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| Sun, 04-18-2004 - 8:36pm |
Dixon is a Main Street Community, located in Lee County, Illinois.
Some fast facts about Dixon:
Dixon is "the Boyhood home of former president Ronald Reagan. They've preserved his childhood home as a museum to him, and he's a big deal around here- the local library even has a plaque with his library card number! I was never a fan, but hey, different strokes and all...
Dixon is split by the Rock River. You cross it on either Galena Avenue or Peoria Avenue, or else you swim it. Fortunately with a population of only about 16,000 traffic is rarely an issue. "Rush hour" adds about 5 minutes to your average driving time, if you catch every single red light in town. ;-)
Dixon is home to the annual Petunia Festival. In the late 1950's Dutch Elm Disease and major highway expansion caused the removal of all trees along the community's major roads. The Dixon Men's Garden Club started a beautification project and began planting THOUSANDS of petunias on thoroughfares and roads to and from the city. Their project earned national recognition, and Dixon was designated Illinois' "Petunia City". Members of various civic and social clubs and organizations, children from grade schools, and city employees all help the garden club in their annual May chore of transferring 23,000 or so small petunia plants and then maintaining them. The Festival takes place over the Fourth of July.
History of Dixon:
http://www.leecountyhistory.com/lee_county/dixon.htm
http://www.leecountyhistory.com/lee_county/county.htm
As an outsider, only having lived here for 8 months now, and being from a much larger area, I have to say that I enjoy Dixon. I love being along the river, I love the history of the area and I truly enjoy being part of a smaller community, with SO much less crime and violence. It has it's downfalls, but all in all it's a nice place to live and raise children. I DO miss the shopping available in larger communities, but we aren't too far from such amenities and the drive is worth it to live here.
Other interesting Dixon websites:
www.dixonil.com
http://www.petuniafestival.org/
http://www.leecountyhistory.com
AND MY FAVORITE (I LOVE SCARY STORIES!):
http://www.leecountyhistory.com/articles/index.htm ESPECIALLY interesting is the Bloody Gulch Road story....ask Rob....
http://www.dixonil.com/attractions.htm
Another point of interest is the statue at Lorado Taft Park. It is called "Chief Blackhawk" by everyone around here. It's located within a half hour drive, and is a lovely area, with a park, picnic area, an AMAZING view of the Rock River (The "Mighty Rock") and of course, the Chief himself.
About our family:
Rob is 28 years old, employed by Rayovac and the Illinois National Guard. Officially he's a truck driver, but he's also the Retention NCO for his unit. He's funny, charming, and devoted to our family. He's also my best friend. He plays the bass and the guitar, loves classic rock, some folk music, and VERY LITTLE other music. He's interested in theology and he's a great cook- no mundane meals for him though! If it's not a complicated meal that lets him show off he's not into it. (LOL!) He likes the Chicago Blackhawks. BLECH ICK GROSS UGH! They suck, but I forgive him because he's so darned cute.
Me- I am 26. I am a SAHM to our kids. I love music- country, folk, oldies, an occasional poppish tune, classic rock (since Rob made me try it and it's not so bad....), Celtic music, new age, pipe and drum, and classic country. I play the clarinet, read, write and play on the computer for fun. I also really like a lot of Disney songs from their movies.... I love the Detroit Red Wings, and refuse to say bad things about the Lions and Tigers even though they probably deserve it. I was born in Michigan, and mostly raised in Battle Creek, MI. I moved to Illinois last August so we could be closer to Rob's family.
Ramey is 8 years old. He's a live one....aside from being a certifiable smart aleck (though not disrespectful, just funny) he's also smart and reliable. He's generally quiet around strangers, but perks up around people he knows and is a lot of fun. He loves reading, and is working on learning both the clarinet and guitar. He plays soccer for the city league, and is in the 3rd grade. He likes fishing and says when he grows up he's going to be in the Army like Dad. He has cute freckles on his nose and HATES them, because he wants to be just like Rob, who doesn't have any (...on his face....)
Rina (Sabrina) is 6. She's a 1st grade firecracker. She also plays soccer and recently informed me that she's going to kick anyone who takes the ball from her. Surprised, I asked her WHY she would do that. Her answer- "Because you can't use your HANDS in SOCCER, Mom!" She has a wonderful imagination! The fastest way to get her to do something is to tell her she's not capable of doing it. She likes to dance and sing, and also says she wants to be in the Army when she grows up, as long as Ramey doesn't get to tell her what to do. She has great faith in the world, and aside from her wisecracking she's an incredibly innocent child. As much as she tells me she wants to be like me, I wish I could tell her how much I would love to be like her.
My Grandfather once told me that a pessimist sees cracks in the sidewalk and gripes about tax dollars wasted, poor maintenance and inconveniences. An optimist sees it as a victory for the earth beneath the sidewalk. My children are like that.
| Tue, 04-20-2004 - 8:30am |
