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Story Subject Category: Springfield
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I’ve driven I-72 between Springfield and Champaign thousands of times and many times I wondered about the lone brick smokestacks that appear on the horizon near Illiopolis. So one day I decided to investigate and I got off at Illiopolis and went to the city library. There I learned about the Sangamon Ordnance Plant. The library had a treasure trove of old company newsletters with pictures of all the young women who made this small town their home during World War II. Thankfully I was able to track down Jean Gordon and Lola Marbold who used to work at the plant as teenagers. Their recollections of life at the plant turned back time to another era.
I was impressed at the way the plant treated their many young female employees with good pay, child care, even bingo classes and a beauty salon in the company dorms. To the girls, it was an adventure but also a way to help the war effort. After the show aired my mom told me that my Grandpa Posegate had worked at the plant. Since he was deaf in one ear he was ineligible for service . So instead, after a day teaching school in Springfield, he would hop on the inter-urban line to Illiopolis and work the night shift at the Ordnance Plant. It was his way of fighting the war.
Segment duration: 07:26
Producer: Alison Davis Wood
This segment is filed in these categories: Family history • History • Illinois Culture/History • Military • Springfield
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My mom first taught me about Vachel Lindsay. On the wall in her bedroom she had autographed copy of one of his poems. It originally belonged to my grandmother. It was a present from her teacher upon her 8th grade graduation. The teacher had asked Lindsay to sign poems for the entire class and he had graciously obliged. It was a treasured possession in our house and a reminder of another famous man from my hometown. It inspired me to learn more about Lindsay’s poetry and his life in central Illinois. I learned that my grandmother had another connection to Lindsay. She had Susan Wilcox as an English teacher at Springfield High School, the same teacher who was a great influence on Lindsay’s life.
When the state beautifully restored Lindsay’s home, I knew it was time to put my interest in Lindsay to tape and produce a story on him for Prairie Fire. The story was even more fun to do because I got to interview Jennie Battles. I first met Jennie when I was planning my wedding and she worked at the Old State Capitol. Her love of Springfield and Illinois history is infectious. Her tours of the Lindsay home are so incredible that you feel the Lindsay family’s presence in every room. It is something you have to experience for yourself.
Segment duration: 08:46
Story links:
Producer: Alison Davis Wood
This segment is filed in these categories: Arts/Culture • Illinois Culture/History • Literature • Springfield
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Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop
This Springfield institution has been a part of my life forever, so it was only natural that I produce a story on this amazing restaurant. My mom and dad used to eat there when they were students at Springfield High School. As a child my Dad loved to take me to the Maid–Rite and it was a tradition that we had to sit in the “original” dining room ... which can only hold about 8 people. Back then I never realized how small it was, but when I visit as an adult I’m amazed at the tiny space.
When I was a student at Springfield High School my girlfriends and I were at the Maid-Rite regularly for the homemade root beer and cheese fries. Now that the high school has a closed campus, I regret that current students can’t have the same midday experience. But there are still plenty of regulars to fill the place during the noon hour. Thankfully current owner Sam Quasi has kept the place the same ... still using the same recipes for the loose meat sandwiches and the root beer.
While we were there recording the story, I noticed that the customers were a true cross-section of Springfield … policemen, florists, construction workers. Old, young and everyone in between. The Maid–Rite sandwich appeals to all … I especially enjoyed getting my crew, Virginia Steffen and Julius Bolton, addicted to the Maid-Rite. When we were back in Springfield a few weeks later taping another story we had to go there again for lunch.
Now that my Dad is gone, another reason I go to the Maid-Rite is to remember him. Whenever I take my boys there and they are slurping down the root beer and eating the special ice cream sundaes that Sam gives to all of his younger patrons, I feet that my dad is there with us enjoying this special Springfield meal.
