A Day in the life: State Line City, My Kitchen Rules and Steve Lindstrom

We got up yesterday intent on a wander. We thought about staying overnight somewhere but staying in a hotel makes me a little anxious. We packed a bag, complete with bleach wipes, just in case and off we went. We were headed for Indiana but didn't have specific plans. I asked Ernie if we'd ever been to State Line City in Indiana. He said no, so off we went. I can't say there's a whole lot in State Line City but damned if Lincoln didn't speak there in 1861. We passed a film crew, all masked up, filming a woman in her front yard. Everybody gave us the small town wave. We saw a nice old brick building and I was delighted when we turned the corner and saw that it was Odd Fellows hall. I have such a soft spot for them AND it looks like this one was proudly donated to the Fire Department in 1980.

An old truck was tucked up against it and an abandoned brick building with the roof fallen in stood next to it. Across the street was the plaque that proclaimed Lincoln's speech.

Highlights from State Line City's Wikipedia page:

In the mid-1850s, two large railway lines converged on the Indiana-Illinois state line – the narrow-gauge Toledo, Wabash and Western Railway (later the Wabash Railroad), whose route from the east crossed Warren County and reached the state line in October 1856, and the standard-gauge Great Western Railroad, which shortly thereafter reached the state line from the west. State Line City was platted on June 29, 1857, by Robert Casement at the convergence of these two railroads. The city flourished, and within 10 years had reached a population of approximately 550, but because of the drinking and carousing of the numerous railroaders it gained an unsavory reputation.

On February 11, 1861, Abraham Lincoln stopped in State Line on his way from Springfield, Illinois, to Washington, D.C., for his inauguration. He dined at the Frazier Eating House, then gave a short speech to a crowd in the public square before resuming his journey. A historical marker on the site commemorates the event, and records the words which Lincoln spoke:

"Gentlemen of Indiana: I am happy to meet you on this occasion, and enter again the state of my early life, and almost of my maturity. I am under many obligations to you for your kind reception and to Indiana for the aid she rendered our cause which, I think, a just one. Gentlemen, I shall address you at greater length at Indianapolis, but not much greater. Again, gentlemen, I thank you for your warm-hearted reception."

The Kent Township Fire Department sponsored for a number of years an annual town festival called the State Line Fun Days, but this is no longer held.

Not too much left of what Lincoln would have seen. We saw one nice early house and there is some kind of store or commercial building converted into a house but that's about it. But given that its population hovers around 150, State Line City had a lot of character. Nice job, State Line City.

We meandered on, coming across a few more things. I ended up not feeling well because I did a gluten cheat the other day and it was starting to hit me. It seems as though while I used to do an occasional cheat and be ok, those days are receding. We were just as happy to head home. I curled up on the couch with a hurt stomach and we watched My Kitchen Rules. Have I commented that my favorite judge reminds me a bit of my beloved Steve Lindstrom? If you transpose food for music….you'll see it. I mean, Manu DOES have a certain charm, but I'm all team Colin (and yes, of course he used to play in a band).

Onward, all.