Evansville, Indiana My Home Town

Evansville is an old town, with many Victorian style houses that still exist. Some of the streets near the waterfront were made of bricks and in the past few years have been replaced, except for one small area that was left in tribute to the old Evansville.

The Reitz Home Museum, shown in this photo, is located in the Riverside Historic District in downtown Evansville. History is an important aspect to the people of Evansville, and they do their best to preserve as much as they can. Sadly, the necessary modernizations of the day, such as the Freeway that cuts through town, has taken away a lot of its charm.

When I was growing up in Evansville, Willard Library was my home-away-from-home. It was there I learned my love for books and the adventures I could experience through reading. I wrote about the library in my lens My First Love Was A Library.

I became friends with many people during my years there, and grew to know the town like the back of my hand. I knew every street, where it began, where it ended, what crossed what, because I walked everywhere I went. I attended three different schools during my grade school years, Carpenter School, Baker School, and Columbia School. Carpenter is no longer there. There was no middle school and grade school was considered to be K-8, and you went from there into high school. My high school was Central High School which was then located in downtown Evansville on 6th Street. It is also no longer there and they have built a new one elsewhere.

The air in Evansville seemed to be kinder, softer to breathe than in other places. It felt like home, when no other place gave me that feeling.

Evansville had a definite changing of the seasons, and was beautiful in all of them. In the Summer, people grew flowers of all sorts in containers and in their yards. There were places to go such as Mesker Zoo with its Monkey Ship, a concrete structure built in the middle of a body of water, where a particular species of monkey lived. People used to throw them peanuts and bananas and they would jump and play to get attention. That exhibit is no longer there. There was Burdette Park with its Salt Water swimming pool, (since changed to fresh water) and a skating rink where my Dad tried to teach me how to skate (I never did learn) It's now called Burdette Park and Aquatic Center with water slides and family fun. Garvin Park has to be mentioned, where I took swimming lessons, and where our family often picnicked. The last time I was in Garvin Park was in December of 1995, with snow on the ground, when the park was gaily decorated with Christmas lights. With its huge trees, green grass and pond, it's one of my favorite places on earth, just a stone's throw from where my sister lived. Everywhere you look in Evansville you see Sycamore trees, and Gumball trees (or Sweet Gum). These trees grow 60 to 70 feet tall and can withstand tornadoes, although their limbs will break easily. Engelbrecht Orchards, another favorite, where every Fall we'd make a family excursion to buy crisp apples and pears, and pumpkins for the Halloween jack o' lanterns. The West Side Fall Festival was a popular Fall activity and we looked forward every year to its carnival rides and booths selling all sorts of outrageously delicious foods. People are friendly, they smile at you and laugh with you.

There are no words to describe what Evansville means to me. My children were all born there, my Mom, Dad and Sister are buried there, and I still have relatives that live there.The sad part is that I may never see it again, because my health is failing, I'm unable to fly, and that leaves only the option of traveling by car. It is so hard on me, that I may never be able to do it again. But Evansville will always be the Home Town of my Heart!

This photo was taken down the street from where we lived on 10th Street in Evansville around 1950. It was my friend Stella's Communion Day and we were best friends, so naturally we were together. Stella is in the white dress, I'm in the dark one.

This is a photo of me in my yard in 1954 with some of my Mom's flowers. She always had many flowers, these are just a couple that she posed me with to take my picture.

All exterior shots for Roseanne, the TV sitcom filmed in 1988 to 1997, were filmed in and around Evansville. The O'Connors' house is located at 619 South Runnymeade Avenue, and the Lobo Lounge is a pizzeria located at the corner of Edgar and Louisiana Streets. The show's creator and producer, Matt Williams, is a native of Evansville and a graduate of The University of Evansville theater program.

Game scenes in the film A League of Their Own were all filmed at Bosse Field in Evansville. It's the third oldest baseball stadium still in use in the United States, following Fenway Park and Wrigley Field. The ballpark served as the homefield for the Racine Belles.

The TV show Ghost Hunters has investigated Willard Library's "Gray Lady" ghost, and The Daily Show featured Evansville in an episode about comedian Carrot Top reopening the historic Victory Theatre.