Member Updates

Sadly, our Secretary Beth Bailey suddenly lost her mother Kathleen Sheets to the Lord this week.  Viewing is Friday from 4:00pm-6:00pm with the furneral Sat. at 10:00am at the Genda & Bodine Furneral Home in Frankfort, Indiana.  Beth has had a difficult year and I know she would appreciate our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.

On a more positive note, Jane Clashman informs me that Ernie is doing well following his lung surgery and will be released from the hospital on Saturday.  We hope to see them both soon back on the road. 
Nina Francis is scheduled soon for her surgery and we will continue to wish her well and keep her in our prayers.

September Rally was a Great Time

The Hoosier Cruisers have been very busy as of late.  We had a wonderful Family Reunion in Indy however there were a few challenging moments for some of us as noted in the photo.  I guess someone didn’t like where I parked them.  For a more complete summary see my Presidents Message.

The September rally hosted by Mable and Bob Heath and Carol and Jerry Hardacre was a big hit with everyone.  The rally started with a visit to the Paramount Theater and a concert benefitting the Special Olympics.  The music was first rate and the luxury door to door transportation provided by Jerry and his church bus was very special.  Other activities for the week included and interesting visit to a casket manufacturer where we watched the finest wooden caskets being made.  For the man who has everything, a top of line unit was a beautiful walnut hand carved casket which sold in Hawaii for $25,000.00.  We were also treated to a military museum tour and a wonderful dinner followed by entertainment from a local music store/school.  Our own Jill Winebrenner took a lesson and seemed to catch on to the instrument very quickly.  Saturday began with a nice breakfast and tour at the Gaither Restaurant and music studio.  It was very interesting seeing where these famous Christian singers/musicians wrote and recorded much of their music.

Of course we also had our annual business meeting and election of new officers.  Many thanks to those officers who have served this past year and a big welcome to the new electorate.  Details will follow in the next newsletter but the new officers and e-mail contacts can be found in the column to the right on this blog.

It’s off to Amana now and Sandy and I hope to see you all there.

Hoosier Cruisers

Two of our members are about to undergo major proceedures and we can play a part. Ernie Clashman will have lung surgery on Thursday for lung cancer and Nina Francis will have several proceedures including bypass surgery soon. Please keep both of our fellow Cruisers in your thoughts and prayers over the next few weeks.

September 12-15 Chesterfield Rally Update

Mable informs me that Friday will be a pitch-in breakfast and supper will be a "bring a dish" event with meat provided. She also suggested that if we arrive on Thursday before supper we could carpool to a restaurant then head to the Paramount for a Country Jamboree event. Sounds like a great start to the rally. Hope to see you all there.

Up And Coming Events For The Hossier Cruisers

Our next rally after the FMCA Family Reunion in Indy is in Anderson/Chesterfield Indiana Sept. 13-16. Our hosts, the Heaths and Hardacres, have once again arranged an interesting rally for the Hoosier Cruisers. Registration will be open until the rally but reservations are only being reserved at the RV resort until August 15th. Call Timberline Valley RV Resort (765-378-5909) as soon as possible to secure a spot with the Hoosier Cruisers.

It's been a few years since we had an "away" rally and this is a great
opportunity to pack up and explore the Amana Cononies in Amana, Iowa Sept.27-Oct.2. Thanks to our rally masters Betty and Dennis Behnken this is a combined effort with the National RV Great Lakers and should be a steller event with great fun and fellowship. Check out your newsletter for complete details.





The October rally is once again at the Lisle ranch in Columbia City, In. Oct. 11-14 and will be a wonderful way to wind down a busy camping
season. Those in attendance last year reported a fabulous time and we
all know how beautiful the fall season is for camping. This is a
"dry camping" event so reservations go to the Lisles and prepare your
generators for a little exercise. Steve would like to hear from those attending by Sept. 15th.

All the details for these rallies are in your August newsletter which you should have now received. Please don't hesitate to contact the rallymasters or myself with any questions.
Each of the registration forms posted should be printable by clicking on the form to enlarge and print. A few people have found hovering over the document then right click and print works as well.

Hoosier Cruisers Meet Health Issues Head On

Several of our members are struggling with health issues and could use our thoughts and prayers. Sandy Berrier reports that Bill has lung cancer which will require surgery soon. He would like for us to keep him in our prayers as he confronts this challenge. Leroy Frank has just had triple bypass surgery and is doing well. We all wish him a speedy recovery. J.R.Kelley is finishing his radiation treatments for prostate cancer and he and Louise should be back in camping mode when Indy rolls around. Finally, Connie Decausemaker had some good news as they are closer to working out her difficulties and will not need to go to Mayo.

