Please Don't Quote Me By Caralee Aschenbrenner Do you remember just a few years ago when some department had a contest by computer input for the best attractions in the state of Illinois, natural and man-made? Did you vote? Do you, more importantly, recall the outcome? The progress of the vote was followed by the newspapers an, if recalled, the “winners” were so far from my idea of being popular with the people, it failed to register. Or be promoted by the state. Was it the railroad museum at Union as the winner?

Now there’s no more devoted former tradesmen than a railroader, or a railroad hobbyist. Rightly so. But as for that railroad museum being an icon in Illinois. Come on!!!

Those tons and tons of engines setting (rather embarrassed) on bits of track with little by them for identity, etc., was not even a good display. Perhaps it’s changed since we’ve been there; done that.

Yes, railroads were very important in the progress and development of Illinois but an engine is hardly representative as a logo for the state. (My opinion.) OK, we believe more e-mails were sent from/for that entry which doesn’t mean it was the most popular. How could it win over a Lincoln listing? OK, we’ll drop the sniping. Instead we’ll nominate Northwest Illinois as a whole. We have so many attributes to be proud of that there’s little argument. Semi-alphabetized here! We are listing a few unique features of the place we live, perhaps not even what some places are noted for but a plus another place might not have. Remember the short-lived hyperbole of last year’s “staycation?” If you’d like an economical day trip choose your route here. Take a picnic lunch, pack the kids bathing suits (in summer) for an impromptu stop at a town pool or motel, overnight. The agenda is relaxed but you can all learn a little about the place we live, historically and otherwise. Northwest Illinois in any season is a beautiful place to drive. Many roads have undergone a wonderful upgrade so get out on them. If the kids are going, have them do a bit of casual research to dig deeper. Learn to read a map. You’ll all discover that each place is not just a repeat of the other. Small town America is pretty much individualistic. Hurrah!

ALBANY along the Mississippi has that most ancient of sites ... Indian mounds, as does Sterling at Sinnissippi Park and Thomson at a small example of waterland bogs where a stroll through the watery “swamp” will show you another facet of Illinois’ diverse landscape.

APPLE RIVER Canyon State Park has that huge hunk of rock in its middle which must have attracted the hoodlums, too, back in lead mining days. Yes, it was a gathering place of those of questionable reputation. The park is rugged and stream-filled. On one of the bluffs in spring there are rare Arctic Primrose, yes, arctic, the farthest south they grow. Nearby SCALES MOUND can boast the highest point in Illinois close by. From it three states are visible.

At BYRON one of the FIRST Civil War monuments in the state sets in the middle of the street and outside the front door of the house where Asa Spalding lived. He was a key organizer of professional baseball and founder of the sports equipment company. A nuclear plant looms south across Rock River. A road leads beside its gate.

BELLEVUE, Iowa is a surprisingly large town extending back from the Mississippi ... A railroad zips right down the commercial district parallel to main street. Lock and Dam 12 are easily accessible. Watch the boats go through it, warmer weather; the eagles on the ice in cold. Potter’s Mill at the south edge of town sometimes has a restaurant to entice you in. The drive up Rt. 52 from Sabula is great.

CEDARVILLE is a stop back in time on its exterior ... Nice, old houses including at the northwest edge, the home of humanitarian Jane Addams. The cemetery where she is buried is just up the road around a curve.

CHADWICK, neatly arranged in the 1880s for a railroad depot has a small ball park for the younger kids to play. It is a gem of Americana. Sitting there on a pretty summer’s evening is an award to everyone. First St. across from the Methodist Church. It reminds us how good it is to be American, home of the free, because of the brave!

DIXON has much early history, well chronicled. A statue of A. Lincoln in his early manhood looks out across the Rock River near the ferry crossing where he stopped during the Black Hawk War. On the river’s south side is a new statue of Ronald Reagan on horseback, among the several tributes to the former president who spent his growing up years here. A home the Reagan’s lived in has been restored to the era. A museum also.

ELIZABETH in the beautiful hills of JoDaviess County has a replica of the fort there during the Black Hawk War, 1832. A nice interpretive center introduces it. The town has begun an annual convention of “Elizabeth’s” ... Have that name, stop by.

FORRESTON, neat community hosts an egg farm an has a “flat-iron” shaped building like one in the Big Apple because of the street Y. A little old cemetery edges Rt. 26 as it leads south.

