Chester, Illinois, USA - 11th September 2010
By: brilliantlyxx
Well, Mom, today the rain held off long enough so we decided to continue with our weekend plans.
Today, we crossed the mighty Mississippi river and went over to Chester, Illinois.
As soon as you crossed the river, there is a Welcome Center and I decided I wanted to take a few photos here. There was a nice deck to stand on to look at the river, the bridge we just crossed, and at Missouri.
Also at the Welcome Center was a Lewis and Clark cutout along with information about them. I decided to read the signs and see just what they had done here.
Top sign:
Quote: | LEWIS AND CLARK in Illinois
On November 27, 1803, Meriweather Lewis, William Clark, and their party camped on Horse Island, just opposite of this place at the confluence of the Kaskaskia and Mississippi Rivers. The next morning, Lewis left them to travel by land. Clark and the men pushed on to Kaskaskia via the Mississippi River. |
Bottom sign:
Quote: | Lewis & Clark Expedition
1803-1806
Chester, Randolph County, Illinois
The town of Chester, Illinois, sprawls on the eastern bluffs overlooking the November 27, 1803 Horse Island campsite of Captain Lewis and William Clark on the west bank of the Mississippi River near its confluence with the Kaskaskia River. The Corps of Discovery Expedition crew knew that six miles ahead were the Garrison of Kaskaskia, more recruits, and supplies.
Clark noted in his journal on November 28th, 1803, "passed the mouth said River (Kaskaskies) at half passed 8 o' clock - the high lands make near the Mississippi below the mouth of said River, a bold and rocky shore." Future travelers found the high lands near the water highways a comfortable place to settle.
Chester became the county seat of Randolph County, Illinois, in the 1844 election and hosts the eastern side of The Chester Bridge (Route 51) over the Mississippi River. The bridge bisects Horse Island and is the only bridge crossing the Mississippi River between Cape Girardeau and East St. Louis. It replaced the ferries that transported the families following the Trail of Lewis and Clark to the West. Many stayed in Chester prospering with the advent of the castor oil press in the first general store, the Cole Milling Company, the International Shoe Company, Prim Hosiery Mill, Gilster-Mary Lee Company, Menard Correctional Center, and its statue of Popeye that is a tribute to Chester's native son, Elzie Segar, a world renowned cartoonist. |
But, today, we weren't in Chester to see just the river and Lewis and Clark, though they were both very cool. You see, Chester, Illinois is the Home of Popeye and each year, they have their annual Popeye Picnic where they unveil a new character statue each year.
And at the Welcome Center, we also found a statue of Popeye. This statue was first erected in 1977 then they began to create more statues in 2006.
Quote: | POPEYE
THIS STATUE IS ERECTED IN TRIBUTE TO
***ELZIE CRISLER SEGAR***
BORN IN CHESTER, ILLINOIS - DEC. 8, 1894
DIED IN SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA - OCT. 13, 1938
Mr. Segar created Popeye from his recollection of Frank 'Rocky' Fiegel - Jan. 27, 1868 - Mar. 24, 1947 - Local Scrapper. Popeye first appeared in the cast of 'Thimble Theatre' Jan. 17, 1929. William 'Windy Bill' Schuchert - Mar. 8 1857 - Feb. 20, 1941 - Chester Opera House Owner and Mr. Segar's benefactor, appeared as 'Wimpy' the hamburger fiend. |
We had a map of where all the statues are located and will be located in the future when they are unveiled. So, I looked that over and tried to figure out just who was where and how we could find them.
We parked downtown and began our adventure into the busy streets of the picnic. They had food, games, and carnival rides.
We stopped at a souvenir shop, but it was so busy that I couldn't really get into any photos inside. But, Steph did manage to take a photo of this timeline on the wall. It shows when character debuted in the "Thimble Theatre" comics. Did you know Olive Oyl appeared ten years before Popeye? Me either!
On the side of the building, there was a cool mural of Popeye characters traveling down the Mississippi. See the bridge in the painting? That's the one we crossed!
And a few feet away, we found the statue of Wimpy! It was created in 2006 and was the second Popeye statue to come out in Chester.
A few streets down, we found a statue of Bluto in a bank parking lot. Some band had placed their t-shirt on him which I found to be kind of funny and a unique way to advertise. This statue was created in 2008.
We got back in the car and drove a bit. I gave directions as I read the map until we found a statue of Castor Oyl....
And Whiffle Hen. This statue was released in 2009 and sits in front of the hospital.
Then, we decided to find the newest of statues. We drove a bit further down the road to Wal*Mart where we saw the statue of the Seahag...
And Bernard. This statue had been unveiled only an hour before we arrived.
As we drove through the town, I began to realize just how serious this town was about Popeye. He was painted onto windows of businesses, there was a painting of him in a fireman's suit with a hatchet on the fire department (but we couldn't get a photo) and there were restaurants based around it. Here's a mural we found on the side of a pizza shop downtown.
Just as we were about to leave, I realized that we had missed one VERY vital statue. Luckily, it was on our way out so we were able to stop by. It was the statue of Olive Oyl, Swee' Pea, and Eugene the Jeep. How could I have forgotten!? It was erected in 2007.
After we got back into the car, I found myself rather tired so we decided to go back across the Mississippi and head home. We picked up a brochure on the way out that Steph thought you might be interested to read. We scanned the inside of it and you can look at it here
I hope you enjoyed my update today! I really had a lot of fun.
Love,
Papelbon
Oh! And I got you a postcard. We'll send it out in the mail this week!
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Posted Sep 12, 2010, 8:03 am Last edited Sep 12, 2010, 8:06 am by brilliantlyxx
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