contents 20
FOOD 08 Hermann German wine country in the heart of America
12 For the Love of Cheese
Cheese flavors converge in Osceola, Missouri
16 Happiness by the Scoop
Whitey’s Ice Cream dishes up tasty treats
DESTINATION 20 Get Your Kicks
The Mother Road welcomes travelers
26 Midwestern “Ghost Town”
Decatur boasts an entire city of supernatural stories
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36
30 A Peek Behind the Scenes
The bridges of Madison County come to life
ENTERTAINMENT 36 In Full Bloom Tulip festival celebrates Dutch heritage
42 Park Players St. Louis brings Shakespeare classics to the crowds
46 Saturday Night Fever Burning rubber ignites Knoxville racetrack
48 Cinema Under the Stars A night at the Belleville drive-in
RESOURCE 53 Food on the Water
Top places to dock-hop at the Lake of the Ozarks
56 The Spirit of Walt Disney
Missouri town celebrates its most famous resident
60 Past and Future
Photo contest winners
66 Missouri’s North Star Columnist reflects on Detours’ hometown
>>WEB exclusive
42
For more stories about Midwest travel destinations and tips, visit our website, detoursmagazine.com
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Editor-in-Chief Melissa Bradford Executive Editor ABBEY NORTHCUTT Art Director REBECCA REITZ Copy Editors alyssa johnson and ALLISON TRAy Contributors Jenna holzer, dawn kohler, corbin kottmann, abbey northcutt, allison tray and Forrest Wilsey Designers Sarah BURNS, SAVANNAH EVERETT, GRETCHEN KUCERA, ROSE LINHARES sara murillo and Theresa Wildhaber Special Thanks Stephanie Hall, Burgundy Ramsey, Jessica Scheetz and Jessica Sleater Adviser MARILYN YAQUINTO In Memoriam ELIZABETH KOCH (1991–2012) • WEB • Online Editor Abbey northcutt Copy Editors alyssa johnson and ALLISON TRAY Bloggers Katelyn Casserly, Jonah Mckeown and Mary tomlinson Contributors jenna holzer, corbin kottmann and haleigh oetting Videographers Corinne Naeger and Shihan Rahman • ADVERTISING AND PUBLICITY • Publicity Manager KELLY CUNNINGHAM TMN Advertising Manager COLBY BYCROFT TMN Advertising Representatives david wilson and jacob masek Publicity Representatives Katherine Ginnard, julie staszko and shatorey street Social Media Manager Lena Le
detours 04 summer 2015
EDITORIAL POLICY detours Truman State University Barnett Media Center 100 E. Normal Kirksville, MO 63501 Phone: 660.785.7438 Fax: 660.785.7601
LETTER FROM THE
editor@detoursmagazine.com tmn.truman.edu/detours
editor Dear Reader, Choosing which articles to print in this “Best of detours” issue was not easy. I sat on the floor with stacks of magazines piled around me and slowly pieced through each issue, starting with the 1996 premiere issue and working my way through the years. After hours and hours of deliberation, I narrowed it down to one dozen stories, now printed all together in this special edition of our magazine. I felt like I was holding little pieces of history in my hands, each issue like a snapshot of a different time. Old photographs showed faces of people who have long since moved on from that frozen moment yet are forever preserved in the pages of a magazine. And although 19 years is not a large span of time in the grand scheme of things, a lot can change — and has changed — since these stories were originally published. On the cover is a neon Ted Drewes sign burning bright, catching the attention of passersby on Route 66. Although Route 66 is no longer in its prime, many people still fight to preserve it (p. 20). Jessica Sleater, the author of the Route 66 feature story, contributes an afterword reflecting on her experience traveling the Mother Road more than a decade ago when working on writing the original story (p. 24).
Winter
2015
Skyview Drive-In has been showing the latest films on its big screen for more than 60 years, preserving a part of Midwest culture while keeping with the times (p. 48). Owner Steve Bloomer explains how Skyview now projects films digitally, as opposed to using traditional film. Test your taste buds at Osceola Cheese Company, which continues to add new and spicy flavors that customers can sample in the store, including the recently popular “Hotter Than Hell Ghost Pepper” (p. 12). Pella’s Tulip Time Festival celebrates its 80th anniversary this year, and although new festivities are always being added, the essence of the event remains the same (p. 36). Tourists from around the world flock to this Iowa town for one weekend to experience Dutch culture through the festival’s parades, food and the costumed people who, during the rest of the year, call Pella home. Since detours published an article during 1998 about Walt Disney’s hometown of Marceline, Missouri, the community has built a new museum and planted trees in the man’s honor (p. 56). The article, like many others in this issue, features photos scanned from its original magazine spread. Although the photo quality is not as crisp as photos taken by cameras now, the aged photos evoke a sense of
detours is a copyrighted publication, produced biannually by Truman State University students. No material can be reproduced in any form without prior written consent of the detours adviser and staff. The editor-in-chief is responsible for all decisions. detours is distributed across the country, mainly in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. Opinions expressed in detours are not necessarily the views of staff. detours is not responsible for the full cost of an advertisement if an error occurs.
nostalgia, almost like turning the pages of an old family photo album. We are excited to announce our magazine’s new home on Issuu, a website that allows you to read publications from cover to cover online. As we celebrate our transition to a digital magazine and say farewell to print, we are proud to present this “Best of detours” issue as a reflection of the past 19 years. Read what a few graduated staff members have to say about their time working with the magazine (p. 06) and see both current and past photo contest winners (p. 60). The photo contest theme this issue was “Past and Future,” an appropriate way to summarize our “Best of detours” issue — a fond look back, as well as an optimistic look forward as we embrace the opportunities digital publishing allows. And as always, visit our website for the latest travel tips, advice and little-known destinations to visit in the tri-state area. Embrace life’s detours,
Melissa Bradford Editor-in-Chief
The theme for the Winter 2015 photo contest is The Unexpected. The contest is open to any and all kinds of photos. Entries must include the photographer’s name, address and telephone number as well as the photo’s location and title. We also encourage contestants to include a short caption about the photo. The deadline for entries is October 4, 2015. The winning photo will be published in the Winter 2015 issue. For full rules and regulations, visit detoursmagazine.com. Submissions can be emailed to photo@detoursmagazine.com.
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Letters from the Past Graduated staff members reflect on their experience with Detours
Jessica Scheetz
Communications Specialist at Energizer Holdings, Inc. Detours Editor-in-Chief 2011–2013
My three years at Detours are filled with vivid memories of late-night Taco Bell runs, weekend-long copy editing sessions and, of course, travel. From a tiger sanctuary in southern Missouri to an 1880s working stagecoach shop, I not only got to visit some of the most eclectic and treasured spots in the Midwest, but also experience them second-hand through the writings of my fellow staffers. So when I became Editor-in-Chief of Detours in 2011, my mind was filled of the places we could see and the things we could do. But it wasn’t until Liz said yes to co-editing with me that I could begin to see a bright and promising future ahead. The changes we instilled were a culmination of both of our visions as well as our staff’s to help Detours continue to thrive. We kept some of our best attributes while sprucing up our overall format and design, and created our first-ever iPad edition. Quite simply, the Detours you see today wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for Liz and the rest of the staff who helped bring it to life. I am forever thankful for the time I spent learning from and growing with each of them. It was an honor to work with you all, and now I look forward to continuing to read Detours for years to come. And always, always enjoy life’s detours.
Burgundy Ramsey
Marketing Manager at Arts Quincy
Detours Art Director 2012–2013
detours 06 summer 2015
As Detours Editor-in-Chief from 2010–2011, I was honored to continue the legacy of great storytelling through Detours and help create a legacy with the magazine’s digitization. During my years at Truman’s student media, I received a great writing and editing foundation working with the Index and Detours. I remember many rounds of morning editing at the media center tables with coffee and donuts. In these weekend round tables, I learned so much about crafting different narratives, copyediting and working with writers to perfect their stories. Managing Detours was the capstone of my student media experience. It taught me about managing a staff, maintaining a budget and marketing the magazine. I’ll always have a special place in my heart for student media that drives creativity and passion. Best of luck to all future Detours alumni!
Stephanie Hall
Digital Editor at Meredith Corporation
Really vibrant and interesting photos, along with the use of bright colors, have always been important elements in Detours design. During my time as Art Director, we decided to change a lot, both in content and design. We wanted to really enhance the overall experience for our readers while still making sure it felt like the same magazine, but better. We had a lot of discussion about what worked and what should change. Our goal was for it to be a surprise to people when they found out a bunch of college kids put it together, rather than professionals.
Detours Editor-in-Chief 2010–2011
We always put in late nights, but that first issue especially led to some memorable sleep deprived nights in the newsroom. For the cover especially, I would like to say that we went in having a clear idea of what we wanted, but it was more we knew what we didn’t want. It really was a trial and error process, sitting in front of the computer changing things, and then changing them again until we liked how it looked. Most of us only had a year or two left at Truman so we were really hoping to build something that would outlast our time there.
on the cover Take a look at our past covers, from our first issue published during1996 to present day.
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Hermann GERMAN WINE COUNTRY IN THE HEART OF AMERICA STORY By Renee Short Photos by Aaron Manfull Published in premiere 1996 issue
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STONE HILL WINERY
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t one time, Missouri wine country was synonymous only with parties. But it’s changing. Natural beauty, tradition and family-oriented fun have replaced images of days past. Stone Hill Winery turned away about 50,000 customers during the 1995 Oktoberfest, 85 percent of its typical crowd, but no one’s complaining. The Hermann Vinters Association included small crowds in its plan to give Hermann, Missouri a new image. No more a place for a college party, the new Hermann emphasizes German fun for the whole family. From a tour of the wine cellar to the Showboat Theatre to vast grassy areas for picnics, there’s fun for every family member in
intended as celebrations for the town, residents were fleeing as tourists flocked. The ratio of tourists to residents flooding the town was 20-to-1 during festival weekends. The continuation of the events was threatened as the community became angered with the loss of heritage and tradition. Through the efforts of the wineries, crowds have dwindled to a comfortable size during festival weekends. Stone Hill Winery allowed tourists to dine at its restaurant on a ticket-only basis, with 1,500 tickets being sold. With only 14 alcohol-related arrests made during an October weekend versus 100 made in the past, it can be seen that the changes have been successful. Now, families have room to
picnic. Families are everywhere, and it seems they’re all related. At the Tourist Information Center, a middle-aged woman is excited. Despite the number of times she’s done it, to mark up a town map with pleasurable places for a young couple in town on a romantic getaway from Kansas City. People find various ways to relax throughout the town. One family picnics at a table on the park at the entrance to the town. Festival weekends bring bonuses of free samples and additional entertainment to the tourist. At the Wurstfest, the aroma of a medley of sausages drags the wanderer into the Hermannhoff Festhall, with its old brick walls
Touring wineries and the sampling that follows bring joy to adults and children alike.
this town modeled after the German Rhineland. Hermann, named after a Roman soldier, was founded during the mid-1800s when German settlers, disappointed with the Americanization of other immigrants, wanted to set up a second motherland. Establishing their small community in the Frene Creek Valley of Missouri, settlers kept their German language and customs alive. During the 1940s, the family of Anna Hess, whose grandparents were early settlers, decided to throw a school picnic for the children and families of Hermann. With coordinators only figuring on about 200 to 300 people, the first Maifest drew about 2,000 people to Hermann to celebrate its German heritage. The wineries and the Hermann Art Club added another festival to Hermann’s calendar during the 1970s. Beginning as a small arts and crafts fair sponsored by the art club, the presence of the wineries transformed the Oktoberfest into the four-weekend celebration for which Hermann is now famous. Now, people must book well in advance for festival weekends, as people from all over spill into the tiny town. The annual festivals celebrate Hermann’s culture in the traditional German manner with parades, turtle races, and craft fairs, beer and wine gardens and bandfests. Originally
spread out without getting lost, spilled on or bumped into. Representatives from the four wineries — Adam Puchta Winery, Hermannhoff Vineyard, Stone Hill Winery and Bias Vineyard — formed a committee to restore Hermann’s image. The committee limited cold bottle wine sales and appointed designated drivers. The wineries also stopped targeting college students and invested the money saved from advertising in education. They educated children about the process of wine production and the mature appreciation of wine as a cultural aspect. “We invested dollars in food and wine pairing, trying to teach people that it’s not a sitdown drink thing like guzzling beer,” said Vicki Puchta, co-owner of the Adam Puchta Winery. “It’s an item to be savored … Wine can enhance your food and food can enhance your wine.” Puchta said their winery never really had a problem with overconsumption since it was off the beaten path. “We always kind of had the family atmosphere,” Puchta said. “The families bring their kids and sit on the blankets out here and play ball.” The rest of Hermann is returning to this. The Wurstfest on St. Patrick’s Day weekend lays the blanket for a giant German
and vaulted wood ceiling. People of all ages line up to sample wine and taste the various seasoned pork displayed along with awards by their proud producers. Children appreciate the German culture as much as the adults. A chubby child hobbles around with eyes sparkling as he stuffs a bite of sausage into his mouth and then drops the toothpick to the floor. On a small stage, a red-haired adolescent wearing lederhosen presses out a polka on his accordion as parents bounce their children on their shoulders to the beat. He represents the efforts German residents make to carry on their traditions. His mother proudly says he is part of the Loehnig German Band, which plays in various Missouri towns such as Fulton, Washington, Jefferson City and St. Louis. Later on, the Wurstlaegers, a group of dancers all over 60, take the stage with their traditional sausage dance, still performed in Germany today. The crowd laughs as the men and women in their black and red costumes let out German hollers while galloping around the sausage hanging from a pole. Touring wineries and the sampling that follows bring joy to adults and children alike.
