With my parents visiting us in Decatur, we headed to Southern Illinois and the city of Chester which would give us a view of the solar eclipse with 100% totality. Chester is located right on the Missouri state border (with the Mississippi River in between). We took a quick two minute drive across the river over the bridge featured in the above photo to say we got to briefly see the Show Me State and then returned to Chester. It was only later that day when my Dad was reading a travel guide about another southern Illinois city, Sparta, that we learned that we had inadvertently visited the setting of one of the most memorable scenes of one of my all-time favorite movies.
The movie In the Heat of the Night is set in the fictional town of Sparta, Mississippi. Because one of the film's co-stars, Sidney Poitier, refused to film in the segregated South, the majority of the scenes were filmed in Sparta, Illinois. In one scene, the police chase a murder suspect through the woods, down the banks of a shoreline, and across some railroad tracks. The suspect makes his way up the side of the bridge and he things he has escaped the police by crossing the river and making it into Arkansas but Rod Steiger's character has been waiting for him on the bridge the whole time.
Here's the film's scene and you can see that it is clearly the bridge in Chester. A future trip to Sparta, IL to track down some of the other locations from the film will certainly happen!
In a future post we will also take a look at Chester, Illinois' favorite son E.C. Segar who was the creator of Popeye. The town does a great job memorializing his work with statues all around the town. Here's a preview:
Ryan Acosta-Fox, a friend from our days in Lawrence, Kansas, took up an interesting project this year as he decided to improve his drawing skills by drawing a different bird each day. He has been publishing each drawing on his blog, Ryan Draws Birds, and his creations have been a fun daily distraction from the otherwise depressing and sad (So sad!) news of the day.
One of my favorites comes from July 22nd of a Burrowing Owl (athene cunicularia). His sketch gives me the impression that the owl was a little shy and bashful on being selected to be included as one of Ryan's birds.
Ryan recently published a zine featuring some of this drawings with an essay on some lessons learned from challenging yourself to do something each day for a year.
I enjoy the simplicity of the design and the wide assortment of birds that have been featured so far. I have always intended of making some sort of physical product from my various blog writing through the years and seeing this has inspired me to create more in the "physical world."
This first photo was taken in December 2016 on Oakland Avenue near Millikin University here in Decatur. It is a case of "what could be" as the wall is on a main street around campus and was clearly something purple once long ago that was covered with smaller ads over time.
Decatur has recently been very pro mural, with several going up around town, most notably a Bob Marley one completed last year. It was announced earlier this year that a new mural was going up on Oakland Avenue and over the past few weeks it went up.
And here is the new mural which I guess is a commentary on watching too much TV. It's not exactly the most striking social commentary but then again this is central Illinois and we're not exactly pushing the boundaries. Plus, black socks and brown shoes? How uncouth!
**In this series of posts, I revisit interesting locations and sites that I never got around to posting about when I originally visited them.**
While I was up in Chicago taking part in the National Sports Collectors Convention a couple weeks ago, I had to stop by Ann's Bakery and Deli to pick up some pelmeni to bring back home to Decatur. The deli is located in the heart of the Ukrainian Village in Chicago and it reminded me I never got around to posting the photos from our initial visit several years ago.
The village is located on the westside of Chicago and it grew to prominence in the 1910's and 20's as many Ukrainian immigrants moved to the city.
The district saw many eastern European groups move there, most famously Ukrainian Catholics who built several churches in the area including three central ones, St. Nicholas, Saints Volodymyr and Olha, and St. Volodymyr.
Our first stop was at St. Volodymyr. Volodymyr or Vladimir, as the stone in front of the church reads, was Vladimir the Great, the leader of the Kievan Rus from 980 to 1015. He fully Christianized the Rus and became one of Ukraine's ultimate folk heros. He is considered a saint in both the Roman and Orthodox religions and you can find Vladimir on the one hryvnia bill.
The cathedral is a beautiful tall red brick structure with oxidized copper trim. Originally a German Lutheran church, it features gothic architecture and an interior that was remodeled into the Orthodox style.
The next stop was St. Nicholas Cathedral which was built from 1913 to 1916 in the Byzantine Revival style. It went through a renovation in 1976 and I really like the white brick.
The third church was Saints Volodymyr and Olha. We have already been introduced to Saint Volodymyr but not Saint Olha or Saint Olga. She was the grandmother of Vladimir the Great and was the first Rus leader to introduce Christianity.
This cathedral is the newest of the three as it was constructed from 1971 to 1973. The intent was to create a structure with a look of Ukrainian churches from the 11th-13th century and the cathedral features a large gold dome at its center.
After spending the better part of a year in Ukraine, it was nice to re-enter the world a little bit.
**In this series of posts, I revisit interesting locations and sites that I never got around to posting about when I originally visited them.**
Here's a blast from the past from more than a year ago. It is my last meal while living in the deep South and it comes from our favorite local breakfast place, Ann & Bill's Restaurant in Morrow, Georgia. I went with a fried chicken meal with coleslaw (on the right) and their attempt at Waldorf salad (on the left). I had been eyeing the Waldorf salad on the menu as an appetizer for a while but as I typically went with a breakfast item I didn't get a chance until the very end of our time there. Final rating: a bit odd with a thicker mayo sauce then I'm used to.
