Star Wars, age 46, is now a kind of antique. Sigh.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
In addition to our annual road trips, my wife Anne and I have a twice-yearly tradition of spending our birthdays together, usually traveling to some new place or attraction as a short-term road trip — partly as an excuse to spend time together on those most wondrous days, partly to explore areas we’ve never experienced before. That’s every May for me and every October for her. We’re the Goldens. It’s who we are and what we do.
Anne knew what she wanted to do for this year’s birthday outing way back in July: see Patrick Stewart live on stage in Cincinnati. As previously recounted, we landed fourth-row seats and had a wonderful time. But Admiral Shakespeare’s grand tour wasn’t the only thing we did that weekend. Friday on our way from Indianapolis to Cincy we spent the afternoon in the Hoosier town of Oldenburg, where German roots run deep and our curiosity abounded…
Other than the Brau Haus, the Oldenburg business that held our attention the longest was Carriage House Antiques. We don’t officially collect antiques per se just yet, but I can feel the urge coming as we age. I’ve bought the occasional objet d’art here and there, like that one time in Paducah when I picked up a stack of random issues of Marvel’s Quasar from an antique shop, not in the 3-for-$1 clearance boxes at the comic shop down the block. I could feel that same tug as we wandered this year’s Indiana State Fair, though their antique assortment was a competition, not a bazaar. Will we ever give in to the full antiquing urge and begin hoarding stuff we find that’s older than us, or are we okay with merely window-shopping and pointing at random items while telling each other, “Hey, I remember when this was a thing”?
Carriage House Antiques’ building, est. circa 1855, has at various times been a general store, a hotel, a saloon, and definitely a bank.
But they’re two businesses in one: also inside is Sister Cleo’s Homemade Ice Cream.
A preserved bank teller window makes a fun receptionist’s desk. At far left is the ice cream seller window.
Not the first time we’ve seen a real bank vault door in a former bank. See also: last year’s visit to the It’s a Wonderful Life Museum in Seneca Falls, NY.
What once kept valuable goods safe now holds differently valuable wares.
On this day I learned Vault Ventilators are a thing, which Hollywood has worked into the plot of no bank-robbery flick ever.
Among the oldest artifacts with a date prominently written on it was this 1853 Pennsylvania land grant.
Santa and his very specifically designed caroling friends are among the doll collections on hand.
Props for performing your own roadshow version of Locke & Key.
I saw The Black Hole at the Westlake Drive-In when I was 7. All I remember is a lot of talking. Like, A LOT.
In the ’80s, Song Hits Magazine helped me learn the lyrics to popular mumbled tunes long before the internet took up that task. I had no idea it ran all the way from 1941 to 1990.
For amateur historians like Anne, there’s the 1948 ghostwritten memoir by Eisenhower’s chauffeur, secretary, and, er, BFF.
Apropos of Oldenburg, some Goethe in the original German. I read a little in college before I dropped out.
The only comic they had in stock, Gold Key’s Walt Disney’s Christmas Parade #1 from 1962. A little tempting, but I passed. I’ve probably read it in reprints.
We can confirm the ice cream is top-notch. I can vouch for their salted caramel variety. We didn’t take pics of those. We trust you’re familiar with the concept of ice cream in cups.
This concludes the Oldenburg leg of our journey. From here we charged onward to Cincinnati until I-75 South came to a dead stop for several minutes downtown, exactly as it’d done when we showed up for Cincy Comic Expo. Once again we abandoned the interstate a few exits early and faked our way to our destination. Then we reached our hotel, saw Admiral Shakespeare live, and took another round of photos in the city, which we hadn’t done in a few years…
To be continued! Other chapters in this very special miniseries:
- Part 1: Two Lunches at Brau Haus
- Part 2: Welcome to Oldenburg
- Part 3: The Hydrants of Oldenburg
- Part 5: Admiral Picard’s Personal Log: Star Trek Fans Welcome Patrick Stewart’s Memoir Tour to Cincinnati
- Part 6: Cincinnati! With Special Guest Covington
- Coda: Our Heartland International Film Festival 2023 Photos, Memories and Afterthoughts
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