News and Observations from Wapella, Illinois: Home of the Wildcats.

Facebook Activity for Wapella

Friday, September 24, 2010

Batman vs. Taylorvillain


An alert Wapella native and frequenter of Wapella.com, my sister Helen, is a great fan of all things Taylorville for many years, having spent much time in Taylorville with her roomate who was a native Taylorvillain.

Helen, who now lives west of Wapella, added this bit of arcania to our valuable collection here: Yvonne Craig, the actress who portrayed Batgirl on the Batman show was also a native of Taylorville. Like many people from Taylorville, Yvonne has her own website and fanclub and looks kind of like a cocktail waitress at an upscale restaurant in Collinsville, or is that a Vesapsian Warner Librarian in the photo? Ah the mystery that is Taylorville.

David Taylor, from Wapella, is not from Taylorville, despite having the last name as the City. Taylor states "what a stupid question John, you have known me my whole life. Are you from Powersville? There is hardly ever a connection between town names and last names, save Weldon Carter, and that is a first name" Well said Mr. Taylor, well said, and good catch on Weldon.


Here some more on Taylorville, one of the fine mid-sized cities in Illinois.

Taylorville, seat of Christian County, located at junction of Illinois 48, 29 and 104.
Taylorville was organized in 1839 for the express purpose of serving as county seat for the newly formed Christian County. The original site was purchased from the government by Daniel C. Goode at $1.25 an acre. It was surveyed and plotted by John Taylor, hence Taylorville.

Lincoln practiced law in Taylorville. [Lincoln practiced law in every county court house in central Illinois.] In 1970 the original courthouse was still in existance but had been moved to the Christian County Fair Grounds. It cost $2,350 in 1840. [Is it still there?]

Coal production has been big in Taylorville. In 1970 it was the site of one of the world's largest coal mines. In 1970 coal from that mine fueled generators which generated electricity for Chicago, sent there over 180 miles off transmission lines. There is a lake in conjunction with this, meant for cooling the generators but also providing water activities. There were major labor wars in 1934 and 1937. There is a statue of a slain miner near the gate of Oak Hill Cemetery.


And here's the Batgirl Theme from the Batman Series.



9 comments:

Danny Freedom said...

I got sucked into this by the cross promotion on Facebook. When you say the most brilliant 8 paragraphs you have ever written, were you comparing this to all 8 paragraph pieces or does it compare to any 8 paragraphs?

When people ask if I am from Dixon, I just tell them its named after my ancestor. Most people accept this.

JBP said...

Against my canon of work Danny, this is comparatively brilliant.

jbp

Anonymous said...

Dear Moderator and Participants,

You may frame your observation differently: would individuals who have a city or county named after them truly appreciate what has been done/created in their honor?

Example: DeWitt Clinton, early 19th century politician and civic leader from NY. A description of him: "The infrastructure he worked to create would transform American life, enhancing economic opportunity, political participation, and intellectual awareness."

I posit he would puke.

Badger Cat

Anonymous said...

I wonder what Irish patriot Charles Stewart Parnell thinks of Parnell, Illinois? I have noticed very little discussion of Parnell lately. Ditto for Lane, and Midland City.

HG

Anonymous said...

Hoosier Gato,
I agree w/ your Parnell comment, and share your curiosity re Lane.

Badger Cat

Anonymous said...

Disagree with you badger cat.....unless you are perhaps a big fan of Kaczinski and the Luddites....especially relative to what D Clinton experienced - public health greatly improved, infant mortality is close to a rounding error vs. old stats, economic opportunity is still out there - I hear that more from recent immigrants than anyone. DC's last 2 points are more debatable but there is plenty of reason to pause - voter turnout tends to be higher in interesting elections -last prez election had biggest turnout in last 40 years. Hell, I'll even take on the intellectual awareness - sure there are a lot of People Magazine and reality TV watchers (mostly me) but there's a lot of people listening to lectures on line that never had access before and other web related miracles. Meritocracy maybe has a better chance now than it ever has. CS Parnell would probably have lived a longer life in Parnell and would be celebrating Farm Aid 25th with Willie and JCM. paz, bbd

Anonymous said...

Plus Wapella has a kick-ass website, which would completely befuddle DeWitt Clinton, who would be out playing Ship, Captain, Crew at Snappers while Wapella steams ahead.

Anonymous said...

What would DeWitt Clinton think of Batgirl and her sporty uniform?

HG

Anonymous said...

I think Gov. Clinton would build her a canal. She is a far cry from Sal, a good old mule and a good old pal.

BEP

Blog Archive