In Olney, Illinois, it is not uncommon to spot a flash of white darting from tree to tree.

Street crossings, welcome signs and banners decorate a downtown dedicated to the albino squirrels that have put Olney in the international spotlight since the 1960s. Even the patches of the local police officers and their police cars feature an outline of the white, bushy-tailed squirrel.

Although several small towns across America, including Marionville, Missouri, and Kenton, Tennessee, have white squirrels, Olney residents claim that it is the original “Home of the White Squirrels.” The white squirrel became Olney’s mascot in 1966.

John Stencel, a retired life science professor at Olney Community College, initiated an annual squirrel count in 1976 after he received a grant from the Illinois Academy of Science to study and keep historical records on the white squirrels. The albinos are Eastern Gray Squirrels that have a genetic mutation, which causes red eyes, pink skin and white fur.

Olney city clerk Belinda Henton took charge of the count in 2003 when Stencel retired and moved to Iowa. She said she promised him that she would keep the tradition alive.

Squirrel counting is held at 7:30 a.m. for three consecutive Saturdays in October. Squirrels are most active in October as they gather food for winter. Volunteers are designated different routes and asked to tally how many gray squirrels, white squirrels and cats they see in their specified area. Volunteers are typically Olney residents and Onley Community College students who return every year to take part in this beloved tradition. This October will mark the 32nd year of Olney’s annual squirrel count.

Storm troopers milled anxiously around the stage, Spocks fidgeted with their ears and Darth Vaders loomed in the background. With them, about 40 other costumed characters stood lined up, awaiting their moment in the spotlight at the annual Trekfest in Riverside, Iowa.

A buzz rose through the crowd as three former stars from the original Star Trek television series mounted the stage. George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig made a special appearance at the festival’s 25th anniversary to judge the costume contest and give speeches.

Among the costume contestants, Star Trek fan Shel Greek-Lippe stood proudly dressed as Lady Amanda, Spock’s pregnant mother. The realism of Greek-Lippe’s costume was aided by the fact that she was eight months pregnant with twins.

“It was kind of hard to tell if I could make it today or not because I’m so far along,” Greek- Lippe said. “But I’m glad I made it to compete another year.”

The competition was stiff, with a lineup including a square lava like creature called a giant horta, a father-son Spock team and multiple stormtroopers. For Greek-Lippe this is a yearly event. She said she’s been coming to Trekfest and entering the costume contest for about 15 years.

The costume contest is just part of the celebration every June in honor of Captain James T. Kirk from Star Trek. According to the Star Trek series, written by Gene Roddenberry, Captain Kirk will be born 2233 in a small Iowa town, but Roddenbury never names the town. So one day 25 years ago, Riverside community club member and avid Star Trek fan Steve Miller asked, “Why not Riverside?”

Terry Philips, president of the community club at the time, said Miller suggested declaring Riverside as the birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk to the city council.

“The city council kind of ignored it and went on with the other business,” Philips said. “The next meeting, Steve brought it up again. They knew Steve well enough [to know] that he would not let it go, so they said ‘Fine, we’ll humor Steve’ and declared Riverside to be the birthplace.”

Joan Unterreiner and her husband Ron usually drive past the Shrine of St. Joseph on Sunday mornings. They could stop, but the opening hymns have already been sung, so they continue down the road to a later service at their own church.

After some nagging from her sister, Joan said she finally made the decision to leave home a bit earlier to attend mass at the St. Louis church, which has attracted attention from all over the world.

The service took place in a spacious, glittering sanctuary complete with a belting organ and melodic hallelujahs, but this is not atypical of Catholic churches. Joan soon discovered the distinguishing charm of this particular church lay hidden behind layers of paint covering more than 150 years of wear and tear.

After the mass, tour guide Vince LeBlaze told visitors that the Shrine is a standing miracle — the end-product of 26 years of renovations that began with five local businessmen and $1.

