By: Lylanne Musselman

Sometimes you have a hidden gem in your community, someone who has many stories to tell, but you haven’t discovered them yet. Here’s an introduction to one here in Hartford City: Jim Ferguson.

Ferguson was born in Howard County in the village of Plevna, the size of Roll. In 1952, when Ferguson was eight years old, his family moved to Roann. His grandmother was Amish, and his grandfather was Mennonite, so he grew up “in the old order area.”

Ferguson’s dad didn’t want to stay in the traditional old order, so they moved to Wabash County to be with modern Mennonites. He attended public schools and graduated from the last class of Roann High School in 1962, now known as Northfield. He was drafted into the Army and served in Vietnam from 1965 until March 1969. He was a “helicopter” medic and served evacuation detail, which followed the 101 Airborne. Afterward, he came home and entered drug and alcohol recovery, something he’s thankful for, saying he received wonderful support from psychiatrists and his family.

In 1970, Ferguson married Sharon Walters, and they lived north of Zionsville. He worked at Indianapolis Airport as a baggage handler for Pan Am, while he attended college at Purdue. Although Pan Am allowed him time off, he said his “four-year degree in Mechanical Design Engineering” took him “seven years to get.”

After completing his degree, Ferguson moved to Texas, where he helped start a company, Batavia Air Technology, with Louis Rodriguez and Rodriguez’s grandfather (a former barnstormer). Ferguson’s specialty was designing seats and lighting. Laughing, he said, “You can blame me for the little cramped up seats in airplanes.”

Ferguson’s name is on the patent. He also designed a locking mechanism where all three seats can be removed for cleaning (from turbulence and other airline mishaps) and put back on planes quickly.

He worked for international airlines that took him abroad: he lived in Italy two years working for Italia Airlines; two more years were spent in India working for Air India. He could bid on jobs for two weeks or six months, such as he did with British Airways and Mexicali. Based on this experience, Ferguson believes that “most people don’t realize how global the world is.”

“Every high school graduate should do service work that takes them at least 500 miles from where they live and get compensation from the government to do it,” he said. “That would give everyone a good feel for the world.”

Nevertheless, while living abroad, Ferguson always came home to Indiana for weddings and funerals and made plans to retire to north central Indiana. He bought his farm in Blackford County, close to one of his daughters in Upland, and his grandchildren. His other daughter lives in Thailand. Ferguson shared that he’s seen more of Indiana in the last eight years since his retirement than during his first 70 years. He loves the covered bridges of Parke County, the dunes near Lake Michigan and, of course, the Amish areas of Noble and Adams counties.

In Blackford County, Ferguson’s presence has been felt keenly, particularly since he restarted the Farmer’s Market and Maker’s Market in Weiler Plaza. He said the Purdue Extension office, and Cheri Brown, have been helpful with printing and publicity. The first market this year was Saturday, June 17 and will continue on Saturdays through October. Ferguson said he is worried about produce this year, though; with the lack of rain, it may not be too plentiful.

Ferguson also became a commercial landlord when he bought the building that houses Common Grounds Coffee Shop. When he talked to then-mayor Ben Hodgin, about buying the building, he was told, “It sure needs a lot of work.”

Ferguson went through Blackford Redevelopment to purchase the building, and the rest is history. Another year without ownership, and the building would’ve been demolished from all the rot in the ceilings and the floors, Ferguson said.

He has since fixed that. He likes to think he helped “Make this place like grandma’s house. Grandma never makes anyone leave.”

The decorations inside Common Grounds are vintage and charming. Ferguson said he’s made discoveries in the basement, such as a wooden road sign from 1916 that he’s cleaned up. There are also ledgers and yardsticks from Hoover Furniture, long before it became Hoover-Needler’s, among many other finds.

Ferguson says he always wants something to do. Yet after everything he has seen and done, Ferguson loves being in Indiana. “I’m just an old Hoosier who came home to roost,” he said.