Across Indiana
The Swiss Connection | Classic Across Indiana
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Berne, Indiana, was established by Swiss immigrants in the 1800s.
This 1996 "Across Indiana" episode features Berne, Indiana, and Swiss design and décor. Residents here are proud of their roots and have gone the extra mile with it. This whole town is decked out like a Swiss village. Back in 1996, even the McDonald's celebrated the local heritage. Even though McDonald's has since opted out of the fun, Berne remains the Swiss capital of Indiana.
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Across Indiana is a local public television program presented by WFYI
Across Indiana
The Swiss Connection | Classic Across Indiana
Clip | 4m 17sVideo has Closed Captions
This 1996 "Across Indiana" episode features Berne, Indiana, and Swiss design and décor. Residents here are proud of their roots and have gone the extra mile with it. This whole town is decked out like a Swiss village. Back in 1996, even the McDonald's celebrated the local heritage. Even though McDonald's has since opted out of the fun, Berne remains the Swiss capital of Indiana.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship(lively accordion music) - [Narrator] Ah, yes, the beautiful rolling hills of the Alpine land, dotted here and there with small farms, quaint little villages with their picturesque little shops, buildings and McDonald's.
McDonald's?
Okay, you got us.
This isn't Switzerland, it's Indiana.
And this isn't a Swiss chateau.
It's an insurance office.
More specifically, it's an insurance office in Berne, Indiana, a small town that takes great pride in its heritage.
And in Berne, that heritage is Swiss.
- [Merle Inniger] In the early days in the 19th century, the area right around Berne was known pretty much as a Swiss settlement.
Now, of course, since then, many others have come in.
Not all people are of Swiss descent now, but still, the core, you might say, of the community is Swiss.
And even the language that they brought with them, Swiss German, or as we say in Berne, Schweizerdeutsch, is still spoken by a number of the older people here in Berne.
(light music) - [Narrator] The majority of those early Swiss settlers were Mennonite farmers and tradesmen who built farms and started businesses using the skills they had brought with them.
Even today, Berne is known as a furniture manufacturing center.
But like so much that has gone before, some of the legacy of those pioneers has been lost over the years, which is why the Swiss Heritage Village was created.
- [Merle] The village has 21 acres here, including about six acres of woods.
And then on these 21 acres, we have brought in about 12 buildings, which are authentic buildings and were constructed in the 19th century.
And each one tells a story about the early settlers that came here to Berne.
We have the cheese house to show how they made cheese in the 1860s.
Then we have a one-room schoolhouse to show where people went to school in the 19th century.
(bell ringing) It was built in 1881 and was used as a school in the area here, until 1940.
Then we have the Luginbill House, the farmhouse built in 1848, built in a certain construction that they brought with them from Switzerland, the half-timber construction, and with many nice artifacts which have been donated by the people in the area.
Well, we look on ourselves very much as an educational society.
And that is really our purpose here, to bring children and others out and to show them what the Swiss settlers were like when they came from Switzerland in the 19th century.
- [Narrator] Not all Swiss settlers arrived in Berne in the 1800s.
(lively music) Immigration continued well into the 20th century, and today those individuals and their descendants continue the link to the homeland.
- [Walter Zuercher] Dad had just finished his schooling and they were accordion makers, Grandpa and them, and so they came to America in 1922.
May 23rd, we came to Berne.
Yes, there were dirt streets here when we came in, and some places didn't have no sidewalks yet.
And I remember some of 'em, some of those things.
It's been a long time, in 74 years about, big changes.
Even today, a few of us have a lot of fun talking Swiss, or the Hochdeutsch, the High German.
- [Narrator] A few years ago, someone in Berne got the idea to decorate their business in the Swiss manner.
(lively band music) Now even the post office speaks of Edelweiss.
Swiss pride is everywhere, but without any arrogance or sense of superiority.
The people of Berne still remain polite and courteous.
Or as Mr. Zuercher would say... (Mr. Zuercher speaking in foreign language) - What should I say?
(Mr. Zuercher speaking in foreign language) from Indianapolis (Mr. Zuercher speaking in foreign language) (lively band music) - [Narrator] And that just about says it all.
