A New Danger on the Cement Road in 1920: That Black & White Critter

From the December 2, 2020, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1920, 100 Years Ago. 

"A number of motorists have been held up while traveling on the cement roads lately, but the new highwayman does not attempt to take valuables from the drivers.

"The offender is a small black creature with a bushy tail and is commonly known as a skunk.  When this animal is in the middle of the cement it has the right of way all to himself and no one cares to pass until the offender has left the road."

Try not to hit the skunk.

They are still a problem.  I'd like to know who keeps hitting them.  As bad as driving down the roadafter a farmer has used manure on their fields.  

Smell That Dairy Air.  --RoadSmell

A Big Mud Puddle in Malta (Illinois) in 1920: Rain, Rain Go Away

From the December 2, 2020, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1920, 100 Years Ago.

"But very few automobilers were in Malta yesterday because of the bad condition of the roads and most of the people coming in used  the 'old reliable,' the horse and buggy.  

"In fair weather the roads in this section are in fine shape but with the appearance of rain they take on the aspect of mud puddles."

Another reason those hard surface Lincoln Highway was needed.

--RoadMud

Illinois' Swastika Trail-- Part 5

RootDig.com

Michael John Neill's genealogy website.

He was looking at the Illinois Highway Maps collection in the Illinois Digital Archives collection. (he also has a place where you can go to it, very interesting).He looked at a 1922 map and noticed there were no numbers on the roads, this being the era of named roads and all.

He was surprised to see one named Swastika Trail near the Quad Cities area.  This brought quite the thought into his head, as it did with me when I first saw it.

Today it is Illinois Highway 17.  This map shows it starting in Galva, Illinois, and running west through Woodhull, Alphi, Viola, Aledo, Joy, New Boston and entering Iowa and going a short distance to Wapello.

Along with the name, a swastika symbol is show, only backwards to the one the Nazi used.

--RoadDog

Roads in DeKalb County, Ill. in 1915-- Part 3

From the July 22, 2015, Mid Week "Looking Back."

July 1915, 100 years ago--  The DeKalb Commercial Club has a petition circulating and signed by owners of property near the intersections of the townships of South grove, Mayfield, DeKalb and Malta asking that a hard road be put through from the road leading south from Clare to the hard road in northern DeKalb Township leading to the City of DeKalb.

July 29, 1915--  The new hard road along the edges of the intersection of Malta, South Grove, Mayfield and DeKalb townships will be built, according to the majority vote of the highway commissioners present at the meeting Saturday at the Marvin Zellar place near Sycamore.

The four townships are all adjacent.  The road may be present-day Il-64.

Hook Me Up With That Hard Road.  --RoadDog