Day 2 - JHA Conference 2023 at DennyGibson.com

Day 2: June 6, 2023
Sociability Rendezvous
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We spent the night at Harrah's Hotel & Casino then in the morning walked over to the Joliet RT 66 Diner for breakfast.

As we continued west on I-80, I noticed a long line of brightly painted satellite dishes and managed a not-too-blurry picture of a few of them. I later found this explanation of the "Alien Dish Farm".

When I took that first picture, I had no idea what it was other than an old rusty Nash. I soon learned that it was part of the signage for the LeClaire, IA, location of American Pickers. I had followed Fred off of the interstate and, although I've never watched the show, I'm well aware of it and quickly figured out why we were there. There was a "SORRY FOLKS WE ARE CLOSED FOR FILMING" sign in front of one building but the other was open for business. There were some interesting antiques, like the once buried motorcycle, on display and there may have been some for sale. It appeared that the majority of transactions, however, involved T-shirts, coffee cups, and the like.

I have stopped at the World's Largest Truckstop before but I believe this was the first time I've purchased gas here. From the pumps, I entered the building through a different door than I've used in the past and saw some things outside, like this big mural and the old gas pumps, that I'd not noticed before.

This was the second stop I had planned fro the drive from Pennsylvania and Iowa. I had originally hoped to do it while driving US 6 but reaching it from I-80 was only about a three mile diversion. Gus Nopoulos purchased the business that is now Wilton Candy Kitchen in 1910 but the building it occupies has been here since 1856 and apparently already housed a similar business as it contained a soda fountain and candy making equipment when Nopoulos purchased it. The neon sign over the door has been there since 1946. The green arrow flashes. Inside it looks exactly like you hope it would. The sign hanging inside is known to have been on the build in 1918 -- possibly earlier.

Beyond that sign is a museum like area with items from the business and Wilton in general. We chatted with owner Lynn Ochiltree who told us there are plans to build a dedicated museum building on the lot next door.

My go-to treat at soda fountains is a root beer float and I asked if I could get one when I entered. "Yes," was the answer, "but it's not the best thing we make." When I asked what that might be, J.C. and Abby teamed up to convince me I really needed a chocolate & peanut butter shake. Hand dipped ice cream, chocolate syrup from a pump, and peanut butter from a jar on the back counter. They were right. I did need this. Excellent!

Wilton has quite a few points of interest and Ochiltree helped us with directions to a couple of them. The 1898 Wilton Depot has a nicely restored caboose in the back and a cool Freedom Rock in front.

This is a good place to get your car repaired but, despite what various online sources claim and the fact that it was built in 1939 as a Standard Oil station, it is not a good place to fill your car with gas. The collection of signs and stuff, including what could be the world's largest gathering of Sting Ray bicycles, is most impressive, however. The pale yellow building in the background was a Maid-Rite until approximately 1973.

I missed this sign on the way into Wilton but thankfully Fred didn't. It is clear that a lot of effort went into the sign which makes the marking of I-80 as US-80 extra strange. An actual US highway, US-6 is marked with a circle as is IA-38.

When we checked into our motel in Iowa Falls, the desk clerk told us that a Jefferson Highway group had been there earlier and had headed off to a function downtown. We were much too late for the official Sociability Caravan event at the museum but recognized JHA folk walking to their cars and learned that some were headed to a nearby swinging bridge. The first bridge at the site was constructed in 1897 with several rebuilds since then. The most recent was in 1989. The waterfall sure adds to the view but apparently is not exactly natural.

The next two panels came from conversations at the bridge. We learned about the historic Popcorn Stand that operates on Wednesdays and special occasions and we learned that today was a special occasion.

We also learned that most or all of the group was going to the Princess Grill & Pizzeria for dinner. Originally called the Princess Cafe, the business opened in 1915 with the current building being constructed in 1934 following a fire. There is a history section on the menu. The menu contains a lot more than history and pizza. I had chicken Marsala.

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