City Beat
CITY BEAT: MEMORIES OF INTERVIEWS ABOUT PEARL HARBOR ATTACK ON DECEMBER 7, 1941
Dec. 7th marks the 82nd anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which plunged this nation into World War II. This week’s “Scrapbook” feature on pages 4-6 of the print and online editions takes another look at that “Day of Infamy” and the impact on our community and…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: ‘GO FLY A KITE’ WAS EASY TO DO WITH HI-FLIER IN DECATUR
A lot of you can identify with Hi-Flier kites and you can include me in that group. I guess that’s the reason that Dennis Jewell’s article on pages 4 and 5 of this week’s print and online editions of the Decatur Tribune about the history of Hi-Flier in Decatur I find especially interesting. Although I…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: NOV. 22, 1963 IS DATE THAT’S BURNED INTO THE MIND OF MANY OF US
It’s been six decades since President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas which means anyone who has personal recollections of that Nov. 22, 1963 day, is today in their sixties in age, or beyond. For those of us who were alive on that day, and were old enough to remember what…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: WHERE’S ALL THE BASKETBALL PLAQUES AND TROPHIES WON BY DHS/SDHS TEAMS?
There was an era in Decatur high school sports when our city was a mecca for championship-caliber basketball teams known, and feared, across the state. Decatur High School, which became Stephen Decatur High School in the late 1950s, was always competing at a high level in basketball and won a lot of…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: HONORING THOSE WHO ANSWERED THE CALL ON VETERANS DAY
• Veterans Day, Nov. 11th, is this coming Saturday and it is a time to remember the sacrifices made by our veterans, living and dead, in defense of this nation — and freedom! The photos in the “Scrapbook” feature (pages 4 and 5 of this week’s print and online editions) were shot in…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: Yikes! Another 1 1/2 Years Before North Water And Main Streets Receive Needed Improvements?
Driving on North Water or North Main streets between Eldorado and Pershing Road is not enjoyable. The condition of the two main arteries that run from the downtown area and beyond is deplorable. Now, motorists will have to wait until the middle of 2025, at the earliest, for needed improvements to be made…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: MEMORIES OF DECATUR’S RAILROAD HISTORY AND WABASH DEPOT
One of my favorite “Scrapbook” subjects is the railroad history of Decatur and especially the Wabash Depot. Like the Transfer House that I wrote about in my “Viewpoint” column last week (another favorite subject) the Wabash Depot has a connection to my life all the way back to my childhood, when I rode the…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: THREE CANDIDATES IN MACON COUNTY CORONER’S RACE
• JUST AS we were going to press last week, two more candidates threw their hats into the candidate ring for Macon County Coroner. Tiffany Hall and Jeffrey Kashefska notified me of their candidacies. You can read their comments on page 12 of this week’s print and online editions. Hall and Kashefska join…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: Young Driver Ignores ‘Handicapped’ Parking Space Signage
I had to be at a location in Forsyth recently and, on the way back to Decatur, I decided to stop at the Arby’s that is located along Route 51 North. I opted to eat inside instead of going through the drive-through and, once I was seated in the south part of the…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: HOTEL ORLANDO STANDS TALL AND STIRS MEMORIES
One of the most beautiful, ornate buildings in the downtown Decatur area is the former Hotel Orlando which today is Orlando Apartments. The Orlando and the Millikin Court Building occupy the entire east side of the 100 block of South Water Street and, together, present an imposing “fortress” standing proudly in the city’s core area.…
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