Mudlavia’s beautiful cottage-style gardens with winding paths and fountains, I couldn’t wait to learn more.

The photo of the Mudlavia postcard above features daffodils. I’ve been told that there is a series of these postcards, however, I’ve never laid eyes on any but this one.

One woman, who visited Mudlavia as a child, described the gardens as a delight and a wonder to children. They were welcome to run and giggle along the crushed stone paths, explore the rainbow displays of flowers, and wiggle their fingers in the goldfish pond for the fish to nibble on.

A few people I interviewed mentioned that the gardeners at Mudlavia collected seeds at the end of the season and would create seed packets. These packets were given to the guests at the end of their stay, so they could plant the flowers and experience the beauty and serenity of the Mudlavia gardens at their own homes.

Although it has been hard to find references to specific flowers, some references included canna lilies, daffodils, ivy, and irises. The rest I get to dream up. I started with the Select Seeds catalogue, which is a company that saves and sells heirloom flower seeds. Their catalogue has detailed information about old-fashioned flowers, like when they came onto the market, if they had medicinal properties in the good ol’ days, and how they were used in cottage gardens.

They say when you’re a writer, to write what you know. If it’s something you don’t know well and you are learning about, I think it’s also important to write what you connect to. For me it was using my love of flowers to not just tell you about Mudlavia in my novel, but to make you feel as you can see and smell and experience the beauty of the Mudlavia gardens like you were a guest there.

Mudlavia and the Not-So-Romance

I love writing middle grade and young adult books about adventure, choices, friendship, family, and mystery, but romance? That's not normally my focus.

So when I found myself pitching my Mudlavia story to an agent who was very excited about it, I grew more and more excited the longer she talked to me. She explained that she loved Titanic and kept asking me about comparisons between the two stories.

Did it have this? Yes. Did it have this? Yes. Did it have romance?

Uh...

She explained that she thought a story like this really needed romance in it.

It is always wise to take advice from someone who has had a lot of experience and success in the publishing industry! Ever since then, I have been trying to work on this romance thing in my novel. When it comes to creating a novel, you don't just sit down, spit out the words, and boom, your are ready to publish! It takes a lot of edits and hard work. Every story has complications when it comes to getting something that is ready to publish, and for Mudlavia it is definitely creating a romance in it.

At Christmas time I worked on my Mudlavia Christmas chapters and it was magical. I used a peppermint scented pen, listened to Christmas music, and drank holiday inspired drinks. Editing my Christmas chapters at Christmas brought out the best in them. So as February and Valentine's Day rolled around, I was hoping the romance part would flow easily. Nope.

The more I work on it and add a character's thought or comment, the easier it gets, even if I do feel silly. I started a word bank with words like handsome, boyishly good looks, fetching, warm eyes, heart pounding, blushing, and so on, and I stare at it when I'm at a part where there should be signs of budding love.

My biggest obstacle is that I often come across young adult books where the female character sees a handsome guy, she knows she is definitely in love, and then puts herself in a bad situation or gives up everything to be with him. I want my characters to put more thought in it than that. I want a girl who uses reason, who is strong enough to say no, who realizes that relationships can move slow.

So while I am working on romance and trying to get it right in my novel, I am also trying to be true to myself and bring it out in a way that is real.

The Road To Mudlavia

The opening pages of my novel begin on a train to Attica, where my main character begins her journey to the famous Mudlavia Hotel. One thing that has been really fun about writing this historical fiction novel is that I get to see and experience the places I'm writing about. When I create other worlds, I have to rely on my creativity, and hope that someday I'll get to see the ideas in my head come to life through illustrations or the big screen. But for this story, I can recreate the road to Mudlavia because the general path to the hotel still exists today. 

First stop, Attica Station!

The Attica Station used to reside on this corner. At the turn of the century, the station would have been bustling with people. The hotel attendants, men in spiffy uniforms from various area hotels, waited at the depot, yelling loudly at the people coming off the train to convince them to stay at their hotel.

The Mudlavia employees wore gray uniforms and drove hacks...

Let's discuss the word "hack" for a second. Nowadays a hack is a cool trick or shortcut for something. Years ago it meant when someone did a bad job at something. And if we go back to the turn of the century and the time of the Mudlavia Hotel, it meant a carriage or stagecoach pulled by horses. Mudlavia had several hacks, but their most famous one was called the Tally-Ho. Later on, they also acquired fancy automobiles that would meet people at the train station and drive them to the hotel.

Once you climbed into a Mudlavia hack or car, you were on your way across the Wabash river. Obviously this wasn't the original bridge they used, but you get the idea!

Moore's Hill Road was there at the turn of the century and is still here today!

