Dee Chase was standing in the street looking at the sky just before the tornado struck. It seemed safe enough. Twisters never hit Utica, Illinois.
Then Dee's husband saw shingles flying through the yard and rushed her inside. They huddled the kitchen for perhaps the most frightening 30 seconds of their lives.
"You could see this forever on television, but until you've been there yourself, you can't imagine what it's like," said Dee's husband, Bob.
Dee recalls a rumble like a freight train and a howling wind that popped her ears.
"You could hear things hitting the house. I was praying," she said.
It was over as quickly as it began. But when Bob and Dee emerged from their house, they couldn't believe how much damage was done in 30 seconds.
 A small memorial was set up on the site where eight people parished within the Milestone tavern located in Utica, Illinois. An unexpected tornado swept through Utica causing extensive damage to this small community, which is now on the rebound to recovering.
Roofs collapsed, chimneys toppled, cars flipped over, some trees landed on cars, others slammed into houses. The silo behind the Chase's house was carried across the Illinois & Michigan Canal.
Eight people died when the Milestone tavern collapsed.
"This is a small town. Everybody knows everyone who died there," Dee said.
"It's such a shame, they went there because they thought it was the safest place."
After the storm, Bob and Dee walked down the street trying to help their neighbors. They weren't alone.
"Everybody was trying to help everyone they could," Dee said, adding that's normal in a small town.
As Bob and Dee walked along the street, they saw how fickle a twister can be.
One house could be destroyed, the next untouched. Behind the Chase's house, a heavy bucket filled with oil and an inflatable basketball hoop were next to each other when the storm hit. The twister carried away the bucket and left hoop.
All this - in a town that hadn't seen a tornado in more than century. Twisters rarely touch down in the Illinois River valley.
Meanwhile, the Chases son, Andy, was trying to make his way home to find out if his parents and his wife were safe. After being turned away by police, he walked along the railroad tracks and doubled back into his neighborhood.
Soon, aid workers arrived. First, it was the Mennonites and the Amish, bringing their tools with them. Then volunteers from many faiths and organizations joined them.
"They were all so wonderful," Dee said.
The storm that might have destroyed Utica, made the town stronger.
"I think this has brought people together," Bob said.
If you visit Utica today, you'll see plenty of damage from the April 20 storm.
You'll see eight crosses and a makeshift memorial of pictures where the Milestone once stood.
You'll also see signs that say: "Utica's Back, Back Utica." And you'll see folks working on their houses. But long after the last building is repaired, the people will remember the twister.
"It made a believer out of me. Now when I hear those sirens, I take cover," Bob said.
FROM INDIA, WITH LOVE
In his homeland, Dev Vithalani and his wife, Hasumati, were doctors. Respected people in a small community in India.
When they arrived in Joliet last year, Dev took a job at a gas station and Hasumati worked a motel.
Why did they do it?
Because they love their daughter, Hetal.
 Recently purchased by the Vithalani family (originally from India) the Birds Nest Motel in Princeton, Illinois is not only the families livelihood, it is the motive to keep the Indian culture of family together. The Vithalani family, and relatives, work and live in the motel.
When Hetal came to the U.S. to attend college, everyone - including Hetal - assumed she would return home. But she decided to stay here, so Dev and Hasumati packed their bags and joined her.
"India has a really family-oriented culture. They really feel bad when a child is alone," Hetal said.
The family is together now, but it's not the same. Among other things, Hetal still misses the nightly dinners where as many as 60 family members showed up regularly.
"In India, maybe five generations live in one place," Dev said. "In our tradition, if you're old, the younger generation takes care of you. There are no nursing homes, just hospitals."
And in India, neighbors are like part of the family. If you don't like what's cooked at home, you're welcome next door, he said.
Dev and Hasumati worked separate shifts when they arrived in Joliet, where Hetal attends Lewis College.
Last month, they purchased the Bird's Nest Motel in Princeton, IL - a business that allows them to be together.
They bring a sense of their culture to the motel.
"When you are here, you are not a customer. You are our friend and our guest," he said.
Earlier this month, Dev's sister, Birju and her two children joined them at the motel.
Davi, a 22 year old with a crew cut and a broad smile, said he likes the U.S., especially the food.
His younger sister, Poorja, says she'd return home in an instant if she could.
Her friends are in India and the food is better there, she said.
Birju would return, too. She misses going to temple and meeting with her friends.
And, oh, she misses the food.
"Yes, food is a very big part of our lives," Dev said.
THE PEOPLE'S PALACE
Liberace wore his work clothes when he performed at the Rialto Theater in Joliet. Of course, Liberace's work clothes consisted of tuxedos, ruffles, frills and bejeweled capes that would make an emperor proud. All that and an elaborate candelabra atop his piano.
At the Rialto, Liberace opened his show with a flourish of his cape and said, "At last, a theater to match my wardrobe."
At least, that's the way they tell the story in Joliet. And if you visit the Rialto, you'll find it easy to believe the story.
"I've been all over the world. There's nothing like this in the United States," said Constance Bailey, a
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Pittsburgh teacher. She gave up a visit to a riverside casino to return to the Rialto. She wasn't leaving without pictures.
 The grand entrance to the Rialto Square Theater in Joliet, IL shows off the magnificent architecture filled with elegant Corinthian-style columns, crystal chandeliers and a dome similar to the Pantheon in Rome. The Rialto offers top name performances all year long.
