Kokomo, Indiana

– John McGivern: I am in Indiana in a place known as the City of Firsts.
[upbeat music] – Announcer: We thank the underwriters of John McGivern’s Main Streets because without them, we couldn’t make this show.
– My father taught me that to make great bakery, you have to do it the right way.
O&H Danish Bakery, where kringle traditions begin.
– You’ll find your bright spot in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
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– Yes, Greendale is beautiful on the outside.
But it’s what’s inside that counts.
Who doesn’t love opening a door to their happy place?
Whether it’s indulging your sweet tooth… winding down… or exploring your creative side.
Come on in!
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– There’s no place like Oconomowoc.
Explore, play, shop, stay.
Visit Oconomowoc!
– Announcer: Horicon Bank: The Natural Choice, West Bend Insurance Company: the Silver Lining, the Friends of Main Streets, and the Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
Thanks, underwriters!
– ‘Cause these are our Main Streets Something ’bout a hometown speaks to me There’s nowhere else I’d rather be The heart and soul of community’s right here On these Main Streets – John: I’m in Kokomo, which is the largest city in what’s known as the north central region of Indiana.
It has a population of just under 60,000.
It is 60 miles straight north of Indianapolis, eighty miles southwest of Fort Wayne, and 160 miles southeast of Chicago.
This is Kokomo.
[upbeat music] Emmy, what do you know of the name Kokomo?
– Emmy Fink: I know there’s this place called Kokomo, and it’s where you… Wanna to go to get away from it all, way down… – In unison: In Kokomo – So that’s what the Beach Boys said, but how this Kokomo got its name, it was because a Native American tribe member from the Miami tribe who used to live here had a very similar name to Kokomo.
He was very loved here, and he called this area home.
– Why is it called City of Firsts?
– Because of one thing: gas.
But not the gas you’re thinking of, I know you, not that kind.
Natural gas.
Now, here’s the thing.
What seemed like an endless supply was discovered underground not far from here in the late 1800s.
Gas wells opened up everywhere for free for any home or business, so inventors and engineers, you name it, they were coming here to fuel all of their ideas.
– So what kind of things did gas make or create?
– Let me show you.
Come on.
– Oh.
– It was because of the gas boom that a gentleman named Elwood Haynes moved to Kokomo and built America’s first car right here, and that was back in 1894, a couple years before Henry Ford.
– And was that the end of his inventions?
– Oh, no.
– No.
– He was constantly thinking of other things, so he got into the business of steel.
It’s a cute story.
His wife was complaining about her dishes tarnishing, and he’s like, “Oh, I can do something about this.”
He invented stainless steel flatware, and she never had to polish again.
Like I tell Seth… – Uh-huh?
– Happy wife, happy life.
– No doubt.
So dedication to the craft, dedication to the wife.
– Yes.
– Yeah.
– It’s a good thing.
– It is.
We need to explore Kokomo.
– We’re here.
We should do it.
– Yeah.
So we could not come to Kokomo without coming to this place, and why is that the truth?
– Keith Kruger: Because we’ve been here over 112 years and making some very special alloys that make the world a better place.
Haynes’s specialty is making coiled metals from ingots.
We’ve been inventing alloys since Elwood Haynes started in 1912.
For us, the single biggest application are the combustion liners in turbine engines, so if you fly anywhere in the world, you’re gonna be on a commercial plane that has our materials on it.
– So my life is touched by what you do here every day.
– Absolutely everywhere.
– This is where about two-thirds of the product that we produce originates in this shop.
It’s melt, purify it, and cast it in the molds.
They produce about 160,000 pounds a day out of this melt shop.
– Keith: So this is all that refined metal.
It’s all liquid.
They are gonna dump this molten metal into the ladle.
There you go.
– John: Wow, look at this!
– Keith: Gonna slowly fill that up, and you see it coming out the bottom?
– John: Yeah, and when that cools off, what is it gonna be?
– Keith: An electrode which needs to be refined one more time.
– John: One more time.
And how many people does it take to do this on a daily basis?
– On the floor right now, we’ve got three-man crew or four-man crew and then one operator in the pulpit.
