Like her parents, grandparents and great-grandparents before her, Judy Huddleston has spent her whole life actively involved in the local community. It wasn’t something she was taught, it was just “normal” life. That spirit of contributing has flowed through her career as a teacher, her volunteer work and her post-retirement role as a proofreader with […]
Farming roots run deep for both Lisa and Eric Stickdorn, who grew up on family farms in Ohio and Indiana. Today, the couple runs a 190-acre cattle operation known as Brookstone Terrace Farm while taking advantage of high speed internet access to run that business efficiently. In this episode of the Western Wayne News podcast, […]
“I find that we’re the perfect size. We’re not too big, not too small. And people can find connection here.” Lauralee Hites once thought that being successful meant leaving Wayne County. Now she knows better, and in this episode of the WWN podcast she shares her story with Kate, reflecting on the importance of small […]
After 35 years, Dan Merkamp has gotten pretty good at teaching. He went from a kid learning how to make every sound possible on a taped-together trumpet, to a young man surrounded by mentors whose wisdom has stuck with him. These days, he has stepped wholeheartedly into the role of mentor himself, and considers it […]
Mike Emery was the last man standing at another area newspaper until he joined the Western Wayne News in 2022 as a reporter and layout editor. In this episode of the WWN podcast, Kate talks with Mike how and why he became a journalist, the importance of building trust with sources, the ways layout and […]
Clayton Smith has been an educator for more than 20 years, and is currently the Middle School Principal at Northeastern Wayne School Corporation. When he sat down with Kate on this episode of the Western Wayne News podcast, he shared his love for Wayne County and his passion for teaching the next generation about its […]
“The strength of a small community is knowing each other, and stepping up when someone is going through a hard time.” Liz Ferris learned this important lesson when her father got sick, and the entire town of Milton, Indiana came together to make sure his crops were brought in on time. She has taken that […]
Elisa Worland spent five years at Purdue Extension in Wayne County as a Community Development and Health & Human Sciences Educator. Her years here began in the thick of the pandemic, and were sandwiched between her time with the Peace Corps in Paraguay, and her current position at UC Santa Cruz in California. In this […]
In this episode of the WWN podcast, artist India Cruse Griffin talks with Kate about how culture, family and faith have shaped her work and driven her to create art that provokes emotional connection for and between people who experience it. While she calls her early creations “the art of a perfectionist,” she now uses […]
Terri Logan, this week’s guest on the WWN podcast, says “art is one of our first languages.” It was certainly one of hers, growing up in Winchester, Indiana. She would go on to double major in sculpture and psychology, and then begin her professional life as an art therapist. After 12 years in private practice, […]
