WTIU members.

Thank you!

>> BRANDON: Coming up.

>> ASHLEY: Learn about a popular Hoosier dessert.

>> Go back to school and learn how maple syrup is made.

>> ASHLEY: And visit the state's oldest candy business.

>> BRANDON: That's all on this episode of -- >> TOGETHER: "Journey Indiana."

♪ >> ASHLEY: Welcome to "Journey Indiana."

I'm Ashley Chilla.

>> BRANDON: And I'm Brandon Wentz, and we're coming to you from the Indiana State Police Museum.

The Indiana State Police Department was created in 1933.

Its inception sparked a revolution of policing in Indiana, allowing law enforcement to cross county lines for the first time.

Today, the Indiana State Police Museum works to preserve and present the department's nine decades of history serving the Hoosier state.

And we'll learn all about this place in just a bit.

>> ASHLEY: But first, we're headed to Randolph County, to discover a story that's as easy as pie.

Producer Nick Deel takes us on a tour of Wick's Pies.

>> If you've spent any time in your local grocer's frozen dessert section, Wick's Pies is likely a familiar name.

The pies and pie shells made at their Winchester factory are available in stores across the Midwest.

But like many great successes, this company has humble beginnings.

In the 1940s, local restaurant owner Duane "Wick" Wickersham was looking to expand his business.

So armed with his grandmother's sugar cream pie recipe, he hit the streets.

>> He went out with his pies to try to sell them to other restaurants, and if he had the -- didn't have the opportunity to meet with the restaurant management, he typically left a sugar cream pie behind with a receipt that showed who he was and what it was.

And he gained sales that way.

And those sales grew through local restaurants, and eventually he went into distributors who sold 'em to restaurants, and then into retailers who sold them to consumers.

That's how we grew.

>> A lot has changed at Wick's Pies since those formative years, but good pie is still good pie.

>> Our pie dough formula has not changed.

It remains the same, with the same ingredients, flour, lard, water, salt, dextrose and baking soda.

So it's been pretty much constant.

So those are the main things.

And in my opinion, the quality of the product has not changed.

>> And neither has their flagship flavor.

While Wick's Pies produces dozens of pie varieties, their biggest seller continues to be the sugar cream pie.

In fact, Wick's Pies is the largest sugar cream pie manufacturer in the world, producing over 300,000 of these baked treats each year.

And they still use Wick Wickersham's original family recipe.

>> So here you can see our holding tanks.

These are 500-gallon tanks.

They are going to hold about 5,000 pies worth of filling.

So in an eight-hour shift, we're doing about two of these.

So 10,000 pies daily.

>> Sugar cream pies are a classic Hoosier dessert, dating back to early 19th century Quaker settlers.

It's considered a desperation pie, made with basic ingredients and without the need for fresh fruit.

The recipe is simple.

Heavy cream, sugar, and spices, whipped together and baked until caramelized.

>> So what you are seeing on our pies here is, like, the marbling, and that's kind of a signature for Wick's Pies, is we've got this marble on our sugar cream pie.

It's almost like how creme brulee is caramelized on top.

We've got a little caramelization and it really makes for a unique look, flavor, and, I mean, these are just -- these are great pies coming out of the oven right now.

>> And if you are in the Winchester area, why not stop in for a slice?

Across the street from the factory, Mrs. Wick's serves up homemade pies daily.

This cozy diner was started by Wick Wickersham himself in 1984, after he retired from Wick's Pies.

And it continues to be a gathering spot for the local community.

>> I think his motivation was he wasn't ready to quit.

He wanted to work, and he loved the pie business.

They loved the restaurant business.

My mother came out of retirement to work with him.

So they both opened it.

Both worked hard in it and both enjoyed it.

He only wanted to have coffee and pie, but obviously, that changed.

>> It's been years since Wick Wickersham walked these floors and much has changed, but some things like a fresh pie, remain simple.

>> Well, I think my dad's secret to success was what he wanted to offer and what he did offer was a high-quality product at a reasonable price, and then he backed it with the best customer service he could provide.

