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Story Subject Category: Ethnicity/Culture
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Yuki Okinaga Llewellyn of Champaign, Ill., spent three years during World War II interned at the Manzanar Assembly Center in California. Llewellyn and her 23-year-old single mother were evacuated from Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, to Manzanar in Lone Pine, Calif. The now famous 1942 National Archives photo, taken by Clem Albers and showing Yuki sitting on a suitcase in the train station, became representative of that period. A retired assistant dean of students at the University of Illinois, Llewellyn returned to Manzanar last fall for the first time since she and her mother left it in October 1945 with $25 and a pair of government-issued bus tickets. Producer Denise La Grassa talks to Llewellyn about living in Block 2 inside the internment camp where she shared a 20 x 20 room with her mother and another family.
Segment duration: 07:55
Producer: Denise La Grassa
Editor: Eleanore Stasheff
This segment is filed in these categories: Ethnicity/Culture • History • World War II • Champaign
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I knew of the Tuskegee Airmen, and that they integrated the military. But prior to covering the grand opening of an exhibit in Rantoul last year, I had no idea about their roots in this area. Before they trained in Alabama, more than 200 members of the 99th Pursuit Squadron got their start at Chanute Air Force Base. The metal mechanics, armors, and other ground support crew workers formed the foundation of the Tuskegee Airmen. Some of the first to train in Rantoul, as well as staff members at that site – now the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum – played a large role in making this story possible, by providing their descriptions and photos. Props as well to Chauncey E. Spencer II, whose father played a role in tearing down the barriers that kept African-Americans from serving as pilots (Chauncey Jr. provided some photos, as well as an archived interview with his late father.)
I hope Chanute gets a lot more attention for its role in making all this happen. The story of the 99th is as important as any other highlighting the pilots’ achievements during World War II.
Segment duration: 07:26
Producer: Jeff Bossert
This segment is filed in these categories: Ethnicity/Culture • History • Illinois Culture/History • Military • Rantoul
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The Cahokia Mounds story grabbed my interest immediately because I had never heard that there was once a prosperous Native American city in the Americas. Growing up, the TV shows and movies I had seen always portrayed Native Americans as loose collections of people who were constantly on the move. I had never considered that the ancient residents of America had built long-standing, sedentary communities with complex social structures, sprawling community squares, and ceremonial earthen mounds.
Once we arrived in Cahokia for the video shoot, I was shocked to see that the highway ran right through the middle of this historic site. I was also saddened to learn that many of the mounds in the area have been leveled because of farming, construction, or landscaping efforts over the decades. I’m glad that the site is now recognized for its cultural importance and hope that continued research at the site helps increase the general public’s understanding and appreciation for this unique bit of America’s past. The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site has a great Web site (http://www.cahokiamounds.com) detailing the history of this ancient city in the middle of Illinois.
Segment duration: 02:56
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Producer: Alison Davis Wood
This segment is filed in these categories: Ethnicity/Culture • Historical Landmarks • History • Landscape • Illinois Culture/History • Libraries/Museums/Cultural Centers • Native Americana • Parks/Outdoor Recreation
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I became interested in doing a story on Midwest SOARRING Foundation in June of 2005, well before I started working for WILL. I attended a Pow-Wow of theirs in Le Roy, and was very moved by the event. At that time, I met Joseph Standing Bear Schranz (President and Founder), who told me about the work of SOARRING. I was really impressed by not only the organization’s very open and welcoming attitude, but also their innovative ways of working for changes. I decided than I wanted to tell their story some day; I just had to find the means.
I started at WILL in January of 2006, and soon realized that Prairie Fire would be the perfect way to tell this kind of story.
Segment duration: 06:34
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Producer: Virginia Steffen
This segment is filed in these categories: Arts/Culture • Ethnicity/Culture • Illinois Culture/History • Native Americana
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For a group of University of Illinois graduate journalism students, the beat was a foreign country with an unfamiliar language. Prairie Fire follows the 10 students through three weeks in Peru, where they talked with government leaders, poor villagers, alleged terrorists and ordinary Peruvians.
(Above: Student reporter Adam Jadhav interviews Peruvian sociologist Pilar Arroyo)
WILL-AM news director Tom Rogers talked to two of the student reporters and the professor who oversaw their South American trip.
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Students produced a radio documentary about their experiences. Hear Assignment: Peru.
Segment duration: 11:47
Producer: Abby Rhodes
This segment is filed in these categories: Ethnicity/Culture • History • Travel • University of Illinois
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Segment duration: 07:38
Producer: Alison Davis
This segment is filed in these categories: Ethnicity/Culture • Food/Restaurants • Hobbies • Illinois Culture/History • Music • Champaign • Urbana
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Segment duration: 06:59
Producer: Alison Davis
This segment is filed in these categories: Antiques/Collectibles • Ethnicity/Culture • Family history • Historical Landmarks • History • Illinois Culture/History • Lovington
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Nate “Bo Bo” Smalls of the Danville Stars likes to think of his team as The Harlem Globetrotters of baseball. Smalls, a former Negro League player, dazzles Danville school children by throwing four pitches at once into the gloves of four different catchers.
Yet the Stars pitch something else besides baseball hijinks when they take their show to elementary schools. They can be silly while doing baseball stunts, but they’re serious about taking an anti-drug, anti-gang message to kids. Prairie Fire features a look at the The Stars who feel it’s worth the effort if they can reach even one kid during a performance. “They likethe idea of being role models,” said WILL-TV producer Jack Kelly.
Smalls, who played for the Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro Leagues, also leads the players through a demonstration of “shadowball,” slow motion baseball without the ball. It’s ideal for the school gyms where the Stars perform.
Segment duration: 08:32
Producer: Jack Kelly
This segment is filed in these categories: Ethnicity/Culture • Illinois Culture/History • Sports • Danville
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Host Alison Davis heads to Bloomington-Normal, where former slave the Rev. George Hoagland invented “Oil of Gladness” furniture polish, and turned it into a prosperous business. Hoagland came up with his concoction after working his way through Illinois State Normal University as a janitor. Jack Muirhead, who produced a video about African-American history in MacClean County, and his wife, Pamela, tell Hoagland’s story. Davis said there’s a mystery attached to the story.
“Historians have yet to find out why Hoagland and his family moved away from Bloomington in 1913,” said Davis. “They wonder why a man with such a successful business would close it down and all his family would move away in just a few months.”
Segment duration: 06:53
Producer: Alison Davis
This segment is filed in these categories: Ethnicity/Culture • Family history • History • Illinois Culture/History • Bloomington
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Host Alison Davis visits the 100-year-old farm north of Broadlands where former slave George W. Smith became a wealthy farmer. His descendants still own the farm. Harriet Smith, daughter-in-law of George Smith’s son, John, talks with Davis about the family history.
Segment duration: 07:14
Producer: Alison Davis
This segment is filed in these categories: Ethnicity/Culture • Family history • History • Illinois Culture/History
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