Lucca Grill stands the test of time in downtown Bloomington Karen Hansen
khansen@pantagraph.com
The venerable Lucca Grill always extends a warm welcome to friends, whether gone a day or a decade. The downtown Bloomington landmark, 116 E. Market St., is long on comfort and short on pretense; hang around long enough and you’ll join an extended family. The eatery is nearly an octogenarian now, begun in 1936 by immigrant brothers Fred and John Baldini near the end of the Great Depression. Over time, many superlatives have described its special ambiance: painted tin ceilings, a working dumbwaiter and Lilliputian-sized bathrooms. “A delightful old-time saloon” gushed The New York Times; “one of the most congenial bars ever founded,” fawned The Washington Post. Its long love affair with Democrats was trumpeted by John Baldini No. 2, revered leader of McLean County’s liberal wing until his 1994 death. The grill dispenses Kennedy half-dollars in change and one manager – John Fitzgerald Koch – is even named for the 35th president. Oodles of celebrities have walked through the doors but it’s regulars like 91-year-old Priscilla Blakney and her late husband Karl, or 43-year employee Lois Durbin who have been vetted with a picture on the wall or a plaque on a barstool or a menu item named in their honor.
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game CARLOS T. MIRANDA, The Pantagraph
Lucca Grill has been a landmark in downtown Bloomington since 1936. That menu’s most-favored meal is the “A La Baldini,” the dime-thin Italian pie with sausage, pepperoni, ham, onions, mushrooms, green peppers and pepperocini. Slide into a stool along the timeworn mahogany bar and savor some. It’s a family rite of passage.
Test your memory and relive recent “B-N in 50 objects” articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Watterson Towers is a sight that stands out for miles and miles Lenore Sobota
lsobota@pantagraph.com
You can see Watterson Towers for miles. It’s among the tallest residence halls in the world. Pretty much everyone in Central Illinois knows the Illinois State University’s scion is the tallest building in Bloomington-Normal and among the tallest buildings outside of Chicago. It’s also among the most populous, called home each year by about 2,200 students. Arthur W. Watterson was not a major financial donor to the university, the primary way people and corporations get their names on buildings these days. Instead, Watterson was a geography professor who died in 1966, a year before construction began on the 28-story building. He had joined the ISU faculty in 1946, after serving in the Office of War Information in Washington and later with the Office of Strategic Services, mostly in Europe, during World War II. He led the geography department for 15 years, from 1951 to 1966. Selected in 1961 for the Outstanding Citizen Award by the Normal Chamber of Commerce, he was described as a “tireless worker on the ISU campus, in his church and in his community.” His name - rescued from relative obscurity - isn’t the
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game DAVID PROEBER, The Pantagraph
Illinois State University’s gigantic Watterson Towers is seen in Normal. only one attached to the residence complex. The 10 “houses” within the towers are named for the first 10 secretaries of state, some of whom later became president: Thomas Jefferson, Edmund Randolph, Timothy Pickering, John Marshall, James Madison, Robert Smith, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay and Martin Van Buren.
Test your memory and relive recent “B-N in 50 objects” articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
What makes Central Illinois unique can be found in the ground Randy Kindred
rkindred@pantagraph.com
The stores have plenty of it in bags … top soil, garden soil, potting soil. Any will do in a pinch. Yet, at our house we want the best for our plants, and we know what that is. How? Husband and wife both came from dirt … that is, we grew up on family farms. So each spring, a plea is sent out to a brother and/or brother in-law for dirt. Not just any dirt. Central Illinois farm dirt. It is transported in buckets and transferred to pots large and small. The plants take off like crazy, even when mixed with that city-bought soil. The brother and brother-inlaw grow corn and soybeans, just as our dads did. They plant seeds in the darkest, richest, most fertile ground you’ll find … the brother in Logan, McLean and Tazewell counties, the brother in-law in Hancock and Henderson to the west. They worry about rain or the lack of it. They fret about wind or hail or droughts. They take out their pocket knives and dig in the dirt. All the while, they know there is no better place to raise a crop. Why? “I would say it’s the fact we have a deeper top soil than a lot of other parts of the country that grow crops,”
DAVID PROEBER, The Pantagraph
The soil in Central Illinois helps make it some of the best farmland. the brother said. “That probably helps us as much as anything. The top soil is really rich and productive. “We’re flat here, we have a lot of top soil and our soil drains fairly well, but it also retains water very well. Moisture seems to be readily available to the crop most of the time because it’s not draining away real quickly, yet it is draining.” So give our dirt a thumb’s up … with a little under the nail, of course.
