I used to be in Vandalia, Illinois, testing a couple of oddities of native historical past earlier than assembly up with the remainder of my household.

There was the 1/10-scale duplicate of St. Louis’ Gateway Arch outdoors an area motel. The short-lived 1836 Illinois statehouse (earlier than the capital shifted to Springfield in 1839), the place I trod the identical creaky wood stairs and flooring as a younger legislator named Abraham Lincoln.

And the statue throughout the road of a beardless Lincoln studying a bronze newspaper. The world wants extra statues of individuals studying newspapers. Additionally, extra folks studying newspapers.

Handing my cellphone to my brother, I sat on the duplicate log bench subsequent to Lincoln for a photograph, posed as if studying the paper over Abe’s shoulder.

On a cease final month in Vandalia, Illinois, I sat a spell with Abe Lincoln and skim his newspaper over his shoulder. Both he didn’t thoughts or he’s doing a gradual burn, I can’t inform. That’s the 1836-39 statehouse behind us. pic.twitter.com/KmTNW3ryYP

— David Allen (@DavidAllen909) July 8, 2022

Then my sister-in-law mentioned she was going to take a look at that large white statue on the nook. A couple of minutes later, I jaywalked over to see it myself, and was astonished.

It was the Madonna of the Path. Or, slightly, a Madonna of the Path.

Twelve of those statues had been put in across the nation, from Maryland to California, in 1928-29, all positioned by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

August Leimbach’s handiwork depicts a pioneer lady in a bonnet, holding a rifle, one youngster in her arms, one other by her facet. The statues stand 16 toes excessive, together with a tall, block-like base with an area inscription.

Many people are accustomed to the Madonna on previous Route 66 in Upland. She stands within the famed Euclid Avenue median, trying south. Devoted on Feb. 1, 1929, she’s nonetheless gazing at us resolutely 93 years later.

As I mentioned, there are 11 extra of those monuments. Madonnas of the Path? I suppose that’s the grammatical method to specific it. The closest one to Upland is in Springerville, Arizona. I’d by no means got down to see any of the others, however right here was one proper in entrance of me.

“At Vandalia,” one facet of the monument reads, “Abraham Lincoln, member of Illinois legislature, first formulated these excessive ideas of freedom and justice which gave the slaves a liberator, the Union a saviour.”

Stumbling upon a Madonna of the Path was an sudden deal with. It was like being removed from residence and working into an previous pal.

House once more

Thomas Wolfe famously wrote that “you’ll be able to’t go residence once more.” And in varied senses, you’ll be able to’t. Nevertheless, my dad and mom have moved again to my hometown after 15 years nearer to St. Louis, and so for the primary time because the mid-2000s, I used to be in Olney, Illinois.

Olney may be exhausting to fathom for anybody in Southern California. It’s so distant, the closest Starbucks is 45 miles away. The inhabitants has been caught at 9,000 for about 50 years.

When the final president mentioned we have to shut off immigration as a result of “our nation is full,” he clearly hadn’t visited Olney.

I took a photograph of the “Welcome to Olney” signal, solely noticing later that the L had dropped off. “We come to Olney,” it reads. We do.

It’s a nice place: small, quiet, pleasant.

On night walks, I may once more benefit from the sight of fireflies. They flit unseen till, for a quick second, their tails shine like a tiny penlight within the nightfall. Fireflies and later sunsets are two of the issues concerning the Midwest I miss.

It seems Olney has modified some, and in shocking methods.

At Joe’s Pizza, based in 1972, now you can get pizza with cauliflower crust. (And I did. Fewer carbs.)

Rising up, the one Mexican meals in Olney was Taco John’s, a sequence based mostly in, of all locations, South Dakota. Gustavo Arellano wrote about Taco John’s in his guide “Taco USA.” Tacos had been hard-shell solely, floor beef solely, and for dessert you could possibly get a tostada with apple compote.

Taco John’s is lengthy gone from Olney, however in a city that’s nonetheless blindingly White, there may be now El Cactus, an honest-to-goodness native Mexican restaurant. (El Cactus, my brother helpfully factors out, interprets as The Cactus.)

El Cactus has a Spanish-speaking workers, a big patio, Mexican beers and an expansive menu that features most of what you would possibly discover in Southern California, together with carnitas, carne asada and chorizo. I obtained a vegetarian quesadilla that crammed my plate.

As one Yelp reviewer from Chicago wrote: “If this place was in Chicago I’d give it 3 stars, it’s good however you could possibly discover higher. However the truth that that is in Olney, IL, it will get a full 5 stars.” Swap out “Chicago” for “the Inland Empire” and I’d say the identical.

Parked outdoors on the sidewalk was one other shock: two Hen scooters. Olney, what has occurred to you? My brother, who owns the native weekly, the Olney Gazette, says the pay-as-you-go scooters arrived final yr and are widespread with highschool college students.

Whereas there’s no Starbucks, Olney has Ophelia’s Cup, an area coffeehouse that serves breakfast and lunch. Like all first rate unbiased coffeehouse, it’s obtained mismatched tables and chairs, a battered couch and kitschy indicators.

The bulletin board had a flier for Lyft providers. On the counter I ordered a wholesome breakfast that concerned spinach, plus a latte with almond milk, simply as I might do at residence. Can this be actual?

Brace your self for what else is on the menu: avocado toast.

Sure, the last word Era Z foodstuff is on the menu (seasonally) in Olney, Illinois, the city that Starbucks forgot.

So, returning to Thomas Wolfe, maybe it’s true that as a result of residence could have modified, you’ll be able to’t go residence once more. However maybe residence could have improved.

brIEfly

On trip final month in Parker, Arizona, L.A. journalist Farley Elliott was leaving an Airbnb when he observed the cupboard of books for guests included a replica of my guide “Pomona A to Z.” Was it left behind on objective or by chance? No method to know, however as a delicate type, I used to be relieved to listen to that it had not been personally inscribed to anybody by the creator.

David Allen writes Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, personally. Electronic mail dallen@scng.com, cellphone 909-483-9339, like davidallencolumnist on Fb and comply with @davidallen909 on Twitter.