Little town that time forgot

It was a great day! We were able to visit with my two brothers in one day - one (Paul) in Kalamazoo and one (Jack) outside Chicago in Sycamore, Illinois - the little town that time forgot.

We stayed overnight in the home of Paul and Josie and enjoyed their warm hospitality.

We parked overnight in front of Paul's home; this is called courtesy parking in the RV world.

We drove 205 miles from Kalamazoo to Sycamore. The roads from Gary to west of Chicago are loaded with trucks. We didn't take any pictures of the 8 and 10 lane highways with more trucks than cars going around Chicago because it was both hands on the wheel and focus on the directions. But driving along the western Chicago highways, when we could take a picture, there were still lots of trucks. 

We drove west of Chicago on highway #294 then north on #88. It was very strange; we drove past O'Hara Airport and all the big hotels and large corporation buildings, mall and parking garages and then, all of a sudden, we were in farmland.

Sycamore is a great little town that is the County Seat of DeKalb County; at least the County Courthouse is located here. They also love fall and have a Pumpkin Festival at the end of October.

The whole town participates in the Pumpkin Festival; the big parade with floats, bands, horses, etc., will be this Sunday.

TheCounty Courthouse with Pumpkin Festival colors.

Across the street is the 1905 Public Library.

Our campground is right next to the town grain elevator.

My brother Jack and his wife Cheryl drove the fifty miles west,  from Oak Brook, to visit with us. The closest campground that we could find, that was still open, was in this lovely little town of Sycamore.

Jack and Cheryl treated us to dinner at the local restaurant that Cheryl found on the internet - PJ's Courthouse Tavern & Grille. This is our server Caitlin.

In 1879, this small farming town in northern Illinois nearly burned to the ground. The fire almost destroyed the entire city block before the fire was extinguished. In the midst of the rebuilding after the fire, the building that houses PJ's was built as a dry goods store, Hoyt and Rodgers, which served the community until 1940. In 1940 the store was converted to a pool hall where town could "shoot some stick." By 1950 it had become a Bergie's Tap and in 1967, Boone Lewis bought Bergie's Tap and this tavern was known as Boone's.

Both Bergie's and Boone's Tap attracted the hunting and fishing crowd. Both establishments sold hunting and fishing licenses at the bar. It was one of the last bars in the State of Illinois where you could purchase fire arms, ammunition, and alcohol in the same location.

The building's second floor, in 1892, was home to Sycamore's first public library. It remained as the public library until 1904 when it moved to its current location. At different times the second floor was used for offices and, at one time, even a boardinghouse. It is currently home to Marilyn's Majorettes State Champion Baton Twirlers, a highly decorated organization that has been practicing upstairs since the 1950's.

The basement was once the headquarters for the Sycamore Suns, a semi-professional baseball team, active in the 50's and early 60's. Rumor has it that some of DeKalb County's most raucous high stakes card games were dealt downstairs. 

The current owners, Paul and John Schwartz purchased the tavern in 1994, renovated and restored much of the original woodwork and railings and added a few pieces of their own furniture, antiques from former courthouses, and old Sycamore pictures. It continues to play an important role in the center of town.

The County Courthouse with a Civil War monument in the square. Projected on the building are the words - END POLIO NOW. I don't know the significance. Notice the lighted pumpkins in the windows.

The beautiful trees in the Courthouse square (see the 7th picture above) lit for the night.

The main street intersection. That's PJ's on the left corner.

Close-up of PJ's Courthouse Bar and Grille.