Program info & archives
Story Subject Category: Family history
Get Flash to see this video.
The Great Pumpkin Patch by Shane Pangburn
When I was in third grade, I sprained my ankle at the Great Pumpkin Patch. Though the ankle has actually never completely healed, I have nothing but fond memories of the place. The displays are so beautiful, the gourds so varied, it’s overwhelming. It’s better than just a “great” pumpkin patch.
The day was split between rural theme parks. Rockome is only a few miles away and went there in the afternoon. The morning is the best time at the patch anyway. “When the the frost is on the punkin...” as the James Whitcomb Riley poem goes. It wasn’t a terribly cold day, it was windy though, you might notice that it you look closely at anything not tied down.
Overall it was a beautiful day at the patch and the Condill family was fantastic. They helped every step of the way.
Segment duration: 05:10
Story links:
Producer: Shane Pangburn
This segment is filed in these categories: Agriculture/Agribusiness • Family history • Horticulture
back to the main Prairie Fire page
Get Flash to see this video.
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
back to the main Prairie Fire page
Get Flash to see this video.
Segment duration: 06:06
Producer: Alison Davis Wood
Chief Camera - Segment: Tim Hartin
This segment is filed in these categories: Family history • Politics • University of Illinois
back to the main Prairie Fire page
Get Flash to see this video.
Segment duration: 12:55
Producer: Tim Hartin
Editor: Tim Hartin
This segment is filed in these categories: Family history • Gender • Illinois Culture/History
back to the main Prairie Fire page
Get Flash to see this video.
Segment duration: 08:41
Producer: Alison Davis Wood
This segment is filed in these categories: Family history • Food/Restaurants • Springfield
back to the main Prairie Fire page
Get Flash to see this video.
During the 73 years he has operated Johnston’s Sports Shop in downtown Champaign, Seely Johnston has sold speed skater Bonnie Blair her first pair of ice skates, given film critic Roger Ebert his first job and outfitted hundreds of skaters with gear. “If you go into a restaurant with Seely, everyone knows him. He’s a combination local historian, businessman and civic leader,” said Prairie Fire host Alison Davis.
Johnston, who is approaching his 96th birthday, was a close friend of U of I football legend Red Grange. “He’s one of the few people still alive who saw Red Grange play at Memorial Stadium,” said Davis. Johnston still goes to work every day, and reads the newspaper faithfully to keep up with current events. Ebert, who is interviewed in the Prairie Fire segment, says Johnston’s secret of longevity is that he looks forward to every day of life.
Segment duration: 09:12
Producer: Alison Davis Wood
This segment is filed in these categories: Business • Family history • Illinois Culture/History • Sports • Champaign • Champaign County
back to the main Prairie Fire page
Get Flash to see this video.
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
back to the main Prairie Fire page
Get Flash to see this video.
Another segment on the program looks at the Vandeveer family, early civic leaders and businessmen in Taylorville and Christian County. Horatio Vandeveer built the first house in Taylorville, and in the first election there in 1839 he was elected county recorder. Later he was appointed school commissioner and clerk of the circuit court, and eventually became a judge and state legislator. In 1868, he established the H.M. Vandeveer & Sons Bank with his son William. Another son, Eugene, became a partner in 1876. The bank was the second wealthiest bank in the state in the late 1800s, and the family provided funds to build Vandeveer High School, now Taylorville High School.
WILL-TV Executive Producer Jack Kelly, who produced the Vandeveer segment, said that despite all the Vandeveers did to establish Taylorville, the Vandeveer name eventually died out because there were no male heirs. “Now all that’s left is a street sign in Taylorville that bears the name Vandeveer,” said Kelly. Yolande Oglesby, granddaughter of Eugene Vandeveer; Mary Jane Durbin, president of the Christian County Historical Society; and Florence Miller, cousin of the Vandeveers, are interviewed on the program.
Segment duration: 09:19
Producer: Jack Kelly
This segment is filed in these categories: Family history • Illinois Culture/History • Military • Taylorville
back to the main Prairie Fire page
Get Flash to see this video.
Segment duration: 05:13
Producer: Alison Davis
This segment is filed in these categories: Architecture • Family history • Historical Landmarks • Housing and Urban Renewal • Illinois Culture/History
back to the main Prairie Fire page
Get Flash to see this video.
Prairie Fire takes a look at another longtime business, the Saybrook TV Hardware Store. “It’s a classic old-time hardware store with wooden floors and wooden shelves,” said Prairie Fire host Alison Davis. “Farmers in the Saybrook area really appreciate the store because they don’t want to have to drive all the way to Bloomington when they need something.” Owners Cecil and Karen Hawthorne live upstairs to keep an eye on their business around the clock.
Segment duration: 06:55
Producer: Alison Davis
This segment is filed in these categories: Antiques/Collectibles • Business • Family history • Illinois Culture/History
back to the main Prairie Fire page
Comments: