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, travel to Lawrenceburg to check out a shop that celebrates all things accordion.

>> BRANDON: Discover the story behind a hidden T.C.

Steele painting.

>> ASHLEY: And see baseball the way it used to be played.

>> BRANDON: That's all on this episode of -- >> TOGETHER: "Journey Indiana!"

♪ >> ASHLEY: Welcome to "Journey Indiana."

I'm Ashley Chilla.

>> BRANDON: And I'm Brandon Wentz.

And we're coming to you from the City Market Catacombs in downtown Indianapolis.

Historically, this space was used by workers of the City Market to transport and store goods.

The original structure above the catacombs burned in 1958, and they were never used again, at least not for their original purpose.

>> ASHLEY: Today, the catacombs are a tourist attraction of sorts, viewable by tour or right here on "Journey Indiana."

>> BRANDON: That's right.

And we'll learn all about this unique location in just a bit, but first, we're headed to Dearborn County, to meet a family of accordion aficionados.

Producer John Timm has the story.

♪ >> Hi, I'm London Scholle, and I am the accordionist with Cincinnati Accordion.

♪ I work on the accordions here.

I give lessons here, and I do all -- everything here.

[ Chuckles ] ♪ >> My name is Matt, and with my son, we started Cincinnati Accordion.

I work on accordions.

I appraise accordions, evaluate accordions, and what could be wrong.

And overall, we're just trying to keep the accordion alive.

♪ It all started when my son -- he's a pianist -- wanted to play accordion.

♪ >> Like many kids, I played piano when I was younger, and I was made to take piano lessons.

Very soon, it didn't become a chore.

I really enjoyed it, and I kind of moved around with the different teachers, and eventually got into little ensembles and bands, and just kind of -- just kind of grew to love music.

♪ In the midst of all of that, for fun, I picked up the accordion, which was a great instrument and was nice enough because I didn't have to relearn the piano side.

I already knew that.

>> We found an accordion.

It was free, and it was broken, and we brought it home.

Started trying to fix it up, and we got it working partially.

And it sounded like a witch boiling in oil.

♪ We went to Dayton, and we met a guy in Dayton that basically fixed it.

And I showed him what I had done, and he basically became my mentor from there.

♪ I don't know how, but somehow my name got out in the accordion world, and I started meeting other accordionists.

And eventually, I started fixing their accordions, and I guess one thing led to another, and now we fix a lot of accordions all the time.

♪ >> The name is Cincinnati Accordion, but we are located in southeastern Indiana.

>> When we first started this, we were a little hesitant.

We were, like, Cincinnati?

Okay, we don't live in Cincinnati.

>> I worked in Cincinnati.

I was in Cincinnati all the time.

♪ >> When customers called us, they generally didn't come out to the house.

We generally went to them or we would meet them somewhere.

>> We don't have a Cincinnati location.

We only have one location.

It's in Indiana.

>> Dearborn County, which is where we are, is really the Greater Cincinnati Area.

We were Cincinnati, and Cincinnati Accordion seemed to make sense.

That's why it's called that, but we're Hoosiers through and through.

[ Laughter ] ♪ >> Cincinnati Accordion is really run by myself, my son, and my wife.

♪ It's all about us doing it together.

>> I don't have to worry about working with people I don't like.

I love my mom and dad.

We all get along very well.

♪ >> Julia, she takes calls.

She -- she's attentive to the customers.

♪ I repair things, and I -- I deal with a lot of customer questions and all that, but really I'm the one kind of digging into the accordion, trying to figure out if it can be fixed and what needs to be fixed.

♪ And then London, he's amazing.

Like, he plays it.

He does -- any time when someone wants to buy an accordion, he really works with the customer to help them find what's right for them and fit it.

♪ He does lessons.

>> I love giving lessons.

So I love teaching, because I love passing on my knowledge to other people.

♪ >> He's the one that always goes on gigs to -- you know, if a customer needs -- needs him to play somewhere.

>> One of my favorite gigs of all time was I was asked to play music for someone's anniversary.

We went to a beautiful park in downtown Cincinnati.

A beautiful gazebo there.

It's all lit up, and I sat up my accordion, and I had learned their song.

You know, "their" song, their romantic song.

As they walked up, he kind of gave me a nod, and I played their song, and she just loved it and I think -- I think she started crying.

♪ It's not this 9-to-5 work schedule where we're going to be yelling at each other if we don't get work done.

>> But it's really all of us together.

It's a very fluid thing.

♪ >> When customers bring us their accordions, it's really an emotional experience for them.

>> We'll have people say, hey, it's my great grandma's accordion.

