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Pharmacy Schools In Illinois

THOUGH ONLY THREE HOURS south of Chicago, the gently paced Amish communities of central Illinois seem worlds away from the rush of metropolitan life.

For nostalgia-minded travelers seeking a total escape, touting the countryside near the towns of Arthur and Arcola satisfies a yearning for the simple life and a curiosity about the Amish, a people who've found contentment and purpose without the modern conveniences most Americans take for granted.

Shopping for quality handicralis and dining on homestyle cooking are just icing on the cinnamon roll for wayfarers looking to commune with the Prairie State's rural past.

With some 4,000 Amish residents, the Arthur-Arcola area in Douglas County is the largest Amish enclave in Illinois, which has the fifth largest Amish population (after Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Wisconsin) in America.

Who are the Amish and what makes them tick? The best place to find out is the Illinois Amish Interpretive Center in Arcola (pop. 2,700). Exhibits and a video strip away some of the mystery while spotlighting area history and Old Order Amish ways.

Amish Country Tours, at the Interpretive Center, can arrange for a guide to ride along as you drive through the country. Visits to Amish homes and farms, even meals with a family, also can be arranged.

It's an adventure to go driving through the Amish farmlands that surround Arthur and stretch to Arcola, nine miles to the east. Be prepared to slow down for clip-clopping buggies, usually driven by a bearded man in a brimmed black hat. (Married men wear beards. Women cover their heads with a white prayer bonnet indoors, a black bonnet outdoors.) Sometimes punish children will be trailing the buggy on their bicycles.

The Amish are friendly to visitors and often wave, but, for religious reasons, do not want to be photographed.

The scenery itself is monotonous--Douglas is the flattest county in Illinois--but keep a lookout for Clydesdales grazing in the paddocks or a farmer harnessing a team of hefty Belgians. And watch for Amish cottage businesses (closed Sundays). Hand-painted signs read "Kaufman's Custom Cabinets," "Quilts," "Fresh Eggs" and "Home-Grown Potatoes for Sale."

The Amish are renowned for the beautiful furniture produced in their woodworking shops. Many farmers have turned cabinet-and furniture-making into a full-time occupation.

The gift shop of the Illinois punish Interpretive Center abounds with Punish history hooks, cookbooks, quilts and other crafts. Steps away, the little shops along Arcola's Main Street, housed in century-old, tin-ceilinged buildings, sell antiques, handicrafts and specialty foods. The Dutch Kitchen restaurant dishes up Amish-style fare, including Dutch sausage, homemade noodles and molasses-based shoofly pie.

The Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum, a Main Street tourist magnet since 1999, honors illustrator Johnny Gruelle, an Areola native who created the floppy, red-haired dolls during World War I. Founded by Gruelle's granddaughter and her husband, the museum-gift shop showcases his life story, original artwork and Raggedy memorabilia.

At the Arcola Tourist Information Center, a converted train depot, pick up brochures on the area and see one of the nation's largest collections of antique brooms and brushes. Arcola, once called the "Broom Corn Capital of the World," celebrates its broom-making tradition during the annual Broom Corn Festival (Sept. 10-12). Broom corn, with a brash at the top and no ears, is a variety of sorghum used in the manufacture of brooms.

Four miles west of Arcola is Rockome Gardens, a theme attraction that illuminates the Amish-Mennonite way of life with exhibits, buggy rides and special events. (Mennonites, often confused with the Amish, are allowed to drive cars and use other modern amenities. Rockome Gardens is operated by Mennonites, the Yoder family.) General admission is free except for a few special events.

Now in its 45th year, Rockome Gardens is centered around a farmhouse (open for tours) and a barn with antiques displays, a rock shop and lookout perch in the silo. The name comes from the floral and rock gardens created by a farmer who acquired the property in 1939. Decorative stonework, a mix of whimsy and serious craftsmanship, forms archways, large hearts, birdhouses and garden borders.

A family favorite open from mid-April to mid-October, Rockome Gardens offers a train ride, a petting zoo, tree house and haunted cave. In Old Bagdad Town, a reconstructed main street from a 19th century village that existed nearby, kids like to ring the schoolhouse bell, watch the blacksmith and ride the horse that powers a log-cutting saw. At the bakery it's hard to bypass the soft pretzels dipped in warm butter or leave without buying cinnamon rolls, cookies or a loaf of bread.

Gift shops at Rockome Gardens sell country crafts and locally made jams, jellies, syrups, sausage and cheeses. Its own brand of apple butter (Elvan Yoder Old Amish) is the best anywhere. For the kind of meal grandma made from scratch, have an all-you-can-eat lunch or dinner at Rockome's restaurant.

