Welcome to Forgotonia

What in the world do these strange-looking trousers have to do with the Forgotonia region, and why are they in (a division of) the Smithsonian?

The answer, from Arago: People, Postage & the Post, involves a tiny nearby town, and a man named Forrest W. Crookham.

“This is an automobile and driver’s robe [...]. It provided drivers of open-air vehicles with protection from the cold and dirt.[....] Purchased by Forrest W. Crookham early in his career as a rural delivery service carrier, the driver’s robe helped Crookham face wintry weather conditions while delivering the mail on his country route out of Roseville, Illinois. Crookham began as a rural letter carrier in 1915 [during the 'horse and buggy days'] ,and was still working a route when he donated this article of clothing to the Smithsonian Institution in 1960.

“It was a God-send to me,” [he said], “as before wearing it I froze or frosted my feet every winter. . . .”

Cool!

(Thanks to Double K for the tip!)

These three stories that I’ve been meaning to bring to your attention are, like, way old now. I’ve been pretty busy these last few weeks working on my master’s thesis-type thing watching “Flight of the Concords.”

But hey, maybe you’ve been busy too, so you didn’t catch these when they came out, and now I’m helpfully pointing them out! So, yay for me.

Here are

3 Local News Items You Need to Know Right Now

1) “Industry coal mine accused of polluting: Attorney General’s Office files complaint for alleged releases into waterways.”

Read all the depressing details in the article from the Peoria Journal Star.

And then there’s this (also from the PJ Star):

2) “Fulton [County] ranked low on health: study ranks county 86th out of 101 in state in residents’ overall health)”

“We have poverty, unemployment, transportation issues. It could be much better.”

(In a word….yes.)

Side note: Do you ever wonder what would Edgar Lee Masters would say if he were alive today? Would he be surprised to find that life in the Spoon River region is still pretty grave (no pun intended on those speakers from the dead, well, okay, maybe intended a little bit)?

And speaking of ol’ Eddie and the Spoon, we come to:

3) Spoon River College narrows mascot slate: Either Stallion, Raven, Wildfire or Rage will replace the Mudcat [which they can't use anymore because somebody else already does]”

The Rage? Must we? Ugh.

(But then again, now with all that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies mania going on, maybe I should pitch to publishers this new tome: Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology: The Rage.)

Chris Benedict, 21, of Nauvoo, is in the national news for hacking, but he’s not in trouble.

Check out the story on CNN.com.

(Thanks to “Hancock Hustla’”  M.T. for the tip, via Facebook.)

Virginia Cherill

Yesterday, side-by-side on the obituary page of my hometown paper, were two un-related women who, by all appearances, were just everyday members of this tiny, rural community. But these two senior citizens—who died on the same day—were relatives of some noteworthy Hollywood stars.

Six Degrees from Charlie Chaplin
Mary Agnes Habben, 91, of Carthage, was born on March 19, 1918, at the family home in Carthage, a daughter of Lawrence C. and Stella (Paris) Cherrill.

…which means she is a direct relative, one of the last remaining in the area, of Virginia Cherrill, who was Charlie Chaplain‘s leading lady in the classic silent movie City Lights. Virginia Cherill, who played the blind ingenue in the film, was originally from Carthage, and was just profiled in a new biography by British writer Miranda Seyour.

I had never met Mary Agnes Habben, but I think she was a pretty well-known lady in the community (especially because, well, everyone is.)

One Degree from Frasier’s Father
Vera A. Jones, 82, of Carthage “….is survived by [among many others] two brothers, John Mahoney of Oak Park and Bernard Mahoney of England….” making her the sister of “Frasier’s dad” John Mahoney. (Or for you 80′s film fans, that would be the father of Lloyd Dobler’s girlfriend).

I didn’t really know Vera, but she was one of my regular customers during my five years as a cashier at the grocery store in Carthage during my high school days and college breaks. I will always remember her because she was the only person I ever knew in Carthage with a British accent.

But I also probably took a bit more notice of her than other customers once I heard the rumor that she had a famous brother.

In the era when her brother was on NBC’s “Must See TV” every week during “Frasier,” this little lady would come in to the store for her Pall-Malls and to get quarters for the paper machine outside, never giving away a single clue to her status as the sibling of someone famous.

