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Some of WTVP's favorite locally produced programs are now available for purchase on DVD and VHS. Our most recent titles are available online through ShopPBS and at some of your favorite Peoria-area merchants. Classic titles and episodes of ILLINOIS ADVENTURE, WTVP’s travel and tourism series, are available by telephone from our distributor, FP Video. Please see the following catalog for titles and ordering information.

WTVP Features and Documentaries from ShopPBS

The following titles are available online through ShopPBS. Use the ShopPBS button below and receive a 15% member discount on your purchase while also supporting WTVP.
 
ShopPBS.Org

Selected titles are also available for walk-in purchase at these Peoria-area merchants:


 

CATERPILLAR LEADERSHIP SERIES  (150 minutes)

2 disc set (DVD) - $29.95

Interesting People’s Ed Sutkowski interviews the CEOs of Caterpillar who led the company out of its most difficult financial years to help it become one of the most successful companies in the world.

  • George Schaefer (1985 – 1990)

  • Donald V. Fites (1990 – 1999)

  • Glen Barton (1999 – 2004)

  • Jim Owens (2004 – present)

  • Bonus - At Issue – 100th Anniversary of the Track: On Thanksgiving Day in 1904, Benjamin Holt successfully demonstrated the oval track, still used today on many Caterpillar machines. Host H Wayne Wilson uses vintage footage and interviews with Bob Gilmore, Caterpillar President from 1977-1985, Lynn McPheeters, Caterpillar Chief Financial Officer, and Nikki Thaxton, Caterpillar Archivist, to tell the story of the oval track and other Caterpillar innovations.

ROBOT TOWN  (30 minutes)

(DVD) - $19.95

What do you get when you take high school students, seasoned engineers, robots and a six week competition deadline? A huge adrenaline rush! In the winter/spring of 2006, Caterpillar Inc. sponsored two teams for the international F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Competition, founded by inventor Dean Kamen. This is their story. Re-live the excitement as the teams design and build their robots, travel from Peoria to the regional competition in Chicago, then journey to Atlanta for the national competition. Includes bonus material.

MAIN STREET MEMORIES 1 and 2   (150 minutes)

2 disc set (DVD) - $34.95

2 tape set (VHS) - $29.95

(Part 1) - Remember the days of the big bands and the Inglaterra Ballroom, the trolleys and Union Station, Kramer's, the Sugar Bowl, and downtown Peoria's "Big White Store" - Block & Kuhl's? Join WTVP 47 for this nostalgic journey into Peoria's more recent past - the '30s, '40s and '50s. (Part 2) – WTVP continues to take viewers down memory lane with a second program that features interviews with long-time Peoria residents, old film footage, and photographs – and brings back memories ranging from the Beverly Theater to the early days of Peoria television.

GRAND VIEW DRIVE  (60 minutes)

(DVD) - $29.95

(VHS) - $24.95

Journey down Grand View Drive and tour some of Peoria’s most magnificent homes. This program gives viewers a glimpse of the history of the Drive – and takes them into homes like "The Castle," "Valley View," and "Pine Oaks." Grand View Drive takes viewers back to the early 1900s and the fulfillment of a dream by a group of Peorians who envisioned a park and scenic drive on the bluffs overlooking the Illinois River.

SPRINGDALE CEMETERY  (60 minutes)

(DVD) - $29.95

(VHS) - $24.95

Springdale Cemetery: Memories of a Lifetime spotlights historic individuals ranging from entrepreneurs, riverboat pilots and anti-slavery activists to aviation pioneers and founders of "Modern Peoria." The program also looks at "The Distillers" – as Peoria was the whiskey capital of the world in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

GALESBURG REMEMBERED  (75 minutes)

(VHS) - $24.95

Remember eating at Harbor Lights - or dancing to the tunes of the big bands at the Roof Garden? Highlander’s ice cream store - or the old C.B.&Q railroad station? WTVP 47 has journeyed to West Central Illinois – and traveled back in time – to produce this nostalgic look at historic Galesburg.

CORN STOCK THEATRE  (30 minutes)

(VHS) - 19.95

With $35 in the treasury, lots of enthusiasm, and a strong interest in quality theater, a dedicated group of friends launched Corn Stock Theatre on July 27, 1954, with a performance of "Gigi" in Detweiller Park. As Corn Stock celebrates its 50th Anniversary, this new WTVP production looks back at the history of the first outdoor theater-in-the-round in Central Illinois.

WHO ARE THE SISTERS?  (60 minutes)

(VHS) - $24.95

Their mission is to never turn away anyone in need of care, regardless of ability to pay. They operate the second largest corporation in Peoria, including six medical centers in Peoria, Bloomington, Galesburg, Pontiac, Rockford, and Escanaba, Michigan. This WTVP 47 special, produced by H Wayne Wilson, provides an inside look at the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis.


WTVP Specials and Series from FP Video

The following titles are available from FP Video. Call toll-free 1-888-335-WTVP. Prices do not include shipping and handling.

LYDIA'S LEGACY 29 minutes VHS - $19.95
More than 100 years ago, Lydia Moss Bradley, one of the world's wealthiest women, had a dream - a comprehensive school where men and women could receive a modern education that would enable them to function in the modern world. As Bradley University celebrated its centennial, WTVP 47 looked back at the university's 100-year history.