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game Test your memory and relive recent “B-N in 50 objects” articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Normal Theater is still lighting up Uptown with movie nostalgia Dan Craft
dcraft@pantagraph.com
There’s nothing remotely normal about the 77-yearold Normal Theater: the sleek Art Deco/Art Moderne building at 209 North St. remains among Illinois’ handful of surviving, still-functioning single-screen bijous. It was designed by famed Bloomington architect Arthur F. Moratz and financed to the tune of $100,000 by local lawyer Sylvan Kupfer, who leased the theater to Great States Corp. The first of Hollywood’s movie legends to visit the Normal’s silver screen: Bing Crosby, whose new musical comedy, “Double or Nothing,” graced the marquee on opening night in 1937. Crosby remains a Normal fixture thanks to the annual showings of his seasonal classics “White Christmas” and “Holiday Inn.” Among the Normal’s distinctions: It was the first B-N cinema designed for sound movies and it was equipped with air conditioning, a rarity for 1937. There was rough sledding ahead as the movie business changed, reaching a nadir in 1985, when its thenowner shoved a wall between the balcony and the main floor to create a cramped twin-screen theater. The ploy failed and the theater closed in 1991, reduced to seedy second-run, bargain house status. Salvation and rebirth came via the Town of Normal,
CARLOS T. MIRANDA, The Pantagraph
Normal Theater’s marquee has been advertising movies since 1937. which purchased the theater and committed to a meticulous three-year restoration that included a return to its single-screen origins. The grand re-opening occurred Oct. 7, 1994, with “Singin’ in the Rain.” In the two decades since, the theater has remained an iconic symbol and focal point of uptown renaissance.
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game Test your memory and relive recent “B-N in 50 objects” articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
ISU, IWU alumni know where to eat when they return to town Jim Benson
jbenson@pantagraph.com
When Illinois State and Illinois Wesleyan celebrate homecomings in the fall, alumni taste buds immediately start salivating down memory lane. Time to get a gondola or some thin-crust pizza, that comfort food they loved – and devoured – during their college days at two special places burnt into the brain forever. Thus, the packed parking lots at Avanti’s in Normal and Tobin’s Pizza in Bloomington when former ISU and IWU students roll into town. The Avanti’s on Main Street near the ISU campus may have changed some inside since it was opened by Guido and Albert Zeller in 1971. What hasn’t changed is Avanti’s fresh Italian bread, which is prepared and baked in the restaurant’s kitchen and, of course, the trademark “Avanti’s famous gondola” of ham, salami, American cheese and lettuce. You can get a half gondola, but a whole gondola is usually the way to go for hearty eaters. There are plenty of other options on the menu, but the gondola always is the first remembered. South from Avanti’s, on Main Street near the IWU campus, sits Tobin’s Pizza, a community staple since 1963 when Jim Tobin opened the doors. It looks almost the same inside as 1963, too, which just adds to its
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game CARLOS T. MIRANDA, The Pantagraph
Ben Wirtz, kitchen staff, slices a pizza at Tobin’s Pizza in Bloomington. unique charm. The thin (but not paper thin) crust pizza has remained the same even after Moe and Karen Davis bought the business in 1998. “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” said Moe Davis on the 50th anniversary in 2013. Good thinking - regardless if your college colors are red and white or green and white.
Test your memory and relive recent “B-N in 50 objects” articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Adlais, Abe & David lead the Twin Cities’ political list Edith Brady-Lunny eblunny@pantagraph.com
Mention the names Stevenson, Lincoln and Davis and three common themes come to mind: politics, lawyers and Bloomington. Maryland-born David Davis settled in Bloomington in the 1830s, presiding over a judicial circuit where Abraham Lincoln, an up-and-coming lawyer, was building his career. That’s where Lincoln also crossed paths with Adlai Stevenson I, the first in a succession of Democrat office-holders with the same last name. So impressed with Lincoln were Davis and several other prominent local leaders that they provided the support Lincoln needed in May 1860 to secure the Republican presidential nomination. After Lincoln was elected, Davis was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he remained until he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1877. Stevenson, who had moved to Bloomington with his family when he was 16, later served as vice president under Grover Cleveland and in the U.S. Congress. The second Stevenson named Adlai (grandson of Adlai I) was governor of Illinois, a presidential candidate and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. His son, Adlai III, was a U.S. senator and candidate for governor. The Bloomington home of Adlai II still stands. The
BiLL GaLLaGhEr, For The Pantagraph
Bill Gallagher’s photo of the hole in Adlai Stevenson II’s shoe during the 1952 campaign at a Flint, Mich., amusement park became a trademark for his campaign. The photo won Gallagher the Pulitzer Prize in 1953. David Davis Mansion is a popular state historic site that includes Sarah’s Garden. A statue of Stevenson II is in the lobby of Central Illinois Regional Airport. A statue of Lincoln, Davis and Pantagraph founder Jesse Fell is in Lincoln Park, directly in front of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game Test your memory and relive recent “B-N in 50 objects” articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Nutty little Bloomington sideshow is now world famous CD Special Pantagraph 50 Objects Aug4.pdf
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Bill Flick flick@pantagraph.com
In a town known for its insurance, higher education and specific brand of cars, only one name lives in the same famed-name stratosphere of Kleenex, Xerox, Band-aid or Play-Doh. That’d be Beer Nuts, of course. They are so famous, people around the world automatically call any nut glazed in a salty sugary mix a Beer Nut. There’s an irony there, too. In the beginning, back in 1953 when Russell and Betty Shirk ran a downtown Bloomington restaurant, their claim to fame was their homemade orange juice. People came from all over to drink it. That’s when, as an added attraction to make people thirstier, Shirk went into a back room at his restaurant and poured a special glaze onto a baking platter of unskinned Virginia-grown peanuts. A star was born. You never heard Norm on “Cheers” clamor for another orange drink. You don’t see comedienne Sarah Silverman (she’s a Beer Nuts fanatic) jogging in Manhattan and onto the cover of People magazine wearing a Shirk’s Orange cap. Instead, Beer Nuts – while still low-profile in Bloomington-Normal (when have you EVER seen a Beer Nuts semitrailer truck?) – have catapulted “Shirk” into inexorably
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STEVE SMEDLEY, The Pantagraph
Beer Nuts are low-profile in Bloomington-Normal and world famous at the same time. lasting Twin City fame. That was ensured into perpetuity when the harvests of that red-skinned partner to a glass of orange juice led to development of the Russell O. & Betty Shirk Foundation and, in 1994, opening of the $15 million Shirk Center Athletic Complex on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University.
