Visiting the Past

The last couple of weeks we were visiting several churches in Illinois. We were able to meet up with old friends and made several new ones. Everyone was very receptive and hospitable and we really enjoyed our time there. Thank you to everyone for making our time there so enjoyable!

While we were nearby, we decided to visit Dixon, IL where we had pastored for 5 years from 1981-1986. In fact, our youngest son, Matt, was born here.

The famous Dixon arch

The former Open Bible Church building

Dixon is also the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan. He was President of the US while we lived in Dixon, so we had a chance to see him when he visited during the dedication of his boyhood home. Actually, we saw the back of his head while he was being driven in the motorcade to the conference center where he was to speak.

President Ronald Reagan's boyhood home

Statue of President Ronald Reagan

Not too far from Dixon is a small town called Grand Detour. This is where John Deere came as a young man and became the blacksmith for the area. The pioneer farmers had been using the cast iron plows that they brought with them from the east, but they found that the thick, muddy soil of the area was sticking to the plows. John Deere noticed the problem and invented the self-cleaning steel plow that made plowing easier for these farmers. It is from these simple beginning that John Deere became one of the foremost names in farm equipment.

John Deere's blacksmith shop where it all began

John Deere, Ronald Reagan and now the Juntunen family: famous people who have connections with Dixon, Illinois. :)