>> Production supportfor "Journey Indiana" is provided by WTIU members.

Thank you!

>> BRANDON: Coming up, learn about a program aiding veterans through art.

>> ASHLEY: Catch some air at the Griffin Bike Park.

>> BRANDON: And visit a gallery dedicated to an iconic Hoosier.

>> ASHLEY: That's all on this episode of -- >> TOGETHR: "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 CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Terre Haute.

CANDLES was founded in 1995, by Eva Kor, a Jewish survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The center strives to educate visitors on the horrors of the holocaust, while promoting peace and respect among all people.

And we'll learn more about this moving museum in just a bit.

>> ASHLEY: But first, we're headed to Indianapolis where producer Adam Carroll takes us to the VA Arts Festival.

The VA offers all types of therapy for all branches of the military, to help drown out the chatter of their past experiences.

And as part of this therapy, the participants can join in on multiple events, including the VA Arts Festival at the Arts for Lawrence Outdoor Space.

>> I really find that art therapy has a way of, um, really connecting deeply with our thoughts and our feelings and our behaviors, a little bit different than just talking does.

And sometimes it's like nonverbal, so you are creating a piece of artwork, and even though we are not saying things, the art's communicating to the veteran, and that's changing the way they're thinking, just regarding their artwork and making their artwork.

It really taps into, like -- into a deep part of the soul.

And many veterans have the experience of having an identity shift, where something completely changes, whether that's because of a trauma or just being in the training or -- like, there's -- it's a very life-changing event.

And so I find that those creative arts really help express that big shift and change, better than just talking about it does.

♪ >> Christina and her team provide materials and guidance for each participating person.

Where they go from there, it's up to them.

>> So I started the art therapy in April, and it started out with Kristi sending me a box, and it was like Christmas Day.

It was amazing!

And I opened all this stuff, and created a closet, a space for it.

And then I started to create a time, and an allocated day to meet her and talk to her about the art, and the ideas that we were working with.

I told Kristi, when I was 6 years old, I knew what I wanted to do in life.

I went to open house with my parents, and I got to display my artwork.

And I was just on fire.

I was so excited!

So then I fast forward, all through college, I had to work to go to college, and I didn't get to participate in the art showings and so forth, the groups.

Once I got into the military, it's a different kind of art.

And I was stationed at Stout Field for 17 years, where I was a modeling NCO, which does maps, charts, graphs, overlays for catastrophic events.

And so I was doing artwork, but it was not the kind of art that I thought I'd be doing.

♪ >> So this year's creative arts festival ties into a national creative arts festival.

I think this will be the 42nd year of the national festival.

So the local VA shows -- not just ours, but across the country -- filter up to that national show.

So the winners today, first, second and third place winners, have the opportunity to submit their artwork to national.

If they win at national, then they get invited.

This year it's St. Louis.

So veterans get an opportunity to travel, spend the weekend for that national festival.

There's going to be so many different varieties of art, glasswork, metalwork.

It's a family-friendly event.

So I'm hoping we'll see a lot of veterans with their families, with their support people, with their friends, with their kids, and I hope that people stand up and dance when people are performing, when the veterans are performing.

I hope that it is lively and everyone's chatting with each other, and the veteran artists are making connections with each other and finding commonalty in -- in what they create.

>> I am so excited to share this day with other veterans, and learn their stories and talk to them about their art.

And since 2013, I haven't got to mingle with other military people that much.

So it's just an amazing journey.

>> We're all kind of starved for that connection.

We've gone through some really rough years.

We weren't able to have the Creative Arts Festival last year because of COVID, and the year before that it was in the VA. And so we're outside of the hospital.

We're outside.

We're at this great venue with these musical swings and live music and food trucks.

It feels like a real art festival.

It is a real art festival!

And I think that's why we've had such -- so many people who want to be a part of it.

♪ >> I really believe in the healing quality of art, whether you are just coloring a coloring sheet or quilting or -- it doesn't really matter what kind of creative activity it is, I just really think that that's good for the soul.

And some of the artist statements that are out there, the veterans have written up to go along with their pieces, they all say similar things.

Like, this really helps me.

This is how I connect to myself.

This is how I connect to others.

That's really, really powerful.

>> This is it!

This is a 6-year-old girl's dream come true.

I texted my friends and family and said, hey, you know, I'm going to do this.

And for many years, my inner circle has known what I used to do, and they kind of see this as a coming out party, so to speak.

