Kewanna and Ober

The facts: Kewanna is a small town in Fulton County. It has a population of 614 (2010 census). It is located on State Road 17 south of Culver. Kewanna is 45 miles south of South Bend and 86 miles southeast of Chicago.

I was told that Kewanna was a neat little town in its day. When I visited Kewanna this past weekend, I found several empty, old buildings. It's a shame they are not being restored and used. I can imagine them being fixed and painted in colors from "the old days".

Kewanna has a nice town park with a ball field. It has a cafe, bar, bank, VFW and a funeral home. It has a really nice library, 3 churches and several interesting buildings.

If you would like to see pictures of the town of Kewanna click HERE.

On the way to Monterey and Kewanna I went through an even smaller town. I could not find any facts for this town. It is called Ober. It is located south of SR 8(east) on SR 23 in Starke County. Ober is east of Knox. There is an old school there.

It says OBER DISTRICT NO 7

 steps to school

Church that is in Ober

These were the 3 towns(along with Monterey) that I visited Labor Day weekend. I am not sure which town will be my next town or when. I have a family get together I am planning currently so until that is over I don't have any plans made. Hopefully, my next day out, there won't be a downpour and maybe some of the fall colors will start seeping in.

In the mean time....if you know of a small town I should visit please let me know in the comments!!

Monterey Days - Labor Day Weekend

The Facts:
Monterey is located in the country in Pulaski County. It is near Culver and Winimac. The population of Monterey was 218 in 2010. It is 37 miles south of South Bend and 77 miles southeast of Chicago.
Monterey is named after a city in Mexico.
A very strange fact - Monterey area is 174% higher on average than the rest of the US on tornado activity. (I find this to be a strange number but I just double checked it)
The First National Bank of Monterey was established August 1, 1910 and is still in operation.

Monterey is a charming small town. It has a few buildings in their downtown. They have a town park. There is a bicycle trail. I haven't found out how long the trail is or where it goes. Hopefully some of the readers may know the answer. (I haven't had a chance to go down the trail yet). What little I did find online, the trail is supposed to eventually meet up with the trail from North Judson. It is an old railroad path.

Labor Day weekend they have Monterey Days. The Saturday of Labor Day they have their town wide yard sale. Unfortunately, it decided to pour the day(Saturday) we visited Monterey. It did not dampen the spirits of the people enjoying the festival! Here's a link to the run down of everything they do! Monterey Days calendar of events

There was lots of good food to choose from including the usual fair/festival food AND homecooked Ham and Beans! It's an annual event for the Lions Club to cook beans in a cast iron pot over a fire in the town park. This year they served an AUCE Ham and beans supper which included cornbread, a drink and a brownie or cookie. My friend Angie had it and said it was very good! The United Methodist Church had a potato bar.

 

If you want a small, fun, old time feel festival you need to visit Monterey Days next year. I think I may visit more than 1 day next time. You aren't going to find a lot of booths of things to buy but the activities are great for families.

Here are some pictures of downtown Monterey.

Library

DJ playing music at the Monterey Days in front of the Family & Women's Health Services.

View of the Tippecanoe River as you enter Monterey

Bridge into Monterey

Monterey has a bank, 2 Churches, a bar, hardware, library, town park, health services, bike trail, American Legion and probably a couple other things I have forgotten to mention! It is worth the trip. You can get to it from SR 17 south of Culver. (I have found this to be the easiest route).

I hope you enjoyed my view of Monterey. I don't claim to be an expert on the towns I am and will be writing about. I am telling things as I know them to be. If any of my readers found something that needs to be corrected please let us know in the comments section.

To view more pictures of Monterey visit  http://photobucket.com/Montereyind