Its silhouette landmarked the St. Louis riverfront in 1846 as a Jesuit church that served the largely German population, but an influx of immigrants in the 1830s gradually changed the demographics in the neighborhood. The German congregation barred non-Germans from their services, so the Irish, Italian and Polish in the area built their own parishes.

As a result, congregation numbers at the church dwindled. Neglect and lack of funds brought the church to shambles by the 1970s, but they continued to hold weekly mass, LeBlaze said. When it became too rundown, the St. Louis Archdiocese elected to build a new parish across the street so that the congregation could relocate.

At the entrance to the Lessman Farm in Topeka, Kansas, a metal statue of a man and woman, each holding a hand in the air, greets visitors. The piece is hardly more than stick figures welded from metal rods, but it gives an early glimpse into the experience awaiting guests. Artist Ron Lessman said the statue can imply different things to different people.

“That’s me and my wife either flipping you off or waving you on,” Lessman said.

His cynicism comes from more than a decade of fighting with Shawnee county. Lessman has never been one to lie down in the face of adversity, a characteristic reflected in his art. In the mid-1990s, the county ordered Lessman to “pick up” six broken-down trucks that his pigs were using for shade. Lessman did just that, placing each truck at a roughly 45-degree angle off the ground with over 4,000 pounds of concrete.

“I can’t say it any better than what the county said: ‘a cynical attempt to get around the law,’” Lessman said. “You told me to pick my trucks up. I did my patriotic duty and did what I was ordered; I picked my trucks up.”

The piece, named “Truckhenge,” is the most well known of Lessman’s exhibits. Lessman later created its compliment, “Boathenge.” The trucks and boats are painted with phrases reflecting Lessman’s views on society. One truck says, “If these trucks can’t stand, why do we fight the Taliban?” while another reads, “Rise up. Excuse me while I touch the sky.”

Still another reads, “Freedom isn’t lost,” a point that Lessman said is proved by the fact that visitors can come drink a beer and fish at his pond, in contrast to city parks where alcohol is banned.

During a trip to Eldon, Iowa, in 1930, Grant Wood was being driven around town by local artist, John Sharp when he spotted the house with the church window that would someday be part of “American Gothic.” He got out of the car, pulled out an envelope and began sketching the house. Wood said he wanted to paint the people he imagined lived in a house with such a window.

Wood used the sketch from the house as the background for the painting and later painted his sister Nan and his dentist, Dr. B. H. McKeeby, as the stand-ins for the home’s owners.

It is unknown why the gothic window, a fixture most appropriate for a church, was put in the house. Some speculate that the family saw the window as a small luxury to add to their decor.

As a longtime Eldon resident, Donna Jeffrey grew up near the American Gothic House, which had no formal marking until the Center was built. She assisted with fundraising projects and grant writing. Jeffrey volunteers at the Center on a regular basis.

“When I was a kid, my grandmother lived down the lane behind the house, and we would walk from our home to my grandma’s, and my mom and dad would always say, ‘that house is in the background of a famous painting’,” Jeffrey said. “People here in Eldon just grew up knowing that.”

The house is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Dibble House, named after the first owners who built it in 1881. Carl Smith later owned the home when it was placed on the Register in 1974.

Smith rented the house to different tenants until he donated it to the State Historical Society of Iowa in 1991 with the requirement that the home still be rented. Since then, the home has been occupied off and on to local residents such as postmasters and a school teacher. The home is currently empty.

Former tenant Bruce Thiher shared the hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with Wood and chose to live in the house when his job as a postmaster sent him to Eldon. Thiher attended McKinley Middle School, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Wood taught art until he died in 1942. Many of Wood’s pieces remained throughout the school when Thiher attended junior high in the late 1950s. Those pieces now reside in the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art.

Galena, Illinois 

Tiny shops selling handmade jewelry and coffee mugs dot the winding main street of a gracefully aging downtown. Children tug their parents’ hands as they stroll past the local café and coffee shop.

