Ed’s
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(group member since Sep 05, 2012)
Ed’s
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from the Will It Play In Peoria group.
Showing 1-10 of 10
Thanks Jerry, I'll give it a look.
According to this site, Pekin had a minor league baseball team from 1909-1913:http://www.baseball-reference.com/min...
articles on the Shelton Gang:http://www.peoriamagazines.com/ibi/20...
http://www.thezephyr.com/monson/shelt...
Another story: Apparantly the KKK owned the Pekin Daily Times for a spell in the 1920s...Here is a quote from Wikipedia:
"By the early 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan became an influence in Pekin.[6] It was during this period that leading Klansmen assumed ownership of the city newspaper, the Pekin Daily Times. They sold off the paper within years, but the city's reputation as a Sundown Town lingered, despite participation of Pekin church pastors in the civil rights marches of the 1960s and the role of Pekin U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen in the Civil Rights Act of 1964."
I also recall hearing about a story of a factory explosion in Pekin - I believe it was in the 20s or 30s, in which the KKK was involved in the rescue.
Having grown up in Pekin, it might not be as hard for me to imagine how the KKK could have been so accepted like that, but I think most kids today would be kind of bewildered by such widely-accepted racism.
This is a good example of the beneifits of the Age of Information.
Does anyone have any information about a riot that broke out during a KISS concert at Pekin Memorial Stadium on Aug 17, 1975? I've heard that the county police were called in and several people had to go to the hospital.http://www.kissfaq.com/merchandise/me...
I'm currently reading Ken Zurski's the Wreck of the Columbia. I certainly have to think this will be among the top.I also just read John Lanane's research article on the controversy over the Pekin Chink mascot name - which has to be in the top 10.
I'd also say the high school state championship basketball titles in '64 and '67 would make it.
Anyone else want to throw some suggestions out there?
