Past career helped me learn the back roads
I once had a friend tell me that he could take me back to his home county of Washington in southern Indiana and get me lost on the county roads. What I told him was that I was even more confident that I could do the same in Greene County where I grew up. We have never actually began the challenge, but I am most confident I would win!
Although I was born in Hendricks County, I can say that I am a Greene County Hoosier. I lived in Linton most of my life until 1999 when I moved to Bloomfield and got a job with the former Bloomfield Evening World and the Bloomfield News. One of the jobs I held was to keep track of the carriers and their routes. Although it could be pretty challenging at times, I did learn a lot including memorizing where the routes were and most of all the customers' names.
Customers would call in and say they lived on Washboard Road south of Linton or on Furnace Road south of Bloomfield. Now, if you're going to live in Greene County, you have to learn the names of roads before you learn directions.
If someone tells you they live on Washboard Road, you know they live south of Linton -- the first road on the left past the sawmill. If they tell you they live on Furnace Road, you would know that starts the first road to the left south of Bloomfield across from the former IGA.
Another couple of landmark addresses that I was challenged with were Old Clifty Road and Sharkey Curve. Now, I'm telling you that you have to be born and raised in eastern Greene County to know where these landmark roads are located. Needless to say, thanks to Bob Henderson, I quickly learned.
Old Clifty is located off of 45 north of the Crane gate and Sharkey Curve is located directly past the former Shawnee Restaurant east of Bloomfield. In western Greene County some of the roads I have learned are Watertower Road and Lonetree, along with Bogle Corner. Watertower Road is the road to the left of the Ellis Water Tower on Highway 59 North. Lonetree Road is the road going north of the Greene County General Hospital and Bogle Corner is located in the curve going north of Jasonville on Highway 59 North.
Learning the names and locations of roads and landmarks in Greene County ought to be taught in fourth grade Indiana history, and should be a prerequisite to getting your driver's license. I also firmly believe that automobile GPS systems should come equipped with a special program for drivers called "Indiana Backroads and Landmarks For Dummies."
This could also be a number one best selling book at Barnes and Noble. I had a situation one time where a saleswoman was coming to see me when I used to live in Blue Sky South, north of the Crane gate. She was coming from Kentucky to Bedford and then to my house. I had given her directions to my home and her response was, "I will load that into my GPS."
Wrong thing to do. The poor lady got lost and I had to send my friend out to find her.
If you all are like me, you love to take Sunday drives without really having a destination in mind. That is when you will either make your situation or break it. You may even discover a whole new road -- a finding for the map and GPS makers or you will be totally lost and have to call Triple A Auto.
Just a suggestion: If you have a bucket list or are planning to make a bucket list, add Greene County roads to it. Just don't plug it into your GPS. You may end up in Kentucky!!
Tina can be reached at tblythe66@outlook.com.
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