pport for"Journey Indiana" is provided by Columbus Visitors Center, celebrating everywhere art and unexpected architecture in Columbus, Indiana.

Tickets for guided tours and trip planning information at Columbus.in.us.

And by WTIU members.

Thank you!

>> ASHLEY: Coming up, learn how one New Albany teacher inspired generations of students.

Experience a holiday tradition at the Martinsville Candy Kitchen.

Check out an Indiana farm of a different sort in Morgan County, and meet a few of Santa's elves, living right here in Indiana.

That's all on this episode of "Journey Indiana"!

♪ Welcome to "Journey Indiana."

I'm Ashley Chilla, and we're coming to you from the Seiberling Mansion and Howard County Museum in Kokomo.

The mansion was built by industrialist and entrepreneur Monroe Seiberling, who came to Kokomo during the Indiana gas boom of the late 19th century.

Today the mansion, which as you can see is all decorated for the holidays, is run by the Howard County Historical Society.

And we'll learn all about it and take a look around in just a bit.

But first, we're headed south to New Albany to learn the history behind the first FM student-run radio station in the country.

Producer Adam Carroll has the story of WNAS.

>> New Albany, located in Southern Indiana, is known for its historic buildings, riverviews, and a number of notable firsts, including the state's first high school, and in 1949 established the first student-run, FCC-licensed radio station in the country, WNAS.

In 1973, after nearly 30 years of high school graduations, Top 40 Music and weather reports, a new manager was hired at the station.

>> That summer, Superintendent Bob Holmes met a young radio person named Lee Kelly.

Lee was the sports director of a local radio station, WREY.

Superintendent Holmes convinced Kelly to leave his job with WREY and come to New Albany.

>> WNAS thrived under Lee Kelly's leadership, adding teacher announcements, game shows, and even election coverage.

>> 1980, I was approached by the National Election Service, and they approached my class about covering all of the precincts.

Lee suggested to me, when he found out I was doing the election night coverage, why not do it on TV?

So we went on the air.

As the results would come back, Lee would have students to read them, and Lee and myself would set behind a desk and give updates of who was winning and who wasn't winning.

>> Along with election coverage, WNAS introduced listeners to local and national politicians, sports personalities, and local celebrities.

They even began experimenting with television production, broadcasting locally on Channel 2.

And throughout the 1990s, Kelly and his students prioritized athletics.

Eventually WNAS and Lee Kelly, in particular, would become known as the voice of the Bulldogs.

>> For this morning, the big snow should be beginning around 6 a.m., with temperatures remaining in the upper 20s.

>> In the late '70s, early '80s, he included not only the minor sports, like swimming and tennis and volleyball, but he expanded it to do girls sports in 1999.

Lee followed the girls basketball team and broadcast the first student broadcast of a state finals game in 1999, when New Albany won the state championship.

>> The Bulldogs of New Albany celebrate their first girls basketball state championship in undefeated fashion!

♪ >> I always really appreciated that Mr. Kelly did not treat us as kids or as teenagers.

He treated us like adults.

He gave us adult roles and adult responsibilities in terms of running our radio shifts or running our assignments within the TV studio.

To have an adult who doesn't talk down to you, who treats you as if you are an equal, and as if you are a professional, goes a really long way.

Although it was technically a class, it was much more than that.

You had all the responsibilities that you would in running the day-to-day operations of a professional radio station or a TV studio, TV department.

It felt like -- when you are a kid in a small town in Indiana, this feels like an opportunity that you are getting to do something that is big time!

And for me, I had always loved TV.

I loved watching TV.

I loved being behind the scenes.

I loved all of those different aspects of it, but I had no idea what it took to make it all possible.

It's great that you can see the finished product, but you have no idea the intricacies behind it.

♪ >> You can come support the boy's football team, as set for second round sectionals against Floyd Central at Floyd Central at 7:00.

>> I remember walking into the studios at IU, and then also studios when I had internships, and I immediately had a level of comfort, because there were so many parallels between what we had done in high school, to what they were using and the function of everything on a professional grade basis.

And for me, it was, oh, I know how to run this camera.

I know how to run this teleprompter.

I know how to do whatever aspect it is they are asking me to do.

Helps you immensely in terms of being a vital asset and not just someone who they have to teach and bring along.

>> Good afternoon.

It is 1:37 here at New Albany High School.

My name is Nathan Samsel, here in the studio for the next about 20 minutes.

>> In 2013, after nearly four decades of teaching, mentoring, and broadcasting, Lee Kelly retired.

He stayed active in the community and at the station he built.

In 2020, Kelly died after a brief battle with lung cancer.

