Inside

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

8 THE FOUNDER OF FIDDLEROCK!

Violinist Casey McGrath stepped off the beaten path and blazed the trail to her own brand of music

15 VENTURE INTO FFOREST FEST

A Morris festival spotlights live music, shopping and food trucks beneath the trees

16 SUMMER EVENINGS, FRESH AIR AND SHAKESPEARE

Grab a lawn chair and catch a free performance of ‘Twelfth Night’ during a Princeton theater’s 2023 season of Shakespeare in the Park

22 ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

John Kettman transforms cultural talking points into pop art on canvases ranging from pumpkins, to grains of rice, to pencil tips

DINING &

DRINKS

27 THE TASTE OF SUMMER

On a hot day, indulge in frozen treats at this sampling of local shops in Starved Rock Country

30 WELCOME TO GAETANO’S VAULT Streator dining destination welcomes a new executive chef and serves a scratch-made menu

History

34 WHEN AMELIA EARHART CRASHED IN STARVED ROCK COUNTRY

One year before the famous flier disappeared, Amelia Earhart crashed her car and visited a La Salle garage for repairs

38 THE CANAL THAT BUILT CHICAGO

Trade and travel boomed when the Illinois & Michigan Canal opened 175 years ago – and it runs through the heart of Starved Rock Country

Must See

40 DESTINATION: CANAL TOWN

Bring a bike or hiking shoes to try one of these five excursions that explore the I&M Canal State Trail and the downtowns it passes through

50 PRIDE & JOY

In 2022, 4,500 people flocked to Ottawa for the inaugural Family Pride Festival Learn what’s in store for the festival’s return in 2023

Lodgings

55 WHERE LUXURY MEETS NATURE

Camp Aramoni delivers a boutique camping and dining experience along the banks of the Vermilion River

In Each Issue

EDITOR’S NOTE 6

58 he first image my mind conjures when I think of the Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail is color: a vibrant kaleidoscope of green. My first experience with the canal trail was during a photography class at Seneca High School. The path quite literally cuts through the school’s backyard – on one side of the fence is a campus parking lot and football field. On the other side is the canal and its towpath, where mules and horses once hauled boats up and down the waterway.

In 2005, my class embarked on the trail to practice nature photography. My photos from that day have long since been misplaced, but the experience never lost clarity in my memory. I remember an arching, cathedral-like ceiling of tree branches overhead. I remember a warm breeze and shaded earth and miles of crushed limestone path unfolding into the distance, full of opportunity and discovery.

I also remember the wet squelch of my right shoe for the rest of the afternoon after I committed a hiking faux pas and stepped off trail to follow a frog, only to sink into marshy ground. (And it was all for naught; I never managed to capture a photo of the frog.)

In the almost 20 years that have since passed, I’ve hiked and biked the full leg of the canal trail across Starved Rock Country, stretching about 40 miles from La Salle in the west through Morris in the east (see map on p. 44). I’ve encountered wildlife ranging from deer to turtles to birds – in March, I spotted my first pileated woodpecker while hiking near Marseilles, and in April I stopped counting how many painted turtles were paddling the water’s surface near Utica. I’ve also met local residents walking their dogs, ambitious hikers trekking the full 61.5 miles of trail from Rockdale to La Salle and even international travelers who are exploring a piece of United States history.

In this issue of Starved Rock Country Magazine, we focus on the I&M Canal, which celebrates its 175th anniversary this year. The canal was a game changer for industry, shipping and travel when it opened in April 1848 by connecting Lake Michigan to the Illinois River. This gave the Great Lakes a direct route to the Mississippi River, effectively creating an inland water route to the Gulf of Mexico. Read more about its history on p. 38.

The canal is an artery in Starved Rock Country that links six downtowns –La Salle, Utica, Ottawa, Marseilles, Seneca and Morris. Visitors can make a day of hiking or biking from one community to the next and exploring the many recreation and dining opportunities these downtowns have to offer (p. 40).

In our canal towns, there’s plenty more to do beyond the trail. Mark your calendar for June 3 when fForest Fest brings a music festival, shopping experience and food truck rally to Morris (p. 15). Or you can check out one of Fiddlerock! creator Casey McGrath’s crowd-drawing shows where violin meets rock and pop music (p. 8).

We invite you to travel along a piece of American history and tour the heart of Starved Rock Country this summer. The trail awaits.

JULIE BARICHELLO Editor

Starved Rock Country Magazine is published quarterly or seasonally four times per year

Shaw Media

110 W Jefferson St Ottawa, IL 61350 815-431-4014 www starvedrockcountry com

Email photo or article submission queries to jbarichello@shawmedia com

Copyright 2023 Reproduction or use of editorial or graphic content in any manner, without permission, is prohibited

Vol� 11 No� 2

Summer 2023 Edition

2023-05/25,000

PUBLISHER

Dan Goetz

EDITOR & DESIGN

Julie Barichello

PRODUCTION

Rhonda Dillon

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Julie Barichello

Ali Braboy

Stephanie Jaquins

Ryan Searl

Charles Stanley

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Scott Anderson

Annette Barr

Tom Sistak

CONTRIBUTING ARTIST

Clara Brubaker

Handhelds

Served with your choice of side