Oakhurst, the home of George and Frances Ball and their daughter Elisabeth, celebrates both its 120th and its 20th anniversaries this year. The house was built in 1895 and opened for public tours on May 27, 1995. It was designed by Indianapolis architect Louis Gibson who wanted the house to fit naturally into the oak grove selected by the family. Gibson did not paint the house, expecting that the wood siding and shingles would age naturally. Eventually, though, the house was both varnished and painted.

The Prohibition era of the 1920s and early 1930s generated plenty of colorful stories about rumrunners, bootleggers, and speakeasies. Moonshiners—those savvy entrepreneurs who produced their own high-proof distilled spirits—have their very own colorful Ball canning jar stories.

The history of Ball Corporation in a quilt! In 1976, this is what well-known Muncie artist Barbara Moll created for Ball Corporation’s new headquarters. Her five-panel creation documented the history of the company from its founding in 1880 in Buffalo, New York to the company’s entry into aerospace to the lid shortage of 1975.

Those of us of a certain age remember, with great fondness, the wonderful decorations at Ball Stores in downtown Muncie. Recently, I shared some photos of the decorations with the audience at the latest Tea & Talk at Minnetrista. During tea time, there was lots of chatter at the tables as new and old friends exchanged memories. It was especially great to meet one gentleman in the audience who had worked at Ball Stores for more than thirty-five years.

When you buy your produce at Farmers Market at Minnetrista or your fresh cider and bag of apples at The Orchard Shop, you become part of a long Minnetrista tradition. Likewise, the children who learn about Johnny Appleseed and watch cider being pressed and tour the orchard to learn about apples are also part of the tradition.