I can't believe that I missed this thread!! Just read throught the whole thing--WE live in Longview, Champaign County, 22 miels SSE of Urbana. Just like everybody else who DOESN'T live in C-U, we work there. Moved to Chicago-land (Tinley Park) when I was 8, went to EIU, then lived in Champaign from 1982 to 1999 before we moved the horses to the back yard. Currently I have 8 RIR hens, ALL laying about 3-6 eggs/day. Got 2 roosters in freezer camp--ate the other one.
So.. Ravynwood: where exactly do you live?
My half-brother's in-laws lived in Capron and surrounding areas. I have friends who live in Caledonia and I used to train my dog at a hunt club in Garden Prairie.
I think that part of Boone County is where the term 'boonies' came from.