Heartfelt Road Trip Day 8 with My Dad - LeRoy Illinois Memories / Where Learned To Ride Bike & MORE
Day 8 Road Trip May 2021
Transcript
0:03
today's adventure begins
0:03
heading down highway 150 out of
0:05
bloomington illinois
0:07
to a little town by the name of leroy
0:11
very rainy very overcast
0:14
very wet might be
0:18
doing a lot of this from the the car
0:20
today dad it could be yeah
0:23
unless you just want to stand out in the
0:24
rain you could you could be in the car
0:27
and i could stand in the rain you could
0:28
put the camera out the window
0:30
what years did we live here we moved
0:32
here in the uh
0:34
before easter probably march of 1978 and
0:37
left in the summer of 81.
0:40
okay i'm going to turn my windshield
0:41
wipers on now
0:43
okay definitely in some farming country
0:46
got some grain elevators up here
0:52
and turn this corner hoping to see a
0:52
city limit sign
0:54
that we can either get out and do the
0:57
intro in front of
1:00
it's going to be tricky because there's
1:01
some inclement weather
1:03
and my windshield wipers are making an
1:05
unusual noise squeaking noise
1:13
they're not squeaking anymore is that
1:13
the city limit sign down on the right
1:15
go up there stop please
1:28
population 3600
1:28
being from mississippi born and raised i
1:31
had been in
1:32
snow before but when i came up here i
1:35
had never really seen
1:37
real snow so one morning that first
1:40
winter
1:40
i woke up turned on the radio and they
1:42
said that the interstate was closed the
1:44
interstate's about a mile and a half out
1:47
to our right they said the interstate
1:49
was closed all the county roads were
1:51
closed
1:52
and that did not compute in my mind i
1:55
looked out our bedroom window
1:57
all the streets by our house were paid
1:59
and uh were plowed
2:00
and clean so i got in the car and i
2:03
drove around town
2:04
i i don't believe that i mean i can
2:06
drive around town why are all the
2:08
highways
2:09
closed and i drove out to the city limit
2:12
sign which we're parked at right now
2:14
this picture i'm coming in from the town
2:17
coming out this way
2:19
and all of a sudden the plows
2:22
stopped plowing the snow at the city
2:25
limit side
2:27
so here in the road was a five
2:30
or six wind blown bank of snow
2:34
i couldn't believe it i stopped i got
2:36
out of the car
2:37
i stood up on the railing of the car and
2:39
i took a camera i said they're not going
2:41
to believe this back in mississippi
2:43
all you could see was a sea of snow and
2:46
the only thing you could see
2:48
was all the telephone poles sticking up
2:51
out of the snow
2:52
down the side of the highway
2:55
trusty umbrella even though it is very
2:57
windy this is
2:59
downtown leroy
3:02
city hall town and city hall there
3:06
the performing arts center has some
3:09
memories
3:10
we're going to go up out of the elements
3:12
under this gazebo which has been here
3:15
since our day welcome everyone adam the
3:18
woo here with my dad you know
3:20
what day is this today is monday the
3:22
17th of may
3:24
what day of our road trip recording of
3:25
this is monday
3:27
this is day eight eight day number eight
3:30
of our lengthy
3:31
road trip father and son father
3:35
father somebody's a father somebody in
3:37
someone's road trip
3:38
we moved here from commerce oklahoma
3:41
correct that's correct
3:43
we have not been going in chronological
3:45
order we've been going in order of
3:47
geography
3:48
geography order i'm inviting you to join
3:50
me on day number eight
3:52
and me shall you
3:55
now this is a photo of the gazebo we're
3:58
standing
3:58
on the floor of the gazebo right at the
4:00
moment this of course was a shot in the
4:02
winter time
4:04
and during the summer they would have
4:07
band concerts
4:09
for a few weeks out of the summer the
4:11
band director here at the high school we
4:13
gather
4:14
an impromptu group of musicians and the
4:17
people would gather on the lawn out here
4:19
with their
4:20
blankets and their chairs and
4:24
they have a concert it wasn't
4:26
professional by any stretch of the
4:28
imagination but it was enjoyable and
4:30
pleasing people came out for that
4:32
and uh enjoyed the evening together you
