Blogging Forgottonia

I regret to report that 12/31/2011 will be the final business day for Warren County Pharmacy in County Market.

I wondered before Warren County Pharmacy opened whether Monmouth could support four pharmacies.  I’m sad to see my suspicions born out and another locally owned & operated business close its doors.  The Gracey’s are good people, and I wish them well in the future.

I just wanted to congratulate the Monmouth-Roseville High School soccer program on a fantastic season.  Unfortunately the team lost their sectional match against Warrensburg-Latham, but there can’t be any doubt that they fought hard.  The score was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, putting the game into sudden death overtime.  The Review Atlas doesn’t have anything up about the game yet, but here is the article from the Decatur Herald & Review.

Again, congratulations to the Titans soccer program!

Two brothers, Keith & Brian Collins, made quite a discovery at  Carriage House Antiques in Hesperia, CA.  There they found & purchased (for $50) a family photo album of Monmouth’s most famous son, Wyatt Earp.

The Collins brothers suggest that the album’s photos could fetch $1 million if sold. But they intend to keep them and lease out the rights to them.

Quite the find!

Local blogger & Review Atlas columnist Stephanie Sikorski asked for positive media coverage of the Monmouth-Roseville Titans soccer program as they advance to sectional championship on Saturday.   Sikorski’s husband Aaron coaches the team.  The Titans soccer program was in the local media spotlight earlier this year, but unfortunately that was due to the IHSA suspension of star player “Chino” Ayala & the resulting forfeiture of a tie game with Peoria Manual.  Sikorski’s blog post highlights how the team has struggled through multiple adversities with little fan & community support to achieve a very successful season.

Well Stephanie, ask and ye shall receive!  I’ll add my voice, too … best of luck to the Titans on Saturday!

Matt Hutton, the paper’s editor, is leaving.  His farewell article gives no indication regarding who will be replacing him.  The paper’s building at 400 S. Main was for sale, but now the listing has disappeared from the Mel Foster Co website.  What does GateHouse Media Inc have planned for the Review Atlas?

OK, can someone tell me why this article about the recent addition of 80 acres to the Northwestern Illinois Agricultural Research and Demonstration Center in Monmouth was printed in the Aledo Times Record, and why this article about the new Monmouth underage club AfterDark was printed in the Galesburg Register-Mail?  Better question … why was there nothing in the Review Atlas regarding these rather newsworthy local events???

Matt Hutton, editor of the Daily Review Atlas, announced recently that the Review Atlas, the Galesburg Register-Mail and the Macomb Journal would all be printed in Galesburg instead of Peoria.  This will result in some minor cosmetic changes to the papers.  Hutton also announced that the Review Atlas will begin charging for obituaries.

I’m glad to hear that the local papers will be printed closer to home, but I’m more interested in hearing the story behind the “For Sale” sign on the Review Atlas building.  Still no official word on that front.

Another local media change is the revamp of the Galesburg.com blog page.  I’m not sure when this happened, and it may have been a while ago.  The old page was so antiquated & unappealing that I rarely visited it.  The new version is certainly a big step up.

The home of the Review Atlas at 400 S. Main Street is for sale.  I searched the paper’s website, but I found no mention of the sale or their plans for the future.

It’s actually today, September 16.  Cinco de Mayo celebrates the victory of the Mexican army over invading French forces at the Battle of Puebla.  May 5 has achieved more notoriety in the U.S. … because we like to drink in May?  It’s become the Mexican St. Patrick’s Day.

There will be a local celebration of Mexican Independence Day on the 200 block of South Main Street (in front of La Tapatia) on Saturday, September 18, from 4 PM to 11 PM.  Gus Munoz, owner of La Tapatia, is organizing the event.  Come down and support a local business!

Vaughn’s Jewelry and the Downtown Coffeehouse, both owned by Tom & Mary Scudder, will be closing.  Unfortunately Monmouth seems to be losing more small local businesses than it’s gaining lately.  Walgreens and Dollar General are fine, and they provide employment (albeit low wage) and tax revenue.  However, no one is going to drive to Monmouth to visit those stores, and most of the profits generated by the chains don’t stay local, either.

Monmouth has a great downtown area, with local cultural institutions like the Warren County Library and the Buchanan Center for the Arts.  I hate to see the businesses there dying off.