You know, she's gone now.

This is what have to remember her by.

Can you fix it?

There can be a lot of pressure there, but it's also really, really rewarding when they get it back, they play it, and they go, this sounds just like how grandma played it.

There's been a lot of people that have cried in this room and in this house when they get their accordions back because it's emotional.

♪ >> We're just about trying to make sure that this kind of forgotten instrument is staying around, and that we can promote it, and that we can make sure that people are -- we're trying to help people understand it.

♪ >> ASHLEY: Interestingly enough, I know I've talked about how I used to play the organ at my grandparent's house when I was younger.

Well, they also had an accordion, and I used to play it as a tiny child or I thought I could play it, certainly not anywhere near what London can play.

>> BRANDON: Want to learn more?

Just head over to Cincinnatiaccordion.com.

>> ASHLEY: Earlier, we caught one Keisha Harrison to learn all about the City Market Catacombs.

>> We are now in the catacombs, which in the beginning it was used for storage, and it housed all of the mechanical functions of the market.

And in 1958, I think it was, Tomlinson Hall, which used to sit right above us, burned to the ground, and what was left were the ruins right here that we have come to call the catacombs.

At its inception, the City Market was planned to be the marketplace, the market house, where everyone would come to get their daily provisions.

So farmers, you know, all kinds of people selling things would come here, and people would come here every day.

And the market welcomed everyone.

And they were free to sell, as well as purchase.

And over the years, as grocery stores and supermarkets, as we know them today came into existence, it kind of fell away, and then we have morphed into what we would consider a food hall today.

But we do have some lifestyle activities and businesses here such as the bicycle shop, a clothing store, a barber so that you can come and, you know, partake in those particular services.

We also still have our original farmers market, which ties back into our roots of providing fresh meats and produce and other goods for the residents of the area.

We have people coming from all over, and a part of our farmers market program is being able to provide fresh and nutritious foods for people who may be using some kind of an assistance program.

And so we have one of the highest redemption rates of that in the city, and we are very proud to be able to provide that for residents.

We partner with Indiana Landmarks, and the first and third Saturdays of the month, beginning May through October, they will conduct tours of the catacombs and tell you about all of the history.

We also rent the space out for events.

So we've had Halloween weddings down here, and even last year, we had Gen Con here doing Dungeons and Dragons.

And while they were here, it was very quiet.

They were perfect.

We've got a beautiful dirt floor.

And you can expect to get your shoes dirty at least when you come down here on a tour.

But we've got arches that are reminiscent of Romanesque times, and there are hidden spaces down here as well.

Our tour guides don't really like for us to say that there are ghosts, however, we do have paranormal tours down here that sometimes have things going off on their meters.

So it's anyone's guess that -- you know, if there are any ghosts down here, but I would say, just be prepared to respect any spirits that might appear for you.

>> ASHLEY: I have been so excited to come down here.

>> BRANDON: Yeah?

>> ASHLEY: My husband and I visited Paris, and we went to the catacombs in Paris.

And when I found out there were catacombs in Indianapolis, I was so excited.

So this is truly a bucket list visit for me.

>> BRANDON: How does it compare?

>> ASHLEY: A little less creepy.

There are a lot of bones in Paris.

There are no bones down here.

So just know that.

Want to see the catacombs in person?

Tours are conducted by Indiana Landmarks, and you can get all the info at the address on the screen.

>> BRANDON: Up next, the discovery of a concealed painting from an Indiana master.

Producer Todd Gould has the story of the hidden Steele.

♪ >> If ever there was an artist who exemplified the colors and texture of the Indiana landscape, it was Theodore Clement, T.C.

Steele.

During the early 20th century, the Hoosier artist, who made his home deep in the wilderness of Brown County, always found his place of peace among the tall trees and wooded hillsides of South Central Indiana.

>> He charted a path for himself from a very early age, and overcame tremendous obstacles, made his own breaks, engaged with the right people, had the discipline and the talent.

So as you add up all of these things, you know, it's hard not to look at that and just be in awe of what he accomplished.

>> In so many of the Steeles that I worked on, it was always a glorious moment to -- from time to time, to see a brush stroke that from a distance looked green or looked red, but under a microscope, it was 8 to 10 colors in that one stroke.

He was so sophisticated with his palette.

♪ >> Nearly a century after Steele's death, many are still contemplating his life and works.

One is Barry Bauman, a painting conservator, who has worked to restore more than 125 T.C.

Steele paintings in his career.

Bauman had once been the chief conservator at the Art Institute of Chicago, before working for a number of nonprofit museums in the greater Midwest.

