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Hello and welcome to the 12th show in this 11th season of Heartland Highways. Easy for
your to say, huh? This week we�re mixing it up with a museum, a group of traveling
musicians and a unique venue to take in a concert. Our first trip takes us to Effingham,
Illinois, where a group of concerned citizens rallied together to save the old courthouse
and turn it into a museum. Between the volunteer hours and hard work and sweat equity put into
this place, it�s safe to say history will be well-preserved for a long time. Here�s
that story. >>Dealine: Many years ago there was a small
group here in Effingahm who wanted to have displays, uh that related to local artifacts
and so there was a group of us who got together and we began to collect artifacts and began
to work toward a museum not knowing exactly what we were going to do. This was back in
1999. By the time we got into the early part of the 2000s, the decision was made by the
county that there was need for a new courts building and so they decided they would go
that route. And a block away from us they built that courts building. So, when that
happened, which I think by the end of 2007 this building was desserted, then this building
sat vacant and while I was here the county then began to consider, 'what do we do with
it?' The architects who had designed the new building said the best use of this was for
a museum. And it was ideal they said for that and so they encouraged the county to move
in that route. But there were other people that looked at it and they said 'well but
that's a cost. Do we want to spend money on this at all?' And so a lot of people pressured
the county to get rid of the building, bulldoze it, turn it into a parking lot. Now the architecture
of the building, I think it has really neat architecture, it's an attractive building
and I think one that a lot of people appreciate just from the standpoint of standing outside
the building. As a person that comes up here an awful lot, I see a lot of people who have
out-of-state plates who will park out in front of the courthouse, get out with the camera
tripod, set up the camera, take a picture of the building, walk around the building,
you know that kind of thing. So it's an attractive building and so it would be a tragedy just
to destroy it from the standpoint of the architecture. >>Kate: Luckily they didn't pave paradise
in favor of a parking lot. Community members were able to convince the county board to
let a committe begin to convert the old courthouse into a museum and the Effingham County Cultural
Center and Museum Association was born. Soon after, funds and material donations were collected
and the 1870s building began its journey to becoming a local destination.
>>Delaine: As our group began to gather those funds, the very first thing that had to be
done was that we had to take the asbestos out of the building which is an expensive
proposition. We had accomplished that, although we became incorporated and we got an agreement
with the county in 2010 that we could use the building as a leased building, the county
still owns the building, and so in the aftermath of that agreement, we began to work toward
getting as many funds to gether as we could just to have the asbestos abated. So we began
to solicit local people to provide us with paint, we got wonderful donations from the
local paint corporation. We received donations in terms of floor finishings from a corporation
uh in another county. Uh, they provided us with a lot of material and so we began to
look at how much of this material we could secure free as we possibily could. So we have
operated on a very low budget because we've had such wonderful participation by the general
public out there. >>Kate: With that community and volunteer
support the project moved forward and quickly turned into a place worthy of displaying the
local history and artifacts. The museum opened on Veteran's Day in 2012.
>>Delaine: We wanted to do one thing uh to begin with and that was we thought that because
we have this lovely Veteran's memorial that the county veteran's organizations have put
together and that has just been recently dedicated, that we wanted to compliment that. Because
we feel a, I think all members agree, feel a compulsion to honor our veterans. I was
a history teacher for 35 years and you know I know there is a great cost that freedom
has attached to it so I thought it's very important that we honor the people who had
in fact given us that freedom. And so we decided that we would devote a room to the veterans.