FULTON is another community with seriously devoted volunteers preserving their heritage. The exact replica of a Dutch windmill towers at the river side and now has a new museum across the street. Heritage Canyon, privately assembled is a treat at the north side of town ... Old buildings of all sorts have been set in a wooded area to remind us where we began/how. The church hosts many present day weddings. Some weekends there are costumed re-enactors recreating the past.

FRANKLIN GROVE has more than one group of dedicated volunteers: One having built the Franklin Creek water mill which grinds out meal as in the “olden days.” In downtown is the stone Lincoln building, completely rebuilt to be a headquarters for the Lincoln Highway Association (there was no roof when they began). No relation of A. Lincoln. South, out of town is an assemblage of agricultural heritage ... Buildings, farm machinery, crafts and businesses related to it. Weekends see many re-enactments of farm work. Farther down (ask) is the Whitney mansion where the Whitney crabapple was developed, a popular fruit of the past. Acres of orchard lined the low, rolling prairie. The catalog number of the tree to be ordered is etched in the transom.

FREEPORT honors its site for one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, 1858, with a statue of the two. Krape Park has a merry-go-round and paddle boats on the creek where water fowl paddle also. A waterfall tumbles down a bluff in warm weather and from which elevation many kinds of wildflowers can be seen.

GALENA has more atmosphere per square foot than any other place in the Northwest, its main street is still picturesque. The home of General and U.S. President U.S. Grant is an attraction, decorated to its era and very worthwhile ... Another president lived here in the N.W. Take advantage of that historical fact.

GRAND DETOUR is a serious bend in the Rock River and was an early fur trapper/trader site before 1830. It became an artist’s colony in the 20th century. John Deere, developer of the steel plow, made the first of that farm implement here. The Deere home and blacksmith shop have been restored, a worthwhile objective for tractor collectors and those appreciating the significance of it.

HANOVER is enhanced by the sparkling waters of the tumbling Apple River which originally made it a “factory town” in the wilderness ... A paper pulp mill, fabric making and furniture.

KENT has nearby it a Black Hawk War monument where a battle, that conflict, took place, 1832. Names of those slain are marked. A. Lincoln helped bury them. An awesome view can be seen from the hillside. A picnic area surrounds it.

LANARK’s once impressive Victorian commercial district has few tenants today like many small towns. Help! It needed to be promoted and easily could have been!!! The Eastland High School campus, however, is an attractive asset beside the city cemetery where a Veteran’s Memorial wall is a growing feature.

LENA has grown from its railroad inspired origins by several additions, well-planned. A stone stagecoach inn true to the compass points still stands in its solid glory. A water park and a water tower, old, are two features of different periods to attract notice.

LORAN can be reached from Rt. 73 by soft, hilly rises where cows play king of the mountain. The view of the village is very New Englandish.

The road goes onto MT. CARROLL where the courthouse square is unequaled in the Northwest. Pretty homes on brick streets form an historic district and a museum.

MORRISON, where those mansions lining the streets were built by the CEOs of yesteryear. Morrison had many manufacturers that are told about at its museum and modern library. It marks the Lincoln Highway with flags. There’s a covered bridge and lake at the north side.

MILLEDGEVILLE doesn’t show its age though it began as a mill site in the early 1830s. Its up-to-date now but at one time a major trail, later the Telegraph Road bypassed it. The age of that road name is evident.

NACHUSA GRASSLANDS is a natural and man-made prairie. It represents what most of Illinois once looked like ... Information, weekends of special interest lure the bird watcher and nature lover.

ORANGEVILLE has a quiet look but there’s lots going on here, the Mighty Richland Players, for one ... A home grown theatrical troupe puts on plays, some original, hosts artists suggested by the Illinois town’s quaint “clabbard” original Masonic Hall. A treat.

OREGON. Not only does the one-time “factory town” have reminders of its water power background but still has some buildings transformed into modern malls, etc. A busy foundry re-creates some of the energy of yesteryear. It casts statuary and pieces for projects throughout the nation, as well as those sculptures that are noted on its “artists trail.” The cement Indian statue upriver is another period’s work but its setting in the woodland recall the Native American that preceded settlement of the white man. It is not Black Hawk.

PEARL CITY appears quiet, too, but has an active citizenry that has co-oped in creating a subdivision and in transforming a former hadware store into a restaurant. The clever, unique, hardware relics are covered with sports memorabilia now but that’s the fashion. Gold Mine Road leads west out of town and is a wonderfully scenic drive toward the southwest. Plenty of roadside picnic spots. Gold was once thought to be another possible riches discovered nearby, as were the pearls that named the town.

Next week we’ll continue around the Northwest.

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