By: Stephen McCollum

There may not be much fanfare at the end of the year when Mayor Ben Hodgin turns out the lights at City Hall for the last time, but one thing for sure—nobody can accuse him of not jumping into the office in a really dramatic fashion.

Just months after assuming the post of Mayor, Hodgin accepted an invitation to perform a tandem jump with the U.S. Army Parachute Team, the Golden Knights. Several other newly elected political officials in eastern central Indiana were invited, but Hodgin was the only one who took the leap of faith.

Courage and trust are good traits to have when diving into any new endeavor. Hodgin says he came to the job with a lot of questions and devoted much time to seeking out solutions. 

“I was constantly asking questions of all kinds of sources to help reach a decision,” he said recently. “I was never into making snap decisions.”

That approach was one he had to ease into because, he says, “Being in government is entirely different than being in business for yourself.” As a businessman, when faced with a problem, he just rolled up his sleeves and tried to get it fixed. Whereas, in government, “there are hoops, hurdles, checks and balances” to be negotiated to achieve the desired ends. 

During his eight years in office, Hodgin points to a list of achievements—none of which he claims for himself but graciously acknowledges the hard work and dedication of all city employees. 

Highlights of the Hodgin administration’s tenure include, in no priority order: getting new downtown development underway; opening up Wabash Avenue to the southwest part of town;

bringing rail service back; getting the Shallee Oil company lodged in Industrial Park; pursuing an active blight elimination program that has demolished or rehabbed dozens of properties; balancing the City’s budget; clearing the old Willman Lumber Company lot and widening the intersection for big truck traffic on Highway 26; improving sidewalks and paving most City streets; and acquiring much needed new equipment for key City departments. 

Hodgin is proud of the “open door” policy he kept at City Hall, and he hired Arlene West, who had served former H.C. Mayor Joe Castelo, to be the first point of contact. Often when a visitor arrived, he or she would find the Mayor, his assistant Arlene, and a citizen or two holding forth on “the front porch”—alias the lobby outside the Mayor’s office.

“From the beginning, I wanted my assistant to be in the loop on city business,” said Hodgin. “When someone comes in with a question and I’m not here, I don’t think a good answer is ‘I don’t know, let me get back to you on that.’ “

“We’ve really worked as a team,” said West. “Sometimes there were situations that I could facilitate before they got to the Mayor. If I picked up a concern from a community member, often I was able to steer them toward the resources they needed to get it resolved.”

Hodgin brought decades of experience in customer service as a restauranteur to the public service role of mayor. His first job was at 3M, but he didn’t like the routinized work in the factory. So, when he saw an ad by Pizza King promoting the idea of “be your own boss,” he made another leap of faith. He quit his job in the factory and opened a pizza restaurant on the same day.

Over 40 years, he and a partner built the business into six locations—Upland, Eaton, Winchester, Albany, Montpelier, and Hartford City. Gradually, as they weaned themselves from the Pizza King franchise and got offers to sell some of their locations, they settled back to Hartford City with the Homestead. 

Turns out that running a restaurant puts one in touch with a lot of the local chatter about community life—good and bad. Hodgin sold his business in 2005 and was ready for another challenge. 

“Listening to your customers and keeping them happy,” he said, is always the challenge. 

Hodgin suffered through some setbacks and heartaches before taking the plunge into local politics. In 2007, the house he and his wife, Carolyn, lived in was lost to a fire. Then Carolyn was diagnosed with cancer and died in 2009. They were married more than 50 years. 

Carolyn, in fact, might be credited with bringing a future mayor to town. It was during a sock hop at the old armory where Hodgin spied her dancing with another guy. When the latter slipped off to get some refreshments, he stepped in and asked her to dance. Credit those steps in his long walk to the mayor’s office.

Both Hodgin and West will be moving on in 2020—the Mayor says he’ll be looking for a job because, as his father admonished once upon a time, “It’s easier to rust out than wear out.” And West and her husband, Steven, will be returning to their Ohio roots to be nearer family.

Wish them well, and thanks for a job well done.