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game Test your memory and relive recent “B-N in 50 objects” articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Steak ’n Shake has been right and in sight since 1934 Julie Gerke jgerke@pantagraph.com
That second apostrophe is about the only thing missing from Steak ’n Shake, the black, white and red restaurant famous for sizzling steakburgers and handdipped shakes. The chain restaurant, which includes a sit-down dining room and drive-through lanes, was founded in 1934 in the Twin Cities. Gus Belt opened the first Steak ’n Shake at Main Street and Virginia Avenue (now home to Monical’s Pizza), after he added food to a Shell service station line-up of gasoline, tires and turtleburgers. A finicky Belt ground the steak by hand, in front of his customers, charging 20 cents and a penny tax for a burger and shake. He didn’t like either item, yet mandated a pickle with every bite — which is why you still get two long slices on each steakburger. Along the way, he also coined (and trademarked) the term “cheeseburger” and determined the secret to good chili is a hint of cocoa. He and his wife Edith bought the former Maplewood
LORI ANN COOK-NEISLER, The Pantagraph
Steak ’n Shake has been serving up hamburgers since it was first opened at Main Street and Virginia Avenue in 1934. Country Club property in 1940 and used the land to pasture cows. In 1953, the acreage was platted into Maplewood subdivision, which fronts Jersey Avenue. Belt Avenue is named in his honor. Belt died in 1954, and Edith ran the chain until 1969. Current owner Biglari Holdings Inc., San Antonio, Texas, has more than 500 Steak ’n Shake restaurants in 27 states. Steak ’n Shake is memorialized in a collection at McLean County Museum of History, 200 N. Main St., Bloomington, and in an exhibit at the Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame and Museum, 110 W Howard St., Pontiac.
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B-N in 50 objects: Memory game Test your memory and relive recent “B-N in 50 objects” articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Festival has been bringing Shakespeare to B-N for 37 years Joe Deacon jdeacon@pantagraph.com
One Bloomington-Normal location has been the site of murders, mayhem and mischief, notorious deeds occurring out in the open among plenty of witnesses. Yet that same spot has seen romances blossom, hosted fantastic celebrations and filled the air with laughter every summer for more than 35 years. Where — not wherefore — might this location be? Although “all the world’s a stage,” these acts have taken place on stage at Ewing Manor (Ewing Cultural Center), where the Illinois Shakespeare Festival has become a Twin City summer staple since its debut in 1978. The first performances took place on a temporary wooden stage built over a tennis court, with about 250 spectators sitting in folding chairs. Now, the plays are held in a 438seat open-air theater that debuted in 2000. The festival, which features at least three plays in a rotation each year, has become nationally recognized among professional Shakespearean actors as a top venue. The attraction has grown as well, with patrons able to
Steve SmeDley, The Pantagraph
Illinois Shakespeare Festival performer David Fisch acts during The Magical Mind of Billy Shakespeare, performed on the lawn of the Bloomington Center of the Performing Arts. picnic on the grounds and occasionally take in bonus acts performed in the courtyards. All but three of William Shakespeare’s plays have been produced in the festival’s 37 years, along with other Shakespeare-related works. This year’s showings included “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Antony and Cleopatra.” If you wish to witness a little murder and mayhem, or perhaps some bard-style romance and laughter, “get thee to” the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.
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B-N in 50 objects: Memory game Test your memory and relive recent “B-N in 50 objects” articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Miller Park Zoo offers a roaring good time to visitors Bruce Yentes
byentes@pantagraph.com
“Worldly” and “exotic” are not terms that immediately come rolling off the tongue when most Bloomington-Normal residents describe their neighbors. However, there’s an enclave on the west side of Bloomington where those attributes are more the norm than the exception among those who call it home. Since 1891, when the city of Bloomington began allocating funds for the care of animals at Miller Park, the zoo established there has been home to a wide variety of critters from all corners of the globe. “We’ve had animals from from every continent on earth except for Antarctica,” said Miller Park Zoo Superintendent Jay Tetzloff. Many of the zoo’s earliest denizens were housed at the Koetthoefer Animal Building, a structure that opened to the public 100 years ago and was designed by renowned Bloomington architect A.L. Pillsbury. The building is still in use today and is a site for daily feedings, a popular attraction of the venerable facility.