Today, WNAS stands as a legacy to one man's vision, passion, and a never-ending commitment to his students.

♪ >> I remember going to Lee with ideas, as students, of things that we wanted to do, and he never shot an idea down.

Some of them he might chuckle a little bit more at than others, but he never made you feel like that anything you wanted to do was silly or outlandish or unachievable.

And I always appreciated that he had that open door policy, where you could go in -- whether it was something you wanted to do that was incredibly creative or a little bit outside of the box or a big lofty goal that you had -- he was always a wonderful sounding board.

When you would plop down in his office, where there was always a full pot of coffee, and you could just chat with him about anything and everything, and he cared so genuinely about your well-being and about your success, not just as a student, but as a person.

And he had that ability to connect with you, not on just a teacher-to-student level.

It was a personal level in which you felt like even if there were several decades between the two of you, that you were talking to someone who considered you an equal and a peer.

>> I believe I learned how to treat people in my three years with Mr. Kelly, more than at any time in my life.

>> Mr. Kelly was more than a teacher.

He was a friend and a mentor.

I have him to thank for my love of the TV business, and it makes me happy to know he was proud of where my career took me.

I'll miss his smiling face on the catwalk.

>> He really devoted so much time, energy, effort and passion into WNAS, New Albany High School, the students, and the community.

>> When I think of Mr. Kelly, I don't think teacher.

I think mentor.

He treated us like adults and gave us ownership and creative liberties in a publicly aired product.

That's real hands-on learning.

>> I credit Lee Kelly with everything good in my life because my time with Lee was the starting point for all things both personal and professional that bring me joy.

If Lee Kelly said I could do it, then it must be true.

>> 13 after 6:00 on Friday morning, the 8th day of December with New Albany and Floyd Central on tap for tonight here on WNAS Radio.

>> ASHLEY: I can definitely relate to some of those voices we just heard.

I've had mentors and teachers who have made a huge impact on me, and having teachers like Mr. Kelly can definitely change your life.

And we wanted to let you know that the WNAS studios are being renamed in Lee Kelly's honor.

That ceremony will take place on January 29th, at a Bulldogs basketball game.

And if you want to learn more about the station he built, just head over to wnas.org.

Earlier, we caught up with Catherine Hughes to learn all about the Seiberling Mansion and Howard County Museum.

>> Monroe Seiberling was an industrialist and an entrepreneur.

He arrived here because of the gas boom.

And then he built this house in 1890.

It's over 11,000 square feet.

People love the dining room.

The window in the dining room is really spectacular.

Also, most people relate to a dining room, and so they can see themselves having dinner in this elegant dining room.

They lived here for about five years, and then they did move on.

George Kingston owned the house for 40 years, and why we don't call it the Kingston Mansion is a good question.

After Kingston died, it became the campus for IU Kokomo for 20 years.

And then it fell into disrepair, and it was a community grassroots organization that came together and said, we don't want to lose this architectural gem.

They worked with the county to restore, rebuild, and then the county bought it and became partners with the Historical Society.

And that's when the Historical Society moved here as its space.

We are really inviting people to come in, enjoy the architecture, but also to really think about what the history of Howard County has been, and be able to see a broader sense of history as we focus on the future.

>> ASHLEY: You can learn more about the Seiberling Mansion and the Howard County Historical Society at Howardcountymuseum.org.

Up next, we are headed to Martinsville, to see candy canes made the old-fashioned way.

Producer John Timm has the story.

♪ ♪ Jingle bells, jingle bells ♪ ♪ Jingle all the way >> We are in our busy time of the year.

Every day we make canes until 3, 4, 5:00 in the morning.

Martinsville Candy Kitchen has been here for 102 years now.

My parents bought the store 17 years ago, and they had no idea what they were getting into, but it's been a ride for sure!

♪ Laughing all the way >> We just didn't want to see it close.

It's been in Martinsville for 102 years.

When we bought the store, that's basically what we bought, were the recipes and the tools that they used to make the recipes.

The marble slabs, the hooks, the cook stove, the scissors, everything we use is 102 years old.

>> We make thousands of canes.

When my parents bought the store, we were making around 10,000 candy canes a year.

We now make anywhere between 35 and 40,000 canes a year.

♪ It takes about three hours from cook time to bag time to make 200 6-inch candy canes.

And we usually make anywhere between 600 and 800 a night.

♪ >> This was not the direction I anticipated my life going.

I worked in the dental field.

So I -- I had no interest in this type of thing.

Complete opposite, yes.

[ Laughter ] So my grandmother actually made the majority of the candy for the first 14 years.

I kind of shadowed her and learned as she -- as I went, and she was amazing at what she did.