4:35
said there was a famous artist that
4:36
performed here too
4:37
i thank you for reminding me of that yes
4:39
one summer
4:41
carl perkins came to town and that was
4:44
the corner they had a stage set up out
4:46
there and he had his band
4:47
and of course the whole town came out
4:50
all 3
4:50
600 people
4:57
i wonder if when we left that with the
4:57
the
4:57
the population on the sign changed i
4:59
doubt what year did we leave
5:01
we left uh let's see we left the summer
5:05
of 1981. and we went from commerce to
5:09
here and then from here to where
5:10
we moved to panama city panama city then
5:13
of course you remember the earlier video
5:15
we went from panama city to pensacola
5:17
yep and that's where your sister was
5:19
born that december
5:20
the church is obscured by this tree yes
5:23
that was just a
5:24
single seedling tree it seems to have
5:27
subsided for a moment so
5:28
leaving the gazebo here it is from this
5:31
angle water tower
5:32
off in the distance and walking to match
5:35
up
5:35
a photograph that dad took way back in
5:38
the day
5:39
right over here in the road of the
5:42
church building now the
5:43
leroy performing performing arts and
5:46
media center
5:48
corner of south main street and east
5:51
center street west boy it is gusty out
5:54
here
5:56
there's a little bit of a gale force
5:58
winds
6:00
hold on to your hats and umbrellas boys
6:03
and girls
6:04
all right this is the angle we were at
6:07
there's the telephone pole you can see
6:08
it's still there
6:11
and uh i guess maybe just a little
6:14
further back there's the street sign
6:16
which is right here
6:23
sure is if you had to guess
6:23
when did you take that picture that may
6:25
have been the winter that we moved here
6:27
it's very possible which would have been
6:28
70 78
6:30
78 early early 78 maybe march or april
6:35
you have returned to the same spot yes
6:38
yes
6:39
look at that
6:47
go up a little closer and take a look at
6:47
the stained glass there's another photo
6:49
of the building as well of the
6:53
we're in the picture up front now this
6:55
is dated 1980 so this
6:57
photograph must have been about a year
6:58
later i've been here for
7:00
for two or three years a year or so i
7:02
was here for about three and a half
7:03
years yeah
7:05
now that's you and me and your mom at
7:07
the on the front steps those front steps
7:08
right up there
7:11
and of course the city when they bought
7:14
the property
7:15
is that me sitting that's you're sitting
7:17
right there
7:18
right there on the stairs squatting
7:20
right down squatting down while you and
7:22
mom you look
7:23
very cold mom looks like she's she has a
7:26
heavy jacket on
7:27
and gloves you have a heavy jacket on i
7:29
was probably running around over to the
7:30
gazebo
7:31
you probably said get over here we're
7:32
taking a photo something like that get
7:34
up on the steps
7:36
and the city of course has taken the
7:38
cross off of the building
7:40
oh they sure have yeah it is no longer
7:43
no longer a church building that the
7:45
congregation has moved on to the
7:46
outskirts of town yeah they built a new
7:48
property we'll go
7:49
by and see that they built a new
7:50
building in front of church 1980
7:54
in leroy how about that directly across
7:56
from the obscured
7:58
gazebo behind what was that tree when we
8:00
were here a little single
8:01
it was a seedling
8:09
we had hoped to go inside the town in
8:09
city hall and ask
8:11
if there was anyone that could let us in
8:12
the building however with a lot of these
8:15
small towns
8:17
you don't see anyone it is early
8:20
enough where no one has arrived
8:23
well i say that we should maybe walk
8:25
over there and see if there is someone
8:26
there maybe they just
8:27
there's no one parked in front of it
8:28
there was no one inside
8:30
but noticing this mural where it says
8:32
welcome to leroy illinois
8:34
up here are all the other leroys in the
8:37
u.s
8:38
including texas minnesota wisconsin
8:40
alabama
8:42
iowa and others pretty ingenious idea
8:47
to show are there more on the other side
8:49
kansas
8:50
michigan new york sure
8:54
is wow quite a few
9:02
i can just picture a youthful myself
