Springdale Cemetery Gatehouse

My first trip into Springdale Cemetery in Peoria, Illinois was some time in early 2000.

A friend of mine who was familiar with the layout showed me and a couple of other people around.

Since then, I've been on group hikes and hikes with my dad, enjoying all the beauty that can be found in the cemetery.

I have also followed the news stories about the impending fate of the gatehouse in the cemetery.

The gatehouse was built in 1900 in the craftsman bungalow style. Initially an office and residence, the building is located at the lower entrance to the cemetery.

In July 2008, the cemetery's management authority voted 4-3 to demolish the gatehouse as the cost to repair, $800,000 or more, is too great.

In March 2009, the Historic Preservation Commission voted 5-1 to endorse a controlled demolition of the building with the stones and roof tiles removed and stored. Plans would be to rebuild as originally constructed.

The gatehouse sits on the Rock Island Trail and could make a nice pit stop for travelers of the trail.

As of December 29, 2009, a sign posted on the fence reads: Please contribute to the restoration of this gate house. Please send your check to Carolyn Kraft, 9919 N. Jamaica Dr., Peoria IL 61615. Phone: (309) 691-5537.

I hope it will indeed be preserved and/or rebuilt using the salvaged materials so it can be enjoyed for another hundred years.

Springdale Cemetery

3014 N. Prospect Rd.

Peoria, IL 61603

Brown's Fine Food

Last weekend we set out for points west in Illinois to visit a restaurant my husband has been wanting to try for about a year.

Alas, our food choices were not to be had when we got there, so we hit the road again and kept our eyes peeled for another option.

We drove into Canton and soon a retro sign complete with arrow caught the attention of both of us at almost the same instant: Brown's Snappy Service.

I love spotting old signs, and it's even better when the business still exists and lives up to the legacy.

A lucky break! Brown's Fine Food was open so we walked in and found the place comfortably worn around the edges, with about a dozen stools mounted in front of the white, gold-flecked countertop.

Tables lined the wall behind, stretching back into a narrow back room.

We took seats at the counter to better check out the old equipment and decor, and looked over the menu while our server went to get us some iced teas.

Entrées were reasonable: chicken fried steak for $5.75, two smoked pork chops for $6.75, fried chicken for $6, all served with two sides plus bread a butter. Sandwiches started at $1.70 for the sandwich alone and $3.20 for a platter.

StfRon asked the gent serving us if the hamburgers were frozen, and he said no. Then he asked if they were thin patties, and found out they were. Our server added that they are very good, so that was enough for us.

I ordered a cheeseburger platter and StfRon ordered a bacon cheeseburger platter. Both came with fries and cole slaw.

Our food came out quickly, the burgers tasty as promised, complete with crispy edges, creamy cheese and soft buns.

The fries were a similar cut to McDonald's fries, but I enjoyed their crispness and taste much more than any Mickey D's fries I've had in the last decade.

The slaw was a creamy style, and the portion was pretty generous.

Brown's has been providing snappy service since 1937, and the original building is still intact. There have been some additions over the years, but I had taken notice of the ceiling over the grill area while waiting for my food before I knew about the add ons and you can still

imagine what the little place must have been like in its heyday.

Mounted to a post next to the old host stand area there is a neat photo of the original building.

I'm glad the sign caught our attention.

Brown's Fine Food

124 N Main Street

Canton, IL 61520

Wadhams pagoda-style gas station

With its unique pagoda-style design, Wadhams Gas Station in West Allis, Wisconsin is one place I wanted to take a look at.

Built by Milwaukee architect Alexander Eschweiller in 1916, the steel-frame, glass-walled design is considered iconic.

The station was restored to the 1950 appearance in 2000 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the summer of 2004.

The building is quite beautiful with its remarkable red roof, and there are also lovely stained glass inserts in the roof displaying the letter W.

Looking inside the windows at the historic display, I was amazed at how tiny and efficient the space was and could imagine an employee hard at work in this tiny pagoda.

There are several old cans and bottles of petroleum products on display, and I thought it was funny how many variations of Mobil hand lotion there were. The mechanics must have been concerned about keeping their hands soft and supple back then!

There were also several neat maps and brochures on display.

While at the site, my husband checked the Geocaching web site and found there was a cache hidden on site, so we searched for that for a while before finding it, then logged our find and continued our travels.

Wadhams Gas Station

1647 South 76th Street

West Allis, WI 53214

Charlie Parker's

We first heard of Charlie Parker's on Diner's, Drive-ins and Dives.

My husband was in Springfield, Illinois one day for work and called me around lunch time to ask if I could direct him to the place so he could check it out.

He's been a regular ever since.

I had a chance to visit Charlie Parker's myself last month and found the 50s-themed restaurant, located inside a former WWII airplane hanger Quonset hut, bustling on a late Saturday morning.

There is counter seating, booths along the wall, and we ended up at a table in the middle of the room, one of the last two open.

Since it was Saturday and since they serve breakfast all day I had breakfast, but my husband's standard fare at Charlie's is the Springfield classic, a horseshoe. The pork tenderloin shoe topped with tater tots, I believe.

