March 8 Illinois History Minute

March 8th is the day in 1924 that Addie L Wyatt was born. A Chicagoan from the age of six, she was the first African-American woman elected to a high-level post in a major labor union, the Amalgamated Meat Cutters. And as a pastor, Wyatt worked on civil rights campaigns with Dr. Martin Luther King Junior.

The Fulton County village of Avon was incorporated on this day in 1867. In earlier days, Avon thrived as a railroad stop between Chicago and Quincy. It was also the birthplace of radio announcer Ken Carpenter, whose voice was heard on several national programs during radio’s golden age. In particular, Ken Carpenter was singer Bing Crosby’s announcer for 27 years. 

And on this day in 1975, WILL-TV joined a growing list of public television stations airing the surreal British comedy series, Monty Python’s Flying Circus. The BBC series had ended production the year before, but its members would continue with a series of movies, including “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”, released in April 1975.