Moore's Hill today

Illustrated picture of Moore's Hill from the early 1900's. I can only imagine what a wild carriage ride this would have been!

There are lots of corners and turns...

The famous Pine Creek, where the guests would swim, enjoy picnics, and participate in gamey bass fishing competitions.

Pine Creek is still gorgeous!

They would keep going...

and going...

and going...

This is where I must leave you for now. (The property where the Mudlavia Hotel used to reside is privately owned and I gave my word to the owner that I would not post any other pictures of it.) Henry Kramer called Mudlavia and the surrounding area peaceful valley, and as you travel the road to Mudlavia, you will find the views both breathtaking and peaceful indeed!

Mudlavia and IAPA: Farm to Table From Past to Present

           A couple of months ago, our family was approached at the farmer’s market to participate in the first farm to table dinner in Warren County. We are delighted to be a part of this dinner and I’m really excited for the permission to blog about the dinner, as well as for my love of gardening and writing!

           The farm to table movement is one of the biggest movements across the United States right now. People want to know where their food comes from, how it’s grown, and who grows it. One only needs to pick up popular magazines such as Family Circle and Martha Stewart’s Living to find farm to table articles and recipes. Last month Rachael Ray regrammed farmer’s market pictures, and several Food Network and PBS shows feature farm to table stories.

            Not only is it trendy, but it’s a movement based on health concerns. My husband and I jumped on the bandwagon six years ago when I was diagnosed with a carcinoid tumor the size of a golf ball, with tentacles that wrapped themselves around the lower and middle lobes of my right lung. While the doctors couldn’t give an exact cause, we had several conversations about the pesticides and herbicides used on the orchards surrounding my childhood home; the ones I breathed in and out every day as I played outside and trained for cross-country.

            As a kid, my family gardened as a hobby and as a way to feed our family of eight, but as an adult with carcinoid cancer, knowing where my food came from and how it was grown became something much more than a hobby and food trend. It became a way of life to provide healthy, chemical-free meals for my family.

            As a writer I have to find ways to connect my stories to myself and to the lives of others. In the research for my historical fiction novel about Mudlavia, I found this connection through Mudlavia’s garden and food. When the hotel was running from 1889-1920, farm to table wasn’t a movement, it was a way of life. There was no Wal-Mart or online ordering services. The 250-room hotel had guests from all over the world to feed, as well as its many employees.

            According to sources, Mudlavia had a 400-acre farm to grow the food they needed to feed the plethora of guests and employees. Not only did they provide vegetables and fruit, but they also had a poultry farm and cattle. A creamery on the hotel grounds produced the dairy products they needed from their dairy cows.

A big thanks to Denny Myers for permission to use this picture!

            Old menus from the Mudlavia hotel feature their locally produced food; fancy cuts of beef, poultry dishes, pickles, asparagus, potatoes, beets, corn on the cob, fried cabbage, sliced tomatoes, and fruit pies.

            Mudlavia never did anything “blah”, but everything was done with grandeur and elegance. One ad states, “Mudlavia! Where even a potato is made fancy!”

            At Mudlavia, a potato wasn’t just a potato, it was an ingredient they grew and appreciated, and an ingredient they would make into something beautiful and delightful for their guests.

            This summer we visited the garden at Monticello and Washington’s garden at Mount Vernon. These gardens, still preserved today, were absolutely stunning. While many people often wonder what Warren County would be like if Mudlavia was still here, I often wonder if they would still have that huge garden. Would people get to tour it and learn the history of it? Would their menu would still feature their gorgeous, locally grown food?

            It is such a cool piece of Warren County history that for a span of thirty years, the booming Mudlavia Hotel turned the produce from their 400-acre farm into an extravagant dining experience for guests from all over the world.

            This weekend the Illiana Antique Power Association is bringing a piece of that farm to table history back to Warren County. The Illiana Antique Power Association showgrounds provides a unique look at history through their steam show every summer, which features the history of farming in Indiana, and the fourth grade history day, where the fourth graders walk through the historic village and participate in fun activities.

            This year they are having a farm to table dinner for their fall fundraiser. They had to tear down their old clubhouse, and proceeds from the farm to table dinner will go to building a new assembly hall to use for meetings and events at the showgrounds.

            I love that they have sourced shrimp from Oxford, beef from local sources, and vegetables from local growers. Everything served at this meal comes from within 60 miles! I also love that they are honoring the ingredients. Local chef and Seeger Culinary Arts director, Brian Greene, has created a fancy five-course meal to celebrate the local food, from bite size appetizers featuring local tomatoes, herbs, and shrimp, to a fancy tart with a twist for dessert!

