Winfield West: Jasper couple reinvents old B&B with fresh style and European charm

The special character of a bed and breakfast finds its source in the proprietors who have decided to open their home and hearts to visitors.

The story endures and woos visitors to return again and again.

Regina (Nord) and Fred Tone have woven their own story into the history of the former Powers Inn in Jasper and reopened it as the Winfield West Bed & Breakfast at 325 W. Sixth Street across from the Cabby O’Neill Gym.

Regina, 56, and Fred, 65, have been married nearly three years now. Both retired as flight attendants from opposing airlines. Their own history provides an interesting backdrop to the creation of the new b&b.

Regina grew up on the family dairy farm in Warrick County near where the county line meets Spencer and Dubois counties’ lines just west of Dale. The 10th child of 12, she learned to love cooking and serving others in her large family.

After moving away in 1989 to work in the airline industry, Regina ended up in Atlanta in 1996 working for American Airlines and attending the Art Institute of Atlanta, School of Culinary Arts where she completed her associate’s degree in culinary arts.

While living in Atlanta, she and Fred shared an apartment wall. Fred worked for Delta Airlines and the two found a commonality in their chosen careers. From this, a friendship grew and each added the other to their go-to list for parties and get togethers.

Then Fred moved to a townhouse in a burb outside of Atlanta. A few months later, Regina purchased a townhouse of her own. “I decided I need to put some roots down too,” she said.

After moving in, she contacted Fred to let him know where she had ended up. Serendipitously, it was just down the street from him.

From that point things moved along as they sometimes do. She would wave at Fred as he drove by on his motorcycle and she was on her way with her busy life. They would see each other at gatherings and the passing friendship continued.

Then, Fred had a motorcycle accident. While he was homebound recouping she began visiting and bringing him ice cream. The friendship bloomed. He got her a birthday gift. They continued to talk.

“One day he kinda looked at me and said, “I’d like to take you out,'” Regina laughed.

The two began dating in 2004.

In 2013, Regina, who had been with the airline 24 years, was able to take an early retirement as American Airlines entered into bankruptcy brought on by 9/11. “We lost two of our planes that day,” she said choking up a bit.

During her time in Atlanta, she had also worked at The Renaissance Waverly Hotel in Atlanta and later at Gabriel Desserts in Marietta, Ga., where she refined her culinary and pastry skills.

Fred retired from Delta after 27 years and he began working as a chauffeur in Atlanta and the two continued to date. But the city had changed in the years since he had moved there from his hometown in upper New York. “There was a lot of crime,” Fred said. “I didn’t like and I didn’t feel like I was a part of the city anymore.”

Regina knew she wanted to use her culinary skills to create a business and had originally felt a small pastry shop would be the path she would take. With their airline experience and travels though, they decided that a quaint European flavored bed and breakfast would be a better fit.

Regina was ready to move home and Fred had already decided he loved the area. “I had visited Indiana and I loved it. It has a wholesomeness about it,” Fred said.

They looked for a place to create a bed and breakfast in Evansville, New Albany and Newburgh before choosing the spot in Jasper. According to Fred, it was as much a matter of placement as it was economics. “This was ready to be ran as a bed and breakfast,” he said. “The others we looked at would have taken a lot of investment to get open.”

They closed on the home in March and began to create their vision based on the less-cluttered and distinct styles of the European b&bs they stayed in during their travels with the airlines.

“We have completely redone everything,” Fred said about the b&b.

They open quietly in August.

The bed and breakfast is beautiful with personal touches that define the character of the three rooms they offer to guests. As the main designer of the home, Regina has created a fine balance of open coziness with a nod to the history of the home.

It is a deep history that begins with the founding of the City of Jasper. In the 1800s, a log cabin on the property was owned by Lewis Powers one of the founders of the city.

At that time, Sixth Street was known as the west gate to Jasper, according to Regina who said the history was handed down by the previous owners of the Powers Inn.

The log cabin was turned into the Jasper Inn for a time and then purchased in 1876 by Winfield Scott Hunter, also known as W. S. Hunter, a young attorney from Cannelton. He became a prominent attorney in the area who also served as a judge. He was a founding member of German American Bank, where he served as the company’s first president.

He and his wife Isabel created the classic home that later became the Powers Inn and is now Winfield West Bed & Breakfast.

The home has three rooms available for visitors.

The Hunter Room has a modern masculinity with a king-sized bed and personal bathroom. Designed with the business traveler in mind, it also has a desk.

The Belle Room, named after Winfield’s wife Isabel who was known as Belle, has a softer touch with brighter colors and a queen-sized bed. It also features its own bathroom.

The Garden Room overlooks the home’s enclosed backyard. Regina said they plan on creating a garden space there this summer. The room has a full-size bed and a separate daybed and is suited for a family, or maybe a husband and wife that need their own nightly space. Although not attached to the room, an expansive bathroom down the hall features a large cast iron clawfoot tub for guests using this room.

The kitchen has been modernized but an attached dining room remains elegantly colonial. The Conversation Room, so named by Fred who says the lack of a television, provokes conversation from those seated in the comfortable furnishings, is attached to the dining room through a hall.

With a few months under their belts, Regina is busy preparing meals and operating the business while Fred remains largely in the background cleaning and maintaining things and helping her. Their goal is to cater to their guests’ needs in regards to comfortable space, great meals and privacy.

Surprisingly, many times the guests end up in the kitchen on one of the bar stools talking with them over dinner rather than using the elegant dining room. “The funniest thing we find is that everyone wants to come and eat in the kitchen,” Regina said.

The guests must feel very welcome.

“We had a doctor staying here with us and he got up and started loading the dishwasher,” Fred added.

“Maybe it’s us, because we will sit down and talk with them,” Regina laughed.

With their background and travels, the stories likely keep the guests entertained.

Winfield West Bed & Breakfast will celebrate with an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony Friday (tomorrow) starting at 3 p.m. and going until 6 p.m. On Saturday, the open house will continue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Information and reservations are available by phone at 812-556-0111 or online at https://winfieldwestbb.com. They also have a Facebook Page.