Segment duration: 06:32
Producer: Alison Davis Wood
This segment is filed in these categories: Food/Restaurants • Illinois Culture/History • Springfield
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Growing up in Springfield I attended art classes and community events at this beautiful home. But it wasn’t until I produced this story that I really learned the history of this important place in my hometown. In the summer of 2006, as I was coming up with story ideas for the new season, I got a call from a volunteer at Edwards Place in Springfield. I remembered the home and wondered how much it had changed since I was a child. Soon afterward I was in Springfield to take my infant son to a doctor’s appointment so I decided to stop by. I met with curator Amanda Lampert Gleason and after a quick tour we discussed some ideas of how to do the story. She mentioned their upcoming “ghost tour” when re-enactors bring the Edwards family to life. I thought it would be fun to include them in our production and to help viewers visualize what life must have been like in the home in the 1860s. Luckily the actors were happy to help! They all did a great job and it was fun getting a chance to “meet” the Edwards Family.
As we were shooting the story, it was easy to imagine the tremendous parties that had taken place there. In my story I wanted to convey the beauty and elegance of the place, and the shooting and lighting work of Tim Hartin and Julius Bolton did this impressively. Curator Amanda Lampert Gleason was a fascinating interview subject as she knew the facts of the home inside and out. Her love for the history of this home was obvious.
After the story was edited I was very sad to hear that the actor who portrayed Benjamin Edwards had passed away. John Robertson had made the initial call to me that had reawakend my interest in Edwards Place. I’m very grateful that I had a brief chance to meet him when we were taping the story. And I know that the Art Association is very thankful to all the work he has done at Edwards Place over the years. I hope this story is a fitting tribute to his memory.
Segment duration: 07:33
Story links:
- Springfield Art Association
- Edward Place on Online Springfield
- Map of Edwards Place on Superpages.com
Producer: Alison Davis Wood
Editor: Chris Lukeman
This segment is filed in these categories: Arts/Culture • Historical Landmarks • Illinois Culture/History • Springfield
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Segment duration: 08:41
Producer: Alison Davis Wood
This segment is filed in these categories: Family history • Food/Restaurants • Springfield
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Prairie Fire tours historic Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield. It’s not only the resting place of Abraham Lincoln, but of four governors, poet Vachel Lindsay and early Illinois pioneers. City historian Ed Russo talks about the tombstone architecture in the cemetery.
Segment duration: 07:15
Producer: Alison Davis Wood
This segment is filed in these categories: Historical Landmarks • Horticulture • Illinois Culture/History • Science/Nature • Springfield
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Prairie Fire profiles barn historian H. Wayne Price of Springfield, who has been working to get barns registered with the state historical society.
Segment duration: 07:31
Producer: Alison Davis Wood
This segment is filed in these categories: Agriculture/Agribusiness • Architecture • Historical Landmarks • Illinois Culture/History • Springfield
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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.
Segment duration: 08:32
Producer: Alison Davis
This segment is filed in these categories: Illinois Culture/History • Music • University of Illinois • Springfield
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Prairie Fire visits the Illinois State Military Museum in Springfield. The museum is now housed in a barracks, but will move into the historic commissary building on Camp Lincoln when renovations are complete. At the museum, visitors can view Civil War memorabilia from Union officer John A. Logan, and see the artificial leg of Mexican general Santa Anna, who became notorious for his assault on the Alamo in 1836.
“Santa Anna was eating a roast chicken lunch during the Battle of Cerro Gordo when he was surprised by men of the 4th Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry,” said WILL-TV executive producer Jack Kelly. “He rode away to safety, but he left behind his lunch and his artificial leg.”
Segment duration: 07:51
Producer: Jack Kelly
This segment is filed in these categories: History • Illinois Culture/History • Libraries/Museums/Cultural Centers • Military • Springfield
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Get Flash to see this video.
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.
Segment duration: 08:35
Producer: Alison Davis
This segment is filed in these categories: Arts/Culture • Historical Landmarks • Illinois Culture/History • Music • Springfield
back to the main Prairie Fire page
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