9:02
sitting right here on this step looking
9:05
across at the
9:06
park over there no idea who was taking
9:09
the photo
9:09
in the in the rug nonetheless
9:13
now the way this is set up if you can't
9:15
get in which doesn't look like we're
9:16
going to
9:17
there's no way to really peek in and see
9:20
anything because when you look through
9:21
there's a brick wall you have to go
9:23
up a set of stairs to the auditorium in
9:26
the in the foyer yes
9:29
yes that's the way it was
9:34
down this way you go into the basement
9:34
this way you go up and turn left and go
9:36
into the sanctuary
9:46
there's another entrance into the
9:46
building also
9:48
around on this other side
9:54
it looks as if the signage is still up
9:55
there's a word for this a mar well
9:57
marquee
10:02
now there's some lettering there le
10:02
which most likely was lee roy
10:07
don't know what the other he is we could
10:08
have a wheel of fortune moment here
10:09
but could these be the lettering
10:12
from way back in the day and they just
10:14
as rusty as they look
10:16
all rusted out some of the original
10:17
energy i would
10:19
i would periodically put a message in
10:21
there not every week or anything
10:24
and then uh we had two flags
10:28
with the american flag and we flew a
10:30
christian flag
10:31
up these poles same poles same poles yep
10:34
yep
10:36
these bushes were just little seedlings
10:38
then they were seedlings
10:46
and for posterity i'm now documenting
10:46
them after
10:47
they've grown yes posterity seedlings
10:50
and
10:51
we're a little hazy on the details are
10:54
some of the common phrases
10:56
of this of this trip so far one thing we
10:58
did not have at this building was a
11:00
gymnasium
11:01
here we did not we did not have a
11:06
and sometimes you would get here early
11:08
before elders and deacons
11:10
because you preferred to handle your
11:12
work again
11:19
anyone hiding there in the dark now this
11:19
was another entrance and people would
11:22
park on various streets around and
11:24
someone come in the store someone come
11:26
in the other door these two windows here
11:30
are the windows of where my office used
11:32
to be
11:33
the top floor or the side the first
11:35
floor here
11:37
now that window is broken that window is
11:40
shattered out
11:43
the stained glass is still intact with
11:45
the outer section of the window
11:48
there's a screen that is not broken the
11:50
screen is pulled up
11:52
now through this entrance door those
11:55
double doors there are open and you can
11:57
see
11:57
into of all things the alcove
12:00
area of this building it was kind of an
12:04
overflow
12:05
type area and yonder you can see
12:08
another open door and behind it another
12:11
stained glass window
12:13
that's where you went in to go into the
12:15
baptistry area
12:18
and over to the left over here was the
12:20
main
12:24
well the main auditory main sanctuary
12:24
area there was a balcony
12:26
i recall a balcony those steps
12:30
there on the right going up goes up to
12:33
the balcony
12:35
these steps on the right going down goes
12:38
down into the basement
12:40
all right this is a photo that was taken
12:41
to me in my office we just showed you
12:44
the windows to my office
12:45
it's very possible that stained glass
12:47
window behind me is the very window adam
12:49
was talking about that's now
12:51
somewhat dilapidated and so forth notice
12:54
how young i used to be
12:57
you have this eagle do you still have
12:58
that eagle you know i that's a
13:00
i don't think that's a ceramic evil i
13:02
had an evil a ceramic
13:04
eagle that is not evil mom used to take
13:07
ceramics she might have made that eagle
13:09
it's very possible you had that for
13:11
years and years yeah i did
13:12
and here's the the balcony here are some
13:15
shots of the
13:16
interior of the building this is the and
13:19
the way we know it is because
13:21
here you wrote the leroy church building
13:24
in case
13:24
your memory failed you yes you would
13:26
have this written down
13:28
this is the this is a separate
13:30
photograph this is the balcony area
13:32
this stairwell is that stairwell
13:35
right there this stairwell is that
