(music) Welcome back to Pendleton, Indiana.

You heard me right.

We're heading back to Pendleton after our last visit in 2017, eight years ago.

Pendleton has so much to explore that we had to revisit and dig deep into historical stories, art and culture, and a couple organizations that lend a helping hand to Pendleton and its neighbors.

But we'd never want to leave out the Pendleton staples like Falls Park and the Pendleton Artists Society.

So, grab a snack, pour a drink, and get comfy because we are Now Entering Pendleton again!

Now Entering Pendleton is made possible by Banning Engineering, the Town of Pendleton, 3Rivers, Kulkarni Properties, and Citizens State Bank, and our presenting sponsors, Main Street Pendleton, the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce, and Rawlins House and Fall Creek, with additional support from Andy and Marissa Skaggs, Amy Turner State Farm, Anderson Madison County Visitors Bureau, Integrity of Madison County, South Madison Community Foundation, Edward Jones, HWC Engineering, Edward Jones, Brett Bubalo and Dustin Pennington, Indiana Municipal Power Agency, Community Hospital, and Dinsmore - Well, Falls Park, where the falls are, had become the town dumping area.

There was a lot of industry there.

As time went on, they just kind of threw everything into the creek.

There was a hardware store here in Pendleton, Benjamin Franklin Phipps.

He felt Pendleton could be a little better.

- And the community came together.

They wanted to clean it up, fix it up.

So it took a couple of years, but they cleaned up the banks.

Eventually, there was a dam that was put in so that there was a swimming area.

- (Ron) And things just kind of evolved from there.

That was around 1919.

- So it just became a really huge community natural gathering place.

Friends of Falls Park is in a non-profit organization.

This is a group of volunteers that was started up in 2019.

This is a group of people, of volunteers, who do so much for our park.

They really come alongside the park's department, partner with us.

They do that through special events, through fundraising.

They help with manpower, if necessary.

They just look for ways to really come alongside us.

They are an amazing group.

I highly recommend every park have one.

I don't know what we would do without them because they really help support the mission and help us to build on that.

- (Ron) The superintendent's position come up at a great time during my working career.

My wife grew up just two blocks from the park, and she played in it her whole childhood.

When the job came up, she said, "Why don't you apply for that, and take care of my park for me?"

- So when we moved down here about a year and a half ago, I saw an advertisement for Falls Park, an administrative assistant position.

I wanted to stay with parks.

I come from parks, from Indiana State Parks, and really wanted to continue with that and was able to step into an administrative assistant role.

The playground at Barnhart Field is designed for ages two to five year olds, and it's a great way to reach an age group that we don't necessarily have a lot of play equipment for.

Up at the front, we do have a little area where they can play, and this is expanding that for them.

So we're going to be looking forward to having a ribbon cutting ceremony over there.

Falls Park is the heart of Pendleton.

This is a natural gathering place.

- (Ron) It's really the nucleus of the community.

- We love seeing folks come out for our different events and just enjoying the day in the park, whether they're there because they're nature lovers or families visiting our playgrounds.

There's just those who want to come out for maybe a concert under the stars.

So we're always looking for ways to draw in our community.

- (Ron) Everybody that goes there comes in and feels a certain camaraderie.

I have been county historian here in Madison County.

I'm in my 18th year.

It's hard to determine exactly who was here when.

We know that there were a period in its prehistoric period, which means there's no written record of it, that there were Native Americans in this area.

We know that by evidence in the Mounds State Park, the mound builders that were here centuries ago.

Of the known Native American tribes that would be in what we would know as the historic period, this was Miami territory for years at the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, in which the tribes in Ohio territory gave up their claim to lands in Ohio.

The Miami invited the Delaware to come and live along the White River here in Madison County.

There was a scattering of other tribes here, other individual tribes.

Seneca was here, Piankashaw.

The main tribe was the Delaware, and they were here for a period of 23 years.

In the year 1820, there were eight pioneers who came here.

They originated in Clark County, Ohio.

They followed an old, well-worn road from Dayton to New Castle, Indiana, what is New Castle.

We think probably traders or trappers or maybe even Native Americans would've told them about the falls that were here on Fall Creek, and that would've been the attraction because when the eight arrived, seven of them settled right along the falls in what gave an appearance of a community.

However, it wasn't founded officially until 1830, 10 years later, by a man by the name of Thomas Pendleton.

Thomas Pendleton arrived here in June of 1823, and he purchased some land, a lot of it on where we're sitting right today, but he did not have it surveyed until 1830 and platted into plats for lots for construction, building of homes and businesses and so forth, and that becomes the official founding of Pendleton in January of 1830.

- (Aaron) My name is Aaron McDermott.

- My name is Jerry Wymer.

- I'm Sharon Wymer, and I'm here to talk about Pendleton Artists Society.

