Cozy Nook Explorers
Cozy Nook Explorers
19. Rockford, Illinois
Jackie and Jon make plans to visit Rockford, Illinois to meet a resident named Nelson. They admire a traditional Japanese garden, appreciate a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and remind everyone that there is “no crying in baseball”.
Jackie Reilly: Host
Jon Schaller: Host
Charles: Producer
Email: cozynookexplorers@gmail.com
Instagram: @cozynookexplorers
Community Shoutout:
PAWS Humane Society
Mentioned in this episode:
Midway Village Museum (Sock Monkeys!)
Anderson Japanese Gardens
Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum and Gardens
Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden
JACKIE: I’m Jackie
JON: And I’m Jon
JACKIE: And we are the cozy nook explorers!
JON: Welcome to our show where we explore the world from our cozy nook here in Southern CALIFORNIA using the power of the internet!
Jackie: Yes and it’s Wednesday which means it’s time for another exploration!
Jon: Today we are exploring Rockford, Illinois!
Jackie: You know, Jon I’ve never been to Rockford, but I’ve been to Chicago and that was great! I was there in April and the weather was beautiful.
Jon: I was in Chicago for a day-
Jackie: Oh fun!
Jon: In January.
Jackie Oh no…
Jon: Yeah-
Jackie: Well, Rockford is an hour and 40 minute drive outside of Chicago and that’s where we are going! There’s so much to explore.
Jon: Before we go any further- we have an -
Ask Charles question from our listener Liana!
Jackie: Yes! This is a GREAT question! Liana asks, “Charles, what is your favorite Bansky piece and why?”
Jon: His answer is the one with the little girl who is writing on the wall and she has written, “No act of kindness no matter how small is ever wasted.”
Jackie: Oh I love that one! I also like the girl with the balloon.
Jon: Me too. Shall we head to Rockford?
Jackie: Jon how could you forget.
Jon: Forget what?
Jackie: Forget what?! What’s keeping you cozy this week?
Jon: Right, Jackie what’s keeping you cozy?
WHAT’S KEEPING YOU COZY
JACKIE: Learning to crochet. I decided that I wanted to pick up a new craft, so I’ve been learning to crochet! I wouldn’t say I’m very good at it yet, but I’ve picked up a few stitches and it’s been very relaxing in the evenings!
- What are you crocheting?
- I’ve been making a simple blanket with really soft blanket yarn.
- What’s your favorite crochet stitch?
- The half double crochet.
JON: Light switches
- Does it bother you when a light switch goes the opposite way than it’s supposed to? Like when the down switch turns the lights on instead of off?
- Did you like playing with light switches when you were a kid?
Let’s Get Into It
Jon: So I would like to start off this episode by talking about a man named Nelson.
Jackie: Oh yay! NELSON! NELSON IS THE BEST!
Jon: His name is John Nelson and he invented the first sock knitting machine in 1868 in Rockford Illinois
Jackie: That is not the best Nelson
Jon: Oh did you mean Franklin Nelson who was John Nelson’s son who invented a machine which could knit a sock without seams in the heel.
Jackie: That is not the best Nelson and you know it. And I think you should tell our audience who the BEST NELSON is.
Jon: I mean I still say Frank Nelson the socks made with his machine were so influential they were called “Rockfords”. Cuz they had no seams and they were made in Rockford Illinois.
Jackie: No Jon- the amazing and the adorable NELSON
Jon: Can you be 7 feet 2 inches tall and still be adorable?
Jackie: Yessssssss because he is! And you DO know who I am talking about! You need to tell people about him.
Jon: Is this because you want to meet him?
Jackie: Yessssss I want to meet him on his birthday
Jon: March 7
Jackie: Can you just tell people of how adorable NELSON is and where to find him?
Jon: Well you can find him every year that is not during a pandemic at the Sock Monkey Festival
Jackie: Because he is a sock monkey and he is 7 feet 2 inches of adorable!!!
Jon: They also have a Sock Monkey Hos-
Jackie” A Sock Monkey hospital where you can bring in your injured Sock Monkey and they can be stiched up and made good as new. Ahhhhhh!!!
