will.illinois.edu/prairiefire/episode/pf2009-04-30 WILL, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Series Episode Prairie Fire visits people who are working to keep ancient traditions alive. First we join one of the largest gatherings of blacksmiths in the Midwest and watch as they ply one of the world's oldest, and hottest, trades. Then we listen to storytellers and hear how the art of storytelling has been kept alive and passed down throughout human history. And, as part of our Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial celebration, we see what life was like for people in central Illinois in the mid-1800s when Lincoln and other traveling lawyers came to town. Abstract Segment History, Illinois Culture/History, WILL Custom Prairie Fire Subject Headings As part of the Lincoln Bicentennial, and in connection with WILL-TV’s documentary Lincoln: Prelude to the Presidency, we’ve created a series of segments looking at how Lincoln’s years spent as a traveling lawyer on the Illinois Eighth Judicial Circuit helped make him one of our nation’s greatest presidents. We look at what life was like in the mid-1800s in the towns along the circuit and how Lincoln’s time spent there helped shape him as a lawyer, politician and man. Abstract Steve Drake and Alison Davis Wood Producer Steve Drake and Tristan Riddell Editor Segment Arts/Culture, Champaign, Folklore, Hobbies, Literature, Urbana, WILL Custom Prairie Fire Subject Headings The art of storytelling has been with us since before written history. When most people think of storytelling today, they think of someone simply reading a story aloud from a book. But traditional storytelling actually involves much more than that. We caught up with storytellers Dan Keding and Kathe Brinkmann to get the story straight from the storytellers themselves. Abstract Steve Drake and Virginia Steffen Producer Steve Drake and Tristan Riddell Editor Segment Agriculture/Agribusiness, Ethnicity/Culture, Historical Landmarks, Grand Detour, WILL Custom Prairie Fire Subject Headings Before the industrial revolution, the blacksmith was a vital part of most successful towns in America. Modern machines and mass production may have made the village smithy a thing of the past.  But the blacksmithing tradition lives on. Jared Collins visited a gathering of blacksmiths and woodwrights at the John Deere Historic Site in Grand Detour, IL and saw how the trades of shaping metal and wood using hand tools is still very much alive. Abstract Jared Collins and Steve Drake Producer Jared Collins and Steve Drake Editor WILL-TV, University of Illinois Copyright Holder Publisher ¬© 2009 University of Illinois 2009-04-30T18:30:00-06:00 2009-04-30T18:30:00-06:00 video/mp4 http://willmedia.atlas.uiuc.edu/mpeg4/pf2009-04-30.mp4 Moving Image MPEG video MPEG-4 00:28 eng pf2009-04-30.mp4 WILL Public Media, University of Illinois 2009-04-30T18:30:00-06:00 2009-04-30T18:30:00-06:00 video/x-flv http://willmedia.atlas.uiuc.edu/flash/pf2009-04-30.flv Moving Image Flash Video Flash Media 8 00:28 eng pf2009-04-30.flv WILL Public Media, University of Illinois 2009-04-30T18:30:00-06:00 2009-04-30T18:30:00-06:00 video/vnd.rn-realvideo http://willmedia.will.uiuc.edu/ramgen/pf2009-04-30.rv Moving Image 00:28:00