TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – Folks from all over come to enjoy the experiences the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival has to offer. Many people come to check-out the local artists selling their work or all the local shops around the towns. With as much popularity as the festival brings the town of Rockville, the community finds themselves preparing far in advance for the crowds.
“We’ve been here since the first one in 1957,” said Jim Meece, Parke County commissioner. He and his wife, Gale, run Sweetwater Farms where they make maple syrup and sassafras candy. During the first Covered Bridge Festival, Meece noted his family first sold maple syrup, and that his mother began selling the sassafras candy in 1960. “We get a lot of people who’ve never tasted sassafras before, and to see them taste that and their eyes light up, that’s pretty neat. Years ago a customer came up with a baby in her arms, that was the fifth generation in their family to try our sassafras candy.” From hand-made art to home-made food, families have many Covered Bridge traditions to keep them coming back every year.
For many vendors and shop-owners, making a connection with the people is what they enjoy most about the festival. Sally Snograss, owner of Neva’s Antiques and Collectibles said, “I look forward to seeing people every year. I love the people. We see a lot of really interesting folks with lots of interesting stories and we have a good time, and we’re open all year round, so I get to hear those stories all year long.”
The Covered Bridge festival has helped Parke County thrive. Generations of families come back for the experience of the Covered Bridge festival, bringing their children, and children bring their parents. “I think it’s just a renewal. People renew. They meet their relatives here, and they share that experience. It’s like its own special holiday for Parke County,” said Steve Hauser, a member of the Rockville’s Covered Bridge Art Association. “We have visitors that come every year and they brought their kids. Now, the kids are bringing their fathers back and I’ve even had a customer come in last week where it was the grandson who brought his father, his father, and his grandfather. They buy art every year and it stays in the family and it reminds them of the good times ahead.”
Covered Bridge has been a reason for people to travel from across the state and farther to the small town, some allegedly traveling as far as California. “We’re kind of a laid-back, sleepy hollow normally through the year,” Hauser added. “But it just kind of grew and grew.”
While many families gather for the attractions of the festival, the community surrounding the area has also benefited from all the excitement of the Covered Bridge Festival. Some folks have taken to putting up large yard-sales along the route into town. Joyce Lucas, owner of North Side Pickers Vendor Mall, has participated in the tradition of yard-selling during the festival for years. “In some ways, I think it’s the biggest part of the experience because I know people that this is all they do. They come shopping at every yard sale and may not even make it down there. So people just really kind of started taking advantage of the Covered Bridge and building up.”
Dama and Kenny Keltz have also been avid yard-sellers during the Covered Bridge season. Between collecting, cleaning, and organizing the wares, it can take yard-sellers months to prepare for the days-long sale. Preparing well in advance, they work to gather unique pieces and give back to the community. Continuing the tradition of festival season yard sales, the Keltz’s commented, “I think it’s a big impact, I think the yard sales really add to it all.”
While the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival may have started out small, the traditions, families and communities that started there continue to grow and thrive today.
