Illinois: June 2008 Archives

Besides the Victorian Village at Rockford's Midway Village, there is also a museum center. The featured exhibit while I visited was The Missing Link: Socks, Monkeys and Rockford's Industrial Past, a showcase of sock monkeys and their history.

These stuffed animals are made famous by the red-heeled socks that make up their bodies, in which Rockford's sock-knitting industry played an important part from the 1870s until all the way through the 1990s. The Midway Village exhibit features a plethora of the creatures both decked out in costumes and in their own naked glory, both knit and in large fiberglass form. You can also learn about the history of the sock and monkey and see documents such as the original patents.

Site: Midway Village Museum Center
Location: 6799 Guilford Road, Rockford, IL 61107
Cost: Adults — $6; Children, 3 to 17 years old — $4; Free for members
Hours: Closed Mondays; Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 5pm; Sunday 11am &ndash 5pm
Date: May 9, 2008

Midway Village is a town of yesteryear in Rockford Illinois. Guides dressed in turn-of-the-century wear take you around the village to see how people lived in 1900. The Village showcases 26 historical structures and represents the typical rural town in Northern Illinois at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.

Site: Midway Village
Location: 6799 Guilford Road, Rockford, IL 61107
Cost: Adults — $6; Children, 3 to 17 years old — $4; Free for members
Hours: Closed Mondays; Thursday – Sunday 11am – 4pm (May & October); Tuesday &ndash Sunday 11am – 4pm (June through September).
Date: May 9, 2008

Moooo...

or should I say

MOOOO!

I drove through Rockford, Illinois, yesterday and tracked down this big bovine.

The giant cow looks over the children's farm at Lockwood Park. "Gertrude" the cow is fawn/brown with white spots and measures about 21 feet long and 19 feet high.

Site: "Gertrude" the cow
Location: Lockwood Park Trailside Equestrian Centre and Children's Farm, 5201 Safford Rd., Rockford IL 61101
Cost: Free to see.
Hours: The park is open dawn until dusk, year-round.
Date: June 7, 2008

Eater: So, are you the official photographer?
Your SA Adventurer: No, I'm just a big competitive eating fan.
Guy: I'm not going to lie. That's kind of weird.

A few weeks ago the Matteson, Illinois Sam's Club hosted a hot-dog eating contest which served as one of the qualifying rounds for the big Fourth of July competition. It's not often that there is an official IFOCE (International Federation of Competitive Eating) contest anywhere near Chicago, so when there is you know I'm there.

The way these qualifiers work is that there are usually one or two ranked or emerging competitors with the rest being locals who just want to try it out. While I was waiting I walked around for a bit to talk to some of the people because, hey, why not? No one had any clue how much they'd eat and I think everyone thought I was a reporter at first and then thought I was crazy when I said I was just a fan. Yes, yes, I think I am officially a groupie :)

The event started out with a "neat" eating contest for youngins where they each got a hot dog with ketchup and had to eat it without getting anything on them. Heck, I certainly can't do that. After that was the main event.

One by one the competitors took their places, prepared their drinks of choice, and were handed a plate full of hot dogs. In the middle, in the prime position, was Tim "Gravy" Brown, the number 13-ranked eater and obvious frontrunner. Next to him was a newcomer Patrick Vandam who had only competed in 3 or 4 competitions thus far.

The countdown began and they were off. The two in the middle gobbled down while everyone else took their time. Actually, after a few minutes many of them kind of just stopped eating and started watching Pat and Tim battle it out. It was pretty fierce. Patrick began edging out Tim, being passed plate after plate of hot dog.

It wasn't the sheer speed or the commonly-used shaking technique that surprised me about this newcomer. It was his level of cleanliness. Seriously, I think he would have cleaned up (no pun intended) in that neat eating contest. I've met some of these eaters right after a competition before, and let me tell you, it's not always pretty. They usually are kind of sweaty and covered in water/juice/milk and have food particles all over. He had no crumbs. Almost nothing. It was pretty insane.

Anyways...as the final moments ticked down it was slightly unclear who would win. But in the end the upset was announced: Tim Brown with 28, Patrick Vandam with 31. Not bad not bad.

Everyone else I'd talked to said they'd eaten about 7. One guy said he had one.

It was a totally awesome contest. I'm really trying to make it out to Coney Island in New York for the grandest of all competitive eating events on the Fourth of July. I can't wait, and will be sure to report back.

Event: Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Qualifier
Location: Sam's Club, 21430 S. Cicero Ave., Matteson, IL‎
Date: May 17, 2008