Couple's barn remains a living history lesson

When recalling Fisher's history, it's impossible to ignore Remember When.

This nostalgic museum operated near Fisher for four years during the 1970s. And although Delmar and Phyllis Crooks no longer open their collection to the public, their barn is still stuffed with pieces of a bygone era.

"It's fuller now than it was then because we don't have to have room for people," Phyllis Crooks said.

Some of their pieces include the marble bar from Heimlicher's Drugstore in Champaign, which was located in the same building as the Cattle Bank on University Avenue.

They have the back bar out of the Davis Drugstore in Paxton, and according to "Story of Fisher," the teller's cage from the Osman post office.

With all those features, it didn't take the Crookses long to realize they could have an attraction on their hands.

"We just kind of hooked everything together," Phyllis Crooks said, referring to the bar and a soda fountain and old cash registers. "It just kind of snowballed on us."

They allowed visitors long before they officially opened Remember When, Crooks said. At least 400 people signed her guest registry by the time the museum opened.

Remember When featured fountain sodas, sundaes and hot sandwiches over the noon hour. It was a popular place for birthday parties and other gatherings.

"We had every kind of party there was except a wedding," Crooks said, "and that doesn't include receptions."

Lots of people attended – foreign visitors, schoolchildren and even Fisher residents. Crooks gave guided tours.

"We'd give them a little history; the way they did things," she said. "Things are so different now than they were then."

And people appreciated it. Former grocer and Fisher resident Dale Ingold fondly recalls Remember When and its nostalgic displays.

"It was a great place to go," he said.

The museum closed its doors in 1977, when the Crookses had to attend to a family member's illness. It never reopened.

And though Remember When no longer has a steady stream of visitors, the Crookses are still adding to their collection.

"I don't think that's something that once you start, you ever stop," Phyllis Crooks said.