CITY BEAT: FOND MEMORIES OF ANOTHER TIME IN DOWNTOWN DECATUR

 

     The photo on the front page of today Decatur Tribune, as the caption indicates, was shot by Herald & Review Photographer Bob Strongman 75 years ago and sent to me recently by Tom Hanks.
     It shows a stretch of North Water Street in downtown Decatur that was a busy place in those days and is evidence of why the core area attracted so many people for so long.
     The buildings in view in the 100 block of North Water are still there but Raupp’s Shoes is the only business that remains that was there in 1950,
     All the buildings pictured on the west side of North Water Street, from where Prairie Street intersects — all the way to Eldorado — have disappeared!
     When I started my publishing business in 1964, all of the buildings pictured from Prairie to North Street (one block south of Eldorado), were still in place although several had been remodeled.
     The three-story building pictured at the corner of Prairie and North Water Street, is where my office was on the third floor when I became editor and publisher of this newspaper in 1969,
     The building had been improved in appearance and was called the “Hecht Building” and Phil Hecht, who was a downtown businessman, was my landlord.

     A drug store occupied the ground floor and later, the Libson Shoppe replaced the drug store and then, “Little Hecht’s”.
The Hecht Building, along with all of the buildings on the west side of the 200 block of North Water Street, were demolished three decades ago to make room for a new multi-story office building and parking lot, which now occupy that block of North Water Street.
     Buildings on both the west side and east side of the 300 block of North Water were demolished years ago to make way for a new office building (east side of the street) and Preston Jackson Park on the other side of the street.
Obviously, as someone who has spent nearly my whole career working in downtown Decatur since the 1960s, the area is much different today than it was when I started when all of the downtown streets were lined with storefronts and every kind of business imaginable.
     There’s been a lot of remodeling of still-standing buildings, and some building of new ones, which continues to stabilize and beautify the area.
     Most of the 1950s era buildings and businesses are gone today, but the memories of downtown Decatur in another time, speak to a place in our hearts when the core area was a perfect model of life in a midwestern American city.

     • AWARENESS — This year’s Illinois Speed Awareness Day is set for Wednesday, July 23, 2025. The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police (ILACP)’s efforts for Illinois Speed Awareness Day are supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Ad-ministration (NHTSA), the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), and hundreds of law enforcement agencies state-wide.
     Founded by the ILACP in 2016, Illinois Speed Awareness Day is a coordinated statewide effort focused on reducing the deadly consequences of excessive speeding on Illinois roadways. By uniting law enforcement agencies, public agencies, and private stakeholders, the campaign seeks to raise awareness and change driver behavior through education and high-visibility enforcement (HVE).
     “Our mission is simple but critical: to educate the public about the dangers of speeding to reduce crashes, prevent injuries, and, most importantly, save lives,” said Kenny Winslow, ILACP Executive Director. “Speeding remains a leading factor in fatal crashes, and we are committed to reversing that trend.”
     Speed is one of the leading contributory causes of all types of crashes involving a motor vehicle. Speeding is not limited to exceeding the posted limit for a specific roadway; it also includes driving too fast for weather/road/traffic conditions. National trends suggest more drivers are operating motor vehicles with less regard for speed limits and surrounding traffic conditions. This type of driving behavior and attitude has resulted in high crash numbers, increased injuries, and fatalities. Speed also impacts the severity of the crash, type and extent of the injuries, and the number of fatalities.
     According to NHTSA FARS data for Illinois, between 2021-2023, there were 3,500 fatal crashes. A total of 33.31% (1,166) of those crashes were speed-related, resulting in 1,339 fatalities.
Nationally, during the same time period, there were 116,861 fatal crashes. A total of 27.91% (32,693) of those crashes were speed-related, resulting in 36,430 fatalities.

     • PRAYERS for all of those impacted by the sudden flooding in Texas that has taken the lives of over one hundred people. Camp Mystic, the summer camp at the center of the devastating flooding, is “grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors.”
     I can’t begin to imagine the grief their families are feeling along with the families of all the people who lost their lives in that tragic flood.
We also saw, in the midst of such tragedy, brave people who risked their lives, and even lost their lives, in saving others.

     • CLERK CANDIDATES — The race to see who will be replacing present Macon County Clerk Josh Tanner in the next general election is attracting attention. (Josh announced several weeks ago that he would not be running for re-election to another term.)
     Last week, Kurt Younghouse, a 17-year resident of Decatur and local coach officially announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for Macon County Clerk. (Story on page 13 of today’s print and online edition.)
     Younghouse is the second Republican candidate to announce for the county clerk’s position.
Marsha Webb announced she was running back in May. Webb is currently working in the Macon County Circuit Clerk office. (See page 12 for more information about her candidacy.)
     The Republican Primary Election in March will draw more interest than usual because it will determine whether Younghouse or Webb, or a candidate that might still enter the race, will move on to the General Election in November, 2026.
     So far, Bryan E. Smith is the only Democrat candidate who has announced for the Macon County Clerk’s position.
Unless someone steps up to challenge him in the primary election, Smith will be facing off against which candidate wins the Republican Primary in March.
Smith announced over the weekend that he has a new Facebook page for his candidacy. Information about it is on page 13.

     • BACK THEN — Thanks to retired Judge A.G. Webber for loaning me the book “Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure”, which is The True Story Of A Great American Road Trip” written by Matthew Algeo.
     He brought me the book as a followup to my recent June 18th “Scrapbook” article on Grove’s Restaurant, which was located on the northwest corner of Water and Pershing Road.
     The article which included a story of when former President Truman ate at Grove’s, quoted the “salad girl” who “remembers that President Harry Truman and his security officers ‘ate supper’ at Grove’s “and he took up one whole room of the two rooms we had there.” (Mrs. Truman was also with him.)
     She also remembered that “Truman and his Secret Service Officers were traveling through to another city when they stopped for the night in Decatur.”
     It was an honest mistake the Grove’s employee made because the officers apparently appeared to be Secret Service officers.
     The problem was that Harry Truman didn’t have any Secret Service Officers traveling with him. He didn’t want, or felt he needed, any protection.
     My how times have changed!
     Author Algeo wrote: “When Decatur Police Chief Glenn Kerwin learned the former president and first lady were traveling by themselves —without even a single bodyguard — he was aghast. What if something happened to them while they were in his jurisdiction? Kerwin immediately dispatched two officers, Francis Hartnett and Horace Hoff to the Parkview”, the motel at Pershing and 22nd Street where the Trumans were staying.
The Secret Service personnel seen by many during the Trumans’ visit to Decatur, were actually the two Decatur Police Officers who stayed close by until the Trumans left Decatur.
     By the way, according to Algeo, Truman kept insisting that they didn’t need any protection.
     Can you imagine a former president saying that today?
     It’s an interesting book, especially the part devoted to the ex-President and First Lady’s stop in Decatur.

     • I JOIN Brian Byers on WSOY’s Byers & Co. every Thursday morning at 7:00 for the “City Hall Insider”— something we have been doing for the past 22 years.

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