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FOOD A brown-eyed girl with her hair in a ponytail extends her arm to show her prized grape juice. “I got my own bottle,” she said. The family atmosphere continues at Hermannhoff Vineyard, a National Historic Site dating back to 1852, where a gray-haired woman peeks over the counter to prod a young man sampling sausage. “You done with lunch yet?” she said, much like a grandmother, then patted him on the back. “You’re all right.” There’s plenty to do in Hermann, even on a typical weekend. Visitors can tour the deep, cold cellars and picnic on the hills at one of the four wineries. Stone Hill Winery is like a giant playground for the young and old. After taking a tour through the underground cellars and learning the process of wine production, families congregate on the large deck or the slope overlooking the town. Couples spread their blankets and they slide down the hill, not worried about getting dirty. Others play with their airplanes or footballs. One boy, about four or five with flushed cheeks, stops playing to display his nicks and scratches from playing
Dressed in authentic German lederhosen, a member of the Loehnig German band performs polkas at the Wurstfest.
in the woods that day. In seasonal months, the winery hosts events such as dances, grapestomps and concerts featuring jazz, blues, Cajun and bluegrass music. Walking along the hilly streets is interesting enough. Reminiscent of the Rhine Valley in Germany, red bricks and green iron adorn the buildings with a small garden occasionally separating them. A decorator’s delight, shops filled with handmade crafts and antiques are around every corner. From candles to to Christmas trinkets to any kind of wine rack imaginable, something to brighten any home fills the shop shelves. In one store after another, owners welcome shoppers with smiles and small conversation. At Philosopher’s Coffee Shop, a middle-aged woman with a blond ponytail greets the traveler as if they’re family visiting after a long absence. “Come in,” owner Donna McEachern greeted us. “Do you have time to sit? There are a few brownies left.” McEachern then shows cookbooks she published and the beeswax candles she likes to use for dinners since they don’t drip. She runs the
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STONE HILL WINERY business for pleasure, not profit, only opening the shop on Fridays and Saturdays. The Old School, a two-story building used to teach children in grades one to eight in the early part of the century, has several rooms, each committed to a different aspect of Hermann heritage. A couple of rooms display artifacts from the first German immigrants and early residents, such as a manual grape presser. Another room houses a large model of a boat’s helm, on which a child pretends to steer and rings the giant bell. Pieces of Hermann’s past as a port city surround the model. The Kinder Room is paradise for the early 20th century child. A fourth of the room is set up like a school room with wooden desks, antique books and a chalkboard. Strollers, dolls, wagons and a doll house are scattered about the rest of the room on the hardwood floor. A woman working at the desk remembers playing with some of the toys. “That was when toys were made to last,” she said. Behind the stairwell, tourists peer through a glass pane at the inner workings of the clock tower and see the bell toll on the hour. At the Deutscheim Historic Site, two restored buildings resemble those typical of the 1840s and 1860s. The museum provides the intrigued visitor with information on the history of German presence in Missouri. For dinner, it’s German cuisine or a fine steak at the Wild Grapevine, with a folk singer playing his guitar softly in the background. One could also roll his car onto the Roy J. Ferry and cross the Gasconade River to the River’s Edge Restaurant and Bar for some Cajun cooking.
Or try a gourmet dish prepared by a former Kansas City Adam’s Mark hotel chef at the Vintage 1847 Restaurant at Stone Hill Winery. Entertainment opportunities continue into the evening. Local residents and some outof-towners perform at the Showboat Theatre. Another club on the main street sponsors games of bingo. “At the theatre you can see how the heritage is being carried on in the younger folks,” said Ruth Cramer, a Hermann store owner. Visitors commonly like to tuck themselves away at night in one of the many bed and breakfast in town. Frank Van Kamp makes us more at home than home itself. He leaves personal notes for us on his marker board, wine and cheese in our rooms and the hot tub bubbling. Since he is also an antique dealer, his clutter keeps visitors entertained throughout the weekend. Being the only chalet-style house in town, an added bonus is relaxing on the balcony at night and early in the morning. At the end of the day, people are eating, drinking and laughing with others they spent the day with after meeting them on a tour at another winery. “This is wine country,” Jim Ashby, Sales and Marketing director for Stone Hill Winery, said. “Probably more than anything else the reason people come back here again and again is just the beautiful drive here and the beautiful hills, the gorgeous architecture, the history. It’s very charming village that tends to make people chill out.”
Stone Hill Revisited Stone Hill Winery continues to do well as a business today, almost 70 years after opening its doors. Now, with three separate wineries in Hermann, Branson and New Florence, Missouri, and a separate vintage restaurant in Hermann, the business is alive and well. In our very first issue of Detours published during 1996, Stone Hill Winery stated its business style had shifted to an emphasis on events planned months ahead of time, and staff members’ attention to detail show in their calendar of events. While the winery does offer daily tours, events like Maifest and “Grapes to Glass” are worthy of a weekend day trip. The winery expresses a desire to educate guests on the process of winemaking and using the natural properties of wine as a means to provide a lively atmosphere for any get-together.
For many visitors, a trip to Hermann is not complete without a stop at the local wineries to sample a variety of international and national award-winning wines. More than a dozen wines and sparkling wines are produced from Missouri-grown grapes.
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FOR THE LOVE OF
CHEESE cheese flavors converge in Osceola, Missouri STORY BY JOHN C. PRIEST PHOTOS BY ERIN PAGEL Published in summer 2006
S
usie White and her husband, Bill, climb into their late-model white pickup with a paper plate and a knife. Two hours after they leave their home in Kansas City, Kansas, a giant cartoon mouse on a neon purple billboard proclaims, “Six More Miles to the Osceola Cheese Company.” Their final destination, Branson, Missouri, is still more than two hours away, but the highlight of the trip is only five minutes down the road. Six identical billboards later, Susie and Bill White cross a four-lane highway to turn into a two-acre parking lot. The Osceola Cheese Company rises before them. Inside, they will find flavors such as chocolate, cranberry and apple cinnamon — varieties one generally finds in cereal aisles where hundreds of glossy box fronts promise sugar highs and cheap prices. But at the Osceola Cheese Company in Osceola, Missouri, they are flavors of cheese. “These flavors are to die for,” cashier Alice Kuhnhoff said. “Especially the
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chocolate cheese. Just don’t knock it until you try it.” Located at the northernmost edge of the Ozark Mountains on state Highway 13, the Osceola Cheese Company has delivered toothpick after toothpick of cheese samples to hungry passersby for more than 60 years. Because of burgeoning business and the development of the nearby Truman Lake, the company’s name has changed once and its location twice, but its mission has stayed the same: to provide a place for travelers to take a break from driving and sample cheese. At this it has succeeded since 1944. The company began as a cheese manufacturer and, at the height of its production, required more than one thousand local dairy farms to supply the factory with milk. Fifteen trucks traveled the roads 24 hours a day, seven days a week collecting the milk, manager Chris Hannah said. During 1967, the original owners made the tough decision to stop manufacturing cheese. “At that point, they were really just a
little cheddar plant,” Hannah said. “They chose to turn the factory into a retail store and specialize in variety.” Hannah said the factory attracts one thousand visitors each day thanks to that unique medley of flavors. “We’re a bladderful away from Kansas City and Branson,” he said. “Combine clean restrooms with more than 230 varieties of cheese, and few can resist.” Most of that cheese exists as bite-size cubes in multi-colored plastic Tupperware containers. The samples wait in electric coolers, ready for toothpicks to pierce them and snatch them to their rightful homes — eager customers’ mouths.
OSCEOLA CHEESE CO.
Hundreds of cheeses line the shelves along with other snacks such as pretzels and popcorn. There are small sample cups available for nearly every type of cheese.
The Osceola Cheese Company may give only a toothpick’s worth of cheese away at a time, but with hundreds of customers sampling dozens of varieties of cheese every day, it adds up. “In the summer months, we give close to one hundred pounds of cheese away on the weekends,” Hannah said. Customers do not stop just for the free samples. They also stop for the variety. “When I bought the company, we had 60 flavors of cheese, and now we’ve almost doubled that,” owner Mike Bloom said. “We should double it this summer.” The Osceola Cheese Company’s
offerings include standard cheese favorites like mild cheddar, Swiss and Monterey Jack, but other choices like the chocolate cheese, cranberry cheddar and apple cinnamon white cheddar raise customers’ eyebrows. “The upstart has been slow,” Bloom said. “But watch their faces when they sample it. I know we’ve got some winners here.” Bloom emphasizes that the Osceola Cheese Company is a specialty outlet for cheese lovers. “I don’t know of anywhere else that you can stop in the middle of the country and find 110 varieties of cheese,” Bloom said. “With that many varieties, you’re
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The Osceola Mouse mascot welcomes visitors outside the store.
The staff describes ghost pepper cheese as “Hotter Than Hell.�
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Customer Andrea Kolb pokes a cube of cheese to taste. The two smelliest cheeses are the only varieties that cannot be sampled.
OSCEOLA CHEESE CO.
OSCEOLA REVISITED Since Detours last featured Osceola Cheese Company during 2006, the cheese shop established between Kansas City and Branson has new flavors added to the store since more customers have taken notice of the company. “Word of mouth is our best advertisement,” said Chris Hannah, vice president of Osceola Cheese Co. The staff has added more than 60 varieties of cheese to their inventory, such as Salsa Monterey Jack, Marble Blue Monterey Jack and Chive Havarti, and the different types of hickory smoked cheese have jumped from 12 to about 100. The bestseller from the new batch of flavors is Hotter Than Hell Ghost Pepper, a cheese that intensifies the kick of Monterey Jack with the famous habañero and ghost chili peppers. Many people buy Hotter Than Hell because they want to broaden their own palate or they have a family member who claims nothing is too hot for them, Hannah said. In addition to the successful new varieties of cheese, the staff decided to convert a Christian shop on the premises into a gift shop during 2010, where gifts such as canvas paintings, soy candles, rustic décor and salt scrubs are sold. Although the Osceola Cheese Company has experienced a few additions, its mission of providing an intriguing and diversified rest stop along Highway 13 has stayed the same. Its chocolate cheese is still the flavor that raises the most eyebrows amongst customers. Once they try it, however, they immediately change their minds thanks to the cheese’s smooth fudge-like essence. During busy summer weekends, a mammoth block of specialty cheddar cheese is taken out and divided into samples for the customers passing through. Each block of cheddar cheese could appeal to a plethora of palates, Hannah said, and each has a different respective flavor depending on the size, mold and casing of the block of cheese showcased that weekend.
going to find something you like.” Customers can sample most kinds, but a select few stay tightly sealed until customers walk them out the door. “Beer Kaese and Limburger cheese aren’t allowed for samples because they stink up the whole store,” said Crystal Dutcher, self-proclaimed Osceola Cheese do-it-all. “Beer Kaese smells like cow manure.” A variety of cheeses attracts a variety of customers. Closing manager Deb Duncan and cashier Charlene Hall have worked at the Osceola Cheese Company for a combined 15 years. Both agree that, like the cheese selection, the clientele is anything but boring. Regular customers include professional basketball players, Red Hat Society ladies, a singing Santa Claus and, most commonly, cheesesample abusers. “I’ve seen a man dump a whole bucket of cheese in his mouth,” Hall said. But at least he ate the cheese before leaving the store. “A couple of times, I’ve seen people dump the samples in their pockets or even just steal the entire container,” Duncan said. Despite cheese-sample abuse, Hall said she really connects with her customers. “I feel like a bartender sometimes,” she said. “I’m standing behind that counter, and they just feel like they can tell me anything.”
Many customers travel for hours to visit the Osceola Cheese Company. Terry Davidson, a businessman from Atlanta, said he stopped in because he could not ignore the neon billboards. For customers like him, who may be unable to visit again in person, the company offers mail order and online sales services. Duncan said the company has shipped to Wisconsin, Hawaii, Alaska, Japan, Canada and even Iraq. She said parents of troops in Iraq see the Osceola Cheese Company as a way to send a little bit of home to their children as they serve their country. But she said most customers discover the little store that caught the cheese world off guard by following the flashy billboards on state Highway 13. Bill White finds a parking spot and follows his wife straight to the coolers in the back of the store. After sampling her fair share of cheeses, Susie White steps up to the cash register, holding her selections close to her body as if the golden dairy chunks were actually sunken treasure she had recovered from the depths of Truman Lake. Hall scans each one, and the total reaches just less than $30. Susie White laughs. “This won’t last long,” she said. “We’ll attack it with the knife and paper plate as soon as we hit the road again, and we’ll be back in a few days when we’re on our way back home.”
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WHITEY’S ICE CREAM DISHES UP TASTY TREATS STORY BY WHITNEY MCFERRON PHOTOS BY ERIN PAGEL Published in Summer 2004
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WHITEY’S ICE CREAM
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Whitey’s ships its ice cream across the country to customers who order online, by mail or by phone.
