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Ohio movie set is general store from way back when

By CINDY LADAGE
Illinois Correspondent

BAY CITY, Ill. — Remember the scene from U.S. Marshals in which the 727 crashes into the Ohio River?

That was right across from the Bay City General Store & Lodging – the movie was filmed in 1997 and Donna Norton explained about the film that put her little burg on the map.

“The casting included countless local persons who posed as restaurant employees of Roy Willy’s World’s Best Bar-B-Que, local and state law enforcement and first responders,” she said. “The Store was ‘converted’ to the movie set, with the single-story section being totally re-made into Roy Willy’s World’s Best Bar-B-Que.”

Although the restaurant was fictitious, she said on occasion people drive in and expect to be able to eat barbecue. While there is none to be had, there is RC Cola, Moon Pies and a great variety of antiques and collectibles, and a general store restored to its 1915 glory.

Along with the storefront, there are a couple of rooms above where a visitor can stay and have an amazing view of the Ohio River, just a stone’s throw from the parking lot.

“We bought this in 2005,” Norton said. Southern Illinois was a mid-point for she and her husband to make their life together.
“Don was from Springfield and I was from Carbondale. We both liked to boat and fish and loved the Ohio River. We decided to find some property. We got married and moved here. We immediately fell in love with the store,” she said.

“She handles the store and I’m the maid and handyman,” Don added.

Although “U.S. Marshals” gained the area a bit of fame, the store was a landmark and gathering point decades before star Tommy Lee Jones set foot on the property. The store was built in 1915 by Nathaniel Golightly then purchased in 1920 by Clarence and Tressie Weeks.

On their website www.baycitystore andlodgingohioriver.com the Nortons share a bit of history of the store: “CR and “Miz Tressie” kept this store open through floods, the Great Depression, the 1937 Great Flood, World War II and ensuing conflicts, and countless unimaginable trials and tribulations in order to serve the people of the Bay City area.

“The Store had it all – about everything necessary to live and raise families and survive. If CR did not have exactly what a person wanted his response was, ‘Get it for you Thursday’ – which he did by, in later years, driving his 1946 International truck to Paducah (Ky.) for the stock he needed.”

These days, Don has his own restored truck that he parks out front. “It is a 1953 Diamond T,” he said. “I found the truck in Ohio. I put it on a trailer and hauled it home.” (Don also added a 1974 Custom Sutphen Pumper fire truck to his collection.)

In the old days, visitors might have had to come by boat. When they arrived, they could always count on getting just what they needed and a hearty sandwich.

“CR was noted for his hand-cut bologna and cheese sandwiches – hand cut, likely so thick as to constitute the complete meal,” the Nortons shared. “Of course, most bought an RC Cola or Coke, and perhaps a Moon Pie for dessert.”

Today a visitor can try out the RC or the Moon Pie, although the Nortons draw the line at bologna – the only “baloney” a visitor might get are some tall tales and a bit of rocker time on the front porch or the balcony above, where lodgers can watch the sun rise and set on the Ohio River.

This place is a chance to throw away the clock, turn off the cell phone and listen to the sounds of the Shawnee Forest. Besides the room overhead, there is also a cabin next door, so there is enough room for a family reunion or group to get together and dream. Call 618-683-4305 for more details.

11/5/2008