Uh we wanted to have some uniforms in there and that would be, show what life was like
in the past. We wanted to have a border in the room that would show the history of the
veterans of Effingham County. We go back to pictures from, well we had one veteran whose
picture was in the Mexican War, and then the Civil War pictures, a number of those from
the Civil War. But after we had gotten a lot of materials on World War II, it spilled over
into another room because we thought, 'well we don't have enough space here and we wanted
to talk about the home front too.' And the people who from our area went north into Northern
Illinois or Northern Illinois and worked in the war factories. And we have a lot of materials
that came to us as a result of that. >>Kate: That room also houses local connections
to war history that include a story and models of the USS Effingham and Loy. The museum plans
to rotate military dispalys generally every six months. More permanent displays will include
a historic model railroad room depicting local stops and displays about local notables like
the first University of Illinois graduate, and area religious history in the museum's
media room. >>Delaine: We have stories and displays in
here that relate to things about Effingham County history that the surprising thing to
me is that a lot of people don't even know about. Ada Kepley, I think most people in
the area have heard the name of Ada Kepley. But she was the very first woman to receive
a law degree and so this is wonderful women's history here. Mary Newcomb is wonderful women's
history, Ada Kepley, wonderful women's history. And so we have a lot of different kinds of
areas that we can explore. >>Kate: One interesting area of exploration
is the city's connection to the National Road. >>Delaine: One of the things that was interesting
to me. There was a book written about the National Road a few years ago, and in that
book, a phrase that just kind of jumped out at me because it traced the whole history
of the National Road. The National Road ran through Effingham County. Looking at the City
of Effingham, it said the City of Effingham is not nostalgic. Uh and the problem that
a lot of people have seen is a lot of old buildings have been destroyed throughout the
years. In fact in the corridor out in this first floor, I have put up pictures of Effingham
during the 50s and the 60s and it is amazing when people come in here and they look at
those and they say, 'oh I remember when that building used to be there.' Or 'I remember
when such and such was there' you know because we have been a city that often has not had
uh a linkage to the past. And I think it's really a tragedy because I think there are
wonderful stories that our generations growing up need to know about. And other people as
well, you know. >>Kate: And that's something the museum hopes
to make part of their mission. Connecting local people to national history and their
past, all while making sure their stories continue to be told. The museum association
says they will continue to make improvements to the building's second floor, which housed
the old courtooms. They say stopping by often doesn't mean there won't be something new
to see every time. [music]
Each summer for the past few years a drum and bugle corps has been stopping through
Charleston and staying for a few days. The week always ends with a concert to showcase
the hard work of the Cavaliers. Based out of Rosemont, Illinois, the Cavaliers travel
to competitions throughout the summer and compete with other national drum and bugle
corps. Between competitions they travel to practice sites and while they were in Charleston
this year we stopped by to catch up with them and learn all about their storied tradition.
Take a look. [horns and drums]
>>Kate: Meet the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps!
[horns and drums] >>Kate: What started as a Boy Scout Troop
over 60 years ago has evolved into a competitive drum and bugle corps that travels the nation
competing in shows each summer. In the summer of 2012 they made a stop at our home base
here at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston to zero in on their show.
[drums] >>Caleb: Uh the Cavaliers started in 1948.
Uh we started out as Boy Scout Troop #111 under the founder, Don Warren, who is still
alive today. Uh we have 64 years of tradition. It's an all-male drum corps still. We're out
of Rosemont, Illinois. We're sponsored by the Village there, so we have members from
all around the country that come to Rosemont monthly to have rehearsals throughout the
off season, through the winter time and then we uh we move in during the summer. It started
out as just a bunch of kids staying out of trouble and just playing music and doing that
type of thing. Competing in VFW and American Legion competitions and then from there uh
our founder helped create DCI, which is Drum Corps International in 1972 and from there
uh it started as a competitive activity where there was a circuit and events that were based
out of that. So there are about 30 corps that we compete against throught the season and
we usually tend to fair pretty well. >>Kate: The corp is made up of 150 men ages
16 to 21 with a common goal: learn from each other and their profesional staff, and share
the gift of music. [music, xylophone, drums]
>>Caleb: Our main objective for the summer is one show. Uh, it's a competitive show.
We rehearse it. It's about 11-and-a-half minutes. We, we're here to just do one show and perfect
it and perform for an audience. Uh we have about 30 to 40 shows throughout the season
and we have about four to five shows a week, so and with that we're always rehearsing,
getting better. We also do parades for like 4th of July and whenever the town we're in
would like us to perform for them. Uh, we do uh benefits for, we've done some golfing
outings before, played "happy birhtday," for a president or two and whenever we're in town
we try to just spread the gift of music wherever we are.
>>Kate: And they are a lot of places! The Cavaliers travel from their home base in Rosemont,
Illinois, to places all over the states and other states, stopping here and there to practice,
just like they did in Charleston. Once the show is learned, however, all bets are off
as they go on tour. >>Caleb: Starting in two days we'll be on
tour, is what we call it. And we're in a different state, different city every single day. We
rehearse there in the morning, have a show at night, we leave the show, travel 400 miles
somewhere, we get there around two, three in the morning and sleep on a gym floor or
a high school auditorium, or whatever they have to offer us.