“You never see a sad person with an ice cream cone”
on Tunberg remembers his dad’s old saying and laughs at how right it is. It’s difficult to find a sad person at Whitey’s Ice Cream in Moline, Illinois. The employees smile as they take orders, and happy customers eagerly wait for their favorite flavors to be served. Even the menu is fun. As one customer wistfully tries to choose between Chocolate Peanut Butter Revel, Bubblegum or Peppermint Oreo, the cashier gladly offers a sample. “Every day, he always said that Whitey’s was his wife and our mother was his mistress,” Jon Tunberg said, recalling how his dad, Bob Tunberg, loved to come to work. “If you can do something in life that you really enjoy, then it’s never like having to work a day in your life. He was the hardest-working guy that never worked a day in his life.” Bob Tunberg started working at Whitey’s when he was just 15, two years after the first store opened during 1933. Over the years, the store owner, Chester Laverne “Whitey” Lindgren, became a father figure to Bob, whose dad passed away when he was young. After 20 years of business, Whitey offered to sell his ice cream parlor to Bob and his wife Norma. Although the Tunberg’s minds were made up almost immediately, Whitey refused
— Bob Tunberg to hear their answer for two weeks, so they could think about their decision. Even after Whitey sold his business, he continued to help the Tunbergs, once even cosigning for a loan so the family could buy a car. “It’s basically been a family business for the entire 70 years,” Jon Tunberg said. “As a matter of fact, when they sold to my folks, Whitey’s wife, Connie, worked for my folks for a year for free, just to help get them going.” Bob passed away in during 1991, and Jon and his brother Jeff now run Whitey’s. Customers often attribute Whitey’s longevity and popularity to the friendliness of the Tunbergs and their employees. Longtime Whitey’s fan Mary Smith said she eats Whitey’s ice cream at least once a month. She said Whitey’s has a great staff and she loves the extra-thick hot fudge shakes. “They have good service and good ice cream,” she said. “You’re not buying a bunch of air.” Daytime Supervisor Brianne Sanders said many customers like Whitey’s because of its large selection. She said Whitey’s introduces new flavors every three to four months. “My newest favorite has got to be Peanut Butter Cookie Fudge,” Sanders said. “We just
got it in not too long ago, and it’s my favorite.” In addition to Peanut Butter Cookie Fudge, Whitey’s has more than 50 other regular ice cream flavors, ranging from Chocolate Fudge Brownie to Orange Dream. Several additional flavors, including Dinosaur Sherbet, Pumpkin and Egg Nog, rotate according to season, by the pint, quart or half gallon. Although they have a large selection of flavors, Jon Tunberg said the company never has used a research team to generate fresh ideas. He said he and his brother come up with most of the innovations on their own. Jon Tunberg said once a popular flavor, Mississippi Mud Revel, was inspired by the Flood of 1993. For two weeks, Whitey’s donated $1 to the Red Cross to help with the relief effort for every Mississippi Mud cone sold. Jon Tunberg said because Whitey’s is family-owned, the company was able to act quickly to implement the idea. “We didn’t have to go to a committee and then the board of directors or anything like that,” Jon Tunberg said. “You know we just said, ‘Let’s do this,’ and within two days we had it ready, made and out in the stores and notified the media about the plan.”
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FOOD
Whitey’s employees prepare some of the frozen concoctions for which they are best known.
“If you can do something in life that you really enjoy, then it’s never like having to work a day in your life.” — Jon Tunberg Jon Tunberg said during the two-week period, Whitey’s raised about $5,000 for the Red Cross. Mississippi Mud continues to be a favorite among customers. Although most ideas come from the Tunbergs or the staff, Jon Tunberg said they sometimes get proposals from the customers. He said about 15 years ago, a customer approached an employee with an idea for a new Whitey’s T-shirt design that they just couldn’t pass up. “We had a customer come in saying, ‘I’ve got a T-shirt slogan for you, you can have it; no charge,’” Jon Tunberg said. “He said, ‘I’m addicted to Whitey’s, if I don’t get their malts I get the shakes.’ We didn’t want to use addicted,’ so we changed it to ‘hooked.’” In addition to their trademark T-shirts, the company also sells hats, sweatshirts, travel mugs and ice cream dippers. Jon Tunberg said
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in the past, the company also has sold coffee cups and bottled water. During 1933, Whitey’s Ice Cream consisted of just one small store, but over the years, the company has expanded to include an ice cream manufacturing plant and 10 total locations. Whitey’s Ice Cream is sold at the Wireless Center, several area malls and in over 200 grocery stores across the region. Jon Tunberg said one of the most successful ventures was opening a store in Bettendorf, Iowa, because up to that time, many loyal customers had to cross a river and a state line to get their “Whitey’s fix.” “Bettendorf was our first foray into Iowa,” Jon Tunberg said. “That was like legalizing ice cream over there.” Customers also can order Whitey’s online, by mail or by phone and have it shipped to anywhere in the country. Jon Tunberg said the
shipping service typically is used by people who have moved away from the Quad Cities area. However, he said because Moline hosts the John Deere Classic professional golf tournament, several golfers have become Whitey’s fans. Additionally, Jon Tunberg said diet guru Dr. Atkins was a Whitey’s lover and once shipped ice cream to actor Rodney Dangerfield. After 70 years, Whitey’s remains a favorite not only for Moline residents, but also for many people across the country. “A lot of people refer to us as the Coors [beer] of old,” Jon Tunberg said. “Years ago you could only get Coors in Colorado and people used to load up their cars on the way home. It’s the same thing here, in the sense of, many times we are the first stop when people come into town and the last stop on their way out of town.”
WHITE’YS ICE CREAM
This photo of Whitey’s owners, brothers Jon and Jeff Tunberg, is taken from the original Detours feature printed more than a decade ago.
Going Back for More Whitey’s Ice Cream has continued to grow and thrive since its inception during 1953. After opening a second shop during 1977, Whitey’s has opened up 10 separate locations, either as standalone shops or as shops within other stores. The company, operating out of Moline, Illinois, has done a large amount of work in creating some of the best ice cream and malt products available. Malt machines that create extra-thick ice cream were introduced to the industry by Whitey’s Ice Cream, and Whitey’s has also begun to add candy bars and other sweet treats to their malts and ice cream. As of now, Whitey’s is only available within a 100-mile radius of their manufacturing center and office, but is available to ship anywhere in the United States. As part of their mission statement, Whitey’s hopes to continue serving the best frozen treats they can in their customer-focused environment.
Photo originally submitted by Whitey’s Ice Cream
Photo originally submitted by Whitey’s Ice Cream
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DESTINATION
Get Your Kicks Kicks THE MOTHER ROAD WELCOMES TRAVELERS
STORY BY JESSICA SLEATER PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY RON WARNICK AND EMILY PRIDDY Published in winter 2002
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piece of America, once spotlighted on billboards but now only casting long shadows of its deteriorating history, celebrates its 75th birthday this year. Although decommissioned during 1985 of its practical use as a national highway, Route 66 remains a significant symbol for its admirers. Even though many of the trademarks of this era of history have been abandoned or replaced, Route 66 travelers still feel the excitement of seeing the attractions, as though it was the grand opening with bright lights and freshly painted signs. The 2,448 miles that pave the way from Chicago to Los Angeles take the traveler back in time to a place where road trips revolutionized transportation. “It is a living historical marker,” Emily Priddy, a Route 66 traveler, said. “It is a chance to see what the country was like and should be; it is the only trip to take with kids that when they ask are we there yet, the answer is always yes because it is its own destination.” For Priddy and her husband, Ron Warnick, of Belleville, Illinois, the fascination with the “Mother Road” developed shortly after their marriage in May 2000. Both Priddy and Warnick work for the Belleville NewsDemocrat newspaper and plan to combine their journalistic skills and Route 66 inspiration to
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create a childrens’ book about the road from their dog Scout’s point of view. Warnick first decided to take the trip during late spring 1998 after receiving an ordinary foldout map of the historic highway. Many people do not realize that much of the original road still remains, which is essential to understanding the history, Warnick said. “Eighty-five percent of the road is still capable of being driven,” Warnick said. “It was really cool to see many of the remnants still standing, and some of the businesses are still very active.”
LANDMARKS AND PRESERVATION
Inciting travelers to squint out their car windows at the bright neon lights of motels and interesting landmarks along the roadside, small-town businesses utilized the “Main Street” of America as their vehicle for success. In the many rural areas of America through which Route 66 steered visitors, small towns welcomed the opportunity to lure visitors with man-made landmarks. The use of giant, colorful fiberglass men compelled even the most focused driver to stare with raised eyebrows at the towering emblems for restaurants or stores. Contrasting with
the redundant landscape of patchwork fields, continuous billboards with catchy sayings and bright, interesting visuals, these served as a subliminal message to drivers manipulating them to stop at the advertised destination. Glowing neon lights jumped out of the darkness, captivating travelers and inducing them to visit specified locations. For Priddy, the neon lights and other Art Deco designs created a visual appeal that first peaked her interest in Route 66. After listening to a story on the radio about the Coral Courts Motel in St. Louis found along the historic highway and famous for its garage-door entrance for occupants who wanted to be inconspicuous, Priddy and Warnick investigated it for themselves. Unfortunately, the Motel had been completely destroyed and replaced by a subdivision with no remnant of its Art-Deco design, except in memories and photographs. Thus, Priddy and Warnick decided to embark on their first crosscountry adventure together to recover Route 66 memories. “I realized so much other stuff is out there still in need of being seen,” Priddy said. Although Route 66 expands through eight states and three time zones, many of its key features and essence can be experienced in Missouri and Illinois. Werner Palm, a 66
ROUTE 66
traveler from California, said his favorite part of the Missouri and Illinois highway is its preservation, which allows anyone to travel almost the entire original Route 66. Just outside of Chicago, where the road originates, in Odell, Illinois, a decaying Standard Oil pump station serves as an initial introduction to what fuels the cars of Route 66, small-town America. The little, run-down operations that bring character to the Mother Road disclose many treasures anxious to be rediscovered. Pump stations became essential for travelers of long road trips and extended vacations that grew in popularity because of the creation of America’s first cross-country highway. Although many pump stations have completely disintegrated from years of neglect, the large sign and old-fashioned fuel pumps continue to adorn the Standard Oil Station. As members of the Illinois Route 66 Association, which works to ‘preserve, educate and enjoy Route 66 in Illinois,’ Priddy and Warnick, along with many others, helped breathe life
Landmarks such as this historic drive-in dot the landscape of the Mother Road.
back into the dying landmark by repainting and refurbishing the formerly prosperous Odell station. “So many people came out to help that there was almost not enough for everyone to do,” Priddy said. From the flat countryside in the heart of Illinois, Springfield emerges like a mirage in the desert of green pastures. Bill Shea’s Route 66 Museum houses many old gas pumps, road signs and other Route 66 memorabilia. Another “hall of fame” stop for 66ers in Springfield is the Cozy Drive-In, worldrenowned for its invention of the “Cozy-dog,” or corn dog. Stepping through the door of the seemingly typical diner immediately transports one to the 1950s, with a strong smell of grease wafting through the air, Formica chairs and booths and friendly chatter. Through the sound of sizzling food, people constantly chat between bites of their grease-saturated Cozy Dogs about their home towns, origins and experiences along the road.
THE PEOPLE OF THE MOTHER ROAD
Possessing a nostalgic passion for a neon sign of America, advocates of Route 66 act as old friends sharing memories and news of the historic highway with one another. “[Route 66] is the world’s largest small town,” Priddy said. “We always run into people we know all along the way.” The natives encountered along the road personify many of the stories and portray the same roles as during the flourishing times of Route 66. Palm said everyone along the highway is more than happy to share their stories of the changing times and history as a means of repaving parts of American history. “I’m glad that more people are getting to rediscover Route 66 and know that you have to travel it in order to get the feel for its magic,” Palm said. Another highlight from the Route 66 journey through Illinois and Missouri for Priddy and Warnick is the trek across the Mississippi River state-line into the Gateway City of St. Louis. Many people steal the Route 66 street signs especially near the Chain of Rocks Bridge. Priddy said that she often loses her way although, from previous experience, she has learned some skills of the road. “If you are not sure if you are on the right path just look for telephone poles that go into the middle of nowhere,” Priddy said. For Priddy and Warnick, their own secret destination on the Mother Road emerges just outside of Rolla, Missouri, within earshot of the roaring interstate, but otherwise a place extinct for almost half a century. John’s Modern Cabins, despite the irony of the name, decomposes in the deep coverage of foliage and infestation of termites. Priddy and Warnick discovered these cabins that were once very common and popular rest stops for travelers in the 1950s. The strange juxtaposition of the cabins is what Priddy said intrigues her most about the motel. “You see the [cabins] that died, then the road that died, and the [interstate] that killed it,” Priddy said.
The natives encountered along the road personify many of the stories and portray the same roles as during the flourishing times of Route 66.
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DESTINATION This enormous fiberglass giant attracts the attention of even the most diligent of motorists.
