Taylorville Tour 1988-Part
1
The video above was taken on November 5, 1988 as I drove and took
video(not recommended) throughout my hometown of Taylorville, Illinois.
It traces the following path: Rt 48 from Decatur, taking the old Rt.
48 approach into Taylorville past the now YMCA building onto Park
Street. From there it's to Main Street. The video jumps to
North Webster where it goes past Taylorville High School. At that
point the video jumps to just south of Taylorville Road on North Cheney
Street where we travel to Spresser Street and then east to Webster,
then downtown where we go around three sides of the square and end up
at the former site of WTIM AM/FM and the Frisina Hotel.
Also, the videos are silent. Even though I had the radio on
92.7FM, the former Taylorville radio station, I didn't want to run into
a music licencing problem with running complete songs as part of the
video. Sorry....
Taylorville Tour 1988-Part
2
The video picks up downtown where we travel west on Main Cross Street
to Shumway, to west Rich Street, south on Cheney to South School and
west on Prairie where we go past the house I grew up in.
From there the video jumps to traveling east on Prairie to Shumway,
then to Second Street, to Manner's Park. The video jumps again to
traveling north on Main Street downtown where we end on West Vine
Street near the Taylorville Public Library. Obviously, if I had
to do again, I would include many other areas, of growth along with the
Lake Taylorville area. I do have a slightly older tour which
includes several other areas along with some included with this
one. Be watching for it coming soon. Also I should point
out, since you will see the dash of the car many times duirng the
video, it was taken from not one of the best cars I've ever had, but
certainly my favorite, an '86 Chrysler LaBaron Convertable.
Danville-Ford
Tri-Motor Plane Ride 1989
I purchased a ride aboard a 1928 Ford Tri-motor Airplane when it was
barnstorming at the Vermilion County Airport on July 4, 1989. We took a
short flight around Danville, over Lake Vermilion, along North
Vermilion(Ill Rt 1, U.S. 136). Many changes have occured along the
route over the last 20 years, and everything has been labeled as to
what it was then. Enjoy the trip.
1991 Balloon Classic Video
Video from a flight during the 1991 Oldsmobile Balloon Classic Illinois
in Danville, Illinois. Also includes audio from two way radio
communications during the broadcast of the event for WDAN/WDNL
radio. The video was taken by Melissa from the control
tower at the Airport.
Splash and
Dash-Balloon
Classic Event 1992
This video was taken along North Vermilion Street as the hot air
balloons were being inflated before they flew over Lake Vermilion on
Danville's north side. This event was a preliminary event to the
Oldsmobile Balloon Classic Illinois. Audio is from WDAN/WDNL broadcast
which was taking place at the time of the launch.
Splash and
Dash-Balloon Classic Event 1993
Video from Splash and Dash event before the
Oldsmobile Balloon Classic Illinois 1993. The event took place as a
preliminary event to the Balloon Classic, and featured participating
hot air balloons flying over Lake Vermilion and dropping a bean bag on
a target located in the lake. This was my wife, Melissa's first hot air
balloon ride. Thanks to Rick Arrington, pilot and his family, wife Pat
and son Adam for this opportunity. The other guy in the balloon was
R.C. McBride with WWDZ-Radio.
Taylorville Area Flood 1957
This is from an 8mm film taken in 1957 by my Dad and
Uncle of
flooding just southwest of Taylorville along the South Fork
of the Sangamon River along Illinois Rt 48, which was under several
feet of water at the time. The highway was reworked and
raised in the 1980's, the bridge was replaced by
a single deck bridge, but the railroad bridge remains
and the former Wabash railroad is Norfolk and Southern.
Even though the film was not dated, the billboard shown at
the end of the video is of a '57 Ford which would place the
event during the late 1956-1957 period. It also appears to
be late Spring or early Summer, which would date the event
as Spring-Summer of 1957.
Memories of Hewitt School
The grade school I attended was located in a
community
just on the southwest of Taylorville. I lived on the last full
street
on the edge of Taylorville, so those on the last three full streets
would attend Hewitt school in Hewittville. Hewitville was an
old mining community, which also housed a railroad yard on the
end of the C&IM Railroad line. This is a portion of an 8mm
film which was taken by my uncle when he came to pick me up
after school one day, in which I was the patrol boy for the
Taylorville side crossing. Not only was there a street to cross,
but also about 5 tracks of the C&IM. I was probably in the
5th grade at the time. I include this because there aren't too
many pictures of the old school out there. By the way, my Dad
and Uncle attended that school as well many years before.