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Clip | 4m 52s | The life of Mexican migrant workers in southern Indiana. (4m 52s)
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Clip | 5m 9s | Where the precision of art meets the devotion of faith (5m 9s)
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Clip | 6m 55s | Come on, bro! Pack the sunscreen and beer because we're going to...the Indiana Dunes? (6m 55s)
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Clip | 7m 3s | Let’s go, Jeeps?! Let’s go, Hot Dogs?! (7m 3s)
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Clip | 4m 27s | St. Patrick’s Day brings fun, but it’s also a celebration of Irish culture. In 1995, Across Indiana (4m 27s)
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Clip | 5m 21s | In 1993, Across Indiana producer, Titus Rush, visited a Hoosier buffalo farm. (5m 21s)
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Clip | 9m 52s | Another Indiana?! In 1994, Across Indiana explored its surprising similarities to our own state. (9m 52s)
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Clip | 4m 51s | No date on Valentine’s Day? You’re not alone! Let’s revisit 2006 to explore Cupid’s favorite holiday (4m 51s)
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Clip | 4m 26s | In 1994, David Stoelk visited a Kokomo club where llamas dance too! (4m 26s)
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Clip | 8m 36s | In 1995, Todd Gould highlighted how Robert F. Kennedy delivered the news of Dr. King’s death. (8m 36s)
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Clip | 7m 7s | As Trump’s inauguration nears, Across Indiana explores presidents' notable and obscure health issues (7m 7s)
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Clip | 5m 20s | In this classic episode of Across Indiana Titus Rush explores Ski World in Nashville, IN. (5m 20s)
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Clip | 5m 51s | An elderly disco sensation shares the secret to his happy life. (5m 51s)
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Clip | 6m 1s | The moment when Wabash, IN saw the light, before everyone else. (6m 1s)
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Clip | 9m 54s | The Head of Christ, how an image born from creative desperation went on to reach billions. (9m 54s)
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Clip | 5m 38s | From a quirky idea to a thriving business: the story behind The Bentcil™ Company. (5m 38s)
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Clip | 4m 38s | Join Russell Levitt's beer journey in Bloomington on Across Indiana. (4m 38s)
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Clip | 7m 38s | In this classic Across Indiana we explore the great squirrel invasion in Salem, IN. (7m 38s)
The Music Maker | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 5m 20s | Saxophonist Jimmy Coe's fantastic journey from high school grad to jazz legend. (5m 20s)
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Clip | 5m 12s | From church newsletter to vital Black newspaper, the Indianapolis Recorder's journey. (5m 12s)
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Clip | 5m 12s | Historian Rea Ferguson uncovers the hidden Black history of Indiana's rural communities. (5m 12s)
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Clip | 4m 41s | Explore Madam Walker's legacy and the iconic Madam Walker Theatre. (4m 41s)
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Clip | 4m 12s | Remembering the pottery, simplicity, and unique perspectives of Richard & Marj Peeler. (4m 12s)
The Milkman Cometh | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 8m 12s | Dave Stoelk walks in the shoes of one of the last remaining milkmen, Don France. (8m 12s)
Not-So-Modern Medicine | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 4m 13s | The Indiana Medical History Museum holds many oddities from a time long gone. (4m 13s)
Crossing the Language Barrier | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 5m 10s | In this 2006 episode, William Rasdell used photography and technology to celebrate life. (5m 10s)
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Clip | 7m 42s | Hoosier history at risk! Archivist fights time to save Indiana's past. (7m 42s)
Now PlayingThe Swiss Connection | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 4m 17s | Berne, Indiana, was established by Swiss immigrants in the 1800s. (4m 17s)
Spirit of the Season | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 5m 29s | In 1994, "Across Indiana" discovered the Twelve Mile Christmas Pageant. (5m 29s)
Murphy's Lore | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 5m 17s | Join this Hoosier family in the age-old tradition of picking out the family Christmas tree (5m 17s)
Artist Leigh Dunnington Jones | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 5m 1s | Artist Leigh Dunnington Jones makes unusual Christmas sculptures from unwanted materials. (5m 1s)
The Vanishing Hitchhiker | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 2m 55s | Across Indiana re-creates "The Vanishing Hitchhiker", a Hoosier urban legend. (2m 55s)
Tell Helen I Found God | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 7m 58s | Jack Cooper's words survive tragedy in World War II Pacific. (7m 58s)
The Pumpkin Man | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 6m 5s | Check out Pumpkin Fantasyland, one of the country's biggest pumpkin farms. (6m 5s)
Jacoby's Light | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 5m 20s | Does a ghost haunt the Murat Theatre at Old National Centre in Indianapolis? (5m 20s)
Haunted Indiana | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 3m 37s | Across Indiana hosts a sampling of Hoosier Halloween stories from around the state. (3m 37s)
An American Hero | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 5m 46s | World War I veteran Gus Streeter recalls his time in the service at age 105. (5m 46s)
The Indiana War Memorial | Classic Across Indiana
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Clip | 4m 45s | In this archival story, explore the history of the Indiana War Memorial Plaza. (4m 45s)
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Across Indiana is a local public television program presented by WFYI