In all his years of work, Bauman has never witnessed such an unusual experience, as he did in 2012, when he was working to conserve a Steele painting, "An Old Garden" for the Indiana State Museum.

♪ >> We had that painting conserved in 2012, and he called us back and said, hey, have I got a surprise for you.

And underneath that painting, once he took it off the stretcher, he found a completely separate painting, a different painting that we didn't know existed.

Nobody knew it existed.

>> Imagine my complete shock when I lifted up the stretcher, and there was another T.C.

Steele still attached to the stretcher.

I had been working on paintings for about 45 years at that point.

I probably removed 20,000 paintings from the original stretcher, and I have never, ever had two paintings stretched on the same stretcher.

>> Art historians estimate that the painting was created sometime between 1889 and 1890, when Steele was painting in the Eastern Indiana towns of Brookville and Metamora.

Bauman estimates the odds of finding a rare, never-before-seen painting by such a legendary artist is nearly astronomical.

While it would be difficult to judge the painting's value in today's art world, the worth of this new Steele painting easily reaches tens of thousands of dollars.

♪ >> These are, in some respects, you know, living recreations of the energy that this particular artist experienced at that time.

One of his tremendous attributes as an artist is that that comes through in his work.

>> Today, the Indiana State Museum always exhibits the new and improved hidden Steele, along with Bauman's conservation of the original painting "An Old Garden," in an unmistakable pairing, wherever Steele's works are showcased.

>> To have a T.C.

Steele painting on my easel, and to have it look its best and to know that people in museum will hopefully gain a certain enrichment from looking at the painting, that's the reward for a conservator.

And to be able to work on so many Steeles is just a -- a wonderful thrill for me, to be that involved with the history of art and the history of T.C.

Steele.

♪ >> ASHLEY: This was such a cool story.

I mean, the fact that he found a painting behind a painting, it makes me wonder why T.C.

Steele put it there in the first place.

>> BRANDON: Yeah.

Like, did he paint over it because he didn't like it?

Or, you know -- oh, I don't have enough canvases.

I guess I will just keep painting over this one.

>> ASHLEY: Yeah, it makes me wonder.

Why, T.C.

Steele?

>> BRANDON: You may not get answers to our questions, but you can get way more information at tcsteele.org.

>> ASHLEY: Up next, the story of a Chicago painter who helped save one of Indiana's natural wonders.

Producer Jason Pear and editor Stefan Buba have the story.

>> Frank Dudley was originally from Wisconsin, but really established himself in Chicago.

And from about 1916 on, devoted his entire output almost to documenting the Indiana dunes.

In 1921, he and his wife built a cottage there, and he was very active with a group called Save our Native Landscape that was really about trying to preserve the dunes from industrial development.

♪ Dudley's contribution was he realized that if people could see the beauty of the dunes, they would understand how important it was to save them, and he could do this through his paintings.

He could bring the dunes to people.

He could draw attention through exhibitions of his work.

♪ So in June of 2023, we'll be opening an exhibition on Frank Dudley that will have about 35 of his paintings, and those range from, you know, beautiful lake scenes.

You can see what his cottage looked like, studies of individual plants, explorations of all the different types of landscape that you see in the dunes.

And we'll also look at that longer history of the dunes, for example, the native nations for whom that was also a very important landscape, that really had a big influence on their culture.

So very multifaceted, also very interactive.

Lots of activities for families, for children of all ages, as well as the adults and the art lovers.

♪ >> BRANDON: Ashley, I know you and I have spent a lot of time in our childhood at the dunes.

It's just really cool how some art can help revitalize and save a location that ends up meaning so much to so many over the course of years.

>> ASHLEY: Yeah, I think sometimes I think of painters or artists, just finding inspiration from the land, but this painter found inspiration from the land to also help save it.

The Indiana State Museum is full of treasures, and you can learn more at the address on the screen.

>> BRANDON: And finally, we are headed to Hobart to meet the hurlers, the heinz, and the rovers that make up the Deep River Grinders.

Producer John Timm has the story.

♪ >> Deep River Grinders have been playing vintage baseball for 30 years more or less.

♪ >> We are recreating the way baseball was played by the 1858 rules.

♪ We do that here at Deep River County Park in Merrillville, Indiana.

♪ >> Everybody safe!

>> Deep River Grinders are charter members of the Vintage Baseball Association.

So there are hundreds of teams across the country portraying different time periods of baseball.

Some are 1880s, some like ourselves are 1858.

A lot are 1862.

But we play a lot of people in our general region of Indiana, Illinois, and maybe a little bit lower Michigan.

