Round the Bend Now and Then

If you’ve ever driven through downtown Mishawaka, you’ve likely passed 317 Lincolnway East... and probably slowed down to take it in. Even from the outside, it’s clear: This place has a story!

The Beiger Mansion has lived many lives. Built by one of Mishawaka’s most prominent families, it was once a grand social hub, later served as a home for elderly women for over forty years, narrowly escaped demolition in the early 1970s, and was nearly lost to a devastating fire in 1975.

Then, in 1989, Ron Montandon purchased the 22,000-square-foot mansion in rough shape and began restoring it piece by piece, determined to preserve its original character. In 2000, Dennis Slade joined the effort, helping transform it into the one-of-a-kind bed and breakfast and event space it is today.

I sat down with Ron and Dennis inside the mansion itself, surrounded by the history we were talking about, for a conversation that brings this remarkable story to life. THANK YOU Ron and Dennis for sharing your story!

Be sure to check out The Beiger's website for more details about the bed and breakfast as well as information about booking an event.

https://www.beigermansion.com/

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A big thank you to the Mishawaka Historical Museum for supporting our work! Discover the stories and people that shaped Mishawaka through engaging exhibits, including over 160 newly displayed artifacts and pictures, and pick up your free Mishawaka History Summer Bucket List booklet!

Learn more and plan your visit at mishawakamuseum.org and be sure to stop in and explore.

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Thank you to InRugCo Studio & Gift Shop for supporting the show! Stop in and browse a unique selection of gifts and locally inspired items! Learn more at https://indianarugco.com/ and be sure to check them out in person!

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Thank you to M/T Box Computers for sponsoring this episode! Check out their website below to learn more about what they can do to fit your small business's technological needs! Did I mention that they're local?

https://www.mtboxcomputers.com/

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ALL of our audio podcast episodes are also on YouTube! Check out our channel! Be sure to like and subscribe! Link below!

You Tube Link: https://youtube.com/@RoundtheBend574

Be sure to follow Round the Bend Now and Then on Twitter: @roundthebendpod

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roundthebendnowandthen

To contact the show, you can email at [email protected] or message on Twitter or Facebook.

For current & historical pictures and commentary on the South Bend & Mishawaka area, follow @roundthebend574 on Twitter.

If you were alive in America in the early 1930s, there was one name that dominated newspaper headlines everywhere: John Dillinger.

He wasn’t just a criminal - he was a national celebrity outlaw.

He and his gang had bank robbery down to a science: planning, timing, speed. In most cases they were in and out in a couple of minutes. And on June 30th, 1934, that machine wildly rolled into downtown South Bend.

In this episode, I sit down with local historian and author Aaron Helman to explore the story of John Dillinger’s final bank robbery, which took place in broad daylight on a busy downtown South Bend street.

Aaron wrote about this event on his website, The South Bend News-Times, in an article titled “John Dillinger’s Last Robbery Was in South Bend.” Be sure to check out that piece, along with Aaron’s other local history work, which includes multiple books, articles, and a podcast series. I’ve included links to it all below.

https://southbendnewstimes.com/community/helman-john-dillinger-south-bend/

Learn tons about our local history from Aaron’s books. Check them out at:

https://www.aaronhelman.com/

Aaron also hosts and narrates a local history podcast called “A Bend in Time” Available wherever you get your podcasts or at the link below:

https://www.historymuseumsb.org/see-do/a-bend-in-time/

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Thank you to M/T Box Computers for sponsoring this episode! Check out their website below to learn more about what they can do to fit your small business's technological needs! Did I mention that they're local?

https://www.mtboxcomputers.com/

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Thank you to the Portage Township Trustee's Office for sponsoring this episode! Thank you to Jason Critchlow and his team for ALL that you do in our community!

