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.

Cobden, Illinois

Five years ago Gerardo Jimenez was speaking at a conference in Illinois when his wife Carol fell in love with a nearby plot of land. The couple purchased the property, and today peppers of all different shades of green and red spot the land the Jimenezes named Rancho Bella Vista.

Gerardo and Carol Jimenez’s farm is located in Cobden, Illinois. The Jimenezes had always grown peppers as a hobby, but after retiring they decided to develop their pastime into a business, Darn Hot Peppers. Today, they grow 21 varieties of peppers that they use to make salsas, jellies and seasonings.

Gerardo Jimenez said he learned about agriculture as a child and his experiences helped shape the way he runs his farm.

Growing up in a family of migrant farm workers, Jimenez said he labored alongside his brothers and sisters. The fields were sprayed constantly with herbicides and pesticides. After watching the people he knew become ill because of the chemicals from the fields, Jimenez said he decided he would produce crops without the aid of harmful herbicides and pesticides.

“I wanted to be able to walk to the fields, see a good pepper, pick it up, take a bite and be comfortable knowing that the peppers have not been sprayed,” Jimenez said.

Growing peppers without chemicals is difficult work. Jimenez said he wakes up at 6 a.m. every morning to pull weeds and maintain the farm.

“You really have to love what you are doing,” Jimenez said.

In his efforts to maintain a natural farm, Jimenez uses techniques such as crop rotation. He also uses garlic and fish for fertilizer and to deter insects. He said a local high school boy’s soccer team works in the fields during the week and they always complain they can never get dates because of the smell.

The art of storytelling might be dead. Still, in the city of Chicago, the art of telling stories about the dead seems to be quite alive.

In the basement of a nightclub called Excalibur, spooky tales are the substance of the show titled Supernatural Chicago. The show began on Friday the 13th, 2003. Since then, it has run each Friday evening, year-round, with additional shows leading up to Halloween.

On one typical night, the audience gathered in the uncertainty of a candlelit basement and took their seats as an unsure, unacquainted group. Silently, a man descended the winding stairs, his face solemn. The room grew still and eyes strained to catch the first glimpse of the storyteller. There in the center of the room, he held his audience’s attention.

In December of 1803, Meriwether Lewis set up camp on the River Dubois in Illinois with many of the men who would later make up the Corps of Discovery.

During their stay at Camp River Dubois, the Corps trained to survive the conditions of the wilderness, hired more men for the journey and gathered supplies. Without the months of preparation at the camp, their campaign would not have been a success. The men’s stories during their time at River Dubois are preserved through the care of the volunteers and manager at Camp River Dubois Lewis and Clark Museum.

Museum Manager Brad Winn works to preserve the stories of the Corps. Winn said his goal is to educate people about what really happened at Camp River Dubois and to rebuke the idea that Lewis and the Corps of Discovery left from St. Louis to begin the campaign.

In one of the museum’s rooms, visitors will find a log cabin, barrels of fake food, beads and cloth. Large audio-visual exhibits talk about the history of the camp as well as display letters that the men wrote in their diaries. Winn said this exhibit provides information about the methods Lewis and Clark used to pick the men they wanted on the journey with them.

In Whittington, Illinois, the Southern Illinois Art & Artisan Center holds a vast array of treasures from pottery, crystal and wood furniture to fiber arts and photography. Every inch of wall is adorned with artwork that catches the eye of visitors, whether they are looking for decorative items or something more functional.

The idea for the center originated with former Illinois governor James R. Thompson’s dream to provide Illinois residents with a rich appreciation for the arts. Thompson viewed artists as small businesses and wanted to develop a way for them to expand and gain more publicity and notoriety. He wanted an art gallery that showcased artwork from Illinois residents to make their work more available to the public.

The Illinois Artisans Program was created with the help of members from the Illinois State Museum. The first artisan center was established in 1985 in Chicago, where Ellen Gantmer, art supporter and Chicago native, took the role as the first manager. The artisan center in Whittington was built in 1990. Today, there are four locations, including Springfield and Dickson Mounds. The program will celebrate its 25th year in 2010.