– John: And he’s on the where?
What did you call him?
– In the ESR pulpit.
– John: The voice of God, almost.
What are you doing up here?
– Craig: What am I doing up here?
– John: Yeah.
– Craig: Controlling the furnaces, making sure everything runs properly.
– John: And do you ever work down there?
– Craig: Yes.
– John: Oh, you do?
– Craig: Yes, our department, we rotate jobs.
– John: Oh, you do?
– Craig: So every day, we do something different.
– John: Oh, well, that’s kind of cool.
– Craig: Yes.
– Keith: Our 4-HI mill is the crown jewel of all the equipment we have at Haynes.
Seven furnaces that are very big.
– John: And you can tell ’cause it seems like a hot summer day in here.
– Keith: Yeah, you bring your marshmallows?
– John: Wow!
– Keith: Coming out of this drum on the right.
– John: And going where?
– Keith: And it’s going all the way down to the end, and it’s gonna get coiled up into a hot band.
– Oh, here we go.
– Everybody really likes to see the hot bands roll ’cause it’s probably the coolest process I’ve ever seen.
– John: Look at this plate, and it’s gonna turn into a band, but look how hot this stuff.
Hot and cool is what this is right here.
– Keith: This is where we take those coils and roll them down to different sheet sizes.
– This seems like a little kind of, a little more relaxed, a little cooler in this.
– It is, it is.
– In this part.
– It’s not so hot.
– I feel like I’ll go over there.
– There’s not a lot of people can do what we do.
– Keith: I think Haynes has a very, very special culture.
It has that Midwest spirit of willingness to help.
– John: Nice.
– Keith: And I think that’s why it makes it such a great place to work and why we’ve been so successful.
– I told you I like manufacturing.
This is the real reason.
[upbeat music] When Elwood Haynes came to Kokomo and his steel inventions started to grow, guess what else started to grow.
His bank account, so guess what he did.
He built this big, beautiful house.
So he was known for his steel inventions.
Guess what else he was known for.
His cars.
Yeah, he made cars.
You gotta see these, it’s unbelievable.
Come on.
Talk about a hood ornament!
Not only did he own this car, he built it.
This is a ’23 Haynes Speedster, 1923.
This is a 1923 Jack Rabbit Apperson.
This is a 1924 Haynes Sedan.
So great.
Okay, they told me I could sit in it, but I can’t take it home.
Eh, okay.
Want to sell this thing?
[horn honking] – Haynes isn’t the only name in the history books here when it comes to cars.
Chrysler took over the old Haynes automotive plant back in the 1930s and built even more.
The new name is Stellantis, and they manufacture just about everything that makes a car move: battery, transmission, and engine.
And, guess what, their factories are filled with thousands of locals that have jobs there.
It just always comes back to the cars around here.
– John: This is the Seiberling Mansion.
Monroe Seiberling used the gas boom to build the largest plate glass factory in the country.
That was in the late 1800s right here in Kokomo.
Then he built this house for $50,000.
Today it’s used as the Howard County Historical Society and Museum, and you can take a tour both of Elwood’s House and Monroe’s house.
Good tours.
[upbeat music] We’re at Kokomo Opalescent Glass.
Talk about the history of this company.
How long has it been around?
– Jeff Shaw: Okay, so we are the oldest art glass manufacturer in the Americas.
We are the original mass producer of what’s called opalescent glass.
– John: And describe what that is, please.
– Jeff: You know when you have an opal and you hold it up in the light and you move it around, the colors shift?
Well, opalescent glass, people, when they would look at our glass, it kind of reminded ’em of how an opal behaves.
– John: Right.
So that was the late 1800s that this has been– – Yeah, yeah, 1888.
From here all the way west, if you were building a mansion, a church, a public building, you were ordering from Kokomo.
– John: Is that right?
– Jeff: So this is red that they’re making right now.
– John: They have to haul it like that?
– Jeff: Yeah, yep.
– Oh, my God.
– Jeff: The furnace is about 2,200 degrees.
So you notice how he shakes it.
– John: Yeah.
