By Tobin Perry


Some of the most enduring images of Americana were born in the rural Midwest—from Mark Twain’s St. Petersburg, Mo., to Little House on the Prairie’s Walnut Grove, to Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon. It’s Anytown U.S.A.—where “salt-of-the-earth” people work hard and go to church every Sunday.


Truth be told, these small towns still exist. Take Amboy, Ill., for example. It’s one of those places you might expect to see in a movie. Walk down the town’s historic Main Street, even in 2011, and you’ll find a brick-and-mortar drug store, a couple of banks, along with other “mom-and-pop” shops. Many of the 5,000 people in the community either work at the local factory or on a farm.


ON MISSION • Summer 2011 33

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52