            The farm to table dinner will be held at the Illiana Antique Power Association Showgrounds at 6:00PM, Saturday, September 9^th. Tickets, which include a five-course meal, entertainment, and a gift, are $50 per person. Come celebrate our local farmers, the historical village on the grounds, and the coming together as a community to fundraise for a place that celebrates our history.

*For more info you can call or text 765-585-9555, or find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/illianaantiquepower/

1900's Research

I was substitute teaching last week, and a student ran up to me and said, "Mrs. Austin! You've got to see this! Look how cheap these rings are!"

He handed me a booklet and flipped through a few pages of jewelry and watches, pointing out the prices of the items.

Boy was I glad he showed me this!

When he flipped back to the cover, it was a Sears Catalogue from 1900. I asked him if I could look through it and was fascinated to find items I'd come across in my Mudlavia research. To actually see pictures of the items, along with their prices and descriptions, was pretty amazing!

The cover

The order page

I had a chance to listen to an interview of a woman who loved to watch the women come and go from the Attica train station as a little girl. Her aunt lived across the street from the train station and when she visited, she would stare out the windows to watch the hustle and bustle of the train station. In the interview, she beautifully describes the women arriving on the train to visit to Mudlavia. She talks about their high-buttoned boots with heels, their gorgeous hats with tall plumes, women with glorious hair piled high and pulled back with tortoise shell combs. It was fascinating to see her words come to life through this old catalogue!

The high-buttoned boots with heels!

There are those fancy hats!

Princess Hair Restorer- This must be how they got all their gorgeous hair! ;)

Men's styles

There was a page of popular books people could purchase, including a favorite from my lit class in college- Uncle Tom's Cabin!

The hammocking trend that's become so cool recently, was apparently a popular trend back in the early 1900's! There was an entire page of hammocks to choose from!

This writing set was my favorite thing in the catalogue!

*Special thanks to Colton Ray and his family (Aaron and Melissa Ray) for allowing me to look through their catalogue and take pictures, and giving me their permission to share it with you!

Mudlavia- The Chapel of the King's Daughters

Out of all of the fascinating stories about Mudlavia, the story behind the Mudlavia chapel is one of my favorites.

A man named Henry (who also went by Harry) Kramer opened Mudlavia in the spring of 1891. Henry Kramer was known as a brilliant entrepreneur, and gained great success from his pharmaceutical business and the Mudlavia Hotel.

In 1892, Henry Kramer married Miss Anna S. Moore, a local girl, whose family owned property around Mudlavia.

There is a ton of information on Henry Kramer, but there is very little information to be found on his wife, Anna. Most sources state the basics; she grew up in Warren County, she married Henry Kramer, and she had two sons.

Local newspapers wrote that when Mudlavia burned on February 29, 1920, Mrs. Kramer lost $25,000 worth of jewels in the fire.
If anyone had a fairy-tale story, it was Anna Moore Kramer. When she married Henry Kramer, she married into a life of success, wealth, and luxury. She raised her family on the fourth floor of the thriving hotel, surrounded by beautiful gardens, famous people, and extravagant parties. She had everything she could ever want.

Yet, there’s one more thing that she is known for, the building of the Mudlavia chapel.

One newspaper states that Mrs. H.L. Kramer had it in her heart to build a chapel near the hotel.

For Mrs. Kramer, Mudlavia was not complete without a place for the guests to worship and hear the word of the Lord, and she set forth to have a chapel built on the grounds. The rumor is that Mr. Kramer said she could build a chapel as long as she raised all the money herself.

An article from the Attica Ledger states, “Mrs. H.L. Kramer is interested in securing the funds for the erection of a chapel in which to hold religious services. She is an energetic worker and will no doubt succeed in the accomplishment of her purpose.”

And she did! Ground was broken for the chapel in August of 1897, six years after the hotel was built and five years after Anna married Henry Kramer.

She named the chapel, “The Chapel of the King’s Daughters”. The chapel could hold up to 250 people. One source describes it as a small Victorian style, wood-shingled church, while another source states that the chapel was of Gothic and Queen Anne architecture with stained-glass windows. At the front stood an organ and it had electric lighting (which was very modern for Warren County at the time)!

(Pictured above, one of the only pictures I have seen of the Mudlavia chapel from a postcard my sweet grandpa gave to me. This is a drawing done by an artist.)

The chapel was non-sectarian (nondenominational) and offered services on Wednesdays at half past seven, Sundays at two o’clock for Sunday school, and Sundays at three for the preaching service. They also used the chapel for recitals, lectures, and concerts on the other days of the week.

