Beginning of the Pre-Rally Excursions

Thursday, June 8th

Today, Tony again had his RV maintenance class, and I worked during the day. In the evening, we rode our bikes around the park and visited with a few folks, then Tony worked on the sewer hose set up, and I cleaned the front cap of the rig so it wouldn't look so buggy.

Friday, June 9th

Today, we had to get up and get moving fast- we had to be at the bus at 7:45am, for our Pre-Rally tour of SouthBend, IN. This included a walking tour of Notre Dame University, lunch at Tippecanoe Place Restaurant, and a tour of the Oliver House plus the National Studebaker Museum. It was a packed day, but we got to see lots of unique stuff.

We got some rain as we first got there, which put us a little behind from the get-go. The walking tour of Notre Dame was led by a freshman. She was great, she had been well-versed in the history and details of what we saw on the tour. We must have walked a few miles, though! The campus is huge, (1250 acres,) and even has its very own U.S. post office.

We saw the main building and its Golden Dome, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the Hesberg Library, The Notre Dame Stadium, Grotto of our Lady of Lourdes, and the Arch connecting Eck and Biolchini Halls, where the Notre Dame Band marches through to the stadium. We also got to spend time in the campus bookstore, which is huge as well.

Old College

Notre Dame Stadium

After lunch, we went to eat lunch at the Tippecanoe Place Restaurant. In 1884, Clem Studebaker, President of Studebaker Corporation ( Largest Wagon Manufacturer in the World) “begins to feel he ought to have a larger house and one more nearly corresponding in its character with the position he had obtained in the affairs of the world.” The site of his mansion would be at the corner of West Washington and Taylor St, just west of Downtown South Bend on 3 plus acres of land. The house would be built on a bluff, which ran diagonally through 2.65 Acres of grounds, and the carriage house and conservatories would be dedicated to the additional acre in the back.

Throughout 1885, Clem trekked to Chicago on multiple occasions to interview architects, study plans, research materials, and visit some of the grand estates in the City. After much deliberation, Clem chose Henry Ives Cobb, one of the best known architects in Chicago, to work with him on “mapping out” all the details of the home. Cobb’s work was influenced by “Richardson Romanesque” design which was distinguishable with its fortress like stone walls, complex roof line, low arches, rising towers, and gabled dormers. The home was nearing completion towards the later part of 1888, and the next few months were dedicated to final landscape work and interior furnishing installation. In February of 1889, the Studebaker family finally took possession of their new home.

Tippecanoe Place has approximately forty rooms, with twenty uniquely different fireplaces, and close to 24,000 Sq. Ft. of living space on four floors. The interior of the home emphasizes high quality wood work throughout with expert carving skills. The total cost of construction was estimated at $250,000, with an additional $100,000 dedicated to furnishings and art collection. To put this actual cost into perspective, the typical monthly rental for a good house in South Bend was $12 in 1880. In October of 1889, just eight months after final construction, disaster struck as the house was severely damaged by fire. The entire top of the house was burned off, leaving only the stone facing walls unharmed. Since the structure was thought to be basically fireproof, vary little insurance was carried by the Studebakers. Within a year, the house was completely rebuilt at an additional cost of close to $100,000. After its completion, the South Bend Times and Tribune wrote “The house, in its proportions and appointments probably surpasses anything in Indiana.

Today, the restaurant indulges clientele in grand cuisine and noble wine - all within an atmosphere of unparalleled ambiance at the heart of the South Bend business and catering scene. We had a very good meal and fellowship with other Heartlanders during this time!

After lunch, we headed over to the Joseph D. Oliver House and National Studebaker Museum, both located on the same block. The house tour was guided with very knowledgeable docents, but the car museum was self-guided. Both the house and museum were amazing in their own ways. The furnishings on all three floors of the Oliver House are original, giving us a glimpse of how the mansion appeared during the 72 years the Oliver family had occupancy. We only saw the first floor due to time, but it was quite amazing.

The Studebaker Museum also had 3 floors, but we only saw 2 of them, again due to time. I was really amazed at what pristine shape all of the display wagons and autos were in.

Both these places we could have spent more time, but we were on a schedule to return to the Rally by 4:30pm.

We were extremely tired after today, but very glad we went.

Apparently, we got just enough rain to make the truck look bad again! ARGH!