Berne, Indiana

Swiss Heritage

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Berne, in Adams County in Northeast Indiana, is located at the intersection of US 27 and Indiana 218. It is a
community of a few more than 4,000 people. About half the residents trace their ancestry to Germany or Switzerland,
and many old-order Amish live, farm and work in the surrounding area. Berne has been well known for furniture
manufacturing. To learn more about area attractions, festivals and businesses, visit Berne Chamber of Commerce's web site.

Downtown Berne is compact and tidy, and many more retail businesses are located just north of town along US 27.
Downtown, Edelweiss Florists sell flowers, plants, antiques and collectibles; the Gathering House's cookies and
muffins are baked fresh daily (the chocolate chip cookies are great) and it's interesting to browse the old
department-store building full of antiques; the Palmer House hosts smorgasbord on Friday nights; and the
White Cottage sells ice cream and snacks.

First Mennonite Church's cornerstone reads "Erste Mennoniten Kirche 1910." The congregation has a long-standing
reputation in the area for an excellent music ministry, and is the owner of a widely-acclaimed Schneider Pipe Organ

Cross United Church of Christ, located downtown, had its roots in the Reformed Church and its successor, the
Evangelical and Reformed Church. After celebrating its 135th anniversary the congregation renounced its affiliation
with UCC over the gay marriage issue, and has renamed itself Cross Reformed Church. The present building was
built in 1963, and features masonry construction with a clay tile roof and copper flashing. It was built to last. The
stone carvings on the east exterior were reused from the previous building, an 1895 red-brick building that stood
on the same site. They were created by Reverend Bechtold Ruf, a pastor in the late nineteenth century who
learned the craft in his native Switzerland.

Moser Motors, one of America's oldest Ford Dealers, does a good business in heavy trucks. I happened by on a
Saturday when they were setting up a customer appreciation celebration and had the opportunity to see and
photograph the Model A Fords displayed by John Eicher, retired owner of the business.

Every summer during July, Berne celebrates Swiss Days with food, historic observations, music, entertainment
and more food.

Swiss Heritage Village is a collection of historic buildings from the Berne area. During Swiss Days, antique engines
and tractors are on display and historic interpreters demonstrate the skills that their ancestors practiced to provide
daily necessities for living. They press apples for cider, make cheese, and thresh grain, spin wool and weave textiles.

Berne Swiss Days 2005

Gasoline and kerosene engines like these were used on farms and in workshops.
The smaller engines, rated about 1 ½ horsepower, pumped water, shelled corn,
ran small mills to grind grain, and powered washing machines. The larger engine
shown here, rated about 6 horsepower, could have run a buzz saw to cut firewood
or powered a larger feed mill or the machines in a woodworking or blacksmith shop.

Most early engines were water cooled. This upright International Harvester
engine draws water from the bottom of the cylindrical tank, circulates it through
the cylinder jacket, and then returns it to flow down the conical screen to cool it.

These large engines were usually installed as central power in oil fields. An engine in a centrally-located shed used
a flat belt to drive a pump jack that pulled long rods to pump oil wells as far as a half mile away. These engines use
a two-stroke cycke, and the power they provide is not as smooth and precisely regulated as the throttle-governed
engines more commonly used in factories and workshops.

These scale model oil-field engines were built from casting sets that can be bought either machined or unmachined,
depending on your level of mechanical skills.

The Allis-Chalmers Roto-Baler produced round bales. I don't know about the
later ones, but the early ones that I was familiar with required the tractor driver
to stop forward motion in order to tie and eject each bale. Really a nuisance.

The Allis-Chalmers G always seemed like a good idea to me, and they're still quite popular for produce farming.
There's a company that can retrofit your G with a modern diesel engine and live hydraulics, or sell you a completely
updated and overhauled tractor.

Allis-Chalmers' styling was created by industrial designer Brooks Stevens. Stevens is best known for his designs
for Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Berne Swiss Days 2005 Car Show

When I was a teenager I found one of these bathtub Packards, a dark red one, for sale. It was a creampuff and I
wanted it the worst way, but dad wouldn't let me even talk about it.

My best friend just after high school worked for the Packard dealer, and he picked up one of these. We used to
roam the area in in it, and man, was it fast! Like a tank, too – it was heavy and stuck to the road like it was glued down.

One of the ultimate 60's road cars -- big and roomy and powerful, comfortable and quiet, 90mph on the open road
felt like sitting in your living room.

Triple Rochester 2-jets. Floor it, and it's just like flushing your gas tank

My favorite at the show, a 1929 Hudson Super Six. My granddad owned one, but his was a standard production
model. This is one of 31 custom-bodied Victorias by Biddle & Smith, six of which still survive.

The Hudson Super Six engine had a cast aluminum crankcase and valve cover, and cast-iron cylinder block and
head. It was an F-head design, with exhaust valves in the block like a flathead engine, and intake valves in the
cylinder head. Hudson was the first company to dynamically balance their engines, and that practice gave them
smooth running and exceptional performance and long wear.

A sound system on wheels – the back seat had been removed, and the whole area was filled with amplifier and
speakers. Just the kind of thing I like to hear going past my house in the middle of the night. There are LCD video
screens in the sun visors and door panels, too.

"Suck Gas and Haul Ass"

The first word that comes to mind is "flamboyant.

Cuter'n a bug! 1962 Nash Metropolitan.

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