Month: May 2021
Finding New Markets in a Pandemic
When the Covid pandemic hit this country, this small business suddenly found half of its sales gone. It was a staggering blow that caused them…
Ropp Jersey Cheese
It may be difficult for a small dairy producer to make a living. However, just outside of Normal, Illinois, Ken Ropp is doing just that,…
The Ropps of Ropp Road
Ken laughs when people tell him he must be pretty famous to have a road named after him. It is true the road bears the…
The Bronze Star Optometrist
Over two decades after he first entered the army…Kermit Bell was now on his way to Vietnam. Not only would he serve in that conflict…but…
Fighting the Second of Three Global Wars
For Kermit Bell, the Korean was just the second of three world conflicts he would find himself in…
How the Batchtown Farm Kid Made it to West Point
Kermit Bell never intended to make a career in the military…but by the time he retired from the army he had served in WW II,…
Master of Mountain Unicycling
Many of us remember the struggle of learning to ride a bike as a kid. Eventually we mastered it…and perhaps we’re still riding today. Jed…
The Cozy Dog
Route 66 is full of pieces of Americana…and in central Illinois you’ll find a drive in over 70 years old…and customers traveling from other continents…
Cruising in the Land Yacht
If you asked someone in the U.S. to name a famous foreign highway, maybe they’d mention the German Autobahn or the Chunnel underneath the English…
Museum of the Mother Road
It’s the museum of the Mother Road. And you know you’ve got quite a historic route when there is an entire museum devoted to a…