I still have no idea how she kept up and did all that she did.

We needed somebody to come in -- in the family, after my grandmother passed, we needed somebody to come in and run the store through the day.

So my dad asked me if I would be willing to do it, and so I -- here I am three years later, still doing it.

I also make a lot of the chocolates.

So I'm here all day long, and helping customers.

And then my dad, when he gets off work in the evening, I make canes with him.

So -- >> Sugar, water, and corn syrup.

That's as detailed as I will get without money.

It cooks on the stove for an hour, and then what people are waiting to see now is for us to pour it on the table.

And then we fold it on the table for a while to cool it down to where we can pick it up with our hands.

And once it gets cool enough, then we'll pick it up, and we'll cut a third of it off, and then put the red coloring in it, or whatever color, and pull that on the hook to mix the color in.

And then I take the rest of it over to the hook and pull that in to make it turn white.

And then once I get it white, I make a square, and we put the stripes on it, and I roll that with my hand.

I pull it out into a rope kind of, whatever thickness we want, and then I roll it with my hand to get the twirl on it.

From there, it becomes candy canes.

♪ >> There's two other candy stores in Indiana that I know of.

One is up in Lafayette, and one is down in Jeffersonville, and they both make candy canes.

I'm not sure how long -- they are close to the same age as us, but maybe -- you know, they may be a year or two older, year or two younger.

I don't know.

People like handmade things.

♪ >> They are really good, and they are completely handmade.

That's a rarity anymore.

You don't see things like that.

And it's -- it's a neat experience to bring the kids and actually let them watch the cane go from liquid state to a candy cane, and then the kids fall in love with it.

♪ >> When you come in and actually watch the canes be made, we give out a small sample to everybody that wants one, and you get to taste a warm candy cane, and there is nothing in the world that compares to a warm candy cane.

>> ASHLEY: I'm not a huge peppermint fan, but this candy cane is delicious!

And seeing it made by hand is absolutely incredible.

Want to learn more?

Just head over to: Up next, we're staying in Morgan County to learn about another unique family business.

Producer Reuben Browning and editor Stefan Buba have the story of Ozark Fisheries.

[ Background chatter ] ♪ >> Most people have never actually met a fish farmer.

And so when people meet me for the first time, and they learn that I'm a fish farmer, they -- they always have a fish story or they grew up with a fish or -- everyone has a fish story, but they don't always think about where their fish come from, and they don't realize that their fish can be born and raised here in America.

♪ My name is Margaret Cleveland.

I'm a fourth generation fish farmer here at Ozark Fisheries.

My family has been raising fish for 95 years, and so it's kind of in my blood.

I -- from the time that I could walk, I was out there helping my parents, you know, catch the fish or sort the fish or work on shipping them out.

I used to do a lot of sorting, where I would go through and pick out the good fish versus any fish that have any flaws, or take the tadpoles out of the fish.

So it's important for me to continue that legacy.

This farm was originally called Grassyfork Fisheries.

It was started in 1899 by Eugene Shireman.

It's one of the oldest fish farms that's continually operated in the United States.

♪ >> We raise goldfish and koi.

These are ornamental fish being used for indoor aquariums, outdoor patio ponds.

None of it is used for human consumption.

So we're selling these fish for the visual appeal, and they are going to go into these tanks and aquariums across the United States.

>> So we raise a lot of fish every year.

Typically, our hatcheries are taking out about 125 million or just hundreds of millions of fish each year.

♪ Ozark Fishery raises two different types of koi, one called the butterfly-finned koi and then a standard fin koi, as well as five different types of goldfish.

And then we also raise something called pond scavengers, which are things like bullfrog tadpoles, crayfish and snails.

You want snails or crayfish because it's something different in your pond.

They help build up the ecosystem as well.

The crayfish will eat the decaying matter at the bottom of the pond.

The fish will add the variety, you can see.

♪ >> So this is our fish hatchery.

So this is where the fish actually hatch out.

So we spawn our fish outside.

The fish lay their eggs on these mats.

These mats are brought into the hatchery.

They are put in these tanks.

They are in these tanks for two to -- two days.

On the third day, they start hatching.

And then we're going to take them out into the ponds when they are 2 days old, and they spend the rest of their lifetime on our farm in the ponds.

Goldfish are originally from China and koi are originally from Japan, and they actually live typically a lot longer than you would think.

Your average goldfish should live around 25 years, and your average koi should live around 75 years.

The fish will grow based on the environment they are given.

So if they are given more space, more room, more sunlight, more food, they are going to grow larger.

Typically a goldfish can get up to 12 inches, and then koi can get up to 36 inches.