THE PEORIA SYMPHONY AT 100 99:00 minutes VHS - $29.95
Jerry Hadley - world-renowned tenor and star of the New York Metropolitan Opera - returned home in October of 1997 to help the Peoria Symphony celebrate 100 years of operation. Under the direction of maestro William Wilsen, the Peoria Symphony featured Hadley performing a variety of classical and popular tunes, with the Bradley University Chorus as backup. Just 1000 copies of the program have been authorized for sale.

The ILLINOIS ADVENTURE Collection

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE, ROUTE 66 46:00 minutes VHS $19.95
A special episode of WTVP’s long running ILLINOIS ADVENTURE series, this program examines Route 66 - the "Mother Road" - as it passes through the state of Illinois.

 

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1606 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Viewers visit the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago to explore an impressive collection of artifacts from the ancient world; travel to Rock Island’s Hauberg Civic Center, a unique historical home built in 1909 in the popular Prairie School style; and joins outdoorsman Dan Vinovich on a pheasant hunt at the Lickcreek Game Preserve in Pekin.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1605 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Viewers go on a tour of the Jersey County Historical Society Museum in Jerseyville to learn about life, work, and school in the 1800s; travel to the Apple River Fort near Elizabeth and Sand Ridge State Forest near Manito. Visit Hamilton Primary School, Otterville’s first school.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1604 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium at the port of Dubuque to learn about the history of the river and the people who lived along its entire stretch. Visit the Vermilion County War Museum and travel to the Woodlawn Cemetery in Carbondale for a glimpse of the region’s history.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1603 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit to the Amish Interpretive Center in Arcola to learn about Amish traditions, lifestyle, and beliefs. Visit Cedarhurst Sculpture Park in Mt. Vernon, travel to Galena to tour Vinegar Hill, an underground lead mine that has been in the same family for generations, and take at trip to Rockome Gardens in Arcola.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1602 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to Fort de Chartres at Prairie Du Rocher in Southern Illinois to look at early French colonial history. Discover more about French history at St. Joseph’s Cemetery, visit the picturesque golf courses at Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa near Galena, and join outdoorsman Dan Vinovich at a sporting clays outing in Mackinaw.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1601 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to the Spurlock Museum on the campus of the University of Illinois to get a glimpse of the human journey through time and across continents. Visit the Joliet Historical Museum and the Vermilion County War Museum, travel to Galena to tour an underground lead mine that has been in the same family for generations, and visit Woodlawn Cemetery in Carbondale for a glimpse of the region’s history. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1508 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit the Wheels O’ Time Museum north of Peoria to view antique cars, tractors, and washing machines. Explore the history of ABC washing machines and Caterpillar Tractors through displays at Wheels O’ Time. Visit the Pere Marquette State Park near Grafton, and look at an ongoing project in Springfield that is seeking to learn more about Abraham Lincoln by following his paper trail. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1507 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel along a portion of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, a corridor featuring historic sites, natural wilderness, and picturesque towns. Join the McLean County Museum of History for a discovery walk through Bloomington’s oldest cemetery. Tour a Seneca grain elevator that dates back to the Civil War. And join outdoorsman Dan Vinovich at a sporting clays outing in Mackinaw. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1506 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Journey across the border to St. Louis to visit Grant’s Farm, a piece of Missouri farmland once plowed and planted by U.S. Grant, and now home to more than 1,000 animals from six continents. Tour the nearby Grant’s Home, travel to the Cog Hill Golf Course north of Joliet, and go fishing on Lake Shelbyville with state champion fisherman Dan Vinovich. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1505 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Tour Springfield’s Dana-Thomas House, built in 1904 for socialite Susan Lawrence Dana and now the most beautifully preserved example of early Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. Visit the Lawrence Memorial Library in Springfield, the Air Classics Museum in Aurora, and Fox Ridge State Park near Charleston. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1504 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit the Chicago Historical Society’s Museum to view a collection of artifacts that reach back to the birth of our nation and that provide a window on Chicago history. Travel to Quincy to tour Villa Kathrine and to Sadorus to visit the National Museum of Ship Models and Sea History. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1503 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit Vandalia to tour Illinois’ oldest Statehouse and walk in Lincoln’s footsteps. Visit the Volo Auto Museum in northern Illinois, the Champaign County Historical Museum, and the Old State Burial Ground in Vandalia. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1502 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit Donley’s Wild West Town in Union. Visit an opera house in Palestine and go dove hunting in Mason City with outdoorsman Dan Vinovich. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1501 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to the Quad-Cities area to learn about the history of Arsenal Island and tour the museum. Travel to the Davenport House and Illinois Beach State Park in Zion. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1408 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to the Lake County Discovery Museum in Wauconda. Visit the courthouse in Hennepin, the oldest courthouse still in operation in the state. Travel to the Isle a la Cache Museum in Romeoville to talk about the French voyageurs. And go fishing with Dan Vinovich in Lake Sangchris between Taylorville and Springfield. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1407 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit Rockford’s Burpee Museum of Natural History, home to a full-sized Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton. Travel to the Lincoln Home in Springfield, to Illinois College in Jacksonville to look at a program to save endangered orchids, and to the Illinois Waterway Visitor Center near Ottawa to watch the operation of a Lock and Dam. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1406 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Follow Abraham Lincoln’s career at the Old State Capitol and visit the most famous law office in the state. Explore plumbing and inventiveness at the Mueller Museum in Decatur. And visit the Frances Willard House in Evanston to learn about an important figure in the women’s movement and Prohibition. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1405 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to the Knox County Historical Museum in Knoxville, to the Railroad Park in Rochelle, to the Peoria Historical Society’s Pettengill-Morron House to learn about funeral and grieving customs from the Victorian and Civil War eras, and to the Paramount Arts Centre in Aurora. