SOUTH BEND, INDIANA

Home to the "Fighting Irish" of Notre Dame.
Die-hard fans of Notre Dame football obviously think of the team when they hear South Bend.

Notre Dame is a beautiful campus that keeps getting larger every year.

There are other famous products for which South Bend is noted.
The Studebaker Museum, J.D. Oliver Family Mansion and Gardens, Wheelhorse garden tractors and the Real "League of Their Own", women who played Hard Ball.

The Studebaker Museum is great. Having grown up in that era, it was fun to re-visit all the old models.

Behind the museum is the Oliver Mansion. The Oliver family manufactured Oliver tractors and farm equipment.

Their home and gardens are large and required an extensive roster of servants to maintain both.

I have visited many mansions from that era, but something stood out in this one. The Olivers actually enjoyed their children and spent a lot of time with them.
Their home is warm, cozy and comfortable, unlike many other mansions which are cold and ornate. Those owners kept their children in the background and brought them out for show like another possession. Not so the Olivers.

Women's baseball got it start there too. If you saw the movie "A League of Their Own", you'll know what I mean.

South Bend was a manufacturing hub with many companies providing jobs for its citizens. Unfortunately they have all gone out of business, changed names and owners or moved elsewhere.

Something else unique about South Bend is their short-line railroad. You can go to the airport, yes the airport, and take the train to Chicago for a day of shopping, sightseeing or work. Many people live in South Bend and commute to work in Chicago.

The cost of living and is less expensive than in Chicago; as are the hotels.

The airport serves as the transportation hub for air, rail and bus.

Next time you are in South Bend for a football game take some time and see the rest of it.

"Go Irish".