Little trips from Fairview, IL, and Back, June 17 to July 3

Little trips from Fairview, IL, and back                                                                June 17 to July 3

         Our plans for the summer have changed a little bit.  Jim, Jerry’s dad turned 88 June 19 and is having some health problems.  Since we live a lovely retired life, we plan to stay close to Fairview to help with doctors’ appointments, etc.  Jerry’s sister Becky has been the “go to gal” for quite awhile, closely followed by Jerry’s brother Don.  It’s our turn to help out.  Consequently, it looks like we’ll spend a lot more time in Fairview, IL, and take small trips around the Midwest.  It’s all good! 

         Another “carrot” for staying close to Fairview is my new little great niece, Zelda.  What a cutie!  Her mom is Molly Neiheisel and her Grandma is my sister Carol.  We need to have lots of visits with them.  Luckily they’re only about 20 minutes away, in London Mills.  Zelda was born just before Christmas, 2014, and is about 6 months old in this photo.  She looks like her great grandpa Gene’s baby pictures and definitely has his ears!

         We drove to Altona on Sunday, June 20 to attend church at Immanuel Lutheran.  This is the church where I was baptized almost 68 years ago.  My family attended church here until I was 4 ½ so I don’t have a lot of memories of the people or the building.  I do remember standing on the pew between my parents as they stood to sing hymns.  They both had wonderful voices and I cherish those memories of their singing together. 

         After the service an older gentleman came up to greet us and introduce himself, “Hi!  I’m Max Olson.”  We explained our visit to the church service and he wanted to know who my folks were.  “Gene Rask!  Gene Rask!  He dated my sister Ruby!”  What a hoot!!!  We had a brief visit with Terri and Elaine Bolin after the service.  We had been good friends in the 70’s when we all lived in Galesburg.  Elaine’s sister is married to my first cousin once removed…we’re almost family.  We sat with Dick and Gayla Holmes and went to lunch with them in Bishop Hill (more on Bishop Hill later!).  Gayla, Jerry and I went to high school together, so we had lots of catching up to do.

         We had lunch at the “Filling Station” and, as luck would have it, Swedish Meatballs. Swedish rye bread, and rice pudding (and some random vegetables!) were on the menu.  Yum!  Of course, I had to have a photo of this nectar of the gods! 

         Wednesday, June 24 we were off to Winchester, Indiana, but spent our first night out in Anderson, Indiana for a visit with a high school friend, Mike Porch.  We also went to high school with his wife Leanne but she had departed early to go to a family reunion.  We were lucky to catch Mike, as he was leaving the next day.

          Thursday, June 25, we pulled in to the Winchester Speedway for the “Old Timers Event.”  Jerry’s roommate from WIU, Jerry Hipple and his wife Sue raced midgets here in the 70’s.  Jerry H. has restored his old midget and had it in running condition again.  We were excited to see Jerry race number 93!  We had hoped to camp right at the speedway, but eastern Indiana has had torrential rains.  When we pulled onto a site in the grassy field, we sunk and bent our plywood jack pads.  Yikes!  We quickly pulled out of there and eventually parked at Camp Modoc, about 20 miles away.

         It rained off and on all weekend so we never did get to see Jerry’s car run. This speedway is billed to be the “world’s fastest half mile track” and is known for its high-bank turns.  Using my little cell phone app, I found the bank of turn number three to be about 33^o!  It was a challenge to walk from the bottom to the top of the curve.

         Since no racing was going to happen on Friday, June 26, so we went exploring.  We travelled about 20 miles to Greenville, OH, where we ate at the “Maid-Rite Drive-In”.  This little spot was made famous when Guy Fieri of “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” visited a few years ago.  Yummy maid-rites!  In the photo, Jerry and Sue Hipple are standing outside the front entrance, but away from that brick wall that is covered with chewing gum!

         The track was still covered with water on Saturday, June 27, so we gave up on the idea of seeing Jerry’s car run.  Maybe next time.  This panorama shot that I took from the grandstand will give you an idea of what the track looked like.

         Dinner with the Hipple’s at the Mexican Restaurant Saturday night was another chance to visit.  We are continually reminded that spending time with old friends is great!

         Sunday, June 28, we departed and headed northwest to Timber Lake Campground, just outside Huntington, IN.  Visalia friends, Mike and Sandy Albaugh, would meet us here on Monday, as they travelled back to California from Michigan.  This campground had a swimming beach, a lake for canoeing and fishing, and even a zip line.  Definitely designed for families.  We had a restful Sunday afternoon and caught up on laundry, took a walk around the lake, and barbecued in the warm sunshine.  It felt so good to be outside in dry weather!