For a long time I thought it might just be a rural legend. I mean, John Mahoney doesn’t appear to have a British accent. And even if he did have one but controls it in his acting, how did he and his sister end up in rural Illinois?

I still don’t know the answer to those questions, but I do know that John was a master’s degree student here at WIU in Macomb, and that he got his first break in the Midwest (during his theatre days in Chicago).

Makes you wonder…
Looking back, Vera now reminds me a bit of Louise Harrison, (the sister of the Quiet Beatle), who was also a British lady in small-town Illinois, (Galesburg) and who (as I discovered while researching for my newspaper column) was also quiet about her ties to fame.

R.I.P., Vera and Mary Agnes; Carthage will miss you!

A new photo essay about small-town America,

“Empty places. Empty spaces”

by my good friend and amazing photojournalist Kent Kreigshauser,
(a former colleague from my days as a reporter for the Galesburg Register-Mail, where Kent continues to rock.)

This photo at right shows the former Wal-Mart, which sits gapingly empty right on the main drag (Henderson Street). The new Super Center is just a mile or so away, on the edge of town. This building has been empty for several years now.)

For my non-local readers:  Galesburg was the birthplace of poet Carl Sandburg. If you own a Maytag appliance, it was more than likely built in Galesburg, before the town lost the major Maytag plant to Mexico several years back.

This photo essay gives a bleak but honest picture of what’s going on in a lot of Forgotonia (and the country in general).

Check out Kent’s photo essay here.

As you might remember, I blogged awhile back about endangered sites in the area, which include the “Bernie Dot” bridge in Fulton County.

Unfortunately, things are not looking good for this structure on the famed Spoon River, which you might have heard of because of its eponymous Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters.

At least some citizens are expressing concern about its future. (But, apparently, not so much about the side of beef a-floatin‘ on by!)

Linked to story from the PJ Star, and copied below:

Spoon River bridge gets a reprieve Fulton County Board approves structural analysis of historic span

LEWISTOWN — Instead of having one of its trusses removed, the historic Bernadotte Bridge received a stay of execution Tuesday night from the Fulton County Board.

But engineers warn the bridge is so far gone because of flooding and debris piling against it, a collapse into the Spoon River is very likely.
“The bridge is going to fall into the river,” Fulton County Engineer Bill Kuhn told board members. “It’s just a matter of when. We’re pretty much at the end.”

Several county residents spoke in favor of restoring the bridge and against the county’s agenda item to remove a “pony truss” to allow debris and water to flow past. Dawn Stambaugh, who serves as chairwoman of a committee formed to save the bridge, said removing the truss not only would make the bridge useless but would make it unstable and the rest would soon fall.

“The bridge would be less likely to stand if the pony truss is removed,” she said of the structure that is used for foot traffic and bicycles.

The board heard from six residents who urged members to pay for a study that would examine the structure before making a decision.

“That bridge is important to me,” said Bernadotte resident Tyrel Belless, who lives next to the bridge. “I don’t want to see it go.”
Bernadotte is about 23 miles southwest of Canton.

The board voted to pay $7,000 for a structural analysis of the bridge before deciding what to do next.

Kuhn said the bridge is supported by stacks of unreinforced blocks, which are getting knocked away each time the river floods.

Debris, including tree branches, logs and currently a dead cow, floats down the river and gets pushed against the already weakened structure.

“I was afraid we were going to lose it last winter,” Kuhn said. “A big ice jam came through and almost took it out.”

Casting the only vote against the survey was board member Don Zessin. Member Mat Fletcher abstained.

The board will take up the issue again once the study is complete.

In the meantime, Stambaugh said she is happy for now that the board decided to wait. “They’ll have some knowledge about what they’re looking at,” she said.

This week we feature a resident of Carthage, (my hometown).

Bill Pyatt is not a Forgotonia native, but has become a well-known community member.

And even though I’m not a member of his congregation, I feel a sense of connection to Rev. Pyatt, because he just happened to be the person who presided over

-my friend Emily’s wedding;
-my late Grandma McGaughey’s memorial service;
-and then, a few years later, the baptism of my friend Emily’s firstborn child.

But it wasn’t until we became “Facebook friends” that I realized he and I are graduates of the same small college!)