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ROUTE 66
Route 66 Revisited The many businesses and attractions on Route 66 have both changed and remained stalwart during the 13 years since 2002. The Boots Motel in Carthage, Missouri is still open for guests who want to take a nostalgic vacation. The motel is now equipped with a fully restored neon sign, courtesy of Chamber of Commerce member Ron Hart and an anonymous volunteer during the summer of 2013. Route 66 enthusiasts fully restored the Standard Oil Station in Odell, Illinois, and it still stands proudly at 400 S. West Street. Bill Shea, owner of Shea’s Route 66 Museum, unfortunately passed away during December 2013. His granddaughter and fellow Route 66 Hall of Fame inductee, Tiffany Baker, is currently attempting to sell the museum and all of its contents as a single lot. Cozy Dog Drive-In cooks continue to serve up the restaurant’s famous Cozy Dogs for just $2.05, with other menu options such as pork tenderloins, breakfast foods and 90-cent ice cream cups. The staff is invested in the preservation of Route 66 and occasionally works with the Route 66 Historical Society, and owner Josh Waldmire considers himself an expert on highway history. Members of Preservation Oklahoma — a nonprofit organization dedicated to preservation and history — added Route 66 to its list of “Oklahoma’s Most Endangered Places” during 2014. The National Historic Route 66 Federation keeps an ongoing blog with events, photo galleries and news updates for the highway. The Route 66 Association of Illinois also hosts events on the Mother Road, including the recent Midewin Lecture series on the local flora and fauna of the highway by Professor Madeleine McLeester of the University of Chicago.
Priddy and Warnick delved wholeheartedly into finding out as much as possible about the cabins in a desperate effort to prevent them from being totally lost to the rest of the world, like many other treasures of Route 66. After prying through local records and history, they were finally able to publish their secret jewel in “Route 66 Magazine.” The surreal beauty of the cabins, Priddy said, makes one realize the beauty of things that would not ordinarily be considered that way. As a tribute to the historic cabins, Warnick and Priddy created “Burma-shave” signs, or very smallscale road signs that repeat the same theme of a place, but with slightly different messages until the destination arrives. To catch the eye of the astute 66ers, Warnick and Priddy staked their signs about the history of John’s Modern Cabins along the Mother Road. “Bulldozers can’t take memories,” a Burma-shave sign read.
John’s Modern Cabins, now dilapidated, still hold fascination for Route 66 enthusiasts.
MILE AFTER MILESTONE
The interstate destroyed many of the small towns because travelers no longer had to drive past the businesses of the area. Warnick said he thinks 66 was a victim of its own success because it established car travel as a major means of transportation, then sparked the fire that lead to the revolution of major interstates. After 75 years of serving as a worldrenowned symbol of progress and American history, Route 66 is being remembered by celebrations of loyal supporters across the country from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Needles, California, to Chicago. In Illinois, the 2001 Motor Tour commemorated the Diamond Jubilee Celebration of 75 years of American history. A large vehicle brigade revisited all the destinations in Illinois to prove they had not been forgotten. “Wheels and chrome sparkled and flashed as hundreds of motorized magic carpets
sailed down America’s main street,” Ollie Schwallenstecker said on the Route 66 Association of Illinois website. The stops along Main Street America at first appear as unimportant as a blur of color past the car window at 55 mph. If someone pauses, however, to focus on the entire picture as Warnick, Priddy and other 66 travelers do, he or she will recognize the many stories and American spirit that need to be revisited and remembered before the Mother Road fades out completely. “[Route 66] is no longer a means to an end, but an end to itself,” Priddy said.
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DESTINATION
Route 66 travelers help repaint an old Standard Oil pump station in Odell, Illinois during 2002.
A Word from the Writer
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Original writer of “Get Your Kicks” recalls her road trip down Route 66
s a teenager, my friends and I would spend our weekends driving around St. Louis, which would often lead us down Route 66 — now referred to as Chippewa and Watson Road in St. Louis — to one of its still thriving, landmark businesses for frozen custard, Ted Drewes. Year round, people stand in line to purchase Ted Drewes’ famous concretes, as they have since the 1940s and as I still do every time I come back to visit St. Louis. I have also always had a strange fascination with the ability to stay in a $20-a-night hotel that used to be a hallmark of Route 66 attractions, although I’ve still never stayed in one. So when I was brainstorming and researching stories for Detours and I came across the fact that it was the 75th anniversary of Route 66, it seemed like the perfect idea for a story about ultimate “detours” to take along the Mother Road. I remember the weekend when I drove back from Truman State to my hometown in St. Louis, Missouri, to interview the sources for this story. After hearing Emily Priddy and Ron Warnick retell their vibrant road trip stories and perusing their large collection of memories captured in photos, I was even more enthusiastic about driving Route 66 myself. With my dad as my chauffeur so I could take my own pictures and not miss any of the roadside attractions, we set off from St. Louis to drive up to Springfield, Illinois along the Road. After observing some of the historic, but now deteriorating signs for “pumping stations” and cheap roadside hotels, we reached a great pit stop, the Cozy Dog Drive-In. It felt surreal entering this diner and immediately being transported to the
1950s, where everyone knew each other as they swapped stories from the road. We also got a taste of the fervent nostalgia of the champions of the Mother Road when my dad asked to buy a Cozy mug on display. The woman behind the counter was shocked that we would ask to buy the owner of the diner’s mug that he has had for decades and was part of the preserved nostalgia on display. Reminiscing about this story made me realize that the experience actually had a formative impact in my life. After serving on the Detours staff and receiving my degree in Communication-Journalism at Truman State, I went on to become the Editor-in-Chief of the Public Law Review in law school, and now I use my writing skills to develop and draft class action lawsuits against some of the largest corporations in the world. Despite everything that has happened in my life since the time of this story, it still does not feel that long ago from the time when I came up with the idea for this story and drove part of the ole Route 66 myself. Much like how interstate highways made travel of Route 66 and its roadside attractions outdated, technology has now changed media, like print magazines, as this last print edition of Detours indicates. However, one important life lesson I learned from writing this story, traveling Route 66 and speaking with the people who treasure it, is to not only focus on your ultimate destination, but also to enjoy the ride and see where the road might take you because sometimes the stops, or “detours,” are the best parts of the trip.
Jessica Sleater
Partner with Andersen Sleater, LLC
Detours Writer 2002
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DESTINATION
Decatur boasts an entire city of haunted houses and supernatural stories STORY BY KRISTEN CRENSHAW PHOTOS BY ALYSON MIZULSKI Published in winter 2002
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DECATUR GHOST TOWN
D
ecatur, Illinois, is home to thousands of living residents, but that does not include the dozens, perhaps hundreds of residents from the past that still lurk around the city. People flock to Decatur every year to try to catch a glimpse of a shadowy figure or an odd light in haunted locations throughout the city. These ghost hunters visit cemeteries, theaters, a train station and even Millikin University. They travel through the historical town hoping for a dark, stormy night when the moon is full and the clouds travel over the town, making some areas as light as day and others pitch black.
A Spirited Place
The City itself is a true ghost town. Not in the Old-West sense with no residents in sight, but in the idea that many places are haunted. The relationship between ghosts and Decatur is not one that started a few years ago or even 50 years ago. The history of ghosts in Decatur starts with the beginning of the city itself.
Decatur was put on the map during the summer of 1829, and parts of the city were built on ancient burial grounds. Like so many other cities, Decatur’s first actual residents were Native Americans. They did not live within what are now the city limits; instead, they had villages around the area and used the town for their burial grounds. The Native Americans would not live on the land where they buried their dead. Some say these burial grounds are now home to some spooky happenings. It is no surprise that another burial site in Decatur also is haunted. It’s even considered one of the most haunted sites in the Midwest. Greenwood Cemetery, incorporated during 1857, is more than 100 acres of rolling hills and oak trees dotted with thousands of graves. The cemetery’s mausoleum was perhaps one of the more eerie spots. The building was torn down during 1967 because of its condition, but that is not the only reason. Rumors had circulated about strange screams coming from the building and the appearance of lights that could not be explained. When the mausoleum was
torn down, the unclaimed bodies were buried in common graves. This is not the only haunted site in the cemetery, however. The most notorious spot is the Civil War section. Trains full of Confederate prisoners would travel through Decatur during the war. One train carried a number of men who had died from yellow fever. As it passed close to the cemetery, the dead were buried in an unmarked grave. The grave was dug quickly, and it is believed that some of the soldiers may not have been dead when they were buried. Some say there are soldiers that still walk the cemetery’s hills. One story tells of a man who encountered a soldier in person. The man was walking through the cemetery when he saw another man standing next to the tombstones. The man noticed that the other appeared to be wearing a tattered uniform and looked somewhat confused. The uniformed man asked the other for help and asked where he was. The soldier told the man that he wanted to go home, then vanished.
Residents tell of white globes hovering above gravestones, disappearing people and dancing lights above Greenwood Cemetery.
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DESTINATION
The Lincoln Theatre is widely known in Decatur for its ghosts, the most famous of which is “One-Armed Red.”
Legends of Decatur
Many graves belong to some of the most well-known people in Decatur. Tombstones with names like Millikin and Powers sit at the front of the cemetery, while smaller headstones lie farther and farther back. Some stones are so old, the names and dates no longer can be read. Wind and rain during the past 100 years have washed the stones clean and smooth. Other ghost stories tell of white globes that mysteriously appear above gravestones, sometimes even showing up in pictures people have taken. Some stories circulate about disappearing people and dancing lights above the cemetery. “I grew up around Decatur and there were a lot of stories,” said Troy Taylor, a former Decatur resident and author of several books about haunted sites in Decatur. “No one had collected the stories, so I thought it would be something I would like to do.” Always interested in ghosts, Taylor had children tell him stories about haunted places they had heard about. He took his natural curiosity and made a career out of telling other people’s stories about ghosts and other strange happenings. From the outside, the Lincoln Square Theatre looks like most theaters built in the 1900s. Dark and deserted, it is a shadow of its former self. It was to be the grandest theater in the area when it was built during 1916. According to one of Taylor’s books, “Haunted Decatur,” one ghost, “OneArmed Red,” inhabits the Lincoln. No one
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knows his real name anymore, but they do remember how he got his nickname. Red was a stagehand at the Lincoln and one night, while working high above the stage, he slipped and fell. He tried to grab onto something, but instead got his arm stuck in between two beams where it was ripped from his body while he fell to the stage. Stories circulated after Red’s death that strange noises could be heard in the Lincoln. Actors said they heard their names being called out by someone who couldn’t be seen. On the other side of Decatur stands the abandoned bottling company, a place that proves not all ghosts are friendly. Now just a deserted building with a foreboding tower, the site is off-limits to the public. One reputedly dangerous ghost haunts the Nehi Bottling Company. According to “Haunted Decatur,” many years ago a boy was playing in the tower when unseen hands suddenly attacked him. He almost was thrown out the window, but managed to fight off the hands until they disappeared.
Friendly Frights
Not all ghosts in Decatur are that violent. In fact, three seemingly playful spirits haunt the Avon Theatre. The Avon Theatre opened in November 1918 to a huge crowd. Decorated with ornate artwork and woodcarvings, the Avon was one of the largest and most elaborate-looking theaters in the area. The stories of the Avon’s ghosts that
haunt the theater are neither dangerous nor scary. In fact, they have been described as more entertaining than anything. The ghosts have been recognized by their strange knocking sounds, and one has been seen walking across the stage. “We’ve had psychic investigators who have identified three separate entities here at the Avon, and they are very active,” said Skip Houston, owner of the Avon Theatre. Houston said customers sometimes hear laughter in the balcony and the noise of a crowd when the Avon is empty, or people feel hands lightly pass over their hair. Two customers even asked if the theater had been rigged to make it seem like there was a ghost. After the Avon worker said, “No, that’s just the ghost up there,” the moviegoers said, “Cool,” and went back to watch the movie. Houston said they do not know for sure who all three ghosts are or where they came from. Some speculate the ghosts came from the old cemetery that used to lie just past the theater. Houston said he is positive of the identity of one ghost because he met him face-to-face when the research for Taylor’s book “Flickering Images” began. A researcher came into the theater with the obituary and picture of former Avon owner Gust Constant. “I turned about three shades of white because that was the person I saw upstairs, face-to-face,” Houston said. Houston said he saw Gust one other time, but most people only hear or feel
DECATUR GHOST TOWN
Greenwood Cemetery is home to some of Decatur’s most notable residents, as well as its most famous supernatural happenings.
things in the theater. When they do see something, it’s usually just a flash out of the corner of their eyes. Houston said he thinks Gust came back not because he wants to haunt the theater but because the Avon was where he spent 40 years of his life, and he loved running it. “I love having [the Avon] so much that I’m convinced that if I died tomorrow, I would move in,” Houston said. Houston is not the only Avon employee who has seen ghostly images at the theater. Chris Barnett said he has seen similar things. Barnett recalled one night when he and his brother where on the Avon’s stage discussing the possible ghosts. “I feel things, but I’ve never seen anything,” Barnett said. “So I made the remark that I wasn’t destined to see, I can only feel like maybe something is there.” He said as they were talking he was staring up into the balcony when a bar of bright light ran down the wall to the exit, fading as it descended, then disappeared. “I thought nothing of it, I”m thinking it’s the reflection off the car in the street,” Barnett said. “Then, ‘There can’t be a reflection off the street up here, that’s impossible.’” Most of the things that happen in Decatur seem impossible, but by now most residents know better than to try to explain them. After almost 200 years of unexplainable experiences, the things that usually are left to the imagination have come to define this town.
Haunted Sites
Cemeteries are not the only spots with supernatural activity in Decatur — this Illinois town has a long history of hauntings.
The Speakeasy
Employees at Bell’s Jewelry Store say they can still hear unexplained noises coming from the now vacated speakeasy on the floor above.
