After 12 hours of struggling in waves whipped up by the storm, Phan Duy Quang, 47, of Quang Ngai, was exhausted. He decided to let go of the last person he was holding on to and face his fate.

Tucked away in the charming town of Peru, Illinois, sits a time capsule of Americana where the root beer flows like liquid nostalgia and tastes like summer memories in a frosty mug. The Igloo Diner ...