A Short Trip To McGuireville

I hopped in the car recently and headed north on Illinois Route 3 to a place called McGuireville. Have any of you ever been there? Of course you have, though some of you may not realize it. I certainly didn't have to fill my tank or pack a bag to get there.  If you've headed north through Chester, past the Evergreen Cemetery, you are already in what some still call McGuireville. In my early years I always
knew where McGuireville was, but I'm learning that there are now fewer and fewer people in Chester who do.

I spent part of my afternoon with Dean Lochhead as he kept watch over Lochhead Brothers Garage in McGuireville, as his well known son, Mike Lochhead was busy working on cars and answering service calls. Dean and I whiled away the afternoon talking about McGuireville history. Actually, for the most part, Dean talked and I just listened - occasionally asking a question or two. For those of you who don't already know it, Dean is a treasure trove of historical information about all parts of our community.  I was blown away by some of the information he gave me.

Apparently McGuireville begins as we've passed Evergreen Cemetery, approximately at the turn off to Allendale Street. Beyond that point - you are officially in McGuireville. Named for one of its early entrepreneurial citizens, Jim McGuire, the area pretty much stood alone, even with its own water system, and was not incorporated into Chester's city limits until just after the end of World War II. Dean says that the citizens of McGuireville were approached about becoming part of Chester and it was decided that they would, with a couple of stipulations. Chester agreed to enlarge the current water line and purchase the water district from McGuireville. A done deal.

Jim Lochhead, the late father of Don, Dean and Dale Lochhead, first opened a gas and service
station in Chester in 1929, on State Street where the Salty Dog now sits. Around 1935 or '36 he moved his business to a location in McGuireville where he managed a station that was owned by Jim McGuire. This business sat between a feed store (building still there) and what was then The Gables, a bar, restaurant and dance hall, also owned by Jim McGuire. In the early 1940s The Gables was, for a short time, Chester's American Legion Post. Later it became the El Capri Steakhouse and bar.

Around 1939, Jim Lochhead purchased the property down the road where the family business now sits. He approached three local men, Elmer Kipp, Ed Driska and Charlie Caron, who along with Lochhead, drew up plans for his station and small garage. Mr. Lochhead told the men he wanted to open in 30 days, so they set to work and got the job done.

During those early days, Dean said there were several businesses in McGuireville, including Mrs. Allen's grocery and small attached motel, which sat next to Wide's Service Station and Diner. He remembers going to Mrs. Allen's store for ice cream and candy, as his family lived just up the road. Later on, Mrs. Allen's was turned into The Bal Tabarin and motel, owned by Art and Marty Maes. Dean recalled that a very well know sign that sat atop the Bal read, "As The Crow Flies, 60 Miles To
Cape Girardeau Bridge". What a memory!!

Dean had a lot of stories about incidents involving McGuireville and "residents" of Menard Penitentiary, considering the proximity through the woods from the penitentiary to McGuireville.
He said that during World War II, the warden's lake area was absolutely off limits to anyone without special permission to use it. But he said that didn't stop him or his buddy, Ernie Schuchert. They would sneak in to the woods to the lake property where they would fish - not usually with much luck.
One such day a very LARGE man on a horse approached without them noticing - until he spoke. "Doin' any good, boys?" he asked. It turns out that this man was in fact an inmate, entrusted to the care of the warden's cottage and lake area. He told them to wait while he went to the other side of the lake and retrieved a healthy string of caught fish and brought it to them. He told them that any time they fished there and had no luck, there would be a string of fish there for them and to feel free to take
it home to their families. Dean said, "Meat was hard to come by during World War II and we had to buy it with ration stamps. Our moms were glad to get that fish!"

Dean also shared stories about a few times when inmates either escaped or left the prison farm and
came to McGuireville. One time an inmate got into Dean's family's house while his mom and the boys were home, but he left as quickly as he'd entered. Another time, two prisoners got into a
neighborhood home and tied up the residents, a man and his wife, threatening at first to kill them! After changing their minds about the murder, they then stole the family car and headed north on Route 3 and were caught the next day. Certainly the most humorous story was about an inmate, a trustee who was the caretaker at the warden's cottage. Dean said that a couple of nights a week the inmate would change into street clothes at the cottage, walk through the woods and do business at the Bal. He'd drink a beer, buy a fifth of whiskey which he put into his back pocket and head back across the road in to the woods. When he arrived back at the warden's cottage, he would change back into his prison issue clothing and no one was the wiser.......until one night Jim Lochhead figured this had gone on long enough and he placed a call to the warden. When the inmate returned to the cottage that evening, he was met by prison officials who quickly put a stop to that little plan.

When Dean was in the 8th grade, he decided he wanted a job. With the help of his father, he contacted three St. Louis newspapers, the Globe Democrat, Post Dispatch and The Star. Seven days a week, a Gulf Transport bus would deliver newspapers to the Lochhead station, where Dean would
prepare them and deliver them to McGuireville residents and businesses. He kept these paper routes for the next three or four years - in all kinds of weather. And that was the beginning of Dean Lochhead's excellent work record!

Now - I want to apologize in advance - just in case I may have misquoted any of Dean's great stories. I've certainly tried not to. In the next couple of weeks I'm planning to talk about some other areas of
Chester that often went by names you may not recognize. Check in and see for yourself.

Have you been outside today? Well, I have and it's pretty inviting. I'm heading back out with a cup of
coffee. If you see me on the porch, don't hesitate to stop by!