This is the village I grew up in. Seaton, Illinois. Ten miles gets you to Emerald City and 7 to Keithsburg. Population 270. There are a lot of places "in the middle of nowhere." Seaton is just one of them. It wasn't much but it was all we kids ever needed. Go now and the population is less and there are fewer buildings. Most everyone I remember are either dead or moved on to other places, which, I guess is the same thing. A person I know who lived in town and in fact lived by us in the East End recently went to a nursing home in G-Burg. A few are left, but not many. This picture was taken 30 or 40 years ago. It is looking from the northeast toward the southwest.
1. Road that goes to the ball diamond. This was where we played softball for the Mercer County Church league. Also up this little hill was where we went to grade school. It has been torn down. It was also a place we took our sleds in winter. Nice fairly steep hill.
2. This is the grain elevator my dad had. He sold it just at the right time before livestock began dwindling and Keithsburg building an elevator which was able to provide cheaper services. That elevator building had the neatest rope lift - you'd step on a wooden platform and use a rope to pull you to the top. All of us boys worked there in the summer - until we found other jobs.
3. Bill's Texaco station. This was how I was able to date this photo. That station has been torn down a long time. Marj always got her gas there - she did it a little different than other people. Most gas up before a trip - she gassed up afterward. She always wanted a full tank taking off.
4. That is the bank building. Owned by John Seaton whose granddad started it when the town was first formed. Their claim-to-fame was they were one of only 2 banks in the state not to give interest on money you parked there. Every town has a Mr. Potter and he was ours, only nicer. We grew up with their kids since they were across the block. The bank just finally closed this past March and now it is another empty building. You can't see it in this picture but there is a flag pole in front. That is where we hoisted some roadkill one Sunday night on it with a bank check attached to its claw. It was kind of fun seeing Gary the next morning bringing it down to put the flag up.
It is also the place where we climbed on the fire escape ladder in the back and fired pop bottle rockets to a county deputy who cruised around town every other night.
Maybe the best is when we enterprising guys decided to see if we could enter the businesses. We didn't take anything, we just wanted to see if it could be done. The next day Herb confronted us and accused us of entering the hardware store. The Wombie protested by saying he didn't do it. "I was in the bank."
5. This is the water tower. This was what we climbed on occasion. There is a post somewhere on this site of pictures we took on the walkway clear up there when we won the softball championship and graffitied the tank area. It wasn't an easy climb - and at the walkway you had to angle out in order to pull yourself up, but worth it for the view.
6. This was the old restaurant where Uncle Ed and I would go in at noon sometimes for lunch. It's gone now but I recall funny times in there with him - naturally he had some good one-liners directed my way when the other patrons would goad him. The standard line every time we entered the place was: someone would tell him there was something following him and he would turn around in feigned surprise and exclaim, "By God there is!"
7. This is the stop sign and intersection we barricaded with picnic tables when we seceded from the Union. All we wanted to do was surrender then apply for government aid. Stan the town cop came to my parents house and said I should be in a home for juvenile delinquents. He was right and I eventually did.
8. That is a fairly new seed company building now but when I was growing up that corner was a grocery store. Dan S. had it then Don L. The Wombie and I kind of disagree on this but I remember a small shop behind the grocery that was a barber shop for a while. He thinks the place was on main Street. Our Dad took us down to the guy who was a convicted killer. He was convicted of killing a Aledo High school coach, served his time, and apparently learned the haircutting craft while in prison. When you are 7 and 8 and have the hands of a murderer working on you can be a little distracting. He eventually moved on and we became customers of Don D. in Keithsburg. Well oil-slicked hair, gift of gab and when not talking whistled. Not just whistled but trilled actually, almost inhuman.
9. This was where the park shelter was. It contained picnic tables (yeah those that helped us secede) and this was where we townies would hang out after ball games or just got together to have a smoke and a beer.
There is an old scientific axiom, "nature hates a void". I could make a case that kids hate a void as well. We knew where the walls were and didn't scale them until the appropriate time, but growing up we covered this town as much and as well as we could. Until the time came to explore other worlds we explored this one with abandon. Some might say we were deprived to have lived in a small village rather than something bigger with more activities to keep us occupied. We weren't deprived. We were Kings.
It is also the place where we climbed on the fire escape ladder in the back and fired pop bottle rockets to a county deputy who cruised around town every other night.
Maybe the best is when we enterprising guys decided to see if we could enter the businesses. We didn't take anything, we just wanted to see if it could be done. The next day Herb confronted us and accused us of entering the hardware store. The Wombie protested by saying he didn't do it. "I was in the bank."
5. This is the water tower. This was what we climbed on occasion. There is a post somewhere on this site of pictures we took on the walkway clear up there when we won the softball championship and graffitied the tank area. It wasn't an easy climb - and at the walkway you had to angle out in order to pull yourself up, but worth it for the view.
6. This was the old restaurant where Uncle Ed and I would go in at noon sometimes for lunch. It's gone now but I recall funny times in there with him - naturally he had some good one-liners directed my way when the other patrons would goad him. The standard line every time we entered the place was: someone would tell him there was something following him and he would turn around in feigned surprise and exclaim, "By God there is!"
7. This is the stop sign and intersection we barricaded with picnic tables when we seceded from the Union. All we wanted to do was surrender then apply for government aid. Stan the town cop came to my parents house and said I should be in a home for juvenile delinquents. He was right and I eventually did.
8. That is a fairly new seed company building now but when I was growing up that corner was a grocery store. Dan S. had it then Don L. The Wombie and I kind of disagree on this but I remember a small shop behind the grocery that was a barber shop for a while. He thinks the place was on main Street. Our Dad took us down to the guy who was a convicted killer. He was convicted of killing a Aledo High school coach, served his time, and apparently learned the haircutting craft while in prison. When you are 7 and 8 and have the hands of a murderer working on you can be a little distracting. He eventually moved on and we became customers of Don D. in Keithsburg. Well oil-slicked hair, gift of gab and when not talking whistled. Not just whistled but trilled actually, almost inhuman.
9. This was where the park shelter was. It contained picnic tables (yeah those that helped us secede) and this was where we townies would hang out after ball games or just got together to have a smoke and a beer.
There is an old scientific axiom, "nature hates a void". I could make a case that kids hate a void as well. We knew where the walls were and didn't scale them until the appropriate time, but growing up we covered this town as much and as well as we could. Until the time came to explore other worlds we explored this one with abandon. Some might say we were deprived to have lived in a small village rather than something bigger with more activities to keep us occupied. We weren't deprived. We were Kings.
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