>>Kate: If being a Cavalier sounds like hard work, that's because it is. But most members
say, they wouldn't have it any other way. >>Caleb: We start auditioning in November
and once a month we go back continuing the audition process until about February. And
February through April is when we have camps where we're learning our show, doing, we get
the show music around that time and then we learn that at home, come back, rehearse it
with them and then around the third week of May is when we move in here and from 6:30
to 10:45 every single day, we're in the sun, on the field, in the horn arch, doing some
drill, playing some music for about four weeks and then from there we hopefully have the
whole show learned and we're out there competing. >>Kate: The action-packed shows reflect the
hard work of the corps. [music] Who surprisingly don't get paid for their efforts. [cheers
and applause] [cymbal crashes] >>Caleb: We actually have a tuition here.
It costs around $2,000 for every summer and that goes towards gas, towards the staff,
towards our food that we have, towards the housing that we have throughout the summer
as well. Uh there's many expenses and we have a lot of donations that come in as well to
help fund this corps. I mean, we're looking at a million-dollar operation just for one
summer of 84 days. Uh above the tuition, I mean, we have to travel to the Chicagoland
area for once a month, so people from Texas, from California, from the Midwest, from down
in Florida. We have some Japanese members. They're paying to be here, they're paying
to work real hard, and get their butts kicked a little bit even there.
>>Kate: Nearly 1,000 audition for the Cavaliers each year, but only 150 elite musicians are
accepted. Those 150 work with each other as well as high school and college music professors
during each season. >>Caleb: A lot of the members are music education
majors, music performance majors, or have a teaching job at home. And the staff here
is of the highest caliber so we not only get taught by the staff to perform our show, but
we also get taught by the staff to pass the teaching along to our students that we have
in our local high schools around our area and the performance opportunities. I mean
we perform at such places as the Alamo Dome, and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Uh
the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, these large venues of 20,000 or 30,000 people come to see us
do what we do on the field. We have a very athletic show and being a male drum corps,
we pride ourselves in athleticism. We call ourselves the athletes of marching music.
Our shows are high paced and with very fast tempos and we play our instruments like we're
not doing anything, so the Cavaliers strive for excellence on and off the field. We always
try to make the best of what we can. Uh we always act and treat everyone with respect.
We have been on TV before. PBS used to have specials then for a brief moment a couple
years ESPN 2 had us on for our final performance. Uh, it was really enjoyable to see us on TV.
[horns blaring] >>Kate: But despite the bright lights and
cameras, the men of the Cavaliers remain humble and say at the heart of it all is simply the
music. [drums]
>>Caleb: Whenever someone asks me what I do over the summer, it's very hard to explain
to them. In the easiest concept is to say, 'just like a professional marching band.'
And what they say, they say 'oh do you get paid for it?' and I'm like, 'no, I pay myself.'
And then they're like, 'you're gone all summer?' I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm gone all summer, but
it's a lot of fun. You should come to a show, it's a lot different.' But it's just hard
to explain if you have no prior knowledge of it.
[music and drums] [applause] In this final story we meet Dan Crews from
Marshall, Illinois. More than just a collector of WWII memorbelia, Dan has a passion not
only for these items but more importantly preserving stories of the people who fought
in the war. >>Dan: And I've gone through difference phases
of my life where I've um totally I was totally enamored with civil war history. Then cowboy
history and lore. And WWII. And I've kind of bounced back and forth between Civil War
history and WWII. But it�s really WWII has always captivated me. There used to be a little
strip mall in my hometown of Calumet City. And I think I left the Kroger Store and I
went to the Woolworths story and looked at matchbox cars and as I walked down the little
sidewalk in the strip mall, there was a coin shop. And the coin shop for some reason drew
my attention and I went inside. I noticed in one of the cases there was some Nazi memorabilia
and one of them was a little German Eagle that the German soldiers wore on their uniforms.
And um, I was kind of fascinated by that and the guy told me "that's three dollars." And
so I parted with three dollars and I took home. I can remember I showed my mom. She
says "What do you want that for?" and I said, "Well I thought it was kind of neat, you know".
I would say if I had to get rid of everything I have, I would keep that one little item
because it was the first thing I ever got. And that was back, like I said, back in 1974.
>> Lori: If you ask Dan crews, "Are you a collector?" the answer is yes and no. While
looking around the basement of his home, there's a collection here or mini WWII Museum, but
for Dan these items are more than just things to buy and sell, they are stories to be preserved.
