History is Alive.

“Prairie Tales,” a series of documentaries telling historical narratives of Western Peoria County, covers topics from the migration of white settlers to the area; the founding of Elmwood, Illinois in 1852; to the rise and fall of coal mining towns, train derailments, fires, local industry, and notable residents. The project was initiated in 2024, continued through 2025 with the aid of an ArtPartners Grant, completed to ten 5-minute episodes and is now growing with the addition of a longer 20-minute documentary.

The Prairie Tales series features the work of Executive Producer and artist Bill Seipel; researcher, writer, and video producer Tiffany Thomas; voiceover artist Aja Blue; and local contributors’ efforts in research and videography. 

The mission statement of this project is to inform, educate, and entertain the community about their local history. These historical films are a delight for our community. They feature local historical photos provided by the Elmwood Historical Society, Brimfield Area Museum, Princeville Heritage Museum, and Peoria Public Library Local History and Genealogy Department along with stories from relatives of some of the people mentioned in the stories. Most of these have not been told in decades. 

Prairie Tales 2024-2025:

1. Kramm: The Forgotten Town

2. The Day the FBI Came to Edwards

3. Hot Fire, Cold Stone

4. Frederick Douglass Speaks in Elmwood

5. A Long Time Coming: One Room Schools and The Evolution of Education in Illinois

6. The CB&Q Versus an Oklahoma Zephyr

7. Following the Frontier: The National Road from Virginia to Illinois

8. Elmwood’s Fight for an Interchange: Shaping the Last Seven Miles of I74

9. A Spark in History: Elmwood’s Homegrown Electricity

10. The Fall of a Founder: The Death of William J. Phelps

Bill Seipel is a life-long Elmwood resident. He came of age working on his grandparent’s dairy farm and began an appreciation for the arts at an early age. He is Executive Director of Elmwood Center for the Humanities and operates Nighthawks Coffee when he’s not talking to computers.

Aja Blue is a full-time voice-over artist with a background in music, having spent 13 years as the singer and guitarist for The Bruises. Her voiceover career began with a project that won the SalesForce Million Dollar Hackathon, and since then, her versatile voice has been featured in commercials, explainer videos, e-learning, and more. With a natural, engaging delivery, Aja brings scripts to life, finding the perfect tone and emotion to make brands resonate.

Local history is the map with which we can know ourselves and our neighbors. Unearthing and sharing the history of Peoria County is Tiffany French Thomas’s passion; whether through writing, graphic art, or, more recently, film. She believes knowing our ancestors greatly enriches our experience of the present. Programming like the Prairie Tales series makes local history accessible to all. 

In addition to the Prairie Tales film series, Tiffany wrote, designed, and published “Kramm: The Forgotten Town” in 2019. “Kramm: The Forgotten Town” is a history of the coal mining town of Kramm in Central Illinois that existed from the late 1860s to the early 1920s. It explores the origins of Kramm and the town’s notable residents and includes photographs from the last resident families. She has also been featured in the Peoria County Genealogical Society’s magazine Prairie Roots