Lorraine Callaghan, R.I.P.

Lorraine Callaghan died last week on the Feast of the Holy Cross. She managed Jon's Pipe Shop in Champaign's campustown and was quite a character.

Remembering Nature's Table

Here's yet another great Smile Politely article, this one by Rob McColley about Nature's Table, the old Urbana, Illinois, jazz hangout that was razed in 1991 by the University of Illinois to make way for a big shiny Chemical and Life Sciences building.

Twin Cities Traction

From Professor Emeritus H. George Friedman, Jr. of the UIUC Department of Computer Science, this seems to be a draft of a book on the old interurban trains that ran in and around Champaign-Urbana a hundred years ago. Lots of good pictures of the CU of yore.

Farewell to Carmon's

Carmon's was on my early-morning route to work for a few years until we moved to Small Town, IL, and I started working from home. I haven't been by there in quite a while so I was surprised to find the the owner, Paul Damski, retired last spring. It was a wonderful little restaurant. As the article mentions, I even showed up a few times before opening to find a half-dozen of the old regulars sitting in the dim light shooting the breeze until Paul started cooking.

My parents ate there in the 1950s and 60s when Dad worked for a sheet-metal company in Champaign, and the first time for Lisa and me was during one of her pregnancies - she had a craving for an old-fashioned BLT sandwich and we found just the things at Paul's. He's one of those guys with a gift for friendship who remembers everyone's face, what they like to eat and just where the conversation left off.

Making candy canes with the Vrinio family

The old Vriner's Confectionary in downtown Champaign was a landmark for most of the last century. Here's a good article on the family from Champaign-Urbana's excellent new publication Smile Politely, and here are some memories of their old place.

Te Deum laudamus

Let there be sung Te Deum!

The remodeling work is finished at Hot Wok Express, 1102 W. University Ave., U, and the restaurant has reopened with a look that's "newer and nicer," owner Greg D'Amico says.

The menu and hours are the same, but Sunny Pook, the original owner of the place, is back to run the restaurant, D'Amico said.

The end of November?!

Gah! The best (and only?) drive-through Chinese restaurant in Chambana, the Hot Wok Express on University, is closed til the end of the month for remodeling. What am I going to do?

Off to Curtis Orchard

John didn't remember ever visiting Curtis Orchard in Champaign (which he has visited many times as a toddler) so we added that to our stops yesterday. First a speech therapy appointment with Doctor Anna, then we plotted a new secret back-route to Sam's Club - a route that takes us under the interstate twice! - then a quick stop at Aldi's & on to the orchard. John's a lot of fun to travel with - full of questions, observations and good humor.