The Painted Ladies enjoy a visit at Joyfully Said in Middlebury Tuesday. From left are Pam Anecki, Julia Frantz, Kay Rix, Brenda Stoliker, Maralee Smith (her mom Sandy Koreiba is an original member and was unable to make it this year), AnnaLee Smith, Colleen Everitt, Brittany Smith, Marilyn Krumlauf, Tara Kemp and Amy Bark. The Painted Ladies have been coming to Shipshewana for 25 years. Outside of the first year when they stayed in Middlebury, the group has stayed in Shipshewana the rest of the time. According to original member Kay Rix, for 23 years the ladies stayed at Songbird Ridge in Shipshewana. One day while they were staying there, they gathered around an organ and sang old church hymns. A young Amish girl named Ruth was there and she told owner Gwen Newcomer she never knew painted ladies could be so godly. The name stuck. The group of original friends have added their daughters to the mix for the trip and were planning on having their usual good time even with a mandatory mask order in place in Elkhart and LaGrange counties.