With each meal at Ann & Bill's, you can have a choice of grits or muffins. You should always give the grits a try once to say you've had true Southern grits but after that first time, it is muffins all the way! They are homemade and so tasty.
So that was it. Laura and I would shortly be headed to Washington D.C. and by the end of the summer we had made our way to central Illinois.
Back in 2005, indie rock all-star Sufjan Stevens released an entire album of songs about the great state of Illinois. This was preceded by an album about Michigan and at one time there was talk of a larger multi-album project that would cover all 50 states (can you imagine!). The album, entitled Come on Feel the Illinoise, features a song centered around Decatur with many subtle references for Decaturites to enjoy.
The title of the song is "Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Stepmother!" and I love the double title which are commonplace in Stevens' other work. As we take a look at the song, the lyrics will be in italics below
The song is great in that the Decatur references are wound into the song in a way that they can float right by you naturally and I'm sure there are meanings here that I'm still missing even after closely examining them.
We begin with banjo and accordion talking with each other and Sufjan softly sings about taking a trip, presumably with other siblings, to Decatur with their step-mom who they dislike greatly.
One, two, three, four Our step mom we did everything to hate her She took us down to the edge of Decatur We saw the lion and the kangaroo take her Down to the river where they caught a wild alligator
Here's the first reference to Decatur mythology with the mention of a lion, kangaroo, and alligator as each has a story in the cities past. Nellie the Lion was a lion that was shipped to a mansion (as one does) in Monticello, IL and then promptly escaped the grounds. The lioness wondered around central Illinois and made its way to Decatur and was actively hunted by armed citizens in 1917 before vanishing for good somewhere into the cornfields.
Decatur had a summer of the kangaroo in 1975 as one was spotted around town by many Decaturites. Lastly, alligators have been seen (and caught) around Lake Decatur, which sits to the south of the city, many times in the last century including recorded sightings in 1892, 1937, and 1966.
Sangamon River it overflowed It caused a mudslide on the banks of the operator
The Sangamon River is a major river in Central Illinois but not near Decatur. It runs between Peoria and Springfield which are far to the west of Decatur.
Civil war skeletons in their graves They came up clapping in the spirit of the aviator
Anyone who has visited Decatur for more than a few days will likely come into contact with Decatur's "smell" which comes from the Tate and Lyle grain factory that sits to the east of downtown. You will also probably have to sit in traffic and watch as a train passes through the middle of town on its way to the factory. The factory smell is not a constant annoyance and when we lived in the north part of town it was mainly a late night experience. After moving downtown near Millikin University, I now rarely smell it at all and it is a surprise when what I describe as "hot dog food" hits my nose. Steven A. Douglas was a great debater But Abraham Lincoln was the great emancipator
Stay awake and watch for the data No small caterpillar, go congratulate her
I'm still looking for a meaning in the "data" line but the Caterpillar company (based out of Peoria, IL) as a long standing factory in Decatur where they make large wheel loaders and compactors.
Denominator, go Decatur, go Decatur It's the great I am Abominate her, go Decatur, why did we hate her? It's the great I am Denominator, go Decatur, anticipate her It's the great I am Appreciates her, appreciate her Stand up and thank her Stand up and thank her It's the great I am Stand up and thank her It's the great I am Stand up and thank her It's the great I am Stand up and thank her
And so because the trip to Decatur wasn't so bad after all, Stevens and family appreciate their step-mother a little more. How nice! The phrase "It's the great I am" is a slight modification of the English language answer God gave to Moses when he asked what God's name was. It's still a mystery to me its meaning here.
I've always enjoyed the Illinoise album but since moving here I've come to love it even more. I mean, Stevens even wrote a lovely song about one of the state's favorite sons, Adlai Stevenson on a bonus of outtakes album call The Avalanche. I visited Stevenson's grave in Bloomington, IL back in April.
While I have a pretty formidable comic collection (purely in terms of number of comics), I don't really have a lot of key early issues from the 1960's and 70's. I do have a couple early issues of Daredevil but they are in pretty rough condition but as a kid collector I was more interested in the current issues than older ones and I didn't really care about owning the important issues when I could read reprints or graphic novels with those issues included.
All this recently changed when I received a great looking copy of Fantastic Four Annual #1 from 1963 for my birthday this year from my sister. I was flabbergasted as she included it at the bottom of a stack of inexpensive G.I. Joe comics from the 1980's and then BAM! a Jack Kirby cover smacks me across the face!
Here's the cover with colors just as vibrant as the day they were printed.
The issue story line finds the Fantastic Four running into trouble from the Sub-Mariner, prince of Atlantis. Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby, I believe this is my early 60's Kirby. Jeez, thanks Avril!
The issue also features the Thing battling a hammer head shark!
The Marvel annual issues were always filled to the brim with just about double the size of a normal issue and Fantastic Four Annual #1 filled its pages with full page art featuring the teams key villains from their first year in comics. First we have The Mole Man the first villain the team ever faced in issue #1.