This link shows a rare picture of the Mudlavia Chapel from the collection of the Williamsport Washington Township Public Library.
http://www.wwtpl.lib.in.us/HistoryRecordView.aspx?historyRecordID=3157

Local preachers took turns preaching at Mudlavia. On one postcard, the letter writer wrote about a preacher that gave an excellent sermon on the 3^rd commandment about not taking the Lord’s name in vain.

In the summer, it was common for the Mudlavia preachers to host baptisms at Pine Creek after church. Sometimes Mrs. Kramer hosted ice cream socials after the Sunday service and they often held church picnics after the service.

One secondary source stated that Mrs. Kramer decided to no longer open up church services to the locals due to their behavior, however, the next week they made amends and services were opened back up to the public (non-paying guests) again. So, not only was the chapel for the wealthy guests that stayed there, but she wanted everyone, even the locals, to have a place to worship.

Mudlavia was a place where people were healed through a special mud treatment. It was a place of breath-taking beauty. It was a place where people could come and find peace and relaxation from the rigors of life, and yet, Anna Kramer, who had all the worldly luxuries a girl could ever want, realized this wasn’t enough.

Mrs. Kramer knew there was more to life than riches, fame, success, and extravagance. She created a place where her guests could hear preaching twice a week and attend Sunday school, where they could get baptized, and where they could not just find healing for their bodily ailments, but healing for their souls through the chapel. She wanted this so badly, that she raised all the money to have it built herself.

I can picture her, standing in her lavish apartment on the fourth floor, reasoning with her husband as she stares out at the gorgeous grounds of Mudlavia and explaining why she wants a chapel so badly. “If we don’t have a chapel, we don’t have anything.”

An anonymous quote says, “I am a daughter of the King, who is not moved by the world. For my God is with me and goes before me. I do not fear because I am His.”

What an apt quote for Anna Kramer. She did not just settle into a life of luxury and was not moved by the wealth and success of the world around her, but worked hard to build a chapel to bring peace and healing to every guest who came to stay at Mudlavia.

While I have never known great wealth, her legacy speaks to me. Her legacy shows that wealth and fame aren’t everything. Her legacy shows that community is of great importance, that all people (whether wealthy guests or poor locals) should have the chance to worship in the church, and that while healing can come from various medicine and natural remedies, true healing comes from knowing the word of the Lord.

*Credit- The newspaper articles on the chapel came from the Warren County Historical Society. One article was partially ripped and the other very faded, so I am still trying to track down the newspapers and dates that the articles were written. Special thanks to Terri Wargo, who is in charge of the Warren County Historical Society. Special thanks to Chris Brown, the librarian of the Williamsport-Washington Public Library, who has given me permission to link the picture of the chapel to my blog.

The Pieces of Mudlavia

I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I dropped off the face of the earth, and if I was still working on the Mudlavia book. The truth is, I’ve chased a rabbit down the rabbit hole. One trail leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to another. I am fine-tuning the details of my Mudlavia novel, and while writing the initial story was easy, researching it has been quite a challenging adventure.

If Mudlavia was a 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle, it’s like someone stood in the middle of Indiana, and tossed the pieces into a windstorm, scattering them across the entire state. I’ve disappeared from social media to chase down all those pieces to hopefully put together a well-researched work of historical fiction.

Trying to track down the facts to get a picture of what Mudlavia was like in the 1900’s has been hard. One historian I worked with explained that there have been several people in the past who have talked about writing a book about Mudlavia, but no one has ever completed one. That’s because there are a lot of gaps in the research, there’s a lot of conflicting details from sources, and you really have to travel all over Indiana to find the information you are looking for. It seems like every person I talk to has a different piece of the puzzle. I always learn something new and I always walk away with more questions than what I started with.

The key to the missing answers?

I spent three hours reading the backs of old Mudlavia postcards to see if I could find any clues from the guests themselves.

The postcards, written so long ago, unveil a time when life was full of handsome fellows, picnicking, buggy rides, evening dances, and playing cards on the front porch.

Such beautiful handwriting on the postcards!

I read many accounts of guests who enjoyed the mud baths, two accounts of people who did not like being covered in mud at all, and one account of someone who was absolutely ecstatic because the dark mud made them look “just like real Africans”. The same words show up on many different postcards, describing Mudlavia as “a fine place”, “grand”, “beautiful”, and “especially delightful”, showcasing that this hotel was truly a place to behold.

I have not set out to write a nonfiction book about the Mudlavia Hotel, but a historical fiction. There’s a part of my brain that wants to find every little detail and fill in every little gap I’m missing. I still have a zillion questions about the hotel that can’t be answered unless I happen to fall into the right rabbit hole, but the other part of my brain is thankful for the missing pieces, because those are the parts I get to dream up and create to make the story come alive.

I am looking forward to sharing the information I’ve learned with you… missing pieces and all!