While on a private visit to our daughter in Indianapolis we were invited to join members of the Sister Cities Group who visited Melton last October and to renew our Twinning bonds. We were collected by Nancy Kraft on the Monday morning and in spite of heavy snowfalls and freezing conditions (-14° C ) we had a very pleasant car journey to Clarksville.
On arrival we were taken to the Joe Huber Family Restaurant where we sampled typical Mid-west cuisine: fried chicken, sweet potato mash and sandwiches large enough to feed five people! Apple pie and ice cream were also on the menu (Dutch twinners with Melton please note!). We were introduced to Joe Huber - fifth of the name - his ancestor having founded the farm and restaurant business in the 1860's. It was a real pleasure to see many of the people who had visited Melton welcoming us despite the cold and the snow
From the restaurant Dr. Dorothy Lewis took us to Clarksville High School, the equivalent to Melton Mowbray’s own Upper School. Two students from the French department were our guides. We were most impressed by the school and its facilities ( 2 fully equipped Gyms, classes in small groups, fully equipped studio and theatre). The students produce a telenewsround and the Drama and English department is busy with several productions per year. The school buildings are modern, extremely clean and quiet and completely accessible to handicapped people
We would have liked to have prolonged our sojourn but Parks Superintendent Brian Kaluzny and committee member Orrie Bender were waiting to take us on a tour of the town and to the Steam Boat Museum. This visit was one of the high points of the tour. The museum is situated in the mansion built by the Howards at the end of the 19th century. The curator, Yvonne Knight, escorted us and showed us parts of the house which are not on public view. It was difficult to draw ourselves away as the whole of the visit was so fascinating.
From there we attended the Reception which had been organised by the Sister
Cities Committee at the Ohio Interpretive Center. Again we were overwhelmed by
the friendliness and interest in Melton shown by the members of the group. Those
who had not been part of the visit in October were very eager to meet us and to
ask questions about Melton and the Midlands. We were presented with mementos of
the Melton visit, and taken on a tour of the museum by the curator.
After the Reception we were entertained to dinner by our hosts Lynn and Ray Lewis in their lovely home. Some other members of the group joined us, and over coffee and petit fours there was an attempt to explain to us some of the intricacies of an IU basketball game, reciprocated by Norman, at their request, explaining cricket to them! I don't think that either attempt was very successful such are the complexities of the Rules of both games!
Next day we decided to spend some time with Lynn and Ray after a breakfast of doughnuts, fresh fruit and pumpkin bread. (I recommend the pumpkin bread and am eagerly awaiting a recipe). We had several visitors - John Gilkey came with his young son. Orrie Bender introduced us to Sheila, his wife, and I discovered that we had many interests in common.
Time passed very quickly and soon we had to leave for our cruise on the Ohio river. This river is a mile across and has treacherous currents. Before the damming of the river, boats had to be dragged on land over the Falls. The Star of Louisville is a beautiful river boat and it must be wonderful to be on deck watching the large houses and woods of the river banks in the distance, but on this day, it was grey, very cold and the banks were covered with snow. However, the congenial atmosphere inside made up for the weather. The buffet meal was excellent with hot and cold dishes and every salad you could wish for. John Gilkey of the "Evening News ° took several rolls of film and promised to send a CD of our visit . Lynn and Trish told us about some of the great events on the river. They explained the relationship with Louisville, the river being the boundary between Indiana and Kentucky.
Following the two-hour cruise it was time to get to Indiana University Southeast to meet the Chancellor F.C. Richardson. The University is very modern and we would have loved to spend more time there. We had a very interesting chat comparing Adult and Further Education in our respective countries. In the USA, adult education is organised and taught in the Universities, and at Clarksville they have an extensive programme for the development of foreign languages.
As dusk fell we reluctantly left Clarksville but we hope to be able to welcome to Melton all our old and new friends alike sometime soon.
©2001 Norman and Elisabeth Brent
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