Millikin University
Built during the early 1900s, the university is known as one of the most haunted colleges of the Midwest, with ghosts roaming the gym, dorm halls and Greek houses.
Peck Cemetery
Hidden in a forest away from trespassers, Peck Cemetery is rumored to have been a popular site for occult activity.
The Powers Mansion
Although some deny the house is actually haunted, tales of disappearing items, strange footsteps and pale apparitions say otherwise.
Harrold House
Throughout the years, residents of Harrold House have been living with ghosts, including a young blond boy and a middleaged man who stares out of the bedroom window.
The Culver House
This mansion, now empty and decaying, may be built on Native American burial grounds. According to records, workers had to remove skulls from the soil during construction.
Wabash Railroad
Sightings of an unexplained light bobbing near the station may be the ghost of a patrolman unjustly murdered or the spirit of a headless brakeman, both killed near the tracks during the first half of the 20th century. (according to haunteddecatur.com)
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DESTINATION
Light pours in to one of the few covered bridges remaining in Madison County.
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WINTERSET, IOWA
A Peek Behind the Scenes:
Bridges of Madison County
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JULIE STRAHLE Published in Spring 2001
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historic covered bridge whose renovation during 1992 cost more than $150,000 now is in shambles, with missing boards and peeling paint. An old country farmhouse, which once housed area raccoons, now is fully restored after more than 40 years of vacancy. A local diner announces it will be closed for five days yet is still packed with people. Sound odd? As the people of Winterset, Iowa, will tell you, strange things happen when Hollywood comes to town. During the summer of 1994, film crews, design experts, directors, producers and actors from California invaded Madison County, Iowa. Their intention was clear — to bring Robert James Waller’s novel, “The Bridges of Madison County,” to life, using the bridges and scenery of Winterset. The novel is a love story between the two main characters, Francesca and Robert. Francesca is an Iowa farmwife, and Robert is a photographer. While Francesca’s husband and two children are away, Robert and Francesca meet and fall in love at the historic Roseman Bridge. All signs of showbiz are gone from Winterset, but the movie’s backdrops — the bridges, Francesca’s house and the Northside Café — still glow with a Hollywood magic that attracts people from all over the world.
THE SETTING Of the 19 bridges that once adorned Madison County, the six that remain are all on the national register of Historic Places. The coverings on these bridges were created to preserve the wooden flooring from sun and precipitation. Once steel bridges were introduced, there was no longer a need for covered bridges. During 1883, a man named Benton Jones used white pine and oak to build the Roseman Bridge. Like the other bridges that remain in Madison County, the Roseman Bridge was named after its closest neighbor. Wyman Wilson, born and raised a few miles southwest of the bridge, is currently the Roseman Bridge’s closest neighbor. He purchased the house down a slope from the bridge and the land surrounding it during 1969. Wilson said he played at the Roseman Bridge as a child. Little did he know the Roseman Bridge would bring Hollywood to his doorstep. Looking out his window one summer day, Wilson spotted a man near the bridge taking pictures. Wilson approached him, introduced himself and learned that the inquisitive visitor was Robert James Waller, a professor from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. A month later, “The Bridges of Madison County” hit bookstores nationwide, remaining
on the New York Times best seller list for 13 weeks and topping “Gone With the Wind” as the best-selling hardcover fiction book of all time. When Wilson heard about the book, he recognized the author’s name. When the book became a success, the people of Winterset suspected a movie might follow. Although the book was set in Madison County, there were rumors that Hollywood producers might film the movie in Pennsylvania, Canada or California. Finally, during July 1994, the citizens of Winterset welcomed news that the movie would be filmed in Madison County. After searching the county for the perfect candidate for Francesca’s house, Ken Haber, the location manager for Warner Bros., spotted it from an airplane about 13 miles northeast of Winterset. Haber discovered that his perfect house, a 130-year-old Victorian home, had a few problems. The windows were knocked out, the porch was falling off, and the interior was a mess. Nevertheless, Warner Bros. representatives insisted this was the house. After negotiating with the owner, Jim Bell, they began making plans to remodel. “I never thought they’d do it,” Bell said. “I thought once they got up there and saw what a wreck the house was, they’d change their minds.”
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DESTINATION Film crews spent days transforming this old farmhouse in Winterset into a nostalgic piece of cinema history.
Francesca’s house was in need of major repairs before it could be used in the movie.
Photos courtesy of Jim Bell
HOLLYWOOD WORKS ITS MAGIC
BEHIND THE SCENES
Workers soon began repairing windows, patching holes in walls and shingling the roof of Francesca’s house. They put up new wallpaper and added a new electrical system. Just when they had the house looking new again, they started to age it. The directors needed the house to appear as it would have during 1965, the year in which most of the movie was set. To do this, painters used a substance called glazing, which produces an aged, yellowish, dingy appearance on walls. “Their painters are just magicians,” Bell said. “they use stuff that you’d never think of.” The crews also transformed the Roseman Bridge, which had been renovated two years earlier. To age the bridge to fit the 1965 setting, painters coated it with a mixture of water, Karo syrup, cornstarch and milk. Workers also removed 60 boards from the bridge and replaced them with weathered boards, leaving 10 boards missing. The crews also used a compressed air fun and brushes to rip open the paint coating, making the bridge’s paint look like it was peeling. The newlyrenovated bridge now appeared unstable and in need of repair. More of Hollywood’s magic spilled into the town of Winterset where a few movie scenes were filmed. To accommodate for these scenes, the intersection of Green Street and John Wayne Drive was transformed into the intersection of highways 92 and 169. The Northside Café, another filming site on the town square, is located near this intersection. It was closed for five days to allow the cast and crew to film one scene. Two of these days were spent remodeling the diner for the scene. One day was spent filming, and the last two days were spent restoring the cafe. The counter used in the movie still remains.
Some residents had the opportunity to observe the cast and crew at work. Because Wilson’s house is so close to the Roseman Bridge, he said he witnessed many of the tasks involved in filmmaking. “For three days, Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep and all the people ran back and forth across my front yard,” Wilson said. When filming began at the farmhouse, Bell also was able to observe some of Hollywood’s techniques. He has pictures of the crew filming the scene in which the main characters, Robert and Francesca, are riding in a truck. But his pictures don’t show the truck driving down the road like in the movie. Instead the truck is being pulled down the road by a camera truck. A mechanic and a 15-passenger van, both of which were hidden from view, followed closely behind. After asking some questions, Bell found out that the van was filled with the wardrobe and makeup staff. Every time filming stopped, they would jump out of the van, surround the truck and primp the two stars, Bell said. Every scene had to look the same; not one hair could be out of place. Other citizens of Madison County were also able to take part in the filmmaking. Ken Billeter, owner of the northside Cafe, was an extra in the movie and is named in the credits as a cafe patron. Two waitresses and two cooks from the diner also were extras.
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WINTERSET, IOWA
The Roseman Bridge’s closest neighbor Wyman Wilson, left, takes his chance to pose with film star Clint Eastwood.
MEET CLINT EASTWOOD AND MERYL STREEP No story about “The Bridges of Madison County” would be complete without looking at the two stars who were key to the movie’s success. When they were not busy filming, Eastwood and Streep spent their time in completely different ways. Bell said Eastwood stayed at a house offered to him by a professional golfer in Glen Oaks, a golf course development near Des Moines, Iowa. Streep stayed in a house in Napa Valley, northwest of Winterset. Some of the crew rented apartments or stayed in a motel in West Des Moines. No one stayed in Winterset because the town did not have enough room for the entire crew. Sherrie Baker, a Northside Cafe waitress, said Eastwood often was seen without a bodyguard. “He was very polite and casual,” Baker said. “He didn’t act like a movie star.” Streep, however, did her job and left town. Wilson attributed Streep’s private nature to the serious mindset she had to keep to perform her role. “Meryl was so focused in that part that when she walked onto that set morning, she was Francesca until she walked off that set that night,” Wilson said. “And when she wasn’t acting, she’d go sit down in a chair, pick up her crochet and sit there, crochet, not look up or associate with anybody.”
LASTING IMPRESSIONS “The Bridges of Madison County” affected the economy of the little town of Winterset in a big way. Immediately following the movie’s release, tourism skyrocketed. The bridges brought 50,000 to 60,000 tourists a year right after the movie’s release. The influx of visitors created and maintained about 50 jobs in Winterset. During 1995, about weddings took place at the Roseman Bridge. People came from all over the world to visit Madison County. Tourism brought about $5.94 million during 1999, Wilson said. Visitors can pick up maps of the county, which include the locations of each of the bridges, at the Chamber of Commerce located on Winterset’s town square. The maps can also be downloaded online. Some of the bridges are tricky to find, but they are all well worth the effort. Many people keep coming back to the bridges and Francesca’s house so they can cross the line from reality to fiction and become lost in their own imaginations. The interior walls of the covered bridges are filled with countless messages of love from sweethearts, married couples and lovers who all have come to experience the magic Hollywood left behind.
The Northside Cafe, located on the square in Winterset, was used in the filming of “The Bridges of Madison County.”
Winterset Revisited Madison County and its bridges have remained a tourist destination over these past 14 years, although unfortunately, Francesca’s house is no longer available for tours after an arson attack a few years ago. Northside Café is still serving customers who come to town looking to check out the bridges, eat in a place that has been open for more than 100 years and see where Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood once filmed a movie together. From soups and salads to sandwiches and steak, customers have many meals to choose from during the restaurants open hours Tuesday through Sunday. Twenty years after “The Bridges of Madison County” was filmed, people still flock to Madison County, said Glenna Finney, tourism director for the Winterset Chamber of Commerce “It’s unreal how many visitors we get because of ‘The Bridges of Madison County,’” Finney said. Madison County has remained an icon since it was the setting for the novel and film named after its bridges. While film enthusiasts may enjoy touring the town, Madison County has other attractions besides its famous bridges, including three wineries open for tours and the John Wayne birthplace historical complex.
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Winterset, Iowa Bridges of Madison County Spring 2001 Issue p. 30
Knoxville, Iowa Knoxville Raceway Winter 2007 Issue p. 46
Marceline, Missouri The Spirit of Walt Disney Fall 1998 Issue p. 56
Hermann, Missouri Stone Hill Winery Premiere 1996 Issue p. 08
Osceola, Missouri Osceola Cheese Co. Summer 2006 Issue p. 12
Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri Best Places to Dock-Hop Winter 2013 Issue p. 53
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Detours has traveled far and wide to find one-of-a-kind destinations in the tri-state area since we published our first issue during 1996.
Pella, Iowa Tulip Time Festival Summer 2013 Issue p. 36
Moline, Illinois Whitey’s Ice Cream Summer 2004 Issue p. 16
Decatur, Illinois MidwestERN “Ghost Town” Winter 2002 Issue p. 26
Springfield, Illinois Route 66 Winter 2002 Issue p. 20
Belleville, Illinois Skyview Drive-in Winter 2009 Issue p. 48
St. Louis, Missouri Shakespeare Festival Summer 2008 Issue p. 42
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ENTERTAINMENT
F u l l n I
Including the tulips planted in people’s yards, there are easily more than a million tulips in Pella.
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m B lo o
TULIP TIME
Tulip festival celebrates Dutch heritage
STORY BY MELISSA BRADFORD PHOTOS COURTESY OF PELLA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU Published in summer 2013
E
ach spring in Pella, Iowa, residents prepare for the annual Tulip Time Festival celebrated the first weekend of May. During 1847, Dutch immigrants settled in Pella but were determined not to lose their roots. In hopes of keeping their culture alive, they brought their love of tulips, one of the prized flowers of the Netherlands, with them. The first Tulip Time looked very different from what visitors see today. The festival was pulled together during 1935 in less than two weeks, so no tulips had been planted in preparation. However, to ensure their heritage was represented, a local cabinetmaker crafted more than 100 wooden tulips to decorate the town, and the celebration was an immediate success.
Now more than 250,000 tulip bulbs are planted each year throughout Pella — no small feat for an Iowan town of just 10,000 people. Each spring, streets are blooming with lanes of tulips, and gardens are overflowing with color. One of those gardens is actually a public park near the center of town known as the Sunken Gardens. The park, built during 1937, is almost as old as Tulip Time itself. During the festival, tourists can ride on a hayrack, or flatbed wagon, and take a guided tour of the city. The picturesque park has its own windmill, a pond shaped like a wooden shoe and 10,000 tulips. Park manager Chandler Nunnikhoven is one of the individuals in charge of planting tulips at the Sunken Gardens. Nunnikhoven
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ENTERTAINMENT Wooden shoes, a symbol of the Dutch, are carved and sold in the Historical Village.
“Every year we try to do it a little better than the year before.” — Bonnie Verburg
has been attending Tulip Time since he was five and said his favorite part of the festival is seeing the flowers bloom. “I’m on a different side of Tulip Time now because I help organize and help come up with designs and plant all the tulips,” Nunnikhoven explained. “I just like seeing all of the tulips come up in springtime because my staff and myself help plant them all.” A staff of seven people, including Nunnikhoven, plant more than 90,000 tulips throughout Pella each year, approximately onethird of the total planted in the town. Pella’s Dutch heritage is not only celebrated with flowers. Each day of the threeday festival, two parades are held — one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Before the parade can start, however, the streets have to be scrubbed with water. Audience members are encouraged to participate in this tradition, and anyone can get involved and help scrub the streets before the parade arrives. Onlookers watch as elaborate floats with moving parts drive by, such as a tipping teapot and miniature windmills. The parade also features performances that can only be seen during Tulip Time. Young children march together in Dutch costumes, and the junior high school band marches in wooden shoes. After sunset, the celebration continues. Local artists sing on stage for the crowd, and their performances are immediately followed by the evening parade where decorative lights illuminate the floats. Bonnie Verburg, long-time resident of Pella, has been involved with the Tulip Time Festival all of her life. Verburg said one of the secrets of the festival is the evening parade.
