The Greentown Grapevine – 2002-02, 09:02

              Volume 9, Issue 2 " a paperfor the people" February 2002
Country Cook Inn Closes - The End of An Era
Welcoming atmosphere a key element of its Twenty- two Years
Arlene Voorhis in front of the business with which she has been so identified
for the past twentv- two vears.
Town Council Notes
James Harris was elected President of
the town Council for 2002 and Roger
Wolfe Vice- president. Gary Lacy is
Chairman of the Plan Commission and
Don Downs Vice- chairman. Gary
Lacy is also Chairman of the Board of
Zoning Appeals and Mike Sheridan
Vice- chairman. A new position, that
of Plan Commission Administrator,
was established and Ben Harris named
to the position. The Administrator is a
first point of contact for development
projects and coordinates the approval
process. Building permits are now to
be requested at the Utility Office.
Water Project Continues
Having completed a wastewater
expansion project, the town of
Greentown is now looking at adding
more water supply and. storage.
Ortman Drilling conducted a
hydrogeologic skdy and bedrock
fracture tracing. The company was
hired to do the next step, drill a test
well and a bedrock monitoring well.
Permission has been received from the
Greentown Lions Club to drill the test
well on fairgrounds property on the
north end of the fairgrounds, near
Maple St. The Town's engineering
firm has determined that as part of the
overall water project, the Town needs a
new elevated storage tank and has
proposed it be located on the south side
of Town near county road 50s and
Meridian St.
Fair Dates Set
After several months of uncertainty
about the dates of the 2002 Howard
County 4- H Fair, the Fair Board, upon
the recommendation of the Fair
Planning Committee has set July 8- 13
as the dates of the fair, " barring further
court action before February 14". The
delay in setting a date was precipitated
by the filing of bankruptcy by the
amusement company, Pugh Shows,
and a dissatisfaction with last year's
ride features as expressed by the Fair
Planning Committee. The remaining
year of Pugh's contract with the
Howard County 4- H Fair was sold at
auction, along with several other Pugh
contracts. Mid- America Shows
purchased the contract and had July 8-
13 available.
Bryan Kirkpatrick, who is Chairman
of the Fair Planning Committee and
Fair Secretary, and Jay Freeman,
Concession Manager, have announced
the dates of the fair for coming years as
follows:
2003 July 7- 12
2004 July 12- 1 7
2005 July 11- 16
2006 July 10- 1 5
Utility Reports
for December 2001
Water pumped: 7,941,000
Wastewater flow: 15,838,000
Rain fa1 1 : 2.4"
Snowfall: flurries
" Welcome to the Country Cook Inn.
It's our privilege to serve you. My
name is Arlene. My husband Gary and
I own the restaurant. We hope you'll
feel comfortable here. rf there is
anything we can do to serve you better
while you're here we'd like to, try, so
don't be shy. The menu is before you.
If you have any questions about it, I'll
try to answer. 1' 11 give you a moment
to look. " That was what most first- time
visitors to the Country Cook Inn heard
after being seated at their table. Repeat
customers sometimes did not get the
" whole speech", but Arlene says
occasionally someone would say, " Now
we have guests with us and we want to
hear your speech." That unique
welcome became a hallmark of the
restaurant.
Arlene says she has always loved to
serve people. She served meals in her
home for five years. Then she and her
husband, Gary, built the Country Cook
Inn, opening October 16, 1979. The
restaurant is known far and wide as
" the underground restaurant". It was
the first earth sheltered restaurant in
Indiana, using passive solar design.
Gary had attended a solar energy
conference in Frankfort and felt if they
were going to build, it needed to be
energy- efficient. Arlene explained that
the concrete construction provides the
mass which collects heat from the sun.
People also give off heat, which
Eastern Howard
County Shows
Growth
Census results show that the
townships of Liberty, Jackson, and
Union had increased population of 788
in the decade from 1990 to 2000. The
total population was 593 1 in 1990 and
6,719 in - 2000. Breakdown of
townships and the Town of Greentown
are:
1990 2000
Jackson 590 631
Union 954 1,056
Greentown 2,172 2,546
Liberty not in town 2,215 2,486
Source: Indiana Business Research Center
and the Greentown Utility Office
During the same decade, Eastern
Schools had an increased enrollment of
179.
contributes. She says, " Our guests
helped keep us warm". A major
improvement was the brick parking lot,
installed in 1992. It was designed by
son- in- law Mike Delagrange, using
40,000 bricks. He personally laid most
of the bricks. Family members helped
apply sand.
The restaurant has been famous for
its home- cooked meals, welcoming
atmosphere, grass and wild flower roof,
and chance to watch the birds out the
large south- facing windows.
After a serious illness in 2000, Arlene
came back to the restaurant to resume
her duties. She said she loves the work
and, " It will be an adjustment, but my
family and I feel it is time to leave that
chapter behind. When you have a
restaurant, it is always on your mind,
even when you are not open." Gary
retired from General Motors in 1999 so
her retirement will allow them to travel
if they wish and to spend more time
with the family.
Daughter Christi has been a regular at
the restaurant since she was nine years
old and was manager for six months
while Arlene was not able to be there.
Christi and her husband, Mike
Delagrange, have recently started a new
career by buying a wholesale business.
Son Vance has an active career of his
own, so it seemed best to close the
restaurant.
Arlene stresses that their " guests"
have been more than customers. Many
have become more like family, asking
about the well- being of the Voorhises
and in turn sharing their concerns and
joys. Arlene said the extent of how so
many people cared was evident when
she was so ill, and she firmly believes
their concern was instrumental in her
healing.
The Voorhises are planning a
customer/ stafT appreciation open house
on Saturday, February 9, 2002 at the
Country Cook Inn from 1: 00 to 7: OO.
Everyone is welcome.
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