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1404 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to the Kankakee County Historical Museum, tour Alton Cemetery, visit the Metamora Courthouse, and travel to the Kickapoo State Park in Oakwood near Danville. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1403 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit the Illinois Oil Field Museum in Oblong and the Crawford County Historical Museum in Robinson, visit a grist mill near Chicago, tour the Jubilee College State Historic Site near Brimfield, and travel to Dwight to learn about the Keeley Institute, once a major treatment center for alcoholism. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1402 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel across the border to Indiana to visit the historic Reitz Home in Evansville. Join champion fisherman Dan Vinovich on a fishing trip with “the younger set,” travel to the Museum of Funeral Customs in Springfield, and visit Matthiessen State Park near Starved Rock. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1401 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site, to the Chicagoland Sports Hall Of Fame, to the Museum of Geology at Western Illinois University, and fish Lake Clinton with Dan Vinovich. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1308 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Explore Cahokia Mounds, the site of the largest prehistoric city in North America. Visit White Pines State Park near Oregon, the Catherine Yost historic house in Pontiac, and the Air Combat Museum in Springfield. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1307 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit one of the nation’s leading research laboratories: the Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago. See a collection of 10,000 seashells at the Masonic Lodge in Sullivan, visit the Kibbe Hancock Heritage Museum in Carthage, and join Dan Vinovich for a fishing trip on the Illinois River just above Hennepin. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1306 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit the McLean County Museum of History. See the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum in Chicago, Johnny Gruelle’s Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum in Arcola, and the John Deere Pavilion in Moline. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1305 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit Illinois’ first state park: Fort Massac near Metropolis, originally a French outpost during the mid-1700s. Travel to Princeton to see how sealing wax is made, to Joliet to visit an old factory site that has been reborn into a historical nature walk, and to Decatur to view rare porcelain and glass at Birks Museum at Millikin University. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1304 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit Alton to explore the Mississippi River town’s history, legends, and newest attractions. Tour a museum in Roanoke, and travel to Wadsworth to see the famed dancing white stallions. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1303 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit the Morrison Historical Society to view memorabilia from the town’s past businesses, a dental exhibit, and old farming implements. Check out Depression-era artwork in Illinois post offices, tour the Forest Park Nature Center in Peoria Heights, and fish for King Salmon in Lake Michigan with pro walleye fisherman and outdoor writer Dan Vinovich of Pekin. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1302 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Tour the historic Naper Settlement, a 19th-century living history museum village in Naperville. Visit an Atlanta grain elevator built in 1904, the Prairie Aviation Museum in Bloomington, and Hidden Springs State Forest in Strasburg. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1301 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Experience the old Franklin County Jail in Benton, now a museum, where the gangster Charlie Birger, the last man to be legally hung in Illinois, was jailed before his execution. Discover other area claim to fames, like being the first place a Beatles record was played on U.S. airways -- and how former Chicago Bulls Coach Doug Collins lived at a jail while his father was sheriff. And look at a vintage car collection in Aurora, visit Weldon Springs Park, and see the Reagan Peace Garden at Eureka College. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1208 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Climb Bishop Hill to tour the buildings and discuss the history of this Swedish settlement that dates back to the mid-19th century. Look at rare books and special collections at the University of Illinois, travel to Roxana to visit the Shell Museum, and visit Vishnu Springs near Macomb to view all that remains of a mineral-water resort and a town that sprang up around it. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1207 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Hop the border to St. Louis to visit the International Bowling Museum, also home to the St. Louis Cardinal Hall of Fame. Visits the Alexis Museum and Chicago's Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, and join tournament fisherman Jim Gardner and state champion Dan Vinovich of Pekin for bass fishing at Powerton Lake. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1206 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit the Evanston house of Charles Gates Dawes, vice president under Calvin Coolidge and co-winner of the 1925 Nobel Peace Prize for arranging a plan for German reparations after World War I. Looks at train memorabilia at the Amboy Depot Museum, the duck decoy collection at Lakeview Museum in Peoria, and at the world’s largest collection of Sears homes in Carlinville. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1205 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to Okawville, a once-popular resort town located 40 miles east of St. Louis, known for its baths and museums that hearken back to a different era. Enjoy an old-fashioned ride on a stagecoach, learn how Abraham Lincoln's parents lived at the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site in Lerna, and talk to a gentleman who collects stories and investigates hauntings across the Midwest. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1204 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to Shirley, just south of Bloomington, to visit the Funk Prairie Home and learn about the family that left an indelible mark on Illinois history and on agriculture worldwide. Visit the Funk Gem Rock and Mineral Museum, look at an impressive and ever-changing collection of Corvette cars, and travel to Cedarville, the birth town and last resting place of social work pioneer Jane Addams, the founder of Chicago's Hull House. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1203 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Feel the ebb and flow and learn the history of the river town of Beardstown, Illinois. Discover Chicago's movie history, explore the French influence in Nauvoo after the Mormons left, and visit the apartment in which President Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1202 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Take a journey through yesteryear by visiting a log cabin, an 1860s home, and a church, all at Heritage Canyon in Fulton. Visit the Scouting Museum in Ottawa, the Gardner Museum of Architecture and Design in Quincy, and an outdoor sculpture garden in Chicago. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1201 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to the Garfield Farm Museum in LaFox to learn about farm life in the 1840s. Look at Mendota's railroad connection at the Depot Museum, visit the Creole House in Prairie Du Rocher, and tour the Antioch Cemetery in rural Tremont. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1108 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Venture across state lines to Sainte Genevieve, the oldest settlement in Missouri and the location of the largest assortment of French Colonial buildings of any town in North America. Head back to Illinois to visit the Hotel Baker in St. Charles, which opened during the Roaring 20s and seemed to reflect the optimism and growing wealth of the nation. Drop by the Atlanta Museum to learn about the history of the town, and Spring Lake to watch Department of Conservation officials net muskies to provide eggs for the hatchery as well as go fishing for bass with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1107 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit three historic homes in Rockford: the Tinker Swiss Cottage, the Graham/Ginestra home, and the Erlander Home. Looks at the Pullman Days of Blackburn College and visits the Newberry Library in Chicago and the Washington Historical Society. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1106 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to Galena to visit three historic homes: two private residences plus the Dowling Home, the oldest home still standing in Galena and the city's first stone residence. Continue on to Granville to visit the Hopkins Township High School Alumni Museum, explore the history of the Mount Vernon Courthouse, and hop over to Dickson Mounds to look at Native American cooking. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1105 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit the American Police Center and Museum in Chicago. Meet a Sullivan man who collects hood ornaments from U.S. and foreign cars, visit the late Secretary of State Paul Powell's 1950s-era home in Vienna, and travel to Monmouth to tour the historic Holt House, the place where Pi Beta Phi Sorority was founded. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1104 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Follow President Ronald Reagan's years in Illinois, from his birthplace in Tampico to his boyhood home in Dixon and through his college days in Eureka. Travel to Nokomis to visit a baseball museum, watch pumpkins fly during the Morton Pumpkin Festival, and check out the Garfield Farm Museum at LaFox near Chicago for a look at "heirloom" vegetables. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1103 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
At the River Valley Antique Association's Threshing Show held at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, learn a unique way steam engines were used to power farm equipment as hay is pitched into a turn-of-the-century threshing machine. Visit the Matthew T. Scott home in Chenoa, the Dunham Hunt Museum in St. Charles, and the Garden of the Gods in Southern Illinois. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1102 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit Hull House in Chicago to look at the life and work of Jane Addams, and explore the history of settlements in the United States. Tour the Geneseo Historical Museum, see a unique style of barn in Macomb, and take an Underground Railroad tour in Alton to visit homes that were known to harbor slaves. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1101 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit the Silver Creek Museum and Railroad in Freeport. Walk the Richard W. Bock Sculpture Museum on the campus of Greenville College, check out the Early American Museum in Mahomet, and belly up to Stacy's Tavern Museum in Glen Ellyn. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1008 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Explore the Dickson Mounds Museum near Lewistown. See the Fox River Trolley Museum in South Elgin; the Popeye museum in Chester, birthplace of the comics' author; and an often-asked-about house that's being restored along Rt. 29 in Greenview. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1007 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit Chicago's DuSable Museum of African American History. Experience the Mount Pulaski Courthouse, go to Springfield to look at a private collection of materials on aviation history, and travel to Petersburg to visit the boyhood home of poet Edgar Lee Masters. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1006 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit to the historic Dillon Home in Sterling, then hop over to Urbana to the Frasca Company, one of the world's largest and best-known manufacturers of flight simulators. And explore the Dirksen Congressional Leadership Center in Pekin, and the Elgin Public Museum. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1005 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Journey to LaSalle to visit the historic Hegeler-Carus Mansion, designed in 1874 as one of the most lavish Second Empire houses in the country -- and once the editorial offices of a publishing company. Look at an "Open Court" of ideas and thoughts, learn about Charles Lindbergh's unscheduled stop in a small town near Bloomington, and travel to Edwardsville to look at a program that links architecture, history, and children. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1004 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Hop the border into Iowa to visit West Branch, the birthplace of President Herbert Hoover. Visit Hoover's home and Friends Meeting House to learn about the early influences on his life, and explore the Herbert Hoover Library and Museum to learn about his later life and how he earned the nickname "The Great Humanitarian." Then search for the remains of Kaskaskia, location of Illinois' first state capital; visit the oldest graveyard in Danville; and tour the Polish Museum in Chicago. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1003 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit the Cuneo Museum and Gardens in Libertyville. Look at antique farm equipment in Milton, and travel to Bloomington to visit Upper Limits, a grain silo that's been converted to an indoor rock-climbing gym. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1002 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Drop 600 feet below ground to get a unique look at the coal-mining industry at the National Coal Museum Mine 25 in West Frankfort. Tour the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, and travel to Athens to visit the Lincoln Long Nine Museum which honors the nine men, including Abraham Lincoln, who were chosen to determine the site for the state capital's relocation from Vandalia. And enjoy fishing for coho and king salmon on Lake Michigan. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #1001 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to the Stephenson County Historical Museum in Freeport to tour the historic mansion, view a log cabin and one-room schoolhouse, and see a collection of horse-drawn buggies. Visit the Rasmussen Blacksmith Museum in Lewistown, fish for bass at Mill Creek near Clarksville with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner, and tour the Skinner House in Griggsville. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #907 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit the historic David Davis Mansion in Bloomington, and see "Superman" in his newsman stomping ground of Metropolis. Travel to Rock Island to visit the Fryxell Geology Museum. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #906 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Journey into the Victorian past on a visit to the DeWitt County Museum in Clinton. Tour a Dutch-style windmill in Golden, experience the Illinois Valley View Model Railroad Display in Union, and visit the Moweaqua Coal Mine Museum and Memorial, which honors the 54 miners who died in an explosion and cave-in the day before Christmas in 1932. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #905 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to Galesburg to visit the Carl Sandburg home, the Galesburg Railroad Museum, and Knox College's Old Main, the oldest building on campus and the site of the fifth Lincoln-Douglas Debate of 1858. Look at the mystery of the effigy-style gravestones found in Southern Illinois, visit the Simpkins War Museum in Heyworth, and go fishing on the Rock River near Oregon with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #904 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Join the 93rd Volunteer Infantry and learn about drills, discipline, food, training, and life in a Union encampment during a Civil War Reenactment in Freeport. Then visit Wheels Through Time, a museum of vintage motorcycling in Mt. Vernon; travel to the Grosse Point Lighthouse in Evanston; and go fishing for white bass on the Illinois River with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #903 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum in Rantoul to look at the history of the former Air Force base and its ICBM training silo. Check out the Batavia Depot Museum and the Meredosia River Museum, and visit an 1830s-style wedding reenactment in Lincoln's New Salem. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #902 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Hop across the border to Mark Twain's Hannibal, Missouri. Learn some Twain folklore, and visit Twain's boyhood home, the museum next door, a "Mark Twain" cave, and a historic mansion in Hannibal. Back home in Illinois, see the Aurora Fire Museum, the Schaefer Fish Market in Fulton, and a "family resting place" in Peoria’s Sommer Park. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #901 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Journey to Butterworth Center in Moline, once home to Katherine Butterworth, John Deere's granddaughter, and William Butterworth, the third president of Deere and Company. Visit Simpson Barrens in the Shawnee Hills, travel on some of Illinois' earliest paths and roads with Champaign Mayor/Historian Dannel McCollum, and experience Joliet's Rialto Square Theater. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #808 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to Rushville to visit the Schuyler County Historical Museum, a building that once housed lawbreakers and now stores history. Journey to Woodstock to learn the story of the creative genius behind Dick Tracy, and to Pekin to visit the only bakery in the United States that commercially produces hardtack, a biscuit that was a staple in the diets of members of the Union army during the Civil War. And go fly-fishing for bluegills in the Springfield area. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #807 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel to Danville to tour the Vermilion County Museum, once the home of Dr. William Fithian, a prairie legislator, horseback doctor, Civil War surgeon, and friend of Abraham Lincoln. Visit the Black Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island County, journey to Lemont north of Joliet to visit the only Cookie Jar Museum in the United States, and discover the hobby of remote control sailplaning. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #806 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago, go eagle watching in Alton, explore the history of Peoria's Hotel Pere Marquette, and look at small-town opera houses. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #805 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Travel along the Hennepin Canal, visit The Rookery office building in Chicago, go fishing for catfish on Spring Lake near Manito with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner, and learn how to prepare catfish at Peoria’s Stephanie restaurant. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #804 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit the historic bluffs, and other special points of interest, in Alton. Tour the John Philip Sousa Museum at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana, take a bicycle ride on the Fox River Trail, and travel to Jostens Inc. of Princeton to look at the artistry of designing and making sports championship rings. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #803 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Jump the border to Crawfordsville, Indiana, to visit the Ben Hur Museum, the Henry S. Lane Antebellum Mansion, and the Old Jail Museum. Back home in Illinois, travel to Stillman Valley in the northern part of the state to talk about the first battle of the Black Hawk War, look at what workers found “behind the walls” as they remodeled a Fairview church built in 1837, and visit the Massac Historical Museum in Metropolis. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #802 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit Decatur to tour the Macon County Historical Museum Complex and James Millikin’s Victorian mansion. Journey to the Jo Daviess County Historical Museum in Galena to attend a round-table discussion about General Grant, travel to Funk’s Grove near Bloomington to see one of the last virgin forests in Illinois, and go to the Illinois Coal Research Institute near Carbondale to look at efforts to market Illinois coal around the world. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #801 28:00 minutes VHS $19.95
Visit the Monticello Railway Museum and get a look at a Santa Fe Pullman car and the Shedd Aquarium car, “Nautilus.” Take to the sky for a thrilling sailplane ride, explore medical history at the Pearson Museum at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, and tour Rock Island’s historic Chippiannock Cemetery. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #708 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to Lincoln to visit the Lincoln College Museum, the Heritage in Flight Museum, and a replica of Logan County’s first courthouse. Explore the beautiful Baha’i House of Worship and gardens in Wilmette, listen to the sounds of a swamp at night at La Rue Pine Hills in Southern Illinois, and get some tips for taking the kids fishing. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #707 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel back to Civil War days with a visit to the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Museum and the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War Museum in Springfield. Looks at fly-tying techniques, and experience the restored Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #706 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Learn more about the Civil War, General Grant, and the history of the Galena area at the Galena/Jo Daviess County Historical Museum. Go with the McLean County Historical Society on an archaeological dig in Normal; catch an ice-fishing derby at Lake Camelot near Peoria; and talk with Chicago area resident Bob Christensen about his book, Duck Calls of Illinois. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #705 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Journey to Chicago’s Prairie Avenue to visit the late 19th-century Glessner House, an example of an early modern urban residence and a house that looks more like a fortress than a residential home. Visit the Hall of Flags in Springfield, travel to the majestic Macoupin County Courthouse in Carlinville, and get an introduction to woodcarving by the Sangamon Valley Woodcarvers. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #704 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to Cahokia to visit three French sites: the Cahokia Courthouse, one of the oldest surviving buildings in the Midwest; the restored Holy Family Church, which has been in use since 1799; and the Jarrot Mansion, an impressive example of pioneer French architecture in the late 18th century. Go fishing for rainbow trout at the Hennepin Canal; visit the Coronado Theatre in Rockford, and walk the oldest graveyard in Quincy. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #703 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Take a walking tour of Chicago’s historic Pullman community and visit the 114-year-old Queen Anne-style Hotel Florence, a popular stop for visitors. Look at circus history in Bloomington/Normal, do some fly casting, and see how pioneers turned flax into linen. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #702 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Visit the Deere-Wiman House in Moline to view how life has changed from the Victorian age to the 20th century. Attend a re-enactment of a Lincoln-Douglas debate in Ottawa; look at junior drag racing for kids ages 8 to 16; and learn about border collies as they herd sheep and compete at Jubilee State Park. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #701 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Visit Cairo to explore the city’s history and tour Magnolia Manor, a restored Victorian Home. Get introduced to the Illinois Shakespeare Festival in Bloomington, visit the Chicago Auditorium, and travel to the historic Lamon House in Danville. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #608 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to Chicago to visit the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture to learn about the Lithuanian heritage and to see the museum’s collection of Lithuanian artifacts. Take a peek at the General John A. Logan Museum in Murphysboro, and check out a round barn just north of Kewanee in the Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #607 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Why are two river otters living in a Kewanee bank lobby? Why does Dr. Daniel Wood have two gravesites, one in Illinois and one in New York? And what is the real story of “Miracle Whip”? This special episode features a collection of interesting legends and stories encountered by ILLINOIS ADVENTURE producer Bill Baker and his team during their travels throughout the state as they’ve filmed this popular adventure series.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #606 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to the Field Museum in Chicago to view the African Exhibit and the Egyptian Exhibit. Look at the state’s oldest college building, the historic Beecher Hall at Illinois College in Jacksonville; learn how to make a bow for hunting; and visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Pettit Memorial Chapel in Belvidere. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #605 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Get spooked at Ravin’s Grin, a haunted house that’s open year-round in Mt. Carroll, 45 miles south of Galena. Originally built in the 1890s as an inn, the house now features secret passages -- and “things that go bump in the night!” Visit Graceland Cemetery near Wrigley Field in Chicago where many prominent Chicagoans from the turn-of-the-century are buried; travel to Springfield to watch and listen to the carillon bells in Washington Park; and meet duck carver Pat Gregory, a Bloomington resident whose great-grandfather was a legend in the field. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #604 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Enjoy a “No-Lincoln” tour of Springfield with a visit to the State Museum, the National Guard’s Military Collection, and the Oliver Parks Telephone Museum. Travel to Chicago to play “art golf” on a miniature golf course created by artists, and visit gravesites in an old cemetery in Vandalia, the state’s second capital. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #603 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Explore Elkhart Hill, located 20 miles north of Springfield, the 1800s home of John Dean Gillett, “The Cattle King of Illinois,” and General Richard Oglesby, an ex-governor of Illinois, and the birthplace of the sport of trap shooting. Learn how to make horseshoes at the Midwest Horseshoers School in Macomb; travel to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale to look at its fisheries lab; and go scuba diving in Pearl Lake in South Beloit. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #602 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to Teutopolis to visit the Monastery Museum, home to Franciscan fathers from the late 1850s until 1968, and now a museum featuring more than 2,000 items, many from the days of early pioneers. Journey to Salem to visit the birthplace of orator and presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan; visit Griggsville, known as “the purple martin capital of the world”; and go fishing for bass in Banner Marsh with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #601 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Experience DeKalb, the place where barbed wire was invented, with a tour Ellwood House, a Victorian mansion built by one of the early barbed-wire magnates. Visit the Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois to tour the LaRue Pine Hills Ecological Area; go “pole” canoeing on the Vermilion River near Tonica; and travel to a Cook County graveyard. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #508 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to Monticello near Champaign to visit the Robert Allerton Park, a 1,500-acre estate with a mansion and formal gardens. Look at the history of the buildings at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, and see how the fair has changed over the years; go fishing with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner; and travel to the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge near Carbondale to look at a program of building nesting boxes to raise the bluebird population. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #507 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Explore the International Museum of Surgical Sciences in Chicago to see tools and methods used in the past including a Civil War surgeon’s kit, an iron lung, and early X-ray machines. Visit the Child’s Discovery Center in Rockford, go fishing for bass on Lake Egypt with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner, and travel to Quincy to look at Dr. Eells’ efforts to help slaves on the Underground Railroad. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #506 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago to see the U-505 Submarine Exhibit, the Space Center and Omnimax Theater, and Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle. Visit the picturesque Thebes Court House in southern Illinois, and go pheasant hunting with bows and arrows at the Indian Ridge Hunting Preserve near Banner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #505 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Get a glimpse of military history with a visit to the First Division Museum on the grounds of the McCormick estate in Wheaton. Travel to Pomona to visit a general store that’s been in operation since the late 1800s; to the Illinois Historical Water Museum in Peoria to look at the history of water treatment; and to Cherry, the site of one of the worst mining disasters in Illinois’ history. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #504 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Look at the life and times of poet Edgar Lee Masters, and at the factors that led to the writing of the Spoon River Anthology. See Masters’ childhood community of Lewistown, as well as the Oak Hill Cemetery, the burial place for many of the people upon which Masters based his characters. Go bicycling near Alton, attend a competition featuring antique plows, and look at what is being done at the University of Illinois to help control one of our oldest enemies: the mosquito. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #503 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to Quincy to visit the Governor John Wood Mansion, the Pharmacy Museum, and the Gardner Museum of Architecture & Design. Get acquainted with the game of Paint Splat, go fishing for channel catfish with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner, and travel to Woodhull north of Galesburg to visit the Wheels Museum. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #502 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel back to the days of knights with a visit to the Olde English Faire at Jubilee College State Park outside of Kickapoo. Discover the new rage of bungee jumping; go diving with members of the Archaeological Society of Chicago to learn about their S.O.S. (Save Our Shipwrecks) program; and seek out three of the most challenging golf holes in the state. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #501 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Enjoy the rides and tour the park at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee. Visit the Rock Island Arsenal Museum; travel to Champaign-Urbana to visit the University of Illinois’ Wildlife Medical Clinic; and go underground to Peoria’s Mineral Springs, which brought beer and whiskey brewers to the city and once supplied much of Peoria’s drinking water. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #412 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to Princeton to visit the Bureau County Historical Museum, which has an interesting Civil War collection, and to the Owen Lovejoy Homestead, well known as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #411 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Visit the Navy’s largest recruit training center, the Great Lakes Naval Training Center north of Chicago. Stop by the Wyatt Earp House in Monmouth to learn about the wild-west legend who had his roots in Illinois, and travel south to Heron Pond Nature Preserve to see an old cypress swamp. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #410 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Take a trip along part of America’s newest scenic route, Route 146 from Cave-in-Rock to Dixon Springs in Southern Illinois, with stops at Tower Rock, Elizabethtown, and Golconda along the way. Travel to Rim Rock in the Shawnee National Forest for a tour of a prehistoric Indian site. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #408 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Tour the State Capitol in Springfield for a look at the building’s history. Visit the historic Bryant Cottage, built in 1856 near Monticello, and go fishing for white bass with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #407 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to Wheaton to visit McCormick Museum, the mansion of the late Chicago Tribune publisher Robert McCormick. Journey to Galena to talk with Paul LeGreco, an artisan who makes small pewter soldiers for hobbyists and collectors. And see the large flocks of geese at Horseshoe Lake in Southern Illinois, considered the “Canadian Geese Capital of the World.” Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #406 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Tour Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio in Oak Park. Look at the “golden age” of barns; visit cemeteries in Pope County in Southern Illinois to discover history through tombstones; and go hunting for quail. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #405 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Journey back in time in Nauvoo to see what life was like in the mid-1800s, and look at gunsmithing, candlemaking, and brickmaking. Visit the Southern Illinois University Wildlife Lab in Carbondale, travel to Peoria’s Stephanie restaurant for a pheasant recipe, and go fishing with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #404 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
See 1680-1830 Illinois history come alive with a visit to the annual Fort Crevecoeur Rendezvous. Visit the Mason State Tree Nursery to see how seeds are collected for prairie plants, look at kite-flying techniques, and go fishing on Lake Michigan with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #403 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Visit the Saline County Museum in Harrisburg and tour a one-room schoolhouse. Stop by the Willowbrook Wildlife Haven, operated by DuPage County’s Forest Preserve District; look at the life cycle of the monarch butterfly; and go fishing with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #402 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to New Salem to look at life in an “industrial” town in the 1830s. Visit Volo Bog, the only open-water bog in Illinois; look at prairie flowers; and explore the lifestyles of people vacationing and sightseeing in recreational vehicles. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #401 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Look at the legends, disasters, and history of steamboats on the Illinois River, and hop on board the “Spirit of Peoria” with Capt. Bob Anton. Go canoeing on the Vermilion River, and look at the country’s largest bass team fishing tournament. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #312 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to Grand Detour near Dixon, where John Deere built “the plow that broke the prairie.” Visit the Adler Planetarium in Chicago to see its new telescope and find out about its stargazing programs, explore the sport of skydiving, and talk to Department of Conservation officials as they monitor the fish population in Illinois lakes. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #311 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Visit Woodland Palace and Francis Park near Kewanee, look at plantings that will attract wildlife to your backyard, travel to Kampsville Archaeological Center to see what plants were discovered and used by pre-historic Indians, and go fishing with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #310 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
This special episode, THE BEST OF ILLINOIS ADVENTURE, features highlights of the first three years of WTVP 47’s series on outdoor recreational opportunities and interesting places to visit throughout Illinois. The program also includes “out-takes,” and looks at what happens behind-the-scenes during the production of this popular series. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #309 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to southeastern Illinois to visit Old Shawneetown, the oldest incorporated town in Illinois and once the banking capital of the state. Visit nearby Golconda to talk about the Trail of Tears, the forced march of Native Americans through Illinois toward Oklahoma in the 1800s. And go ice fishing with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #308 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Voyage to Chicago to see the displays and go behind-the-scenes at the Shedd Aquarium. Look at the life, writings, and Springfield home of Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay; talk to Jim Gardner about ways to “winterize” a boat so it’ll be ready for a good start in the spring; and see how our “feathered friends” survive Illinois winters. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #307 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Visit the University of Illinois campus in Urbana-Champaign to view the World Heritage Museum, the Krannert Art Museum, and the Museum of Natural History. Go fishing in the Illinois River, discover antiques made in Illinois, and learn about raising buffalo in the state. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #306 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Experience winemaking in Galena, from choosing the grapes in the field to sampling the finished product; visit the old state capital of Vandalia; and check out mussel beds in the Mississippi River. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #305 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to Civil War sites in Southern Illinois, visit Cahokia to see what is left of Illinois’ oldest residence, go fishing for perch on Lake Michigan, and get tips on what to do in the fall to ensure healthier trees in the spring. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #304 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Get an exclusive overview of the restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Dana-Thomas House in Springfield. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #303 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
