A few weeks ago, clearing out old inventory, one of Normal’s most beloved of retail outlets, the Garlic Press in uptown, was having a “basement sale.”
Hundreds milled the store’s basement, the same area that used to be a popular campus pub, The Cellar.
Ask any Illinois State University student from the late 1960s through 2000 and you’ll be hard pressed to find one who doesn’t remember The Cellar.
When Garlic Press remodeled and expanded in 2005, it also bought what used to be the bar below.
“Even now,” says Pam Locsin, a Garlic Press co-owner, “it’s not uncommon to look out and see someone out front — an old alum or someone back in town — looking all around for the doorway down to The (former) Cellar.”
Sarah McManus, left, and Pam Locsin at the Garlic Press in uptown Normal.
Fast forward to today.
As Garlic Press customers were ogling “basement sale” items in the ex-Cellar, noticed by customers along the floor was a 3-feet-wide swath of newer concrete that runs the length of the basement.
That is where plumbers during the Garlic Press remodel discovered the completely clogged pipes that extended out of what had been The Cellar restrooms.
“I walked down one day and saw a plumber just laughing, shaking his head,” says Locsin.
What clogged the pipes?
Plastic baggies of what apparently had been marijuana, even an old marijuana bong, and other paraphernalia, all apparently flushed down the toilets by Cellar patrons when police used to rush the place for underage drinkers.
“It (the pipe) was full!” says Locsin, laughing. “It smelled horrible down there.”
Also found inside a nearby Cellar wall: a cardboard box containing a half-dozen Altoids-like metal tins filled with condoms, now at least 25 years old.
“They’d all dried up, shriveled and sort of looked like earth worms,” chuckles Sarah McManus, another Garlic Press co-owner.
As Locsin adds with a smile, “The most amazing part of our big rehab was what we didn’t talk about.”
And as for those “old alumni” who occasionally can be seen devotedly looking for the old door to The Cellar?
Hey, maybe they’re there to get their stuff back!
As the twins get more alike
July 6 is one of those subtly big days. The U.S. Declaration of Independence was announced on a July 6. Hawaii was annexed on a July 6. The first-ever “talking” movie was shown on a July 6. The Beatles’ John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time at a Liverpool church dinner on a July 6.
Which brings us to B-N.
On Tuesday — it’s July 6 — say happy birthday to first-year Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe and longtime Normal Mayor Chris Koos, both July 6 birthday boys.
“Twin Cities, two mayors with the same birthday,” smiles Koos.
Just can’t get much more appropriate than that.
Bloomington Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe, left, and Normal Mayor Chris Koos share the same birthday on July 6.
As the B-N area rises again
So when the Washington (D.C.) Ballet the other night had its first “live” event in 15 months at the famed Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, count Central Illinois as a key player.
Because Pekin-based Reditus Laboratories had donated COVID-19 testing for the performers in the months and weeks of rehearsal before its star-studded, black-tie reopening, Reditus CEO Dr. Aaron Rossi and wife, Molly (they live in Bloomington-Normal), were acknowledged grandly at the start of the performance for that very reason.
Appropriately, Reditus also conducted COVID-19 testing on the night of the “re-premier,” thereby allowing the dancers and Kennedy Center guests to prove negative so they could attend.
Dr. Aaron Rossi, right, and wife, Molly, at the Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Wrong Bloomington … again!
A Flick Fact the other day pointed out the occasional complexity and confusion of two towns in neighboring states that have the same name.
We refer to Bloomington, Illinois, and Bloomington, Indiana, where in recent years notables such as Reba McEntire, Joe Buck and Sean Penn have flown to the wrong Bloomington.
Which brings us to Andrew Beaty, of Bloomington, as in Illinois:
"Last Thursday, I was returning home from a conference. As I sat waiting for the DFW to BMI flight, I overheard a man get VERY irritated with the American gate agent, arguing he didn't know there was a difference between the Bloomingtons and demanded she fix the problem so he could get to the right place."
As Andrew adds: "I came home and told my wife, ‘That is NOT just an urban legend that people go to the wrong Bloomington!’"
The story behind 12 unique street names in Bloomington-Normal
Butchers Lane
Butchers Lane, off South Morris Avenue near Miller Park in Bloomington, was named for the slaughter houses that once lined the street. Butchers Lane is pictured here on May 1, 2019, after extensive flooding closed a portion of the street.
Lumber Street
While some sources say Bloomington's Lumber Street was named for the lumber companies that once lined it, others say it was because the street was a convenient place to unload lumber from the nearby railroad tracks. Either way, the name fits.
Morrissey Drive
This busy road cutting through south Bloomington and doubling as a section of Route 150 was named for Corp. Raymond G. Morrissey, the first Bloomington man killed in the Korean War. He was also one of the first killed in the United States during this conflict: His name was one of 11 on the first casualty list issued by the Army. Morrissey, 22, was in a plane that crashed while attempting a landing June 30, 1950.
Jesse Fell
Jesse Fell, founder of the town of Normal, first moved to the area in 1833. He later he bought 160 acres, built a cabin and called this spot “Fort Jesse.” The road leading to his cabin kept his name, and is still known as Fort Jesse Road in Normal.
Pancake Street
Pancake Street in Bloomington was named for Squire Pancake, a former prominent resident who once operated a steam sawmill in the area.
Seminary Avenue
Seminary Avenue ran along the northern edge of what once was William T. Major’s Female Seminary, later shortened to Major’s College.
Sesame Street
Sesame Street in Bloomington is indeed named for the classic children's television program.
Smoot Street
A glance through lists of city street names reveals a grouping of streets relating to the Church of Latter-Day Saints. You can credit Walter Benson, a former resident of Bloomington and a member of the church who developed a subdivision off Morris Avenue in southwest Bloomington. He named the streets for prominent people and missionaries relating to the Latter-Day Saints: McKay Drive, Anderson Street, Welling Street, Longden Avenue and Smoot Street. Benson also named Delaine Drive in Normal, for LDS missionary Delaine Anderson. This 1985 Pantagraph photo shows Elsie and Guenther Weinzierl. The couple lived at 1307 Smoot St. and led the efforts to rename the street Hollycrest Drive. Today, it's called Hollycrest Street.
Lincoln Street
It’s not uncommon to find streets named for Abraham Lincoln in Illinois. But Bloomington’s Lincoln Street was designated around 1856, before Lincoln even became president. Pictured here, the statue of Abraham Lincoln in front of the McLean County Museum of History celebrated Presidents' Day activities Monday, Feb. 18, 2019.
Stockholm Street
Bloomington's Stockholm Street relates to the Swedish miners who used to live on a part of the street that was near a coal mine.
Circle Avenue
Circle Avenue, west of the railroad tracks between Market and Washington streets, sits on land that made up the county fairgrounds from the mid-1850s to the mid-1880s. However, the idea that Circle Avenue followed the former racetrack is not true.
Vladimir Drive
Vladimir Drive in east Bloomington pays tribute to one of the town’s sister cities, Vladimir, Russia. In fact, the signs for this street are posted in both languages: English and Russian.
Bill Flick is at bflick@pantagraph.com.