Jon: This is because Rockford Illinois is the Sock Monkey Cap-
Jackie: Rockford Illinois is the Sock Monkey capital of the World. And all the little children can get their sock monkeys repaired at the Sock Monkey Hospital.
Jon: This is true and you are very excited.
Jackie: Yes I want my picture taken with NELSON
Jon: Welcome to RockFord Illinois 41,849.6 acres or 83.6 Disneylands why did we choose this place
Jackie: Because Sock Monkey are cozy and we wanted to celebrate where they came from!!! And (Jackie sings theme from a League of their own) We’re the members of-
Jon: And there is no crying in Baseball as we examine the Rockford Peaches.
Jackie: They were totally real by the way!!
Jon: You are very excited….. the characters are entirely fictional.
Jackie: The Rockford Peaches were a real women’s baseball team! Can you believe it?!
Jon: And they played at Beyer stadium at 245 15th Ave in Rockford Illinois.
Jackie: Unfortunately you cannot see it in the Movie “A League of their Own” because it was torn down after a great deal of disrepair. A League Of Their Own is a classic and iconic movie from the 90’s and it’s about The Rockford Peaches!
Jon: But you can now visit the Stadium because it was reopened in in 2010 and you can still play baseball there as the peaches would have done from 1943 to 1954
Jackie: And the Rockford Peaches didn’t just play- they won 4 titles. That is more than anyone else in the league! Isn’t that amazing?!
Jon: The league was composed of 10 All Girls Teams in the Midwest.
Jackie: Can you name them?
Jon: Kenosha Comets, Racine Belles, Rockford Peaches, South Bend Blue Sox, Minneapolis Millerettes, Fort Wayne Daisies, Peoria Redwings, Chicago Colleens, Springfield Sallies, Battle Creek Belles, and my favorite name the Kalamazoo Lassies.
Jackie: That was twelve teams
Jon: Yes some of them moved or changed their names
Jackie: Originally it was just 4 teams which included the Rockford Peaches.
Jon: And it was all started by a guy we are somewhat familiar with from our Santa Catalina Island episode Philip K Wrigley.
Jackie: It is nice to see him again!
Jon: Yeah he started the League as a way to sell more chewing gum.
Jackie: No way- really?! Good idea! We should probably talk about why women were playing baseball in the first place.
Jon: It was because all of the male baseball players were overseas fighting in World War II.
Jackie: So in order to have baseball you needed to find female athletes. I think it’s really cool that there was a women’s baseball league and I’ve been terribly confused my whole life as to why women don’t have a baseball league today.
Jon: Yeah, I would love to see those games!
Jackie: The girls had much nicer uniforms
Jon: Do you know what the Rockford Peaches team colors were
Jackie: I am going to guess peach
Jon: And you would be wrong it was red and black
Jackie: No way.
Jon: Their uniforms have the Rockford seal on them which is a set of scales and their hats had a big R on them.
Jackie: Were the uniforms peach colored at least?
Jon: Yes because dye was very expensive during world war ii, so the cheapest dye they could find was peach colored and peaches became their nickname and eventually their team name.
Jackie: Very cool! I want to talk about the Tinker Swiss Cottage!!
Jon: Alright.
Jackie: Ok, so it’s an ADORABLE cottage that was built in the 1860’s by Robert Tinker!
Jon: Robert Tinker went to Europe in 1862 and fell in love with the swiss buildings on his travels.
Jackie: The Tinker family lived in the cottage and on their land for 75 years before leaving it to the Rockford Park district.
Jon: There are not many swiss style homes left in the United States so this would be very special to see. The house also has furniture, artwork, and clothing from the Victorian era!
Jackie: Very neat! So something that I thought was kind of cute is that Mrs. Tinker had a mansion on the property that was hers and Robert Tinker connected the walkway between the houses with a bridge that crossed Kent Creek. And he added in all sorts of nice gardening. Isn’t that fun?!
Jon: The cottage has been open as a museum since 1943.
Jackie: Isn’t that wild?! This cottage is SO old- it was lived in for 75 years AND it’s been open as a museum for about 77 years! I mean, I couldn’t even guess how old it is!
Jon: 152 years old. And that’s not really old. It’s not even the oldest part of the property. There is a Native American mound on the museum grounds. The type of mound on the grounds is associated with Native American burials and is from about 1000-1300 ACE.
