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Story Subject Category: Monticello
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The Monticello Railway Museum is another reason I love living here in central Illinois. How amazing that a group of volunteers has resurrected railroading one train at a time. The volunteers here are tireless in their efforts to keep the museum going and in their love of trains. When we shot the story in 1997, we saw how much work it took to run a mini railroad ... laying track, mowing the track, restoring engines and cars and entertaining school groups from around the area. But the payoff is great. Where else can grown-ups fulfill their dreams of being a train conductor or engineer? When I’ve visited the place with my own kids it is incredible to see their eyes light up as a train enters the station. There is a mad scramble as all the kids try to get a seat in the caboose ... but every car is a great experience. Volunteers at the museum are still acquiring new cars and engines and returning them to mint condition. For the past 15 years they have been working on a former Southern Railroad engine that had to be completely rebuilt. It is set to debut on the tracks the summer of 2007. Tim Hartin and I got to fulfill one of our fantasies as filmmakers while we were taping this story. We set a shot at one of the museum line’s cross streets in Monticello. Then we got to cue the train to go in front of our camera so that we could get the perfect shot ... we felt like Steven Spielberg! Over the years this story continues to be one of our most popular and we are very proud to pay this tribute to this incredible place.
Segment duration: 08:08
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Producer: Alison Davis Wood
This segment is filed in these categories: Illinois Culture/History • Railroads • Travel • Monticello
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Segment duration: 10:06
Producer: Alison Davis Wood
This segment is filed in these categories: Antiques/Collectibles • Hobbies • Libraries/Museums/Cultural Centers • Monticello
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Prairie Fire looks at the history of Dr. Caldwell’s Syrup of Pepsin, a laxative manufactured in Monticello from the late 1800s to 1985. Dr. William Bur Caldwell, a country doctor, began making the tonic and giving it to patients, according to town lore. Later the tonic was sold by traveling medicine men and produced in a factory just off the town square in Monticello.
Prairie Fire host Alison Davis said historians aren’t sure whether Caldwell actually invented the syrup, or whether the inventors just put the well-respected physician’s picture and name on the bottle and box to make the remedy more credible. It was one of the few early tonics that survived into the era of regulated medicines. “It did actually work, so it continued to be made in Monticello until the 1980s,” Davis said.
Segment duration: 09:02
Producer: Alison Davis
Chief Camera - Segment: Jack Kelly
This segment is filed in these categories: History • Illinois Culture/History • Monticello
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Segment duration: 10:05
Producer: Alison Davis Wood
This segment is filed in these categories: Hobbies • Libraries/Museums/Cultural Centers • Monticello
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A special Halloween edition of Prairie Fire delves into central Illinois haunted tales, including the sightings of a ghostly “woman in white” at the mansion at the University of Illinois’ Allerton Park near Monticello. “Two guests staying in the house saw the woman in white. In one case, she was sitting in a chair pulling on a pair of gloves,” said Alison Davis, host and producer of the program. “We talk to Atron Regen, a former night caretaker, who was once awakened by something touching his left hand. He turned around and caught a glimpse of a hand wearing a white glove.”
Segment duration: 10:54
Producer: Alison Davis Wood
This segment is filed in these categories: Folklore • Illinois Culture/History • Monticello
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