Shopping!

It's gorgeous today. The sun is shinning and I am going scrapbook shopping in Peoria! Life is good!

Local Scrapbook Store Closed

There's not much left of my local scrapbook store, It's Scrap'n Time. We had a major fire in downtown Galesburg on January 23, 2006. One of the historical buildings, O.T. Johnson's Department Store and a warehouse caught fire and destroyed many of the nearby businesses. A sad day indeed...I feel so bad for the owners, Steve & Tracy. They have put their hearts and souls into this store. As of yesterday, the fire was still smoldering. And to make this more interesting there is a young man missing. His name is Michael Olson and he's 22 years old. He was last seen early Monday morning. His parents went to the police Tuesday because he didn't show up for work. So far, the police have reconstructed some of his activities. He was playing pool at Billards on Main (old Walgreens store on Prairie and Main), then went to Papa Johns Pizza to use the restroom. Employees said he was drunk. He was last seen standing on the corner of Praire and Main, near O.T. Johnson's. Many think he may be at the bottom of the rubble. Police had K-9 searching, but were not able to make a through search because the site is so unstable and it's still hot. I'll update as I learn more details.

Big Fire in Galesburg

It's bright and sunny here in the 'burg. We lost one of our downtown historical building to fire this week. The tragedy began early Monday morning about 1:30 a.m. I heard the breaking news on the radio about 3:30 a.m. The building was the O.T. Johnson department store. It originated about 1850 when Galesburg had only dirt roads and plank boardwalks. The first store was a two-story narrow building. The building I was familiar with was built around 1900 with add-ons throughout the years. When I was a kid, my girldfriend, Diana Scott, worked in the restaurant at O.T.'s. Occasionally, I would meet her downtown when she took her break. We thought we were such "big shots" going out to lunch like the grownups!

Shopping was fantastic at O.T. Johnson's. They had a special section in the store for teens called "The Spot". They carried a lot of trendy items for the 1970's like leather fringe shoulder bags (yep, I had one) and big hoop earrings.

O.T.'s closed in the late 70's after the mall opened. It seemed the downtown area just "died". Many business moved to the mall or just shuttered their doors.

The firemen are still on the job extingushing hot spots and trying to figure out how this fire started. Was it arson? Prior to the fire, an antique store was located in the building. There was a fire in their adjacent warehouse a week ago. Nearly gutted the place. Did the firemen actually put out the fire or did some of it sit and smolder for nearly a week? Maybe we'll never know.

In the Office...

I'm sitting here waiting on a client. I don't know if she has a case or not. Social Security says her claim was dismissed in November because she missed the deadline in appealing. Client says no she didn't miss the deadline and she has a letter she received from Social Security yesterday to prove it. I hope she's right. I met with her on one occasion and I believe she could be approved for benefits. I hope she's not late either. I have to leave for Peoria to do two cases this afternoon. They are back-to-back with two different judges. Not my favorite setting, but I'll do it.

Attorney Mike and I haven't been to the Office of Hearings and Appeals in quite awhile. I had to shake out my wool winter suit for the day. First time I've had it out this year. It doesn't look too bad, a little wrinkled, but that's okay. We're going to stop for lunch first, then head over to the hearing office to meet with our clients. Both of them should be approved today. After the hearing, we plan to do a little shopping at Sam's. It seems like it always rains when we go to Sam's Club and wouldn't you know, rain is predicted for this afternoon. Rats!

The New Year 2006

The holidays are now history and this year was full of joy and tears. Lynette's sister, Patrice, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and is not expected to last long. She is presently admitted to Cook County Hospital. We're all praying for her to have a safe and peaceful journey. Lynette and her children were not able to be with us in Galesburg for Christmas. We pray our good Lord will wrap His arms around them and the entire family as they go through this difficult time.

Our Aunt Edwina Cherrington died after a lenghty battle of cancer. Her funeral will be Thursday, January 5 at St. Monica's Catholic Church in San Francisco. Again our prayers are with Uncle Bill, Tanya, Mark, and Craig as they adjust to life without her. She will be dearly missed.

On the up side, we got to meet Joanna, Christopher's girlfriend. She's darling! She appears to be his equal. She's smart, beautiful, and motivated. I wish I had been able to take pictures of Joanna fixing breakfast on Monday morning for her boyfriend. She made scrambled eggs and waffles. Christopher ate every bite with no complaints. And best of all, she cleaned up the kitchen! I was totally impressed. She can visit anytime.