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The Huber Family -- Master winemakers from Clark County
The Piecemakers -- Master quilters from Vanderburgh County
Introduction to the 2005 State Fair Masters program.

2005 State Fair Masters DVD jacket (pdf file)

Profiles of 2009 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2008 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2007 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2006 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2004 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2003 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2002 State Fair Masters
Profiles of 2001 State Fair Masters

THE HUBER FAMILY, Clark County
...I learned the winemaking and vineyard operation from my father...

Ted Huber and his two sons posing with their many awards.  Photo by Jon Kay

Since 1843, the Huber family has worked a small homestead located in the Knobs of Clark County, Indiana. Originally from Baden Baden, Germany, the family brought a fruit-growing and winemaking tradition with them to Southeastern Indiana. Like many of their neighbors, generations of Hubers have made a couple of barrels of wine each year for their own table. Winemaking was not a commercial venture until 1972, when Indiana passed the Small Farm Winery Act. Since the Huber family operated a fruit-based farm and had made wine as far back as they could trace their history, they decided to transform their retail fruit farm into the Huber Orchard and Winery.

Knowing that amateur winemaking was different from running a commercial winemaking operation, brothers Carl and Gerald Huber researched the business and trained themselves for their new agricultural venture. In 1979, they produced their first wine for sale. Gerald began competing and winning the Governor's Cup at the Indiana State Fair's International Wine Competition, which is the third largest competition of its kind in the United States. The competition helped the Hubers improve and develop their winemaking tradition and secure their reputation as a premier Indiana winery.

Gerald's son, Ted, began working in the vineyard as a young boy and in the winery as a teenager. At 21, he became the Huber Winery's head winemaker, after his father and uncle transferred the family business to Ted and his cousin Greg. Today, Ted oversees the winery and vineyard on the six-generation farm, while Greg manages the orchard and retail operations, which attract 550,000 visitors each year.

THE PIECEMAKERS, VANDERBURGH COUNTY
...Quilting is a sharing...

The Piecemakers enjoy quilting together.  Photo by Ilze Akerbergs

No image speaks more vividly of Indiana's pioneer women than a Hoosier quilting bee. Today groups throughout Indiana continue this tradition by gathering to quilt and visit.

In 1982, Minnie Marchant visited the Indiana State Fair's Pioneer Village and saw that no one was demonstrating quilting. She quickly volunteered her home quilt group to fill this void. Ever since, the Piecemakers, a group that quilts at the Salem United Methodist Church in Evansville, has been a staple at the Pioneer Village. In addition to demonstrating, the group donates a one-of-a-kind quilt to be auctioned at the Fair.

Like clockwork, each Wednesday throughout the year, the Piecemakers gather at the church to quilt. Some of the members also assemble on Mondays to make a quilt for the State Fair, a project that requires more than 200 hours of shared labor and talent. "Putting a quilt together is an art -- putting the colors and designs together and being able to see it in your mind before it actually happens," explains Jane Eberhart. All of the members came to quilting in different ways. Some learned to quilt at their mother's knee while others taught themselves. The making of each quilt teaches the group more about the art and draws the circle of friends closer.