“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.

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

“Postcard from Forgottonia: The land that time chose not to remember“

Newcity's "postcard" from Forgottonia

The story is well-written. And I’m always fascinated to read any “outsider’s” take on this area. But I have to admit a bit of confusion and frustration with this piece. There’s a whole lotta “land that time forgot”-type generalizing:

“Forgottonia is a kind of negative image of urban America—which from the Forgottonian perspective presents itself as the indifferent republic of… well, let’s call it Oblivia for lack of a better term…Nobody sets out purposefully to explore the region of west central Illinois known colloquially as Forgottonia. The place creeps up on you as gently as a childhood memory, and it is only later that you realize you have set foot in this unmarked republic of corn, dust and melancholy. As its name suggests, it is less a place than a feeling—a sense of having slipped away from the present moment into some other time stream, which has been dammed up by indifference and neglect and now registers only as a trickle.”

And until I reached the Plymouth part of the story, I began to wonder if the writer had even visited the region he was describing. I was also intrigued by the fact that the only source the writer acknowledges (other than the interview with a resident) is the feature on the origin of the Forgottonia movement that appeared last spring in the publication produced by WIU students, Western Illinois Magazine.

I’m familiar with Newcity, but only familiar. [Readers: Does this Chicago-centric publication typically do "downstate" features? And in its "News" section?] What about you—when you see objective descriptions of the “forgotten” place you call home, do you feel fascinated, too? Excited? Annoyed? Insulted? Let me hear from you.

Plymouth, Ill.

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.

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.

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!)

(first headline)

Spoon River College filled with ‘Rage’

Updated Apr 02, 2010 @ 07:37 PM

The votes are in, and the new mascot for Spoon River College is one that students and administrators hope will be all the “Rage” across campus. Full story here.

(then, under that story, this one :

Spoon River College issuing $3.5M in bonds to remain stable

Posted Apr 01, 2010 @ 10:22 PM

Spoon River College will soon issue $3.5 million in bonds that taxpayers will have to repay during the next 10 years because the state is behind in its payments to the school. Full story here.

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.)