CITY BEAT: IT WAS ANOTHER “DAY WHEN THE MUSIC DIED” CLOSER TO HOME
Paul Osborne
Editor/Publisher
Thoughts of teenagers are more about “life” than death, even though death is a reality of life.
I was a senior in high school when “The Day The Music Died’ happened on Feb. 3, 1959.
To younger readers of this column, that date is “ancient history” and difficult to appreciate.
For those of us who were in our teens at the time, it is permanently burned into our memories.
It was on that date that rock-and-roll legends Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and “The Big Bopper” were killed in a plane crash in northern Iowa.
I can remember the shock and disbelief I felt in hearing the news because I had 45 rpm records of all three entertainers that I played a lot and especially liked Buddy Holly.
As a teenager I had been almost untouched by death in my family or circle of friends.
Even in the community where I lived, death usually happened to much older people who had lived full and productive lives.
My classmates at school were just as shocked by the entertainers’ deaths as I was as they also had records of the entertainers they played constantly and, with a few exceptions, had the same lack of experience of knowing someone who died as I did.
Then, only three days later, our school and community were rocked with a death that was much closer to home.
My best friend in high school, Bob Phalen, was killed when his car was hit by a train at a rural railroad crossing near Arcola as he was driving home from a date.
His death had a profound impact on me — and on the student body at Atwood-Hammond High School!
For us, it was the day the music died again — only this time in a more personal and profound way.
This week’s “Scrapbook” on pages 4 and 5 of the print and online editions is about “The Day The Music Died”.
Sixteen years ago, in February, 2009, on the 50th anniversary of Bob Phalen’s death I wrote the column that is reprinted on page 3 of this week’s Tribune.
His death was a major awakening for me on how fragile life is and the feelings I had writing that column are still very much a part of who I am all these years later from “The Day The Music Died Again”
• MEMORIES —Ben Kiningham of Petersburg, sent me an email (and a photo) recently stating that he loved my reflections on a lifetime with Central Park.
Ben wrote: “It brought back memories of growing up and visiting and playing in Springfield, Illinois’ Washington Park as a kid playing there and later living next to the park for a number of years. Oh the memories and stories we could tell!
“Gone may be the dripping water from the side of a hill where we kids could taste the park to changes in the pond. “This photo I took back in the 1970’s when even winter was fun!!
Washington Park, December, 1972
“Thank you, Paul, for the FUN reminders of yesteryear.”
If Ben’s name looks familiar, he fed WSOY news stories from the Capitol on the Radio News Network from the mid-1970s to his retirement in 2006. He covered eight Illinois governors and statehouse news.
He concluded by stating “While I still love Washington Park, we live (and volunteer) near Abraham Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site and our dog, Lady, gets almost a daily drive there to bark at the deer. And we get to see your park (Central Park in Decatur) on WAND weather!”
• REMEMBER the item I had in the Jan. 15th City Beat about Robert Oakes?
It read: “Remember when Robert Oakes was the superintendent of schools from 1969 until his retirement in 1988? During that time, Decatur had four high schools, five middle schools and more than 20,000 students and there really had to be a record-breaking snowstorm before he would dismiss school and use a snow day!”
I received an email the other day from his daughter, Elizabeth, who wrote:
“I smiled when I read your comments about my dad, Robert Oakes, in the Tribune I received today. He felt strongly that kids should be in school whenever possible. I recall many mornings when he was out of the house at 4 a.m. to drive the roads himself to see if the school buses could operate – that was the deciding factor. You will never meet anyone that enjoyed their job or believed in the importance of public education more than he did.”
Robert passed away in 2010 at the age of 81.
Elizabeth, and her mom, live in another state but they keep in touch with Decatur.
“We enjoy reading the Tribune each week,” she wrote. “All the best to you.”
It was so nice to receive the email from Elizabeth. One of the aspects of being editor of this newspaper for so long is hearing from so many people who have moved from Decatur but still stay in touch through this newspaper.
• SNOW ROBINS? Dennis White of Decatur sent me an email last week stating: “I can’t believe what I saw at McDonalds this morning, I saw 3 robins picking seeds off the grass that wasn’t snow covered. I suppose they were early birds as it is just January 19th. They can’t be here from last summer. I can’t imagine what they are thinking, especially with the snow cover, but I was so surprised to see them, I had to take a double look, but they were very surely robins.”
Thanks to Dennis for the early robin alert. I wonder, since Dennis saw the robins at McDonalds, if they should be called “McRobins”?
Just wondering…
• ENCOURAGING stats — Thanks to Decatur Police Chief Shane Brandel for reaching out to update me (and you) on improving statistics in the Decatur Police Department with “a few bits of info from 2024 data that I wanted to share. Mainly this is for the top two issues identified by the citizens that they wanted DPD to focus on (as determined by two years worth of quarterly surveys — traffic safety and violent crime). Thanks to Shane for the information which I have printed on page 2 of this edition.
Shane is doing a fantastic job as our police chief, as I knew he would when I editorially supported him as the city manager’s choice to lead the department, and I’ve always been very supportive of the outstanding Decatur Police Department.
• OH NO! I was sorry to read the following message from Huddle House on their Facebook page: “We regret to announce the closure of the Huddle House at 3904 E. Hospitality Lane, Decatur, Illinois, at the end of the close of business on February 1, 2025.
“This difficult decision follows significant economic challenges for businesses in Illinois. While this is not the outcome we hoped for and despite our best efforts, we determined this closure was necessary. We sincerely thank our loyal customers for their support. Outstanding gift cards may be redeemed at the Litchfield, Illinois or any other Huddle House location.
“We also extend our gratitude to the Decatur team for their dedication and quality service.”
The franchise restaurant is owned by Jessica Michael and Chazaray Carson.
It has only been two years since Huddle House opened in a new facility creating a lot of excitement.
It seems to me that a lot of food service businesses are struggling in our area right now.
One problem some restaurants are having that owners and managers have told me is difficulty in finding support staff.
Of course, the constantly rising cost in purchasing food to serve customers means higher prices for customers — meaning customer traffic is reduced.
• I JOIN Brian Byers on WSOY’s Byers & Co., every Thursday morning at 7:00. Considering that frigid weather we had recently, I was especially pleased the WSOY studio is only two floors up from my office at 132 South Water St.
* * * *
FOR MORE stories and more “City Beat” and editorial comments, SUBSCRIBE to the print or online editions of the Decatur Tribune by using the “Subscribe” prompt at the top of this page. You will find many stories and columns about Decatur and Central Illinois each week. The print edition is $50 for 52 issues (one year) and the online edition is $30 for one year. The combo rate (both print and online editions) is $65 per year. You can also subscribe to the print edition via USPS by sending $50 to: Decatur Tribune, P. O. Box 1490, Decatur, Illinois 62525-1490.
