Editor’s note: Each year, the Brown County Democrat celebrates some aspect of Brown County history in our Founders Day section. This year we’re writing about residents who are about 80 or older, who have incredible stories to share and who define “Brown County character” in some way or another. If you have a suggestion for a person to feature in the next Founders Day issue, send it to [email protected] or call us at 812-988-2221.

If Phyllis Lucas could emphasize anything it would be the importance of 4-H for children.

Lucas was a 4-H leader for 35 years and watched as her three daughters aged out of the program after participating for 10 years. She had two grandsons hit the 10 year mark and her son was in 4-H for six years.

Lucas herself was in 4-H for six years. Her mother was also a leader.

When Lucas and her husband Edgar “Ed” Lucas moved back to Brown County from Ellettsville where Phyllis had helped with 4-H, she said that she wanted to help with the program here so her own children could continue to participate.

She started the Blue Bells 4-H club here for girls. Soon boys joined and it became Blue Bells and Blue Jeans.

“If I could emphasize anything it’s that it’s a very good program,” Phyllis said of 4-H.

“It teaches record keeping, responsibility, but they need parents help. It takes the parents to pull it off, but it’s one of the best programs I can think of.”

It also teaches children strength because it “takes more strength to accept a red ribbon than it does to accept a blue ribbon,” she said.

Phyllis said watching her own children — Michelle, Madeline, Stan and Teresa — and grandchildren in 4-H kept her in it for over three decades.

The club would sell elephant ears at the Brown County 4-H Fair.

She always would make the first batch of elephant ears at home. Since the traditional fair treat is made with yeast it required a lot of attention.

“There’s an art to it,” she said.

“We had it down to the science, we knew how much each batch would make and had to cut them out. We had a lot of fun.”

She eventually decided to retire from the program.

“There comes a time you have to realize it’s time to turn the reins over to someone else,” Phyllis said.

Back then

Phyllis was born in Bartholomew County and grew up in Brown County. She lived close to Story until she was about 9 years old. That is when her family moved to their farm on Becks Grove Road.

“You were carefree. You could ride up and down the road on your bicycles anytime of the day, even after dark. Now you wouldn’t let a child do that. You just watch your back now,” she said.

Her father, Kenneth Carmichael, grew up in Brown County and was a teacher for 42 years.

“My father taught anything and everything,” she said.

He was also principal at Van Buren Elementary School.

During the summers, teachers did not have paychecks coming in, so the farm was a second source of income for the family during that.

“I drove a tractor, I helped pick corn and there was always a fence to fix,” Phyllis said.

The family would work clearing the land. They had cows and pigs along with some barn cats.

Her mother, Jewell (Waggoner) Carmichael, grew up in Jackson County not far from the Brown County line. She was a saleswoman at one point and was a homemaker. In her later years, after her children had grown up, she worked at Arvin’s in Columbus for 20 years.

Phyllis lived on the farm until she graduated from Van Buren High School. Her graduating class had seven students in it. The high school is near where the Christiansburg Cemetery is now. The building is gone now, but a rock remains denoting where the high school once stood.

She said the school was small and did not offer second year Algebra, a class she wanted to take, but that there was not a school day she did not enjoy herself.

She remembers the wooden floors were oiled and if you fell on them you would stain your clothes.

“There was a persimmon tree outside and we got to go outside for lunch and if you sat on a persimmon tree it wouldn’t be a good day for clothes that day,” she said.

Phyllis and Ed went to school together. They dated in high school then drifted apart. Her sister, Sheila, began dating Ed’s brother. One night Ed came over with Sheila and his brother. That’s when the two started dating again.

The two were married in 1953. About five years later Sheila married Ed’s brother, making the sisters sister-in-laws.

“I never had a brother and when she got married I felt like I had a brother,” Phyllis said.

Ed also grew up on a farm in Elkinsville. .

After high school, Phyllis worked at Sears in Columbus in the receiving department and ended up in the accounting department. She worked there for three years. She married Ed during that time.

She quit Sears to move to Virginia to be with Ed, who was stationed there after being drafted into U.S. Army during the Korea War. The couple was in Virginia for about a year before moving back to Indiana after he finished his service.

During his time with the Army, Ed served as quartermaster. He stayed stateside during the war and served for two years.

They rented an apartment in Bloomington and Ed began working at RCA again, which is where he was working when he was drafted.

The couple found a home in Ellettsville and lived there for 13 years before coming back to Brown County with their four children.

The Lucas children graduated from Brown County High School. Madeline Lucas recently retired as a teacher from Brown County Schools after decades of teaching here. Her son Stan owns and runs a storage unit business at the location of the former Red Bud Inn.

“It’s just a joy to see them grow and participate and go off to college and come back and succeed in whatever vocation they chose,” Phyllis said of her children.

‘Flying high’

Phyllis and Ed moved to their home on Salt Creek Road in 1968.

In 1966, they opened the Green Valley Sunoco service station where the Green Valley Motor Lodge stands now. Ed had worked at a garage in Bloomington and wanted his own, so they opened the service station.

“You meet a lot of wonderful people, more nice people than bad. My husband had a knack for sizing up people. He knew,” Phyllis said.

While running the service station, Ed started hearing about another need people had.

“My husband had been down there and knew how many people came in and wanted lodging,” Phyllis said.

“He knew everybody and was really outgoing. He was good with the public.”

The service station closed in 1979.

In 1981, the couple built the Green Valley Motor Lodge.

“You put your heart and soul into something like that,” Phyllis said.

The couple ran it for 19 years. They were there when the Little Nashville Opry opened. A show would happen Friday nights with two more shows on Saturday nights.

“We were flying high,” Phyllis said of the Opry opening.

But it was a lot of work.

“We did all of our own laundry. We learned to hang them out and they didn’t have to be folded, you could put them back on the bed,” Phyllis said.

Phyllis and Ed remodeled the service station into a house so they could be nearby always.

“You had to be there,” Phyllis said.

In 1999, the motel was sold to Ed and Lana Wrightsman, who ran the motel until they sold it in 2017.

After selling the motel, Ed and Phyllis moved back to Salt Creek Road and built 20 storage units. Those quickly filled up, so more rows were added until the number of units totaled more than 200.

Ed ran Red Bud Storage until he passed in 2014. Stan runs it now.

The couple was married for 61 years when Ed passed. Before his passing, they sold their home in Florida, where they spent the winters for about 20 years until their youngest grandson began playing basketball back home in Indiana.

“Then we didn’t spend a whole lot of time down there in the winter time because he (Ed) had to be up there for basketball. It didn’t make any difference how far away it was we went,” Phyllis said.

Fast forward to now and Phyllis attends her great-grandson’s eighth-grade basketball games at home. You can find her on the bottom row cheering him on.

When she is not at a basketball game, Phyllis can be found at her church or home reading and sewing. Currently she is making quilts out of Ed’s shirts to give to her children and grandchildren. She also enjoys baking pies, cobblers and cookies.

If she could say anything to the community it would be to tell them the importance of finding a good church.

“Put your heart and soul into it. Your time, money, effort and everything. We have enough churches in this county to fill them all up if people wanted to come,” she said.

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Phyllis Lucas” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Age: 86

Place of birth: Bartholomew County, Indiana

Spouse: Edgar “Ed” Lucas

Children: Michelle, Madeline, Stan and Teresa

Parents: Kenneth Carmichael and Jewell (Waggoner) Carmichael

Siblings: Sheila Lucas

Occupations: Sears receiving department and accounting department; PNC Bank in Nashville; reading aid at Brown County High School; homemaker

Hobby: Sewing, baking, reading and going to church

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