>> ASHLEY: You know, I grew up in northwest Indiana.

So we don't tend to have a lot of, like, the Indiana things up there.

It tends to be more Illinois kind of things.

>> BRANDON: Yeah.

>> ASHLEY: So I didn't know that the sugar cream pie was so big in Indiana until I moved a little bit more south.

Um, have you ever had it before?

>> BRANDON: I have not, and I have been in Indiana a very long time, growing up, and then after graduate school, and I have not had one.

>> ASHLEY: Well, I think we might have one coming up.

If you can't stop in at Mrs. Wick's, check out the Wick's website to see where you can pick up a pie of your own.

>> BRANDON: Earlier, we spoke with Captain Ron Galaviz, the Chief Public Information Officer, for the Indiana State Police to learn more about this fascinating place.

>> The Indiana State Police Museum is a collection of historical pieces that have really helped propel the state police to where we are today.

The Indiana State Police Museum's management falls under the auspice of the Indiana State Police Public Information Office.

The purpose of our museum is very simple, education.

We want to educate the general public on the history of the Indiana State Police.

The Indiana State Police was formed in 1933.

It was created for a couple of different reasons.

In the early 1930s, gangs were prevalent.

Gangs that were robbing banks, the Brady Gang, John Dillinger, Al Capone.

So, you know, a lot of notoriety of those individuals and their groups found their way into, through and among our Indiana communities.

And so if there was a bank robbery, say here in Marion County, and the bank robber fled to Monroe County, to Bloomington, Marion County Sheriff had no authority down there.

So there became a need for a law enforcement agency that had that breadth, and that's part of why we became who we are.

This is our 90th anniversary.

There's been a lot of technological changes in 90 years as you can imagine.

Different types of uniform, equipment, vehicles, been utilized by our personnel, both sworn and civilian.

We do have examples of a polygraph machine, which is commonly known as a lie detector test.

We still use polygraphs today, but the ones that are on display here, they go back a few years.

You will find an old Drunkometer.

Today, the technology that goes into a certified breath test machine for intoxication is pretty significant, but when those machines came out, they were -- that was a technology of the time.

Again, just a sampling of the many different things that we utilize with the Indiana State Police.

How vehicles have changed and evolved with our agency is much the same as how we came to be.

In 1933, when our agency actually became the Indiana State Police, we became that out of a necessity.

The automobile was really becoming a primary mode of transportation.

There became more of a need of obviously regulation, rules of the road, traffic laws, but also vehicle crashes.

So there needed to be an entity that was charged with those responsibilities.

To me, I think the two crown jewels are the two privately owned vehicles that we have on display, the 1964 Ford and the 1957 Ford.

And they're a hit with, again, young and old alike, because you don't get to see these very often.

I think it's important that we preserve and represent the history because it -- it reminds us of our humble beginnings.

I think it's extremely important for people to know where we've come from, the things that we're doing, and really do our very best to explain why, because I think that communication component is so very important, especially today.

We're proud of who we are and where we've come from and where we're going.

And we want people to understand realistically what it is that the men and women of law enforcement have to contend with each and every day while they're out there, you know, doing the things that keep the public safe.

>> ASHLEY: Being here and seeing these old police cars really reminds me of when I was a kid and I would watch "The Andy Griffith Show."

It's very nostalgic.

>> BRANDON: Yeah, a lot of really interesting, unexpected history here.

Want to learn more?

Just head to the address on your screen.

>> ASHLEY: Up next.

Were talking about maple syrup.

Producer Jason Pear has the stor ♪ >> Our school was started in 1922, October 1st.

So we're getting ready to celebrate our centennial.

It was started as a progressive education school, based on the teachings of John Dewey.

We started off in somebody's home near the Children's Museum here in Indianapolis.

And it got the name the Orchard School, because there were trees on that property.

We moved to this particular facility in the mid-1960s, where we've been ever since.

♪ Nature as teacher is one of our four cornerstones.

And most of our outdoor education and play takes place here out in the woods.

