I posted about a dream I had recently, while taking my wife and kids to visit my grandma. Anyway, while I was in town, I noticed they had a few little things that stood out with enough character that I though it might be good enough for my first @Haveyoubeenhere post.
Arcade has an old pharmacy right in the middle of downtown, called Cottrill’s. The original owner, I’m guessing Mr. Cottrill, sold that pharmacy to my grandfather, who owned and operated it until he retired and sold it to one of my aunts a long time ago. Somewhere probably in the last 10 years, she also retired and sold it. The store looks really nice inside, they’ve done a lot of work, but I kind of missed the old orange carpets and floor plan that I used to see when we’d visit as kids.
Both my parents grew up in this little town, but they left together when my dad joined the army, maybe about 7 years before I was born. We would drive back every year for Christmas - except for that one year we lived in Germany - and every year it was a treat to go into the pharmacy to see everyone and pick out something. I’d usually get pencils or a sketchbook. Now that I’m coming back as an adult, I’m finding the village decorated with tons of new life and art.
If you’ve ever known the village of Arcade, you would likely know also the Arcade and Attica railroad.
When we’re kids we’d take pennies and nickels out to the tracks to get them smashed by the train. Above is the ticket station, also located in the heart of downtown. This place is an iconic part of the village’s history…plus you can get ice cream there in the summer :)
If you pull between the buildings, past the colorful Arcade mural, you can park behind the pharmacy. Back there is the creek I used to play in, the trestle bridge I used to run across with my cousins, and the old A&A train cars.
All three cars back there are set up with wooden access stairs so you can go in and check them out. You don’t even have to be good looking - see, they even let me in!
Most of the panels have been painted shut over the years, but they did keep one engine access panel open over the years.
I know this isn’t a great shot, but I was happy to be able to shove my whole arm in the opening and snap a shot without stopping g my phone :)
This shot below is the fruit of that labor :)
Anyway, this doesn’t tell you much about the history of the village, or even necessarily my history with the village, but it’s a glimpse. I hope you enjoyed looking around Arcade with me as much as I did!