Everything we ordered was very good, and though the corned beef hash is not the same as you find at most places (this version is homemade), it was great.

If you like extreme food, you can go for the challenge of finishing a four stack of their giant pancakes. If you do, the cost of your four flapjacks will be on the house.

Charlie Parker's is open seven days a week but is not open for dinner, offers daily specials, and gets even more kudos from me for having a bike rack on site.

If you're looking for comfort food in a unique building, Charlie's should be on your list.

Charlie Parker's

700 North Street

Springfield, IL 62704

Harvest Moon Drive-In Theatre

Whenever I see a drive-in theater on my travels, I crane my neck and look for as long as I can until it passes out of sight.

When I was in my 20s, my friends and I used to take road trips to a drive-in near Joliet, Illinois.

I knew there was one in Gibson City, Illinois, and I took my husband on a surprise trip to the Harvest Moon Drive-In Theatre in 2003.

The film was Pirates of the Caribbean. We had dinner at the Bayern Stube, then killed time before dark when the film would start.

Before the movie was finished, we were getting drowsy and starting to worry about the long drive home still ahead of us, so we left before the end and headed on our way.

The theater, reopened in 1989, still pops into my head now and again, and when we were on our way back from Indiana early this month and looking for a different route, I was excited when we chose to drive through Gibson City.

Once again we stopped for an excellent meal at the Bayern Stube, then went to take a look at the drive-in, which had already closed for the season.

We were surprised to see a new sign on site touting the theater as the world's first wind-powered theatre.

In the spring of 2009, the owners of the theatre installed two small wind turbines on site that they hope will eventually produce 100% of their electricity.

It seems to me that this a great way to maintain a slice of Americana while looking out for the future.

Harvest Moon Drive-In Theatre

Route 47, South

1123 S. Sangamon Ave.

Gibson City, IL 60936

France Park

We don't have a lot of chances to see waterfalls when traveling, so when I heard there was one near Logansport, Indiana, I made plans to visit.

France Park is a lovely site to visit in the fall.

Driving in to the wooded park, we were greeted by the Fouts Cabin, a Beech log cabin built in 1839.

We paid our $2 each admission and got directions to the falls. After a short drive, we reached the parking area and got out to see the falls.

The waterfall itself is not very tall, however the site is scenic and beautiful.

I walked up the wooden staircase to the top of the falls, then joined my husband back at the bottom to go search out a Geocache hidden in the woods nearby.

Getting back in the car, we drove around the park a bit more checking out the scuba diving area where a couple of divers were in the water on this cool October day.

We also saw a brick box structure that my husband said looked like a brick oven. Later I found out that's exactly what it was.

Referred to as the Italian Oven, the recently restored oven was used by Italian immigrants who built the Wabash and Erie Canal which runs from east to west through the center of France Park, or by those who worked in the quarry. The canal operated from 1840-1875 and was used was to transport the stone mined at the quarry.

The oven, located near the entrance of the park, was used weekly as a community resource for those needing to bake their bread.

France Park is also home to camp sites and hiking trails, plus much more.

France Park

4505 W US Highway 24

Logansport, IN 46947

Whitehouse

The Whitehouse is a long-standing restaurant in Logansport, Indiana, we visited in early October of this year.

Most of the signs on the building listed the name as one word, but there was a sign listing it as two words as well.

The exterior is charming and time-worn, a small stone diner-style building with an old Coca-Cola logo board atop a rusty sign proclaiming the restaurant name.

We took a seat at one of the 13 small counter stools and were immediately able to order drinks and soon were sipping them, perusing the menu.

Along the countertop was a jukebox, and there was a full size one near the door.

We found by talking to the woman running the grill that this Whitehouse is considered Whitehouse number one and that at one time there were three or four of them. This location, opened in 1941, is the only one remaining.

Their ground beef comes from a local Cass County meat locker, I believe she said it was called Royal Center, delivered fresh daily. They hand make the burger patties once the meat arrives at the restaurant.

I was going for the Whitehouse burger, which we were told has cheese and bacon on it, until our grill master told me about the spicy chicken sandwich, an all white meat chicken breast breaded with a peppery mix.

When she brought it out from the back to place it on the grill, presumedly frozen and institutional, and I feared I may have made a bad choice. Once I tried it though, I was happy with my selection. The chicken breast was hot and juicy and the seasoning on the breading was delicious.

My husband had a double cheeseburger, after a discussion about how thick the patties were. He was assured he wanted a double, and was pleased with the sandwich.

The prices were incredible compared to what we see in Illinois: $2.30 for a double cheeseburger. Our entire meal, including two drinks, an order of onion rings and a slice of sugar cream pie, was less than $10.

In addition to the counter seating, there are four booths along the wall.
The Whitehouse opens very early, 4 a.m., and closes fairly early as well. On the Saturday we were in, they closed at 1 p.m.
Next time I am in the area, the Whitehouse will certainly be on my list.

Whitehouse

87 S 6th Street

Logansport, IN