DaviD ProeBer, The Pantagraph
Bald eagles walk at Miller Park Zoo The zoo was expanded in 1960 and grew exponentially in the 1990s after the Entrance Building/Education Center opened in 1992. Culminating with the Tropical Rainforest Exhibit that debuted in 2004, the zoo more than doubled in size in a little over a decade. The zoo and its foundation currently are working with the city on a long-term expansion plan. Miller Park Zoo is located at 1020 S. Morris Ave. and is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except for Christmas and Thanksgiving.
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B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Actors’ passion helps bring record-setting play to life Kevin Barlow
kbarlow@pantagraph.com
The longest-running “continuously performed” passion play in America is right here in Bloomington. The American Passion Play, unlike others, dramatizes Jesus’ entire ministry, rather than just events from Passion Week onward. The play is historically accurate, with settings and costumes recreating first-century Galilee. Text is taken from the King James version of the Bible. “My theory is that we can do more and tell a story better in four hours than churches can in several months,” said Wally Crouch of Normal, who has been business manager for the play for the past 10 years and associated with the play for more than 35. The play, staged every spring at Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, presents the story of Jesus in 11 performances that begin with the beheading of John the Baptist and end with Christ’s ascension. About 230 characters participate in 56 scenes. The play is directed by J. Garrie Burr and codirected by John Capasso. The actors are non-profes-
LORI ANN COOK-NEISLER, The Pantagraph
The American Passion Play is staged at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. sionals with a spiritual dedication to their parts. “It’s the people that make the play special,” Crouch said. “Some have been acting in it for 60 years and we have had several generations of the same families as actors.” Next season will be the 92nd consecutive season the play has been presented in Bloomington. “I’ve seen it every year for the past 40 years,” said Heyworth resident Patricia Benson. “Every year, you see something different. But one thing never changes and that is the fact that it is simply amazing.”
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B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
When your day is done, Pub II is the place to have fun Randy Sharer
rsharer@pantagraph.com
When your day is done and the rat race lost or won, you need a place to celebrate or commiserate. A prime confine to unwind for college students and the work weary has been Pub II, the iconic sports bar and restaurant perched like a 4,000-square-foot fort at 102 N. Linden St., where it has protected free time in Normal the past 40 years. While other local watering holes have their devotees, none can match the longevity of Pub II, which received one of the first liquor licenses after Normal ended its self-imposed prohibition in 1974.
CARLOS T. MIRANDA, The Pantagraph
The Pub II in uptown Normal. Pub II further separated from its competitors in 1998 when Playboy magazine named it one of the top 100 college bars in the country. The business drew kudos for affordable food, drink specials
and “college bar” atmosphere. A near-capacity sampling of Pub II’s diverse clientele was on hand July 1 to cheer the USA soccer team during its World Cup match against Belgium. The chanting, cheese-ball-eating throng boasted an age range of 7 to 77. Keeping the red, white and blue bedecked celebrants well fed and thirst-free in front of six bigscreen and 25 smaller TVs were many of Pub II’s 50 employees. Standing sentinel over the jubilation were walls festooned with sports memorabilia honoring ISU and Illinois Wesleyan along with Chicago’s Blackhawks, Bulls, Bears, Cubs and White Sox among others. Judging by the way World Cup fever infused Pub II this summer, co-owners Terry Stralow and John Rokos may want to make room for a soccer banner.
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B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Three Olympians called Bloomington-Normal home Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
Doug Collins earned a silver medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Many believe to this day he actually earned a gold. The former Illinois State All-American was a central figure in perhaps the most controversial moment in Olympic history as a member of the United States basketball team. Collins sank two free throws with three seconds remaining to give the Amercans a 50-49 lead in the gold medal game against the Soviet Union. The Soviets inbounded the ball and the clock hit zero only to have time put back on the clock after a claim that a timeout had been called. Time ran out again as the Soviets failed to score, but they were given a third chance when it was decided by an international basketball official that a timing error had been made. On the third attempt, Alexander Belov turned a long pass into a game-winning shot. Collins and the rest of the U.S. team, who had celebrated victory twice, were devastated and steadfastly refuse to accept the silver medal more than 40 years later. A silver
For the Pantagraph
Doug Collins, the Illinois State All-American, won a silver medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics. medal that holds considerably better memories belongs to former University High School volleyball star Ogonna Nnamani. Nnamani, who also enjoyed an All-American career at Stanford, was part of the American women’s volleyball team that competed in Athens, Greece, in 2004 before earning a silver medal in 2008 at Beijing, China. Bloomington High School also has produced an Olympian in distance runner Christin Wurth-Thomas. Wurth-Thomas qualified for the 2008 Games in the 1,500-meter run. She finished eighth in a preliminary round race and did not advance to the finals.