Hoosier Cruisers arrive at Circus City

Peru welcomed the Hoosier Cruisers last Thursday and even published an article in the Peru Tribune about our club. Rally master Don Orman was quoted saying "we've been here before...but it has been several years". Nineteen coaches and at least 20 grandchildren and children took full advantage of the wonderful opportunity to visit the Circus City Festival. It began Thursday with dinner at a unique restaurant called the Siding. We had our own buffet and sat at tables in old railroad cars.

Friday was a day of exploring and shopping at the festival and downtown Peru. I thought we would never see some of the women again. Friday night was a pitch in dinner with our host providing a wonderful beef brisket as the main entree. As always, we had the best side dishes possible from some of the best cooks in FMCA. The rest of the evening was relaxing mostly watching the kids and a few adults play numerous games. The water balloons were definitely the biggest hit.

Saturday brought some excitement as we headed downtown to the festival parade. Our rally masters had arranged private parking and we were escorted to our own barricaded lot. Boy did we feel special. The parade was excellent and started with a fly-by of an Army Huey gunship and appropriately our National Anthem. It was then on to the circus. Boy was I surprised. The performers ranged in age from 6-18 years of age and showed great courage, poise and professionalism. We were even treated to a seven women pyramid on the high wire performed by an all women wire act. The show closed with a great performance on the trapeze. These kids are awesome, very talented and definitely dedicated. I'm sure there were many proud parents in attendance. The evening was continued with a great catered dinner and we were then entertained by a local blue grass band singing many familiar songs.

On Sunday Bettie Wessel led us in devotions which were wonderfully geared to the children. Assisted by Betty Behnken it was the perfect conclusion to our visit. All in all a very successful fun filled rally due in large part to our terrific rally masters Don and Lou Ann Orman and there assistants Duane and Lois Stoner. Well done!!

Sauder Village- A Trip Back In Time

We started our journey several weeks before when Dick and Janice Schumaker asked us to help with the June rally. We were a little cautious but since they were the seasoned rally masters what could go wrong.

The coaches started rolling in on Thursday and we all headed to the " Home " restaurant for a great meal and wonderful service that evening. Following a pitch-in breakfast we toured an Indian Village and moved on the Pioneer Times. All the houses and shops had period greeters to explain their jobs and of course there were retail shops as well so the economy got a boost from our visit. Following all of that we met for happy hour and dinner at the Barn Restaurant and called it a day.

Saturday began at the Sauder Village Hotel for a nice continental spread. Afterward the ladies learned to knit a ruffled scarf and the men went to a tractor event. I was really impressed with how quickly the first time knitters picked it up. Several of them finished their scarfs the next day.

Saturday evening we had a pulled pork dinner with everyong providing sides and desserts. As usual the food was delicious and I ate too much. After dinner we played the Newlywed Game.

The Tilmanns, Winebrenners Lisles and O'dells didn't know much about their spouses so it was great fun and lots of laughs. We also had a good time playning card bingo and finished the nite with a nice campfire back at the coaches.

Sunday we had coffee and rolls followed by a church service with an inspiring talk by Dennis Filson. Jerry Hardacre lead us in song and it was time to say good bye to old and new friends.

Being a host is an exhausting but wonderful experience. I would encourage everyone to think about hosting or at least helping with a rally.

See you all down the road and keep all of us in your prayers. Connie Decausmaker

Hoosier Cruisers Have a Heavy Heart

It is with profound sadness that I report the loss of our great friend and Hoosier Cruiser Bruce Bailey. Bruce passed away suddenly early Wednesday at the GLASS rally. Our hearts and prayers go out to Beth and their entire family at this most difficult time.

We now have more information on the arrangements.
Calling will be from 6:00-8:00p.m. on Saturday at the Ballard and Son's Funeral Home in Daleville Indiana. The funeral will be Sunday at 4:00p.m. at the Daleville Christian Church. A complete obituary notice can be read at www.ballardandsons.com

Circus City Bound

The Ormans and Stoners have arrainged a great rally for "children of all ages". Many are already planning on bringing their grandkids to this fun event in Peru, Indiana and this rally should be very special. The newsletter will be out soon but you can print the info and registration form from the documents below. Just put your cursor on the document and right click to enlarge and or print. The rally masters need to have a head count as soon as possible so lets all help out by getting our registration forms in quickly.