13:37
stairwell
13:38
on the right leading up yep and right
13:42
over there well it's now it's like yep i
13:44
can't really get it there that's why i
13:45
didn't want to show it but there we go
13:46
hold on one second it's not work here we
13:48
go there we go
13:50
sometimes when you turn the camera
13:52
quickly like that
13:54
it focuses in on the dirt on the window
13:56
oh yes
13:58
all right here this angle of the main
14:00
auditorium there's the pulpit area
14:02
sorry fingers there's the pulpit area
14:04
there's the main area of the sanctuary
14:06
there's the stained glass
14:08
and this is viewing from the alcove area
14:11
okay okay now
14:14
there's the balcony this is from the
14:16
stage area
14:19
okay there's these windows now which
14:21
windows would we should show where those
14:23
windows would be
14:24
that would be these windows on our left
14:26
hand side right here
14:29
okay gotcha gotcha
14:38
is that door right there okay in the
14:38
double door the wooden doors
14:39
right over there yep this is a separate
14:43
picture over here now
14:45
there's the balcony at the top and this
14:48
is taken
14:49
from behind the pulpit and there is the
14:52
christian flag inside
15:02
wow yeah i i do recall that vaguely
15:02
the setup actually actually
15:05
let me correct myself a a
15:08
vague memory is coming more clearly now
15:11
this
15:12
is the alcove this was taken
15:15
straight on and then i turned and took
15:18
this picture of the alto
15:19
okay this plate glass window thingy that
15:22
went into my secretary's office which
15:24
then went into my office
15:27
this double door right here
15:30
is that door right there
15:37
that's a heater right there on the on
15:37
the side it's a heater
15:38
that is a radiator a radiator radiator
15:41
heater
15:42
the old radiator ploy yes
15:45
yes and this building had no central
15:48
heat in there
15:49
so that's why the radiator heaters the
15:50
radiators were and we had to use box
15:52
fans
15:52
during the summer box fans
15:56
on the fleer
16:22
sunday morning really almost anytime
16:22
there's a convenience store on the
16:23
corner down here and i would walk down
16:25
there and get me a diet coke
16:28
over on the corner and you still drink
16:30
diet coke to this day on occasion
16:32
yes probably not as much as you used to
16:36
maybe he goes in ebbs and flows
16:47
you've heard of town squares this would
16:47
be a town
16:48
circle really is if you think of
16:51
americana this
16:53
this is this would be true americana
16:55
right here the town round
16:56
a town round yeah okay a town round
17:00
well done
17:05
20 miles per hour
17:27
want to try to match up that photograph
17:27
is that what you're going over for
17:29
match up the photograph of i almost
17:32
called it a vestibule
17:40
probably over in this area it's not
17:40
snowy but it is
17:41
the grass is wet
17:53
right about here that's pretty close
17:53
okay that big tree it was definitely
17:56
there's a lot more trees as well back
17:59
then a lot more trees in the in the
18:01
the distance there some of the trees the
18:04
picnic tables have been added but that's
18:05
the angle
18:06
with the building in the back look at
18:08
that
18:10
i see you didn't even you were you
18:11
focused more on the gazebo
18:14
oh you know look over here very closely
18:16
there is the sign
18:18
that we were standing over there that is
18:19
the the signage
18:22
from the marquis over there right there
18:25
in frame
18:26
that's neat there it is
18:30
okay from here we'll go by a couple
18:31
other places we'll go by our home
18:33
yeah and a few other spots the old
18:35
theater the princess theater
18:37
recently restored talked to a gentleman
18:40
in town that
18:41
pulled over and told us a few things so
18:44
one of his friends restored this
18:47
looking pretty good yeah we went to some
18:49
movies there saw a few movies
18:55
modern day this is what the building
18:55
looks like it has moved here
18:56
about a mile away maybe even less than
18:58
about a half mile away
19:00
this was way after our time dad said no
19:02
connection to this building
19:05
except for the name of where you used to
19:08
pass her at
19:09