“You feel like you’re in a little different time, a different place,” said Scott Bishop, a resident of Chicago who visited the town for a weekend.

Known for its art and architecture, Galena, Ill., thrives on tourists who enjoy stepping back in time, watching a potter create a teapot or receiving tips on how to make beaded jewelry.

Galena residents know their town offers more than souvenir shops to visitors. It offers a chance to appreciate many kinds of art.

Building a Foundation

Almost every building along the main street of Galena features a 19th-century Italianate rooftop, flat with scalloped overhangs. Scott Wolfe, historical librarian for the Galena Public Library District and historian at the Desoto House Hotel, said Galena has such well-preserved buildings because the town did not have adequate funding to renovate in the mid-20th century. Town officials opted to keep the old buildings, which still stand today on the aged downtown streets.

Bonne Terre Mine, Bonne Terre, Missouri  

    Deep underground, the Bonne Terre mine awaits a certain kind of explorer. 
Scuba diver Bob Dulay fits the bill—which is lucky considering Dulay drove 400 miles for the experience. 

The billion-gallon underground lake that used to be a working lead mine draws visitors year-round, but its winter temperature of 58 degrees pulls in the real crowds.

“Where else are you gonna go in the center of the nation in the middle of winter without freezing water or ice diving?” Bonne Terre manager Donna Jones asked.

Dulay and more than 60 other divers set off on this underwater adventure in late February in Bonne Terre, Mo. They traveled from cities as far as Indianapolis and Chicago in hope of an unforgettable experience.

And they found it in the Bonne Terre mine.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, Illinois 

History is more than a never-ending list of past events, dead people and dusty artifacts. It even has the potential to come alive. 

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum located in Springfield, Illinois, is the largest of all presidential libraries, containing more than 47,000 Lincoln artifacts as well as 13 million Illinois state historic artifacts. Interactive galleries, life-like wax figures and detailed displays mix with traditional museum artifacts, providing guests with an unforgettable experience.

David Blanchette, the communication manager of the library and museum, said the goal of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency in planning the museum was to break completely new ground.

Wildlife Prairie Park, Peoria, Illinois 

Tucked away quietly near the urban hub of Peoria, Illinois rests the 2000-acre sanctuary of Wildlife Prairie Park. Home to more than 50 native species of animal such as coyotes, foxes, otters, deer and buffalo, the park offers an opportunity to observe the fauna of Illinois in a naturalistic habitat. The winding forest paths and picturesque scenery are a far cry from the traditional animal zoo, which is exactly why many visitors are drawn to the park each year. It’s a pleasant experience for families, said General Manager Linda Prescott. 

The park was established as an offshoot project of the Brookfield Zoo of Chicago, beginning as a region to host exotic endangered animals. When the Brookfield Zoo decided to cancel its plans for the park, William Rutherford of the Forest Park Foundation, the original donor of the 480 acres of woodland for the project, decided to utilize the land to create “an untapped natural resource to pay tribute to America at the time of the pioneers and establish a zoological park dedicated to Illinois,” said Kelly Stickelmaier, public relations coordinator at the park. In 1977, Rutherford opened the park temporarily as a birthday gift to his wife Hazel.

Rutherford said he originally planned to spend less than $1 million dollars on the project, but since then it has cost the Peoria Park System more than $7 million. His love and dedication to the park extends well beyond monetary means, and the service and care that has been put into the exhibits is visible. 

Kansas City, Missouri 

Call it what you will.

Cowtown. BBQ Capital of the World. Paris of the Plains.

Amanda Manion, a Kansas City, Mo., resident, knows it as the City of Fountains.

“This area here by the fountains, by the [Country Club] Plaza, is very attractive,” said Manion, who has lived in Kansas City since 1970.

Manion works at the Gap store in the middle of the Plaza – downtown Kansas City’s upscale shopping district in which more than 20 fountains provide eye-catching oases.