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B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Constitution Trail links fitness and fellowship in B-N Paul Swiech
pswiech@pantagraph.com
Constitution Trail is Bloomington-Normal’s path to fitness, fellowship and fun. Meandering through neighborhoods and subdivisions and stretching alongside backyards, creeks and parks, the trail stretches for 37 miles from inner-city neighborhoods to the countryside surrounding the Twin Cities. Older adults take their dogs for a walk, families have a leisurely bike ride, teens practice skateboarding skills, college-age couples jog, overweight people return to exercise and cyclists and runners have fun. Conversations are common. Even for people who don’t know each other, there are starters: Was that a groundhog that just ran in front of us? What plant is in that trail-side garden? What’s going on at Connie Link Amphitheatre? Along the trail, there are benches for people to take a break, shelters for people to chat or for groups to meet. Six signs describe and honor key parts of the U.S. Constitution. Some people use parts of the trail to commute to work
STEVE SMEDLEY, The Pantagraph
A biker rides past flowers at the Atwood Wayside on the Constitution Trail. or to head to uptown Normal for an evening on the town. While the original leg of the trail was provided by the abandoned Illinois Central Gulf Railroad line, the trail now extends well beyond that line and continues to expand. For the uninitiated and for trail users who want to check out different parts of the trail, go to the Friends of Constitution Trail website — www.constitutiontrail.org — which has a trail map that includes trail heads. You’ll start with walking. You’ll end with belonging.
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B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Ice cream shops drive memories of summer in B-N Maria Nagle
DENNIS KAGEL FINANCIAL SERVICES
mnagle@pantagraph.com
For more than 40 years, two ice cream shops have shaped the summer memories of many BloomingtonNormal children and brought back grown-ups for another sample when they return to the Twin Cities. Carl’s Ice Cream Factory, 601 W. Locust St., and Gene’s Dairy Delight at 1019 S. Main St., both in Bloomington, serve up not only homemade ice cream, but nostalgia as walk-up neighborhood ice cream stands. In 2007, Carl’s added a location at 1700 W. College Ave., Normal, that is open yearround, provides indoor seating and a drive-up window. But spring officially starts in the Twin Cities when Carl’s and Gene’s seasonal stands open. Throughout the summer, crowds congregate there day and night, offering frosty balm to soothe nerves seared by a hot summer day or the incentive to put on walking shoes or ride a bike to reach nirvana. Family nights out or get-togethers with friends are often capped off there. Carl’s and Gene’s are the source of treats after a holi-
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Steve SMedley, The Pantagraph
Twin two-year-old sisters Kaylyn Smith, left, and Kendra, right, enjoy ice cream outside Gene’s Dairy Delight. day meal or to mark a birthday, anniversary or life’s other significant milestones. For passing motorists, they prove irresistible. Candy “googly eyes” served on the ice cream make the shops into a favorite stop for many children. You may debate which shop has the better ice cream, but there is no doubt that Gene’s and Carl’s are the must-go destinations for ice cream in BloomingtonNormal.
Insurance products offered through Dennis Kagel Financial Services.
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Tourists on Route 66 are still getting their kicks Bill Flick
DENNIS KAGEL FINANCIAL SERVICES
flick@pantagraph.com
U.S. 66, recognized across America as an archetype of the early American highway, carved a 2,500-mile path of road from Chicago to Los Angeles, with roadside attractions and marvelous vistas. It wound through Bloomington-Normal, from its entry in northeast Normal on what is today Pine Street, to Willow, to Main. That’s where it intersected with U.S. 51 and traversed south, wandering out of town on what is today largely Interstate 55. “It was a way of life and I loved it there,” says Chester Henry, 82, a retired Illinois State Police trooper who for more than 25 years patrolled the “Mother Road” around BloomingtonNormal. Highways then, says Chester, were a much more personal, friendly place and he knew all the great places to dine, sleep and take a break. To this day, Route 66 remains a point of pride and its legacy continues to grow, even 30 years after the road was decommissioned. Kicks, a popular pub in Towanda, is devoted to the Route 66 legend. In late July, it was the locale for the El Paso High
BUILDING AND PRESERVING YOUR WEALTH
DaviD ProeBer, The Pantagraph
About a dozen cars and their drivers stopped at Memory Lane on old Route 66 in Lexington. Class of ‘66, which celebrated the turning of its class members to age 66. The circa-1931 Sprague Super Service Station at 305 E. Pine, Normal, once housed a cafe, gas station and garage. These days, with the assistance of several grants, it’s being rehabbed and restored by Terri Ryburn, a Route 66 enthusiast and retired Illinois State University administrator. Under construction at the old McLean County Courthouse (today’s McLean County Museum of History) is a “Route 66 Visitors Center” that will be in the basement of the museum.
321 SUSAN DRIVE, STE. A NORMAL, IL 61761 PHONE: 309-454-9171
Insurance products offered through Dennis Kagel Financial Services.
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
From print to canvas to web, The Pantagraph has the news Mary Ann Ford
mford@pantagraph.com
Whether it’s reporting local happenings or national headlines, The Pantagraph has been a main source of news in Central Illinois since the 1800s. And like many things in the Twin Cities, Jesse Fell was at the newspaper’s forefront, first founding the Bloomington Observer and McLean County Advocate in 1837 and then as editor of the McLean Register, renamed The Pantagraph (from a Greek phrase meaning “write all things”) in 1853. The newspaper went from a weekly to a daily edition in 1856 and added a direct telegraph wire so that
DAVID PROEBER, The Pantagraph
Pantagraph front page of September 12, 2001. it could publish wire service news. But getting the news to the public hasn’t been limited to just the printed page.
