It Didn't Play in Peoria : Missed Chances of a Middle American Town

by Wahl, Greg

• ISBN13: 9780738525709
• ISBN10: 0738525707
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-07-27
• Publisher: Arcadia Pub

Summary

Will it play in Peoria?” was an old Vaudeville phrase meaning, Will it appeal to the average person?” The Illinois city has gained fame through the years, but more often as the butt of jokes or as an example of the typical Middle American town than through any recognition of its many accomplishments. But it had greatness in its grasp, and more than once. Peoria boasts a string of close brushes with prosperity, any one of which could have made it a Chicago or a St. Louis. Charles Lindbergh, for example, first approached Peoria for backing for his historic flight, but the town’s moneymen refused him and his Spirit of Peoria, perhaps losing a chance at the airline industry as well.

Author Biography

Authors Greg Wahl and Charles Bobbitt are long-time Peoria residents who love their city and treat its sore spots with a gentle touch.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vi
Introduction	p. ix
Will it Play at 40° Latitude, 89° Longitude?	p. 13
The Southern Cross and Old, Old Man River
Chicago, Who's Your Daddy?
Grave Robbing Didn't Play in Peoria	p. 18
Nulla Dies Sine Linea
Lost Ivy	p. 27
A Very Normal Spy Story
Are You Nuts?
Passin' Through	p. 37
Slim and None
Abe Stepped Here
A Sunday Buffett
The Center of a Doughnut Empire Goes Up in Smoke
When Law and Order Didn't Play in Peoria
Mayor Woodruff and the Friendly Crime Fines
The Shelton Gang: If We Did It, This is How We Did It
Crime Didn't Play in Peoria	p. 60
Wicked Wyatt
Nasty Nahas
"No-Name" Maddox, Food Critic
Hinckley's Hick Town
"Those" Ships Aren't Welcome in Peoria	p. 101
Par-A-Dice Lost
Build a Dock, and They Will Come
The Didn't Stay in Peoria ... But One Came Back	p. 106
The Illinois Valley Girl and the Peoria Pyre
Colonel Ingersoll and Archbishop Sheep
Sam Kinison
Harry the Horrible and the Birth of the Curse
The Icing: Philip José Farmer
Terrorism Doesn't Play in Peoria	p. 133
"The Duke" Withou the Swagger
When Stand-Up Didn't Play in Peoria
Against all Hell
Tragedy in the Morning
We are Ready
Prairie-Prepoped
The Peoria Air Guard Delivers
Epilosgue	p. 153
Bibliography	p. 154
Index	p. 157
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