Great Comeback for the NIRG
By
John Emmering
A beautiful sunny day greeted an
enthusiastic group of seven Northern Illinois Regional Group members and six
guests as they gathered at Culver’s Restaurant in St. Charles on the morning of
Saturday May 22nd. The group was prepared for a much-anticipated tour to visit
attractions in the northern Illinois towns of Oregon and Amboy. After a full
year of very sparse activity for the NIRG, this was truly a comeback tour
showing that the group is ready to resume activities.
Five early Ford V-8s were ready
to take to the road for the approximately 180-mile tour.
Members driving their Ford V-8s were: Ken Bounds, 1951 Mercury Sport
Coupe, John Emmering, 1951 Ford Custom Fordor, Dan Pudelek, 1950 Ford Crestliner,
Joe Serritella, 1941 Ford Super Deluxe Coupe, and tour leader and organizer, Ron
Steck, 1941 Ford Super Deluxe Station Wagon. John Judge, accompanied by his
friend Linda Luplow, Gary Osborne, John Slobodnik, accompanied by his son John
Jr., rode in modern vehicles. Riding
along with Dan Pudelek in his Crestliner were Dan’s daughter Katherine,
son-in-law John and grandchildren Jack and Izzy Pauley.
By 9:00 am sharp tour leader Ron
Steck got the tour rolling, leaving Culver’s lot heading west on Route 64 for
the 60-mile jaunt to Lowden State Park in Oregon, the first stop on the tour.
The group sped along the route, making one pit stop near Rochelle and continued
through the scenic countryside, arriving in downtown Oregon at 10:30 am.
Driving through town the tour
group crossed over the Rock River bridge and took a left turn parallel to the
river until they reached the Lowden State Park entrance, the first stop on the
tour. Cruising slowly
through the park, tour goers observed the camp sites of weekend RV campers
before entering a densely wooded area following the signs reading “statue”,
indicating the famous Blackhawk Statue was ahead.
Parking the Ford V-8s and modern
cars in the lot adjacent to the statue, tour goers got a chance to view the
majestic statue. Officially named “The Eternal Indian” when the work of art was
dedicated in July 1911, the statue produced by artist Laredo Taft, has come to
be known as “Blackhawk” after the Chief of the Sauk Indian Tribe. The statue,
standing 48 feet is the second largest monolithic statue in the world. Members
posed for a photo in front of the statue and the group spent about 30 minutes
taking in the view of the huge figure Rock River Valley.
With lunch time approaching the
group headed out of Lowden State Park and back across the river, stopping at
Jay’s Drive-in, a 1950’s-based eatery.
With cool air conditioning inside several of attendees choose to dine in
rather than be served by one of the car hops. After a great lunch experience our
tour leader altered us that we needed to get going on the last leg of the
journey which was a 25-mile trip down to Amboy Illinois.
Following behind Ron’s ’41 Ford
Wagon the group headed south for a scenic drive along the Rock River on Route 2.
The group passed the old John Deere Homestead in the town of Grand Detour and
drove through downtown Dixon as they made their way down to Amboy.
After the picturesque half hour drive to Amboy, the group pulled into the
Amboy Depot Museum lot. Of special interest was a steam locomotive, coal car and
caboose displayed next to the museum.
It was learned that the locomotive engine was manufactured in 1929 by
Baldwin Locomotive works and was in service with the Grand Trunk Railroad until
1958. The caboose was open for inspection and several tour goers stepped inside
for a look. The museum acquired the Locomotive from a Steel Company in Sterling,
Illinois in 1980.
The museum
itself was quite interesting. Housed
in the former Depot and regional headquarters of the Illinois Central Railroad,
the depot building was constructed in 1876. It replaced the old depot which had
been destroyed by fire. The building
was in daily use until it closed in 1967. The empty structure had been
victimized by vandals over the years until the City of Amboy was able to lease
the property and begin restoration through volunteers and donations.
It was open to the public in 1976 in time for the Bicentennial
celebrations. The city purchased the property in 1984 and after it was named to
the National Registry of Historic places grant money became available to do a
full restoration. The tour group
enjoyed wandering through the many rooms full of displays of interesting items
from days gone by. There were many
artifacts pertaining to the history of the Amboy area.
As the Amboy visit came to an end
the Ford V-8s and modern cars gathered up for the 70-mile trip back to the
Chicago suburbs along Illinois Route 30.
It had been a long but enjoyable day of driving and a fun way to bounce
back from a year of inactivity for the Northern Illinois Regional Group caused
by the COVID-19 restrictions.