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Spend time in Our Town Charleston

Updated: August 20, 2012
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CHARLESTON -- There's lots to see and do in Our Town. WCIA-3's Jeff Wagner takes us on a road trip.

First up, downtown. The clock and bell were broken for decades, but last summer, the city raised enough money to restore them. It took several months and more than $30,000.

"We're famous for our babybacks and sauce."

Just off the square you'll find Roc's Blackfront.

"The sauce came from my father-in-law. We named it Norm's, after him. It was his recipe."

The owner, Mike Knoop, has a life-long history when it comes to Our Town.

"We was always in the liquor business, in one end or the other. Had an opportunity back in 1981 to open up a place here on the square."

If you're looking for a town history lesson, just take a glance at the murals displayed all around. Five local artists painted seven of them using the buildings as their canvas. The Tourism Advisory Board felt artwork would beautify and promote Charleston.

"They had wanted to focus on what Charleston used to be, the historical downtown and different things around the area. Several of the murals depict the courthouse through the different stages of the years gone by and also to incorporate Lincoln history into the murals as well."

"What we're trying to learn is how the brain connects with the body."

And, at Dragonfly Dance Studio, that style of teaching is giving kids with autism a new way to open up and strut their stuff on the floor.

"You're very self-aware standing in front of a mirror. You begin to see yourself very socially. Not only yourselves, but the other students."

These few places are just a glimpse of what you'll see on a road trip through Our Town Charleston.

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