will.illinois.edu/prairiefire/episode/pf1998-11-12 WILL, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Series Episode WILL visits Ray Walsh and his collection of antique tractors; we watch Ray and Marti Alagna train horses for harness racing; we go to Springfield to see the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillion. Abstract Segment Illinois Culture/History, Music, University of Illinois, Springfield, WILL Custom Prairie Fire Subject Headings Sixty-six bronze bells hanging in an open tower in Springfield’s Washington Park form the Rees Memorial Carillon, one of the world’s largest and finest carillons. Prairie Fire visits the carillon, where carilloneur Karel Keldermans plays the bells manually with a keyboard located in a glass enclosure in the tower. Prairie Fire host Alison Davis tours the tower and the glass booth known as the “carilloneur’s cabin.” She explains that carillons differ from ordinary bell towers. “Bell towers are built to produce sound, while carillons are built to produce music. They’re more refined than bell towers. The bells are precisely tuned,” said Davis. The program looks at the history of the carillon, built with a trust fund provided by Thomas Rees, publisher of the Illinois State Register from 1881 until his death in 1933. He and his wife traveled extensively in Belgium and Holland and he fell in love with the sound of the carillons he saw there,” said Davis. “He never got to see his gift realized because the carillon wasn’t completed until 1962.” Carillon concerts are given each Sunday afternoon year-round and on Wednesday evenings during the summer. In addition, the week-long International Carillon Festival, held each June, draws thousands of music lovers.  Abstract Alison Davis Producer Segment Hobbies, Livestock/Animals/Zoology, Sports, Seymour, WILL Custom Prairie Fire Subject Headings Prairie Fire looks at harness racing through the eyes of Bill and Marty Alagna of Seymour, who show viewers how they prepare horses for racing. The Alagnas work their horses at the Champaign County Fairgrounds every night after leaving their day jobs, often working on the track after dark. “We watch the process of how they break the horses and train them by building up muscle and the respiratory system,” Davis said. Abstract Alison Davis Producer Segment Agriculture/Agribusiness, Bement, Antiques/Collectibles, Automotive, Illinois Culture/History, WILL Custom Prairie Fire Subject Headings On his farm south of Bement, Ray Walsh’s collection of old tractors tells the story of how farming has changed over the years. Fifty old tractors he has restored to working order make up a kind of mini-museum of farming history, says WILL-TV’s Alison Davis, who visits Walsh in the season premiere of Prairie Fire. “He held on to a lot of old tractors he farmed with in the 1950s, but his collection really got started when he bought a tractor like the one his dad used in the 1920s,” Davis said. Walsh travels around the country to compete in tractor pulls, and on his travels, he always has his eye out for old tractors. As he describes the tractors in his collection, viewers get a glimpse of what farming was like years ago. “Walsh remembers the days before tractors had cabs when farmers were outside exposed to the elements all day long,” said Davis. “The corn and bean dust caused breathing problems for a lot of farmers, including Walsh. So tractors have not only gotten more convenient and efficient, they’ve also gotten a lot safer.” Abstract Alison Davis Producer WILL-TV, University of Illinois Copyright Holder Publisher ¬© 2008 University of Illinois 1998-11-12T15:38:00-06:00 1998-11-12T15:38:00-06:00 video/mp4 http://willmedia.atlas.uiuc.edu/mpeg4/pf1998-11-12.mp4 Moving Image MPEG video MPEG-4 00:28 eng pf1998-11-12.mp4 WILL Public Media, University of Illinois 1998-11-12T15:38:00-06:00 1998-11-12T15:38:00-06:00 video/x-flv http://willmedia.atlas.uiuc.edu/flash/pf1998-11-12.flv Moving Image Flash Video Flash Media 8 00:28 eng pf1998-11-12.flv WILL Public Media, University of Illinois 1998-11-12T15:38:00-06:00 1998-11-12T15:38:00-06:00 video/vnd.rn-realvideo http://willmedia.will.uiuc.edu/ramgen/pf1998-11-12.rv Moving Image 00:28:00