Check out their website and Facebook below and discover ALL that the Portage Township Trustee's Office does to meet our community's needs!

https://portage-township.com/

https://www.facebook.com/share/1786tvftXK/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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ALL of our audio podcast episodes are also on YouTube! Check out our channel! Be sure to like and subscribe! Link below!

You Tube Link: https://youtube.com/@RoundtheBend574

Be sure to follow Round the Bend Now and Then on Twitter: @roundthebendpod

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roundthebendnowandthen

To contact the show, you can email at [email protected] or message on Twitter or Facebook.

For current & historical pictures and commentary on the South Bend & Mishawaka area, follow @roundthebend574 on Twitter.

Joe Kernan’s name is deeply woven into the story of South Bend. A Navy pilot and former prisoner of war, Kernan returned home and dedicated his life to serving the community he loved. From his early role as the city’s controller, to nearly a decade as mayor of South Bend, and later as Indiana’s lieutenant governor and governor, Joe believed deeply in public service. But beyond the titles and headlines was a man who cared deeply about his city and the people who called it home.

In this episode, I sit down with Dick Nussbaum, Kernan’s longtime friend and city attorney. Dick shares personal memories and stories that offer a rare glimpse into Joe’s leadership, his character, and the political instincts that helped shape South Bend during an important chapter in the city’s history.

And as it turns out, this is the 50th episode of Round the Bend Now and Then and what better way to mark that milestone than by reflecting on the life and legacy of Joe Kernan!

A special thanks to Dick Nussbaum for generously sharing his time and memories of someone who meant so much to him.

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Thank you to the Portage Township Trustee's Office for sponsoring this episode! Thank you to Jason Critchlow and his team for ALL that you do in our community!

Check out their website and Facebook below and discover ALL that the Portage Township Trustee's Office does to meet our community's needs!

https://portage-township.com/

https://www.facebook.com/share/1786tvftXK/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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Thank you to M/T Box Computers for sponsoring this episode! Check out their website below to learn more about what they can do to fit your small business's technological needs! Did I mention that they're local?

https://www.mtboxcomputers.com/

_______________________________________________

ALL of our audio podcast episodes are also on YouTube! Check out our channel! Be sure to like and subscribe! Link below!

You Tube Link: https://youtube.com/@RoundtheBend574

Be sure to follow Round the Bend Now and Then on Twitter: @roundthebendpod

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roundthebendnowandthen

To contact the show, you can email at [email protected] or message on Twitter or Facebook.

For current & historical pictures and commentary on the South Bend & Mishawaka area, follow @roundthebend574 on Twitter.

In this episode, we’re talking about a school, but not just any school, we’re talking about Linden School: A place where education, neighborhood boundaries, civil rights activism, and the daily lives of children and families collided in the 1960s.

I sit down once again with George Garner, the Assistant Director and Curator at Indiana University South Bend’s Civil Rights Heritage Center, to explore another powerful site featured in South Bend’s African American Landmark Tour and in his book, Placing History.

Learn more about the African American Landmark Tour and the book, Placing History, at the link below:

https://aalt.iusb.edu/index.html

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Thank you to the Portage Township Trustee's Office for sponsoring this episode! Thank you to Jason Critchlow and his team for ALL that you do in our community!

Check out their website and Facebook below and discover ALL that the Portage Township Trustee's Office does to meet our community's needs!

https://portage-township.com/

https://www.facebook.com/share/1786tvftXK/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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Thank you to M/T Box Computers for sponsoring this episode! Check out their website below to learn more about what they can do to fit your small business's technological needs! Did I mention that they're local?

https://www.mtboxcomputers.com/

_______________________________________________

ALL of our audio podcast episodes are also on YouTube! Check out our channel! Be sure to like and subscribe! Link below!

You Tube Link: https://youtube.com/@RoundtheBend574

Be sure to follow Round the Bend Now and Then on Twitter: @roundthebendpod

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roundthebendnowandthen

To contact the show, you can email at [email protected] or message on Twitter or Facebook.

