Please help save Moody's Grocery.

Summary:

Donations are sought to help save the 1918 Masonic lodge in Little York, IN, also known as Moody's Grocery, a longtime local institution. Which was also featured in John Mellencamp's “Pink Houses ” music video in 1983, a great slice of Hoosier rock history. The building is stable but has suffered water damage and needs a great deal of repair, plus restoration. This fundraiser will kick-start that. A long term funding plan is in place. Our goal is to lease the ground floor as a grocery again, with a cafe, also with meeting and music space.

The Big Picture:

My name is Gary Moody (d.b.a. Abkan LLC). The former Moody's Grocery, also known as the former F&AM Lodge #512, is one of two remaining structures which comprised Little York, Indiana's once-thriving business district. Little York lost its post office some years ago, so the building's address is 10 N. State Rd. 39, Scottsburg IN 47170. (Although Little York is in Washington County, not Scott.)

This lodge was organized in 1875 on the original site of the Methodist Church, in a wooden building. Which apparently burned down, and this brick structure was built in 1918. It is listed in the Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory as York Lodge Number 512, Survey #175-363-01017

The early history of the building is a bit vague. The Masons met upstairs, while the ground floor was apparently always a grocery, with a feed store in the rear for some period. Dad grew up down the street, and his cousin Ralph Moody and wife Millie ran Moody's Grocery for many years. Ralph died in 1979 (Millie in 1997), and I guess that the store closed around that time. After that the Masons used the ground floor for a clubhouse, reserving the upstairs for ceremonies. Records of their activities ceased in the early 2000s.

Hollywood came to Little York in 1983 when Riva Records filmed a scene there to include in the music video for John (Cougar) Mellencamp's hit song “Pink Houses”. Which, as you can see on YouTube, is the nighttime scene which revolves around the building; you might call it the “greaser meets girl” scene. I'm told that they recreated the storefront, with merchandise in the window, and hauled the soda machine from the garage next door. I've asked Mellencamp, via an employee, why they were there (figuring he'd hung out with Ralph or something), and was told that it just looked like a good location. I'll be doing more research on that filming.

That's the history. THE REASON FOR THIS FUNDRAISER:

I bought the building, plus an adjacent 1.33 acres, from a neighbor in July 2024. In the latter years of Mason ownership an enormous leak developed, which damaged roof joists, the ceiling below, and the rear of the 2nd floor, causing part of it to collapse. The previous owner fixed that leak. However water still ran down both sides of the rear wall, causing further damage. Last winter, by myself, I erected scaffolding and stopped those leaks with flashing and roofing compounds. I also un-boarded most of the 2nd floor windows.

It's an historic lodge building that should be saved (per Indiana Landmarks ), and the community would like to have another store there. The last one in the village went out of business, then burned down, many years ago. I'd like to bring back a store with a cafe, and perhaps a community center for local meetings. We could have live music! I'm thinking country and bluegrass and pitch-in pickin', which is the local culture. Yes, commemoration of “Pink Houses” will be included in the operation. We should also have a reunion of cast, crew, and fans.

In the short term, Indiana Landmarks is planning grants for historic lodges, so I'm hoping to fund window renovation starting with the front two on the 2nd floor. The long-term goals can be funded by development of the adjacent property, plus the sale of my home in Indianapolis when that's feasible. Next to the building is a small vacant lot where a post office used to be, and north of that is an abandoned home which needs to be demolished. The latter site can fit a nice modular home, while the space in between might fit a rather small house, similar to Mellencamp's “Pink Houses” is what I'm thinking. A larger parcel, “in back” to the east, which used to be a hay field but is now overgrown and wooded, is large enough for at least two homes.

I'm a low-income senior and not a real estate high roller. I'd like to raise at least $5000 to recoup expenses, have a little financial breathing room, do some demolition and debris-hauling, and be able to hire an architect to make a plan for the site where the abandoned home is. With that in hand, I can borrow from a real estate lender, clear the site, and erect the modular home. Real estate is very lucrative in that area, so proceeds from the sale of that home will enable next steps, leading to and including the restoration of Moody's Grocery. Donations to this cause will go to the business bank account of my LLC. Thanks for your support, and ain't that America?