If you grew up in the rural Midwest, you've met big, easy-going Sheriff Tip Tungate, with his uniquely local sense of justice. You've sat in front of hulking principal Butch Bauer, who runs "the best sports program in the state," and seen his football trophies in the display case behind him. You know Mrs. Aubrey, the church secretary who knows everything, and Pastor Frank, the minister with a secret. You've eaten breaded tenderloin at Big Iva's Truckstop while watching goings-on among the Peterbilts. You have eaten baked beans and chocolate cake at the church carry-in supper, been embarrassed by a revival, and seen what happens in small towns to intellectuals who won't shut up.
Seat of Howarth County, Indiana, not far north of the Ohio River, Sedalia is on no map, but lives in the hearts of Hoosiers everywhere.
