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MONTEZUMA, IN It’s taken a lifetime of work and dedication, but Rita Samuelson has finally reached her goal. She has successfully completed the creation of a small yet substantial mountain after starting with a mere molehill.
It all began when she was 22. At that time, it was a hobby. The project began in the field behind her home. Building a mountain was Samuelson’s spare time activity—just a few hours a week as she held a job as Montezuma’s favorite beautician while raising her three children.
For the first 43 years, Samuelson looked forward to her retirement, so she could devote more of her time to her project. And upon retirement, she got right to work.
This week, just days before her 74th birthday, Samuelson finished her project. After 52 years of bringing in dirt and clay—52 years of climbing her ever-growing hill with a huge bucket of clay, only to climb back down and start the process again—Samuelson can officially say that her hill is now a mountain. Only days ago, Mount Samuelson reached regulation mountain size.
Residents of Montezuma—and of the entire Midwest—are flocking to admire Samuelson’s completed work. It’s hard to believe that what was once a simple cornfield is now the most extraordinary tourist attraction in Indiana, just recently passing up the Avoca State Fish Hatchery.
Samuelson’s friends and neighbors are proud of her accomplishment. Said cousin Robert Silverman, “Rita definitely worked really hard at creating this mountain out of a molehill. We’re all so very pleased with her dedication.”
As Samuelson’s son, Richard, told visitors to the attraction yesterday, “Mom puts her heart and soul into everything she does. And when she decides to make a mountain out of a molehill, she really does it right.”
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