>> Doc.

>> Thatcher.

>> Lefty.

>> The team has been around since 1992.

In 1991, five of us went to the Ohio Village in Columbus, Ohio, and learned about the game.

And the next year, we had the Ohio Village Muffins come out and play a match here at Deep River.

And after that, we've been playing, 10, 15, 20, 30 games a year.

>> Foul ball!

Foul ball.

>> We're trying to recreate, the best way we can, the way the game was played in 1858 by gentlemen.

So in 1858, first off, there are no called balls and strikes.

The only way to strike out is to swing at the ball three times and miss it.

A foul ball is not a strike.

So you really have to really be bad in order to strike out.

You are out if you catch the ball -- if the ball is caught on the fly or on one bounce.

[ Applause ] The ball is fair or foul based upon where it first hits the ground.

So it could hit right in front of the plate, go foul, and it will still be a fair ball.

There's no overrunning of first base.

Well, actually there is overrunning, but you can be put out.

You need to be on the base.

>> Striker's dead!

♪ >> Well, we call it a gentleman's game.

Sportsmanship might be a good word as well.

You know, if you are out, you are out.

You don't bother arguing about it.

It's often hard for the lone umpire to see everything.

So the players need to be involved and tell us what's going on.

And you will hear players when someone makes a good catch and they will say, well caught, sir.

Or fine strike.

Or whatever it might be.

There is gentlemanly deportment on the field.

>> Good job, sir.

Good job.

>> That's not even the one that I wanted.

>> We give each other a hard time.

>> Let's call it modern vintage baseball.

♪ In modern vintage baseball -- >> All the time.

♪ >> Don't scare the cameraman.

>> Oh, the lens cracked.

[ Laughter ] >> In fact, when you strike out, we set the next practice, you need to bring -- we call them killions each time you swing.

Because at the next practice, you are supposed to bring a case of beer if you strike out, and then we'll give everybody a hard time.

And if you mess up on the field, it could very easily become your new nickname.

If you take a stumble -- >> Oh, gracious!

>> Then your nickname the next game might be Stumbles.

So, you know, we just give each other a hard time.

>> I umpire.

Sometimes other people umpire.

Please don't do that.

♪ >> Just laugh and joke.

>> Although, really, it's getting warm.

>> All that as well.

>> Should I have to fine them 25 cents, it will, as always, go to my favorite charity for aging umpires and wayward women.

>> And which faction do you represent, sir?

[ Laughter ] >> 25 cents, I'm going to find out.

♪ >> Some of the terminology may not be totally appropriate to 1858, but we refer to our audience as cranks.

The catcher is often known as the behind.

The pitcher is the hurler.

When someone runs to first base, you might hear people yell... >> Leg it, Dame!

Leg it, Dame!

You will hear huzzah many times or hooray for a well-played play, something that's executed well.

You actually don't hear that too often on Grinder Field, but it does happen.

[ Triangle clanging ] >> We also have ice cold sarsaparilla, $2 each.

I have been doing it for 30 years because it's a great deal of fun.

I have made a lot of friends, both as players, with people on the sidelines.

There's any number of good memories of trips we've made on the field, probably some memories I can't really relate.

>> Let's not forget the medicinal qualities of sarsaparilla.

If you are a conservative, it will cure that.

If you are a liberal, it will cure that.

>> Traveling to different teams and seeing where they play and those fields.

>> If you are a curmudgeon, it sometimes works and sometimes it doesn't, because right there.

>> Understanding the history of baseball hands on has been a great experience, just to understand the game even better.

>> We know each other, and it's great to have that kind of family and camaraderie over all these years.

I mean, it's a beautiful day.

You run real turf.

You are close to the game.

You are here with your family.

It's free.

The only thing you really need to buy is a bottle of sarsaparilla.

Restorative.

Curative.

The best in the land.

>> ASHLEY: You know, Brandon, I appreciate any sport that has good sportsmanship.

And the fact that it's one of the rules of this particular group that they have to be kind to one another, even if they are not on the same team, I can get behind that.

>> BRANDON: The Grinders 2022 season is underway, and you can learn more at the address on the screen.

>> ASHLEY: And as always, we encourage you to stay connected with us.

>> BRANDON: Just head over to JourneyIndiana.org.

There you can see full episodes, connect with us on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, and suggest stories from your neck of the woods.

>> ASHLEY: We also have a map feature that allows you to see where we've been, and to plan your own Indiana adventures.

>> BRANDON: And before we say good-bye, let's spend a bit more time exploring the City Market Catacombs.

♪ >> 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!