Pendleton Artists Society started in 2013 with three people that came together discussing art.

They liked art, they wanted to have a place to go, so they formed Pendleton Artists Society.

Members of the Artists Society negotiated with the city to obtain this building, which was empty, and it became Gallery 119.

- (Jerry) When Pendleton Artists Society opened up this building, one day, I was walking by and said, "Hey, let's go in and see the gallery, see what's on the inside."

We came in, loved the artwork that was here and said, "Hey, I want to be a member.

I want to be involved in this."

- (Aaron) Pendleton was a great spot for me to come to because of this gallery.

I was looking for places to showcase my art.

I realized how much work it took to do and that they needed people.

From there, I kind of naturally fell into now being on the board as vice president.

The town of Pendleton approached us, and they wanted to beautify the town.

They've been working on kind of getting community art.

- (Jerry) I love metal art.

I make small flowers out of copper.

I was involved in the tree that's on the outside of the building.

It was a collaboration between three people.

Unfortunately, Vic is no longer with us, but Tracy Davidson, it was her design for the tree.

It's outside for you to look at and enjoy as a part of the building.

- (Aaron) The alleyway has been some sort of an eyesore in a way.

So when I was coming up with the ideas for what I wanted to do for my submission, I knew I wanted it to play into transformation.

A quilt is several pieces, and it makes one piece.

In a way, it represents the alleyway, it represents the Pendleton Artists Society.

- (Jerry) One of the things that makes us very unique is everybody that is a part of the building here of the Gallery 119 is a volunteer.

Nobody gets paid anything.

Everybody volunteers their time, their work.

- (Aaron) Theres so many people, great members here, from beginner to professional.

The people, the buildings, nature, everything about Pendleton, it's almost picturesque.

It sparks my creativity every time I'm here.

- Hi, I am Lynn Hobbs, and I'm the director of the Pendleton Community Public Library.

The Pendleton library actually opened for the first time March 1st in 1912.

There was a group of women, and they wanted to have some kind of a public library presence, so they collected books of their members.

When people started donating more books to the collection, it kind of outgrew the storage space that they had for it, so a local drug store opened up some of their space and allowed a circulating collection from the drug store.

Then it got too big for the drug store, and so Thomas Hardy donated some land downtown Pendleton for a Carnegie building.

Andrew Carnegie donates money to public libraries all around the country to try to get new buildings built and services started, so we applied for a grant way back when, and that's what started the Carnegie building that still stands on State Street today.

Right now, we're really modern, and we're non-traditional.

One of the things that really has kind of put us on the map in the area is our library of things.

The philosophy behind the library of things collection is it's either something you want to try before you buy or it's something maybe you just need for a short little project or something around the house.

We circulate things like power washers, karaoke machines, ukuleles, things that people don't typically expect to see at the public library.

We also do car seat inspections.

We do a read and feed.

We run a community garden and a weekly food pantry right out of the library.

The Friends of the Library are a volunteer organization.

Their sole purpose for existing is to support the library and what we do.

And then the book sale is also a good fundraiser for us.

We do run quarterly book sales.

When we're done with the book sale, whatever we didn't sell, we actually turn over to the correctional facilities in town.

And then everything you see in the book sale the next time around is going to be brand new.

The duck race was started... Boy, I think this was our 12th year that we just did in September, and it's a rubber duck regatta.

It started out with the township trustee and me with two buckets on the side of the falls, they're just dumping them in, and now it has evolved into a giant wooden box that has 1,000 of these racing ducks in it that a crane actually has to lift over the falls.

They drop the bottom out and they race to the finish line.

The proceeds go to the Friends of the Library, and then the Friends of the Library support all kinds of things.

I love Pendleton because it is a little slice of Americana right in the middle of the Midwest.

I love this town.

I love this library.

I love the people I work with.

It's all good all the way around.

- Coming up, we hear about when Frederick Douglass visited the town of Pendleton and the world-famous K-Burgers.

But first, a word from our sponsors.

Banning Engineering, provides comprehensive civil engineering and surveying solutions for communities, developers, and utilities across Indiana.

Services include site development, water resources management, transportation design, and construction observation.

Learn more at BanningEngineering.com.

The Town of Pendleton, Indiana, is a historic community nestled along the Falls of Fall Creek in South Madison County.

Intentionally inviting to visitors and residents alike.

Pendleton is known for its hometown charm, historic waterfalls, and close knit, family-friendly spirit.

Three Rivers Federal Credit Union.

Giving back to central Indiana communities through financial education, volunteerism, college scholarships, and more.

Serving Pendleton, Fortville, and Muncie.

Learn more at 3RiversFCU.org.

Kulkarni Properties.

Proudly investing in Pendletons next chapter.

Building thoughtful communities that honor local history, enhance daily life, and support sustainable growth for generations to come.

