There’s not much left in Bible Grove these days. The grocery and tire stores have closed, and even the post office is gone. But one event that keeps this unincorporated town of about 200 people on the map is its opry, where people have gathered to make music every Saturday night for the past 20 years. It’s nothing formal, just kids and old pros who sit down side by side to play country and gospel music.
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At the weekly opry the talent ranges from mighty good to fair. Anyone with an instrument or passable singing voice is welcome to join in, and audience members frequently step up to the microphones to share some wholesome Hee Haw humor. Don’t be afraid of being an outsider at the opry; the musicians are used to visitors from across the U.S. and even a Canadian or two. If you don’t find a crowd at the opry house on a Saturday between 7 and 10 PM, it must be Christmas.
Although Bible Grove’s opry is among the oldest in southern Illinois, similar gatherings take place in nearby Flora Friday and Saturday nights, in Sailor Springs on Fridays, in Xenia on the first and third Saturdays of each month, and in Edgewood on Friday nights. Further west, try stopping in Kinmundy on the fourth Saturday of the month. Most oprys take place in civic halls; just ask, or look for a crowd of parked cars.
South of Effingham, Ingram’s Log Cabin Village (618-547-7123; open from 10 AM to 5 PM) is one mile north of Kinmundy. This collection of 16 pre-Civil War log buildings is the culmination of 25 years’ work by Erma Ingram, who arranged to have the buildings moved to the site, sometimes from as far away as 40 miles. (“Without any state money!” she’ll tell you.)
Flora is the town that made the news several years ago when the mayor, the sheriff, and a local newspaper editor produced their own rap video, “Is We Is, or Is We Isn’t / Gonna Get Ourselves a Prison?”–an attempt to persuade then-governor Thompson to build a prison there. In the video, the editor wore a barrel and the mayor borrowed a white Cadillac and dressed up like Boss Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard. All they wanted was a prison. All they got was a sympathetic sister city, Susanville, California, and an appearance on Good Morning America.
Afterward, satisfy postshopping hunger at Monical’s Pizza (217-253-4749) on highway 36 west of Four Seasons. Their luncheon deal, a delightful thin-crust eight-inch pizza, salad, and large beverage, costs only $4.24. It’ll be your last cheap meal before crossing the Cook County line.