The dances performed during the festival are authentic Dutch folk dances that often tell stories.
The dances performed during the festival are authentic Dutch folk dances that often tell stories.
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“The lights are just beautiful on the floats,” Verburg said. “[Visitors] don’t realize that we have such a beautiful night parade.” Verburg is the director at the Vermeer Windmill, one of the many places visitors can explore in town. The Vermeer Windmill is open all day and offers guided tours to reveal how a grain mill operates. Next door is the Historical Village, which is the best place to see traditional craftsmanship firsthand. Rug braiding, blacksmithing, quilting, Dutch Letter baking, rope making and many other forms of artistry are demonstrated for the public. During 1848, the founder of Pella, Dominie Hendrik Peter Scholte, built a 22room home for his wife. Now the building is known as the Scholte House and has been converted into a museum. Although part of the interior has been restored, some of the original carpeting and wallpaper remain, as well as artifacts once belonging to Scholte and his wife. Visitors can learn a lot about Pella’s Dutch roots from its museums, but one of the best ways to experience a different culture is through its food. When it comes to choosing a treat to try, visitors can sample foods not available in the average restaurant. Take a bite of poffertjes — small, buttered pancakes topped with either powdered sugar or strawberries with whipped cream. The Dutch Letter is another popular pastry, flaky with almond filling and in the shape of the letter “S.” Or try a stroopwafel, a thin cookie with molasses in between. Also served is funnel cake, chocolage covered strawberries and vet ballen, which tastes like an apple fritter.
TULIP TIME
A hardworking volunteer participates in the “street sweep� that precedes each parade.
The town plants 230,000 tulips per year.
The Vermeer Mill, built in 2002, is the tallest working windmill in the United States.
The Sunken Gardens has its own windmill, a pond shaped like a wooden shoe and 10,000 tulips.
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ENTERTAINMENT On the other hand, more substantial edibles such as steak sandwiches, pork chops on a stick and Dutch Tacos balance out the sweets. Unlike the typical taco, a Dutch Taco is made with Pella bologna and secret sauces, creating a taste that can only be found in this Iowan town. “What I hear most people talking about is the foods because a lot of them are ethnic Dancers in traditional Dutch garb perform during one of the huge parades celebrating Tulip Time.
foods,” Verburg said. “So I think in our culture today, a lot of us like to try different, unusual things to eat.” Another way to experience the Dutch culture is to eat in the Memorial Building recently added to the west side of the city park. People dressed in traditional Dutch clothing serve plates of freshly made treats that celebrate their heritage. During the meal, volunteers give presentations about topics such as the meaning behind Dutch costumes. Verburg said this new building was an example of how the festival is always growing. “Every year we try and do it a little better than the year before,” Verburg explained. Since she was two years old, Emily VanGelder has watched as more than 160,000 people travel to her hometown for Tulip Time each year. VanGelder said she always tries to make the drive home for Tulip Time so she can celebrate it with her family. “We have tons of costumes in my family because they just get passed down,” VanGelder said. “This past year I wore a costume that my grandma made, actually.” Those with Dutch roots participating in the festival dress in handmade clothing similar to the traditional style of the village their ancestors are from. VanGelder explained that Tulip Time has always been a part of her life, and she hopes to make it to this year’s festival for old time’s sake. “It’s just fun to see the enthusiasm and all the history,” VanGelder said. “It’s fun to be a part of it.”
Tulip Time Revisited
The Tulip Time Festival is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. Special events for the anniversary include a Civil War reenactment complete with period-accurate costumes and battle formations. The Pella Historical Society Museum staff is also introducing three new exhibits for this year’s festival. A local donor, going by Humanities Iowa, has constructed a historical sod house for the museum. In addition, the staff has prepared a children’s puppet show, a doll exhibit and an antique toy collection for younger visitors. As for the festival itself, four new floats will be rolling down the grand promenade as part of one of the festival’s main events, a long and colorful parade filled with bands, horses and citizens dressed in traditional Dutch clothing. A Midwest couple even arranged to have an engagement party amidst the festivities this year. Every year, Pella is awash in more than 230,000 tulip blooms throughout the streets and fields. This effort does not go unnoticed. According to Kathy Miller, a museum staffer, visitors come from around the globe to attend the festival and see the tulips. “Through our whole year we have over 55 countries that are visitors,” Miller said. “We’ve had every state and territory represented. In total, our museum itself serves 37,000 people. In the town itself, for last year’s Tulip Time, they estimated 200,000 people came over the three-day period.” detours 40 summer 2015
Photo Contest
P EA Lm Le A r i c a ’ s IOWA
You’re “welkom” to visit
DUTCH TREASURE
CHECK OUT PELLA NOW BY SCANNING THE QR CODE WITH YOUR SMART PHONE
www.visitpella.com winter 2014
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Park
ENTERTAINMENT
Player ST. LOUIS SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL BRINGS CLASSICS TO THE CROWD STORY BY JULIE WILLIAMS PHOTOS BY MIKE SNODDERLEY Published in summer 2008
Beatrice, played by Jenny Mercein, eavesdrops on Hero, played by Megan Wiles, and Ursula, played by Jennifer Bock, as they discuss Benedick’s unrequited love for Beatrice.
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SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
The plays make frequent use of lively acting and choreography to entertain the crowds.
Taking the Stage Shakespeare Festival St. Louis is celebrating its 15th Anniversary Season of providing free, live outdoor theatre to the public. The festival’s 2015 Season Main Stage production is “Antony and Cleopatra,” which “tells the epic, intriguing and enchanting tale of a Roman general caught under the spell of history’s most stunning and powerful queen.” The production is scheduled for May 22 – June 14 in Forest Park.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Tragedies and comedies pull in similar audiences despite alternating years.
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or one month each spring, right around sunset, a stage formed at the bottom of Forest Park’s temporary, bowl-shaped theater fills with elaborately dressed characters, and the noise of the feature production of the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis washes over the crowd. St. Louis resident Brett Wilhelm said he saw the majestic trees of Forest Park blend into “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” six years ago and hasn’t missed a production since. “I used to go see Shakespeare a lot back when I was in high school and college, so I’ve been to a lot of different productions,” Wilhelm said. “What they do here is on par with what I’ve seen elsewhere, if not better.” The show appeals not only to adult audiences but to children as well. Wilhelm said his six-year-old son has accompanied him to every production and was fascinated by the shipwreck built into the stage for “The Tempest.” “It’s really family-oriented,” Wilhelm said. In the eyes of Marilyn Spirt, managing director of the festival, Shakespeare is the birthright of every native English speaker, which might be why she devotes her days to bringing the people of St. Louis a month of free productions. “We had almost 54,000 people come last year to the Shakespeare Festival,” Spirt said. “And it’s every age, every demographic.” Spirt said the festival was incorporated during 1997. About 33,000 people showed up to the pioneer performance of “Romeo and Juliet” during 2001, and the festival has expanded. Productions now run for a month each spring, free of charge. “There are more than 120 [Shakespeare Festivals] around the country,” Spirt said. “Very few of them are free, only maybe 12 or 13, so that is somewhat unique [about] us.”
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“We believe that live theater changes lives” — Marilyn Spirt
Performers, like this fire breathing professional, walk through the audience before the show begins to entertain the crowd.
SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
The productions are hosted at Forest Park, and although the main show does not begin until 8 p.m., Spirt said people carry in their blankets and picnic baskets to stake out a spot at 3 or 4 p.m. To entertain the early birds, Spirt said the festival now includes a Green Show that starts at 6:30 p.m. This show includes different performances on different nights, some of which include jugglers, Renaissance dancers, musicians, the St. Louis Ballet and ensembles from the St. Louis Symphony. Included in the Green Show is a shortened, 20-minute version of the main production taken from the festival’s education tour. “We believe that live theater changes lives, and we believe that Shakespeare in particular helps with literacy, and it levels the educational playing field,” Spirt said of the education tour. Spirt said the festival normally alternates between tragedies and comedies from year to year but that it is difficult to tell which type of play draws a larger audience. “Because it’s such a happening and such a community event, it more depends on the amount of rain we get than the choice of play,” she said. “People are coming out because it is festive, it is free and it is high-quality theater.” The responsibility of choosing the specifics of each year’s production lies in the hands of Dawn McAndrews, the artistic director for the festival. McAndrews describes herself as being the caretaker for the artistic vision, and she also searches for ways to expand the festival’s mission. “I don’t want to pick a play just because I want to do it,” McAndrews said. “I want to pick a play that has something to say to a modern audience right now. I have 38 plays from which to choose to really engage our audience.” Once she chooses a play, McAndrews said she then begins having conversations with different directors to find out how they interpret the play. The next step is to assemble a design team, then hold auditions for roles, which go to a combination of local and national actors. “Because [we] only do one play a year, it’s a lot easier to really pull together the best team possible,” McAndrews said. St. Louis area actors like Jerry Vogel consider it a gift to perform in front of an audience of about 5,000 people each night. Vogel said he began hearing rumors nine or 10 years ago that a Shakespeare festival similar to those in other cities might be coming to St. Louis. “The first year it was ‘Romeo and Juliet,’” he said. “There wasn’t an actor in St. Louis that didn’t know about it and didn’t want to audition for it.” Vogel said he has held a role in seven of the eight productions so far, and he has been with the show as it has grown and changed. The most amazing thing is how it has grown in popularity — mostly by word of mouth — to the point where people are starting to associate the festival with the end of spring, Vogel said. Throughout the years, Vogel said he also has been amazed by the different kinds of audiences he has seen and by how many families attend the shows. He said many audiences come to the festival without ever having experienced Shakespeare before, and it is not uncommon for others to ride by the park on their bikes, get hooked on the show and stay until the end. “I have visions of being near the end of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and seeing kid after kid after kid sitting on blankets with their families just laughing and having the best time,” Vogel said.
Michael Perkins plays the part of Ursula with the help of a few props and a falsetto voice.
Robert Mitchell and Blaine Smith plot the downfall of Hero. Each cast member played at least two characters in the condensed version of “Much Ado About Nothing.”
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ENTERTAINMENT
Burning rubber ignites knoxville racetrack STORY BY SARA JAMES PHOTOS BY CHRIS THARP Published in winter 2007
Saturday
Night r e v e F T
he sharp smell of gasoline and a sound like rumbling thunder fills the air. It is a Saturday night at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway and everyone is either in the stands or listening as the race’s soundtrack echoes across the small town. Sprint cars race by one after another. “Anyone who lives here knows that the track was here first,” said Lori DeMoss, a resident of the city of Knoxville. “So when it’s loud on the weekends, you just accept it
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because it is a way of life around here.” The racetrack can hold up to 24,000 spectators despite Knoxville’s population of only about 7,000. Visitors come from as far away as Australia. Because the small town does not have enough hotels and campgrounds for all of the visitors, the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce initiated a housing program. The chamber compiled a list of residents that were willing to host families during the races. Some people host families for a fee and some end up housing visitors for free.
KNOXVILLE RACEWAY
“You end up making friends with the people that you host and they end up returning year after year to stay with you,” DeMoss said. “Knoxville has proved that not only are they all about the races, but they are all about the friends and people.” The track’s long history dominates Knoxville. Racing began in 1914, but the track fell silent during World War II. The next car raced in the late 1940s. In 1954, an era of weekly races began on the half-mile track. New additions, such as lights, fencing and banking turns appeared. The First Annual Super-Modified National Championship race, which is now known as Knoxville Nationals, was in 1961. Nationals began as a two-day event with time trials on Friday and the races on Saturday. Today, the event takes four days. The racetrack is flooded with fans of all ages. Everyone proudly displays their support for their favorite drivers on their brightly colored shirts, and they walk around discussing who will win. Young children support their parents’ favorite drivers by wearing hats that are too big for their little heads and fluorescent T-shirts that match their parents’. Today the Super Clean Knoxville Nationals is the track’s largest event, but the community also has plenty of attractions to keep visitors busy. A few of the events consist of a pit stop for all-you-can-eat pancakes, the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce Bizarre Bazaar, which features crafts, antiques, art, entertainment and more. The race’s profile has increased in recent years, evidenced by national network TNN’s broadcast of the race. The prize increased thousands of dollars to almost $90,000 during 2006. Spectatorship has grown more than tenfold throughout the years.
Knoxville nationals The 2015 Knoxville Nationals will be the 55th annual four-day celebration of sprint car racing. From August 12–15, Donny Schatz will defend his championship, competing alongside other top drivers from across the country. For the full Knoxville experience, get behind the wheel at Slideways Karting Center or spend the night in one of the racetrack’s 28 suites.