         Mike and Sandy arrived before lunch on Monday, June 29, and told us they were ready for an adventure.  We drove to the home of the breaded tenderloin sandwich in downtown Huntington…Nick’s Restaurant.  Delicious!

         We explored this pretty town on the banks of the Wabash River.  It was apparent that the town’s settlers were wealthy, probably due the two railroads that ran through the town and town’s close proximity to the Wabasha and Erie Canal.  The old hotel was quite impressive and in good repair.  It had been converted to low-income apartments and had 60 residents.  As we wandered through the lobby, we met one of the residents who gave us a tour of her apartment.  It was spacious and homey and we were thrilled that this lovely older lady wanted to share it with us.

         We stopped at these pretty Sunken Gardens.  They were constructed on the remnants of an old stone quarry between 1923 and 1928. The Sunken Gardens featured various plantings, fishponds and stone structures and made a pretty place to explore.

          Tuesday, June 30, we headed west once again and our target was Galesburg East Campground, just east of Knoxville, Illinois.  This “neck of the woods” was very familiar to Jerry and I and we took great pleasure introducing Mike and Sandy to the country where we grew up!  We gave them a tour of Galesburg and our final stop was at the old central fire station on Simmons near Knox College.  This building had been purchased and refurbished a couple of times since the fire station had moved.  Currently it is home to Iron Spike Microbrewery.  We tried their interesting beers and even sampled bacon popcorn…corn popped in bacon fat.  Thankfully it wasn’t very good!

         Wednesday, July 1, we toured Bishop Hill.  According to Wikipedia:

This little village of 130 people was founded in 1846 by Swedish immigrants affiliated with the Pietist movement, led by Erik Jansson.  According to Jansson, this community would become the "New Jerusalem", and their beliefs would soon spread across the world. As a result, 1400 colonists emigrated from Sweden to their new home in western Illinois.  Many of the first colonists died of disease that first hard winter.  Gradually life at the colony began to improve.  In the next few years housing was upgraded from dugouts to brick living areas, and crops were planted on 700 acres (2.8 km2) of land.  By 1849, Bishop Hill had constructed a flour mill, two sawmills, a three story frame church, and various other buildings.  The Bishop Hill Colony was communistic in nature, as dictated by Jansson.  Thus, everything was owned by everyone and no one had more possessions than another.  Work in the colony was highly rigorous and regimented.  It wasn't uncommon to see hundreds of people working together in the fields or large groups of laborers engaged in other tasks.

         Friends from California run the Gallery Inn, in Bishop Hill, Jim and Marti Johnson.  Marti’s mom, Donna Carlson and Marti’s sister, Kathy Mitchell (they’re both from Visalia, too) just happened to be visiting.  We met them at the Bakery for coffee and sweets.  A great way to start the day!

         Kathy and Donna gave us a tour of the Gallery Inn, one of the original Bishop Hill buildings, which Jim and Marti now operate as a hotel for visitors to this historic park.  Furnished beautifully, they get rave reviews from their customers!

         I think we visited every shop and museum in Bishop Hill…easily done since we were one of a handful of tourists that day. We visited the colony church and boarding house.  The docent was a decendant of two of the original founding families and quite proud of her Swedish heritage.  She had many stories to tell, including the King of Sweden’s visit to Bishop Hill.  We love meeting these folks who eagerly share their experiences with us!

         After a long day of walking, we were ready to return the RV park and relax.  This delightful park had been in place since the 70’s and provided the guests with a high cannopy of shade trees.  We were able to park next to each other which made our lengthy conversations and reminiscences easy.

         Thursday, July 2, it was time for us to go our separate ways.  Mike and Sandy, originally from a little town south of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, planned to spend the Fourth of July there.  They found an available campground in the Amana Colonies, about 2 ½ hours away from our campground.  We were bound for Fairview where we would spend the Fourth of July with our families.

         We will be here in Fairview until at least July 13 or 14.  We are looking forward to the Fairview festivities for the Fourth of July.  They have one of the best fireworks shows in the area!  Jerry and I hope we can stay up that late!  The next weekend is the Fairview Homecoming, complete with a livestock competition, tractor pull, baking contests, and a parade!  We lucky to be spending the summer here.

         The Midwest adventure continues…