John McGivern's Main Streets

Tucked away in the north side of Chicago, the Lincoln Square neighborhood is as charming as it is busy. It boasts a main street straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. During his visit, John McGivern enjoys the German roots still present, but also finds many ethnicities in this diverse neighborhood.

De Pere, WI is sometimes called a suburb of Green Bay, but don’t say that to anyone who lives there. John McGivern loved visiting both sides of downtown, the only Norbertine College in the world, making his own blend at Luna Coffee, opening the manual lock on the Fox Locks system and tasting all that Seroogy’s Chocolates has to offer.

Bloomington Minnesota is home to the Mall of America, and the behind-the-scenes tour was full of surprises for John McGivern. The rest of the city was also full of surprises. He didn’t expect to find a ski-jump, the largest bicycle products distributor in America, the first tap room in Minnesota and a goat farm!

What’s in Holland, Michigan, besides tulips? Get ready for all things Dutch, and much more. John McGivern clomps around in wooden shoes at Windmill Gardens, satisfies his sweet tooth at Nelis’ Dutch Village and DeBoer Bakery, cherishes his wooden bowl from the Holland Bowl Mill, and is enthralled at the only Delft factory in North America.

Iowa’s Amana Colonies are not Amish! Come meet the past while enjoying right now. Iowa’s Amana Colonies lived communally until 1932. Today their innovative past and welcoming hospitality draw visitors by the thousands. John McGivern is reminded of a simpler time at the Meat Shop, the Woolen Mill and Schanz Furniture, and very grateful for present amenities at Whirlpool Corp, the Ox Yoke Inn and Millwright Hotel.

Woodstock, Illinois, is a picturesque small town mixed with a little bit of tinsel town. Woodstock, Illinois, may have been put on the map by the movie Groundhog Day, but it’s what John McGivern finds in real life that deserves the spotlight. Beside the movie tour stops, places like Cherry Tree Inn, Boss Straws, Ethereal Confections and Dented Gate Flower Farm make Woodstock the perfect little community.

Fort Wayne, Indiana, is such a great city to visit, but residents say the best part is living here. John knew it was home to Vera Bradley and Sweetwater Music Store, but he didn’t expect a Diocesan Museum, a public library with genealogy center and Abe Lincoln collection, the most perfect children’s zoo or Coney Island hot dogs.

Winona is a Minnesota city of 26,000 people, built on a Mississippi River sandbar. At Willet Hauser, artists make stained glass while The Watkins Co. employees make tons of vanilla, and the crew at Wenonah Canoe make – guess. Sugar Loaf Bluff is paradise for climbers, Yarnology is home for knitters and NOSH Scratch Kitchen is heaven for John!

Escanaba, Michigan has “yooper” culture all their own. Taste it in the delicious pasties at Dobber’s Pasties and in the sweet wines at Leigh’s Garden Winery. You can hear it in Ludington Park when the century-old city band plays. You can feel it in the great outdoors while you fish with Beaver’s Lures or watch the sun rise at Terrace Bay Hotel.

In Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley, the Harley-Davidson Museum, Palermo’s Pizza, Potawatomi Casino and BBC Lighting are well known. But there’s more happening here. Do you like pickled foods? Bay View Packing is for you. Art? Warehouse Art Museum is unreal. How about eating and drinking? Twisted Fisherman and Third Space Brewing got you!

Iowa City is a college town. Go Hawkeyes! It’s also a literary town, home to Prairie Lights Books and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. It’s a farming town, growing well at Urban Greens and Wilson’s Orchard & Farm. And it’s an innovative town, with one-of-a-kinds like the National Advanced Driving Simulator, Unimpaired Dry Bar and Crêpes De Luxe Café.

Goshen is in Elkhart County, Indiana, where 85 percent of recreational vehicles in the country are made. John visits Dynamax, Janus Motorcycles, Goshen College and Radio Horizonte. He takes in local cuisine, including Mexican food and Neapolitan pizza. A visit to the Old Bag Factory and Quilt Gardens rounds out the trip.

Dodgeville has some legendary Wisconsin treasures, like Governor Dodge State Park and The House on the Rock. There are legendary people, like softball coach Gene Van Dyck and the Reilly brothers. Dodgeville more recently attracted Steph’s Sweet Treats, White Oak Savanna and John McGivern, who has his eye on a house – again!