Jeannette Loch and her husband have attended nationals at the raceway for three years in a row. “My husband, Bill, is a true sprint car lover, and he used to race sprint cars in the late ’50s and ’60s,” Loch said. “But once the racing gets in your blood it stays forever. We just love all types of racing.” Sprint car racing is their favorite because there are many races, instead of just one long one, Loch said. The Lochs first visited the Knoxville Raceway in 1996. They made the eight-hour drive to Knoxville from Mayford, Oklahoma, to watch the races. They’ve continued to make the drive year after year. “We own a Dixon Lawn Mower sales and service business,” Loch said. “So we close the business up for two weeks and change the message on the machine. Everyone knows we’re off to the races.” At the races, fans discuss time trials and order juicy hot dogs with ice-cold beer. But not every moment in racing is happy. In 2006, Kansas sprint car driver Steve King died after a part broke on his car and sent his car flying into a fence on Turn 3. There have been 15 racing-related deaths at Knoxville, said Ralph Capitani, the director of the raceway. Still, the enthusiasm people hold for Knoxville and racing remains. “This is the perfect town for the races,” said 18-year-old Grant Cadwallader. Cadwallader encourages everyone else to get a chance to experience the racing. No one can truly understand the feeling and exhilaration that arises from watching the sprint cars go flying past, he said. “Don’t judge something because you don’t know much about it,” he said. “Experience it. You will get the biggest thrill out of it and love it.”
“Anyone who lives here knows that the track was here first, so when it’s loud on the weekends, you just accept it because it is a way of life around here.” — Lori Demoss
Sprint cars speed past the green driver warning light.Yellow means the race is under caution, and red means stop for accidents.
Shane Stewart of Bixby, Oklahoma, races at Knoxville. The sprint cars can speed through the half-mile dirt track in under 15 seconds.
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ENTERTAINMENT
a night at the drive-in STORY BY CHRIS BONING PHOTOS BY MIKE SNODDERLEY Published in Winter 2009 detours 48 summer 2015
SKYVIEW DRIVE-IN
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onight the theater has attracted a full house — or lot, rather. Rows of cars of all sizes, makes and models are parked with their occupants inside watching an over-sized screen with rapt attention. Above the sounds of the movie being streamed over the FM radio station, the laughter of children, the murmurs of adults, the crackle of wrappers being opened and the nocturnal cacophony of crickets provide a quiet soundtrack. It’s just another night at the Skyview Drive-In in Belleville, Illinois. Skyview has been a fixture of Belleville, a town about 45 minutes outside of St. Louis, since the late 1940s, said Steve Bloomer, a coowner of the theater and the third generation of his family to work there.
ACROSS GENERATIONS Bloomer said the theater has remained unchanged since its premiere during 1949 — with a few exceptions. The brightly lit neon “Skyview Drive-In” sign outside the entrance to the theater and the concession stand are original. He said the movie screens are different, however, because the first screen had to be replaced and another added after a particularly powerful storm in the early 1980s. Another aspect of Skyview that has changed during its six decades of operation is its paint job. The concession stand and one side of the original movie screen were a vibrant pink during the 1960s and 1970s. The shade of pink was so distinctive that the company that supplied the paint dubbed it “Bloomer
pink.” Today, the first screen is gone, and the concession stand has since been repainted a more subtle hue. Although Bloomer does not keep track of attendance figures, Skyview usually will sell out on a good, clear night, he said. Bloomer said that a sell-out means about 600 cars are on the lot. The movie season at Skyview runs from April to October. Bloomer said he tries to concentrate on drawing families to Skyview. “That’s what the drive-in has always been — a family type of atmosphere,” Bloomer said. “We’ve got a playground for the kids to enjoy, and the type of movies that we play is family movies. That’s who we are — we’re a family business.”
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ENTERTAINMENT
ACROSS GENERATIONS Bloomer added that a typical comment he receives from moviegoers is that Skyview generates nostalgia. “A lot of people ... have not been to a drive-in for a long time, but they come back because it reminds them of when they were kids,” Bloomer said. Echoing that sentiment were Julie and Mark George of Arnold, Missouri, who brought their daughter and her friend to Skyview. Julie George said she usually goes to the drive-in a few times each summer. She said she enjoys the atmosphere of Skyview because of its location and inexpensive price, in addition to the memories it evokes. Mark George, her husband, said Skyview means something similar to him. “I remember going to drive-ins as a kid, and now we get to bring our kids,” he said. Susan Sanders, who co-authored “The American Drive-In Movie Theatre” and
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“Drive-In Movie Memories” with her husband Don Sanders, said she and her husband grew up in adjacent counties in Texas that had 43 drive-in theaters between them. Sanders added that her generation went to the drive-in to have a good time, whereas today, teenagers growing up in mostly urban areas go to the mall to hang out. Sanders said her professional interest in drive-ins began when she and her husband started photographing neon fixtures around the theaters. They have since written a pair of books and produced a documentary about the drive-in culture. Sanders said that movies have been projected onto the sides of buildings since the late 1800s, but it wasn’t until after World War II that the drive-in took off when returning soldiers bought cars en masse. “The drive-in is a natural progression of the development of the automobile and the movie — Americans love both,” Sanders said.
SKYVIEW DRIVE-IN
Since 2009, one major change has happened to Skyview, Belleville’s one and only drive-in movie theater. The theater has now joined the list of the digital drive-ins in the United States, meaning film is no longer needed to show a movie. During the past couple of years, there has been a shift from film to digital, said Steve Bloomer, owner of Skyview. In fact, it can be estimated that more than 80% of America’s drive-ins are now digitalized. In order to be competitive, it was necessary, said Bloomer, and there are multiple advantages for making the switch
DRAWING IN CROWDS The popularity of the drive-in began to decline with the advent of television and ended with a shift in cultural attitudes and preferences. Because of televisions, people didn’t have to leave their homes to be entertained visually. She said another factor in the decline of drive-ins was daylight-saving time — the farther west the state, the later the sun sets, and therefore movies start later, often past children’s bedtimes. Eventually, drive-ins started showing X-rated films to get by, which attracted rough crowds, Sanders said. During the 1990s, the drive-ins that survived began showing first-run movies, which previously had not been possible because film studios owned movie theaters and charged a premium for unaffiliated theaters that wanted to show such films. Drive-in owners also redesigned parking lots and installed systems to transmit sounds from the movies over FM frequencies that could be played on
— such as better sound and picture quality, plus the ease of operating the system. The mission and motto of this Midwest gem is still the same: to provide family-friendly movies in a welcoming atmosphere. Bloomer is the third generation in his family to own Skyview and he continues to genuinely enjoy his job. “When I go to work at the drive-in, I don’t feel like I am going to work,” he said. “It is a hobby that I happen to get paid for.” In the future, Bloomer hopes to possibly add another screen so he
will have the ability to show films for longer periods of time. This third screen would enable him to offer more flexibility in how long a movie will be shown and also allow more people to watch movies at Skyview, which can hold approximately 600 cars at full capacity. During this season, Skyview will play movies such as “Jurassic World,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Fast and Furious 7” and “Poltergeist.” When selecting which movies to show, Bloomer said it’s all about what the audience will like, not what will garner the most business.
a car radio. In time, families and teenagers started coming back, Sanders said. “Today’s audience is just like it was in the beginning,” she said. Drive-ins currently are experiencing an overall resurgence with people either reopening them or building them from scratch, Sanders said. She also pointed out some of the advantages of drive-ins: they usually are inexpensive and family friendly, and theatergoers can bring in their own food. “[The drive-in] gives you the freedom you don’t have at the indoor theater,” Sanders said. Steve Bloomer, the co-owner of Skyview Drive-In, said his theater managed to survive the lean times because it remains a family attraction that has little competition locally. “We have our own audience,” he said. “[They] have found us.”
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Welcome to Belleville! Local Events May 15–17 Art on the Square artonthesquare.com June 26–27 Wine, Dine & Jazz winedinejazz.com July 10 Tour de Belleville Bike Ride tourdebelleville.com Sept 18–19 Oktoberfest bellevilleoktoberfest.com Oct 2–3 Chili Cook-off bellevillechili.com Nov 27 Santa Claus Parade bellevilleoptimist.org Nov 27–Dec 23 Christkindlmarkt (German Christmas Market)
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DOCK-HOPPING
H. Toad’s Bar and Grill
Food on the Water
(Mini) Docknockers Dive Bar
Best PLACES TO DOCK-HOP STORY AND PHOTOS BY MEGAN WILKE Published in winter 2013
I
n the Ozarks of central Missouri, summer lake culture is about the sun, water, food and the best ways to enjoy all three. Restaurants have adapted to make it easy for people to jump in their boats and hop from dock to dock without missing a moment of the lake lifestyle. Be sure to plan ahead to hit all your favorite destinations. Here are 25 of the best places to dock-hop: MM0 Main Channel
Beaver’s at the Dam Bar and Grill
Beaver’s at the Dam Bar and Grill
Beaver’s is located on the north shore with a view of historic Bagnell Dam. Two levels of open decks provide ample seating for guests to enjoy the calamari appetizer or grouper sandwich. Weekly specials include live entertainment Friday and Saturday, and a breakfast buffet on weekends. The restaurant also hosts the powerboat Lake Race in June. MM4 Main Channel
(Mini) Docknockers Dive Bar
MM7 Main Channel
H. Toad’s Bar and Grill The diverse menu of this expansive resort ranges from burgers to frog legs. Guests can choose indoor or outdoor seating, or swim up to the pool bar. Big names like Brett Michaels and Nelly have performed in the free live entertainment events every weekend. Features include a spa, boutique and market, and kiosks situated around the resort help guests arrange parasailing trips and boat rentals. MM7 Main Channel
Shady Gators This self-proclaimed “Party Capital of the Lake of the Ozarks” carries several Cajun favorites such as chicken gumbo, jambalaya and gator bites — gator filets in a citrus blend, hickory smoked and flash fried. Live bands and DJs perform every Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and sand volleyball matches are a common occurrence.
Bright umbrellas line the two-tiered deck of this scenic restaurant known around the lake for its seafood. Although currently operating in small, or mini, capacity under a limited menu until next year, guests can still order peel-andeat shrimp or a bucket of crab legs they can break apart with wooden hammers.
Shady Gators
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MM19 Main Channel
Jolly Rogers Grub and Grog
Dog Days Bar and Grill During 2011, Dog Days was voted “#1 Restaurant on the Water” by Powerboat Magazine, having something to offer for everyone in any walk of life. Each year during July the restaurant hosts Aquapalooza, the lake’s largest free concert event, while weekly entertainment features both national and regional artists. Menu favorites include steak, seafood and pasta. MM21 Main Channel
Shorty Pants Lounge and Marina The large wooden deck of the Shorty Pants Lounge overlooks the water at this Cajunthemed restaurant. The New Orleans-inspired menu offers spices from Louisiana, with crab cakes, étouffée and po’boy sandwiches. The outdoor Tiki bar serves many popular cocktails like the Cajun Bloody Mary. MM24 Main Channel
Paradise Restaurant and Bar This tropical-themed paradise is open seven days a week, its lakefront location offering expansive views of the water. Wednesday night is “Ladies Night” with half-off all frozen drinks. The restaurant also hosts live entertainment and a menu including salads, sandwiches, burgers and succulent seafood entrées like Ginger Glazed Salmon with Mangos.
H. Toad’s Bar and Grill
MM26 Main Channel
Papa Chubby’s Food and Booze
MM33 Main Channel
This Chicago-style restaurant designed its menu to reflect the best of the Windy City. Diners can order one of Chubby’s 14-inch Chicago Thin Crust Pizzas or dig into a signature Gyro. A sandy beach provides easy access to the water and a place for guests to lounge. Live entertainment and weekend events help define the nightlife.
Bulldog’s Beach House Bar and Grill
MM31 Main Channel
Known for its great bartending, Bulldog’s is also the self-proclaimed “Home of the Stuffed Burger.” The Beach House Burger is stuffed with a signature blend of cheeses and herbs, while the Goober Burger is stuffed with peanut butter. Guests can also enjoy live entertainment and drink specials at the Tiki bar.
Larry’s on the Lake
MM4.5 Gravois Arm
A floating Tiki bar distinguishes this restaurant from any other on the lake. Burgers, salads, pizzas and tacos make up the diverse menu, with Larrywood Weekly Specials like dollar sliders on Mondays. Diners can also participate in the Big Larry Challenge — devouring five pounds of the Big Larry Burger with fries and onion rings in 30 minutes or less.
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Jolly Rogers Grub and Grog This restaurant is known for its pirate-themed atmosphere and impressive galley, or kitchen. Guests can relax in the covered outdoor seating and open deck, or pull up a chair beside the boat-shaped bar. Famous onion rings are served with Cajun horseradish. A gift shop offers the
DOCK-HOPPING
Captain Ron’s
Coconuts Caribbean Beach Bar and Grill
sauces and seasonings used in menu items. MM7 Gravois Arm
Coconuts Caribbean Beach Bar and Grill Palm trees, a sandy beach and a swim-up pool bar are prominent features of this Caribbeanthemed bar and grill. DJs and live bands play weekly to entertain diners indoors and outdoors. The popular White Fish Bowl is served with black beans, mandarin oranges and Pico de Gallo on jasmine rice with a sweet Thai chili sauce.
Captain Ron’s
MM47 Osage Arm
MM34.5 Osage Arm
Big Dick’s Halfway Inn
Captain Ron’s
Big Dick’s is located halfway between the Truman and Bagnell Dams. Live entertainment and a Tiki bar are available for diners on the weekends. Besides the popular tenderloins purchased from the local meat market, the restaurant is known for “Shooting the Minnow,” which is the practice of swallowing a live minnow in whatever beverage guests prefer.
