Welcome to Forgotonia

Maid Rite, Macomb, IL

Originally uploaded by Rural Rose

Randolph House

Originally uploaded by Rural Rose

The downtown courthouse square in Macomb has fallen on some hard times.

In addition to a recent fire on the the south side that destroyed two businesses, several stores have closed and still sit empty. And, (while this is just my opinion and preference as a consumer), stuff that IS moving in seems less-than-friendly to college students, their parents and professors in a university town, such as a shop selling items related to …being Catholic (?). (Um, yeah.)

The Randolph House on the east side–which was once part of a grand hotel where Abraham Lincoln spent the night and gave a speech–appears to be somewhat neglected. Lately I’ve been wondering: who owns the building? Are there any plans for restoring it? Does it fall under the historic preservation protection?

I haven’t done much digging around for the answer, but thought I’d throw it out here and see if anyone might know the score.

IDoT Devil and protest signs

Originally uploaded by the HPB

Ok, remember how I told you awhile back about the “NIX336″ signs cropping up in Fulton County yards and fields?

Well, looks like we aren’t the only place in Illinois in which some people wanting to keep their two-lanes…

I found this pic of an inflatable devil via an Illinois Flickr group. The devil is guarding over [?] signs that seem to be complaining about a road  around Marion/Carbondale. You know, because Carbondale is such a notoriously easy place to reach! (Okay, only from the Forgottonia area does it seem to require about two eons of twisting and turning directions in order to get down there…. )

One question remains: When are we going to get an inflatable demon-slash-farm-animal for the anti-336 movement? (‘Cause this looks sort of like a flaming pig, am I wrong?) Can it be a rabid cow?

former Peterson Paper Co.

Originally uploaded by Rural Rose

Does anyone know anything about this building in Davenport, Iowa? It seems empty and abandoned, but I can’t quite tell if there’s anything going on inside. I didn’t find much history about it online. It’s one of those places that seems to be almost like a replica of another era, and kind of sadly forgotten.

On a recent drive from Macomb to Peoria, I noticed signs in several Fulton County yards and fields that puzzled me: a mix of letters and numbers that didn’t appear to be advertising any kind of herbicide plot or local high school football team. It took me several moments and miles before it finally dawned on me what the combination was spelling out: “NIX336.”

At first, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. In the land once dubbed “The Republic of Forgottonia” because of lack of state funds for downstate development, could people in the area really be campaigning against better roads? I have to admit my first instinct was to imagine the sign-bearers to be butt-of-”Deliverance”-joke, “out of my cold, dead hands”-types.

A snippet of two-lane highway in Fulton County

So, why on earth would the people around here want to remain isolated? You can find the answers on the official web site for the anti-Interstate movement here. (Teaser: “The Peoria to Macomb Expressway: Billion Dollar Boondoggle”.)

The concerns raised by this group range from “urban sprawl” [um, don'tcha have to be "urban" in the first place for the "sprawl" part to happen? Just saying...] to “special interests making a grab for public assets.” But I think the coalition does have a point here:

“Illinois 336 (Peoria to Macomb) would convert two to three thousand acres of prime Illinois farmlands and forests into highway … Much of this destruction would impair the nationally admired scenic beauty surrounding the Spoon River. Erosion and siltation of streams and rivers would increase. More than a hundred homes would be destroyed…”

Furthermore, a kind of confusing story about road signage appeared this week on PJ.Star.com. Rather than providing an update on the progress, (or non-), of the Macomb-to-Peoria stretch of the 336 interchange, the story—because of the comments below it—served as more proof of dissenting voices.

I am a bit surprised at myself to say I guess I see where these people are coming from. One the one hand, I took the name for my blog from the historical lack of funding for “downstate”; I’m a progressive person who sees geographic isolation as a major drawback. But at the same time, I grew up on a farm, and part of what keeps me in this area is a deep appreciation for the authenticity, the lack of strip-mall-ization and homogenization, of the rural landscape.

What do you think? Are these Coalition-ers crazy? Should we stay isolated for the sake of farmland, environmental factors, and preservation? And/or do you buy the idea that the 4-lane wouldn’t really do all that much good for economic development anyway? Please post your thoughts below.

former Carthage College/Robert Morris campus field house

Originally uploaded by Rural Rose

I’ve posted some photos of the current state of the former Carthage College/Robert Morris campus in Carthage, IL on my Flickr page.

Carthage College was the site of the first Circle K club in the U.S., had several prominent alumni, and was home of legendary biology professor Alice Kibbe. But the college eventually was moved to Kenosha, WI, and the former campus in Carthage (my home town)  fell on hard times, including being bought by a mysterious Korean absentee landlord who could not be found for most of the 90′s and 00′s.

• Read more about that weird legacy and see some photos of the destruction inside one of the buildings here.
• Find out more of Carthage College’s history here.

Please leave comments if you remember life at Carthage College or Robert Morris and have any details or memories to share.

Independently owned restaurant to offer wine, jazz, and Southwestern cuisine:

Shiloh Bistro to replace ‘The Spaz’

Things have not been going well for the historic Macomb Square. After losing Camera Land and another business on the west side, it was announced this week that the facade on the building destroyed by fire in March is going to be torn down. And it’s been several months since The Spaz packed up and left town.

picture of old Il Spazio I borrowed from Google Images or somewhere

So let’s cross our fingers for the future prosperity of the Shiloh Bistro, a new restaurant to be located in the empty space where Il Spazio, a.k.a. “The Spaz,” was located.

I recently got in touch with man behind the plan, and he filled me on on the details. Shiloh sounds like the very kind of venue that Macomb desperately needs. Plus, it’s got a love story at its heart.

(Huge thanks to Jason Miller for giving me all the deets. In the grand tradition of blogging, I copy-and-paste our conversation here, offering the sloppy journalistic tactic of letting him tell you all the details himself.)