See vintage steam engines and historic railway equipment at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union. Travel to Chicago to learn about making and flying kites; go to Southern Illinois to see an unusual prairie bluff where scorpions live; and go fishing for channel catfish with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #301 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Get a glimpse of life under the French in Illinois as with a visit to the Rendezvous Re-enactment at Fort De Chartres. Hear reminiscences of mussel gathering on the Illinois River, go bass fishing with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner, and look at the evolution of the barn in 19th-century Illinois. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #212 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Take a look at the history of Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs! Learn about the rising population of coyotes in Illinois; look at a new woodland cash crop in Illinois, the Shiitake mushroom; and fish for bass on the Ohio River with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #211 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to the Wheels O’Time Museum north of Peoria to view antique cars, tractors, and washing machines; visit the Prairie Aviation Museum at the Bloomington/Normal Airport; and watch the construction and flight of radio-controlled airplanes in Pekin. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #210 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to Cahokia Mounds to investigate the prehistoric Indian civilization that once flourished there. Return to the days when fishermen and mussel gatherers “harvested” the Illinois River, look at the gathering of tree sap for maple syrup, and go fishing with Jim Gardner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #209 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Get ready for vacation time with visits to all seven state-run lodges and their parks: Giant City State Park by Carbondale, Cave-In-Rock on the Ohio River, Starved Rock State Park by LaSalle-Peru, Eagle Creek Resort and Conference Center by Lake Shelbyville, Illinois Beach Resort and Conference Center in Zion, Pere Marquette State Park and Lodge in Grafton, and White Pines State Park in Mt. Morris. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #208 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Visit Rockford’s Time Museum to look at the history of timekeeping from 3000 B.C. to the present day. Experience winter camping, go fishing, and learn to identify trees by their barks and buds. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #207 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Tour the greenhouses at the Chicago Botanic Gardens, a 300-acre living museum located in Glencoe. Journey to Galena to rediscover the joy of collecting antiques, visit the Illinois State Museum to find out how mastodons are reconstructed, and talk with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner about fishing lures. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #206 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Journey back in time to historic Galena where, twenty years before the California Gold Rush, Illinois was the place to strike it rich in the lead mines. Visit the Mason State Tree Nursery, and go fishing with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #205 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Explore “commercial archeology”: the signs, symbols, and buildings that are fast disappearing from Illinois roadsides. Try rock climbing at Mississippi Palisades State Park near Savanna, go bass fishing in Clinton Lake, and look at stories and tombstones of famous people buried in Illinois. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #204 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Visit Irons Oaks Adventure Center, a 34-acre nature preserve located in the South Chicago suburbs of Olympia Fields and Flossmoor. Travel to Kaskaskia, the site of the first state capital; learn about fossils that can be found in Illinois; and look at the sport of bow hunting. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #203 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Follow the Illinois & Michigan Canal from LaSalle to Joliet, a corridor featuring historic sites, natural wilderness, and picturesque towns. Travel to Geneseo to visit a place where hunting dogs are trained, and to Ottawa to talk to photographer Willard Clay about his books of scenic photos of Illinois. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #202 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Visit the archaeological center at Kampsville to learn more about the center, hear about its educational program, and visit a dig. Take a trip on the Cache River to look at one of the last remaining swamplands. And learn about herbs and snakes of Central Illinois. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #201 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Go behind-the-scenes at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, get tips on taking the kids fishing, take a look at snakes of southern Illinois, and look at the history and importance of Illinois crystals. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #111 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Take a trip to historic Nauvoo to look at lifestyles in the mid-1800s. Find out how old buildings are restored, go fishing in a rock quarry, and look at efforts to save prairie chickens in Illinois. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #110 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to historic Galena to walk in the footsteps of Gen. U.S. Grant, portrayed by local citizen Paul LeGreco. Then visit the historic Metamora Courthouse, tour a Jacksonville factory that manufactures CDs and cassettes, go fishing with Jim Gardner, and meet a group that is reintroducing peregrine falcons into the Chicago area. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #109 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Learn more about Abraham Lincoln with trips to his home, law office, and the Old State Capitol in Springfield. Go ice fishing, attend a snow-sculpture contest in Rockford, and learn about lead mining in Galena. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #105 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Visit an island run by the federal government as an arsenal in the Quad Cities; brave a “haunted” lake and a “haunted” pub in Chicago; attend a demonstration on calling wild turkeys (and get some tips on how to cook them!); and look at new features in recreational vehicles. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #104 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Travel to Arthur to discover the Amish way of life and to see a buggy shop, a cabinet-making shop, and a harness shop. Then take a swing at some of the toughest golf holes throughout the state. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

ILLINOIS ADVENTURE #101 28:00 minutes (no longer available)
Visit the Jake Wolf Memorial State Fish Hatchery in Mason County, hike down a trail at Giant City State Park south of Carbondale, fish for large-mouth bass with tournament fisherman Jim Gardner, race along the Illinois River in sailboats, and visit the notorious Cave-in-Rock along the Ohio River. Hosted by Jim Wilhelm and produced by William Baker.

 

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