My heart and memories in Time Magazine
My life began in Cairo, Illinois. My mom lived in Cairo until her early thirties when our family moved to Kentucky, and my maternal grandparents lived their entire life in Cairo. Even my maternal great-grandparents, all four of them, lived their adult lives in Cairo, Illinois. So you can imagine the warm feelings and love I feel for this town. I will always cherish skipping rocks at the river, the Mississippi River, with my Granddad and going for milkshakes at the Dairy Hut. For anyone who has never visited this small river town, there is so much history. Among my favorite spots include the Custom House, Magnolia Manor, Riverlore, and the Cairo Public Library. Cairo was at the epicenter of racial riots in the late 60s and never seemed to recover from the turmoil and upheaval the town experienced.
This article was just published about Cairo, Illinois in Time Magazine. One of my family friends and former resident of Cairo, Sara Rust, located and passed it along. Few people know that Cairo, Illinois had the highest per capita of millionaires in the early 1900s. Opera houses, hotels, and beautiful mansions were all part of this prosperous town.
When racial riots arose several decades later, an exodus slowly occurred of many residents. There have been many individuals over the years working on the revitalization of Cairo and I'm glad to see that hope endures today. It is a perfect business location: right on the convergence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, on the edge of Kentucky and Missouri, and directly off an interstate. Few people realize how much is shipped past Cairo. The Ohio River is navigable from Cairo to Pittsburgh and the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Minneapolis. One day I hope a large corporation sees the potential that has been overlooked for many years in this river town.
Before passing in October 2008 my granddad had just received a $750,000 grant from the state of Illinois to demolish many of the abandoned buildings that had become an eye sore around town. I was in Cairo after Christmas this year visiting my Uncle Ira and the downtown area does look much better with many of these buildings gone. My granddad fought and stayed active to do what he could to help his lifelong hometown. And I'm glad to see there are others who see the same potential so many of us share. My granddad's favorite song was "I Left My Heart in San Fransisco" by Tony Bennett. Because of the fond familial memories, part of my heart will always be left in Cairo.
Please enjoy the Time Magazine article. My Uncle Ira still lives in Cairo in one of the original Halliday mansions he restored and had Zach, mentioned in the article, for Christmas dinner this year. There is no shortage of friendship and hope in this town. A strong business-minded person just needs to see its potential for growth. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1960314,00.html