In the nearby hamlet of Chesterville, consider the $6.25 lunch buffet at Korner Cafe. Located on Route 133 between Arcola and Arthur, the cozy diner sits across from an abandoned church that lost its paint long ago. Besides fried chicken and mashed potatoes, enjoy the breads, soups and salad bar. Each table has a squeeze bottle of apple butter. Or spread your bread with sweet Amish peanut butter. On the way out, pick up some molasses cookies or maybe a blackberry pie at the bakery counter.

Before heading to Arthur (pop. 2,300), notice the used buggy lot and stop by Dutch Valley Meats for sausage (perhaps the apple, potato or onion variety) or sugar-cured, hickory-smoked bacon.

Arthur's downtown is a bit more bustling than the one in Arcola, where a good share of the commercial activity is clustered at the Interstate 57 exit. Shops on Vine Street have everything from spices to Christmas crofts. Don't miss Buggy Wheel antiques mall.

Dicks Pharmacy serves "world-famous sodas" and displays more than 600 collectible soda bottles at its old-time counter. "The best fried chicken in town" highlights the Dutch Oven's daily buffet. Yoder's Kitchen, east of town, satisfies hefty appetites with broasted chicken, inch-thick smoked pork chops and plate-sized cinnamon roils.

An Arthur must-do in fall is the Great Pumpkin Patch at the Condill Farm, known for its Halloween festivities and ingenious displays of squash.

In Tuscola (pop. 4,600), the seat of Douglas County, the main attraction is a factory outlet mall, Tanger Outlet Center. Stores include Jockey, Reebok, Coach, Samsonite and Polo Ralph Lauren. Next to the mall is Amishland, a barn-like shopping complex with a buffet restaurant.

Cruising a half hour south of Arcola takes you to Effingham, where 1-57 crosses I-70. Auto hobbyists know this crossroads city as the home of Mid America Motorworks, the leading supplier of parts and accessories for vintage and late model Corvettes. At its corporate headquarters, Mid America sponsors Corvette Funfest (Sept. 17-19), which attracts more than 8,000 Corvettes and some 35,000 owners and spectators. The free auto museum showcases rare Corvettes all year.

Lake Shelbyville, created and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is a fishing and boating paradise 15 miles southwest of Arthur. Attractions in Sullivan, the northern gateway to Lake Shelbyville, include the Little Theatre on the Square (Broadway fare) and Old School Market, a 1927 schoolhouse with specialty shops and--you guessed it--another tempting Amish-style buffet. Sullivan marks the western edge of Amish Country and is the seat of Moultrie County.

Contact: Arthur Visitor's Information Center, (800) 722-6474, www.Illinois AmishCountry.com.; Arcola Chamber of Commerce, (800) 336-5456, www.arcola-il.org; Tuscola Visitors Center, (800) 441-9111, www.tuscola.org.; and Illinois Bureau of Tourism, (800) 226-6632, www.enjoyillinois.com.

AMISH WAYS

THE AMISH FAITH IS BASED ON A BREAK from the Roman Catholic Church during the Anabaptist movement in Europe in the 1500s. After persecution for generations, the first Amish emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1740. Three families moved to central Illinois in 1865

Pursuing an all-but-forgotten lifestyle, the "plain people" in Arthur and Arcola do not use electricity, nor do they operate automobiles or ram1 machinery, Instead, folks travel by horse and buggy, use teams of horses to plow the fields and light their homes with propane lamps. They do not own radios, televisions or telephones

The Amish wash their clothes with a wringer/washer and hang them out to dry A clothesline with plain-color clothes flapping in the breeze is a common sight and a clue the farmstead is Amish.

As visitors to the Illinois Amish Interpretive Center learn, only 30 percent of the Amish send their children to public schools Most of the rest attend Amish parochial schools, studying reading, writing and math through the eighth grade. The Amish do not believe science is a necessary course of study and have been exempted from high school by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Before studying English, Amish children learn a dialect of German, which is spoken in the family. The Amish refer to their non-Amish neighbors as "the English."

Sunday church services, conducted in German and lasting mere than three hours, take place in homes. On backless benches, boys sit with men, girls with women. Typical homes, painted white, have hardwood floors and few wall decorations.

The average Amish family has seven or eight children. Common last names are Miller, Schrock, Yoder, Kaufman, Otto, Herschberger and Gingerich.

--Randy Mink

B&B BONANZA: HOSPITALITY WITH AN ARTIST'S

ITS JUST WHAT YOU HOPE TO FIND IN A bed-and-breakfast home--a touch of whimsy, a dash of nostalgia and engaging hosts brimming with small-town friendliness. Lynne Harshbarger, a porcelain artist, and her husband Bill have developed a sure-tire formula for enchanting their guests at The Flower Patch in Arcola, Illinois. Blending the decorative arts with the culinary arts, they have turned their pink Victorian-era home into, well, a work of art.