>>Dan: I like to collected items that um, have some kind of personal meaning to me.
I like to know where the item comes from and what's the story behind it. You know as Paul
Harvey says, what's the rest of the story. That's what I want to know. Because as these
individuals are slowly becoming part of history themselves that their stories are still vibrant.
And we have a whole generation of people who really don't have the full story of the Second
World War. I've done programs at schools where I've taken items and put them on display.
I've let junior high students try on a WWII uniform or try on a Helmut. You know hold
something that really has some, for me some historical significance. Some people say,
you know this is my uncle's or this is my father's. And we don't really know what to
do with it and it's going to hang out in the closet, um, and we'd like for you to have
it. And so that means a lot to me because they realize I'm going to take care of it.
As I say maybe a good descriptor of me is an archivist and someone who will kind of
archive people's treasures. >> Lori:
Some of the items are family pieces while others from complete strangers. While at an
auction Dan picked up this document about a Purple Heart recipient.
>>Dan: It says for military merit and for wounds received in action resulting in his
death of November 18, 1944. And um, this is I think one of those important documents that
a family would want to um maintain, but you don't know the story. Sometimes, um families
for whatever reason, lose track of this kind of data. And this is the kind of thing that
could be tossed out. But I became very fascinated with November 18th and his death. And I have
been able to using records find out what happened on November 18. And I found the possibility
of two areas. And I'm still tracking down of what division he served in. But what makes
this kind of special to me is that November 18 is also the date in which my father's division
entered Mets. Which is in France, it's close to the German border. And it was really a
horrific battle. It was part of General George Patton's third army. Trying to get into this
fortress town. And a lot of young men on November 16, Number 18. And November 18 was a Saturday
when a lot of the troops moved in. >> Lori: It's that love for research and finding
the whole story that makes a simple piece of paper so much more. He even helps families
with their own military research. >>Dan: Well kind of dig around and I can kind
of piece things together or I can look at some of the family records. And sometimes
people don't know how to decipher some of the military discharge papers. And so um,
I will help them with that and um maybe they have nothing, um that their grandparents or
fathers they didn't keep. Well, I'll help them track down medals of what they should
have been entitled to and we've made shadow boxes for a number of people and that makes
me feel good you know. And I feel like that kind of a service I can do for that family.
>> Lori: As Dan said earlier, his collecting interests started when he was a teenager,
but like other boys he also played with army men. Well fast forward some years later and
the army men are now part of an extensive and detailed diorama
>>Dan: I'm really interested in Europe, um the Europe phase of WWII. I always try to,
my little battle scene in my basement is of a French village being occupied by American
paratroopers and they counter-attacking Germans are about to, you know, attack. So um, that's
something that if it was up to me, we'd have up to three or four different displays in
this basement, but my wife would probably have a little bit of. She probably have to
say "ok, let's hold the war off down in the basement." It probably took me a couple of
years probably two or three years and I tweak it every now and then. We just did water.
We did kind of a water feature in there a couple of years ago. We put in a little pond
and then also a river. And so I have another phase I'd like to do. I'd like to do a Normandy
beach and um kind of what will make that special is that when my sons, when we were over in
Normandy, we brought back real sand from Omaha beach so I�d like to have this diorama with
real sand from that. Make it a little; give it a little bit of reality.
>> Lori: Dan says his collecting has gone through three phases, first the collecting
of the items themselves, second, getting the stories behind the items and third, visiting
the actual sites. >>Dan: Just recently my sons, we went with
several cousins, we spent 10 days in the Normandy area and also Belgium. Crawling through bunkers,
visiting cemeteries, um looking at 65 years old fox holes that are still there in the
ground. And um, we've made connections of guides, who've taken us around. We've stayed
in location that have been in the middle of battlefields and so as I have grown older
and vie become a little bit wiser, I�ve found out how I can expand my interests in
the Second World War. These guys were always my heroes when I was growing up. The WWII
Veteran. And I think it has something to do with they were all children of the depression,
they came out of the depression here in the state, tough as nails. And um, and I do look
at them as um, as Tom Brokaw called them, the greatest generation. You know they probably
would never agree with that, they would probably say you know we did what we had to do and
we did it to the best of our ability, but they were my heroes. They're the ones who
I look back and they were my schoolteachers growing up and they were the firemen and the
local city councilmen who put in the roads and so they were just a spectacular, impressive
group of people and I�m kind of envious of that generation.
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[music]