During the election of 1900 — Democrat William Jennings Bryan and running mate Bloomington’s Adlai E. Stevenson I ran against Republicans William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt — The Pantagraph hung a large canvas on a building across Madison Street and used a stereopticon machine to project running vote totals. It also announced that at 11 p.m. on Election Night, it would fire off one rocket for a Bryan victory; two for a McKinley victory. In 1920, a magnetic player board was mounted on the building so baseball fans could follow every play of the World Series. The board was used until the late 1930s. Today, The Pantagraph not only delivers a printed paper to doorsteps, but takes advantage of electronic media including a web page, Facebook, Twitter and mobile apps to get news to its thousands of readers.
DENNIS KAGEL FINANCIAL SERVICES BUILDING AND PRESERVING YOUR WEALTH 321 SUSAN DRIVE, STE. A NORMAL, IL 61761 PHONE: 309-454-9171
Insurance products offered through Dennis Kagel Financial Services.
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Lake Bloomington more than the city’s water source Lenore Sobota
New Nonstop flights to
lsobota@pantagraph.com
The reason for Lake Bloomington’s existence may be to provide water to the city after which it was named, but the 635-acre reservoir also plays a more varied cultural, historical, recreational and environmental role. Its 18 miles of shoreline include more than 220 residential sites, three camps and parks with picnic and playground areas. What was once the home of small cabins to which Bloomington-Normal families fled the summer heat now is the host of far fancier and larger year-round residences. Creation of Lake Bloomington began in early 1929 with the clear-cutting of 40,000 to 50,000 trees in what would become the lake bed. A dam was built to capture the waters of Money Creek and the first water from the project was piped to the city, about 15 miles away, in March 1930. The lake is popular for boating, fishing and wildlife watching. An important stopover for migrating birds, you could even see a pelican. One-time Boy Scout facility Camp Heffernan was pur-
Tampa/St. Pete From
Bloomington-Normal
Flights start November 21, 2014 DaviD Proeber, The Pantagraph
Lake Bloomington provides water to the city as well as outdoor recreational activities. chased by Easter Seals Central Illinois in 1989. Renamed Timber Pointe Outdoor Center, the 170-acre site is used primarily for camps for children and adults with disabilities. The Girl Scouts’ Camp Peairs, located on 88 acres, has a lodge, six cabins that sleep 10 each and areas for platform tents. East Bay Camp and Retreat has been used by a variety of religious groups since its founding in 1930. The Illinois Great Rivers Conference of the United Methodist Church has owned the 40-acre camp since the 1980s.
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B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Quietly famous David Foster Wallace begat ‘Jest’ here Dan Craft
dcraft@pantagraph.com
“The greatest novel to finish a century yet” (The New York Times) was largely begun and finished right here in B-N, whether we knew it or not. Most Twin Citians knew it not. “Infinite Jest,” by the late David Foster Wallace, was published to dizzying international acclaim in 1996, three years into his nine-year stint as a faculty member of ISU’s Department of English. The book spills over a daunting 1,079 pages, a chunk of which are devoted to thickly annotated footnotes demanding as much concen-
For The Pantagraph
tration as the main text. The setting is a near-future North America, with the action shuttling between a junior tennis academy and a nearby substance abuse recovery center (both tied to
Wallace’s real-life obsessions). The conflict turns on a film called “the Entertainment,” which causes anyone who views it to become addicted to its content, completely zoning out of reality, and watching it over and over in a continuous loop. The film was created by an artist as a way to reach his emotionally stunted son, but eventually becomes the center of a dense espionage/conspiracy scenario. The reclusive, eccentric Wallace was internationally hailed during his time here, when he dined regularly and unnoticed at Denny’s and Cracker Barrel; and hung with his students at The Coffeehouse and Babbitt’s Books in Normal. Five years after his departure from ISU for a teaching position at a private California college, Wallace, 46, ended a 25-year battle with depression by hanging himself from the patio of his home.
New Nonstop flights to
Tampa/St. Pete From
Bloomington-Normal
Flights start November 21, 2014
Your easy, low cost way to fly! www.allegiant.com
www.cira.com
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Long before State Farm, railyards drove growth Bruce Yentes
New Nonstop flights to
byentes@pantagraph.com
While most of Bloomington’s growth in recent years has been primarily fueled by State Farm and focused eastward, it was an industry centered in a west-side neighborhood that once spurred a five-fold increase in the city’s population in the span of a mere decade. The 1850s arrival of the Illinois Central and the Chicago and Alton railroads is credited with increasing Bloomington’s population from about 1,600 to 8,000 in the late 1800s. The Illinois Central began running cars into Bloomington in May 1853, followed by the soonto-be burgeoning presence of the C & A just five months later. Bloomington would become a vital center in the latter’s efforts to provide faster transportation and shipping throughout the nation. The company built the Chicago and Alton Railroad Shops two blocks northwest of the corner of Locust and Catherine streets and the facility grew into the city’s largest employer for a span of about a half century. Workers flocked to the area for jobs at its roundhouse,
Tampa/St. Pete From
Bloomington-Normal
Flights start November 21, 2014
Steve SmedleY, The Pantagraph
The railyards in a west-side neighborhood spurred growth in Bloomington in the 1800s. locomotive repair shop, foundry, paint shop, wheel and axle shop, powerhouse and offices. The operation employed approximately 2,500 on a 50-acre tract of land. After serving as the industrial heart of Bloomington for the better part of a century, activity at the shops began to wind down in the early 1950s with the automobile becoming America’s most popular mode of transportation and the advent of mass-produced engine parts. The yards were virtually vacant by 1960.
