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| NewsMonday, September 17, 2007 9:08 AM CDT |
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Roamer tour big hit in Streator
STREATOR — It’s not often that something made in 1917 is considered too new, but that happened to the Roamer, a make of car once built in Streator. The city hosted the Roamer Brass Tour, which is sponsored by the Illinois Brass Touring Region of the Antique Car Club of America. The tour, which visited Streator and nearby communities last week, was open to cars built before 1915. “The (Roamer) car was built in 1917,” said Ed Brozak, the city’s tourism director. “And that’s just too new.” Still, the city’s automotive history made it ideal for anchoring the tour. The Illinois Brass Touring Region picked Streator for the three-day event “because of our history with old cars,” he said. Streator manufactured the Roamer, likened to the Rolls Royce but much cheaper, in the early 20th century. That car inspired the Roamer Cruise Night, which takes place each Labor Day in downtown Streator. One of the few surviving Roamers was on display Thursday night at the Knights of Columbus hall along with about 20 antique cars on the tour. The Brass Touring organization limits its members to cars built in 1915 or before, said event organizer Chris Verda of Granville. After that the car industry started using nickel instead of brass for such things radiators and trim. Verda, owner of a 1912 Buick, said that when it was her turn to pick a tour host city, she picked Streator “because of the enthusiasm it has for old cars.” Tree house — The LaSalle County Board last week was very receptive to a proposal to build a disabled-accessible tree house at county-owned Catlin Park 10 minutes from Starved Rock State Park. The ramped tree house would be built with private donations at no cost to the county. It would add to the tourist-friendly features Starved Rock already enjoys, organizer Kelly Klotz said. “It would be a fun place for all family members, not just handicapped children,” Klotz said. “With it so close to Starved Rock, I can see families from Streator and elsewhere using it.” The tree house would be up to 800 square feet, about the size of a large living room. The first step is to raise the $2,500 to get a consultant who has designed such structures. United Way — Streator United Way has set a goal for this year that is slightly higher than last year’s but less than the money actually raised then. This year’s goal of $235,000 is about $6,000 more than last year. When last year’s money was counted, though, the organization found it had raised more than $256,000. Viaduct on track — The Broadway Street viaduct, carrying traffic over Streator’s busy freight train lines, is scheduled to open next spring or earlier, project officials said. The $5.4 million project by Stark Excavating of Bloomington replaced a 77-year-old bridge that became unsafe. The project remains within budget. Chair auction — The 52 artistic chairs that were put up for auction during the last 30 days at the Pontiac Public Library raised $5,765 for the library’s Moving on Up expansion project. The expansion will make the second floor of the library a children’s area while the first floor’s adult section will be expanded. The goal for the project is $1 million. Jennifer Tarnumm, interim director of the library, said more than $600,000 has been raised. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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