This past winter, he graciously invited me to come back to my hometown stomping grounds to serve as guest speaker for the Carthage Rotary (i.e. indulging my occasional radio habit.)

Sadly (for the Carthage area), Rev. Pyatt and his wife, Brenda, (who has served as the Carthage Community Developer for the past 8 to 9 years), will be moving on from Forgotonia soon. He has recently been appointed by the bishop to move on to serve in Mt. Zion, IL (near Decatur).

(Among her accomplishments, a major coup: the successful attempt to get something rolling with the former Carthage College campus.)

We here in Forgotonia wish both of you well.

(And don’t forget: because of your new location, you will now have a connection to Matt Damon!)

TWENTY QUESTIONS
Name: Rev. Bill Pyatt
Age: 55
Hometown: Noblesville, IN
Current city of residence: Carthage, IL
Occupation/ employer: Pastor- First United Methodist Church of Carthage Forgotonia resident for ___ 8.5 years (and previously 4 years while at Monmouth College)

1) I ended up in Forgotonia because: My Bishop assigned me to serve the church at Carthage

2) Favorite food item for sale in Forgotonia: Desserts at The Old Dairy, Macomb

3) Favorite tourist spot / place to take visitors in Forgotonia: Nauvoo Historic/Re-enactment area

4) Favorite spring or summer event / moment in Forgotonia: Carthage 4th of July Parade and celebrations

5) Favorite fall or winter event / moment in Forgotonia: Carthage/IlliniWest High School Football games

6) Favorite place to eat in Forgotonia: Hotel Nauvoo

7) Favorite place to shop in Forgotonia: Country Pastimes in Carthage

8) Favorite place to spend a Saturday in Forgotonia: Messing with the garden in our backyard

9) Place(s) I’d like to spend more time in / have heard about but never visited in Forgotonia: Golden Windmill Follies

10) Forgotonia in general (or) my specific town needs needs: Entertainment venues for youth.[Amen!]

11) Forgotonia in general (or) my specific town needs less: Used clothing shops/yard sales

12) Best bargain for your buck in Forgotonia: Low humidity summer evenings

13) Best bragging point about / landmark: Hancock County Courthouse

14) Place(s) I like to think I discovered in Forgotonia: I don’t get off the beaten path very often

15) Radio station playing most often in my car when in Forgotonia: WIUM

16) Most dependable/ favorite media outlet in Forgotonia: WIUM

17) Restaurant, business or trend I’d like to see start in Forgotonia: Micro-brew pub

18) Best place to buy a beverage in Forgotonia: North Side Java in Carthage

19) One thing that has always surprised me about this area is: gentle and caring nature of residents

20) One thing I miss/ would miss if I left Forgotonia would be: Dear friends

Thanks to the my local shopper/ “McDonough County This Week,” I learned that a kid originally from Rushville and has penned a comic book that’s apparently making a bit of a splash, (at least in part because its “superhero” is not a wolf-man but the guy who happens to be that fella that’s runnin’ the country.

I went a Googlin’ for more info on the local boy-done-good, Chris Ward, and his Obama comic.

Here’s a May 22 entry from the blog splashpage.mtv.com:

Bluewater Productions will publish “Political Power: Barack Obama,” one of several comics featuring notable figures from recent US elections. Along with the Obama comic, Bluewater also has comics in the works featuring Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and, well… even the Obama’s dog, Bo.

And it’s that last comic, “Puppy Power: Bo Obama,” that prompted one of the funnier exchanges I’ve ever had with an interview subject — in this case, “Barack Obama” author Chris Ward.

“This ‘Bo Obama’ comic book really burns my ass,” laughed Ward. “Now I have to work twice as hard to make sure my Barack Obama comic sells more copies, or I’ll instantly shame my entire family. I’m not kidding. My grandmother’s dying words were, ‘Chris… outsell that godd—ed puppy comic.’”

The local pub mentions that Chris grew up in Schuyler County and graduated from WIU.

The MTV blog gives a sneak preview of the comic, which hints at a funny, smartly-written narrative style.

(But I would also like to hint that that claim of the horseshoe sandwich originating in Springfield might be a bone of contention with some people, who seem to think it belongs solely to Macomb’s Jackson Street Pub.)

(Here are the deets on MTV Splash Page from which I copied the above info:

Last night, after work, I drove from Macomb to Jacksonville, IL, to meet up with my sister, (who lives in Springfield), for an event (long story).

