Editor’s Note: Class reunions are always an integral part of Heritage Days and this year is no different... This story features a glimpse at what Macomb was like 50 years ago; it is not all-encompassing in terms of businesses and industry that were part of the community’s landscape in 1975.
MACOMB – The year is 1975, the month is September and it's a Friday night in Macomb, Illinois. A 'night out on the town' might have included cruising in a car purchased at Woodrum's, with 'Saturday Night Special' by Lynyrd Skynyrd blasting through the eight-track player, and hitting Billy Woo's Chop Suey & Steakhouse or if you were feeling fancy, The Tack Room ('A great place to take a date'), before heading to the Illinois or the Lark to catch the latest flick.
As the Macomb High School Class of 1975 returns for its 50th class reunion this Heritage Days weekend, The Community News Brief – with the help of old Western Couriers and the many ads featured, and one of Macomb's former establishment owners (and later mayor), Tom Carper – is taking a walk down memory lane. Carper, along with David Kielpinski, opened Tom & Ski's Grin & Beer It, a local watering hole that was a veterans' hangout, in 1972, with Carper remaining in the bar biz until being elected mayor in 1991. Fun fact: The former Grin & Beer It (and what was also known as the Study Hall) is now the Macomb Public Library's Children's Library wing.
'We took over the Empire Club. The Kings Inn was purchased, as was its neighbor, Shag's, and they both became college bars. The Pace Hotel changed hands and became a college 'hot spot,' Rose's Dairy changed locations and became the Roe Boat,' Carper recalled.
'Tom & Ski's was the gathering place for many campus veterans. Ski and I were both Army vets so that was a natural, but we also had a mix of local community members. That made sense, the returning veterans were older than typical college students and had a different life, work and career expectations that were more in sync with the locals.
'It sounds crazy, but with all of the things going on I felt our bar and the vets club had lots of interaction with the Macomb community,' he added. 'Our group, the vets, were active on and off campus. I would attribute that to age and life experiences. It was a really nice balance.'
In 1975, a date night, a parents' night out or a get-together with friends, might take one to the Dairy Queen on West Jackson Street (where it remains today), by the House of Bottles for a six-pack (which is now part of the West Side Lumber complex) or swinging by the Last Chance (formerly Big Mama's and the Landmark) at 1505 E.
Jackson (now a car lot for Elbe's), the Boot Hill Saloon (later, the Cadillac Lounge and the Purple Pride) on the corner of Rt. 67 and University Drive (now Make Fit Happen) and grabbing a pack of smokes (or some Wrigley's Spearmint gum) from Cady's Smokehouse (still located on Lafayette Street).
'I think of the Elton John song, 'Saturday Night.' It was not a crazy as the song describes, but it was kind of crazy. Overall, there was a lot happening and not just the bars. Entertainment at the university, restaurant's, movie theaters and campus area house parties were popular,' Carper shared. 'One of my favorite memories is Don Knox at Paglia's Pizza making pizzas and watching over the square from his spot in the window making sure everything was okay.'
The Lark, The Illinois, The Fort Drive-In and Cinema I & II might have been playing Dog Day Afternoon, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Three Days of the Condor and Jaws. While those theatres are long gone, with a six-screen multiplex on the east side of town showing the flicks these days, remnants of The Illinois remain as part of the nightclub, The Forum, on the west side of the square.
For those 19 and older, a myriad of 'adult beverage' businesses were located throughout Macomb. The Change of Pace Hotel was a must-stop for the younger set – as well as townies.
Today, The Change of Pace is known as The Ice House in what became the Pace's new location in the 1990s on Campbell Street, with the former location serving as the home to the new Domino's and its parking lot.
And while The Ritz changed hands many years ago, the college bar remains on the east side of the square, across from Chandler Park. The Café, owned by Matt and Tim Kipling of Macomb, who purchased the bar from Carper in 1991, is a west side square mainstay, and the former Gin Mill right next door is now The Small Towner event venue. Walt's Office across the street from what is now The Forum (formerly the Illinois Theatre).
And after it was all over, it might be a run through Hardee's drive-through on West Jackson for the 'Harold's Special.' While the building remains, Hardee's is no more; however, a new restaurant, Beef-A-Roo will be opening at that location in the near future.
Getting ready for school, work or a dance might mean a special outfit from The Princess Shoppe or Nelson's, both of which remain in business 50 years later, along with Farm King. While J.C. Penney's, another clothing mainstay, is gone from the west side of the square, a new event center is going in the newly-renovated home of the former clothing store, and in the home of the former K-Mart on East Jackson (which was a go-to for almost anything) is T.J.Maxx and Hobby Lobby.
'In the Fall of 1975, I started work at Arrasmith Jewelry Store on the north side of the square, which is where I learned how to engrave. I met so many people working there. That is a time when brides registered for china, glassware and silverware, and you always 'dressed up' to work and to shop,' Lin (Miner) Stults, a Macomb-bornand- raised resident and owner of Engraving by Lin remembered. 'While things do change, Macomb does re-invent' itself every few years and it seems to always get better.'
While the Macomb today looks different than the Macomb of 1975, there remains businesses (and people) who continue to be integral to the community's success and vibrancy. And while many of the once-popular establishments might be long gone, in their place are new businesses and industry to continue to move Macomb forward.