Long Grove Confectionery, Long Grove, Illinois 

One of Monet’s water lilies landscapes hangs on the wall, bathed in a soft light. At first glance, it could be the original. Even a closer inspection reveals convincing, emotive brush strokes. Then someone asked, “What’s the coating on that?”

“The glaze is a candy shellac,” replied Lee Althans, executive assistant of Long Grove Confectionery Co. of Long Grove, Ill.

This is no art museum.

Althans spends plenty of time in this long earth-toned hallway leading visitors through the factory’s tour. This behind-the-scenes look unveils the evolution from basic ingredients to sophisticated candies. The floor-to-ceiling windows that border each production room invite visitors to savor some true eye candy.

Althans points out the milk chocolate-framed Monets, which serve as a delicious division between rooms. Jan Wakulinski, the company’s artist-in-residence, created the paintings from a palette of dyed chocolates.

Ron Trompke didn’t believe his wife, Kathy, when she told him about the 15-foot Superman statue in downtown Metropolis, Ill.
When the couple decided to road trip across the United States, they found the statue and the town along the way to their final destination in Virginia.
The Trompkes, full-time RVers from Fair Grove, Mo., had grown up watching Christopher Reeve as Superman in the movies. The Superman statue stands guard in front of the courthouse overlooking the main street. The Trompkes, posing like perfect tourists, snapped some photos before moving over to the Superman cutouts.
Many people visit Metropolis, the only town in the United States that bears the same name of Superman’s city, to honor the superhero they grew up watching.                                    “do y’all know you’re the home of superman?”
Superman inhabited the pages of DC comics for 39 years before Metropolis, Ill., became associated with the Man of Steel.
Kentucky-born Bob Westerfield moved to Metropolis in 1972, noted the name of the town and asked, “Do y’all know you’re the home of Superman?” Becky Lambert, a real estate agent in Metropolis, said Westerfield was the one who pushed to have the town recognized as Superman’s official hometown.
“It took an outsider to come into Metropolis to go, ‘You’re missing the boat here, people,’” she said.

Upper Limits Rock Gym, Bloomington, Illinois

Kate Ewing couldn’t stop to wipe the sweat out of her eyes. She was hanging by her fingertips on a vertical face nearly 65 feet above the ground.
No problem.

Ewing caught the rock-climbing bug on a mission trip to Morocco. Then a friend took her to the Upper Limits Rock Gym in Bloomington, Ill. – and she was hooked.
The gym, a converted grain silo, boasts some of the tallest climbs in the nation. The cylindrical inner walls, once buried in grain, are now spotted with multi-colored handholds.  

“I remember that first night – by the end of the night my hands were shaking so badly that I couldn’t even hold onto the wall,” she said. “I couldn’t grip the holds. It was like my mind wanted to keep climbing, but my body couldn’t.”

Since that day five years ago, she’s been back to the gym nearly 400 times.

“I just kind of kept climbing,” she said. “People come and go, but there seem to be the standard gym rats that are always there.

“The nice part about good climbers is the really good ones and the really passionate ones love to teach people how to climb. They’re really patient with you. They welcome you in.”

Fin Inn, Grafton, Illinois

A catfish glides along the side of its aquarium, peering at a nearby table where hungry customers are dining on its aquatic fellows.

For some customers, the tableside aquariums at The Fin Inn in Grafton, Ill., accent the atmosphere. But for others, the nearby creatures limit dining choices.

“They had turtle pie on the menu, and I’m like, ‘Hmm, eat turtle pie next to the turtle?’” Linda Laws said.

Laws and her friends ate next to a tableside aquarium containing a large blue-fin dolphin catfish.

“[My friend] literally was going to order catfish,” Laws said. “That catfish just kept, like, staring at her, and she thought, ‘I can’t do it. I can’t order catfish. He’s looking at me,’ so she ordered shrimp.”

The restaurant’s four 2,000-gallon wall aquariums, which are divided to separate their inhabitants, feature an array of fish, including tilapia, catfish, cod and suckerfish. The white-and-yellow speckled devil fish draws attention with a huge bubble-like bump on top of its head while carp with their ever-gaping jaws swim in another tank.

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.