Guests have access to two sandy beaches, four Tiki bars and Captain Ron’s very own pirate ship in this secluded cove. Indoor and outdoor seating is available to enjoy a grouper sandwich or one of the live bands that play every night during the summer. Captain Ron’s is also the “Home of the Shootout,” a boat race and the biggest event at the lake. MM38 Osage Arm
Bear Bottom Resort
Coconuts Caribbean Beach Bar and Grill
Jolly Rogers Grub and Grog
This sprawling family-owned restaurant and resort is complete with campgrounds, rental cabins and a large waterslide that is easy to spot from the water. Live bands play every weekend, followed by the owner performing as a DJ for “Club Bear Bottom.” Nachos are a hugely popular choice from the menu, and just a half order can feed three to four people.
MM3 Linn Creek
The Fish and Company Barefoot country singer Dale Blue has made this restaurant his new home and regular performance location. Covered patio seating provides a picturesque place for guests to enjoy any one of the burgers, sandwiches or world famous Nathan’s quarter pound all-beef hot dogs on the menu. Food is also available dock-side to go.
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Small missouri town celebrates its most famous resident
STORY BY DAN VIETS PHOTOS BY CHRISTINE FORTNEY Published in fall 1998 Walt Disney’s characters celebrate with the numerous spectators at the “Spirit of Mickey” parade.The grandeur of the once-in-a-lifetime event brought a new zeal into the hearts of the people of Marceline.
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WALT DISNEY
O
ne of the 20th century’s most famous and influential men Walt Disney spent four years of his childhood living in Marceline, Missouri. People who visit Marceline today can still see many of the landmarks that were part of Walt’s boyhood. Walt once wrote that Marceline was the place where he first experienced country life, saw a circus parade and attended school. It was also the place where, like many young boys, he experienced his first crush. Walt’s personal connection to the town gives residents a special sense of closeness to the man who created Mickey Mouse. Walt was born Dec. 5, 1901, in Chicago. Before he turned five years old, Walt and his family moved to the north central Missouri town of Marceline because his father Elias wanted them to live in a wholesome, rural environment. The Disneys lived on the north edge of town where they had apple orchards and raised cows, pigs and chickens. Walt was happy with his life in Marceline, as he wrote in a letter to The Marceline News during 1938. — Walt “To tell the truth, more things of importance happened to me in Marceline than have happened since or are likely to in the future,” Walt wrote. He also said everything in Marceline was a thrill to him, especially the farm animals. “Perhaps that’s the reason we used so many barnyard animals in the Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony pictures today,” Walt said. The Disney family had many friends in Marceline. Leonidas and Eugenia Moorman
lived across the street from the Disneys. During Marceline’s Golden Jubilee during 1938, Walt was asked to recall his impressions of his boyhood town. He wrote in a letter that Mrs. Moorman was his “first dream girl” and remembered what beautiful red hair she had. Walt’s neighbors and relatives encouraged him to draw. Retired Marceline physician I.L. Sherwood purchased the first piece of artwork Walt ever sold. It was a sketch of Doc Sherwood’s horse Rupert. During 1910 Elias’ health began to deteriorate, and the Disneys moved from Marceline to Kansas City, Missouri. Walt said the day he and his older brother Roy had to post the auction flyers for the sale of their family farm was one of the saddest in his life. The boys were especially fond of one pony, and after they sold it at auction, they heard it whinnying at a hitching post downtown Walt and Roy both ran over to the pony and started crying. Walt’s boyhood home still stands in Marceline, although it has been remodeled extensively. During the spring of 1956, Marceline decided to build its first first swimming pool Disney and chose to name it and the surrounding park after Walt to return to the town to participate in the Walt Disney Municipal Park and Swimming Pool dedication ceremonies on July 4. He was very happy to accept their invitation, and he brought along his wife Lillian, his brother Roy and Roy’s wife Edna. Walt arrived in Marceline late in the evening to attend a reception at the Santa Fe Country Club, which was near the new
“To tell the truth, more things of importance happened to me in Marceline than have happened since or are likely to in the future.”
Disney fans of all ages come together in Marceline for “The Spirit of Mickey.”
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On September 12, 1998, Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan and Disneyland’s Mickey Mouse met in Marceline to announce the forthcoming Centennial Celebration of Walt Disney’s birth. On that warm, sunny autumn day, thousands gathered in Marceline to learn about the town’s Disney heritage. Although the celebration did not take place until December 5, 2001, the planning was already well underway for the birthday event for Marceline’s most famous resident. The September kickoff event was packed with presentations by Disney
authors and experts, including Robin Allen, the only British citizen to hold a doctorate in Disney. The day’s festivities also included an apple pie-eating contest, butter-churning demonstration and rededication of the recently refurbished 1911 Santa Fe Railroad steam locomotive number 2546 in Ripley Square. Marceline’s Uptown Theatre observed the occasion by showing special screenings of “The Spirit of Mickey” and the 1956 Disney film “The Great Locomotive Chase,” starring Fess Parker of “Davy Crockett” fame. Walt
had presented this film personally at its Marceline premiere July 4, 1956. Those who took the Marceline Tour saw many historic sites and landmarks related to Walt. These included the Walt Disney Elementary School, a 1960 Winter Olympics flagpole Walt gave to the school, Walt’s desk with his initials carved in it, and Disneyland flags, which Disney presented to the school during its 1960 dedication.
swimming pool. During the event he addressed the crowd, recalling several boyhood episodes in the town. He spoke of the time Roy arranged for the two of them to make a little money by washing a hearse. Walt remembered how he played dead inside the funeral carriage, while his brother did most of the work. Walt also told everyone how he incorporated many of his childhood impressions of Marceline into his cartoons, specifically an outhouse that he used in his early cartoons. During their visit Walt Roy went back to Walt’s old elementary school, Park Elementary, where a wooden desk had the initials “WD” prominently carved twice. Local attorney Harry Porter had discovered the desk, and it is now on display in Marceline’s Walt Disney Elementary School. Marceline did not have air-conditioned motels in 1956 so local residents rush Inez Johnson and their daughter Kaye, invited the Disneys to stay with them. Walt developed a close relationship with the family, which continued until his death 10 years later. The morning after Walt’s late arrival in Marceline, Kaye remembers running up to him in her front yard and asking, “Which room are you sleeping in?” “Well, it’s a room with a bed, with a pink headboard…” Walt said. “That’s my bed!” Kaye said. “You’re sleeping in my room.” And to this day Kaye still tells people that the famous Walt Disney slept in her bed. On July 14 of 1998, Marceline hosted The Walt Disney Company’s world premiere of its new videotape retrospective on the
career of Walt’s most famous creation, “The Spirit of Mickey.” The event drew one of the largest crowds in the history of Marceline’s celebrations. An estimated 12 to 20 thousand people gathered in the town to see Mickey and Minnie Mouse fly into the airport in a vintage, propeller-driven airplane. Marceline’s mayor Joe Fotenos and other dignitaries from the area met the mice upon their arrival. They all joined in a motorcade down Main Street, where six other costumed Disney cartoon characters from Disneyland met Mickey and Minnie Mouse. “The Spirit of Mickey” is a compilation of several great Mickey Mouse cartoons of the 1930s and 1940s, including some that have never been released on videotape. The collection concludes with the very first Mickey Mouse cartoon released and the first cartoon to feature successful synchronized sound, “Steamboat Willie.” Walt won 32 Academy Awards during his lifetime, a record of achievement unequaled by anyone else in the business. Yet, through it all, he always appreciated his hometown of Marceline, Missouri. Walt wrote once, “The days I spent on the farm in Marceline inculcated in me the true spirit of Missouri, which means a mixture of ‘mulishness,’ tolerance,
independence and a sense of regard for the rights of every man of good will. “I guess you can gather from this that I still have a fine, warm spot for the old home state.”
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WALT DISNEY
Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan meets Mickey Mouse during Marceline’s Sept. 12 celebration. During the event Carnahan announced the forthcoming Centennial Celebration of Disney’s birth.
Marceline and its citizens have honored Walt Disney in a variety of ways since Detours last visited this historic town. Marceline fills with special guests and Disney enthusiasts during the annual ToonFest, a celebration of Disney that started during 1998. “It’s a celebration of Walt Disney, and what we do for several years is we have some headliners come to Marceline,” ToonFest volunteer Dave Ankeney said. “They give presentations and talk about how they became cartoonists and have speeches about Walt Disney for about four days. We also have a parade at that time, and there are lots of events in the park that pertain to Walt Disney. A fishing contest because Walt loved to fish, a milking contest, a tea party, a pirate ship for the boys… and it’s all in honor of Disney.” Natural tributes to Disney flourished during the early 2000s. The headliners for ToonFest planted the first trees — donated
by the American Forest Historic Tree Nursery — during 2002. The trees multiplied and the arboretum is now open to the public. In addition to the arboretum, Walt Disney’s grandson planted a cottonwood tree that was grown from a seed from the original tree on the property, one that Disney played beneath as a child. The new tree and the stump of the original tree are open for public viewing and are collectively called “The Dreaming Tree.” The Walt Disney Hometown Museum opened during 2001 to commemorate an old depot that Disney associated strongly with Marceline. The museum gives tours and hosts events from April 1 to October 31 every year, including an annual tour for the D23 Official Disney fan club members. The museum staff is continually adding new artifacts to the museum, including a 1955 RCA Victor console television that Disney previously owned and an original Midget Autopia car from Disneyland.
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2015 PAST AND FUTURE
SUMMER
PHOTO
CONTEST
FACEBOOK FAN FAVORITE
ABBY ORSCHELN - “FERRIS WHEELER’S DAY OFF” DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA
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PHOTO CONTEST
HONORABLE
MENTIONS ARLEN EGLEY - “PICNIC AREA” GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK, TENNESSEE
DAWN KOHLER - “LOTUS FLOWER” PUXICO, MISSOURI
TREVOR STARK “JEAN-RALPHIO SAPERSTEIN IS ALIVE AND WELL” KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
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INGRID ROETTGEN - “CORINTHIAN COLUMNS” JERASH, JORDAN
ALEXANDRA MOORE - “CHEETAH” KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
KAYLA THOMPSON - “GAZE” DEFIANCE, MISSOURI
HONORABLE
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PHOTO CONTEST
CONTEST
WINNER
ZOE ZAISS - “THE TRAIN TO...” CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
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PAST CONTEST
WINNERS
RESOURCE
STAFF FAVorites
“Faces and Places” Stacy Loyd – Winter 2008
“Go Green” Erin Givarz – Summer 2009
“Shadows and Reflections” Andrew Maxwell – Winter 2009
“Narrow Your Focus” Andrew Maxwell – Summer 2010
“Show Your Spirit” Courtney Scanlan – Summer 2012
“Angles and Curves” Danielle Breshears – Winter 2012
“New Beginnings” Jessie Poole – Summer 2013
“Making It Work” Carly Robison – Winter 2013
The very first Detours photo contest during 2007 encouraged readers to submit photos that captured the Midwest. Since then, we’ve expanded the boundaries of the contest to include photos taken anywhere and everywhere so readers can share with us a snapshot of how they experience the world.
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M
Missouri’s
North Star
columnist reflects on Detours’ hometown of Kirksville, missouri story by corbin kottmann photos submitted by devin baker
Journal Printing Company Building
Pagliai’s Pizza
y first few months in Kirksville were saturated in good food and good company. After transferring here during 2012, naturally my first objective was to get to know the town in which I found myself living. I followed my nose to the downtown area, but the building I saw first gave me the impression of a financial or government building for important people. However, I instead found a group of workers, largely students like myself, tossing and decorating pizza pies made to order by the assortment of customers filling the seats. Without a thought, I sat down and ordered a single slice of pepperoni, which was soon served in a generous proportion. I took a different route home, regretting not purchasing a second slice to take with me. Kirksville is full of these small surprises. A lot of this is reflected in the architecture downtown, most of which is intact from years past. Instead of bulldozing and rebuilding over time, the people of Kirksville have chosen instead to preserve the history of downtown. The buildings aren’t left to rot, either — many businesses and restaurants fill the old shells to make something new. The Journal Printing Company Building, where Kirksville journals and newspapers were previously printed during the 1900s, is now used to host private events. Located just a few doors down is the local bar and grill, DuKum Inn, where you can grab a bite of the misleadingly named “second-best cheeseburger in town.” Since 1996, Detours Magazine has based itself in Kirksville, Missouri, with the purpose of bringing readers tips for venturing the Midwest, as well as tell stories a little closer to home. Travelers from across the tri-state area read these stories, and for a short time, become part of them. We are definitely a part of Kirksville, and vice versa. No matter how far across the states our writers travel, they will always come back to Detours’ home. Since that first adventure downtown, I’ve gone back to both Pagliai’s and DuKum Inn multiple times to hear their stories. I know why Dukum’s cheeseburger is called the second best even when it’s second to none, and why its ceiling is covered with enough dollar bills to buy everyone in the room a meal. And I know the people who work there, and how much pride they have in making both local and traveling customers feel welcome, if only for the time it takes to sit down and have a slice of pizza.
>>Explore kirksville Detours: At Home & Abroad highlights the latest travel hot spots to visit in Kirksville. Read more online at tmn.truman.edu
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