History in our Illinois Valley
Recently on Memorial Day my wife and I went to the Middle
East Conflicts Wall Memorial in Marseilles. This together with the
65th anniversary of D-Day I thought it might be interesting to revisit our
area's amazing contributions.
I just recently finished Winston Churchill's 5000 page memoir
of the history of WWII. In it he consistently refers to the lack of LSTs (Landing
Ship Tanks). This LST is an amphibious vessel designed to land
battle-ready tanks, troops and supplies directly onto enemy shores. The shortage throughout the war was the single biggest deterrent to
the allies taking the offensive. It was very interesting to read how the effort
made locally had such a profound impact.
These LSTs were made right here in Seneca, by 11,000 workers who
produced 157 of these invasion craft. After they were built they were
sailed down the Illinois River to the Mississippi and out into the Gulf where they made the trek to the
European and Pacific theaters.-- Ray |
Things to do.....Around the Valley
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Illinois Motorcycle Freedom Run
While visiting the
wall in Marseilles we also found out about the Freedom Run. Locals told us
about this event and that as many as 30,000 people and 10,000 motorcycles
attended last year. Sounds like quite an event. This year's event takes place
on Saturday, June 20th and provides food, refreshments and live music. On June 19th, 2004 in Marseilles a
Granite Memorial Wall was dedicated commemorating the servicemen and women who
have lost their lives in worldwide conflicts since 1979. The project was
conceived by Founders Jerry Kuczera and Tony Cutrano, and built by local
labor and volunteers through donations. The names on the wall represent the
fallen heroes from such diverse locations as Panama, Lebanon, the Balkans,
Grenada, Somalia, Haiti and the Middle East.
The Purpose of the
Illinois Motorcycle Freedom Run is to show Our Brave Servicemen and Women, and
their Families, that we support them, and to Honor Fallen Heroes. The ride to
the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial in Marseilles starts at the Grundy County Fairgrounds in Morris. The route is lined with Americans waving American Flags and paying
tribute. In the past they have had 10's of thousands of participants. The money raised
through generous donations is used to update and maintain the Memorial, and
to put this wonderful event together. The first Memorial erected was in the
small town of St Anne Illinois. the hometown of Capt. Ryan A. Beaupre, one of
Illinois first casualties in the war against terror. Memorials
have been donated to all of the Veteran Homes and Hospitals in The State of Illinois in Honor of
all our Veterans, Past and Present. Many of our Fallen Heroes
Children have been assisted with funds for their education, in hopes that through education, they
will learn to diplomatically resolve their problems.- Ray
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Celebrating the Gibson
In the late 1800's the
place to find a Gibson was San Francisco, The closer you got to Europe
in those days, the more vermouth you got in a Martini. To get the driest possible drink,
you had to head west. In the "bleak, stylish bars of San Francisco's
Montgomery Street," you would be served a Gibson, a more or less
western and much ginnier version of the dry Martini, a cocktail with almost nothing in it but cold gin, with an onion instead of an olive. Gibson was a member of San Francisco's Bohemian Club; sometime in
the 1890's his way of drinking a Martini came to be called a "Gibson"
by the club's bartender. The drink became popular with club members first and then with the rest of San Francisco's ritzier types.
The greatest Gibson moment in all of
popular culture is found in Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest"
(1959). When ad executive Cary Grant is in New York, his drink of
choice is what you would expect of a man so faultlessly
tailored-Martinis at the Oak Bar. But when he is fleeing the city on
the 20th Century Limited, he heads to the Pullman car and finds himself
seated across from the exquisite Eva Marie Saint. The drink he orders? A
Gibson-the perfect quaff for someone hurtling in a Northwesterly
direction. Like the city from which the drink
hails, the Gibson is sophisticated and quirky in equal measure. --Kris
Gibson....2 oz gin, � oz dry vermouth
Stir with plenty of ice and strain into a stemmed cocktail glass. Garnish... pickled onion. |
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- Indian Creek Oysters
- Oysters Rockefeller
- Fried Chicken Salad
- Seared Tuna Wrap
- Soft Shell Crabs
- Roasted Duck Breast with Blueberry Port Wine Glaze
- Steamed Mussels with Lemongrass, Chile and Basil
- Stuffed Chicken with Fresh Mozzarella, Basil, Garlic and Tomato
- Steamed Broccoli with Tillamook Cheddar
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Seared Tuna Wrap
A new healthy lunch option that we recently added to our specials
is the Seared Tuna Wrap. Medium-rare sushi grade tuna, sushi rice, freshly
fried wontons, avocado, romaine lettuce, pickled ginger, chive, cilantro and capers with a soy wasabi vinaigrette all
wrapped in a Lavosh wrapper. It is served with freshly fried
homemade shoestring french fries. It has been very well received and we hope to
add it as a menu item soon.
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Rolling Stone Magazine Names "Deep in the Heart of Texas" one of 100 best albums of all time. Bill Kirchen June 25th
Bill Kirchen was the guitarist that lead One
of Commander Cody's albums ("Live From Deep In the Heart of Texas") to be voted one of the 100 best albums of all time by Rolling Stone
Magazine. At only $15 a ticket you don't want to miss this show, the guitar work alone will amaze you. Listen to "Deep in the Heart of Texas"
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Mon - Thur 11 am to 10pm - Fri & Sat 11 am to 11 pmSun Noon to 10 pm - uptowngrill.com |
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