The joke dating back to Groucho Marx has always been, among comedians: “Have you ever played Peoria?” and the response is “Oh yes, I spent four years there …one night!”
But the truth of the matter is this thriving city along the banks of the Illinois River, and a stopping point for the American Queen Countess sternwheeler that plies that river, has a variety of excitement, entertainment, education and history. It might also one day be recognized as the hometown of an American Saint, Fulton J. Sheen.
After leaving Ottawa outside Chicago on the Illinois River and heading to Hannibal, Missouri on the Mississippi River, the Countess took the 65 miles or so leisurely, giving cruise-goers the opportunity to enjoy some activities on board in the main lounge, card room or library. There were sessions so guests would be familiar with what Peoria has to offer if they were planning visits on one of the Countess’s Hop On Hop Off buses. Such sessions, given by Shore Excursions Manager Judy LaMance, give cruise goers the opportunity to see what each stop has to offer, so they can plan what they want to see and how long they want to visit any particular site at each upcoming stopping point. For others, there is always the entertainment of the onboard professionals of music and song, some word or trivia games in which to compete, , even a visit to the Pilot House to meet the highly educated pilot running the boat. Of course there were also two very capable bartenders, Liz in the River Grille and Anthony in the Grand Bar ready to pour your favorite libations, and a Perks room always open if you wanted to stop for some ice cream or other desserts.
But back to the City of the Day. Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois and is named for the European settlers who came here with French explorer Henri de Tonti in the 17th century. Its claims to fame include being the original national headquarters of the giant Caterpillar company and there’s still a museum there that keeps you in mind of the past; It’s also the hometown of Betty Friedan, opera tenor Jerry Hadley, and scores more popular names from the 40s and 50s. It’s also home to the largest four-mile foot race in the world, the Steamboat Classic, which draws runners from all over the world.
For those interested in saints and cathedrals, it’s also the home of the late Fulton J. Sheen.
Sheen was a catholic priest best known for his “Life is Worth Living” television show of the 1950s that won an Emmy Award and beat out Milton Berle, aired at the same 8 p.m. hour Tuesday nights in weekly popularity. He grew up in the town and was an altar boy at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, where his remains now rest after a several year feud b between the family who wanted his body brought back home and the Archdiocese of New York which wanted him at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He went to the catholic boys school of the diocese, Spalding, still standing but no longer a boy’s school, , later St. Viator College in nearly Bourbonnais, then St. Paul’s Seminary in St. Paul. Minnesota. He came back to his childhood church for his ordination and his tomb is below a painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the patroness of Peoria in one of the cathedral’s chapels. Once the National Director of the Propagation of the Faith, later a participant in Vatican Council II, and then Bishop of Rochester Diocese in New York, Sheen also wrote more than 60 books and scores of other papers and lessons. Currently on the road to being canonized as a Saint of the catholic church, the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation at www.ArchbishopSheenCause.org supplies information on its progress and how others can help.
The cathedral itself is the primary church for Central Illinois and the seat of the Peoria Diocese. The original building was built in 1851 and grew to 2000 members within 20 years, but was replaced in 1889 and renovated in 1933, with new marble altars and stained glass windows added during a renovation that also included a makeover of one chapel within the building. It was renovated and increased again in the 50s and once more in the 80s, with upkeep of the 21st century maintaining it not only as an active church by a living museum of church history.
The Sheen Foundation has a museum and gift shop a block away, which is maintained by the Sisters of St. Francis, who hand create many of the art works, towels, kitchen aides and other unique items which sales help finance the cause of the Foundation and the Bishop Sheen dedication to missions.
The city also boasts an outstanding riverside museum which is diverse enough to hold the interest of every visitor and resident, with its Dome planetarium and night show of the sky, as well laser shows and the latest NASA discoveries. While the Countess was docked, the Museum was also featuring a traveling exhibit of art and sculpture showing art and sculptures from the 180s to 2020, and featuring artists who delve in nostalgia, such as Currier & Ives, to the abstract to feminism. You don’t have to like it all, but it’s fascinating to see how art has changed through the ages and how art sees the changes in culture and ideas.
The city, like Freehold in Monmouth County, also has contests inviting sculptures to create their own works in steel or metal for public displays in the shopping area and later sale, many to the adjacent shop owners. While unique and certainly diversified, the street exhibits don’t come close in color or creativity to the horse display which just opened in Freehold, accenting the history of the equine industry in Monmouth County.