And I can't wait to keep doing this and looking forward to another event next year.

>> BRANDON: You know, we've talked a lot about art all around the state of Indiana, and many different contexts, but this one is really kind of original.

>> ASHLEY: Yeah.

I mean, I had not thought about healing through art in this particular way, and I think it's really beautiful, the process that these folks have gone through and continue to go through, and that art is really helping them.

Want to learn more?

Just head over to the address on your screen.

>> BRANDON: Earlier, we caught up with Troy Fears, the executive director of CANDLES, to talk more about the museum and the education center.

>> CANDLES Holocaust Museum is Indiana's only holocaust museum, where we focus on not just holocaust in general, but we tell the story of Eva Kor, and it's a remarkable story to tell.

Eva Kor was a remarkable individual, who survived nine months in Auschwitz.

Her mother and father and two older sisters perished, but Miriam, her twin sister, and Eva survived multiple experiments that were done by Dr. Mengele, who was known as the angel of death.

They do not know what experiments that actually took place on Eva or Miriam.

They were able to survive the final nine months as 10-year-olds.

They were able to survive that.

And, unfortunately, they were unable to find any records that Dr. Mengele had left behind or anything that he had done in Auschwitz.

To this day, they have not found any records.

♪ After liberation, they end up living with an aunt, in Israel and going to high school there, and joining the Israeli Army Defense Forces.

Long story short, Eva ends up in Terre Haute, Indiana, and developed a career in real estate, but was always an advocate for the holocaust.

Always a very determined person.

She started CANDLES to try to find other twin survivors from Auschwitz.

CANDLES stands for Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiment Survivors.

And so that's what her goal was, was to try to find survivors.

And through the course of time, they were able to find 170 different survivors of twins of Auschwitz.

Now, more than ever, I think CANDLES's mission is important, the story of Eva and her survival and forgiveness is important.

And education is important for us to look back at the past so we can know presently what is happening, and also into the future, we can try to educate so it never happens again.

Eva was somewhat controversial when she came out to forgive the Nazis, to forgive Dr. Mengele She never said that what they did was right.

She never condoned what they did, but it was just her way of kind of releasing the past from burdening her, and being able to just move on with her life.

And she would go on to say that her choosing forgiveness was one of the most, you know, beautiful things that she had ever done, because it did have this sense of relief for her, and she was able to move past that trauma and become happier in life.

We want visitors to be able to walk away from CANDLES with hope and healing in their hearts.

They can expect a lot of different technology, some artifacts, and really the overall story of Eva Kor and her remarkable vision.

And to know that if Eva can survive the tough times, even as a 10-year-old, that you can survive it now as well.

>> ASHLEY: You know, Brandon, I know you and I have discussed that we have both been to CANDLES quite a few times.

We're both very familiar with Terre Haute.

We went to school here.

And it really sticks out in my mind as one of the educational guideposts of my youth.

And I'm really glad I had the opportunity to be here.

>> BRANDON: Yeah, it's really wonderful that even today we still see schools coming here to learn about her story.

Want to learn more?

Head over to candlesholocaustmuseum.org.

>> ASHLEY: Up next, producer Saddam Abbas keeps us in Vigo County to hit the trails at the Griffin Bike Park.

♪ >> The way I feel when I go mountain biking is the closest thing to flying that you'll ever get.

You get out there, and you just flow.

You're jumping stuff.

You are riding hard.

You are out in nature.

It's almost a zen place.

It's just great!

And then there's times that you are just working.

You are going up the hills.

You are grinding.

You are earning what you get on the other side of the hill.

It's a great workout.

It kept me alive when I had a heart attack.

That's the whole reason I recovered so fast, and it's the perfect job for me, managing this park.

It's just everything came together for me.

♪ My interest in mountain biking started probably in the late '80s.

I'm an old BMXer.

I raced BMX since I was 15 years old.

BMX is a lot of travel for someone from Terre Haute, Indiana.

There's not a lot of tracks close.

We were traveling an hour and a half, two hours to go to every race.

Mountain biking just kind of fit the bill for me.

I tore up a lot of bikes early on learning how to not jump over chasms and bend forks and tear stuff up, but it has morphed into more of what I like to ride now, and I have changed the way I do things.

So I have been riding mountain bikes since the late '80s, and now it's my job, and I kind of live the dream.

Griffin Bike Park is an active sports park, 300-acre park with -- we're over 22 miles of mountain bike trails right now.