For current & historical pictures and commentary on the South Bend & Mishawaka area, follow @roundthebend574 on Twitter.

In this episode, we tell the story of 1415 West Washington Street, a building that’s easy to overlook today but for over 50 years served as the West Side Recreation Club, a vital gathering place and social hub for South Bend’s African American community.

I meet with George Garner, the Assistant Director and Curator at Indiana University South Bend’s Civil Rights Heritage Center, and he does such a great job sharing the club's story.

The West Side Recreation Club is featured in South Bend’s African American Landmark Tour, developed by the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center, and later expanded in George Garner’s book Placing History. Upstairs, the building housed offices of prominent African American professionals and leaders; downstairs, a pool hall that was frequently targeted by police. That contrast sheds light on how African American leadership and community grew in South Bend within a broader and often complicated civic landscape.

Learn more about the African American Landmark Tour and the book, Placing History, at the link below:

https://aalt.iusb.edu/index.html

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Thank you to the Portage Township Trustee's Office for sponsoring this episode! Thank you to Jason Critchlow and his team for ALL that you do in our community!

Check out their website and Facebook below and discover ALL that the Portage Township Trustee's Office does to meet our community's needs!

https://portage-township.com/

https://www.facebook.com/share/1786tvftXK/?mibextid=wwXIfr

__________________________________________________

ALL of our audio podcast episodes are also on YouTube! Check out our channel! Be sure to like and subscribe! Link below!

You Tube Link: https://youtube.com/@RoundtheBend574

Be sure to follow Round the Bend Now and Then on Twitter: @roundthebendpod

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roundthebendnowandthen

To contact the show, you can email at [email protected] or message on Twitter or Facebook.

For current & historical pictures and commentary on the South Bend & Mishawaka area, follow @roundthebend574 on Twitter.

What was life really like in South Bend 100 years ago?

In this episode, I sit down with local historian and author Aaron Helman to step back into 1926 South Bend - a year full of change, contradictions, and everyday moments that still echo today.

January’s edition of Aaron’s website, The South Bend News-Times, features six stories from that year and we use them as our roadmap: from industry and public health to music, sports, and local characters you may have never heard of. On the surface, the stories couldn’t be more different, but as you’ll hear, they’re deeply connected.

Aaron has a rare gift for digging into local history and sharing it in a way that’s thoughtful, accessible, and genuinely funny. If you enjoy stories that help you see South Bend a little differently, both then and now, this one’s for you!

Check out the articles we discussed and MANY more at

https://southbendnewstimes.com/issues/

Learn tons about our local history from Aaron’s books. Check them out at:

https://www.aaronhelman.com/

Aaron also hosts and narrates a local history podcast called “A Bend in Time” Available wherever you get your podcasts or at the link below:

https://www.historymuseumsb.org/see-do/a-bend-in-time/

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Thank you to the Portage Township Trustee's Office for sponsoring this episode! Thank you to Jason Critchlow and his team for ALL that you do in our community!

Check out their website and Facebook below and discover ALL that the Portage Township Trustee's Office does to meet our community's needs!

https://portage-township.com/

https://www.facebook.com/share/1786tvftXK/?mibextid=wwXIfr

__________________________________________________

ALL of our audio podcast episodes are also on YouTube! Check out our channel! Be sure to like and subscribe! Link below!

You Tube Link: https://youtube.com/@RoundtheBend574

Be sure to follow Round the Bend Now and Then on Twitter: @roundthebendpod

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roundthebendnowandthen

To contact the show, you can email at [email protected] or message on Twitter or Facebook.

For current & historical pictures and commentary on the South Bend & Mishawaka area, follow @roundthebend574 on Twitter.

The main intent of this episode is simple: To honor heroes. Specifically, the heroes that served our country: Our United States veterans.  

This past Saturday, November 15th, 2025, I was humbled to be a part of a Hometown Heroes event that was held at the Indiana Dinosaur Museum. The main purpose of the event was to spend a full day to come together as a community and honor and celebrate the courage of our veterans.  

