You Know You’re From Dubois County When

My sister sent me this list this week, and I had to pass it along and comment.

You Know You’re From Dubois County When

• Holland and Ireland remind you of milk and fried chicken instead of wooden clogs and leprechauns.


• You can recite at least some of the Dubois County Tire radio jingle. (Give Dubois County Tire a call... Big or small they service all...)


• If your last name of Uebelhor is pronounced You-Bell-Oar then you are probably from Huntingburg. If pronounced Ebel-Hair then you are from Ferdinand.


• Your wedding had or will have at least 6 kegs at the reception.


• You see more classmates at the Strassenfest than you do at your class reunion.


• If you have ever watched a sectional basketball game at Memorial Gym.


• Been stopped by a train in Huntingburg (Bonus points for this week)


• You don't know where the intersection of IN-64 and IN-162 is located but know exactly where the Bretzville Junction is at.


• If you have been to Los Bravos at least twice in the last month.


• If you can properly pronounce Luebbehusen, Mehringer, Goepfrich, Knies, Mathies, Thewes etc.


• The term "Kraut" isn't necessarily offensive.


• TP'ing is an annual October right of passage.

As you all know, I posted a comment about being German a few months ago, and this blog heavily relates. I was born and raised in a rural county in southern Indiana. The county seat, Jasper, has a population of 12,000. The small town I am from is St. Anthony, and the population is approximately 1,000 people. We no longer have a school; we have no stop light; we have one gas station; we have one church – Catholic.

I mentioned the church in a blog in May 2007, when it burned. Update – they are working on the church, and it did not have to be torn down. I digress.

Coming from a small town is very interesting and a very life determining fact, especially if you never leave. Everyone knows everyone else’s business. The stereotype of small town life is that of being racist and homophobic. I’m not sure how true that is nowadays, but I certainly was never that way. And with working at Indiana University and living in Bloomington, there is no tolerance for such thoughts.

The list above is quite entertaining, and I am going to go through each point for explanation. Here we go!

• Holland and Ireland remind you of milk and fried chicken instead of wooden clogs and leprechauns.
  
  - Holland and Ireland are again small towns in our county. Holland is actually where my brother-in-law grew up, and they are known for the Holland Dairy (i.e. milk). Ireland is known for The Chicken Place restaurant (i.e. fried chicken).


• You can recite at least some of the Dubois County Tire radio jingle. (Give Dubois County Tire a call... Big or small they service all...)
  
  -This radio jingle is on air all of the time. Sadly enough, I haven’t lived in Dubois County for about 10 years, and I still know the jingle.


• If your last name of Uebelhor is pronounced You-Bell-Oar then you are probably from Huntingburg. If pronounced Ebel-Hair then you are from Ferdinand.
  
  - Strange, but true. The Uebelhor’s in Huntingburg own a car dealership. The Uebelhor’s in Ferdinand own an electronics store. My sister’s brother-in-law is part of the Uebelhor’s in Ferdinand. He is godfather and I am godmother to our niece, Brandi.


• Your wedding had or will have at least 6 kegs at the reception.
  
  - This is true and not uncommon by any means. A Dubois County wedding reception is like no other on Earth. 500 of your closest friends getting drunk on your dime. Because there are no cash bars at Dubois County weddings. The bride and groom pay for all of the alcohol so that their friends can have a good time. I never understood it, and as a result, I did not get married in Dubois County. I had a small wedding reception with no alcohol. The horror!! My husband was shocked when he went to his first Dubois County wedding. He’s never quite recovered :-).


• You see more classmates at the Strassenfest than you do at your class reunion.
  
  - Again, this is not that shocking. I mentioned the Strassenfest in my German post, so check back there for more information.


• If you have ever watched a sectional basketball game at Memorial Gym.
  
  - Yes, I have. Back before class basketball, which began the year after I graduated, all of the county teams plus a few more fought out the high school basketball sectionals in one tournament and one arena – Southridge Memorial Gym. There was nothing like the Southridge sectional – the noise, the people, the rivalries. At one time, Bobby Knight and Nick Nolte visited the Southridge sectional before making the movie Blue Chips. Now that has all changed, but the memories are still there.


• Been stopped by a train in Huntingburg (Bonus points for this week)
  
  - Oh my goodness! Yes, I have been stopped by a train in Huntingburg many times. The railroad tracks go straight through town, and it is hard to avoid them. Trains go through several times a day. I worked in Huntingburg one summer between my Freshman and Sophomore years in college, and I was always stopped for those darn trains.


• You don't know where the intersection of IN-64 and IN-162 is located but know exactly where the Bretzville Junction is at.
  
  - They are actually one in the same. The Bretzville Junction is where IN-64 and IN-162 meet and is the center point between Huntingburg, Jasper, Ferdinand, and St. Anthony. There is a large parking lot called “Central” where many people meet to share rides, etc. Dubois County Central Concrete used to have a facility there, so that is where the name actually came from.


• If you have been to Los Bravos at least twice in the last month.
  
  - Los Bravos is a Mexican restaurant in Jasper. Everyone goes there. Every time I am back in Dubois County for any length of time, I usually go there too. They are fast, cheap, and have great service. I recommend them!


• If you can properly pronounce Luebbehusen, Mehringer, Goepfrich, Knies, Mathies, Thewes etc.
  
  - Here we go. Luebbehusen – Lib-a-whose-in. Mehringer – Mare-ing-er. Goepfrich – Gep-frick. Knies – K-niece. Mathes – Mod-eyes. Thewes – Tave-es. I believe I got those all right. Love the German heritage :-).


• The term "Kraut" isn't necessarily offensive.
  
  - I guess this refers to sauerkraut - a German staple. That is the only thing I can think of regarding this one.


• TP'ing is an annual October right of passage.
  
  - Yep, this still happens A LOT. And, I too, have been the doer and the victim.

Don’t get me wrong. I love where I came from. It is made me who I am today, but I also know the little idiosyncrasies of my hometown area. Now, you know some of them too.