So they can get really big.

So this is our outdoor koi holding facility.

So these koi are brought in from our ponds.

They are ready to sell.

They are here.

We have already acclimated them and graded them by size.

So we're waiting for a customer to buy them, and then they'll be shipped out.

So as a farmer, our product, what we're trying to sell is where we make our money, and that's -- not only do most farmers really care about their fish and care about their products, we want them to survive and be as healthy as possible so that we have a product at the end of the line to sell.

♪ >> So in Martinsville, we have around 250 ponds.

They are each around an acre in size.

Some of them are a little smaller, some of them are a little bigger, but they all have -- are flow through systems.

They each have an inlet and outlet.

They are dirt ponds.

So all of our fish are raised outdoors in these dirt ponds.

>> The ponds that the fish live in, they all have to be conditioned and dozed out.

We spent a lot of time on tractors, big equipment, digging new drain lines, digging not necessarily new ponds, but rehabbing the ponds that we currently have.

♪ >> So Martinsville is known for goldfish.

They even have banners in their downtown that have goldfish on them.

At one time, it was the goldfish capital of the world.

And so we do try to invite school groups out for tours, and we try to give back when we can to support the community.

Fish farm is not something that a lot of people get to experience, and so especially aquaculture in general.

Even farmers know a lot about agriculture, but not a lot of people know a lot about aquaculture.

And so getting to bring a school group out and to get them to see the fish, get to put their hands in the water, get to hold a crayfish, really brings a lot of joy out in them, and hopefully some day maybe want to own a fish themselves or be interested in the industry itself.

>> ASHLEY: You can learn more at Ozarkfisheries.com.

And finally, we're headed to Indy to meet a few members of the Central Indiana Woodworkers Club, who make thousands of toys each year for children throughout the state.

Producer Jason Pear has the story.

>> Since 1948, woodshops, like this one in Don Malloy's suburban backyard, have housed members of the Central Indiana Woodworkers Club, a group originally known as the Home Craftsmen Forum.

>> We have carvers.

We have people that make furniture.

We've got people that make, like, kitchen cabinets and things.

So we've got every different part of woodworking that you can imagine.

♪ >> But for the members gathered today in Don's shop.

♪ >> The same members that gather here nearly every Tuesday throughout the year.

♪ >> The to-do list is all about making sure the holidays are happy for all Hoosiers.

♪ >> Our slogan is the land of 10,000 toys.

So our goal every year is to make and deliver, through various different organizations, 10,000 or more wooden toys.

>> There are a handful of shops like this around Indianapolis.

And between the groups that come together to work, and those who prefer to work alone, the members of the Central Indiana Woodworkers build a lot of toys!

All told, they spend thousands of hours throughout the year cutting, sanding, and drilling.

And although it's unclear whether the recipients have a favorite toy, the builders certainly do.

>> Of our 11,000 some total, we had almost 4,000 cars.

The guys like to make cars and trucks.

Every kind of truck you can imagine, but we also have treasure boxes, doll beds, games, puzzles, pull toys with a string for toddlers, hippos, and dinosaurs and snails and rabbits.

Quite a variety.

>> Wheeled or not, the toys are distributed through partner agencies located in Central Indiana and around the state, who all recognize that they are receiving something pretty special.

>> I talk to the agencies all the time, and they are constantly telling me how the kids love the wooden toys.

Always wonderful responses from the parents, from the kids.

It's kind of like, wow, you can't buy these at Walmart.

>> For the members, these build days are a time to work, but also a time for fellowship, and a time to learn from each other.

>> These people all come to be our very good friends, but we're sharing techniques.

So it's not just about what we learn at the meeting or what we got from a class that we attended.

It's the one-on-one or the small groups where folks are getting around and sharing, well, I do it this way.

And oh, wow, I never tried that.

So it's a whole bunch of that.

That happens before and after our meetings, and every time groups get together.

It's great.

>> Sure, it's a bit too far south, and the elves don't look quite like what we have seen in the movies, but this two-car garage in Indianapolis may be the closest any of us ever get to Santa's workshop.

And just like Santa, they get some pretty important letters.

>> The big thing for me is reading letters to the members that we have received from agencies.

It's interesting to look out over a group of mostly gray-haired old farts, and see that there's not a dry eye in the place.

There's no place else you can get that feeling of making a difference in the lives of so many children.

♪ >> Production support for "Journey Indiana" is provided by Columbus Visitors Center, celebrating everywhere art and unexpected architecture in Columbus, Indiana.

Tickets for guided tours and trip planning information at Columbus.in.us.

And by WTIU members.

Thank you!