As a part of the day's festivities, we recorded an episode of Round the Bend Now and Then, right in the middle of the Indiana Dinosaur Museum. I was honored to interview three local veterans to shine a light on their service and also learn more about what we can do to support our nation’s veterans. 

I want to thank Bill Krueper, Victoria Molnar, and South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski for sharing their stories. As you’ll hear in the interview, their stories of service may vary, but they’re still the same: All three of them served our country, like millions of others out there, and they ALL deserve our thanks and gratitude.  

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INvets: Founded by veterans for veterans, aids in transitioning to civilian life, focusing on job placement and finding the right community for veterans and their families to ensure their success and happiness.

https://www.invets.org/

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Battlefields to Ballfields: Empowering veterans to transition from military service to community leadership through sports officiating excellence ​

https://www.battlefields2ballfields.org/

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Stop22: Reducing Veteran Suicide through Education, Legal Support and Community.

https://stop22.org/

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ALL of our audio podcast episodes are also on YouTube! Check out our channel! Be sure to like and subscribe! Link below!

You Tube Link: https://youtube.com/@RoundtheBend574

Be sure to follow Round the Bend Now and Then on Twitter: @roundthebendpod

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roundthebendnowandthen

To contact the show, you can email at [email protected] or message on Twitter or Facebook.

For current & historical pictures and commentary on the South Bend & Mishawaka area, follow @roundthebend574 on Twitter.

This episode is a special one in that I meet with my father, Joel Emery, as he shares his memories from growing up in 1960's River Park.

Over the years, my parents have shared multiple stories about growing up in River Park - a neighborhood on the far east side of South Bend, IN. Their stories mirror what neighborhoods were like at that time in our country, absolutely bursting at the seams with kids - kids born in the tens of millions after solders returned from World War II: The baby boom.

I’ve always planned on doing an episode about River Park, as there is SO much local history involved in its story. But it would take several episodes to really be able to tell the complete story of the neighborhood so I thought it would be neat to interview my dad and focus on just a slice of its history, growing up in River Park in the 1960s.   

Thank you dad for your time and memories!

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Thank you to the Portage Township Trustee's Office for sponsoring this episode! Thank you to Jason Critchlow and his team for ALL that you do in our community!

Check out their website and Facebook below and discover ALL that the Portage Township Trustee's Office does to meet our community's needs!

https://portage-township.com/

https://www.facebook.com/share/1786tvftXK/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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Thank you to the Mishawaka Historical Museum for sponsoring this episode! If you're a fan of our content, you'll be a fan of the museum! You'll experience the most comprehensive collection of artifacts and historical background all specific to Mishawaka!

Give them a visit at 121 S. Main St. in Mishawaka, just south of the Lincolnway and Main St. intersection. Check out their website to learn more!

https://mishawakamuseum.org/

_____________________________________________________

Thank you to M/T Box Computers for sponsoring this episode! Check out their website below to learn more about what they can do to fit your small business's technological needs!

https://www.mtboxcomputers.com/

_____________________________________________________

ALL of our audio podcast episodes are also on YouTube! Check out our channel! Be sure to like and subscribe! Link below!

You Tube Link: https://youtube.com/@RoundtheBend574

Be sure to follow Round the Bend Now and Then on Twitter: @roundthebendpod

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roundthebendnowandthen

To contact the show, you can email at [email protected] or message on Twitter or Facebook.

For current & historical pictures and commentary on the South Bend & Mishawaka area, follow @roundthebend574 on Twitter.

In this episode, I meet with local historian Susanna Ernst. You’ll learn ALL about a neighborhood that you might not find on any national historical registry, but the Mishawaka neighborhood known as Hooligan Heights has a 120 plus year history that is just as intriguing and interesting as any of the more notable local historical sites.  

