Welcome to Forgotonia

Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America’s Heartland by Patricia L. Bryan and Thomas Wolf

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My holiday/vacation/part-time-employment-status reading blitz continues!

I was intrigued by this book from the moment I heard about it, not only because it takes place in Iowa (where I just moved) and on a farm (which is the way I grew up), but also because I discovered that I have a few small things in common with one of the authors, (namely that we both once lived and worked in the same small-ish town, and we graduated from liberal arts colleges located a stone’s throw from one another).

Anyway, in addition to having the true-crime hook, the story ends up being quite moving and creates a human picture of the alleged assassin, who, you begin to realize, was in many ways a victim. I appreciate the huge amount of work on the part of the authors’ having worked-in the social and historical research from the time, creating a rich picture of what life must have been like for people (especially farm women) involved in the story.

After the initial draw of the true-crime element, I did start to feel that, in the section of the alleged assassin’s trial, there was less of a hook-y mystery than maybe I had been hoping for. But it was still a compelling read.

And on top of the personal/local connections I mentioned above, it turned out that part of what inspired the research on this story was that it had been reported on (for a Des Moines newspaper) by a young woman who went on to become an award-winning author who was a contemporary of Eugene O’Neill–and she was from Davenport.
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UPDATE: So just yesterday I posted about the Macomb Square losing another long-time business (or possibly two). Just minutes after hitting “save,” I learned from a Facebook friend’s posting that the independently owned Ford Hopkins drug store (on the west side of the Square, known for offering “real” Cokes and having a lunch counter) has closed its doors.

Thanks to a couple of tips today, I learned that the history of the so-called Forgottonia movement was featured on HBO last night as part of the series How States Got Their Shapes.

I haven’t tried to play this video myself yet, so forgive me if I’m wrong, but it looks like you can watch the full episode on the show’s web site.

If you’re like me, it’s always a bit exciting to see this little place we call home being discussed from the outsider’s point of view. As one friend put it, (a friend who, like me, is a lifelong resident of the region) :

 

“I still cant believe this was actually on tv. Fandon freakin IL was on the History Channel!”

 

Check the front page of the Peoria Journal-Star today for a bit of a meta moment, folks:

“Gone but not Forgottonia”

History Channel will spotlight satirical 1971 plan for western Illinois to secede from union

Cool, huh?

And in addition to news of the History Channel show, interestingly, this story features some quotes from the “governor” for the movement, one Neil Gamm, who, as far as I know, hasn’t spoken to the media about anything related to Forgottonia since back in the day. (Not sure he was, like, hiding out on the lam or whatever, but my understanding has been that he’s been somewhat reclusive). Gamm is now apparently living back in the area, too.

Points to reporter Nathan Woodside for getting an interview with Gamm. (And for understanding/ spelling correctly that certain things on this here blog are meant to be facetious!)

…the legend of Forgottonia is twitching with new life.

Gamm will be featured on an upcoming episode of the History Channel documentary “How the States Got Their Shapes.”

…Some signs of Forgottonia remain. A barn near Avon still proudly supports a “Forgottonia, USA” moniker.

An Internet blog still posts news from Forgottonia, facetiously building up small-town stories into big news. “Plans proceed for traffic light to replace four-way stop” was a recent headline under breaking news in Carthage.

Read the full story here.

According to my hometown paper, the weekly Journal-Pilot, there’s big news in the town of Carthage.

Behold:

“Plans proceed for traffic light to replace four-way stop“

That’s right. The blinking-red-light-on-a-wire in the middle of town—that would be on Highway 136, right between the DQ and the Hardee’s—is going away.

Of course, to those of you who aren’t from my hometown, this might seem like less than interesting news. (And okay, it’s not exactly “breaking”—it’s from last week’s paper. And you have to scroll down to the sixth paragraph of this story to find it. )

But the red light in the 4-way stop—and that’s what it’s called, by the way; not “the intersection of such-and-such streets,” but just “the 4-way stop”—is an icon. It’s a symbol of small-town life, in a place where traffic is so scarce, my driver’s ed teacher actually used to use lines like this when we were practice-driving in the taupe Taurus:  “Okay, try to pretend there’s a yellow light,” or the classic, “Now, if you needed to switch lanes, and let’s say someone was behind you– what would you do?”