Your easy, low cost way to fly! www.allegiant.com
www.cira.com
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Murals paint history of Twin City education, labor Bruce Yentes
New Nonstop flights to
byentes@pantagraph.com
A pair of murals stand out among the finest works of public art in Bloomington-Normal. One was designed to pay tribute to the area’s labor movement. It is at Laborers Local 362 union hall, 2005 Cabintown Road, Bloomington. The other,“Development of the State Normal School,” (known today as ISU), hangs in the Normal Post Office in honor of public education and the teaching profession. The artwork at the union hall was created in the mid-1980s. The oil on canvas that’s featured at the post office was begun by New York artist Albert Pels in 1937 and unveiled in the summer of 1938. Contrary to popular belief, the Depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) had no hand in the Pels mural. Instead, Pels was commissioned by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Section of Painting and Sculpture to create the mural after his talent was discovered in regional and national competitions. Pels was paid $630 (equivalent to about $10,000 today)
Tampa/St. Pete From
Bloomington-Normal
Flights start November 21, 2014
The Pantagraph
The mural in the Normal Post Office honors teachers and public education. for the work that he completed at the age of 28. The 11- by 4-foot mural was one of two that Pels painted with funding from the Treasury Department. The other hangs in a post office in Wilmington, Del. The Laborers Local 362 mural was painted by local artist Kari Sandhaas between 1984 and 1986 and depicts local labor history. It spans a 1917 visit by Mary Harris “Mother” Jones in support of striking streetcar workers to the 1978 strike by Normal firefighters.
Your easy, low cost way to fly! www.allegiant.com
www.cira.com
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Wind farms have become staple on Central Illinois land Randy Kindred
rkindred@pantagraph.com
Yes, we live in farm country here in McLean County, with Bloomington-Normal surrounded by corn and soybean fields. Cattle graze on nearby pastures as well. Yet, farm country is more than bushels of grain and wellfed livestock. This also is wind farm country, and you don’t have to look far for evidence. Large white wind turbines dot the landscape to the east and west of Bloomington-Normal, producing electricity with each of Mother Nature’s exhales. The Twin Groves Wind Farm rises above open fields near Saybrook, Arrowsmith, Ellsworth and other eastern McLean County locales. Constructed from 2007 to February 2008, there are 240 turbines spread over 22,000 acres. Each is 270 feet tall with three 85-foot blades. They are easily visible from the Twin Cities day or night, their blades glistening in the midday sun and red lights flashing in the night sky. North and west of Normal we have the White Oak Wind Farm, another energy producer that has helped Illinois rank
STEVE SMEDLEY, The Pantagraph
Wind turbines are a familiar sight around BloomingtonNormal fourth nationally in installed wind capacity and in the number of utility-scale wind turbines. McLean County is ideal for wind turbines. Why? Among Illinois’ largest cities, Bloomington has the highest elevation at 797 feet above sea level. An area near Saybrook is 955.7 feet above sea level, the highest point in America in a line between Canada and New Orleans, La. So call us farm country. We embrace it. Just be sure to call us wind farm country as well.
The Foehr Group: Making Bloomington families smile for over 30 years! 309.216.6816
thefoehrgroup.com 107 S. Prospect Rd. | Bloomington
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Aerialists, circus folk wintered in Bloomington-Normal Dan Craft
dcraft@pantagraph.com
In Bloomington-Normal, the circus came to town and never really left. As a result, the Twin Cities’ three-ring heritage is among the richest in the country, rivaling that of Baraboo, Wis. (birthplace of Ringling Bros. Circus) and Sarasota, Fla. (present-day home of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus). From the early 1920s to the 1940s, B-N was known as the “Circus Aerialist Capital of the World,” courtesy of the more than DAVID PROEBER, The Pantagraph 17 world-class trapeze acts who Illinois State University is home to the Gamma Phi Circus, wintered here. which formed at the height of the circus craze in the area. Though that heyday ended around 1950, B-N is is still home turned-trainers, whose students either came here to study to ISU’s Gamma Phi Circus, or were recruited from the local ranks. Bloomington’s YMCA was equipped with an aerial rigAmerica’s oldest collegiate cirging, and its directors recruited dozens of local youths to cus, founded in 1929 at the peak develop their talent. of local circus mania. It all began with the first local aerialist, Fred Miltmore, More training sites mushroomed, including Eddie Ward’s who joined the circus in 1871 and retired by 1900. Along Ward Barn and Circus Park, located in what is now State with Miltmore, fellow B-N residents Harry Green, Harry Farm Park on Bloomington’s south end. Foreman, Eddie Ward and Charles Waller established their Eventually, roughly 90 percent of America’s top aerialists, own acts. including the Flying Wards and the Flying Concellos, called Eventually, the Twin Cities became a hotbed of aerialists- B-N their winter home and training ground.