I learned SO much about Hooligan Heights from our interview with Susanna as well as from her fantastic article, "Hooligan Heights: Mishawaka's Wild West" - linked below. It once again reaffirms that there is SO much history right under our noses!  I’m confident that you’ll learn a thing or two as well. 

Thank you Susanna for your knowledge and passion for our local history!

https://hooliganheights.com/

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Thank you to the Mishawaka Historical Museum for sponsoring this episode! If you're a fan of our content, you'll be a fan of the museum! You'll experience the most comprehensive collection of artifacts and historical background all specific to Mishawaka!

Give them a visit at 121 S. Main St. in Mishawaka, just south of the Lincolnway and Main St. intersection. Check out their website to learn more!

https://mishawakamuseum.org/

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Thank you to M/T Box Computers for sponsoring this episode! Check out their website below to learn more about what they can do to fit your small business's technological needs!

https://www.mtboxcomputers.com/

________________________________________________

Thank you to the Portage Township Trustee's Office for sponsoring this episode! Thank you to Jason Critchlow and his team for ALL that you do in our community!

Check out their website below and discover ALL that the Portage Township Trustee's Office does to meet our community's needs!

https://portage-township.com/

________________________________________________

ALL of our audio podcast episodes are also on YouTube! Check out our channel! Be sure to like and subscribe! Link below!

You Tube Link: https://youtube.com/@RoundtheBend574

Be sure to follow Round the Bend Now and Then on Twitter: @roundthebendpod

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roundthebendnowandthen

To contact the show, you can email at [email protected] or message on Twitter or Facebook.

For current & historical pictures and commentary on the South Bend & Mishawaka area, follow @roundthebend574 on Twitter.

CJ's Pub opened their doors near downtown South Bend in 1984 and 41 years later, they are still serving up their legendary pub burgers and cold beer to generations of patrons. 

In this episode, I meet with the co-owner of CJ’s Pub, Judy Gish. You’ll learn ALL about the story behind CJ's Pub, from 1984 to the present day. I hope that you’ll gain a true appreciation for a local legendary spot.  It hasn’t always been easy and CJ's has faced multiple barriers over the years that would probably put a lot of places out of business, but with hard work, tenacity, and a focus on the customers and community, a small business can thrive and positively impact generations of patrons. 

Be sure to stop by CJ's Pub on the corner of Michigan and Wayne St. in downtown South Bend and enjoy a burger and a beverage. Visit their website: https://www.cjs-pub.com/

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Thank you to the Mishawaka Historical Museum for sponsoring this episode! If you're a fan of our content, you'll be a fan of the museum! You'll experience the most comprehensive collection of artifacts and historical background all specific to Mishawaka!

Give them a visit at 121 S. Main St. in Mishawaka, just south of the Lincolnway and Main St. intersection. Check out their website to learn more!

https://mishawakamuseum.org/

________________________________________________

Thank you to M/T Box Computers for sponsoring this episode! Check out their website below to learn more about what they can do to fit your small business's technological needs!

https://www.mtboxcomputers.com/

________________________________________________

Thank you to the Portage Township Trustee's Office for sponsoring this episode! Thank you to Jason Critchlow and his team for ALL that you do in our community!

Check out their website below and discover ALL that the Portage Township Trustee's Office does to meet our community's needs!

https://portage-township.com/

________________________________________________

ALL of our audio podcast episodes are also on YouTube! Check out our channel! Be sure to like and subscribe! Link below!

You Tube Link: https://youtube.com/@RoundtheBend574

Be sure to follow Round the Bend Now and Then on Twitter: @roundthebendpod

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roundthebendnowandthen

To contact the show, you can email at [email protected] or message on Twitter or Facebook.

For current & historical pictures and commentary on the South Bend & Mishawaka area, follow @roundthebend574 on Twitter.

Be sure to share Round the Bend Now and Then with somebody who you think will appreciate it!