Figurine in window, Main Street, Industry, IL
Originally uploaded by Rural Rose
Another entry for the Mapping Main Street project, www.mappingmainstreet.org.
Semi-creepy statue of elderly couple inside a storefront (that, despite its sign, appeared to be closed) on Main Street in Industry, IL.
Click on the photo if you’d like to see more of my Forgottonia-region pictures on Flickr.
Originally uploaded by Rural Rose
My grandparents had their first date here. According to my grandpa (who is 89 now), they had their first kiss in the parking lot.
I took this picture several years ago for a photography class, the kind where you develop film in the darkroom. The class was in Galesburg, Illinois, but drove down to Macomb to try to capture this spot (as well as the soda fountain in the Ford Hopkins drug store and the still-standing-but-not-functioning drive-in theater screen: a couple of random places around Macomb that, in my opinion, give it character and also a bit of the feeling that time hasn’t advanced much here.)
I ate at this Maid Rite a couple of times about 10 years ago; the steamburgers and greasy fries were tasty, but you also left there smelling like the place for the rest of the day.
It’s such an obvious little anachronism, this mom-and-pop place where my grandparents would have gone as kids, that it easily catches your eye when you drive by. And in fact, I have come to learn since my attempt at black-and-white photography here that it’s a frequent site of inspiration for photographers.
It’s closed and for sale now—has been for awhile—and I wonder what will become of it.
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:
“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 …”
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!)
As an award-winning newspaper reporter and columnist, public radio commentator, blogger, and publications writer & editor, I have been writing about the people and places of western Illinois for more than 15 years. Send me your story ideas at alison.sixdegrees@gmail.com