♪ This is our 99th season of making maple syrup.

It is something we have done since the first year of school.

Big tradition!

Mr. Fred Lorenz was instrumental once we moved to this property.

We are very lucky to have a roofed sugar shack that we use for boiling down.

But when Fred first started, it literally was a fire.

And if it was raining, you were wet.

And if it was sunny, you were dry.

And then from there, Diana Shellhaas was our outdoor ed coordinator for 35 years, and she carried on the tradition as well.

All right.

We are going to go this way.

Let's go find a maple tree.

>> Let's go!

Jinx!

>> I use the maple syruping as a first grade science unit.

Does this look like it might be a maple tree?

>> Yes!

>> How do we know?

What makes it a maple tree?

Levi, what's one thing?

>> The opposite branching.

>> Opposite branching.

So the branches make a what letter?

>> V. >> V or a Y, right.

Okay.

What's another thing?

>> And throughout the unit, Orchard students learn the entire syruping process, starting with, well, knowing when to start.

>> Um, when the leaves start dropping off, and it's -- when the nights get shorter, and the days get longer.

>> So the buds are like, I'm thirsty, I'm thirsty, when the tree is awake.

>> It's kind of in the winter, and it falls, like, between.

>> So we know that at winter the syrup is running.

So the taps can catch all the syrup into the buckets.

>> It has to be above 32 degrees and below 42, I think.

>> 32.

>> 32.

>> Yeah, 32 degrees.

>> You go to number five.

>> Okay.

So we know when to start.

What else are we going to need?

>> Sap.

>> Sap.

>> Sap.

Just sap.

>> Maple sap.

>> That's it?

>> Yeah.

>> Are you sure?

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> It's got to be harder than that.

>> Yeah -- no.

No.

>> Nothing else.

Just sap.

>> And.. >> Um... Hmm.

>> A fireplace.

Right over there.

>> Um, sap and just the fire.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> Different people do it different ways, but here at Orchard School, we start a fire, and we just cook it down and evaporate away 93% of the water.

And go from a whole bunch of water with a little bit of sugar, which is sap; to a whole bunch of sugar with a little bit of water, which is syrup.

>> Starting and maintaining the fire, which can burn all day during syruping season, is Mrs. P's job, but the kids help, as they do with every part of the process.

And while they're working, they're learning, whether they realize it or not.

>> There are many, many different kinds of skills, starting with reading thermometers, skip counting by two, skip counting by five.

So there's a lot of math in there.

We are looking for that magic number of 32 degrees.

So we're asking, is it greater than?

Is it less than?

So lots of comparisons.

We have to measure the circumference of the tree to make sure that it's large enough to tap without stressing the tree.

And then science-wise, it's just loaded.

You've got the water cycle in action.

>> Wait.

Water cycle?

What's that?

>> Are you guys ready?

>> Yeah.

>> Ready?

>> April, you can just follow us.

>> Okay.

>> Three, two, one.

>> Condensation.

Precipitation.

>> I think we're doing it backwards.

[ Laughter ] >> Evaporation.

>> Condensation.

>> Precipitation.

>> Collection.

>> So which part of the water cycle, evaporation -- and it's fun to watch them piece it all together, because especially -- you do the water cycle, and inside your classroom, they don't understand it.

But then when you see that steam, you see that little lightbulb, like, oh!

Evaporation right in front of me.

The caramelizing of the sugar, as it heats, it starts to turn brown.

So the kids can understand that.

Just lots and lots of stuff that goes on in a very simple unit of making maple syrup.

>> Speaking of which, is this process going to take long?

>> Hmm... >> Uh...

Probably a couple days.

>> Um, a long time.

>> A while.

>> Um, long.

>> Very, very long.

>> Like, eight hours.

>> Three days or eight hours.

>> Eight hours.

>> Eight hours.

>> Eight hours.

>> You have to boil it for eight hours.

>> To take away all the water.

>> Yeah, you take away all the water.

Then it's just syrup.

Boom!

>> Well, there's some water in it.