Jackie: Ok, that’s just a little bit older…
Jon: Just a bit.
Jackie: The Tinker Swiss cottage is just one of the many reasons that Rockford’s nickname is the Forest City. Another reason is that they don’t have one, but TWO botanical gardens.
Jon: Yes and we will be back to talk about both of them after a word from our sponsor.
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Jackie: This podcast is brought to you by Crochet Croquet! Crochet Croquet takes two classics and combines them for the experience of a lifetime! Like croquet, it’s a game and like crochet you have a hook and you are stitching yarn.
Jon: Jackie how does it work?
Jackie: Well, Jon, when you purchase the game it comes with a giant crochet hook and a giant ball of yarn. You need to hook the yarn around the crochet hook and then put the yarn through the croquet hoop.
Jon: Ummm
Jackie: Once it’s through the hoop you take the hook out of the hoop and you flip the hook over so that you can use the hook like a croquet mallet and you hit a ball through a different croquet hoop. Oh, did I mention this is a full body sport as well? It’s being considered for the Olympics.
Jon: Wait- what? Jackie this doesn’t sound fun at all, it’s really confusing, needlessly complicated and kind of dangerous.
Jackie: It’s not that dangerous. Just make sure you don’t stand under, over, or next to the giant crochet hook or anywhere on the field and you’ll be fine. Crochet Croquet- It’s a full-contact craft!
Let get in to in 2
Jon: So the two botanical gardens Klehm Arboretum and Anderson Japanese Gardens.
Jackie: So, both of the gardens are special in their own way. Klehm Arboretum is a living museum! In early May and June they have a peony garden with over 70 varieties of peonies in bloom!
Jon: That must smell amazing!
Jackie: I bet! I love peonies! They remind me of this one house that my family stayed in up in Maine. They had the prettiest peonies! I’d love to see such a wide variety and compare them all! Do you like peonies, Jon?
Jon: They are very floral. So, then there is the Anderson Japanese Gardens. This is an authentic Japanese Garden in Rockford and it is beautiful. It was created by Hoichi Kurisu who has been making Japanese Gardens for a long time.
Jackie: What do you mean making the gardens?
Jon: I mean if you have enough money you can call up Kurisu international and they will build you a Japanese garden including buildings plants and koi ponds every detail meticulously designed
Jackie: If you go on there website you see a crazy amount of beautiful wedding photos.
Jon: Agreed seems like the wedding spot if you are in Rockford Illinois. You can also go and experience the joy of totami flooring.
Jackie: Was that the video you were watching on the guys making a floor?
Jon: Yes!!!! Totami flooring in the best. it is this Japanese flooring that smells amazing and it crunches underneath your feet in the most relaxing way.
Jackie: Now who is excited?
Jon: I am if you have never experienced this flooring well that is to be expected because it has to be put in by hand. It is also very rare. However they have some in one of the buildings of the Anderson Japanese Gardens and they have to fly craftsmen from Japan in to be able to repair them.
Jackie: Oh fun! You know, I would love to have tea in their tea room.
Jon: From the Anderson Japanese Gardens you can take a tour called Frank Lloyd Wright meets 16th Century Japan! According to their website, “Guests will be granted exclusive access to Anderson Japanese Gardens’ 16th century Sukiya-style Guest House and the Laurent House, the only home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright specifically for a client with a physical disability.”
Jackie: That sounds like it would be really interesting! The Laurent House is so beautiful in photos- I’d love to see it in person! Frank Lloyd Wright is a famous architect and designer from the first half of the 20th century.
Jon: Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Mirrors to work for both people who are standing and those in a wheelchair.
Jackie: There are floor to ceiling windows and a wall that curves to make it easy to stare out the window if you are sitting or standing.
Jon: Frank Lloyd Wright called the house “my little gem”. He also selected it for his book that showcased his 35 most significant buildings of his 70+ year career.
Jackie: So, this is kindo of cool- the couple who had originally commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build the home adopted a son and they decided to add an addition to the home. So, they had Frank Lloyd Wright design the addition, but he unfortunately passed away before the design revisions were complete.