Learn more at KulkarniProperties.com.

Citizens State Bank.

Local people, lasting relationships, and 150 years of commitment to our communities.

It's about more than banking.

It's about people.

More at MyCSBIN.com.

Member FDIC.

Main Street Pendleton works to preserve the character of historic downtown.

From special events to local initiatives, Main Street Pendleton connects people and celebrates the spirit of Pendleton.

Learn more about the mission and community projects at MainStreetPendleton.com Pendleton Chamber of Commerce, connecting and supporting businesses throughout South Madison County, including Pendleton, Markleville, and Ingalls.

Working together to strengthen prosperity and unity across the Pendleton area.

Learn more at PendletonChamber.org.

From private apartments to around-the-clock assistance, Rawlins House and Fall Creek, located in the heart of Pendleton, offers a wide range of support for seniors.

More information is available at RawlinsFallCreek.com.

- Thank you to our sponsors!

Now, let's get back to Pendleton.

- (Stephen) Now, Frederick Douglass was a slave who escaped early in his life.

He'd been blessed with unique oratory skills, and those oratory skills were recognized in the north.

He found his way into New England where he became associated with a man by the name of William Lloyd Garrison, and Garrison was the founder of the Abolitionist Society, the abolishment of slavery.

The society decided that they would send a team of speakers into the northern states on a six-month tour to conduct speeches, to try to rally the other states in the north to their cause.

The Quakers lived here, Society of Friends, Quakers Church.

They made an invitation to this society to send a speaker here to talk to the people here about abolishment of slavery.

And so, Frederick Douglass, at the age of 25, was assigned to come to Pendleton to make that speech.

As they were getting ready to speak on a makeshift platform, there were some ruffians in the audience from around the county, one as far away as Westfield, Indiana.

Douglass got up to speak.

These ruffians stood up and started howling at him, trying to drown him out to no avail, so they stormed the stage and began attacking him.

A local doctor by the name of Walker stepped in and shielded Frederick Douglass's body from the strikes that was being leveled at him with an iron bar.

They escaped off the back of the stage and climbed over a fence behind where the platform was.

But in that process, Douglass broke a wrist.

Local Quaker people here came to his aid, loaded him in a wagon, and took him east of Pendleton to an area known as Spring Valley.

There, he was nursed back to health overnight, but he never forgot the kindness that was shown to him by the people here in Pendleton.

Several years before he passed away in 1895, he happened to be in Anderson making a speech.

During that speech, he did not blame the people of this area for what had happened to him.

He said it was just the natural hatred that people had for people of color at that time, and he understood that, very benevolent kind, man.

- Hi, my name is Carrie Bale, and I'm the executive director of Outfitters here in Pendleton.

- My name is John Lord, and I'm the board chairman for Outfitters.

- Well, Outfitters actually has been around since the 1990s.

It was started from Pendleton Christian Church.

A group of parishioners were looking at a way to be able to best support the community, and one way that they wanted to do that was to help provide clothing for children that were attending South Madison Community School system.

- So it started very small, and it's one of those situations where two people got together and, 25 years later, we now have a building, we service over 2,000 children, we have a gala that raised over $200,000 last year.

It has grown exponentially because of their original mission years ago to say, "Hey, I want to make a difference.

I see children that don't have coats, children who just are not able to get what they need, and I want to do something about it."

- (Carrie) It's a store environment, it's huge, and it looks just like a store.

We give them a bag, we give them a list, and they get one week's worth of clothing, like seven pair of pants and five shirts and hats and gloves and shoes and all of that, and they get to go around and pick it out themselves, and that is dignity for them.

They get excited and they find stuff that they like.

It's an amazing feeling.

- I love Pendleton because it's a community that cares.

They support their schools, they love our families, and it's an extremely supportive community.

If you have a problem or a challenge, come to Pendleton, we will help.

It's a small town feel, and I love being here.

- I love Pendleton because of their generosity, their spirit, and willingness to help out.

Pendleton has really helped take ownership of this organization.

They have been right there with us along the way, helping with donations, helping with fundraising.

It's the generosity of the spirit and really that ownership of, "Hey, this is something that we can help to do not only here in Pendleton, but in Madison County as well."

- Hi, my name's Dennis Humphrey.

I'm the president of Kiwanis here in Pendleton.

Kiwanis Club is part of the Kiwanis International.

It started in 1915, and this is just a local chapter that started about 56 years ago.

We give back to the community when there's any kids that need the help.

Whether it's through the high school, whether it's through scouts, Riley children's hospital, we just give back.

If families come to us and their electricity's been shut off, we'll pay for that to help turn that back on so kids don't get cold.

K-Burger is how we make our money.

It started again about 55 or 56 years ago, and they hand-pattied burgers and just put them on regular little grills, and it took off.

