Totally Random Tuesday: Go Bulldogs!

So my friend Nova calls me this morning and says "You know you have more people reading your blog now?"

"Right," I said, "I just make friends EVERYWHERE I go, what with my winning personality and charming wit."

(Editors note: Totally made that part up - I don't remember what I said but it was probably akin to "Guh?")

"No seriously, there are women in my mother's office who apparently love your blog."

Well you all know I am a total attention junkie, so that completely made my morning.

And of COURSE, because I'm a nerd for my blog, in honor of the fine, fine women of Streator High School, today's Totally Random Tuesday is dedicated to their fabulous town!

First off, I have to say the website for Streator HS is great - I checked it since I had to make sure I was getting the team name right - the picture makes it *seem* obvious, but it might have been the Streator Rabid German-Inspired Pitbulls or something, you never know. It's best not to assume.


What if it's just a really aggressive hamster?

In looking around their site, I was amazed at the amount of clearly-labeled, easily accessed information they really have. The Child's school district can barely get you an email address without having to pester the principal, much less provide a searchable staff list.

You know why I love Google? Things like this:


Possibly haunted

I've written about Streator briefly before, as Nova's mom and dad live there and so of course we've visited and gotten to avail ourselves of a couple of their local goodies and traditions, like their theatre and 4th of July parade and a couple of their local restaurants like Chix (yum) and Planet Pizza.

I have to ask... who speaks Hawaiian at Planet Pizza? I'd really like to know. Is it the same person who came up with the beef rolls? Because I'd like to extend a huge MAHALO to them and beg for the recipe. I won't share it I SWEAR. If they could just, I don't know, ship me some frozen I'd be happy too.

Mmmm, beef rolls.

Sorry, got distracted.

In looking up Streator I found a whole Wiki devoted to it, and it's really thorough so I won't list everything out here, but I must note a few of the more interesting points...

• Streator was named for Dr. Worthy S. Streator, an Ohio industrialist who financed the region's first coal mining operation.

Why are there not more people named Worthy? Also, this made me get an earworm, which is now yours to enjoy as well.


You're welcome

• The city is the hometown of Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered the planet Pluto in 1930.

• Burt Baskin, co-founder of Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlors was born in Streator.

• Author Clarence E. Mulford wrote the Hopalong Cassidy series of books. The Hopalong Cassidy River Trail winds along the banks of the Vermilion River which passes Mulford's boyhood home.

• Music composer and director Ed Plumb ... was the musical director for Disney's Fantasia and score composer for Bambi.

That's a lot of famous all in one place, but I think this is the coolest thing on the whole page:

• Many of Streator's immigrant coal miners were trained in glass blowing...Through the 20th century Streator was known as the "Glass Container Capital of the World."
  

Why is this not on t-shirts? Seriously.

I think the most interesting thing about Streator, though, is that as with many of these small, slightly isolated old towns in the Midwest and West, it's mere existence is a miracle. So many of these towns cropped up and died away when factories and mines and farmland weren't fruitful anymore, and it couldn't have been an easy life to maintain, so the ones that are still around are a testament to the resourcefulness and determination of the folks that have lived there in the past and continue to thrive there today.



Thanks for sharing your town with the world, and I am totally serious about the beef rolls.

I'll even pay.

Go Bulldogs!