HAMPTON IS GROWING
              Despite Weak Economy


    Sunday, August 28th Hampton turned out for the opening of the Apricot Cafe at 421 State (Route 84).  A full menu traditional restaurant with many home-made and specialty items is welcome here.  To give them a little introduction here's a little about them:  Breakfast crepes are offered along with classic morning fare, lunch items are home-made soups, pastas, sandwiches and specials from around the world.  The quick and easy selections will be appreciated by business people. (You may also order ahead and pick up lunch on the run).  Dinner menu includes hand-cut fresh steaks, pastas, home style entries and international specials.  Desserts will offer homemade pies, cakes, fruit combinations, floats and shakes. 
     The owners of the Apricot Cafe are shooting for 100 new items in 100 days to see what we want to please our palates.  Tuesdays through Saturdays they serve from 7AM to 2PM then Dinners from 4:30 to 9:30 PM.  Sunday hours are 7AM-3PM. Mondays closed. The Apricot Cafe will honor their own and River Road Restaurant gift certificates. 
                                                                                                           
Next door was once a well-known pie shop that's been
closed  for quite a while.  We hear there will soon be
another business in half of the building there but  that
well-kept secret will have to wait to be announced in a
future Cannon. 

   Next Door is Quinn's Hardware, a long time business anchor in Hampton. Quinn's is the drop off place for your small engines needing repair.  Mr. Scott Calhoun has decided Hampton needs his services and will be setting up his shop on the lower level of a Quinn's building but stop at Quinn's with your repairs.

     Continuing South a few hundred feet is a long-closed gas station which has  just been purchased.  Remodeling is in progress.  The station is scheduled to open next year with gas, groceries items and a car mechanic/auto repair shop. 

     Shannon's Bar and Grill, a long-time business in Hampton is putting up a new two story building south of their parking lot.  When it is ready some time in December, the old place will be taken down and additional parking created.



      The new Shannon's at 252 S. State Ave. (Route 84) will have a loft that will over-look the Mississippi. The lower level will have pool tables and an area for casual dining.  The current menu will be expanded and the staff enlarged.  The upper floor will have a separate bar.  The current Shannon's is open so drop in.                                                                      

   Nino's storage next door to Shannon's is expanding.  Currently they have 20 or more larger storage units (10' x 10, 15 or 20 ft.)  The two new buildings will offer a variety of smaller spaces starting at 5' x 10'.  In future Cannon issues we will keep you informed on openings and offerings under the Business News section.  The new storage buildings will begin construction in the near future and probably be ready before December. 

   There are several more locations for rent along Route 84 in Hampton.  One is a 1,300 sq. ft. space between our Blimpie Subs & Salads and Hampton Health and Wellness Center.  

   The Village has steadily been adding housing and boasts an award-winning K-8 School, Cultural/Heritage Interpretive Center, a small museum and the most scenic section of the riverside bike path so business starts and new residents should be no surprise.

    Hampton residents now have to travel to other towns for hair cuts/ salons, dog grooming, an attorney, accountant, or bakery.  We have only one very busy dentist and no general practice medical professionals.  Beyond rental places, there are also quite a few connected lots zoned for businesses on both sides of Route 84 which was resurfaced last week.

   Hampton has a great location.  It's near the Route 80 bridge, parks, camping & recreation areas and has an award-winning K-8 school.  The QC area has industry and services that will be the earliest to recover from hard times.  Expect to see expanding businesses, services, and a growing population of neighbors you will be glad to know.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Posted 8/15/2010 ------------  Entertainment, Beauty, Responsibility
                           WATER

   When people think of the Quad Cities area the first image that springs to mind is water.  This region is crisscrossed with rivers, streams, creeks and dotted with ponds that lend beauty to the landscape found nowhere else in the Mid-West. 



   Last Saturday, August 14th, the 24th annual Tug Fest across the Mississippi River took place between Port Byron, Illinois and LeClaire, Iowa.  Both river towns took advantage of the event to have shops stay open extra hours, food and craft vendors to line the streets, and to offer activities of all types for adults and children.  This year, Illinois won 7 of the tug competitions to Iowa's 4 wins. This is the fifth year in a row that Illinois has won the overall competition. Businesses on both sides of the river are certainly winners with increased revenues during extended hours.  The general public is always the winner of this late summer event.

   August 21st will see another unusual water challenge – Floatzilla!  The object of Floatzilla is to set a world record for the largest number of kayak and canoes gathered in one place. The place and time is Potter Lake, Sunset Park in Rock Island, IL at 2:00 p.m.. 

    River sports and fishing draw many retirees here.  Quietly watching barge and river traffic is second only to bird watching.  Birdwatchers flock to our rivers during the spring and fall migrations of thousands of bird species that navigate using the river.  We are proud of assisting in the return of the Bald Eagle to greater numbers.  Eagle counts are an annual event in the wildlife preserve in Hampton just across from Lock & Dam 14, which is a popular photography
site for birdwatchers.  Participating in any outdoor activities, the scenery here cannot be surpassed.  No overwhelming mountains to hike or bike, just bluffs and ravines and, of course, the waters to dazzle the eye.  

   It is the responsibility of caring for our waterways that              
has drawn national attention to this area.  Chad Pregracke,  the founder of Living Lands and Waters organization has been cleaning up waterways all over the world by activating
volunteer work days.  Also on August 14th, the X-stream CleanUp was held in 42 sites in this area.  1,200 to 1,400 Volunteers turned their hand to meeting the responsibility of keeping local waterways clean.  By 1:00 p.m., the volunteers had cleared out over 50,000 pounds of trash from the 42 sites.  

  According to organizers, the first clean-up included just a few people working to eliminate illegally dumped trash.  During this 7th clean-up, the trash is mostly deposits from the recent flooding.  Untold pieces of lawn furniture, 680 old tires, appliances, building materials, bikes and appliances are proof that as long as there is high water there will never be an end to efforts to keep the rivers clean.  

   This is one of the beautiful places among many and as a nation we are leading the way to recovering the beauty we once took for granted or spoiled with our carelessness.  Consider how the beauty of nature has been (and is continues to be) ruined elsewhere in the world in the desperate struggle for wealth and power. We are way ahead in that contest.  In a few years it is not unreasonable to think that tourists from many "developing" countries around the world will be coming here to see what a river looks like when it is not full of poison, covered with oil and floating refuse. 


  The hundreds of festivals and projects connected with the numerous river towns has given us all volunteer opportunities.  There are special friendships that develop among volunteers that almost out last the sense of accomplishment during one community project. 

   The result of living with so much water can be frustrating when bridges are experiencing maintenance, high water or ice jams occur but few are complaining. The waterways pull Iowa and Illinois residents together in cooperative economic growth.  The beauty, variety of entertainment and even the tasks to keep everything clean are well worth any cost just to be  living here.



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