Although Alicia Masters, the Puppet Master's step-daughter, dated the Thing for many years in the comics, he would become the father-in-law to the Human Torch when Alicia married Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four issue #300.
There was also an incredibly detailed map of the team's headquarters in the Baxter Building. Before the days of comic information being easily accessible it was these type of drawings that provided the amount of detail super fans needed to know every possible thing about the Fantastic Four.
Thanks again Avril for the totally unexpected surprise!
Last winter while traveling through northern Illinois, I stopped at the Half Price Books outlet in Rockford. This is where the millions of unwanted copies of the Transformers movies and The South Beach Diet go to be sold for $3. They also have some clearance vinyl records and they have some of their better albums in frames on the wall. This particular one stood out to me as I love space-themed albums and I had no idea whose album it was. I snapped a photo of it to remind myself to search it out later when I had time later.
As you can imagine, "later" turned into several months as that photo got pushed back with Christmas photos and every once in awhile I would be reminded of that vinyl mystery. I finally did a a reverse image search and it turned out that that image was the back cover of the 2001: A Space Odyssey soundtrack. Here is the front cover:
The gate-fold has some great photos from the film and an essay on the classical compositions used on the soundtrack.
And here again is the image in question. It was created by artist Robert McCall who designed the round space station and the space suits used in the movie. You can find his webpage HERE.
While the cover had a some wear, the vinyl was just a little dusty with no obvious problems.
Scarlett approves of the purchase and she also loves the smell of musty cardboard and vinyl.
And so I framed the album up with some of my other covers including an album by The Association with a moon/space theme.
My home in Decatur is located about 40 miles from three major central-Illinois cities, the capital Springfield to the west, the home of the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana to the east, and Bloomington-Normal to the north. Bloomington's favorite son is for Senator and presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson who grew up in the town and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery.
Stevenson twice was the Democratic Party nominee for president against Dwight Eisenhower and during President Kennedy's administration he served as the U.S. representative to the United Nations. He was there during the Cuban Missile Crisis and famously confronted the Soviet Union representative about missiles in Cuba at the United Nations and in front of Stevenson's grave a United Nations flag flies.
Stevenson is really Adlai Stevenson II and he is named after his Grandfather, Adlai Stevenson, who was also as major politician and was actually the Vice President during Grover Cleveland's second term as President. They are buried next to each other in the cemetery.
Adlai Stevenson I's grave.
Probably the most famous moments of Stevenson's presidential campaigns was when he was photographed with a hole in the bottom of his shoe. Eisenhower capitalized on the moment as representing much more than a presidential candidate too busy to get his shoe repaired or buy a new pair. It is funny to think about the things that the American voter used to care about when choosing their president compared to our current way to doing things.
This is Adlai Stevenson II's rather simple and modest grave. He died suddenly of a heart attack in 1965 while still the United Nations representative at a conference in Switzerland.
My all-time favorite TV show, Mystery Science Theater 3000, is coming back in April for the Kickstarter backed Season 11. Back in November 2014, Joel Hodgson, the creator and first host of the show, began their fan-funded campaign to bring back the series and I think it is fair to say that the excitement of the idea blew away everyone's expectations. In the end, the Season 11 campaign had over 48,000 backers and raised over $5.7 million dollars. It proved so popular that Netflix bought the project and new episodes begin airing April 14th.
Here is the trailer to the new season which features all new characters from the original series...except for the bots.
Of course, I donated to the Kickstarter and as part of the perks we could request a MST3K membership card. Mine came in the mail earlier in the year and I'm proud member #42859.
If you look at the front and scream "I'm not just a number, I'm a human being!" then you can add your name to the reverse side. I don't have the heart to write on it yet but maybe someday.
There is also a certificate I can print out and they were also sent a Gizmonic Institute sticker add to it. Gizmonic was the backdrop of the original experiments of the series and around the "G" you will notice the Latin phrase "istud scibunt populi veri." With a little research and twisting the meaning slightly it roughly states "the right people will get it" which I think is a perfect sentiment for the series as a whole.
This past summer, my wife and I lived in Washington D.C. and during our months there I spent the good part of two days walking around in the midday sun in Arlington National Cemetery. If you ever make it to the nation's capital, I highly recommend it as you can easily visit the big names (JFK, RFK, William Howard Taft) or expand your visit to visit the graves of a whole host of lesser known celebrities and historical figures.
While planning out my walking route around the cemetery, a name jumped out at me that was familiar, Spottswood Poles. A great Negro League player, he also served in World War I, making him eligible to be buried at Arlington. With a little effort (there are about 400,000 graves in the cemetery), I was able to locate his grave.
Spottswood, shortened to simply Spot, was one of the best speed demons on the bases in the early days of the Negro Leagues. He debuted with the Philadelphia Giants in 1909 (pictured below) and bounced around with several teams through 1923. He is credited with having a .400+ batting average over his career and had great success in inter-league play against white teams.
Poles' World War I service was in the 369th Infantry Regiment which earned the nickname of the "Harlem Hellfighters" as it was based out of New York. The regiment was the first African American regiment in the Army and was active all the way through the end of World War II.