It's nothing more than a quarter-pound burger now, usually from GFS.

We have special grills that are custom-made, and they will hold 40 burgers at a time, and we will do 48,000 a year, average.

We set up just like a regular restaurant almost.

We charge the community, and we'll sell singles and doubles.

We unfortunately had to raise our rates because of the economy this year, and people just didn't care.

We would have lines of 100 people just waiting.

The community reception is incredible.

The people that don't know anything about K-Burgers, they'd question it until they get them.

Once they have them, they absolutely love them.

If they see the smoke, they don't care where it's at.

They'll see the smoke from the grills, they'll come get them.

- Hi, my name is Denise McKee, and I work for the Town of Pendleton.

I work for them in the capacity of the assistant planning director within the planning department.

The fall Festival has been an event that has been mirrored with the Heritage Fair for about 40 years within our community.

Fall Festival is a variety of activities.

They usually always have a children's zone, a variety of vendors, usually around 100, 150 vendors.

The Friends of Falls Park puts on the Heritage Fair, and that is somewhere around also 140 vendors.

The main purpose intent of the Fall Festival was to be able to draw individuals to the downtown Pendleton.

Christmas in Pendleton is such a great event for the town.

This event has taken place over the last probably 20 years, as well as we have added a wonderful parade that is a big highlight for that event.

There is a lot of involvement from our local businesses as well.

They participate either through a float or a vehicle that comes through.

We have live reindeer, and then we have a kid zone that allows them to have a lot of games to play, and it'll end with lighting of the tree there by the playground.

We have close to 40 non-profit organizations that host over 30, 40 events each year.

I've been able to see how these special events form the Pendleton's identity.

With these events, we have been able to work and collaborate with different organizations and partners, and it's been great to be able to see how each of them have been able to work together to make our Pendleton even a better place to live and to visit.

I love Pendleton because of the individuals and the organizations and the people behind what makes Pendleton great.

- (Scott) Hi, I am Scott Reske, and I'm the town manager at Pendleton, Indiana.

The town manager usually is the full-time person that takes care of the day-to-day operations of a town.

It's usually if they have a lot of their own utilities that the town owns.

I had a background in public administration, I have a civil engineering degree, and plus I knew the town very well and been involved, I guess it starts with that.

And then I was asked to be the town manager.

I've been doing it for five years now.

As Indianapolis metropolitan area grows, it has grown into a lot of small towns.

Some of those towns have disappeared.

Some towns have preserved their downtown, their hometown feel, their sense of community.

We realize we're next, and we want to preserve that hometown feel, and you do that.

One of the things is to restore or maintain your historic building, so you have a sense of place and a sense of history and where the community comes from.

Even though you may grow in population, our goal is to have that hometown feel, to feel like it's still your hometown, to feel small town, even though your population may be growing.

We put together what we called our strategic growth plan and, right away, the number one goal was to keep Pendleton feeling like Pendleton, no matter what our population was going to be or how rapidly we were going to grow in the future.

So that was job one.

That's why people like Pendleton.

It's the hometown for a lot of people.

A lot of people want to come to a community where it'll feel like their hometown, and so that's goal number one.

That's the metric.

Even though we may triple, quadruple, be 10 times bigger in the future, if it still feels like Pendleton all that time later, we met our goal.

- (Stephen) Pendleton is just a unique town in our county, and how blessed we are to have it.

We have several other communities in the county who are early communities also, but Pendleton is the first settlement.

That makes them special, and they stand out above all the rest.

Pendleton is a place where you can come and still have that small town feel, but you have that connection to the deep history that is here.

- I love Pendleton for its small town-ness.

It's very friendly, everybody knows everybody, and it's just got that very open, friendly atmosphere, but it's also progressive and active.

- I love Pendleton for several reasons.

It's where I grew up.

It's where a lot of my first friends were.

I have a lot of memories just playing on the block with all the kids in sandlot baseball.

And then I went out into the world as a Marine officer, of course, traveled a lot of the world, and I still felt that pull to come back, and I love being back in Pendleton.

- I love Pendleton because of ou unique park system, but also because of the people who live here.

It's an amazing little town, small town with a big heart, and I'm so proud to be a part of it.

- I love Pendleton because its home.

Now Entering Pendleton is made possible by Banning Engineering, the Town of Pendleton, 3Rivers, Kulkarni Properties, and Citizens State Bank, and our presenting sponsors, Main Street Pendleton, the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce, and Rawlins House and Fall Creek, with additional support from Andy and Marissa Skaggs, Amy Turner State Farm, Anderson Madison County Visitors Bureau, Integrity of Madison County, South Madison Community Foundation, HWC Engineering, Edward Jones, Brett Bubalo and Dustin Pennington, Indiana Municipal Power Agency, Community Hospital, and Dinsmore