(And my college friends wonder why I was always too chicken to drive in Chicago. Or Peoria. Or…Monmouth.)

Anyway, there’s no information in the newspaper story about what would necessitate an actual stoplight in Carthage. This is all you get, before the story moves on to another subject in the next paragraph:

“Bidding on the four-way stop expansion and installation of automated traffic lights [was] at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 5. The project, originally drawn up in 1995, is expected to cost around $1 million.

Obviously it hasn’t been too pressing an issue if they’ve been working on it for more than 15 years.

But now that it’s on it’s way, it’ll be the second stoplight in the entire county (Hamilton can claim rights to the first). Next thing you know? Urban blight.

1. According to a story from the Western Courier, the owners of DJ’s Steakhouse (formerly the Macomb Dining Company) are hoping to up the classiness factor of Macomb by opening a new restaurant and lounge called, get ready for it, Hangovers. (Apparently this is the place to go before you head over to Detox.) According to the story, the new place will be located at 518 West Jackson St., which, according to the magic of Google Maps, could be in, or right next to, the defunct Diamond Dave’s/ Islands/Shanty Shack.
2. You will soon be able to by alcohol at Walgreens, according to the same story linked above. (Woot woot, one less reason to go to Wally World?)
3. The Macomb Square apparently has a bit of a red-light district element developing? Surely this can’t be the case. But: “Man arrested on prostitution-related charges,” according to a local radio station. Wha-huh?!?

Yesterday, I told you about the Chicago-centric publication Newcity publishing a “postcard” from the Forgottonia region, (including a stop in Plymouth, Ill.), which I raised a couple of questions about here. Interestingly, only three days after the Newcity story, the same Hancock County hamlet of Plymouth—AND a piece of my own family’s history—was featured in the New York Times‘ photography blog.

Lens Blog- NYT.com -”A Prairie Wanderer in Search of the Human Touch“

screen shot of Plymouth on NYT blog

I couldn’t believe my eyes when a friend sent me the link to this blog via a Facebook message. This was a friend who (like any good writer) has a deep abhorrence of exclamation points.”OMG!!” She wrote. “Check it out: Prairie Winds!!!!!!” But before I explain the Prairie Winds part, let me tell you about the other things I found when I went to the link above. The blog, Lens: Photography, Video, and Visual Journalism, which “present[s] the finest and most interesting visual and multimedia reporting,” was on that day highlighting the work of Chicago-based photographer Dave Jordano. The former adman returning to his early roots in documentary photography had traveled around rural Illinois in the fairly recent past, capturing scenes of rural Illinois for a series called Prairieland. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, in his journey through the tiny dots on the

photographer Dave Jordano's website

Illinois map (many of which I’ve never heard of), Jordano had cast his photojournalistic and artistic eye on several spots in our immediate region. (Although what he has documented is not, of course, entirely “pleasant”). If you’re at all interested in photography, photojournalism or documentaries, or how our region is seen through others’ eyes, you should check out the photographer’s web site, where you’ll see stirring shots that capture

• a young man in Bardolph, (in McDonough County, Ill.)
• a series documenting the destruction of Gulf Port during the Flood of 2008
• a set of trophies from a no-longer existing school in Plymouth (shown above)
• and many other sad, self-contained mini stories, like this one.

It turns out that one of the Prairieland shots, too, captures a piece of my own family history. Of all places in the world, this photographer had cast his photojournalistic and artistic eye on the Prairie Winds Motel, which just happens to be the little mom-and-pop business that was built by my grandpa—and co-operated by my grandma—back in the early 60s in Carthage, Ill. More on the motel—including one rather terrifying tale—to come.

NYT Lens blog

Maid Rite, Macomb, IL

Originally uploaded by Rural Rose

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.

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.