O’Fallon Downtown District will be bustling with Super Summer Saturday event
It has been a while since people could view the inside of the iconic red caboose in downtown O’Fallon, but that changes Saturday, July 17, when the Downtown District hosts a Super Summer Saturday.
This weekend’s Super Summer Saturday will feature an open house hosted by the O’Fallon Historical Society, the second annual O’Fallon Bike Crawl, and business specials throughout the day, starting with the Vine Street Market from 8 a.m. to noon at the O’Fallon Station.
Besides this Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to noon, the other scheduled dates for the caboose open houses — all Saturdays — are Aug. 14 and Sept. 18.
“Downtown O’Fallon would have the caboose open on occasion, especially for special downtown events. COVID, of course, shut all that down. We just wanted to get back to letting people see the inside of the caboose on occasion, once it was safe to do so,” said local historian Brian Keller.
“We thought that doing it on the Super Summer Saturdays might be a nice time, to give shoppers and their children something extra special to do while they were in the Downtown District,” said Keller, president of the O’Fallon Historical Society.
The caboose has been spruced up with a new paint job and signage.
“Because it’s out in the open and exposed to the elements, it requires periodic exterior repainting,” Keller said. “It was actually past due for a new coat of paint, especially on the roof. The interior is fine, no spiffing up needed except for occasional dusting and sweeping.”
While it was never actually used in O’Fallon during its working caboose days, Keller said, it is evocative and a symbol of O’Fallon’s deep railroad roots.
“I think our O’Fallon caboose compares very favorably with others of its kind at railway museums — especially with how the interior has been maintained,” Keller said. “It’s an instantly recognizable and well-loved downtown landmark, as well as the backdrop for countless photos. Who in O’Fallon doesn’t know where the caboose is? It’s an important part of the fabric of the Downtown District.”
History of the Caboose
Main Street O’Fallon purchased the caboose from the Golden Railroad Supply Inc. of St. Louis in May 1998 to “further enhance the charm of the railroad corridor and maintain the railroad theme throughout downtown.”
Originally, it was an Illinois Central Railroad caboose, designated as IC 9597, Keller said.
“At the time of its purchase, it was believed to have been built in 1961, though online caboose inventories indicate that it was built in 1969 in Centralia, Illinois. It was described as steel construction with a wide vision cupola, extended porch, riveted body, and Stanray roof,” he said.
“As part of a merger, it became an Illinois Central Gulf caboose (ICG 199597) in 1972. More railroad restructuring followed, and it later was used by the Great Western Railroad with the designation GWWR 10211. Its final tour of duty was with the Kansas City Southern Railroad. The caboose was eventually retired from service and put up for sale,” he said.
The caboose’s exterior was renovated by Metro East Industries and then brought to O’Fallon by Mariah Transportation Services in September 1998, Keller said.
“It was set in place by Hulcher Services. Ellerbrake Construction and McMillin Truck Service constructed the rails it would sit on. Once in place, Tom Kues, Cadet Girl Scout Troop 159, and BonJo’s Furniture Refinishing & Upholstery renovated the interior,” he said.
Caboose funding and maintenance
“To help pay the costs, Main Street O’Fallon sold ‘Caboose Joose,’ a cherry drink supplied by Pet Dairy at many downtown and city events. The caboose was dedicated on Dec. 5, 1998,” he said.
Keller explained Main Street O’Fallon became Downtown O’Fallon Inc. in 2009 but continued to own and maintain the caboose.
In 2019, Downtown O’Fallon Inc., not to be confused with the present Downtown District, dissolved and transferred ownership of the caboose to the O’Fallon Historical Society.
The historical society’s new sign was installed by BC Signs in mid-June.
For more information, or to find out how to support OHS through donations and/or membership, email info@ofallonhistory.net.
Second Annual Bike Crawl
Sarah Schwarz, one of the founders of the O’Fallon Bike Crawl, is excited about this year’s event on Saturday, which will support local businesses hit hard by the pandemic.
“The event was born from a small group of friends last year looking to find a way to support and give back to our local bars and restaurants who were impacted by the pandemic. We were sad to see our thriving service industry take such a huge hit due to COVID,” she said.
“When O’Fallon residents heard what we were doing many rallied together and joined the 2020 event. Now that things have opened locally, we’ve decided to continue the event annually. It’s a fun day and a great way to show all those who serve us locally just how much we appreciate them and are grateful for what they do,” she said.
Rent options, Bike Crawl route
Schwarz said people can just show up and ride. She also noted Bike Surgeon has a limited inventory of bicycles available to rent, so people should not wait to reserve one if they do not have access to a bike.
Folks can join the Bike Crawl at 1 p.m. Saturday at The Depot, which is located at 126 E. State St. From there, bikers can ride to The Hut, 130 Behrens Drive; The American Legion, 109 N. Penn St; Mandie’s Bar, 108 E. State St.; Gears (at the Bike Surgeon), 207 E. State St.; Gia’s, 102 W. State St.; Hemingway’s Zen Garden, 123 E. First St.; The Charles Fricke Post 805 VFW, 221 W. First St.; Outdoorsman Lounge, 127 E. First St.; Casa Azteca, 501 W. U.S. 50; Shooter’s Bar & BBQ, 113 E. First St.; and 1st Street Lounge, 119 W. First St.
Schwarz said people should be prepared to tip their servers and using cash will assist servers in getting orders through.
T-shirts had to be pre-ordered and will not be available for purchase the day of the event.
“Last year, we had some people pick a theme and all rode together. Some decorated their bikes. It’s all about riding around town and supporting all of our local businesses that have suffered over the last 15 months,” she said.
For more information, email ofallonbikecrawl@gmail.com
Downtown District Rebound
Once the state lifted the public health crisis restrictions, the Downtown District prepared to return to festive events and welcomed people back for an arts festival June 26 — Chalk It Up art contest and BazaArt.
It was considered a resounding success, said organizer Cory Hallerbach of Art Gecko Studio, who has already announced the art contest will continue to be an annual event.
“We are planning for June 4 and making this event the first weekend of June. At least that is the plan for now. We had a blast and have already started making pro and con lists from the two events,” she said.
“I received nothing but positive feedback from O’Fallon citizens, aldermen, the mayor, etc. I had people ask for us to please do this again next year and offer to help — which, as we know, finding help is hard to find when it comes to events,” she said.
Vine Street Market
The Vine Street Market, 212 E. First St., is another success story, after its debut in spring 2019 at the O’Fallon Station gathering space, funded through the Destination O’Fallon economic development incentive.
Booths with local produce, meats, cheese, eggs, bread, baked sweet treats, coffee, wine, canned craft beer, tea and more are available.
If people want to find out what vendors are at the farmers’ market every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon, there is a map available on the website or directly at this link: http://maps.managemymarket.com/4489.
Market Coordinator Sarah Burton said updates are live, but last-minute cancellations can happen the morning of market.
The market is also accepting donations for the O’Fallon Food Pantry — both perishable, non-perishable items and toiletries — and can be dropped off between 8 and 11:30 a.m. inside the building at the green wagon by the large chalkboard.
This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 9:17 AM.