and i did visit here one time when i was
19:11
on a truck driving trip
19:13
okay so you've been in there i've been
19:14
in the building yeah met some of the old
19:16
members and so forth and so on
19:18
so you have a visitor connection but you
19:19
don't have any other connection
19:21
yes this was built long after i left
19:24
okay we're gonna circle around go back
19:27
over to where we
19:28
used to live at our former home
19:45
ah yes it's all coming back to me now
19:45
well it is very very windy get some
19:48
photos here
19:49
take a look at the one of me on the
19:51
front porch
19:52
and my cowboy hat ranger the love i
19:55
didn't
19:56
like the lone ranger the hilarious
20:00
that is up on that very porch now
20:03
obscured by that tree and
20:05
the posts have been redone the entire
20:06
porch has been redone they've removed
20:08
the wrought iron posts and putting up
20:10
those wooden posts
20:11
you went through a photography phase you
20:13
took a lot of photographs
20:14
i did of me up on that portal here's
20:18
another one this is from the
20:20
front door looking out to where we're
20:21
standing at we're standing right over
20:23
here on that very corner so
20:25
on those cross streets is where we are
20:28
at the moment it's kind of an action
20:31
shot
20:32
as well yep let's kind of walk over this
20:35
way just a bit
20:37
house has been repainted and there were
20:40
a line of other trees here which
20:42
have obviously been removed where i
20:44
learned to ride
20:45
a bicycle there you are through here
20:48
the first time i ever rode a bike you
20:51
could see you were guiding me holding on
20:53
training wheels had been removed yeah
20:55
and you were you were my training wheels
20:57
you were teaching me how to ride a bike
20:59
ride these this week so the polls here
21:03
yeah i just put these up because the the
21:06
beans were all rotted
21:07
so i had i was taking stuff down and and
21:10
uh
21:11
yeah because it used to be the wrought
21:12
iron yeah yeah yeah some
21:15
it's still sitting right out there the
21:16
the wrought iron oh no way
21:18
there it is yeah look at that wow yeah
21:20
here's
21:21
the handrail wow
21:25
that's probably the original wrought
21:26
iron the post but the railing
21:28
yeah that's over there in the side yard
21:30
right now how about that
21:32
how neat it's nice of him to let us go
21:35
inside
21:41
used to have a garden around the
21:41
backyard sure did you see i took a bean
21:43
bag down
21:44
these very stairs the problem was the
21:46
bean bag didn't make it all the way down
21:48
the stairs you did it
21:50
made it about four steps upstairs was a
21:53
window that faced
21:54
north these folks next door had a tv
21:56
antenna right
21:58
so it's late night i think maybe i woke
22:01
up in the middle of the night for some
22:02
reason and i walk out
22:03
and i look out that window now the
22:05
second story window
22:07
and i see these flashing lights and the
22:10
first thing that pops in my head is a
22:12
ufo so i go up to the window
22:16
and i look out and it's just the lights
22:18
are going like around the circular
22:21
sphere like a saucer so i wake up your
22:24
mom
22:25
i said you got to come see this nobody's
22:27
going to believe it you got to come
22:29
confirm this so she comes and she's
22:31
looking and she's looking and she's
22:32
puzzled and i'm just i said stay here
22:35
watch it don't let it get away i'm going
22:36
to go get my camera
22:38
i go down and get my 35 millimeter
22:39
camera i come back
22:41
take two three four pictures i said stay
22:44
here she still hadn't said anything
22:47
she said uh i said stay here i'm gonna
22:50
go
22:51
outside and get another angle so i come
22:54
down the stairs go down this way go out
22:56
the back door
22:56
and i look up and it's gone
23:02
i'm just disheartened i come back climb
23:02
back up the stairs
23:04
i said is it still here she said yeah
23:07
and there it is since the lights are
23:08
just flashing back forward
23:10
dripping more pictures finally she says
23:15
that is not a flying saucer
23:18
that's well what is it then she said
23:20
that's the star of bethlehem
23:23
i said you are crazy that's not the star
23:27