The Foehr Group: Making Bloomington families smile for over 30 years! 309.216.6816
thefoehrgroup.com 107 S. Prospect Rd. | Bloomington
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Evergreen Cemetery holds famous links to the past The Foehr Group: Making Bloomington families smile for over 30 years! Edith Brady-Lunny eblunny@pantagraph.com
If Evergreen Memorial Cemetery were a book, it would hold the stories of thousands of McLean County residents dating to the early 1800s. The 87-acre cemetery on East Miller Street in Bloomington links the culture of past generations with current history. The service of veterans is recognized with the Avenue of Flags, a collection of about 200 individually mounted flags that include a plaque with the veteran’s information. The publicly owned cemetery is a resting place for people from all walks of life in the community, including several with famous resumes. The gravesites of U.S. Vice President Adlai Stevenson I, and Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson II, are located at Evergreen. Illinois Supreme Court Justice and Abraham Lincoln supporter David Davis is buried in the Bloomington cemetery. Charles “Old Hoss” Radbourne, who set a record for major league pitching that still stands, died in Bloomington in 1897 and is buried there, too.
CARLOS T. MIRANDA, The Pantagraph
Evergreen Memorial Cemetery is the final resting spot for many famous Twin City residents. Evergreen also honors a little girl who died as an infant and was the inspiration for Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz.” Dorothy Gage was the niece of author L. Frank Baum, creator of the successful book and movie. Her death so distressed the family that he changed the name of the character to assuage their grief. Revolutionary War soldier David Haggard is among the many military burials. Renowned opera singers Marie Litta, Minnie Salzman and Grace B. Wagner also are at Evergreen.
309.216.6816
thefoehrgroup.com 107 S. Prospect Rd. | Bloomington
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Diverse acts make BCPA stand out from the crowd The Foehr Group: Making Bloomington families smile for over 30 years! Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
The outward appearance of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts was not meant to be flashy. “We don’t want the building to overpower the event or function,” facilities manager David Young said in 2006.“We want the building to stay in the background.” Yet the BCPA has stood out in other ways, mainly through the more than 500,000 patrons who have attended events there since its opening in 2006. The former Scottish Rite Temple was built in 1921 and served as home of the American Passion Play for several decades as well as hosting many concerts, plays and social functions. As the centerpiece of the City of Bloomington’s Cultural District, the Scottish Rite Temple underwent a $14.5 million renovation and was renamed the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts upon its unveiling. The BCPA is operating under an original mission of a programming schedule of 15 to 20 percent of its events geared toward minority interests or out of the mainstream art forms.
STEVE SMEDLEY, The Pantagraph
Children depart the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts after attending the Let’s Go Science Fair in 2010. Among the acts to grace the stage of the 1,200-seat venue are B.B. King, Glen Campbell, comedian Tracy Morgan, the Duke Ellington Orchestra and the Golden Dragon Acrobats. The BCPA also serves as home for the Pantagraph’s Holiday Spectacular each year in early December. Bloomington’s Cultural District also features the Creativity Center, Festival Park and the McLean County Arts Center.
309.216.6816
thefoehrgroup.com 107 S. Prospect Rd. | Bloomington
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game
Heartland college has expanded beyond imagination The Foehr Group: Making Bloomington families smile for over 30 years! Randy Reinhardt
rreinhardt@pantagraph.com
From humble beginnings, Heartland Community College has blossomed into a Central Illinois educational juggernaut. Born in 1990 with its first location at Normal’s Landmark Mall, Heartland has rocketed to a student population of 5,600 while serving an area from Lincoln to Pontiac in Community College District 540. The two-year public college began classes at a location in Bloomington’s Towanda Plaza in 1992 before opening its current campus in north Normal in 2000. Jonathan Astroth was appointed the school’s first president in 1991 and served until 2010 when Allen Goben took over as president. Rob Widmer, longtime vice president of business services, succeeded Goben to become the college’s third president. Heartland has had a nursing program since 1993, opened a Workforce Development Center in 2004 and dedicated the Astroth Community Education Center and Challenger Learning Center in 2010.
DaviD PRoebeR, The Pantagraph
Heartland Community College students take a break between classes on the school campus.
Heartland’s academic departments include Health and Human Services, Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and Business and Technology with more than 60 available areas of study. The college launched an athletic program in 2007 and features teams in baseball, softball and men’s and women’s soccer. The Hawks’ softball team captured the Junior College Division II national championship in 2009. Heartland boasts one of the nation’s top junior college sporting venues in the Corn Crib. The Hawks share the facility with the Normal CornBelters of the independent Frontier League.
309.216.6816
thefoehrgroup.com 107 S. Prospect Rd. | Bloomington
B-N in 50 objects: Memory game
Test your memory and relive recent“B-N in 50 objects”articles with Pantagraph.com’s photo memory game. Match photos of objects that scream Twin Cities. Photos are chosen randomly — always two of each — and more will be added as the series continues. There are easy, medium and expert levels, all of which you can play on any device, but levels below expert will appear better on phones and tablets. Play it at www.pantagraph.com/game