As I drove along, I enjoyed every second of that gorgeous gorgeous afternoon– farmers out in the fields; my moonroof actually open for once, wind blowing my hair every which way; the new Neko Case blasting from my car stereo.

As usual, this experience of taking the …. uh…. ‘scenic route’ ….led me to marvel at my surroundings.

When I turned south at Beardstown to head down Hwy 67/ to 104, I noticed I was getting low on gas, but thought, ‘Well, surely there’ll be a station in the next town.”

Thankfully, this does NOT turn into a story of me running out of gas in the middle of a two-laner in the depths of Forgotonia.

BUT.

Let’s just say, the next town over, Meredosia, is not……. a booming metropolis.

As I drove along, anxiously eyeing my little gas-pump icon, but still taking in all the sights around me– little oil wells pumping, irrigation systems everywhere (which seemed strange, considering the recent flooding), the broken-down little shacks; the picturesque landscape. But still I wasn’t thinking about it too much, just taking note of it.

I coasted into J-ville on “E,” but it all worked out ok (despite the 2.50 gas–don’t even get me started, as Molly Shannon’s stand-up-comedian-at-the-nursing-home would say.)

Later, after our event was over and it was time for me to head back to Macomb, I again found myself focused on my surroundings, but this time for a different reason.

This time it was dark, and as I drove back toward Beardstown, I was focused not on the scenic surroundings of this area I’d never navigated before, but the fact that the narrow, two-lane road happened to be undergoing construction (“rough grooved surface” practically all the way back from J-ville to Beardstown.)

I passed a dead deer on the side of the road–and then, a few yards later, a young couple over on the shoulder giving a statement to a state cop.

Then, as I continued to squint and try to find my way down the un-striped highway, I got into a somewhat treacherous game of chicken with a farmer whose giant, lighted planter seemed like a spaceship in the night (but who, like most in his profession, was simply heading home from his workday at 10:30 p.m.)

It struck me that because I’ve stayed in this area my entire life, I might never know what it’s like to get stuck in traffic in the suburban sprawl. And I may still lack the skills of knowing how to maneuver a car in downtown Chicago.

But I guess I can say I have braved through white-knuckling it, in the darkness, on an un-striped two-laner, through the truly BFE-ish location of Meredosia, IL.

Thankfully, I made it home just fine.

But get this.

As I’m reading the paper, trying to relax, my eyes land on an an obit that just happens to mention the very (obscure) hamlet through which I have just navigated (and a somewhat strange connection to my hometown):

Sept. 28, 1926 – May 16, 2009

Cleo E. Neally, 82, of Jacksonville, formerly of Carthage, died on Saturday, May 16, 2009, at Passavant Area Hospital in Jacksonville

[...]
Cleo was a graduate of Carthage High School and served with the U.S. Navy during W.W. II and the Korean War. He was a member of V.F.W. Post #5117 and American Legion Post #74, Meredosia Historical Society and Denver Christian Church.

He began his career with the Wabash Railroad as a telegrapher, and 41 years later retired as a Norfolk Southern Agent manning a computer. During his years with the railroad he became quite a collector of railroad antiques. He even dismantled the Carthage Depot and restored it as a cabin at Smith Lake in Meredosia, with the help of his sons.

While his passion for railroading was great, his passion for his family was even greater. He was involved in all aspects of his children and grandchildren’s lives, be it school, scouting, sports or teaching his woodworking skills. Known as “Papa Shorty” to some and “Pood” to others, his quick wit and sense of humor will be missed by all who knew him. [...]

Yeah.

I kid you not.

(But it gets even better.)

Today, I consulted Wikipedia for more info on the tiny little bump in the road that has caught my attention.

And what do I learn?

Apparently, little Meredosia is “the catfish capitol of Illinois.”

“Along with that, it is also home to the nuisance fish, Asian carps. There have also been reports that these same fish are kept as pets in many of the local pools throughout the Meredosia area.”

(If you’re so inclined, you can read about the existence of something called the Chicago Meredosia Gun Club.)

That’s right, folks. You read it here first.
(and oh by the way did I mention that the sight of even NORMAL SIZED catfish gives me nightmares and/or makes me want to puke?!?)