– Jeff: So the reason is that they got these stringers that come off.
That helps knock those away.
– Which is what all this is.
– Yeah, go ahead and hold that.
– John: What the hell?
– That’s empty, so now fill it with glass, and you gotta carry it without spilling it.
– I would so not be hired here.
[Jeff laughing] You’d be like, “No, you go home.”
– Jeff: Mixing, it’s all timing ’cause it’s cooling as you mix and the cooler it gets, the harder it is to mix it.
– John: It’s like taffy.
– Jeff: It is.
It’s exactly what it’s like.
– John: Wow!
– Jeff: The consistency of really hot taffy.
– John: You better make a lot of money, man!
That’s all I gotta say.
[both laughing] And now he’s smoothing it out?
– Jeff: Smooth out any bumps, and he pushes it right in.
– John: So it’s baking now.
– Basically, yeah.
– Forty-five minutes.
– Forty-five minutes.
– John: And when it’s done, where do they get it out of?
Okay, I like the cut room so far.
– Jeff: It’s a lot cooler in here, yeah.
So they’re coming out ready to be trimmed down into our standard sheet sizes.
– John: Do you make a lot of this red?
– Jeff: Very popular, we got high demand for it, but it’s very tricky to get it to come out right.
– John: It’s beautiful, the red.
– Jeff: Oh, it is.
– John: Does anybody ever break any glass around here?
[glass snapping and shattering] – Jeff: It’s a glass factory, so it’s gonna happen.
[glass shattering] The industry term for this is cullet, so remelting.
– John: This goes back in the furnace.
– Jeff: Yeah, yep.
We’ll reuse this as much as we can.
– John: It’s old number 11.
That’s what you sell most of.
– That’s the color number, yeah.
That was what was very popular in the late 1800, early 1900s.
– Amber and white.
– It’s an amber and white mix, yep, just plain, old, boring amber and white.
This is our gift shop.
– John: Yeah.
– Jeff: Everything in here is made with Kokomo glass by Kokomo artists.
Almost an unlimited array of products can be made with glass.
– John: Look at that.
Can I get a pair of these, please?
– Opal… – Opal… – …escent.
– John: Opalescent.
[Jeff laughing] When you enter a town, you’re usually welcomed by a sign that says, “Welcome to…” whatever the name of the town is, but when you enter downtown Kokomo, an animal welcomes you.
What kind of animal is that?
[playful music] – Calling this thing an animal might be a little bit of a stretch, but this is KokoMantis, a 17-foot-tall structure right here on the corner of Washington and Sycamore, and it welcomes you to downtown.
Now, a local artist made this out of World War II scrap metal and recycled light poles.
Isn’t that cool?
Now, is he welcoming or terrifying?
Your pick.
I think he’s gonna eat me.
– Kokomo is a city of firsts.
It’s also a city of gigantic, odd landmarks.
We are in Highland Park.
Take a look at this guy.
That’s Old Ben.
Born in 1902, it’s the largest steer in the world.
It’s 6 1/2 feet tall, 4,500 pounds.
The circus tried to buy this guy from the family that owned it, and the family said, “No way,” and they took this steer around, showing the country the steer themselves.
Yeah, and that story is no bull.
[mooing] It’s a steer.
– I am on a stretch of Sycamore Street that they call Geek Street.
They’re very welcoming here, and on this block, you’re gonna find records, toys, comics, books.
You know, all the geeky things, so if any of those things speak to your inner geek– we all have a little bit– well, then come down here.
[groovy music] – John: We’re at Black Wax Cafe.
This is William Black.
How are you, sir?
– Hello, wonderful.
How about yourself?
– Good to see you.
Black Wax Cafe, William Black– I see how you did that.
– Exactly, plus also, black wax is another term for vinyl or records.
– John: It’s kind of perfect.
– William: Yes.
– John: We’re in a record store.
– William: Yes, you are.
– And how many records are in this store?
Do you know?
– Oh… – Did I just stump you, William?
[both laughing] Albums are back.
– William: Yes, albums are back.
– And new releases are back.
– Yes, kids these days, I mean, they lived in the digital era, so there’s the desire to actually hold something that is physical.
