Illinois September and October 2016

We almost had tears in our eyes when we left Anacortes to head east on Sunday, August 28.  Leaving sunny skies, 70-degree days, and all the friends with whom we had reconnected was difficult.  Fortunately, we were looking toward new adventures and seeing friends and family in Illinois.  Our route took us to Seattle on I-5 and then east on I-90 to southern Minnesota.  We travelled quickly, taking only 6 days to get parked in our same spot on the south side of Fairview, IL.  


I wish I could take credit for this great photo of our little town, but I cannot.  Son-in-law Bob took this with his drone when we had our family reunion in mid-September. 



Before harvest started, we drove to northern Illinois to visit Jerry and Sue Hipple.  They provided us with a new treat…a visit to an estate distillery on a working grain farm, called “Whiskey Acres.”  This three-generation farm family had everyone involved in both grain production as well as whiskey distilling.  We had a libation prior to the distillery tour and found their wares delicious.  



We always have a good time with these old friends, but bourbon tasting in the backyard of the distillery added a new layer of hilarity!

West central Illinois provided us with many opportunities to explore old cemeteries.  Whether we knew the residents or not, we were intrigued by the headstones.  Foster Cemetery, east of Fairview on the Farmington blacktop was an old cemetery, perhaps established by Reverend Foster, an early Fairview resident.  This headstone is the most unique one we have seen.  I think little marbles were embedded in the concrete.

Sinnett Chapel, southeast of Fairview was a nondenominational chapel that had been in operation since 1848, and next to two cemeteries.  Unfortunately the chapel was closed but we have heard that a handful of faithful congregants still worship here. 


After church one Sunday we drove west to Monmouth to see if we could find the graves of some of my relatives.  My paternal grandmother’s maiden name was Erlandson.  We found the graves of her parents and four of her siblings but could not find Grandma and Grandpa.  Next time perhaps!  



The story is told in my family about great grandma Ida Christine, who immmigrated from Sweden as a teenager in the late 1800’s.  She came to Chicago as an indentured servant to pay for her passage.  She came through Ellis Island, as so many other Swedes did.  The immigration officer, who did not speak Swedish, and great grandma, who did not speak English, didn’t communicate well.  The official, unable to understand her name, decided her last name was to be “Thor”…like so many other Swedes!  Great grandma eventually made her way to Monmouth, married Charles Erlandson, and had six children, one of whom was my paternal grandmother, second from the left in this photo The family posed for this shot just before leaving for church in the early 1900’s.



Speaking of churches, we have enjoyed attending Trinity Lutheran Church in Canton.  This welcoming congregation called a new pastor this summer, and we could feel the energy and excitement of their new leader, Pastor Micah Garnett.

I would be remiss if I didn’t include this photo of the sign in front of the Reformed Church in Fairview. The first two weekends of October are always the Spoon River Scenic Drive, an event encompassing lots of little towns on the banks of Spoon River…or somewhere close by.  In the 1970’s vendors and local folks offered handcrafted items and yummy homemade foods, but this event has devolved into one big rummage sale and cheap items made in China.
  

In spite of the bad press, Jerry and I drove to London Mills to survey the offerings with my sister Carol and her granddaughter Zelda.

One of the locals maintains a permanent collection in one of the old buildings along Main Street and some of his stuff looks intriguing...but not if one lives in a
motor home!  

The other activity on the scenic drive is to eat…here’s a typical menu.  Where else can you get deep fried snickers?



One September Saturday, Cottage Hospital Alumni held the annual reunion for all graduates of this diploma nursing school.  I graduated from this school in Galesburg, IL, in 1968, along with 23 (I think!)classmates.  At the reunion there were four of us to reminisce and tell stories.  Each of these ladies is part of my memories from this tough, challenging, and exciting three years, but Mary Frank Smith, next to me, was a close friend.  We had not seen each other in 30 or so years and we had a wonderful time together!  

Mary and I decided to continue the gabfest, so Jerry and I met Mary and her husband John in Peoria at “Thyme Kitchen and Craft Beer”.  This restaurant along the Illinois River in Peoria’s warehouse district was housed in the old Sealtest Creamery.  Mary’s stepson was the architect who reworked this old building into a very cool place to eat. 