Enough water to make it syrup.

>> That's it.

>> That's it.

>> And then you eat it.

♪ >> Oh, good!

That's the best part!

Any suggestions?

>> Pancakes.

No, maybe not pancakes.

>> Hmm... >> I would say French toast because I like about it because the French toast gets a lot more flavor.

>> Pancakes.

>> Pancakes.

>> Pancakes.

>> Pancakes!

>> Especially banana pancakes!

With a little touch of ice cream.

I've done it before.

They taste good.

>> Pancakes.

>> Pancakes.

>> I mostly like it with the Orchard's pancakes.

>> That's my third favorite.

>> Waffles.

>> Funfetti waffles.

>> Pancakes!

>> Pancakes.

>> Pancakes.

>> Pancakes.

>> Um, pancakes!

>> Waffles.

>> Pancakes.

>> Pancakes.

>> Pancakes or waffles.

>> Same.

>> My favorite is that ice -- you put -- what was it?

>> Um, sugar on ice.

Sugar on snow.

>> Snow.

It's snow.

>> Sugar on snow.

>> Pancakes.

>> Snow.

>> Yeah, snow.

>> So first you make a slushy.

Like, a cup of smooshed ice.

And then you put maple syrup on it, and -- >> That's it.

>> That's it.

>> Yeah, it's called sugar on snow.

It's the best thing you could ever eat.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah, that's my favorite too.

>> I sometimes do it with ice cream, but... eh.

>> A lot of sugar.

>> Yeah, I don't want to waste my dessert time.

>> As for Mrs. P. >> Well, I'm really, really biased because -- you don't want to tape this.

I don't like maple syrup.

[ Laughter ] So it's too sweet for me.

It makes my teeth ring.

>> At the end of the season, after the trees are identified and tapped, the buckets filled and carried, and the syrup cooked and bottled, the whole school gets a taste.

>> Our job as the Orchard School Maple Syrup Company is to provide the syrup for our All-School Community Pancake Day that we do.

It's 500 people come for pancakes.

And so our goal is to provide the real deal from our woods, and so we need a minimum of three gallons for that.

We shoot for five gallons so everybody can have plenty of syrup on their pancakes.

What I see from the kids is they are so proud.

They are so, so proud of what they're able to do.

They are excited to be a part of a big tradition.

And I think they get a better understanding for how hard it is to do.

When they have to carry those buckets.

Oh, this is heavy, and whoa!

Or they fall and they spill it on themselves, and they realize that, you know, there's a lot of work that goes into having a simple serving of syrup on your pancakes.

They're 6 and 7 years old, and a part of a very important tradition at our school.

And when you are 6 and 7, it's really hard to find something that you are good at, and this is something that they all have a very important role.

And no matter how big or how old they are, they can be a part of it.

I love this process.

It is, for me, a really special thing to get to be a part of.

But ultimately, their excitement and their joy, it fills my bucket, pardon the pun.

[ Laughter ] >> ASHLEY: Want to learn more?

Head to the address on your screen.

>> BRANDON: Up next, producer Nick Deel takes us to Wayne County, for a sweet surprise at the oldest candy shop in Indiana.

Passing through Hagerstown, Indiana, you are likely to spot this large, pink brick building just off the main drag.

Step inside, and you will find yourself in a sugary wonderland, the Abbott's Candy Shop and Confectionery.

♪ >> What makes Abbott's special, as far as I'm concerned, is that we try to do everything the way it used to be done.

>> And the way it used to be done dates back to the 19th century.

The company was founded in 1890 by Hagerstown native, W.C. Abbott, making it the oldest candy company in the state of Indiana.

>> W.C. Abbott was a sales representative for Dilling Candy Company, which was out of Indianapolis.

It was a very large candy company.

And W.C. decided that he wanted to have his own business.

So he came back to his hometown of Hagerstown, and he opened up a restaurant to start with, made candy at night.

Decided candy was what he really wanted to be into.

So he opened up in the back garage, behind the house, he started making candy in 1890.