12, 13-year-old teen can go out with, you know, dad and mom, grandma, grandpa, and they can find something that mutually, you know, interests both of ’em, and it brings connection.
It brings, you know, people together, and that’s just what music’s all about.
– So there are LPs.
Do you have 45s that are new?
– We do have some new 45s.
– You do– The Dickies, Blink 183.
These are how 45s are instead of in that sleeve.
– Right, right, yeah, the sleeve’s still in there.
– Oh, it is?
– Yeah, all of ’em would’ve originally came this way, even back in the day, but the reason why you see majority of them just the plastic sleeves, because majority of those were sold for jukeboxes.
I have a degree in art and art history, I like design, so a lot of the stuff that we’ve done is repurposed, redesigned.
– John: Yeah.
Oh, the restroom.
– William: The restroom.
– Oh, come on, come on, let’s take a look.
– William: There’s people around town on social media that talk about our bathroom.
– John: This is the best!
– William: Sun is your worst enemy when it comes to records.
– John: Here we go, right?
– William: Yep.
Actually, this was place was a paintball place, and all the wood and everything is actually all the bunkers that was used.
– John: It was a paintball place?
– Yes, there was paintball goo everywhere.
– John: I bet.
It’s a great-looking shop.
– William: Thank you.
– John: And there’s a cafe here as well.
– There is, yes.
– John: So you don’t have enough to do?
[both laughing] Just go with it.
– William: We have live music, too, and… – John: How often is live music here?
– William: Usually a couple times a month.
– Is there a good scene here?
– Oh, yeah, yeah, there’s a lot of good, lot of good musicians here in town.
Again, we try to encourage any form of art and expression.
– John: The work desks?
– William: We have college campuses here in town, so, you know, we figured we’d put a little section to where, you know, people can do their homework, study.
– John: These are great.
Can you usually tell what somebody’s looking for?
– Sometimes, somebody will come in, they’ll be like, you know, they look like they’re looking for death metal.
And they end up picking Taylor Swift.
– John: Is that right, is that right?
– William: I like the sound of the records.
I mean, there’s just something about it.
Yeah, vinyl just sounds so much different, so much better.
– John: It does.
I’m listening to an album, an album that I remember as a kid, The Very Best of Connie Francis.
Oh, I wish you could hear.
– Only way to listen to Connie Francis.
– Oh, thank you.
[runout groove plays] [both laughing] Alleys are usually reserved for cars and dumpsters.
Not in Kokomo.
Here, there are art exhibits.
There are four alleys with art exhibits in downtown Kokomo.
It began in 2014 to beautify the area, and they’re not just exhibits.
Look, they’re for sale as well.
They’re local artists, so when you visit Kokomo, you need to enjoy an outdoor art gallery.
They’re great.
I collect clocks.
I have a dozen of them working in my home, anywhere from the 1850s to the 1960s, and the closest relative to a clock is a watch, and here in downtown Kokomo, there are watchmakers.
Hey, guys, are we gonna build watches today, you guys?
– Adam Parrish: We can.
– Jason Samm: We can.
– How long have you been repairing and now building?
– A long time.
[all laughing] I started in 1986 in a field that was really almost dying, but there’s been a renaissance of watch repair, mechanical watches.
I think nowadays, people are starting to want, you know, something of their father’s or their grandfather’s.
Nobody’s really gonna, “Hey, here’s your grandfather’s iPhone.”
– Each watch is different as well.
Like, is one repair on one brand the same repair on another?
– It’s the same for watches and clocks.
It’s a basic puzzle.
– Adam: I always say, “It’s not complicated.”
We do a simple task.
You might have 20 or 30 simple tasks that finish this one little part, so, no matter how complicated the watch is, the process is still simple.
– John: These are watches that you made.
These are your watches.
– Jason: Yeah.
– John: Start to finish, how long is this gonna take you?
– Adam: It all depends.
We can do different finishes, different styles.
– John: I never even thought that there’s a place where you can go in and say, “This is the kind of watch that I would be most pleased with.
Can you build it?”