Jon: So, his apprentice took over completing the revisions and overseeing construction. AND on top of this, the son of the original contractor took care of the home addition.
Jackie: Isn’t that so nice! But, do you know what isn’t nice? Dutch Elm Disease.
Jon: What’s that?
Jackie: Dutch elm disease is a big bummer- that’s what it is.
Jon: Ok, but what is it?
Jackie: It’s a vascular wilt disease.
Jon: Jackie, please-
Jackie: Ok, so I’m honestly not sure how to explain what a vascular wilt disease is, but basically it infects trees and they shrivel up and die.
Jon: Oh no.
Jackie: Yeah, it’s terrible and obviously not good. In the 1950’s Rockford lost over 50,000 trees to Dutch Elm disease! So, even though the city has gardens and lots of greenery, it used to be even more lush with plants.
Jon: Bummer.
Jackie: Exactly, a big bummer.
Jon: Did you see that Rockford was originally named Midway?
Jackie: I did! Rockford is on the Rock River and its location was equidistant between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi river. So I’d imagine they went with the most logical name they could figure.
Jon: I saw that it was because Rockford was midway between Chicago and Galena.
Jackie: Oh, interesting! I wonder if it was because of both?
Jon: I don’t know. Either way, the name Midway was pretty quickly changed to Rockford.
Jackie: Rockford in the early 20th century was all about industry and building things that make things and do things.
Jon: What?
Jackie: It’s location on the Rock River was perfect for industrialization.
Jon: OK…...For example, some of the inventions to come out of Rockford at this time were the Nelson knitting machine, electric break, electric garage door opener, and the airbrush.
Jackie: Do you think they have a crochet machine I could borrow?
Jon: Probably not.
Jackie: A girl can dream. Also, from the 1880’s through the first half of the 20th century the furniture industry was a huge part of Rockford’s economy, but the industry died out during the great depression and world war two.
Jon: And now that we’ve made it all the way to furniture, do you have anything else, Jackie?
Jackie: Did we do the Disneylands?
Jon: Yeah, at the beginning.
Jackie: Oh yeah, ok. Anything else?
Jon: Did you know that Rockford High School’s band was established all the way back in 1907! It’s one of the oldest known high school marching bands in America! Anything else?
Jackie: Rockford was the center of an anti-salvery region before the Civil War and Illinois was a free state.
Jon: Very cool. Anything else?
Jackie: I really want to go meet Nelson The Sock Monkey!!!!
Jon: And on that note, let’s take a quick break before our community shoutout.
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Community Shoutout/ Outro
Jackie: Every episode we like to research and highlight something special in the community that we are exploring.
Jon: Today’s community shoutout is the Paws Humane Society!
Jackie: According to their website PAWS Humane Society of Rockford, Illinois, is a volunteer organization supported by donations. And as you can guess they help animals with PAWS like adorable and loveable cats and dogs!!
Jon: The organization was founded in 1988 as a spay/neuter assistance operation and over the years they have become a full service humane society!
Jackie: They are a no kill recommended organization and they have the GREATEST program called Paws For A Story.
Jon: What that?
Jackie: Glad you asked Jon. Children ages 6-14 are invited to the shelter to READ TO THE CATS and keep the cats company! They have a selection of books for the kids to choose from. Isn’t that amazing?! I wish that they opened this up to adults too because I’d totally go!
Jon: Yes, I believe that you definitely would. We will include a link to their website in the show notes for donations.
Jackie: AND for people who are looking to adopt furry friends and bring them home to their forever home!!!!!!!!!!
Jon: Yes, that too. Well, that’s the show. Thank you so much to Charles, our producer.
Jackie: Thank you Charles! And thank you to our listeners! It’s just so neat that you take the time to listen to our show. We really appreciate it!
Jon: If you’ve been enjoying this podcast please take the time to rate us and write a review on apple podcasts.
Jackie: And you can follow us on Instagram @cozynookexplorers or send us an email at cozynookexplorers@gmail.com. We love getting suggestions for places to travel and feedback on the show!
Jon: You can also just say hello! We like that too!
Jackie: We do! We will be back in two Wednesdays with our next exploration.
Jon: Yes, on Wednesdays we explore!
Jackie: Stay cozy, and we’ll see you soon.