By John Kline
A total of $250,000 from Lilly Endowment will fund a half-mile extension of the Pumpkinvine Trail From C.R. 28 to C.R. 127.
The Pumpkinvine Trail is a recreational trail for bicycle riding, walking and jogging and it follows the path of the former Pumpkinvine Railroad from Goshen to Middlebury and Shipshewana.
Elkhart County Park Board members approved an agreement with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to allow the board to use the funds for work on the Pumpkinvine Trail.
According to Dan Seltenright, director of Elkhart County parks, the funds will allow the department to contract with a local developer to construct an approximately one-half mile Goshen extension trail segment beginning at C.R. 28 and ending at C.R. 127.
That segment will then be connected to the currently established trail, which begins in Goshen and ends at C.R. 28, Seltenright said.
“We think that we can actually contract with a local developer to do this fairly quickly and easily,” Seltenright told the board Monday.
As of now, Seltenright noted the board does not currently own the section of land designated for the new trail segment. However, he said board members are expecting to receive the land as a gift from the Friends of the Pumpkinvine at the board’s next meeting in April.
Quilt mural
A painted quilt mural will be displayed on the exterior of Rush Memorial Historical Museum, Bristol.
Park board members signed an agreement with the Elkhart County Convention and Visitors Bureau to provide for the mural.
According to Seltenright, the quilt mural, which will be painted on an approximately 8-by-8-foot wood backdrop, will be displayed on an exterior wall of the museum from May through October.
Seltenright indicated that the hanging of the mural will coincide with a Quilts and Coverlets exhibit that will be going on inside the museum featuring numerous quilts and coverlets with histories dating back as far as the early 1800s.
“The entire mural will be paid for by the Bureau,” Seltenright said, indicating that the board’s sole responsibility will be providing the wall on which to hang the mural. “That includes installation as well.”
Once hung, Seltenright said the mural will be viewable from the street, adding that bus tours have already been created that will take visitors to view the quilt mural at Rush Memorial as well as several other quilt murals which will be hung at various locations throughout Elkhart County and the city of Elkhart.
