Just Returned from Illinois Trip-- No More Road Stuff in Smaterjax

My wife and I just got back from a six day trip across Illinois. We revisited many places and went to some new ones.

FRIDAY-- April 18th-- DWIGHT-- Took the usual Chicago Hassle By-pass, Il-47 from McHenry County to Dwight, Illinois, where we ate at Smaterjax and were disappointed to find that they had sold all of the gasoline-related items that were located all over the store, including that great run of Illinois license plates all bearing the same number, from the 1920s to 1980s.

We were told that they were sold as a group to a collector in nearby Coal City who put them up in his remodeled garage and they got a lot of money for it. Too bad the 1930s Standard station in Odell couldn't have gotten them so everyone could see them.

The $7.50 lunch buffet was still great, however. Still a great 66 stop, just not as authentic as before. We were told that cleaning the items and dusting was just too much of a problem. Now, the place features an HD TV and nondescript plants.

This restaurant used to be called Fedderson's after the Fedderson Buick dealership which was housed in the building.

Everything was still up when we last drove through there in February. We learned that the name Smaterjax came from the owners' dog Jax. Whenever they came home, they'd ask the dog, "What's the matter, Jax?"

Things Change, and Not Always for the Better--RoadDog