In the past 16 years of my journalism career traveling throughout Lake and Porter counties, I’ve always been fascinated by a nod to our farm railroad roots, a “hidden in plain sight” gem which seems to draw very little attention near the state lines of Indiana and Illinois, where the towns of Lansing and Munster meet.
The Monon Trailhead is a beautiful, small plaza featuring a glorious large park fountain, a few benches and maps which recall the days of the vital Monon Railway system which linked Chicago to southern Indiana and beyond. This landscape monument marker was unveiled in 2012 to herald the opening of the adjacent bike and walking path connecting Hammond and Munster to the adjoining communities and beyond.
The Monon Railroad and parallel New York Central tracks began transporting people, produce and other precious cargo through our small town of San Pierre in the mid-1800s. San Pierre was a stop on the route for President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train and also a “whistle stop” along the railroad campaign trail for the Presidential campaign of Harry S. Truman.
Just a few towns farther down U.S. Highway 421, which splits through San Pierre, is the town of Monon, named for the two creeks along the rural fields that surround the town. The Potawatomi Tribe named these creeks “Monong,” a term which means “swift running.” Since the heart of the town happened to be the junction where the various Monon train lines merged, Lafayette to Louisville, Kentucky and then a line from Indianapolis to serve the eastern part of the Hoosier state and yet another line directly north to Michigan City, the president of the future Monon Railways Company James Brooks opted to use the vast available land for two train yards and corporate headquarters.
The Monon Railroad is also credited for the number of notable celebrities and famous guests who opted to seek luxury seclusion and respite in remote southern Indiana after the turn of the century at the internationally famous French Lick Hotel and Resort, located two hours south of Indianapolis.
Thomas Taggart, the former mayor of Indianapolis from 1895 to 1901, purchased the hotel and resort property with other investors, such as William McDoel, the new president of the Monon Railroad. The business partners arranged for railways to be laid directly to a drop-off landing at the French Lick resort with daily passenger service from Chicago.
French Lick Hotel and Resort became famous for a few specialties, including the invention of “tomato juice” served by Chef Louis Perrin as a result of a lack of shipment of fresh oranges in 1917, forcing him to serve guests the squeezed fresh tangy juice from plump tomatoes as his alternative, which soon shot to preference popularity both near and far as a favorite new menu trend.
The French Link property, rich with limestone under the landscape, was also world-renowned for its “healthy natural spring” and a bottled elixir branded as “Pluto Water” that was hailed for its healthy properties. Lastly, a hidden casino was a favorite secret draw for the rich, famous and infamous during the decades when drinking and gambling were shunned as vices.
Those who stayed at the French Lick resort included the Vanderbilt family, actor John Barrymore, billionaire Howard Hughes, movie stars Greta Garbo, Lana Turner, Abbott and Costello, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, along with musical icons Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin and Louis Armstrong, and noted politicians such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
Enigmatic Greta Garbo, who had successfully made the transition from silent films to “talking pictures,” shocked Hollywood when she retired from movies in 1941 at age 36. Her one visit to French Lick likely came around 1938 when the famously reclusive film star wanted to avoid newspaper reporters during her train’s Chicago layover. She dodged the press by switching trains and taking the Monon to French Lick for an unplanned getaway.
Though the Monon Rail System is long gone, some associated train traditions with the railway company are alive and well. Wabash College in Crawfordsville has a 300-pound locomotive bell, compliments of the old Monon, which serves as the campus “victory bell.” During the football season, while playing rival DePauw University in Greencastle, the victor takes temporary ownership of the bell prize. (The DePauw Tigers are currently in possession of the bell.)
Swedish star Garbo, who once famously uttered “I just want to be alone” on the big screen in the 1932 film “Grand Hotel,” lived out those very words until she died at her New York apartment at age 84 in 1990. She had made her film fortune (and invested it wisely) during a time before there were any payroll taxes, a law that changed in 1935 courtesy of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She lived alone without maids, a secretary or personal assistants, and refused to sign autographs, respond to fan mail or grant press interviews. She had her groceries delivered and dined simply, such as the following recipe shared years later by her apartment neighbor and one of the few people she associated with at her New York City high-rise.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is a radio host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at [email protected] or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.
Greta Garbo’s Cream of Tomato Soup with Watercress
Makes 6 servings
1 can (14 ounces) Campbell’s condensed tomato soup
1 can water
1 bay leaf
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Freshly ground pepper (Greta didn’t state how much)
1 scant teaspoon sugar
1 ripe tomato, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup watercress, chopped (leaves and stems)
Directions:
Put soup and water in an enamel or stainless-steel saucepan.
Heat briefly, add the bay leaf, pepper and sugar and stir to blend.
Bring to boil and add chopped tomato and simmer until tomato is cooked, about 10 minutes.
Add cream and heat briefly, do not boil.
Remove bay leaf and serve in heated soup plates; garnish with watercress.