SHIPSHEWANA —
Melissa Troyer knows Shipshewana.
She grew up nearby, she was executive director of the Shipshewana Retail Merchants Association for three years and her dad operates a business there. Call her an insider.
Troyer’s the type of person you’d ask to give you the scoop on the best places to visit.
That’s why the Shipshewana Retail Merchants Association partnered with her on a new book, "101 Things to Do in Shipshewana."
It’s a small coffee table book, designed so it can be slipped into a purse or satchel. It’s full of colorful slick pages of art depicting scenes from not just Shipshewana, but places easily accessible from the small LaGrange County town of about 500 people.
"I appreciate the perspective I have of the area," she said. "I grew up in Middlebury, and I have many relatives, Amish and not, who live in town."
Troyer did move away for college and didn’t come back for several years.
"I think that time away helped me to see the area with fresh and more appreciative eyes," she said.
So after agreeing to write the book, Troyer grabbed her dad, Jerry Bontrager, and together they traveled around the Shipshewana area. "I connected with old friends," she said.
But her favorite part of researching the book was getting to spend time with her dad. "Those are memories I’ll always treasure," she said.
Once the idea was conceived, it took four months to get it into print.
And no surprise to Troyer was that coming up with 101 things to in Shipshewana was easy. There was so much that a second book might be in the works.
For instance, two of her suggestions are cranking a corn sheller during Old Fashion Farming Days and studying the many barns in the area. And for fun, Troyer suggests counting all the people they find with the name of Troyer.
In culling the list, Troyer said she and an advisory committee of five people, including one Amish woman, selected things which would appeal to men, women, adults, children, shoppers, nature enthusiasts — all while not exploiting any Amish traditions or people. There are even things to do evenings and on Sundays when local shops are closed.
And then the group had to choose photos. They went through the Shipshewana Retail Merchants Association and LaGrange County Convention and Visitors Bureau archives and "found some real gems." Dad, Jerry, helped Troyer take some photos during the winter, too. Before Troyer knew it, there were 60 photos.
The book was published by Harmony Marketing, Troyer’s own advertising firm in Middlebury, and is available at www.shipshewana.com and most of the retailers in Shipshewana for $9.99.
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