of bethlehem that's a flying saucer out
23:29
there
23:30
it's finally after a few more minutes of
23:32
silence she said that is
23:33
not a flying saucer she said that is our
23:36
neighbor's
23:37
tv antenna and with that comment she
23:41
politely turned around and went back to
23:44
bed and i stood there
23:45
speechless as i looked and focused more
23:48
intently
23:50
on icicles hanging down from the bars
23:55
of my neighbor's tv antenna the wind
23:58
blowing
23:59
causing this street light to reflect
24:02
back and forth
24:04
on those icicles that was my flying
24:07
saucer
24:09
doesn't look like the ufo's over there
24:10
anymore
24:12
ufo is gone yeah these this is the same
24:14
poles right here
24:16
this is the the railing here
24:24
that is incredible can you find that
24:24
picture which means
24:27
the one of the uh standing on the the
24:28
porch with the railing hang on
24:30
yeah it's here yep right there
24:37
look at that that's the railing right
24:37
there sure is
24:39
okay so this and there's that there's
24:42
the post
24:43
there's the yep wow wrought iron post in
24:47
the railing
24:48
incredible and there you are
24:54
once again a big thank you to the
24:54
property owner for letting us come in we
24:56
didn't we didn't go upstairs into all
24:57
the rooms but just wanted to
24:58
tell that story and show the staircase
25:00
where i went down on the bean bag
25:02
chair goodness she would have been
25:07
over by the house i'll be like over in
25:09
that this is the
25:10
this is the intersection right here
25:11
behind us
25:14
sure is so there's those bigger trees i
25:16
say has been removed there's those
25:18
there's that house over there with the
25:19
flight
25:19
over here looks like one of the trees is
25:21
still there along the line
25:23
but the house you're talking about is
25:24
over here yeah there were two big trees
25:26
right here as you can see this is right
25:27
by the street sign
25:29
here and here wow
25:34
i think there's also a photograph of me
25:37
in the backyard where dad's standing is
25:39
where
25:40
more or less this photo was taken and
25:43
you can see
25:44
i walked over here to to show the side
25:47
yard of this house
25:49
which is right there so this photograph
25:55
well you know what it might be that tree
25:57
there that's now grown up
26:00
wow look at that that tree
26:04
is that very tree right there yeah your
26:06
mom was standing over yonder to take the
26:08
picture
26:09
you were careening over right here
26:12
wow so cool you have these photographs
26:18
in the summertime it was a garden but in
26:20
the winter time i would build
26:21
snowmen that's a pretty good you
26:23
probably built that and i took the photo
26:25
yeah i helped a little bit a little bit
26:27
but that is
26:28
right around this back section here
26:40
you have the garden these
26:40
are rhubarb vines plants
26:45
we had rhubarb i never had rhubarb
26:46
before in my life rhubarb pie
26:52
i've had it a couple times since then
26:52
but rhubarb was very prominent in our
26:54
illinois years not too far away was the
26:59
pool
26:59
and there were some tennis courts tennis
27:01
courts have been removed or the tennis
27:02
courts are underneath
27:04
the new facade of this building they
27:06
built over there
27:07
but would swim in that pool quite often
27:10
no i don't think the tennis courts are
27:11
inside i think because the tennis courts
27:13
are actually on the corner of the
27:14
left-hand corner back over here
27:16
okay so tennis courts are gone i think
27:17
that might be a gymnasium
27:19
a gymnasium now do you think this is the
27:22
same pool
27:23
i believe it is i forgot to show this
27:24
one there you are
27:26
i was going to say you're holding a
27:28
piping hot caffeinated beverage but it's
27:29
not
27:30
it's a tupperware container probably
27:32
with a a
27:34
diet coke in there you're not really a
27:35
big coffee drinker
27:37
but there's you in front of the house in
27:38
that snow
27:40
you this might have been the same time
27:42
when you took the photo of me with the
27:43
snowman around the backyard
27:47
or you know it snowed a lot so it
27:47
probably went the same day but in my
27:49
mind