"This is phenomenal, the gold, the marble, the chandelier. And the organ - you've got to hear the organ," she said.
It is a magnificent theater, with an entranceway based on the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles and a lobby based on the Roman Coliseum.
When it was built in 1926 (with air conditioning!) they called it a "Palace for the People," said Janie Lawson of the Heritage Corridor Visitors Bureau, who's also a volunteer at the theater.
There are 18 marble-like columns in the lobby supporting a rounded ceiling and walls with scores of gold-inlaid figures. The grand chandelier, called The Duchess, hangs in the middle.
Then there's the theater itself, with frescos in obscure areas so that every patron has something interesting to look at, and with an original Barton Brothers theater organ. Enthusiasts and performers from around the world come to the annual Organ Extravaganza in April.
Comedian Red Skelton returned to the Rialto in his later years, just to see the theater one more time. He stood on stage and wept.
The theater - which was nearly torn down in the 1970s - was being restored when Skelton returned. He purchased the remaining 16 box and had them named for family and friends.
And that's a true story.
In front of the theater there's a silhouette of the Marx Brothers, who not only performed at the Rialto, but tried, unsuccessfully, to raise chickens near Joliet before turning to show business.
Maybe that's why there were so many rubber chickens in the Marx Brothers routines.
There are public tours, with an organ recital, at the Rialto on Tuesdays. A number of private tour groups also stop at the theater. But the best way to see the theater is to attend one of the many stage performances there. They play the organ before every show.
INSTANT SUBURBS
West of Joliet, houses are sprouting faster than corn. Drive (or walk) along Route 6 and you'll see hundreds of new condominiums and houses - and there are thousands more under construction and or on the drawing boards.
Joliet is one of the ten fastest growing small cities in the nation according to recent census reports. And it shows.
You'll see developments like Mallard Point, Reflections and Indian Ridge all on Ridge Road near the tiny town of Minooka. Nearby by is the giant Hunters West complex.
 Teams of construction workers are in the process of building not one house, but a whole subdivision located in the middle of what was once farm fields between Juliet and Morris Illinois.
Amid all of this construction and instant suburbs, Mallard Point boasts of "country living."
"None of that was here three or four years ago," said Harry Breen of Morris, who grew up in Minooka. "I knew everyone there. Now I don't know anybody."
He said communities are trying to slow growth or at least keep the costs down by imposing impact fees, which are special charges on new homes to offset the cost of new services that the community will need, such as roads, schools, sewers, police and fire.
"There are 3,000 homes approved or proposed. That changes a lot of things," said Pat Graziano, editor of the Daily Herald in Morris, just west of Minooka.
In Morris, folks watch the growth apprehensively. They know Morris could change, too.
"I've been here since '69," said Bob Borgstrom. "It's a nice, small town. I don't know where the keys to my house are. I haven't locked the door in years."
It's the kind of town that hosts an annual tractor festival, a corn festival and a dulcimer festival.
"The people here get behind every event there is," said Eric Davy, whose family moved here when he was five.
"The people I grew up with - they all stayed here. And the ones that didn't come back a lot," Eric said.
ICE CREAM, CHILI AND BOBBY RYDELL
Along the road, someone suggested that I stop for lunch at Lindy's Gertie's in Ottawa. They said I'd find some good ice cream there.
Bingo! I'm on a quest for great ice cream. I stopped at Lindys Gertie's the next day. It was perhaps the best ice cream I've had on this trip.
Lindy's Gertie's, it turns out, is part of a group of Chicago restaurants that specialize in chili and ice cream. The one in Ottawa is farther west than any of the others.
 Chuck Rice and Bob Zachary from Ottawa, Illinois have fond memories of this local hangout before what it is now called Lindy's Gertie's. Although it has changed since their youth, the memorabilia filled restaurant still draws them in for their daily coffee and chat.
The Ottawa owner, Mike Voytek, said the chain actually recommended that he stick closer to Chicago, but he wanted to be here, in this former car hop that was once the hottest spot in town.
But Mike tends to do things his own way, anyhow. One look at his place will tell you that. There's rock and roll memorabilia everywhere. You could call it Mike's Rock and Roll Museum.
"I'm a nut when it comes to 50s and 60s stuff. This is only a little part of what I have. You should see what I've got at home," Mike said.
In the restaurant, there are movie posters, programs autographed by stars like Paul Anka, Ricky Nelson and Annette Funicello. There's an Everly Brothers high school yearbook, an Elvis overnight case and a Beatles scarf that sold for a dollar in Woolworth's back in the 60s.
"Everything here is the real McCoy," Mike said.
He's even had singers like Bobby Rydell and Bobby Vee come by his place for autograph signings.
They like the chili and ice cream, he said.
And the location is perfect. When singers like Rydell and Vee were at the top of the music charts, teens were hanging out at the Silver Frost carhop, the building that now houses Lindy's Gertie's.
Bob Zachary, who's been eating here for decades, remembers those days.
"You came here, got your pop (soda) and hung around for a while. Then you drove around the town for 15-20 minutes and came back here to see if anyone new had arrived. That was mainly what we did in this town," Bob said.
You can just imagine him, all those years ago, slicking his hair into place with Vaseline.
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