Editorial

For the second year in a row, the World Atlas has included Kewanee among a list of top ranked towns. Last year, our town ranked among the “7 Senior-Friendly Towns in Illinois.”

Just a few days ago, the publication promoted an article called “12 of the Most Welcoming Towns in the United States.” Kewanee, Illinois appears at the bottom of that list, but hey, we’re just happy to be included.

Of course, the same glaring error in the article that was enough to send me running to my computer to write an editorial the last time, is still a problem this time. In the recent World Atlas article, Kewanee, a friendly town, is also labeled the “Hotdog Capital of the World.” Yes, for the observant reader, hot dog is normally two words.

More: Someone tell World Atlas that Kewanee is not the ‘Hotdog Capital of the World’

The first cringe-worthy line of the article begins: “Kewanee styles itself as the ‘Hotdog Capital of the World,’ meaning it’s a great place to satisfy one’s weenie-craving, especially during their annual hotdog festival every Labour Day.”

Can you imagine what people must think of Kewanee that it doesn’t even know how to properly spell the object on which it staked its reputation? And let’s just go on the record now as saying no one will satisfy any “weenie craving” in our town, but we do have some great local restaurants where you can find a pork tenderloin.

After seeing this mistake made again, I couldn’t help but feel that someone should step up and tell the World Atlas that their information wasn’t only wrong, but comically so and that it needed fixing as quickly as possible. And since I was the one with the information, the job seemed to fall upon me.

Just how does one contact the World Atlas? I went online to find out, and it was as simple as filling out an online submission form. My message was simple. A mistake had been made and that Kewanee, Illinois is not the Hotdog Capital of the World and in fact we are the Hog Capital of the World. Moreover, we aren’t known for our hot dog eating but do enjoy pork chops. I asked for a correction and waited. I really didn’t expect a reply.

So, you can imagine my shock when I received an email from someone at the World Atlas just a day later. The brief email reply was as follows:

Noted!

This error will be corrected.

Best,

World Atlas

I waited until the next day to check the article for a correction. Then I waited another day and then another and still no correction. Will there be? Probably not but perhaps in the next article where Kewanee is looped into and labeled the top friendly whatever, they will get our Hog Capital designation correct.

Of course, that wasn’t the only error about Kewanee in the World Atlas’s latest article, but one thing at a time! I never mentioned to the World Atlas that we don’t hold an annual “Olde Tyme Christmas” event, but it does sound fun. Maybe we should form a committee to plan such a thing. Let’s just make sure our committee members know how to spell.