27:50
it is there's those railings look at
27:54
sitting by the sitting by the road now
27:56
piece of history
27:58
when your mom and i first came here on
28:00
the first sunday i got up and told this
28:02
story
28:04
i told the congregation that your mom
28:06
and i were having an argument about how
28:08
to pronounce the name of the town
28:11
i said it was a little roy and she said
28:13
no it's leroy
28:14
and so that went back and forth for
28:16
miles as we were approaching town
28:18
and we came around this very curve i
28:20
told her i said listen
28:21
the first business that i see open i'm
28:24
going to stop and go in and i'm going to
28:26
ask them how to pronounce the name of
28:27
this place
28:29
so sure enough we came around this curve
28:32
and here was this establishment i pull
28:34
in the parking lot i get out i go inside
28:36
and the lady was there
28:37
and i said ma'am i need you to help me
28:39
out with an argument between my wife and
28:41
i
28:42
i need to know how do you pronounce the
28:44
name
28:45
of this place and i want you to say it
28:47
very slowly
28:49
so i can get the articulation and the
28:52
enunciation just perfect
28:54
so i can make sure that she understands
28:56
the correct way to say that say the name
28:58
of this place
28:58
so i said please very slowly and the
29:00
lady looked at me and said
29:04
dary queen
29:11
and this was the dairy queen back in
29:11
that day
29:17
it still looks like a dairy queen you
29:17
didn't even have your question wasn't
29:18
answered
29:20
and that was a joke that they there were
29:22
two or three people that said that to me
29:24
up until we left three years later
29:26
that's a good joke
29:28
the bottom was a dairy queen and people
29:29
lived upstairs i believe the people that
29:31
owned it
29:31
did live upstairs you can still see the
29:33
drive-through over there
29:35
so you never know if it's pronounced
29:36
leroy or leroy i just pronounce it the
29:38
way i want
29:39
but you now know how to you know i don't
29:40
know how to pronounce how to say derek
29:47
queen that's a good one just on the
29:47
outskirts of town about a mile or two
29:49
from the home
29:51
dad went through a phase where he was
29:52
taking a photography class
29:54
and had to get some some shots of what
29:57
do you call
29:58
distancing depth perception depth
30:00
perception
30:01
so i was photographed on some railroad
30:03
tracks
30:05
that sat right here and now it has grown
30:08
over tracks have been removed
30:10
there's just some some grass and a
30:13
little walkway
30:14
often the distance are some grain
30:16
elevators
30:18
that have grown the the property has
30:19
grown substantially there were two grain
30:21
elevators over there but now it is a
30:23
whole premises
30:25
down the distance where they've expanded
30:27
but notice the power lines the power
30:28
poles
30:29
right through here how they do a little
30:32
cross
30:34
little cross section almost making like
30:35
a pac-man
30:37
of sorts those are still there
30:40
off in the distance those pac-man type
30:43
power poles i try to zoom in
30:45
for one minute
30:57
take a look at that we're not 100
30:58
confident if it is this intersection
30:59
that we're parked at or the next one
31:01
down about 100 yards but nonetheless
31:04
this is in the same general vicinity
31:05
where that photograph was taken
31:07
yep i think so
31:12
awesome i've been driving down this
31:12
stretch for just a bit
31:14
along the side of the field and one of
31:17
these side roads on the opposite side
31:20
of the fields was a house that we spent
31:22
a lot of time at my
31:24
mom and dad has some close friends that
31:26
went there
31:27
and i recall it was the first time after
31:29
going over for you guys playing cards or
31:31
board
31:32
games at your friends that we stayed
31:34
after midnight
31:36
and as a young person was the first time
31:39
i stayed up past midnight we went out
31:41
and mom said
31:42
it's after midnight i thought that's
31:45
when the monsters come out
31:46
after midnight i've never been up post
31:50
midnight that was somewhere along in
31:52
here but we cannot find
31:54
the house we have searched we're gonna
31:57
