PEORIA MAGAZINE September 2022

The Cannery event center in Eureka provides a venue for weddings, meetings, banquets and more

from fireworks and a 5K run to fishing, kayaking, picnics and cycling orwalking the paved trail encircling its waters. The lake hosts disc golfers from across the country at the Ledgestone Open and Disc Golf World Championships. Lake Road has the honorary title Ben Zobrist Way, a tip of the baseball cap to the hometown boy and former Chicago Cub who was named MVP of the 2016 World Series. THE REAGAN CONNECTION Since the 1970s — and especially since the national election in 1980 — no one gets out of Eureka without at least a passing glimpse of another major local hero, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Big green signs point the way on I-74, while more subtle Ronald Reagan Trail signs mark a self guided route from the 40th president’s birthplace in Tampico, Illinois, to Eureka College, his alma mater, Class of 1932. These days, the Ronald Reagan Museum in the Donald B. Cerf Center

Back at the courthouse, the four faced clock chimes on the hour and half-hour. Several years back the clock and bell were in serious disrepair, but the county and the people of Eureka rallied to save them. They ended up preserving a piece of what’s good and admirable about Eureka for generations to come. . “There’s a lot of heart here in Eureka,” said McFarlin. “Those who know it, know it.” City of Eureka eurekaillinois.net Eureka Business Association eurekabusiness.net Eureka College eureka.edu Reagan Museum eureka.edu/about/reaganlegacy/ visit-the-reagan-museum SEE FOR YOURSELF…

contains more than 10,000 items from his time as a student and his movie and political careers. Also on campus is the Reagan Peace Garden, which features a sizable chunk of the Berlin Wall and quotes from Reagan’s 1982 commencement address at the college. Daniel D. Doty of Eureka works on his next mystery novel at Caleris’s Cafe and Bakery on Main Street

Scott Fishel is a senior communications executive at WTVP

68 SEPTEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE