EVERYTHING THAT I USE IN THE FIELD: Main Camera: amzn.to/3iS4vvF Side Cameras: amzn.to/2WuCYIs Media Mod for Camera: amzn.to/3j7CMGF Lav Mic: amzn.to/3lsMkz9 Drone: amzn.to/3ITcKBV SD Cards: amzn.to/3C2co9O Camera Mounts: amzn.to/2UXVR6p Cables Required for Longer Recordings: amzn.to/3BYnr3Q Computer: amzn.to/3787b2j External Hard Drive: amzn.to/3lb23Tf WHAT I USE AT HOME: Computer: amzn.to/3rKIdiN Sound Mixer: amzn.to/3C15Ubx Microphone: amzn.to/2VaCjvo Microphone Accessories: amzn.to/3v7A35Z INTERACTIVE MAP that shows you all of the places that I've made videos on: (Doesn't always work on mobile devices. Will always work on PC.) www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edit?hl=en&mid=1Lhzf04ocimPu-ROkg4cfXEYEvKMNnlI5&ll=42.68506257358429%2C-84.48366841804642&z=9 SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTACT INFO: Email: ChrisHardenYT@Gmail.com On Twitter: twitter.com/Chris_Harden55 On Instagram: instagram.com/c_harden7/?... On Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisHardenYT/ DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. As always, thank you for supporting my channel!
I grew up in Decatur. I've got to say, life was grand in the 70's. Graduated HS in 1976 at Lakeview. Moved to SW Florida in 79. Smartest thing I ever did. All of my family eventually followed. Great memories though!
Born and raised in Decatur. Now I live in South Korea. My parents still live there, and I try to visit every year-and-a-half or so. (It has been hard with covid.) Every time I go back, it looks more and more rundown and the effect of the decreasing population is apparent. If manufacturing had stayed, it wouldn't be so bad.
My grandfather worked at Staley’s for 50 years starting at a nickel an hour. He eventually ended up with an honorary doctorate in electrical engineering from U of I. My mother & father both graduated from Millikin. I know it’s tough to scratch out a living down there now but I wish them well and hope that they hold their head high.
As a life long member of this all inclusive nightmare 😅 I must add, public schools are nothing to brag about and the city government is to blame for the cities failure. No reason it shouldn't be booming like the surrounding major cities.
I totally agree! They had so many opportunities to boost the town. We even had the chance for a NASCAR race track. I don’t like NASCAR but it would have brought revenue
The other cities - Springfield, Champaign, Bloomington - all have recession-proof and competition-proof anchor employers: major universities, government, and insurance. That has helped them weather ups and downs (mostly downs) over the years in ways Decatur can’t.
Was there a couple of summers ago, was shocked with how many white women i seen with mixed kids, i ain't ever seen that much even in chicago😂😂😂@@mariomario9209
I left in 2005, came back in 2007 for family reasons, finally in Summer of 2013 after losing my job a failed relationship, I finally had enough and left. Leaving Decatur for good was the best decision I ever made for myself.
My husband and I moved here in 1998 due to a promotion while working for the State of Illinois. We should have known better when he was asked “do you know where Decatur is?” We left in 2014-moved back to Rockford-Decatur is nothing but a smaller version of Rockford in every way-taxes and crime are very high-both are old industrial towns. Living on the west side near Millikan was ok except in the summer time when the smell of ADM would wake you up- We loved going to Lock Stock and Barrel, the Winery and downtown- glad to be out of there despite the few good friends we made!
Damn This Video Brings Back So Many Memories. Grew Up On The South Side, Graduated From Eisenhower High School In ‘05, Joined The Army In ‘07 && Haven’t Looked Back.
My hometown. When I left in 1980 the population was 95,000. I went to Stephen Decatur HS downtown. Then went to SIU-C, came back to Decatur and worked for a couple years and then left. Been living in So California ever since.
Yessss it's sad. I work for Caterpillar n or Kenco a subdivision of Caterpillar smh we can't keep employees cause the pay is not good for the multiple task they ask people to do. No pay. People we dont have a full staff and they are mandating weekends smh .ADM works just as long hrs..
I am a new immigrant to Decatur. I sold my overpriced crappy 1930 1100+ sq ft house in Pomeroy, WA, and bought an unbelievable $178K 3200+ sq ft modernly renovated 1961 house with 2 attached car-garage. Go Decatur.
I wonder why the city doesn't try to attract more people like you? There are many people from expensive states with lots of home equity. It would be nothing to someone from Washington, California or New York to buy $100k house and open a small business in Decatur.
I am and alum of Millikin and lived in Decatur for four years. I loved Millikin and my time in Decatur. I think Decatur gets a bad rap. All cities in the U.S. struggle with the relocation of manufacturing to foreign countries. Also, Millikin has a great Business school and is noted for its music department. Next time you drive to Decatur take the time to drive around the campus instead of just speeding by. You'll find it to be a friendly welcoming place.
Also I just want to say in closing. I have remained a resident of Illinois all these years. That a state is certainly more than just a tax policy and that Illinois best asset is her highly educated and friendly people.
@@jamesschock4296 If you're not fed up with the taxes in Illinois (like I am), there can only be one reason...You work for the government in some capacity.
@@richardm3023 I don't work for the government. I owned a large and profitable business in Illinois and now I am retired. Also I still own and pay taxes on considerable farm land. Illinois has been very good to me and my family.
My Mom and Dad grew up there and used to have a lot of family there. My parents left Illinois for S. Indiana in the early fifties. We went to Decatur for family reunions every year and sadly also for numerous funerals in the sixties. Also in the mid sixties my uncle Ellis Arnold was the mayor. I think I might have a cousin or two left living there. Coming from a town of less than 10,000 population and getting to go to Decatur was always a thrill for a kid back then. I always liked it there and it is sad to see it declining. BTW the mills owned by ADM were originally founded by the Staley family. The Chicago Bears started in Decatur as a company team, the Decatur Staleys. Now for that piece of trivia you owe me a like. lol
Gave you a like! I’ve been a huge sports fan for a while, football has always been my favorite with bball a close second. I knew that the Bears were the oldest NFL franchise, but I never knew that they started in Decatur. That’s neat!
@@ChrisHarden Since he grew up in Decatur my Dad was a Bears fan along with my suck ass brother. I was very young when Lombardi took over in Green Bay and I became a lifelong Packers fan. Made for some interesting times in the Leathers household in the 60s.
Decatur used to be a railroad hub (Wabash-N&W-Norfolk Southern) and employed hundreds due to Decatur's manufacturing... Firestone, ADM, Tate&Lyle, Caterpillar... just to name a few... Decatur is the halfway point between Detroit and Kansas City.
I'm one of the rare recent transplants TO Decatur. I moved here from Colorado. Everyone here asks me why I moved here from Colorado. The answer is as simple as asking them why they don't move to Colorado from Decatur. The answer is simple- they can't afford to live in Colorado. Well, neither could I. I make a living as an artist. In Colorado, I could barely afford to keep up with the taxes on a small 2 bedroom ranch style house. So I sold that house, moved to Decatur, and bought a, literal mansion for less than half of what I got for my house in Colorado. My house was appraised at $1.5 Million by my insurance company. Mind you, I am an artist and I make an artist's wages... yet I'm living in a beautiful mansion that was built by a prominent physician back in the city's hay day. It's in great shape, and it's located in a beautiful little pocket neighborhood in the "Old Mansion District" which is not far from the university. It's quiet, the neighbors are amazing and friendly, labor is cheap (I don't bother to do my own yard work anymore, because I can easily afford to have others do it for me) and there is a ton of fascinating history here. The air in parts of the city does smell bad, due to the soy industry. But the air almost never smells bad on this end of town. I regularly have deer, wild turkeys, bald eagles, owls, and other wildlife right in my back yard. Yes, I miss the mountains of Colorado, but I am spending far less money day to day here, so I can afford to travel more. That, and the fact that my house here is more than 3 times the size of my old house, helps take away the pangs. Sitting and watching the fireflies from my 3rd story screened pergola while listening to a barred owl hoot in the woods next to my house, I can't imagine living a life so luxurious anywhere else. Of course this is all moot if you are dependent on local employment, as there aren't many opportunities here. If you telecommute or can work from anywhere, that makes all the difference. Decatur isn't a glamorous city, but it is certainly easier to afford a luxurious life here. I wouldn't recommend it to young people; there isn't much excitement here, at least not that's legal and safe. But for old folks like me who like it quiet, it's really not too bad. There's the lake for fishing and boating, and there are lots of organizations to get involved with. There is an historic mansion here (Powers Mansion, look it up, it's really gorgeous) that just recently was up for auction; the final bid was around $150k. However, the winning bidder failed to come up with the funds, so it's going back to the auction block with a minimum starting bid of $49k. Mind you this mansion would be easily worth $7 Million anywhere else in the country. Why is it so cheap? There are some issues with it, but mostly it's just because it's in Decatur. The winning bidder would probably not be able to repair it and sell it again for enough to make repairs worth it. Only someone who really loved it and wanted to live there would pay more than $100k for it, because it's going to need some repairs, and even in perfect condition, in Decatur, you would be lucky to get $300k for it. Property is just so severely undervalued here it's not even funny.
I appreciate this, I read your comment several times diligently, as it is precisely the kind objective review I was looking for from someone who experienced relocating *into* the city, rather than an illustration of all the reasons to leave it. My wife and I live in Chicago (she was born and raised here, I grew up in FL and went to college at UIC where we met) and while we're still about 8-10 years out from retirement, Decatur is one area we were interested in scouting out as a possible retirement location. Thanks a million.
I appreciated your comment...... Colorado seems extremely overrated & overpriced. Even flat boring desolate dry eastern Colorado is crazy overpriced for homes.. May I ask what type of art you do for a living,?
@@michaelbrinks8089 I wouldn't say that Colorado is overrated, but it's definitely overpriced, and lately, overcrowded as well. I lived there for 50 years, and it was a difficult choice to leave, but it isn't the same place anymore. Eastern Colorado may as well be Nebraska, but with a hefty price tag. I do illustrations for a living, primarily books and book covers. I do lots of other art as well, but that's my bread and butter. If you're curious, you can find examples of my work by Googling K.L. Turner art.
As soon as you get close to this town, the smell hits you hard. I made many visits to friends back in the early 2000s at Milikin University. But I got shot while off campus in 2004 and never went back.
@@YeahNah100 This sign is one of 215 signs scattered across the state of Illinois. Each sign has a seal attached to it. Kids are supposed to pencil rub the seals on these signs for souvenirs. If you would like to find all the signs and pencil rub all the seals, feel free to come to my RUclips channel. I have videos that will show you where all the signs are.
Born here and probably will die here. Although decatur isn't the most thrilling place to live, when I leave for vacations and come back, I'm always happy to see it ❤
I was born and raised in Carroll County Illinois. I now am in Rockford Illinois. Never been to Decatur and I am probably better off. I don’t think Rockford is so much of a much but I can’t afford to go anywhere else.
That smell you referred to was Staley's and were soybeans. I grew up in Clinton 25 miles to the north and I could smell it when the wind was blowing that way. My dad worked for railroad "Norfolk Southern" Wabash Railyard in Decatur right at Staley's and I can still remember the smell and the sight of the smoke stacks there when I would go there. Too bad you didn't get that on video b/c you could have referenced them and relationship to Chicago Bears as George "Papa Bear" Halas got their start right there as they were known as the Decatur Staley's and played on a company baseball field right by the factor in 1920 until they moved to Chicago as the Staleys in 1921 and then changing name to the Bears in 1922.
No that smell is CANCER because of all the cancer products Tate & Lyle make there. No wonder ppl get cancer 5&6 times who live there long term. All that cancer & sickness sure keeps the 2/5 top employers (the hospitals) busy.
Love the videos. You should do a video of the small towns in central illinois. Hammond, Atwood, Arthur (Amish Town), Lovington, Arcola, Tuscola, Garrett. You could get all these towns in one video.
9:27 - i fly in/out of that airport all the time. you get a ticket and your flight will go to O’hare and then you will connect and fly on as smaller plane to Decatur- in air time is about 40 minutes and it costs like $100-$150. It’s not crazy expensive and they usually have 1-2 flights back and forth from Chicago per day. It will probably be the smallest airport you have ever been in… the waiting area to board your flight is about the size of a waiting room for a dentist. I fly in and out of Decatur about 25 times a year and the average flight size is like 9-15 people
My Grandparents lived in Decatur and worked at CAT was a foreman there until they both retired. I have a cousin that works for ADM an lives there. I also have an aunt & uncle living there he retired from Post office.
I was born at Decatur Memorial Hospital. My mom was a nurse there. We left in the 80s right after I completed 3rd grade and moved to Atlanta where I was raised. It was the best move my parents could have made. I don’t think I would have anywhere near the life I have now had we stayed in Decatur. I eventually moved back to Illinois and have been in Chicago since 95. I went to a family reunion in Decatur this past summer and it still looked the same.
I pay a subscription fee to a website that allows me to use any of the music in their library. 90 percent of the music I use is from that site. I'll usually try to find one that fits nicely with whatever video it is that I'm working on, and I'll re-use ones sometimes if they work really well for this style of video.
14:00 the store on the right used to be Vilmure's. One way you know a place has hit hard times is when there are more "used to be" places than what is now.
@@brianwright9514 many local historians will will disagree with you, but ok. Culver mansion, greenwood cemetery and locations downtown were built stop burial mounds. The west side of Decatur was built atop a pioneer cemetery (kings). The cursed part is an old wives tale 🙄
@@Brend.0 the only reference to this that I can find is the Haunted Decatur tour. Not sure we should really site them as a reliable source. Fun tour though.
Lived in Decatur for 45 years and on one of the streets you drove down for 42 of those years. Really enjoyed the video. Only comment I have is when you showed the downtown area, you only skirted the south edge of downtown which is not really representative of the downtown area.
I grew up in Decatur, Illinois and graduated from Eisenhower High School. I attended the original Eisenhower High School before it was rebuilt. I wound up joining the Navy in the early 90's right after I graduated from high school. Decatur at one time had tons of jobs that you could easily get a factory job and work there until you retire. When I was deciding to get out of the Navy some of my Navy buddies told me not to do it and I some what wished that I had stayed in and gotten my retirement from the Navy. I was young and did not know any better and decided to come back to where I grew up at which was Decatur. When I came back I was definitely trying to get on at any of the factories in town, but had no luck in getting on and if I did they were dead end jobs. This included ADM. I worked when I first came home at the old Hydroponics plant that grew tomatoes, cucumbers, roses, and fish. That plant is no longer there at ADM now. I even tried a temp service when I first came home because my sister her boyfriend that she was dating from high school for 7 years got on with the old ZEXEL factory that did not last very long in Decatur. ZEXEL basically made auto parts for Saturn and foreign cars. My grandmother worked at the old Crane Potato Chip factory until she retired. My grandfather worked for Norfolk and Western Railroad which is now known as something else. He was a foreman at the railroad until he retired from the old shop. Yes Decatur does not have much of an airport at all. When Decatur designed it they were not thinking about international flights at all. I have flown out of Decatur like you mentioned to fly into a much larger airport like St. Louis. I did that for the Navy for a few flights. Eisenhower High School was built in the 50's I believe it was and the Decatur Super Intendent who was running the Decatur Public Schools decided to tear down Eisenhower and MacArthur High School because the old schools did not have the metal detectors at the main entrance of the schools, and they did not have CCTV cameras all over the building for security to monitor what was going on in the hallways of the school. At one time Decatur had a Lakeview High School which you would have passed by on Brushcollege Rd. Lakeview High School was bought out by ADM. Several times something would happen at ADM and destroy Lakeview and ADM had to spend the money to repair the school. Then twice Decatur had at two different locations Stephen Decatur High School. If you had driven down on Eldorado St. you would have driven past the Civic Center. That very location there was where the original Stephen Decatur High School stood at. It was a old gothic three storied building I believe. Then the city of Decatur decided to tear down that high school to build a Civic Center which is a joke I hate to say it. I have heard that some time in the late 80's or early 90's that a group came to perform at the Civic Center there in Decatur and the acoustics was awful! I went to a wrestling even there back in 1989 when the WWF which is now known as the WWE had a wrestling event there and it was one of the small card events that might air on a weekend program. If I wanted to go to a concert I always had to head out of town like Champaign at the Assembly Hall which is now called State Farm Center I believe due to the University Of Illinois selling the name to State Farm Insurance. I always had to head out of town like to Champaign, Springfield, Bloomington, Peoria, Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, or some other places. I used to in my 20's head out of town to go party in Charleston, Champaign at Campus Town, Bloomington, Springfield, and even SIU when some friends of mine attended college to go party. That is how bad Decatur was. I joined the Naval Reserves in the late 90's and right after 9/11 I was recalled and stationed up at Great Lakes for Operation Noble Eagle for 2 years. When I finished up my time I did not want to move back to Decatur because it was dying and moved right over the border to Kenosha, Wisconsin and lived there for 5 years. I was away from Decatur for 7 1/2 years, but came down for the holidays to see my parents, and grandparents. Plus, Tate and Lyle moved corporate headquarters to Hoffman Estates because executives from Tate and Lyle were embarrassed about executives driving through Decatur. If the executives wanted to clean up Decatur they should have spent money to make Decatur look better. My father retired from ADM. I moved to Champaign it will be 5 years ago coming this July due to my federal job. I wanted out of Decatur and I am possibly contemplating in moving to another state as long as I can transfer to another federal position because I want to get my 20 years in of being a federal employee. I have already it will be this August 10 years of federal service. Decatur is nice to visit, but a lot of people that I knew from grade school on up until high school and graduated with them from high school have moved away and I always joke with them about Decatur wants them to move back with their kids because it is hurting due to losing population. LOL They always tell me, "Hell no they do not want to move back!" LOL
That is such a shame. They should never have wasted money tearing down historic buildings only to rebuild stuff. And sad the hydroponic food and fish place closed, how cool! It sounds like the people planning did a shizzy job, thinking of the now and not hoping for any future growth. It sounds like they should have listened to people like you, that lived there and were more invested in the city/town. What a shame. It must have been really nice at one time. Illinois is really shooting itself in the foot with the taxes. People are moving out in droves. If I were in charge, even with just a high school education, I could even do a better job! Why? Because I was born in Illinois and even though my Dad transferred in 79 with his job, I still have family up there and a deep love for it. And they should have done more to save Maurice Levelland too! They could have bought the Canadians who bought it out and relocated it somewhere like Decatur and created jobs and kept a great company with awesome cookies ! I am really bummed out about my home state. I wanted to someday have a little cottage by one of the lakes up there to stay at half the year at least. I lived in Mundelein, 43 nw of Chicago til we moved. Our very 1sr house ever.
@@jomama5186 I hate to say it, but a lot of towns and cities will tear down older buildings to update on how the city looks like. For example, look at Hollywood in California or I mean down town Los Angelas. Some of the buildings that once stood they tore down to put something else there in its place. This includes hotels as well. There is a historical hotel in LA that was converted into a retirement home. I would have loved to rent a room at this classic hotel to see where some of the famous once stayed at. Decatur took a hotel and converted it into a large office building for the offices for city council. This goes for also on the second floor of the Civic Center in Decatur as well. There are old buildings where factories were once at that they could renovate and turn into a office building, but the people do not think about that. The Decatur Police Department used to be down town where the court house sits at and instead what the city of Decatur did was move the police department from a central location to the South side of Decatur. When I left the Navy in 1993 there was a auto parts plant that was a brand new factory in my home town. It was called Zexel. They made auto parts for foreign cars like Saturns I believe, Nissan, Hyundai, Honda, or others. Zexel closed down while I was serving up in Great Lakes after 9/11. I was stationed at Great Lakes from 2001 until 2003. I believe Zexel shutdown in 2003. This was right around the same time as when Firestone in Decatur shutdown and moved away. That was a major kill for Decatur I hate to say it. Like Danville, Illinois we at one time had a GE Plant in Decatur on 22nd Street. It shutdown and moved away from Decatur when I was young. Then some other factory bought the land and it became Seasonal. They built windows, storm doors for houses. My mom worked there until she was laid off from there. Now some other factory moved into the building after being vacant for a very long time. I believe it is called TSI. A classmate of mine that I took Hydraulics class with at Richland Community College in Decatur. He works there and is making good money right now. When 2008 hit I was laid off from the job that I was doing in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I moved back to my hometown and spoke with a VA representative in Danville, Illinois at the VA hospital there. He was trying to talk me into becoming a truck driver or certified welder. I did not have enough work experience from what the VA representative was telling me. My background from the Navy is mainly in law enforcement or doing physical security. The VA representative talked to me about becoming a Wind Energy Engineer to work on or build windmills. I was wanting the VA to pay for my degree that I was trying to work on which is in film. I was working from 1993 until 1999 was an Associate's Degree in Art, so I could transfer and receive a Bachelors in filmmaking. The VOC Rehab VA representative did not want to pay for me to do that and I had to take the engineering classes. I was grasping the classes that I was taking, but I was also putting outside of class a lot of time being tutored to learn the class. I did not think that would be practical for me to continue so I stopped doing the Wind Energy Engineering degree. I transferred to Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois to pick up a degree in Mass Communications. I am still working on trying to get my first screenplay off the ground and made into a feature film. Not easy and it takes time. I know where you lived at in the North West suburb of Chicago. I loved that side of town and when I lived for 2 years at Great Lakes while stationed there I was hoping to find a job that I could afford to live in Libertyville, Munderlein, Vernon Hills, or somewhere around that area. When the corporate office of Tate and Lyle moved up to Hoffman Estates my sister was offered a promotion and helped paid to move to Elgin, Illinois. I was trying to talk my sister and brother in-law to move to the North Suburbs of Chicago or even in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Instead they moved to Elgin and lived there for 6 years. My brother in-law and sister grew tired of paying the high taxes of living in Elgin and decided to move to Saint John, Indiana to pay less taxes. When I lived in Kenosha, Wisconsin there were homes that were pretty expensive down the street and during the 5 1/2 years that I lived in Kenosha a lot of new condos and townhomes were built as well. A lot of people from Chicago was moving to Kenosha to avoid paying the high property tax or other taxes. Illinois is just shooting themselves in the foot and destroying the state. I would not mind moving away from Illinois to a Conservative state because I do support the Constitution and the 2nd Amendment and would rather be able to open and carry than having to get a FIOD card or go through Conceal and Carry License.
Its the Sangamon River that was damned, Long Creek is only one of many tributaries to the resulting Lake Decatur. I miss the boat races still. You could hear them roar all the way in Long Creek.
At timestamp 21:28 did you see the sign on the right side of the screen? The one with the blue metal poles? Did you see another sign on the left side of the video that also had two metal poles? Please ask me about these signs.
I've got family in Decatur. Mostly cousins now. I used to go there pretty often as a kid to see relatives. My uncle used to be the caretaker of Garman park in town.
I was born in St. Mary's hospital in Decatur in June 1968. long before they added the top several floors. Grew up in Mt. Zion and we left in October of 1983. Was 33 years later I went back for Christmas. ive never driven in Mt. Zion or Decatur so I don't know the lay of the land. My preschool was across the street from the Airport off 121 I remember. lots changed on my tour of Mt. Zion, but lots changed. our old neighbor is still there and his pile of lawn mowers in his back yard has gotten severely bigger. Don't miss it and never expect to return. I remember going with our parents to get our new Plymouth Sports Suburban Wagon in 1973 at Hazelriggs Chrysler/Plymouth!
23:45 the near west side was the wealthy part of town around the turn of the 20th century, both the Millikin Homestead and Gov. Oglesby mansion are just to the north (right) of your camera
Lived here till I was 8 then escaped that dump to south Florida and have never went back. Enjoyed playing Ice hockey and playing in the local creeks as a kid but left at a good time.
Left Decatur when I was 21 in 2005 and moved to Orlando Florida.... My family still lives there but no way I'd ever move back. It's so depressing what it's become. Only things I miss is Krekels, Monicals and Lagondola
Josh, bring your nose plugs! My son attends Milliken University and when I go visit him the one thing that stands out is the stench in the air from the ADM factory.
My Grandpa’s & his whole family is from Decatur. My Grandpa eventually moved to Charleston but the rest of his siblings stayed (I think) I grew up in the Florida Keys so I didn’t spend or actually met that side of the family. I remember 1 time I went with my dad when I was up visiting to Decatur & he showed me the Kater St or Kater Ave cause he knew I’d get a kick out of seeing my last name on a street sign lol
I interviewed for a job there after graduating college (this would have been in the early 1990s). It was for a company that made radar detectors. They did not offer me the job, though.
I love you Mom and Dad Bertie Higgins is my uncle he came home when he would travel from California to Florida he would stop in and all the kids would run around in the backyard
At timestamp 21:21 you see W. T. Flora Gems. Did you see the streetlight at the intersection? Did you see the sign attached to the streetlight? Ask me about the sign.
Every time I watch one of these rust belt videos, it reminds me of Brave New World, in that the 'elites' had retired to their chosen cities and left the rest of the land (and people) to waste away...
I was born and raised in Decatur and moved to Springfield then moved to Arizona. I’ve only been back 3-4 times and it’s only to visit Krekels. How I miss Krekels 😩😩😩😩
My wife was born and raised in Decatur. I met her in NW Illinois. Every time when we went to Spfld. and Decatur to visit. She had to go to Krekels. She loved their food, I myself did not care for their burgers. She has passed on, but when her daughter ( I should say my daughter too. As I have been with them for the last 20 years. I feel as she is my daughter.) Anyway when she came to visit me. I would take her to Krekels. As a tribute to her mom.
@@The71hotrod My condolences to you and your family. My ex husband felt the same way about Krekels. He’s from Colorado and always heard me ranting and raving plus going through withdrawal symptoms from Krekels. So when we had to fly out in 07 for my grandmothers funeral I took him there and he was like “yeah ok” but I was going bat sh!t crazy over it. Lol The last time I had Krekels was 2011. It’s been too long. The only place Arizona has close to Krekels is Culver’s or Freddy’s Custard. Not the same though but it’ll do til I get back home
Decatur is a great city!! I’m from Florida and I’m in love with Decatur. It’s not what you see on this video. There is more to do. The Devon area is amazing! Maybe you just need more time on the place
Lmfao. No. I'm from Decatur. And proud that I escaped. My entire family (immediate and extended) is still there. I visit every year. The town is a dying trash heap. There are a couple areas that have had some money dumped into them by Warren Buffett's son Howard to buy favor from the people. But those areas will die soon enough also, just like the rest of the town.
i lived there for 20 years forced to move cause the neighbor went to Sh*t. Drug dealer moved in next door, my cars were shot up by a drive by in Feb 2021. Crack heads roamed the ally way. So Great Place to live. HAA Jobs no good high paying jobs. Aug of 2021 moved to TX.
@@ChrisHarden my bf lives here we been long distance for years and I finally decided to move here. He told me since beginning but I did not believed him now I do lol
Cool video!!! I grew up in Decatur and have moved away & back again. It was thriving when I was a kid in the 70s/ 80s now not soo much. I havent been on some of those streets on the east side in years because its not safe or the same anymore.... Sad this city is dying....
My dad grew up on east leafland Ave I live there for a short time for about 4 years then I came back to California I kinda miss it had fun there lol but I'm sure it's not the same as it was back then
think you for Got NS Brush and East Yards they have shops and TRAINS ALSO COME TO AND From there that are made uup for both the St Louis and Kansas City Gateway also know as the Automotive Aritery and Tate and Lyle
Notwithstanding the poverty and crime rate in Decatur, Good Samaritan Inn takes care of feeding those who are in need. From your video this really does not look like a bad place to live, so it's a shame that a once thriving city has become what it has become - abandoned and poverty-striken.
I used to work and hangout around Decatur and Bloomington years ago!! After most of the manufacturing places left Decatur started going downhill really fast then gangs started taking over Decatur!! After I left IL in 2018 everything started going downhill fast!! After moving back to Bloomington three years ago I was really disappointed and heartbroken to find that everywhere I used to go to no longer exists anymore including friends and family members!! Now sadly I just want to retire and move back home to spend the rest of my life with my family,!!
He literally drove down a road on the farthest edge of downtown it’s another 10-15 blocks north atleast till you get to eldorado street which borders the north side of down town, he didn’t go around the square with the fountain, he didn’t go on any of the streets with stores downtown or anything just drove on the edge where the ameren building is and said hey here is downtown Decatur lol what a joke
Just returned to Urbana, Illinois from my first (and last) visit to Decatur (less than an hour away from Urbana). Your videos describe accurately and honestly our "little town Illinois" landscape. For example, Decatur: that town’s air smells so bad from factories polluting the air that I almost threw up! I feel sorry for the people who must live or work there or who are forced to breathe it to survive! I watched another video about Decatur on youtube and not a word was said about that terrible smell in the air. You on the other hand did notice it. People who do “promotional” videos can hide the truth for a about a city until people actually visit that city such as Decatur and realize they have been conned. You are probably right about the effect of high property taxes on the Illinois economy. I also lived in Homewood, Illinois where the town cleverly offered financial incentives to businesses to come to Homewood which is how Homewood is still thriving. Unfortunately we live in a world where business magnates will take their businesses where taxes are low. Back to Decatur. OMG this town's air is what hell must smell like! I went over a bridge in main part of Decatur which was engulfed in a cloud of air that smelled as if a bad school laboratory experiment went terribly wrong! That's what happens to a town when big industry arrogantly pollutes our air presumably to "save" jobs! To hell with such jobs if it means destroying our health or the environment we all live in. No wonder people have been getting out of Decatur in droves. I did too as soon as I could. I went there to explore house prices which seemed ridiculously affordable only to head back to the highway to Urbana/Champaign as soon as I could because of such foul smell. What a sad depressing town. The houses that were for sale look good on Trulia but when you visit them in person you see boarded up homes all around, you hear the echo of loud yelling and smell the chemicals in the air. Is this hell on earth or what? I decided never again to venture away from Urbana Champaign area for a house.
Exactly! People ask me why I don't ever get out of the car and interview people.... or talk to a local town's tourist office or whatnot. If that's the video that you want to see, then it's likely that your town will have a video on RUclips that talks up the place and only mentions the good things. Most of those videos also have the comments off. I'm not trying to dog these towns or rip on them, I'm trying to show the real and honest truth. It's not my fault if some of the truth is ugly!
That’s called the smell of money lol we drove over stayleys viaduct every day on the way to school it’s basically cooking corn to make corn syrup or what the have to call “high fructose corn syrup”. ADM also has a place where they make ethanol
As a born and raised Decaturite and still attached I found it amusing that he didn’t show 85 percent of town. He pointed out a handful of empty lots in otherwise decent neighborhoods. Unlike so many of his other videos I wonder why he didn’t peruse true Decatur blight. Such as anything north of Eldorado between Woodford and Monroe and south of Garfield for the most part. The number of empty lots, abandoned houses and burned out shells of such would’ve been an entirely separate video. Plus I truly agree with others in that there are plenty of nice neighborhoods within the community. Yet as anyone from the area knows being Decatur will never thrive and grow like it’s neighboring cities. Our city council having always been chaired by farmers will never allow it .
If I remember correctly, they love their traffic lights. 4 on each side for a total of either 12 on a T intersection to 16 on a crossroad. All that money IDOT put into this.
Interesting vid of Decatur, Ill (I grew up there but do not live there now, Colorado is my home) but I have 2 issues with it. 1. Lake Decatur is not considered a "reservoir" but it is a "lake". Never heard that term back there. 2. You failed to mention Mueller Water Products in the city's manufacturers. They are a very big part of the manufactures back there. BTW, you didn't mention that the Decatur Staleys was THE original Chicago Bears football-that where the NFL started. Start pointing out the "good" parts of town you cover.
Well my Grandparents lived there. My mom was born there and I used to visit Decatur every summer. I understand some of what is being said but ... it's always easy to tear down. It has some simple beauty to it. I love coming back to Decatur and am saddened when I see the closed business's. But next time I am "home' O will shoot a video with a positive twist. Every town has its problems and its positives, all in how you look at it.
EVERYTHING THAT I USE IN THE FIELD:
Main Camera: amzn.to/3iS4vvF
Side Cameras: amzn.to/2WuCYIs
Media Mod for Camera: amzn.to/3j7CMGF
Lav Mic: amzn.to/3lsMkz9
Drone: amzn.to/3ITcKBV
SD Cards: amzn.to/3C2co9O
Camera Mounts: amzn.to/2UXVR6p
Cables Required for Longer Recordings: amzn.to/3BYnr3Q
Computer: amzn.to/3787b2j
External Hard Drive: amzn.to/3lb23Tf
WHAT I USE AT HOME:
Computer: amzn.to/3rKIdiN
Sound Mixer: amzn.to/3C15Ubx
Microphone: amzn.to/2VaCjvo
Microphone Accessories: amzn.to/3v7A35Z
INTERACTIVE MAP that shows you all of the places that I've made videos on: (Doesn't always work on mobile devices. Will always work on PC.) www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edit?hl=en&mid=1Lhzf04ocimPu-ROkg4cfXEYEvKMNnlI5&ll=42.68506257358429%2C-84.48366841804642&z=9
SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTACT INFO:
Email: ChrisHardenYT@Gmail.com
On Twitter: twitter.com/Chris_Harden55
On Instagram: instagram.com/c_harden7/?...
On Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisHardenYT/
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. As always, thank you for supporting my channel!
Fun fact Decatur was the original home of the Chicago Bears who originally were the Decatur Staleys
Yes and that’s why the mascot for the bears is staley
I live there
Joe Jonas i read about that. it is a fun fact!!
my grandfathers high school football team beat the staley's in a game
Born and raised in Decatur IL. That place will always have a special place in my heart. I no longer live there but I will love that city forever
I used to play steel darts in Decatur. Great guys. SO many years ago. 🎯
I grew up in Decatur. I've got to say, life was grand in the 70's. Graduated HS in 1976 at Lakeview. Moved to SW Florida in 79. Smartest thing I ever did. All of my family eventually followed. Great memories though!
I moved to Florida in 1982…the population was close to 100,000 then….all the factories were in operation.
@@pdrey55100,000 is unreal I can’t imagine that
Born and raised in Decatur. Now I live in South Korea. My parents still live there, and I try to visit every year-and-a-half or so. (It has been hard with covid.) Every time I go back, it looks more and more rundown and the effect of the decreasing population is apparent. If manufacturing had stayed, it wouldn't be so bad.
@@jeffreywilkey935 I don't know who Alex is, but it isn't me.
Hi did you know any norfleet's or atteberry?
@@forgottonbabyforgottendeca1483 No, I can't say I did.
That's been the case across the country. Industry leaves for China and the rot sets in.
Its me....@@thorpizzle
I love your sound track music. It makes the video even better!
My grandfather worked at Staley’s for 50 years starting at a nickel an hour. He eventually ended up with an honorary doctorate in electrical engineering from U of I. My mother & father both graduated from Millikin. I know it’s tough to scratch out a living down there now but I wish them well and hope that they hold their head high.
I actually live currently in Decatur. This place went from a blue-collar working town to a crime riddled city.
Yes, he missed 90% of the area, no parks or cultural areas.
I freakin wonder why.
Spot on.
Little Detroit
Hi do you know any norfleet's or atteberry or stroy ack??
As a life long member of this all inclusive nightmare 😅 I must add, public schools are nothing to brag about and the city government is to blame for the cities failure. No reason it shouldn't be booming like the surrounding major cities.
I totally agree! They had so many opportunities to boost the town. We even had the chance for a NASCAR race track. I don’t like NASCAR but it would have brought revenue
The other cities - Springfield, Champaign, Bloomington - all have recession-proof and competition-proof anchor employers: major universities, government, and insurance. That has helped them weather ups and downs (mostly downs) over the years in ways Decatur can’t.
@@pauly0410 IKR such a horrid decision
Was there a couple of summers ago, was shocked with how many white women i seen with mixed kids, i ain't ever seen that much even in chicago😂😂😂@@mariomario9209
I left in 2005, came back in 2007 for family reasons, finally in Summer of 2013 after losing my job a failed relationship, I finally had enough and left. Leaving Decatur for good was the best decision I ever made for myself.
Where did you go?
My husband and I moved here in 1998 due to a promotion while working for the State of Illinois. We should have known better when he was asked “do you know where Decatur is?” We left in 2014-moved back to Rockford-Decatur is nothing but a smaller version of Rockford in every way-taxes and crime are very high-both are old industrial towns. Living on the west side near Millikan was ok except in the summer time when the smell of ADM would wake you up- We loved going to Lock Stock and Barrel, the Winery and downtown- glad to be out of there despite the few good friends we made!
Hello Kathy how are you doing today.
You drove by my house in this video, pretty cool!
Damn This Video Brings Back So Many Memories. Grew Up On The South Side, Graduated From Eisenhower High School In ‘05, Joined The Army In ‘07 && Haven’t Looked Back.
You forgot to mention how terrible the roads are
What I was thinking while watching the vid.
I came from Dubai and that's my first comment
Kalunk...Kalum...Kalunk.....all damn day! LOL!
They arent as bad as the roads in Indianapolis, pot hole every 3 feet
Decatur’s roads are beautiful comparing to the Metro Detroit area.
My hometown. When I left in 1980 the population was 95,000. I went to Stephen Decatur HS downtown. Then went to SIU-C, came back to Decatur and worked for a couple years and then left. Been living in So California ever since.
Hey TC! Great childhood memories from there, but best thing about Decatur now is seeing it in your rearview mirror!
I work but do not live in Decatur. ADM, Tate & Lyle, and caterpillar are keeping Decatur afloat due to the trucking industry
Yessss it's sad. I work for Caterpillar n or Kenco a subdivision of Caterpillar smh we can't keep employees cause the pay is not good for the multiple task they ask people to do. No pay. People we dont have a full staff and they are mandating weekends smh .ADM works just as long hrs..
@@mztymtaylormadequeen7127 aye they still hiring for Kenco I would definitely work for yall
@@sagesavage4690 smh yessss through the temp agencies ..slot are coming in through the temp agencies..Manpower and ISS
@@mztymtaylormadequeen7127 aight cool thank u love app it !!
I am a new immigrant to Decatur. I sold my overpriced crappy 1930 1100+ sq ft house in Pomeroy, WA, and bought an unbelievable $178K 3200+ sq ft modernly renovated 1961 house with 2 attached car-garage.
Go Decatur.
I wonder why the city doesn't try to attract more people like you? There are many people from expensive states with lots of home equity. It would be nothing to someone from Washington, California or New York to buy $100k house and open a small business in Decatur.
@@larynOneka8080yo i ain't never seen so many mixed kids as i did when i was there
I am and alum of Millikin and lived in Decatur for four years. I loved Millikin and my time in Decatur. I think Decatur gets a bad rap. All cities in the U.S. struggle with the relocation of manufacturing to foreign countries. Also, Millikin has a great Business school and is noted for its music department. Next time you drive to Decatur take the time to drive around the campus instead of just speeding by. You'll find it to be a friendly welcoming place.
Why didn't you stay in Decatur, James Schock?
Graduated in 1980 recession. More job opportunities in Northern Illinois at the time.
Also I just want to say in closing. I have remained a resident of Illinois all these years. That a state is certainly more than just a tax policy and that Illinois best asset is her highly educated and friendly people.
@@jamesschock4296 If you're not fed up with the taxes in Illinois (like I am), there can only be one reason...You work for the government in some capacity.
@@richardm3023 I don't work for the government. I owned a large and profitable business in Illinois and now I am retired. Also I still own and pay taxes on considerable farm land. Illinois has been very good to me and my family.
I grew up in Decatur. It was a great city at one time!
Oh yeah, I remember.
you must be OLD
It was, before the recession in the early 1980s
@@coryburris8211 Carter's recession
@@mikejones9961 66 years young!
My Mom and Dad grew up there and used to have a lot of family there. My parents left Illinois for S. Indiana in the early fifties. We went to Decatur for family reunions every year and sadly also for numerous funerals in the sixties. Also in the mid sixties my uncle Ellis Arnold was the mayor. I think I might have a cousin or two left living there. Coming from a town of less than 10,000 population and getting to go to Decatur was always a thrill for a kid back then. I always liked it there and it is sad to see it declining. BTW the mills owned by ADM were originally founded by the Staley family. The Chicago Bears started in Decatur as a company team, the Decatur Staleys. Now for that piece of trivia you owe me a like. lol
Gave you a like! I’ve been a huge sports fan for a while, football has always been my favorite with bball a close second. I knew that the Bears were the oldest NFL franchise, but I never knew that they started in Decatur.
That’s neat!
@@ChrisHarden Since he grew up in Decatur my Dad was a Bears fan along with my suck ass brother. I was very young when Lombardi took over in Green Bay and I became a lifelong Packers fan. Made for some interesting times in the Leathers household in the 60s.
Decatur Bullets semi- pro basketball team. was in the early 70s.
Decatur used to be a railroad hub (Wabash-N&W-Norfolk Southern) and employed hundreds due to Decatur's manufacturing... Firestone, ADM, Tate&Lyle, Caterpillar... just to name a few... Decatur is the halfway point between Detroit and Kansas City.
I graduated HS in 1979, left and came back in 2017. Left in 2018 and I won’t got back again
Hello Teresa how are you doing today.
I live here n I hate it. I have moved in and out of Decatur all my days. I'm only here for my mom
I Hate it in decatur il too i been here 11 years boring
@Smoking Legal Yes I like it over there
I Love Decatur For The Memories & What It Made Me, But I’ll Never Go Back lol
I'm one of the rare recent transplants TO Decatur. I moved here from Colorado. Everyone here asks me why I moved here from Colorado. The answer is as simple as asking them why they don't move to Colorado from Decatur. The answer is simple- they can't afford to live in Colorado. Well, neither could I. I make a living as an artist. In Colorado, I could barely afford to keep up with the taxes on a small 2 bedroom ranch style house. So I sold that house, moved to Decatur, and bought a, literal mansion for less than half of what I got for my house in Colorado. My house was appraised at $1.5 Million by my insurance company. Mind you, I am an artist and I make an artist's wages... yet I'm living in a beautiful mansion that was built by a prominent physician back in the city's hay day. It's in great shape, and it's located in a beautiful little pocket neighborhood in the "Old Mansion District" which is not far from the university. It's quiet, the neighbors are amazing and friendly, labor is cheap (I don't bother to do my own yard work anymore, because I can easily afford to have others do it for me) and there is a ton of fascinating history here. The air in parts of the city does smell bad, due to the soy industry. But the air almost never smells bad on this end of town. I regularly have deer, wild turkeys, bald eagles, owls, and other wildlife right in my back yard. Yes, I miss the mountains of Colorado, but I am spending far less money day to day here, so I can afford to travel more. That, and the fact that my house here is more than 3 times the size of my old house, helps take away the pangs. Sitting and watching the fireflies from my 3rd story screened pergola while listening to a barred owl hoot in the woods next to my house, I can't imagine living a life so luxurious anywhere else. Of course this is all moot if you are dependent on local employment, as there aren't many opportunities here. If you telecommute or can work from anywhere, that makes all the difference.
Decatur isn't a glamorous city, but it is certainly easier to afford a luxurious life here. I wouldn't recommend it to young people; there isn't much excitement here, at least not that's legal and safe. But for old folks like me who like it quiet, it's really not too bad. There's the lake for fishing and boating, and there are lots of organizations to get involved with.
There is an historic mansion here (Powers Mansion, look it up, it's really gorgeous) that just recently was up for auction; the final bid was around $150k. However, the winning bidder failed to come up with the funds, so it's going back to the auction block with a minimum starting bid of $49k. Mind you this mansion would be easily worth $7 Million anywhere else in the country. Why is it so cheap? There are some issues with it, but mostly it's just because it's in Decatur. The winning bidder would probably not be able to repair it and sell it again for enough to make repairs worth it. Only someone who really loved it and wanted to live there would pay more than $100k for it, because it's going to need some repairs, and even in perfect condition, in Decatur, you would be lucky to get $300k for it. Property is just so severely undervalued here it's not even funny.
I appreciate this, I read your comment several times diligently, as it is precisely the kind objective review I was looking for from someone who experienced relocating *into* the city, rather than an illustration of all the reasons to leave it. My wife and I live in Chicago (she was born and raised here, I grew up in FL and went to college at UIC where we met) and while we're still about 8-10 years out from retirement, Decatur is one area we were interested in scouting out as a possible retirement location. Thanks a million.
I appreciated your comment...... Colorado seems extremely overrated & overpriced. Even flat boring desolate dry eastern Colorado is crazy overpriced for homes.. May I ask what type of art you do for a living,?
@@techsun9581Iowa & Indiana are both cheaper states than IL to live in though.
@@michaelbrinks8089 I wouldn't say that Colorado is overrated, but it's definitely overpriced, and lately, overcrowded as well. I lived there for 50 years, and it was a difficult choice to leave, but it isn't the same place anymore. Eastern Colorado may as well be Nebraska, but with a hefty price tag. I do illustrations for a living, primarily books and book covers. I do lots of other art as well, but that's my bread and butter. If you're curious, you can find examples of my work by Googling K.L. Turner art.
As soon as you get close to this town, the smell hits you hard. I made many visits to friends back in the early 2000s at Milikin University. But I got shot while off campus in 2004 and never went back.
Whaaat? I wouldn’t go back either. Not much of a reason to anyway.
😮damn I keep reading the violence & stealing is bad THE SMELL HORRIBLE
At timestamp 21:31 did you see the sign on the left side of the video? It also has two metal poles. Please ask me about the sign.
Do tell.
@@YeahNah100 This sign is one of 215 signs scattered across the state of Illinois. Each sign has a seal attached to it. Kids are supposed to pencil rub the seals on these signs for souvenirs. If you would like to find all the signs and pencil rub all the seals, feel free to come to my RUclips channel. I have videos that will show you where all the signs are.
Born here and probably will die here. Although decatur isn't the most thrilling place to live, when I leave for vacations and come back, I'm always happy to see it ❤
I have great memories there, back in the 70s.
I was born and raised in Carroll County Illinois. I now am in Rockford Illinois. Never been to Decatur and I am probably better off. I don’t think Rockford is so much of a much but I can’t afford to go anywhere else.
@@glennso47 Decatur is basically a smaller version of Rockford
That smell you referred to was Staley's and were soybeans. I grew up in Clinton 25 miles to the north and I could smell it when the wind was blowing that way. My dad worked for railroad "Norfolk Southern" Wabash Railyard in Decatur right at Staley's and I can still remember the smell and the sight of the smoke stacks there when I would go there. Too bad you didn't get that on video b/c you could have referenced them and relationship to Chicago Bears as George "Papa Bear" Halas got their start right there as they were known as the Decatur Staley's and played on a company baseball field right by the factor in 1920 until they moved to Chicago as the Staleys in 1921 and then changing name to the Bears in 1922.
No that smell is CANCER because of all the cancer products Tate & Lyle make there. No wonder ppl get cancer 5&6 times who live there long term. All that cancer & sickness sure keeps the 2/5 top employers (the hospitals) busy.
I always remember that Poland's Glass building on Franklin driving back home from Pana as a kid, for some reason.
Love the videos. You should do a video of the small towns in central illinois. Hammond, Atwood, Arthur (Amish Town), Lovington, Arcola, Tuscola, Garrett. You could get all these towns in one video.
18:28 That dog sure wanted his 2 minutes of you tube fame.😂 Great video!👍🏻
Thank you for coming I live in Decatur
9:27 - i fly in/out of that airport all the time. you get a ticket and your flight will go to O’hare and then you will connect and fly on as smaller plane to Decatur- in air time is about 40 minutes and it costs like $100-$150. It’s not crazy expensive and they usually have 1-2 flights back and forth from Chicago per day.
It will probably be the smallest airport you have ever been in… the waiting area to board your flight is about the size of a waiting room for a dentist. I fly in and out of Decatur about 25 times a year and the average flight size is like 9-15 people
That honestly would be a cool experience. There’s many airports that are tiny like that but I’ve only been to big ones.
Thanks for the nostalgic tour of Decatur. I lived there for a year an eventually moved away
Lol. It's always someone not from your city that wants to try to give you a google education on it. 😂
I've worked here for 30 years. Lived in Decatur for 5 years. In the county for 25 years. It definitely is in a state of decline.
@@jongruen7854 I Live here in decatur il for 11 years and i hate it here im leaving here this year to small and to slow and boring
I think it’s funny it brings up factory jobs when mueller is making a new factory to make more jobs
@@vgremedy9560 Yes the 250 estimated new jobs. To replace the thousands that have been lost. Still in decline.
@@jongruen7854 And ADM is also starting the construction on the worlds largest insect protein facility this year
My Grandparents lived in Decatur and worked at CAT was a foreman there until they both retired. I have a cousin that works for ADM an lives there. I also have an aunt & uncle living there he retired from Post office.
I was born at Decatur Memorial Hospital. My mom was a nurse there. We left in the 80s right after I completed 3rd grade and moved to Atlanta where I was raised. It was the best move my parents could have made. I don’t think I would have anywhere near the life I have now had we stayed in Decatur. I eventually moved back to Illinois and have been in Chicago since 95. I went to a family reunion in Decatur this past summer and it still looked the same.
What music do you use in your videos?
Also I’m glad there is still some work in Decatur unlike East St. Louis which is full on vacant ghetto
I pay a subscription fee to a website that allows me to use any of the music in their library. 90 percent of the music I use is from that site. I'll usually try to find one that fits nicely with whatever video it is that I'm working on, and I'll re-use ones sometimes if they work really well for this style of video.
Thanks also what is that song you use when you enter East St. Louis?
Mean Streetz MK2. That’s from the RUclips audio library and doesn’t require a subscription fee to use.
Bro i love east st Louis but i do agree it has its ups and downs
@@cassiehastings4099 yes, yes it does.
14:00 the store on the right used to be Vilmure's. One way you know a place has hit hard times is when there are more "used to be" places than what is now.
Good point
With the cow on the roof corner, right?
These videos explain you was actually culture of Midwest and especially in Illinois great work by the whole team amazing videos👍👍👍👍👍
One of America's most haunted cities. Built all on old Indian burial mounds. The city is cursed.
None of what you said is true at all.
@@brianwright9514 many local historians will will disagree with you, but ok. Culver mansion, greenwood cemetery and locations downtown were built stop burial mounds. The west side of Decatur was built atop a pioneer cemetery (kings).
The cursed part is an old wives tale 🙄
@@Brend.0 the only reference to this that I can find is the Haunted Decatur tour. Not sure we should really site them as a reliable source. Fun tour though.
@@brianwright9514 the trail of death ran through Decatur you know
@@joshuaflesch1213 and Atlanta people don't say it's haunted
Lived there for two years. Nice historic cemetery with two Medal of Honor winners.
Is the Avon Theater still running? How about the Red Couch?
@nate wren thanks! Good to hear.
Red couch hasnt been around for a while. Greenwood cemetery is beautiful
My dad was a police officer there in 70s and 80s I miss my home town sad what’s happened to it!
I worked at Specter freight in the 70s bought my first house in Decatur.
Lived in Decatur for 45 years and on one of the streets you drove down for 42 of those years. Really enjoyed the video. Only comment I have is when you showed the downtown area, you only skirted the south edge of downtown which is not really representative of the downtown area.
I grew up in Decatur, Illinois and graduated from Eisenhower High School. I attended the original Eisenhower High School before it was rebuilt. I wound up joining the Navy in the early 90's right after I graduated from high school. Decatur at one time had tons of jobs that you could easily get a factory job and work there until you retire. When I was deciding to get out of the Navy some of my Navy buddies told me not to do it and I some what wished that I had stayed in and gotten my retirement from the Navy. I was young and did not know any better and decided to come back to where I grew up at which was Decatur. When I came back I was definitely trying to get on at any of the factories in town, but had no luck in getting on and if I did they were dead end jobs. This included ADM. I worked when I first came home at the old Hydroponics plant that grew tomatoes, cucumbers, roses, and fish. That plant is no longer there at ADM now. I even tried a temp service when I first came home because my sister her boyfriend that she was dating from high school for 7 years got on with the old ZEXEL factory that did not last very long in Decatur. ZEXEL basically made auto parts for Saturn and foreign cars. My grandmother worked at the old Crane Potato Chip factory until she retired. My grandfather worked for Norfolk and Western Railroad which is now known as something else. He was a foreman at the railroad until he retired from the old shop. Yes Decatur does not have much of an airport at all. When Decatur designed it they were not thinking about international flights at all. I have flown out of Decatur like you mentioned to fly into a much larger airport like St. Louis. I did that for the Navy for a few flights. Eisenhower High School was built in the 50's I believe it was and the Decatur Super Intendent who was running the Decatur Public Schools decided to tear down Eisenhower and MacArthur High School because the old schools did not have the metal detectors at the main entrance of the schools, and they did not have CCTV cameras all over the building for security to monitor what was going on in the hallways of the school. At one time Decatur had a Lakeview High School which you would have passed by on Brushcollege Rd. Lakeview High School was bought out by ADM. Several times something would happen at ADM and destroy Lakeview and ADM had to spend the money to repair the school. Then twice Decatur had at two different locations Stephen Decatur High School. If you had driven down on Eldorado St. you would have driven past the Civic Center. That very location there was where the original Stephen Decatur High School stood at. It was a old gothic three storied building I believe. Then the city of Decatur decided to tear down that high school to build a Civic Center which is a joke I hate to say it. I have heard that some time in the late 80's or early 90's that a group came to perform at the Civic Center there in Decatur and the acoustics was awful! I went to a wrestling even there back in 1989 when the WWF which is now known as the WWE had a wrestling event there and it was one of the small card events that might air on a weekend program. If I wanted to go to a concert I always had to head out of town like Champaign at the Assembly Hall which is now called State Farm Center I believe due to the University Of Illinois selling the name to State Farm Insurance. I always had to head out of town like to Champaign, Springfield, Bloomington, Peoria, Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, or some other places. I used to in my 20's head out of town to go party in Charleston, Champaign at Campus Town, Bloomington, Springfield, and even SIU when some friends of mine attended college to go party. That is how bad Decatur was. I joined the Naval Reserves in the late 90's and right after 9/11 I was recalled and stationed up at Great Lakes for Operation Noble Eagle for 2 years. When I finished up my time I did not want to move back to Decatur because it was dying and moved right over the border to Kenosha, Wisconsin and lived there for 5 years. I was away from Decatur for 7 1/2 years, but came down for the holidays to see my parents, and grandparents. Plus, Tate and Lyle moved corporate headquarters to Hoffman Estates because executives from Tate and Lyle were embarrassed about executives driving through Decatur. If the executives wanted to clean up Decatur they should have spent money to make Decatur look better. My father retired from ADM. I moved to Champaign it will be 5 years ago coming this July due to my federal job. I wanted out of Decatur and I am possibly contemplating in moving to another state as long as I can transfer to another federal position because I want to get my 20 years in of being a federal employee. I have already it will be this August 10 years of federal service. Decatur is nice to visit, but a lot of people that I knew from grade school on up until high school and graduated with them from high school have moved away and I always joke with them about Decatur wants them to move back with their kids because it is hurting due to losing population. LOL They always tell me, "Hell no they do not want to move back!" LOL
That is such a shame. They should never have wasted money tearing down historic buildings only to rebuild stuff. And sad the hydroponic food and fish place closed, how cool! It sounds like the people planning did a shizzy job, thinking of the now and not hoping for any future growth. It sounds like they should have listened to people like you, that lived there and were more invested in the city/town. What a shame. It must have been really nice at one time. Illinois is really shooting itself in the foot with the taxes. People are moving out in droves. If I were in charge, even with just a high school education, I could even do a better job! Why? Because I was born in Illinois and even though my Dad transferred in 79 with his job, I still have family up there and a deep love for it. And they should have done more to save Maurice Levelland too! They could have bought the Canadians who bought it out and relocated it somewhere like Decatur and created jobs and kept a great company with awesome cookies ! I am really bummed out about my home state. I wanted to someday have a little cottage by one of the lakes up there to stay at half the year at least. I lived in Mundelein, 43 nw of Chicago til we moved. Our very 1sr house ever.
@@jomama5186 I hate to say it, but a lot of towns and cities will tear down older buildings to update on how the city looks like. For example, look at Hollywood in California or I mean down town Los Angelas. Some of the buildings that once stood they tore down to put something else there in its place. This includes hotels as well. There is a historical hotel in LA that was converted into a retirement home. I would have loved to rent a room at this classic hotel to see where some of the famous once stayed at. Decatur took a hotel and converted it into a large office building for the offices for city council. This goes for also on the second floor of the Civic Center in Decatur as well. There are old buildings where factories were once at that they could renovate and turn into a office building, but the people do not think about that. The Decatur Police Department used to be down town where the court house sits at and instead what the city of Decatur did was move the police department from a central location to the South side of Decatur. When I left the Navy in 1993 there was a auto parts plant that was a brand new factory in my home town. It was called Zexel. They made auto parts for foreign cars like Saturns I believe, Nissan, Hyundai, Honda, or others. Zexel closed down while I was serving up in Great Lakes after 9/11. I was stationed at Great Lakes from 2001 until 2003. I believe Zexel shutdown in 2003. This was right around the same time as when Firestone in Decatur shutdown and moved away. That was a major kill for Decatur I hate to say it. Like Danville, Illinois we at one time had a GE Plant in Decatur on 22nd Street. It shutdown and moved away from Decatur when I was young. Then some other factory bought the land and it became Seasonal. They built windows, storm doors for houses. My mom worked there until she was laid off from there. Now some other factory moved into the building after being vacant for a very long time. I believe it is called TSI. A classmate of mine that I took Hydraulics class with at Richland Community College in Decatur. He works there and is making good money right now. When 2008 hit I was laid off from the job that I was doing in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I moved back to my hometown and spoke with a VA representative in Danville, Illinois at the VA hospital there. He was trying to talk me into becoming a truck driver or certified welder. I did not have enough work experience from what the VA representative was telling me. My background from the Navy is mainly in law enforcement or doing physical security. The VA representative talked to me about becoming a Wind Energy Engineer to work on or build windmills. I was wanting the VA to pay for my degree that I was trying to work on which is in film. I was working from 1993 until 1999 was an Associate's Degree in Art, so I could transfer and receive a Bachelors in filmmaking. The VOC Rehab VA representative did not want to pay for me to do that and I had to take the engineering classes. I was grasping the classes that I was taking, but I was also putting outside of class a lot of time being tutored to learn the class. I did not think that would be practical for me to continue so I stopped doing the Wind Energy Engineering degree. I transferred to Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois to pick up a degree in Mass Communications. I am still working on trying to get my first screenplay off the ground and made into a feature film. Not easy and it takes time.
I know where you lived at in the North West suburb of Chicago. I loved that side of town and when I lived for 2 years at Great Lakes while stationed there I was hoping to find a job that I could afford to live in Libertyville, Munderlein, Vernon Hills, or somewhere around that area. When the corporate office of Tate and Lyle moved up to Hoffman Estates my sister was offered a promotion and helped paid to move to Elgin, Illinois. I was trying to talk my sister and brother in-law to move to the North Suburbs of Chicago or even in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Instead they moved to Elgin and lived there for 6 years. My brother in-law and sister grew tired of paying the high taxes of living in Elgin and decided to move to Saint John, Indiana to pay less taxes. When I lived in Kenosha, Wisconsin there were homes that were pretty expensive down the street and during the 5 1/2 years that I lived in Kenosha a lot of new condos and townhomes were built as well. A lot of people from Chicago was moving to Kenosha to avoid paying the high property tax or other taxes. Illinois is just shooting themselves in the foot and destroying the state. I would not mind moving away from Illinois to a Conservative state because I do support the Constitution and the 2nd Amendment and would rather be able to open and carry than having to get a FIOD card or go through Conceal and Carry License.
Same we probably know each other
@@zstrode.8953 I am sure that we might know each other.
Glad to see that you published your novel on RUclips.
That neighborhood south of ADM was there long before ADM was that big. And its beans cooking, not pollution.
Its the Sangamon River that was damned, Long Creek is only one of many tributaries to the resulting Lake Decatur. I miss the boat races still. You could hear them roar all the way in Long Creek.
At timestamp 21:28 did you see the sign on the right side of the screen? The one with the blue metal poles? Did you see another sign on the left side of the video that also had two metal poles? Please ask me about these signs.
Got parking tickets didn't ya?
I've got family in Decatur. Mostly cousins now. I used to go there pretty often as a kid to see relatives. My uncle used to be the caretaker of Garman park in town.
This city does not look too bad. Chris didn’t play “Mean Streetz.” This looks like paradise comparing to East St. Louis.
12:18 Take US-36 west; and you would see Denver, Boulder, & Rocky Mountain National Park.
I was born in St. Mary's hospital in Decatur in June 1968. long before they added the top several floors. Grew up in Mt. Zion and we left in October of 1983. Was 33 years later I went back for Christmas. ive never driven in Mt. Zion or Decatur so I don't know the lay of the land. My preschool was across the street from the Airport off 121 I remember. lots changed on my tour of Mt. Zion, but lots changed. our old neighbor is still there and his pile of lawn mowers in his back yard has gotten severely bigger. Don't miss it and never expect to return. I remember going with our parents to get our new Plymouth Sports Suburban Wagon in 1973 at Hazelriggs Chrysler/Plymouth!
23:45 the near west side was the wealthy part of town around the turn of the 20th century, both the Millikin Homestead and Gov. Oglesby mansion are just to the north (right) of your camera
Decatur definitely has problems but is not a terrible city. Plus equal distance from Chicago, St Louis & Indy.
Lived here till I was 8 then escaped that dump to south Florida and have never went back. Enjoyed playing Ice hockey and playing in the local creeks as a kid but left at a good time.
Left Decatur when I was 21 in 2005 and moved to Orlando Florida.... My family still lives there but no way I'd ever move back. It's so depressing what it's become. Only things I miss is Krekels, Monicals and Lagondola
Thanks for sharing
Moving to this city soon
Josh, bring your nose plugs! My son attends Milliken University and when I go visit him the one thing that stands out is the stench in the air from the ADM factory.
Just checking in to make sure you're still alive 😂
Thank you for this video...very helpful 🙏 👏
Hello Shirlei how are you doing today.
The music to this video is great.
My Grandpa’s & his whole family is from Decatur. My Grandpa eventually moved to Charleston but the rest of his siblings stayed (I think) I grew up in the Florida Keys so I didn’t spend or actually met that side of the family.
I remember 1 time I went with my dad when I was up visiting to Decatur & he showed me the Kater St or Kater Ave cause he knew I’d get a kick out of seeing my last name on a street sign lol
Hello Melissa how are you doing today.
At timestamp 23:44 did you notice the sign on the right side of the video? The sign with the two metal poles? Ask me about it.
I interviewed for a job there after graduating college (this would have been in the early 1990s). It was for a company that made radar detectors. They did not offer me the job, though.
For a couple smaller cities, try Robinson, IL and Olney, IL. :)
I’m sitting at my desk at adm right now watching you drive by it 😂
Girl I live in Decatur toooooo let’s be friends 💀
Worked construction/maintenance for 21 years there. Don't miss the place at all.
Haha shits weird to see! I work there also
Is that a good place to relocate : safety wise
@@danieltenorio3559 Not really. People are leaving this state. Poorly ran state and poorly ran city.
4:16 back side of the old Firestone plant on the right
I love you Mom and Dad Bertie Higgins is my uncle he came home when he would travel from California to Florida he would stop in and all the kids would run around in the backyard
At timestamp 21:21 you see W. T. Flora Gems. Did you see the streetlight at the intersection? Did you see the sign attached to the streetlight? Ask me about the sign.
I know about em, especially having to work downtown.
Every time I watch one of these rust belt videos, it reminds me of Brave New World, in that the 'elites' had retired to their chosen cities and left the rest of the land (and people) to waste away...
I was born and raised in Decatur and moved to Springfield then moved to Arizona. I’ve only been back 3-4 times and it’s only to visit Krekels. How I miss Krekels 😩😩😩😩
Gotta LOVE Krekels!!!
Arizona would be extra 🔥 if there was a Krekels out here. AZ don’t know nuttin bout real food!!!
Kernels is a Decatur institution‼️😎👍
My wife was born and raised in Decatur. I met her in NW Illinois. Every time when we went to Spfld. and Decatur to visit. She had to go to Krekels. She loved their food, I myself did not care for their burgers. She has passed on, but when her daughter ( I should say my daughter too. As I have been with them for the last 20 years. I feel as she is my daughter.) Anyway when she came to visit me. I would take her to Krekels. As a tribute to her mom.
@@The71hotrod My condolences to you and your family. My ex husband felt the same way about Krekels. He’s from Colorado and always heard me ranting and raving plus going through withdrawal symptoms from Krekels. So when we had to fly out in 07 for my grandmothers funeral I took him there and he was like “yeah ok” but I was going bat sh!t crazy over it. Lol The last time I had Krekels was 2011. It’s been too long. The only place Arizona has close to Krekels is Culver’s or Freddy’s Custard. Not the same though but it’ll do til I get back home
Thanks for this video!
Decatur is a great city!! I’m from Florida and I’m in love with Decatur. It’s not what you see on this video. There is more to do. The Devon area is amazing! Maybe you just need more time on the place
Lmfao. No. I'm from Decatur. And proud that I escaped. My entire family (immediate and extended) is still there. I visit every year. The town is a dying trash heap. There are a couple areas that have had some money dumped into them by Warren Buffett's son Howard to buy favor from the people. But those areas will die soon enough also, just like the rest of the town.
i lived there for 20 years forced to move cause the neighbor went to Sh*t. Drug dealer moved in next door, my cars were shot up by a drive by in Feb 2021. Crack heads roamed the ally way. So Great Place to live. HAA Jobs no good high paying jobs. Aug of 2021 moved to TX.
Pulled up to my old crib at the 20:23 mark! South side
I recently moved to here and oh boy what a ride has been :( hopefully it gets better
Hopefully so. Out of curiosity, what was it that made you move to Decatur?
@@ChrisHarden my bf lives here we been long distance for years and I finally decided to move here. He told me since beginning but I did not believed him now I do lol
Sorry to break it to ya, but it won't get any better. It's awful here.....
It will never get better.
Decatur has some great suburbs. Mt Zion, Maroa and Forsyth are three outstanding communities among others
Cool video!!! I grew up in Decatur and have moved away & back again. It was thriving when I was a kid in the 70s/ 80s now not soo much. I havent been on some of those streets on the east side in years because its not safe or the same anymore.... Sad this city is dying....
Hello Elizabeth how are you doing today.
@@diegoclark6832 Fine watching this again!!
My daughter graduated from Millikin University in the 2012. Great school in an armpit of a city. I was always concerned for her safety there!
Do Shelbyville Illinois
did you created a google maps route on the May and September trips
Nah
@Joe Publico perhaps they aren't really that unfriendly....
My dad grew up on east leafland Ave I live there for a short time for about 4 years then I came back to California I kinda miss it had fun there lol but I'm sure it's not the same as it was back then
think you for Got NS Brush and East Yards they have shops and TRAINS ALSO COME TO AND From there that are made uup for both the St Louis and Kansas City Gateway also know as the Automotive Aritery and Tate and Lyle
I live over by target and stuff but you drove almost nowhere near me. You went to ADM and CAT which are both a couple miles away from me.
Grew up by target.
Question how long would it take to drive from Chicago to Decatur?
Around 2 hours and 40 minutes to downtown Chicago
Notwithstanding the poverty and crime rate in Decatur, Good Samaritan Inn takes care of feeding those who are in need. From your video this really does not look like a bad place to live, so it's a shame that a once thriving city has become what it has become - abandoned and poverty-striken.
I used to work and hangout around Decatur and Bloomington years ago!! After most of the manufacturing places left Decatur started going downhill really fast then gangs started taking over Decatur!! After I left IL in 2018 everything started going downhill fast!! After moving back to Bloomington three years ago I was really disappointed and heartbroken to find that everywhere I used to go to no longer exists anymore including friends and family members!! Now sadly I just want to retire and move back home to spend the rest of my life with my family,!!
You know a downtown is dead when there are no parking meters
There are parking meters downtown. There is free parking with time limits on the main roads.
He literally drove down a road on the farthest edge of downtown it’s another 10-15 blocks north atleast till you get to eldorado street which borders the north side of down town, he didn’t go around the square with the fountain, he didn’t go on any of the streets with stores downtown or anything just drove on the edge where the ameren building is and said hey here is downtown Decatur lol what a joke
Just returned to Urbana, Illinois from my first (and last) visit to Decatur (less than an hour away from Urbana). Your videos describe accurately and honestly our "little town Illinois" landscape. For example, Decatur: that town’s air smells so bad from factories polluting the air that I almost threw up! I feel sorry for the people who must live or work there or who are forced to breathe it to survive! I watched another video about Decatur on youtube and not a word was said about that terrible smell in the air. You on the other hand did notice it. People who do “promotional” videos can hide the truth for a about a city until people actually visit that city such as Decatur and realize they have been conned. You are probably right about the effect of high property taxes on the Illinois economy. I also lived in Homewood, Illinois where the town cleverly offered financial incentives to businesses to come to Homewood which is how Homewood is still thriving. Unfortunately we live in a world where business magnates will take their businesses where taxes are low. Back to Decatur. OMG this town's air is what hell must smell like! I went over a bridge in main part of Decatur which was engulfed in a cloud of air that smelled as if a bad school laboratory experiment went terribly wrong! That's what happens to a town when big industry arrogantly pollutes our air presumably to "save" jobs! To hell with such jobs if it means destroying our health or the environment we all live in. No wonder people have been getting out of Decatur in droves. I did too as soon as I could. I went there to explore house prices which seemed ridiculously affordable only to head back to the highway to Urbana/Champaign as soon as I could because of such foul smell. What a sad depressing town. The houses that were for sale look good on Trulia but when you visit them in person you see boarded up homes all around, you hear the echo of loud yelling and smell the chemicals in the air. Is this hell on earth or what? I decided never again to venture away from Urbana Champaign area for a house.
Exactly! People ask me why I don't ever get out of the car and interview people.... or talk to a local town's tourist office or whatnot. If that's the video that you want to see, then it's likely that your town will have a video on RUclips that talks up the place and only mentions the good things. Most of those videos also have the comments off. I'm not trying to dog these towns or rip on them, I'm trying to show the real and honest truth. It's not my fault if some of the truth is ugly!
That’s called the smell of money lol we drove over stayleys viaduct every day on the way to school it’s basically cooking corn to make corn syrup or what the have to call “high fructose corn syrup”. ADM also has a place where they make ethanol
As a born and raised Decaturite and still attached I found it amusing that he didn’t show 85 percent of town. He pointed out a handful of empty lots in otherwise decent neighborhoods. Unlike so many of his other videos I wonder why he didn’t peruse true Decatur blight. Such as anything north of Eldorado between Woodford and Monroe and south of Garfield for the most part. The number of empty lots, abandoned houses and burned out shells of such would’ve been an entirely separate video. Plus I truly agree with others in that there are plenty of nice neighborhoods within the community. Yet as anyone from the area knows being Decatur will never thrive and grow like it’s neighboring cities. Our city council having always been chaired by farmers will never allow it .
If I remember correctly, they love their traffic lights. 4 on each side for a total of either 12 on a T intersection to 16 on a crossroad. All that money IDOT put into this.
Interesting vid of Decatur, Ill (I grew up there but do not live there now, Colorado is my home) but I have 2 issues with it. 1. Lake Decatur is not considered a "reservoir" but it is a "lake". Never heard that term back there. 2. You failed to mention Mueller Water Products in the city's manufacturers. They are a very big part of the manufactures back there. BTW, you didn't mention that the Decatur Staleys was THE original Chicago Bears football-that where the NFL started. Start pointing out the "good" parts of town you cover.
I live here moved up here from Texas 3 years ago and then met my Husband. It's not that bad, it's just how you make the best of things.
Born and raised here and I’m so ready to pack my bags and leave !
I did. I highly recommend it
Let’s roll lol
I lived in Decatur for a while in fact you passed where I lived on W main & Monroe ........it's not great I can still smell ADM 3 years later.........
I can still smell ADM now and I was only there for a half hour.
It's Tate & Lyle or better known at Stayleys you're smelling not ADM
Well my Grandparents lived there. My mom was born there and I used to visit Decatur every summer. I understand some of what is being said but ... it's always easy to tear down. It has some simple beauty to it. I love coming back to Decatur and am saddened when I see the closed business's. But next time I am "home' O will shoot a video with a positive twist. Every town has its problems and its positives, all in how you look at it.
I work at the Adm plant you passed in the video
My friend goes to college at Decatur at milikan and it’s pretty shitty their to say the least
My grandpa owned Eastside Market in Decatur IL and sold it 13 or so years ago. The last owner I guess closed it from what I heard.
My daughter and her mother live in Decatur, I grew up in Springfield. It’s been a dump as long as I can remember.
Springfield is pretty much a dump also
@@tjn2254 Springfield may not be great but it's way better than Decatur
If you ever need clips of Decatur feel free to use my videos I’ve documented a majority of the areas here
Just subscribed to your channel, plan to watch all your rides thru Decatur.
@@danielraypickrel4316 thank you I got a new vid coming today
Can I get the tracklist music from this video its relaxing keep up the good work
Decatur is quite AF I love it here I'm from Compton CALIFORNIA
Quite? where do be at during the summers
🤣🤣🤣 I know others who say otherwise