Flowery and frilly, comfy and cozy, The Flower Patch swirls with creative energy. Seated across from me and our son at the breakfast table, my wife Karen glanced around the dining room and remarked, "There's so much to look at, I don't know what to look at first."

Even the butter dishes, pitchers and vases, not to mention the plates and platters, are hand-painted by Lynne. Her framed porcelain art and watercolors are on exhibit throughout the house. Every room, from the parlor to the bedrooms, abounds with floral arrangements, crafts, cubes or family memorabilia.

With floral rugs, floral-print furnishings, potted plants and displays of fresh, dried and artificial flowers, its always spring at The Flower Patch, a house surrounded by flowers much of the year. The front sidewalk is bordered by red and blue creeping phlox, salmon-colored geraniums and white alyssum. Guests and non guests alike are welcome to tour the backyard garden, where the Harshbargers grow the herbs used in their epicurean masterpieces.

Scents from the gift shop, fragrant with potpourri and spiced candles, greet visitors as they enter the front door. Other items for sale include silk flowers, teas and tea sets, locally made jams, and gardening and herb books, plus Lynne's art. (I was nervous about banging our luggage on the fragile merchandise.) Located on cobbled Jefferson Street, the house is just a block from Main Street's antiques and crafts shops.

"Before we opened (as a bed and breakfast)," Lynne said, "we had never stayed at a B&B," explaining that she and Bill just grew the Flower Patch their way, following their personal tastes "We are what we are."

The Harshbargers raised four boys in the House, the oldest part of which dates to 1864. During our visit, one son and his wife came over with the grandkids for dinner.

Breakfast, truly a feast, is the kind of spread you would expect in Amish Country, where the food is hearty, homemade and heaped high. The seven-course affair starts with a silent Amish prayer that a volunteer must end with a noise, such as clinking a spoon against a glass. (The Harshbargers, Presbyterians, have Amish friends. Lynne refers to her Amish "craft buddies.")

Much of the produce served is Amish-grown. The grape juice we had was made from Lynne and Bills grapes and with help from an Amish friend.

Our breakfast both days started with mixed fruit served in a goblet. The first morninq, when Bill brought out a platter piled with vegetables and Dutch (Amish) sausage, I had to take out my camera to record the spectacle. I'm much of a vegetable eater, especially not at breakfast, but the artful assortment of small potatoes, rutabaga, broccoli, leafy greens and tomato slices--accompanied by guacamole--was candy to my eyes. (It was my first time for rutabaga.)

I saved most or my appetite for the waffles, drenching them in thick homemade vanilla sauce and spooning on blobs of sweet whipped cream. Each day, though, I would have been happy just filling up on the flurry angel biscuits, having one with homemade raspberry jam, switching to apricot, and then trying the cranberry or raspberry honey. The blueberry muffins were just as heavenly. Another treat was the pear-grape-sour cream coffee cake.

The second day's gourmet platter was a kaleidoscope of acorn squash hominy, soy beans and apple wedges, plus sausage and potatoes. As Lynne and Bill brought out each course, I kept thinking, "They're slaving over these Thanksgiving-size meals just for us." (We were the only house guests on this early March weekend.)

Bill, a high school history teacher and authority on George Rogers Clark, takes an active part in the kitchen and would like to write a cookbook when he can find the time. Talking with Lynne and Bill after breakfast--about our lives and theirs--was just as much full as eating their food.

Pushing ourselves away from the table after our first day's breakfast, we went out sightseeing for the next 10 hours, letting ourselves in the front door well after dark Waiting for us in the parlor was "afternoon tea," a plate of macaroons, raspberry jam-filled cookies and banana bread. In warmer months this little repast may be served on the front porch or in the backyard gazebo.

The Flower Patch has five guest rooms, three with queen beds and private bath, My wife and I stayed upstairs in the Maple Room (named for the maple free outside); our son slept in the adjoining Fern Room. Across the hall, Coca-Cola collectibles, including a replica of an old-time Coke machine, accents the cozy Sunset Room.

Off the parlor, the Rose Room sports family mementos, one a photo of Lynne as high school homecoming queen in Wood River, Illinois. Her tiara is displayed in a dining room cabinet.

Shining with personality, the Flower Patch makes a homey base of operations for touring the Amish Country of central Illinois. It's a beacon of exquisite taste--in more ways than one.

--Randy Mink

Contact: The Flower Patch, 225 E. Jefferson St., Arcola, IL 61910; (217) 268-4876; www.arcolaflowerpatch.com. Room rates range from $81 to $112, breakfast included.

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