give it one more shot
31:59
one of these rows see we can see if we
32:01
can find it but
32:02
nothing is nothing is popping into our
32:04
heads this which one do you think is
32:06
turning on this one
32:07
no next one
32:15
45 here 40 years later
32:15
it's tough to recall sometimes it is
32:18
this one you know this is the one i'm
32:21
thinking
32:28
cedar street i don't know
32:28
it looked similar to this one up here on
32:32
this on the corner here this one right
32:34
one of the memories i have of their
32:36
house whichever house it was
32:39
is the one of the remember i told you
32:41
the story about the snow storm and i
32:44
drove out to the city limit sign and the
32:45
six foot snow
32:47
the snow drift coming off of that field
32:50
went all the way to the roof of their
32:52
house and they donated the city library
32:55
and the property
32:56
as long as they could have their
32:57
spiritualist church
32:59
in the building and i've been in the
33:01
building the library and
33:03
they gave us a tour down and went into
33:05
the where they have their meetings and
33:07
all this kind of stuff that was an
33:08
interesting event
33:09
is it still the library it is still the
33:11
city library no kidding
33:12
yep jt and ej crumbaugh crumble
33:18
right here in little leroy or leroy
33:20
neville
33:21
derry
33:28
one last roll through town
33:28
no document there
33:38
really like the downtown area a lot
33:38
it is uh so there's a pool hall up here
33:42
a left-hand side there's a pizza place
33:44
we just passed
33:45
went back by the theater
33:48
do you say theater or theater i say it
33:51
both ways that's a
33:52
theater a lot in theater i think i got
33:55
that from you and mom
33:56
theater theater pool hall right here on
33:59
this side
34:01
did you fancy yourself as a billiards
34:03
player no i didn't fancy myself
34:11
the bank with the pillars right up here
34:11
pretty amazing
34:21
the state bank the leroy state bank
34:21
take a look at that that is incredible
34:26
it is now teddy's tap
34:29
we're coming up to the gazebo again and
34:32
the church building
34:33
there's another bank first national bank
34:39
it has been a nostalgic trip thus far
34:39
seems like
34:40
just when you think we're we're out of
34:42
places that we have lived we find
34:43
another one
34:44
like we i know those that are watching
34:48
are thinking
34:49
why did they move we moved they moved so
34:51
much
34:52
we did move a lot some people will say
34:55
oh what
34:56
what's your hometown i go that's a
34:57
complicated
34:59
that's a complicated statement
35:06
very complicated i can't i can't go that
35:06
way i have to go around the circle
35:09
one more little view around the circle
35:12
here of the gazebo
35:16
there's one last spot on the way out of
35:16
town that we're going to show and end
35:18
with but
35:19
we'll go ahead and do the outro say
35:20
that's going to do it for today
35:23
from leroy illinois anything else you
35:26
want to add in besides the last spot i'm
35:28
going to put out
35:29
after the outro neil
35:33
nothing else he has to add
35:36
nothing's coming to my mind
35:40
just say whatever comes natural whatever
35:41
the first thing that comes that's coming
35:43
to your mind nothing's coming to my mind
35:51
back to the future this is cool
35:51
look kids big ben parliament
36:03
the vlog
36:06
is over and last certainly not least
36:09
it was very common on a snowy day
36:13
which was very often here in leroy
36:16
we would come out here to this over this
36:18
uh embankment
36:20
at the interstate interchange
36:24
and slide down the snowy bank
36:28
is that me right there that's you
36:29
sliding down on a piece of cardboard
36:33
people would bring pieces of cardboard
36:35
they would bring
36:37
trash can tops and of course some of
36:40
them actually had
36:41
sleds and stuff like that we didn't have
36:44
a sled
36:44
so trash can top it was something like
36:48
that and there you are
36:49
sliding down on the snow i was at the
36:52
bottom somewhere taking the picture
36:56
that is cool
37:03
how old would i have been i was just
37:03
born in 74. yeah this was you're
37:05
probably around six maybe
37:07
six or seven sliding down this