This is how I learned it from my grandmother, who learned it from hers. This is a very old recipe. No measurements, as the recipe was never written down.
Lard
Diced onions
Ham bone and extra ham if the bone is lean
rich homemade chicken stock
Dried Great Northern or Navy beans (cleaned, soaked, & drained)
Hot pepper (good quality cayenne is what I use)
pepper
parsley (add early if dried, later if fresh)
dried bay leaf
salt for later (never cook your beans in water that is salted)
Sautee onions in lard until soft. Add ham and ham bone along with the stock, beans, and seasonings (except salt). Simmer on a hot wood burning stove for a few hours until the beans are starting to split and when you blow on them, the skins peel off. You should be able to squeeze several beans and they are all soft. If not, cook a little longer. Add salt to taste and let simmer a bit to allow the salt to work through the soup. We like ours really thick... like a chowder, with some sweet cornbread. Yum!
The alternative is to not soak your beans, rinse them very well, and just cook them all day long and use the bean broth instead of chicken broth for the richness. This is how my great-grandmother did it because they rarely had chicken broth and the ham flavor was just a bone... no meat. The flavoring all came from the beans and the lard.
ETA: I'm from Indiana, too, so this a recipe from the south central part of Indiana... around Bloomington, which is where my family are from. If it's going to be cold and snowy, then you must be way up north near Michigan!