Uncharted Currents: Jon Kukuk on Growing Up in a Small Town Next to the Mississippi River

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You may never have heard of Dallas City, Illinois, but to the folks who grew up there, Dallas City was idyllic. The town had a small but diverse business community. Crime was rare and mostly petty stuff. The local streams, creeks, and woods fed a child’s curiosity. And the biggest playground, the Mississippi, challenged and calmed young and old.  

Jon Kukuk is one of those folks whose childhood was shaped by the rhythms of life in this small town next to the Mississippi. Kukuk composed a CD’s worth of songs and wrote a book about growing up in Dallas City. He called both collections Uncharted Currents, and they are loving tributes to the family and neighbors from his childhood.  

In this episode, I talk with Jon about growing up as a free-range child in a small town next to the Mississippi River. He describes his favorite places, the family and friends who brought joy to his life, the tight-knit nature of the community, and the small businesses that kept folks supplied with the stuff they needed. He also explains what a slop jar was, and why you wanted to handle it carefully, and shares why music has also always been important to him.  

Jon’s stories tell us about life in a time and place often overlooked by standard historical texts. I hope Jon’s efforts will inspire you to document and pass along your own stories of the people and places from times too easily forgotten.