UPDATE: Mea culpa: As a certain unnamed reader helpfully pointed out, this entry below (originally published Oct. 3)—or at least its reference to a certain movie —is a bit of an anachronism, since the tower didn’t go up until the 00s. However, said reader, who also happens to be a longtime friend from my home stomping grounds, says, “I say we get a 12-pack and give it a try.”
Over the weekend, C-Nor and I took a walk around the hamlet of Ferris, Ill., which is about a stone’s throw from the farm where I grew up. (It’s just a few miles north of Carthage, Ill., and its young people have been bussed to the Carthage school system for many years.)
Chris took this picture of the water tower. As he was doing so, it struck me as surprising that, having grown up here in the 80s, in the era of the iconic teen movie, none of the bored teens (including me) ever felt inspired to climb atop it and paint the word “SAVE.”
(It would have been a lot cheaper and easier than emulating the movie by taking a day trip into Chicago, that’s for sure.)
Bueller? Anyone?
Tags: 80s, Carthage, country, Ferris, HancockCounty, Illinois, movies, pics, rural, small towns
Ah, Ferris. Never spent much time there as a kid, except with dad going to the bank. (We spend most of our time around Colusa.)
But last year I had to stop in several times while I was back there just to eat at the cafe in the old school cafeteria. The best find of the trip.
Thanks for the memory. Got to get back there again, next spring, after it warms up…
Sorry for the belated reply–hope you will see this. Yes, I have heard the cafe in the old Ferris school is worth visiting, but I’ve still never been there. My dad has. He’s a farmer–and he went there when it was still called The Dusty Farmer or something close to that. I believe it’s under new ownership now. I wonder if they serve on those rectangle school trays with the spaces separated out for the entree and the side dishes? ;)
It’s a bit sad to see the bank sitting there empty. I grew up a few miles from Ferris, and it was always the first stop on my bus route: all the Ferris kids got off at the bank and walked home.
Thanks for your post and for reading the blog!