– Jason: Everything we do is unique to the customer.
We make all of our dials here in-house.
– This is the dial after it comes out of the laser, and then this one is the very end, and this is gonna be what is gonna be ready to go in the watch.
We go through them.
We add our own special touches to ’em, modernize it.
– John: Is that your daily watch that you’re wearing?
– Yes.
– John: It is.
– Mm-hmm.
– John: And do you have many?
– Yes.
– John: You do, you do.
I really love the gray one.
If I were to pick one, this is what I would pick, and it’s a beautiful watch.
I want to try that last one on now.
– Adam: We can make a dial out of that.
[all laughing] – Elwood, as you know, Kokomo is the City of Firsts.
One of those firsts you can find in a grocery store.
So, Elwood, what canned good was invented right here in Kokomo?
[playful music] I don’t think he’s gonna tell us.
Do you know?
[playful music] – Don’t feel bad if you didn’t get this one because the answer is canned tomato juice.
It was invented here in Kokomo– that’s right– by Kemp Brothers Canning.
Now, a doctor had reached out to the brothers and asked if they would create a baby food for his clinic, and this was back in 1928.
They didn’t come up with peas or banana mush.
No, they came up with canned tomato juice.
Yeah, it’s not one I ever fed to my babies, but don’t you think, like, Bloody Mary lovers everywhere are thinking, “Yes, thank you, Kemp Brothers!”
I have always been an early bird, but if I was a night owl, I would join the line of people outside of Dan’s Bakery because they start lining up at midnight because Dan’s opens up at 1:00 A.M., and it goes back to the early factory days when workers would stop into Dan’s before and after their shift.
Two things you need to know, though.
Dan’s only takes cash, and they close at noon.
Well, it’s before noon and, well, I had cash.
Oh, Dan makes a mean donut, and it’s filled.
[bright folk music] – John: We can’t come to Kokomo without visiting this place.
This is Artie’s Tenderloin.
So there’s no Artie?
– Danny Kelley: No.
– Robin Kelley: No.
– No, well, was there an Artie?
– Danny: Yes.
– Robin: Yes.
– John: Oh, good.
– I’ve been here since ’86.
– John: Since ’86, you guys took over?
– Yeah.
– So you just serve lunch here?
– Breakfast and lunch.
– Breakfast and lunch.
You open at what time?
– 5:00 in the morning.
He gets here at 3:00.
– Yep, this is my home.
[Robin laughing] – Staff-wise, who else do you have?
– Just us.
– It’s you two?
– It’s just us and our grandchildren when they wanna come up and help and earn some money.
– John: Do you know a lot of your customers?
– Robin: Oh, my gosh, yes.
– Danny: Our customers are damn near family.
– And you’re known for what?
– Tenderloins.
– John: Tenderloin, pork tenderloin.
– Pork tenderloin.
– I’ve made over a million tenderloin.
– John: Okay.
– This spot I know real well.
I’ve actually done them in the dark before, power being out.
Once, sometimes twice a week, I’ll make anywhere from 300 to 500, depending on business.
– Yeah.
And what’s in that breading?
Can you share?
– Danny: No, sir.
– Wow.
Could you think about sharing?
“No, sir.”
– No, sir.
– John: They’re breaded, of course, deep-fried, yes?
– Danny: There’s French fryers up front.
– John: Okay.
– I’d like to have it back here.
– Why didn’t you bring it back here?
– Huh?
Then the wife would make me do it all.
[John laughing] Shh.
– How long do they take?
– ‘Til they’re golden brown.
What do we got, five?
– Oh, I guess we do have a crew here.
I was just kind of worried about myself.
[Robin laughing] – That can’t be.
– No, it’s so true, but it’s okay.
– Oh, I don’t believe that.
– I’m still quite likable.
– I bet you are.
[John laughing] – “I bet you are.”
But you’ve got all these tenderloins to get out and you have burgers and– how do you manage all that?
– You just do it.
– You just do it?
– You just do it.
You don’t have a choice.
[laughing] – John: That’s one sandwich?
– Robin: Yes.
– John: It’s like a schnitzel, almost.
