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My Formative Years
Jacksonville, Illinois is where I lived during my formative years - from the ages of 5 thru 22.
It's a very nice small town (population somewhere around 25,000). It has enough activities to keep kids off the streets, but isn't so overwhelmed with options that you have an opportunity to use your imagination to find entertainment.
What's with the picture?
From the Illinois Historical Society:
'I have discovered the machine I want to design and build, a portable 'Ferris Wheel'', W.E. Sullivan, 1893. A young man's dream became reality when W.E. Sullivan, of Roodhouse, Illinois, designed and built a small, portable, revolving wheel, patterned after the 'Ferris Wheel' at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He called his invention, 'Big Eli.' On May 23, 1900, in the square of downtown Jacksonville, 'Big Eli' a 45' high 'wheel' made of twelve structural steel 'spokes' with carriage seats at their extremities, and supported by a steel axle, offered rides to all who dared to 'revolve' in the bridge-like contraption. It grossed $5.56 that day. 'Big Eli #17' thrilled crowds at amusement parks in Duluth, MN; Leavenworth, KS; San Antonio, TX; Guaymas, Mexico; and, Miami, FL. In 1957, #17 returned home to the Eli Bridge Company for renovation. Originally built with 10 seats, #17 was converted to a '12-seater' and sold to the Jacksonville Rotary Club. Rotary installed #17 in Nichols Park and operated it there until increased insurance costs forced its closure in 1985. In 1986, the Rotary Club donated the 'Big Eli #17' to the City of Jacksonville. With the assistance of Eli Bridge Company, and private donations, the structure was renovated and re-erected at its present site. Big Eli #1 stands in the front yard of the Eli Bridge Company.
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