This park is a memorial to Dale Griffin, a fallen soldier that we lost in Afghanistan.

His family wanted to do a trail to remember him by.

They raised all the funds to build this.

They got grants.

They got donations.

The wild part about Griffin Bike Park, is it dreamed up in, like, 2014, and we've built 16 miles of trails in two years.

Thousands and thousands of hours of volunteer service.

The whole park was built by volunteers.

That was the wild part.

Everybody said you couldn't do it, or you wouldn't get it done.

This is where we are at.

We started in 2016 with 16 miles of trails.

We got an X Games-style area with jumps up to 6-foot tall.

We've got pump tracks.

We've got a little bit of something for everything.

♪ >> Whenever you are getting air time, in my opinion, it's the best part of biking.

Because you are just soaring through the air at high speeds, and, what, 10, 12 feet up in the air.

And it's just awesome.

That's what I bike for.

I will do cross-country, but I love jumping the most, because the air time is just amazing.

But it is scary, because, like, for example, my first run today, I didn't warm up or anything.

I just kind of went out there and sent that big jump, and in the air, I got crooked.

And -- like, a lot of times, we'll try to, like, throw style in the air, but we have control over it.

And a lot of times whenever you jump, you will go off the lift wrong, and it will kind of send you a weird way.

So you are sitting there the whole time you are in the air, wondering, okay, how is this going to turn out when I hit the dirt?

Am I going to land or am I going to eat some dirt today?

And luckily, I was able to save it, but it's scary, especially when you are high up, because if you -- if you eat it, and you are eating it pretty hard depending on how high up you are.

But then whenever you land, it's just exhilarating.

Dual slalom is -- like the race we are having today, it's a two-lane course that are made as equal as possible, and two people go down it side by side at the same time.

And whoever makes it to the bottom first wins.

You start at the same time, go down the course.

Which, like I said, they try to make as equal as possible.

And then at some points, through turns, there's an inside turn and outside turn.

Someone will get ahead, but then there's usually another turn to equal that out.

And it's really fun to race.

♪ >> We have two features in our lake at the park.

We've got a floating bridge that's 2 feet wide and 200 feet long, but also down there, we put in our lake jump.

It's on an alumni floating bridge.

It's a 4-foot jump like we have in the LZ, the landing zone, and it shoots you out into the lake.

We have a prescribed place we have everybody start.

We have two bikes that we use that we have floats on to where you don't have to destroy your own bike.

No chains because we don't want you going too fast.

Everybody has to wear a helmet, a floatation vest, and close-toed shoes.

Other than that, we send you in the lake.

We have safety people there with a life buoy and a kayak, and we've got a pole we pull people in with, to where they don't have to swim so far.

It's hard to swim in tennis shoes.

But it's really fun.

You can practice.

Off the lake jump, you can practice backflips.

You can practice all the tricks that you are too afraid to practice on dirt, or you can dial in those jumps that you are wanting to do on dirt.

Griffin Bike Park has a fleet of loaner bikes.

We've got mainly for kids, but we're starting to get them in for adults.

So if anybody ever needs to come out -- or wants to come out and try it and wants to borrow a bike, get ahold of me at rich@griffinbikepark.com and we'll arrange to get you on a bike.

I just think mountain biking is a life sport, from when you first learn to ride, all the way up to -- we've got folks out here that are in their 60s, 70s and 80s riding.

You don't have to be the best rider ever to enjoy this sport, and it's a life sport.

Just get out and do it.

That's the best part.

>> BRANDON: All right.

So he gave his contact information in that piece.

They've got loaner bikes.

Are you up for it?

>> ASHLEY: You know, I -- I'm not the sporty type, for the most part, but that actually looked like a lot of fun.

>> BRANDON: I am ready to go!

>> ASHLEY: Want to test out the trails?

Go to griffinbikepark.com.

>> BRANDON: Up next, we're headed to Fairmount to experience the James Dean Gallery.

>> Hollywood glitz and glamor may come to mind when you think of the film icon James Dean, >> James Dean: They got my car, do you want to go with me?

but his roots are actually right here in Fairmount, Indiana.

>> James Dean was born in Marion, Indiana, 1931.

His family moved here when he was just an infant.

He lived here in Fairmount until he was 5, and the family moved to California.

His mom died when he was 9, and his dad didn't think he could raise him on his own and keep a full-time job.

