Rain Divides Streator — but a Rainbow Unites Us All

South Side Soakers vs. North Side Skeptics

It started like any other Streator evening. Kids on the south side suited up for baseball. Parents brought lawn chairs. Someone probably stopped at Chix for a pregame fried chicken fix. But then the heavens opened — and only half the town got wet.

Yes, friends, last night’s storm delivered a dramatic meteorological reminder: even in a town known for coming together, sometimes the clouds have other plans.

While South Streator was getting drenched, games were canceled, basements were questioned, and elderly neighbors stared at the sky muttering, “Well we needed it.” Meanwhile, North Streator stood smug and dry, looking toward the storm wall like it was a work of art. Reports came in that some folks on the north side mowed their lawns during the south side deluge.

“It’s like watching a Netflix miniseries in real time,” said one resident standing near the tracks. “One half of town’s got biblical rainfall. The other half is grilling.”

Social media was no help. South Streatorites posted soggy selfies with hashtags like #BaseballCancelledAgain and #SoggySubdivision. North Streatorites responded with suspiciously dry driveways and captions like “What rain?”

But just when it seemed the city might need to draw a literal line down Bridge Street, something happened. A rainbow appeared. And not just any rainbow — a Streator rainbow. The kind that peeks out behind a Dollar General and arches across the Vactor plant like it’s protecting the sewer trucks of tomorrow.

For one brief moment, all sides — wet, dry, and somewhere in between — paused. Phones were pulled out. Facebook timelines filled with different angles of the same brilliant arc. Even the most hardened weather conspiracy theorist from south of 12th Street whispered, “That’s kinda pretty.”

So yes, Streator was a town divided by precipitation last night. But for every rained-out ballgame, there was a shared rainbow photo. For every storm puddle, a story. And if we’ve learned anything in this town, it’s that nothing — not even an extremely localized thunderstorm — can stop Streator from finding something to talk about.

Final Score: Nature 1, Baseball 0. Unity? Always extra innings.