In Franklin right across from the courthouse. We lived in an upstairs unit in this two story brick building for a few months. Word was that it had once been a mortuary, and the viewing rooms were converted to weekly rental units. There was a beauty shop on the main floor, and the awful smells of permanent curl chemicals wafted upstairs during the day. For fun on Saturday nights, you could sit at the window and look down at all the Franklin kids driving around and around the courthouse block all night long during the summer. There just wasn't much else to do. The shop that you can just barely see on the left side of the photo was a dry cleaners and also served as the Greyhound and White Star Line bus stops. That's where the Greyhound dropped us off in April of 1980, and thats where we caught the Greyhound home in November of 1981.
The long rural route that led to the farm house we lived in for most of the 18 months we were in Franklin. I think it was about 3 miles from town, give or take. Corn, soybeans, or wheat, there was always something growing. I remember it was a long way to bicycle or skateboard when it was snowy or sweltery. And you could count on getting chased by territorial country dogs. What I remember about the rural routes was the ditches along both sides. People tossed out their soda pop cans in the ditch the whole length of the road, and the first time I noticed them, I got all excited thinking I could take them to the aluminum can recycler and get some money. But when I got a bag and went to collect them, I discovered they were not aluminum and wouldn't get me a nickel. I was shocked that Indiana didn't have aluminum cans for their beer and soda yet. I thought the way things were in California was how it was across the country. I was wrong about that.
If you look closely, you'll see the Artcraft Theatre. This was a old fashioned movie house, with only one screen and lots of seating. A great vintage theatre. I saw "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Xanadu" there.
The little grocery store in town. If you wanted to go to Krogering at the Kroger store, you needed a car, because it was on the outskirts of town. If you had to stay close, Browns or Marsh were the two grocery stores right close to courthouse square. I used to every now and then splurge on a Faygo soda. Which I guess was the midwest version of Shasta.
I never got tired of looking at the Johnson County Courthouse. It was distinctive. It was the biggest thing in town. It seemed to me that if Franklin was a living body, then the Courthouse was the heart of that living organism. Everything revolved around it. The teens drove around and around this building on weekends in the summertime. In the basement, they had the remnants of the old Cold war bombshelter. And a scale to weigh stuff. One year, some pesky kids planted some pot in the courthouse landscaping. It was funny seeing marijuana growing amongst the more respectable plants.
Franklin Indiana also has a nice College. Of course it is called Franklin College. I hung out there alot, because I loved their library. They also showed movies that had been at the theater 6 months to a year before. I was young enough to look like a student, and no one ever made me feel like I couldn't hang out on campus. Look closely at the photo and you'll see a statue of Ben Franklin. The tradition is that he gets painted every year, sometimes several times for various holidays. He is painted in this photo too. I don't know what the occasion was.
Main and Jefferson streets. The business district. There just wasn't too much about the town that impressed me back then. Not enough to do, not exciting enough. After spending decades in the hustle and bustle big city world, I think I am ready for it now.
Of course, I have to include the Franklin Indiana 46131 post office.
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