– Robin: Exactly.
– John: I think we should have ’em with the works.
– Robin: Okay.
– John: Do you think that’s okay?
– Robin: Run ’em through the garden.
– John: Run ’em through the garden.
– Robin: Yes.
– Mayo, yes?
– Absolutely.
– Okay.
– Absolutely.
– Oh, that’s silly.
[laughing] That is a silly sandwich, look at this!
– Robin: There you go.
– John: Come on!
So you just don’t worry about the bun for a while, do you?
– No.
– No, okay.
– I always put ketchup on the plate to dip the meat in.
– John: Couldn’t be better, could it?
– Danny: They can always be better.
– No, I think I had the best one.
– Robin: Do you wanna buy a restaurant?
– John: I don’t, but thank you so much for the offer.
– Robin: Are you sure?
– John: Yes.
– Emmy: My Kokomo tip is Louie’s Coney Island.
They have been around since 1937, and this is what you need to order.
It’s called the Bake.
It is hamburger meat but in the shape of a hot dog, then with mustard, Coney sauce, topped with onions.
I love when the tips are all about food.
Here we go!
[groovy music] Oh!
Oh, we’re gonna need a few more of these.
This is– One’s not enough.
– You found it, I see.
The second wonder of Highland Park.
That’s a tree stump.
Yeah, it’s a sycamore tree that was moved here in 1900 to preserve it.
It is said to be 1,500 years old with a circumference of 57 feet.
It’s a big tree.
I would say this is prime real estate for a tree house or a tree mansion.
That’s what I think.
– Emmy: Nothing brings a community together quite like baseball.
Who’s with me?
I mean, it is America’s pastime.
Guess what?
I’m at the home of the Kokomo Jackrabbits here at beautiful Kokomo Municipal Stadium, and they left the door unlocked, and so I got to come into the field.
I mean, I love it here.
Apparently, the games are even more fun, so if you’re in the Kokomo area, plan to come.
They cater to all of their fans of all ages, and come on, Lois.
[baseball organ music] [bat cracking] – John: Nice, now go get it.
[all laughing] [upbeat music] – I loved this place called Kokomo, even though we found no Beach Boys.
– No Beach Boys.
What did we find?
We found cars, steel, watches.
– And Bakes and records and lots of glass.
– We found all of that here in the City of Firsts, and now they can add something to their list.
– What?
– Our first visit.
– Oh, look at you, I like that.
– There’s nowhere else I’d rather be The heart and soul of community… – But I can’t take it home.
Do they not know who I am?
[all laughing] Yeah, I know, this is stupid.
[Jeff laughing] – Lois Mauer: Is that quick?
– That’s not it.
– It’s not an animal, it’s an insect.
It’s a 17-foot-tall structure here at Washington and Sycamore.
– Shut up!
[laughing] We gotta get this.
Help me!
I’m just bad.
[John laughing] – Lois: It’s a steer!
[clapping] – Announcer: We thank the underwriters of John McGivern’s Main Streets because without them, we couldn’t make this show.
– My father taught me that to make great bakery, you have to do it the right way.
O&H Danish Bakery, where kringle traditions begin.
– You’ll find your bright spot in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
– Heiser Automotive is honored to help John McGivern and his team arrive safely to many Main Streets.
We are committed to remaining true to the Heiser way: Do what’s right for our customers, our employees, and the communities we serve.
We are happy to help.
– Yes, Greendale is beautiful on the outside.
But it’s what’s inside that counts.
Who doesn’t love opening a door to their happy place?
Whether it’s indulging your sweet tooth… winding down… or exploring your creative side.
Come on in!
You just gotta see Greendale.
– Your community’s best selfie spot is Your-Type.
– There’s no place like Oconomowoc.
Explore, play, shop, stay.
Visit Oconomowoc!
– Announcer: Horicon Bank: the Natural Choice, West Bend Insurance Company: the Silver Lining, the Friends of Main Streets, and the Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
Thanks, underwriters!
– Here, you can have it back.
– Yeah, it’s a very athletic endeavor.
It is.
– What’s your point?
[clapping]