>> A century after W.C. Abbott started making candy, the company had become a beloved Hagerstown staple and Jay Noel was one of the company's suppliers.

>> I was in the food business.

I got into sales.

Abbott's was one of my accounts.

I sold them paper goods and sugar.

Made mention in 1991 that I would like to have my own business.

1993, we actually opened up the north store in Indianapolis.

>> Jay would eventually manage two Abbott's satellite shops in Indianapolis.

They were so successful that in 2012, when the opportunity came to buy the company outright, Jay didn't hesitate.

>> It's the history of the business.

You know, it's been here since 1890, and I think there's a lot of mystique with that, that, you know, people, they're looking for more of those things that are made the old way.

It's, you know, a pure product.

>> And there's nothing more pure than Abbott's caramels.

>> What we sell the most of is the caramels.

I would probably say 75, 80% of what we sell out of this building are the caramels.

We'll make about 27,000 pounds of caramels a year, and it's all handmade and hand wrapped.

>> And although it's been more than a century, the process is largely unchanged since W.C. Abbott's time, down to the kiss cutter, purchased by Abbott himself.

>> Well, basically, you are going back to using all the products that they would have had back then, corn syrup and butter and margarine and salt and, you know, all the things that they would have had back then is what we use today.

You know, we're not using any fillers or preservatives or anything like that.

So our caramels, you want -- you either want to eat them, freeze them, or refrigerate them to keep them fresh.

We like to think that we're doing it the same way W.C. Abbott did, to be able to produce the same product that he did in 1890.

High-quality product that the people want to buy.

So that's why we don't do any automation as far as cooking or wrapping.

That's all done by hand.

We feel it's important to get the quality that we want because we have a little bit better eye on it than some of the large candy manufacturers.

>> Simple ingredients and a personal touch.

It's a classic recipe that has so far stood the test of time.

>> It's been in Hagerstown since 1890.

We're hoping that it makes another 130 years.

It's the same thing in food or candy or anything.

If you have a good product, good service, you are bound to be successful.

>> BRANDON: [ Mumbling ] >> ASHLEY: He really likes.

>> BRANDON: Mm-hmm.

[ Mumbling ] >> ASHLEY: It's very chewy.

>> BRANDON: [ Mumbling ] >> ASHLEY: Really tasty.

He wants to put it on the floor.

>> BRANDON: Uh-uh.

>> ASHLEY: No?

See, I've known Brandon a long time.

So I can translate for him.

See the address on your screen if you want to get some too.

And as always, we'd like to encourage you to stay connected with us.

>> BRANDON: Just head over to JourneyIndiana.org.

There you can see full episodes, connect with us on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, and suggest stories from your neck of the woods.

>> ASHLEY: We also have a map feature that allows you to see where we've been and to plan your own Indiana adventures.

>> BRANDON: We'll see you next time on -- >> TOGETHER: "Journey Indiana."

♪ >> BRANDON: You know, this sugar cream pie is so delicious, it should be a crime.

>> ASHLEY: Hmm.

>> BRANDON: Did you know that sugar cream pie is Indiana's number one dessert?

>> ASHLEY: You know, I did know that.

And you want to know why?

I watch a little show called -- >> TOGETHER: "Journey Indiana."

>> BRANDON: Ah, they sure do teach you a lot of interesting stuff on that show.

>> ASHLEY: Mm-hmm.

>> BRANDON: Say, partner, if you weren't here in this car, patrolling with me, making this great state safe, what do you think you'd be doing?

>> ASHLEY: Well, you know, I've always had this pie-in-the-sky dream of maybe being a host of a public media travel show.

[ Laughter ] >> BRANDON: Yeah, keep dreaming!

>> ASHLEY: Yeah, yeah.

[ Radio chatter ] >> BRANDON: I'm sure someone will take care of that.

>> ASHLEY: Yeah.

Hmm.

Is that nutmeg?

>> BRANDON: Hmm.

♪ >> Production support for "Journey Indiana" is provided by WTIU members.

Thank you!