I was born in the small town of Monmouth, IL. I lived there till I was about 9 years old. The mid-west, known for tornadoes, thunderstorms, lightening, giant hail stones, snow, freezing weather and humid summers. My sister and I knew nothing different and we were very happy there. We built snowmen during recess at school frequently and we did actually walk 6 blocks to school in knee high snow 4 times a day! There was no cafeteria at school and no eating lunch at school unless there was a blizzard. In summertime we ran around barefoot chasing after lightening bugs till dark.
Our grandparents lived right across the street and owned their own moving and storage company, Vaughn's Moving and Storage. Our cousins lived just around the block and another aunt and uncle not too much farther away. Some of my best memories include my dad teaching me to ride my bike and taking me to my first movie, (Mary Poppins) at the theatre. I also remember walking down the street to Main Street to watch the parade and attending the annual Prime Beef Festival. Other memories include swinging on the tree swing at grandma's house and eating homemade ice cream under that same tree. For a real treat we went and got hotdogs and rootbeer from Dog N Suds, umm good!! We also ate tenderloin sandwiches, (fried pork) and Maid-Rites, a loose meat sandwich similiar to a sloppy jo, but a different flavor and eaten with mustard, onions and pickles.
I moved away when I was nine, but went back many times to visit as a child and an adult. Everything was pretty much the same for years. When I was married my husband and I even moved back there for about a year. While I lived there I worked at the Pottery Barn, (not ' The Pottery Barn'), it was a retail outlet and tourist attraction where you could buy pottery made by Western Stoneware. Western Stoneware is known for creating the Sleepy Eye Steins for a milling company back in 1892. The steins are still made today and there are many collectors. Each year they produce a limited edition of the steins. If you're really interested check out http://www.sleepyeye.org to find out more. Each stein is numbered and includes the maple leaf emblem on the bottom of each. Monmouth was named the Maple City because of all the maple trees.
Some things have now changed. There is no more Dog N Suds, except for the rootbeer. Some other stores have dissappeared and a few new shops and restaurants have taken their places. Some of the new places that are my favorites are The Soda Works and The Candy Store, (both have gift items in addition to food). For current restaurants, attractions and accommodations go to http://www.ci.monmouth.il.us/.
The town is around 165 years old, give or take. I was there during the Sesquicenntennial, when the town turned 150 years old. Believe it or not there are still streets made out of brick including the street my dad still lives on in the same house where I grew up. The town is known for Monmouth College which was founded in 1853 and was one of the first 4 year coed private liberal arts schools around. There are also a few famous people who were born and/or lived in Monmouth. Wyatt Earp is one of them, best known for his fight at the OK Corral with Doc Holliday. Another is Ronald Reagan. He lived in Monmouth for a short time as a child around 1918 and his dad was a shoe salesman. Last but not least a famous serial killer Richard Speck lived in Monmouth for a short time. He killed 8 nurses in So. Chicago Community Hospital.
I loved growing up in a small town and I had a lot of fun researching the history. I have included pictures with this article and in my images section as well. Hope you enjoy my story and I invite you to write a story about your home town.
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