Here’s the scoop:

What and when: Shiloh’s Bar & Bistro will open in Mid-August.

Is Shiloh’s part of a franchise, or is it independently owned?
This will be a family owned, operated and managed business. I, Jason Miller, am the executive chef, and my wife, Kymberly, will also be a front of the house manager and PR director.

What kind of food will the new restaurant offer?
The menu is still in the works but will feature steaks, chops, seafood, and pasta created with the southwestern flavor: all chef-made meals with an excellent wine list as well as infused liquors such as homemade lemoncello. The cuisine will have a Texas feel to it, with a touch of pecan smoke on some meats, to specialty rubs, and delicious products like hill-country farm-raised quail.

Is this your first restaurant? How did the idea to open a business in Macomb come about?
I have had other restaurants in Texas (Houston), and [we are opening this one because] my wife and [I are]  moving back home as my family is from Rushville. I remodel/build restaurants myself, and I am currently getting the building ready for opening.

What will be some highlights/features of the new restaurant?

The front of the the restaurant will have a specialty market where my signature rubs & spices, specialty hard-to-get items, and our dishes par-cooked for our guests to cook our food themselves at home. Anything I use in my cooking will also be available for sale, as it is tough for the average person to come up with some of those ingredients in this small town. We will have monthly wine dinners and weekly app tastings. There will be a lunch menu featuring lots of sandwiches and more pasta dishes. We will have live jazz 3 nights a week and we also have a private dining room. The service will be amazing, as I have grown up in this business and know what it takes to please guests.

Is there any story or meaning behind the name?
In 2001, I moved from Dallas to Houston to build a restaurant with my uncle. Opening a restaurant takes LONG hours, and we had a waitress who let my dog, Shiloh, out on her breaks because I couldn’t get home until late at night. She eventually fell in love with Shiloh and that led to she and I beginning to date. Shortly after that, we were married, and we always say that Kymberly fell in love with my dog before me.;) Shiloh is the reason I have such an awesome wife.

Just yesterday I posted a roundup of news and historical articles about the former Carthage College / Robert Morris campus, which has sat rotting and destructing in my hometown for at least 10 years, despite many local leaders’ attempts to save it.

Today, this news from KHQA in Quincy:

Congressman Phil Hare secures money for Carthage

To rennovate old Cartahge [sic] College campus

“Hare helped secure $2.43 million of stimulus money to rennovate [sic] the old Carthage College campus. [The money comes] out of American Reinvestment Act …”

[Full story here.]

Now, I feel obligated to warn that the story has some pretty bad errors, (including the name of the vet they interviewed). But they did at least cover the story, and they captured a shot of one of the empty buildings. And it’s great news for this area, especially in this era of budget cuts.

On an oddly related note: my next high school reunion (didn’t we just have one of these things?) is taking place in Carthage over the Fourth of July weekend, and one of the leaders of the restoration of the old Bryan Auditorium has planned a multi-year reunion mixer to take place in the refurbished building. Some of my friends are raising their eyebrows at me about this, but:  I’m definitely turning in my RSVP card. Oh, how my 18-year-old self (of “I’m never comin’ back to this town!” fame) would mock me! (Go ahead and laugh, you little punk!)

I was intrigued to learn that one of the entries on the recently released list of the “10 Most Endangered” historical sites in Illinois is an old house in Moline.

I happened to be in the Quad Cities not long after I read about the home, so I got C-Nor, (a.k.a. my fiancee, Chris), to program the address into his GPS.

We navigated from Davenport (IA) to Moline, (with the British lady on the Garmin directing/annoying us the whole way), until we found the lonely structure that was once owned by John Deere (the man). Read about the history of the house here.

I’m not sure why the house and /or property are called “Red Cliff.” I definitely get the “cliff” part, and you will, too, if you check out the photos I took. But the house is, um, green. The house stands out literally and figuratively; it looks out over Moline from a dramatic little look-out point while the rest of the neighborhood is un-remarkable. Chris and I walked right up to the house and looked in the windows. There are some sawhorses and tools inside, not to mention a sign out front that says “Restoration in progress,” that hint at a promising future. But the “10 Most Endangered” list says the restoration effort has been abandoned and the property is now in foreclosure.

Play the slide show for more details, or view the pictures via Flickr to get all the cutline-y goodness.

P.S. On a related note: Time.com recently published a list of the 11 most endangered national places, on which some of the causes of “danger” are proposed Wal-Marts and condo developments. (I will try to think of something non-depressing for my next post!)

It’s time for a quick roundup of news about the restoration/re-vamping of the former Carthage College/ Robert Morris campus.

old Bryan Auditorium/ new Charger Center

I have received a couple of e-mails and/or comments on the blog from CC alumni and area residents who were interested in the old school in my hometown. (Thank you!) For those of you new to the blog, let me explain that I’ve done quite a bit of writing and blogging about the strange saga that surrounded the campus, a quick summary of which you can find here.

With the recent grand (re-)opening of one of the buildings, and an unveiling of the restored/refurbished auditorium coming up on June 2, the Hancock County Journal-Pilot has been running a weekly series about the history of the former campus.

So, for those readers and for the sake of convenience, I offer a compilation of the links:

Articles on the history of Carthage College

• “Rebirth of the Campus“
• “Evergreen battles, kissing rocks, and other tales of Carthage College“
• “Carthage College students form nation’s first Circle K chapter“

Letters to the Editor from Carthage College alumni:

• “Carthage alumnus remembers“
• “Does anyone remember this?”

If you’re from Carthage, attended Carthage College or Robert Morris (or one of the strange “international” incarnations of the college in the 90s), or have any memories whatsoever to share about the campus, I would love to hear from you.