Made in Illinois

6 • Vol. XI, Issue II, Fall 2018 ILLINOISouth.org

What is it about Palestine, IL?

The water in the small town of Palestine, located in Crawford County on the border of Illinois and Indiana, must have creative juices in it. The Illinois Office of Tourism has recognized two businesses from Palestine for its Illinois Made program: Mullen’s Salad Dressing and Steve Meadows Folk Art.

If you wonder why a locally made salad dressing made the list, ask yourself, “When was the last time I liked a condiment so much I ordered it by the case?” If you said, “Never!” then maybe you should try Mullen’s Salad Dressing. Believe it or not, they have customers living out of the area who order the dressing, glazes and sauces by the case. It’s hard to come up with a better product endorsement than that!

So what’s the Mullen’s story? After serving as a cook in Europe during WWII and returning home to perfect his “French sauce” (the basis for the current Imitation French dressing), John D. Mullen opened his manufacturing and bottling plant on Main Street in Palestine in 1948. Mullen ran the profitable and fast-growing business until 1963 when it was purchased by new owners.

The new corporation renamed J.D. Mullen Company retained John as a consultant and appointed Roy Shaner as General Manager. Together they worked on new products until John Mullen’s death. Since 1985, Roy, his wife Ann and their son, Jeff, co-owned the company.

Today, Jeff Shaner is president and sole owner. For 70 years, the company has adhered to the rigid quality standards set by the founder, and are still making the dressings from his original secret recipes. Find them at 211-215 S. Main St., Palestine, on Facebook @mullensdressing, 618-586-2727 or mullensdressing.com. A recent Facebook video posted by ILLI- NOISouth Tourism after touring Mullen’s facility reached 38,669 people and generated 2,257 reactions. You might want to get your order in soon!

If you’ve ever walked into an art gallery, show or studio and wondered, “how does this person’s mind work?” be sure to visit S.D. Meadows Folk Art Gallery located in a restored 1900s storefront along the Lincoln Heritage Trail in Palestine. A self-taught artist, Meadows opened his gallery 30 years ago. Originally he made mostly brightly colored and fantastic wood carvings (he has a “Patriotic Uncle Sam” cane in the Smithsonian). Fifteen years ago, Meadows’ began focusing on what he calls “Junk Art or “Recycled Art.” He refers to his shop as “A gallery outside the box. Original, one of a kind folk art pieces and a fun selection of collectable items, primitive furnishings, pottery

and accessories.”

Using what most of us would consider trash or junk, Steve Meadows’ art pieces make statements from “Why?” to “Why Not?” The “Why” greets visitors right next to the “Historic Palestine” welcome sign. The “Why Not?” is all over town and in his gallery. There are several metal faces, a giant frog face with a pink ironing board tongue, sculptures and several more pieces in the Village Inn. One sculpture is named, “Revenue,” because he sees his art as a way to bring tourism into town. “If you have an inviting downtown area,” Meadows said, “people will want to keep coming back.” And so should you. The gallery is located at 217 S. Main St., Palestine, on Facebook or 618- 586-5242. Check out all the blogs at illinoisouth.org/blog