So he came back here and grew up on the farm with his aunt and uncle and his cousins.

Well, in high school, James Dean was very popular, and he was on a lot of the sports teams.

He took part in the debate club and was in a lot of the high school plays.

His speech and drama teacher, Adeline Nall saw his talent.

She kind of pushed him along and gave him good roles in the plays, and he really enjoyed acting.

So as soon as he got out of high school, he got on a bus and headed back to California.

>> The rest is Hollywood history.

>> Youre tearing me apart!

>> Well, James Dean made three movies, three starring roles, and "East of Eden" was just an overnight success, and he was an overnight sensation.

Went right on to do "Rebel Without a Cause" and then "Giant."

And at the time of his death, only "East of Eden" had been released.

Well, it's amazing to think that a boy from this small Indiana town would end up in Hollywood, and just within a few years, he was starring with Elizabeth Taylor, like, went right to the top.

>> You always did look pretty.

>> David Loehr became enamored with the actor in 1974, after reading "The Mutant King: A Dean Biography."

Soon afterwards, he started collecting pieces of memorabilia.

>> I was in New York, where there were a lot of collectible shops.

So I started picking up things, but it turned into quite an amazing collection.

>> But it quickly outgrew his New York City apartment.

>> I was traveling from California 1979 to New York, and I went out of my way to stop in Fairmount for the first time, and a nice, quiet little town.

I got to meet his aunt that raised him.

And then got to New York, and all I could think about was Fairmount, just made such an impression on me.

I just started coming back and forth two or three times a year.

And this big old house, big old Victorian house, became available and I thought, hey, maybe I'll do something here.

Maybe I'll put my collection in there.

And just step by step, I managed to acquire the building, and in 1988, it opened up.

>> Now dubbed the James Dean Gal Loehr's collection has grown substantially over the years.

Today, at the gallery, you can find everything from sculptures of the late actor to to thimbles, lighters, and comme plates bearing his likeness.

Yeah, there's all kinds of memorabilia that's been made since the 1950s, right up to present.

Soaps and shampoos and watches and clocks, you name it, T-shirts and coffee mugs and souvenir plates.

We have thousands and thousands of items on display.

>> The gallery also contains rar photographs of Dean in its libra A viewing room where visitors can watch some of Dean's early TV roles.

There are even a few of Dean's personal effects on display.

>> These are a pair of penny loafers that James Dean owned, and they're kind of hard to authenticate, but I knew the story behind them.

But on the sole, there's a worn out spot where he would drag his feet on the motorcycle.

And his family owns two pairs of his boots, two or three pairs of his boots, and his motorcycle boots have that exact same spot worn out.

And the heel is worn the same.

So it's almost like a DNA-type thing, the way the wear on the shoes, but, yeah, they're pretty neat.

>> Fairmount has become something of a mecca for James Dean fans.

The town even holds an annual James Dean Festival in September, where, of course, the James Dean Gallery is a favorite for visitors.

>> There's been over 400,000 people through the front doors since I opened it.

It kind of blows my mind.

>> And while James Dean died in a car accident more than 60 years ago, Loehr still feels that his star shines as bright as ever.

>> He's multifaceted.

I think people can identify with him in a lot of different ways, the Indiana farm boy, the New York Bohemian, race car driver, you know, painter, sculptor, movie star, actor.

So there's a lot of different aspects to him that people can identify.

>> Or maybe it's simpler than that.

>> I think a lot of his attraction is in his looks, frankly.

I mean, he looks terrific, and he still looks modern today.

He doesn't look like an actor from 60 years ago, Whether he influenced that look or whether he was ahead of his time, I'm not sure.

>> ASHLEY: This story really tickled me for many reasons.

But it's very nostalgic for me, because my grandmother -- you would think that her basement was a James Dean museum.

We could have charged entrance to get in there because there was quite a bit of James Dean paraphernalia.

So I'm really glad that there's an actual place that, you know, is out there that James Dean fans can go to, and they're not going to go to my grandma's basement.

You can learn more and plan a visit at Jamesdeangallery.com.

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

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.

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

And before we say good-bye, let's take some time to go meet Eva.

>> ASHLEY: Yes, I hear we can ask her some questions.

So let's go do that.

>> ASHLEY: Why do you always wear blue?

>> BRANDON: What's your favorite food?

>> ASHLEY: How do you feel about forgiveness?

>> Production support for "Journey Indiana" is provided by WTIU members.

Thank you!