Once you visit Fisher, you'll want to return

If you're not from Fisher, it's possible that you haven't noticed the town.

But stay long in this northwestern Champaign County community, and the residents will have you convinced: It's the best-kept secret around.

It has almost everything a small community could want, they'll tell you. Good schools. Green parks. Low crime rates. Friendly neighbors. A quiet way of life.

"It's a small town with a big heart," Mayor Ron Adams said.

And yet, it's growing.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates its population at just a hair below 1,700 residents in 2006. That means Fisher's bigger than ever. Several new subdivisions have sprung up, and the district built a new grade school a few years ago.

"It's really gone to town," said Dale Ingold, a lifelong resident and former grocer. "You always like to see your town prosper."

And though Fisher's growing, it's still a place where people know each other. They like each other. They look out for each other.

When Ingold takes his daily walk, he'll wave at 25 or 30 people. They're neighbors and friends he's accumulated during a lifetime in Fisher.

"It gives you a nice feeling, you know?" Ingold says.

The town's rich history gives a foundation for all those new houses and friendly neighbors.

Farmer Robert Fisher laid out the village in December 1875 in the southeast corner of Brown township, according to "The Story of Fisher and the Four Townships," written by the late Mary Lammle and published in 1976. The final plat was filed in 1876, and the town was named for its founder.

The nearest railroad station was 10 miles away, so Fisher worked to bring the Havana, Rantoul and Eastern Railroad to town the same year as he filed the plat.

The second house in Fisher, built in 1876 by J.A. Burge, still stands on First Street in Fisher. The Methodist church moved into town soon after.

Fire ravaged the city in 1902. It caused about $65,000 worth of damage, and nearly the whole business district was ruined, according to "Story of Fisher."

That was a notable year in another respect, too: "In 1902, it seems that (Fisher's) Sue M. Howard was the only woman in the United States who delivered mail," Lammle's book stated.

The town's first liquor license was issued that year, and a tavern opened. Another opened in the next few years.

But Prohibition closed them down in 1920. Liquor was sold briefly in three Fisher taverns after Prohibition was repealed in 1933. But the town went dry in 1935 and remains that way, though the issue's been voted down a few times in referendums over the years.

In July 1919, a plane stationed at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul hit a flag pole at the intersection of Third and Front Street, according to "Story of Fisher." The plane crashed, killing its Chicago pilot and injuring another man from Georgia.

That was before 85-year-old resident Doris Hannah was born, so she doesn't remember the crash firsthand. But she does have plenty of fond memories of entertainment when she was younger.

She watched westerns for free on Saturday nights in an empty lot downtown.

"It was one of the big thrills in Fisher," Hannah said. "Everybody came to town to see the free movies."

Organizers would set up benches in the lot, and "if you were lucky enough, you might get your car parked just right so you could watch from your car," Hannah said.

She also remembers the Fisher Concert Band.

"It was all men, as far as I can remember, who played different instruments," Hannah said. The band was managed by local pharmacist F.B. "Daddy" Means, according to "Story of Fisher." The bandstand was at the intersection of Front and Third Street, at the heart of Fisher.

Hannah remembers Means playing the drums, with the local undertaker on tuba and a mechanic on cornet.

Her parents lived on a farm, but her grandparents lived in town. She stayed with them during her high school years and always felt safe.

"We didn't have a fear about walking uptown at night," Hannah said. "Two girls could walk up to the restaurant and not think about it."

That sense of safety still exists, Adams said, and it's just one in a long line of Fisher's many distinctions. The mayor believes Fisher's schools belong on the list, too.

"We've got a great school system," he said. "You can't beat a Bunny."

Adams, who travels all over Illinois for his job, said Fisher shines in comparison with some places in the state.

"If you don't go to other towns, you don't know what you have," Adams said. "You think, 'I come from a pretty cool little town,' you know?"