The third weekend in September we held our third annual Woodall/Rask family reunion.  Since Mom and Dad Woodall live in the little town of Fairview it was our home base.  We had several days of multi-generational fun and of course I’ve got lots of photos with which to bore you!

Our Granddaughter Lauren

Great Niece Zelda

Anticipating the arrival of 4 boys and 5 girls between the ages of 3 and 7, I knitted some gifts for these cute little people.  The boys got ninja masks and the girls got crowns.  One family was unable to attend at the last minute, so only three little girls in crowns.

Lauren, Sheldon, and Shyla, another great niece
and great nephew

Sheldon

More great nephews, Gabe, Levi, and Micah

Friday evening of reunion weekend we gathered at sister-in-law Becky Yurkovich’s house for pizza and catching up.  Eventually the young folks…our kids and their Yurkovich cousins…went out

on the town.  The four cousins and two spouses had a great time together and it looked like they would continue this family gathering for years to come.  The lucky grandmas and grandpas got to stay home with the cute little princesses and ninjas!

Of course we could not have picked a hotter weekend…90 degrees and 90% humidity.  In spite of that we made our way back to Canton on Saturday afternoon for “A Taste of Canton” in Big Creek Park.  The little kids gravitated toward the crafts and the adults followed along.  Lauren and Shyla are intent on a project as Aunt Dorothy looked on.

 The highlight of the weekend was the wiener roast and hayrack ride at Don Woodall’s farm.  It did not matter that it was a blazing hot summer day!  We had a great fire and cooked hot dogs and s’mores! We found lots to do before it was time for the hayrack ride. Eating, of course! 

Mom and Dad enjoying hot dogs. 

The kids loved shelling corn off the cob.  A unique experience for these city kids! 

Lauren gave a Sheldon a lesson! 

Aunt Sally’s new pup, May Belle was a hit with everyone!  The little kids kept May Belle moving! 

Can't beat all the good conversations!  My brother Chuck, my sister-in-law Suzanne, and my brother-in-law Don have known each other forever and always have a good story or two!

Jill, Bob and Lauren went for a ride in the side-by-side

Of course we took some group family shots.  

First the Woodall’s.  The only family member missing was Aunt Dorothy's husband Donald.  A very good showing! 

And then the Rask’s.  We were missing my niece Kelly, her husband Matt, and their daughters Lilly and Lauren, and my sister Carol, her spouse Rusty, son James, and Zelda. It was finally time for a hayrack ride to the back pasture.  

Grandpa Jerry and nephew Todd made sure all the little kids got a chance to drive!  Lauren was quite comfortable driving one handed! Young and old alike joined in the fun.  

We did have a little excitement while Jerry changed the junior drivers.  Great nephew Gabe, at his second driving experience, had spotted the clutch on the old John Deere 70 and put the tractor in gear before everyone had re-settled.  Gotta watch those three year olds!

Once again our son-in-law Bob brought his drone and he got some amazing shots!

Sunset.  Looking west over the cornfields.

Sunday after church we found another park for the kids to burn off some energy…

Lucky us!  Our family didn’t leave until Monday evening so we spent Monday afternoon at the Caterpillar Museum in downtown Peoria.  Lauren loved “driving” the big machines.

 What a great weekend we had with our family!  We’ve got everyone cued up to do it again next year. Even though life was considerably slower after the big weekend, we did find some things to do.

Such as shopping at Farm King.  It was deer season and the shelves were full of meat processing ideas!

Or keeping an eye on this praying mantis, that seemed to be everywhere! 

Having dinner at the Bernadotte Café with Bobbi LaPlante and Chuck Schleich.  We had heard this little town on Spoon River had great catfish.  It was good but small, so it was supplemented with scored buffalo carp…not so good! 

It was harvest time and it seemed we were always following a big piece of equipment down the road!


Phil and Rita Olson came for a whirlwind tour so we took them to farmer friends, the Schleich’s, who were combining corn. 

Phil (on the far right) rode with Jesse (second from left) in the combine and Rita (second from right) rode with Lara (far left) in the tractor pulling the auger wagon.

It was back to Thyme Restaurant on the second day of the Olson visit.  Former Visalia pastor Barry Vail and his wife Allison were in Peoria, so we all gathered for a beer and lunch.  Once again we thought this was a great place! 

We’ll soon be leaving Illinois to go to Red Bay, Alabama, for some repairs.  Stay tuned…