My life today: "Miracles" in Chillicothe IL; My Hometown

My life today: "Miracles" in Chillicothe IL; My Hometown: Andy Taylor:    "Am I right, or... or-or-or wrong? Uh, you... you never have been in Mayberry before, have you?"        ...

"Miracles" in Chillicothe IL; My Hometown

Andy Taylor:    "Am I right, or... or-or-or wrong? Uh, you... you never have been in Mayberry before, have you?"

           Ed Sawyer:       "No, never."

           Andy Taylor:    "But you figure to be happy here?"

          Ed Sawyer:       "Are you kiddin'? Why shouldn't I be?"

Andy Taylor:    "Oh, I... I don't know. Why should you be?"

Ed Sawyer:        "Why, because Mayberry's my hometown. So long, Andy."

 (From the Andy Griffith episode “a stranger in town” December 26, 1960)

I know it's been awhile.  I know I was WAY behind on my road to 50 campaign blog updates and that I’ve told so many more of you that  I promise to write their special blog topic soon. And I will get caught up!   Really………, I will.  But this is so much better.  I have to stop in the middle of my vacation day to blog about it.  Seriously.

I grew up in the 70s and 80s watching one of three (four if you count PBS) television channels.  My favorite shows were always those that featured small town life.  To this day I DVR “Little House on the Prairie” and “The Waltons.”  I live for re-runs of “The Andy Griffith Show.”  In fact, when James and I were first dating we talked about how we hoped to have a little “Opie” one day and eventually I DID give  birth to a tiny, freckled red-headed boy.  Our very own Ronnie Howard you could say.  You can always find me in a large crowd of people by calling me on my phone.  The ring tone (for everyone) is the theme song “(the fishing hole)” to that same show where Andy and barefoot  Opie walk hand in hand down a dirt road, fishing poles in hand.  I grew up in one small town and now live in another.  It just “feels” right.

Lately I've been plagued by an overwhelming desire to take a time out from my busy life to write about the town I grew up in. I’ll try and explain why here.

As I said, I’m from a small town-----Chillicothe, Illinois.  It's mostly just another example of middle America and full of hard working down to earth people. There are only around 6,000 people who live there.  It's got everything a small town has………………a “downtown” with a movie theater, a central town park with a bandstand, a few fast food restaurants, an old brick post office, an annual carnival and good people.  It's got a whole lot of good people. 

I’ve been meaning to write for some time about just what makes this little town so extraordinary as I have two amazing examples that are SO worth noting.

My brother and sister-in-law lost a son to osteosarcoma when he was just 11 years old.  (You can scroll back many years and read my Christmas blog about that.). After he passed, his parents wanted to do something to continue to help those children and their families who so courageously confront pediatric cancer on the front lines every day.  My nephew’s name was Brad and he was an outstanding athlete.  They decided to have a little league tournament in our small town and to donate the proceeds to St. Jude.  That first year, the tournament had 8 teams arriving in Chillicothe to play.  They designed tee shirts, talked a lot about Brad and just generally had a good time.  The tournament was staffed with volunteers and when all was said and done they raised a little bit of money for the cause. 

They had such a good time that they decided to continue the tournament the following year.  And the year after that.  And the year after that.  Friends, this little small town baseball tournament grew to the point of having 267 teams participate last year AND 293 are scheduled to show up and play this year-----in fact, THIS WEEK!!  All in honor of my nephew Brad.  All donations going to St. Jude and all supported by my little hometown.    

An endeavor of this sort is not for the faint of heart as it takes hundreds of volunteers and additional baseball fields now in surrounding communities.  To say it has grown is an understatement.  Last year the tournament raised 97,000 dollars with higher proceeds predicted this year. And all from a town of just 6,000 people.  It all started with one little family asking their friends to volunteer in order to remember one little boy and to raise money for pediatric cancer research.  That's pretty darn amazing.  That's my home town.

http://www.bradwallintourney.com

Speaking of St. Jude, the citizens of Chillicothe, Illinois ALWAYS go above and beyond to support pediatric cancer research leading to (hopefully) future cures.  These same people participate annually in the St. Jude run from Chillicothe to Peoria and are in the habit of raising over $300,00 dollars.  Compare that to some other (larger) cities and the amount raised by this small community is beyond respectable. 

And just when your thought the town had outdone itself…….

Last summer I was visiting my father in Arkansas on vacation when I read a Facebook post that stated that my little Catholic grade school in this tiny town was going to close.  Now my boys attend(ed) another similar little Catholic grade school in their hometown of Kirksville, Missouri and I am deeply committed to Catholic education.  It broke my heart to think of my hometown parish school, St. Edwards, closing after all of these years.  In an era where many small Catholic schools are having to close their doors based on dwindling enrollment and nearly non-existent financial stability it was not surprising news but personally devastating none the less.  And that's when the people of Chillicothe, Illinois rose to support yet another challenge and rallied.   

When word got out that the school was in danger of closing in just a few short weeks and would NOT reopen in the fall a very young (Optimistic? Ambitious?) St. Edwards alum started a Go Fund Me page just to see what would happen.  I mean it couldn’t hurt right?  And so we watched from my father’s house in Arkansas.  We watched online as first one person and then another donated/pledged amounts of all sizes.  We watched every hour and into the night.  We fell asleep, woke up and checked the page. We watched and we watched. Catholics donated. Non-Catholics donated.  Children donated.  Alumni donated.  People from surrounding towns donated. And on and on it went.  Finally, once the diocese took notice of the efforts being made in one tiny town they offered to throw in some money themselves IF the daunting amount of $400,000 could be raised independently. (I am quite sure feeling that the effort would never fully be realized). And it needed to be raised FAST if the school was to remain open for the 2016-2017 school year.   

But on the updates went.  I began that week of vacation crying because the school that helped to shape me into the person I am today was going to forever end and rob so many future community citizens and leaders (like myself and my grade school friends) of an experience that cannot be measured financially or otherwise.  But by the end of that week, I was sitting on my dad’s couch announcing the hourly progress of the campaign until finally, I read that they (WE) had made it.  The community had raised enough money to fix the roof and keep the doors OPEN!  My little alma mater school had a late start last fall and had to begin classes in another local donated space while improvements where being made to the roof and existing structure but soon enough, those students and teachers were all back in their school right where they belonged.  News stories called it the “Miracle in Chillicothe.”  And in a way, I suppose it was.  But to me, mainly, it was just another example of everyone in this special little town banding together in an extraordinary way to make a difference.  And a HUGE difference they continue to make.  These people.  These people in MY hometown.  I am so proud to say I am from Chillicothe, Illinois.  My hometown.  Saaaaaaa-lute!

http://thecatholicpost.com/2017/01/30/miracle-in-chillicothe-celebrated-as-reopened-st-edward-school-is-blessed/