below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over. Education Neighboring Nappanee and Wakarusa combined their school systems in the 1970s to create the Wa-Nee Community Schools. The town has a free lending library, the Wakarusa-Olive & Harrison Township Public Library. Religion Wakarusa has a majority of Christian churches including Wakarusa Missionary Church, which is the Missionary Church denomination based out of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Other churches include a Bible Baptist Church, a Methodist church, Holdemen Mennonite Church, and Olive Mennonite Church just outside Wakarusa. Notable people J. Wayne Fredericks, American diplomat Gale Sayers, Chicago Bears Hall of Fame running back Economy Originally solely a farming community, a lumber mill opened in 1866. By the 1880s, several factories and businesses existed, despite the fact that the railroad would not roll into town until 1893. At one point, three different lumber mills operated in the town, though none exist today. Today, Wakarusa continues to have a thriving farming economy and has two grain mills within the town's limits. Wakarusa's location in Elkhart County places it within a strong industrial area, and because of this, multiple manufacturers are located in the area. Recreational vehicle manufacturing, modular home manufacturing and custom truck production are the base of the industrial economy. Forest River employs nearly 600 in the RV industry. It was announced in February 2012 that Utilimaster, a manufacturer of walk-in vans and commercial truck bodies, was moving all of its manufacturing and headquarters to nearby Bristol, about 20 minutes to the northeast in Elkhart County. Since then, RV company Forest River has purchased nearly all of the buildings and currently employs around 600 in Wakarusa. On July 17, 2008, Monaco Coach Corporation announced the closing of its Wakarusa production plant and laid off its approximately 1400 workers. Since then, the massive complex has been bought by Thor Industries, and they are using it for multiple operations for some of their RV brands. Currently, they employ around 700. Today, the historic town center has several antique shops, hair salons, a furniture store, a hardware store, a general contractor, a florist, an I.T. business, a mechanic, insurance companies, restaurants, and a dime store candy shop that sells locally made maple syrup and jumbo jelly beans to a small but growing number of regional tourists. Festivals Once a year, the town hosts the Maple Syrup