(Julie exclaiming) - We're hittin' the road, and strappin' on the feedbag this week.

- (laughs) I hope you're hungry, because we're headin' to some small towns that are servin' up big dishes.

- You gotta see this.

(upbeat instrumental music) ♪ Ah ♪ Ah (Julie humming) - Could you knock it off with that thing?

You keep hittin' my hair.

I spent a lot of time on this hair.

- Oh, it looks good.

(Phil laughing) Anyway, we've gotta get on the road.

We're headed to Mackinaw this time.

They took a train depot, and they turned it into the cutest little gift shop and tea room, it's such a fun place.

- It sounds like a great visit.

We're also gonna go to Hollowayville, a small town way north of Peoria, where a barbecue joint has created this food challenge that's so huge, and so tough, that fans of competitive eating around the world have been clicking through social media to watch these challenges.

Hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds, of thousands of people visiting this place online.

- Well, and don't forget our friend Mark Well, he hit the road.

He went to Atlanta, Illinois to see the biggest hotdog he has ever seen.

- First, though, we want to go back a half century to take a look at one of the most riveting and terrifying moments in Peoria history, the Saint Cecilia Grade School Standoff.

Now, we wanna warn you, in all seriousness, that some of this footage is disturbing, even 50 years after this stunned an entire nation.

- The kidnapping victim is now 60 years old, and we talked to him, and he looks back at that terrifying day in an era where school shootings were simply unthinkable.

- [Narrator] On May 1st, 1973, 10-year-old John Ardis raised his hand at St. Cecilia's grade school.

He wasn't trying to ask or answer a question.

He was trying to save his classmates' lives.

The fifth grader raised his hand to volunteer as a hostage for one of three gunmen who had seized the school.

Minutes later, a hail of bullets would make Peoria the focus of newscasts and newspapers nationwide.

(guns firing) (people screaming) A terrified country stunned at the unheard of scenario of gunplay at a school.

- 50 years ago, this stuff wasn't on TV.

It wasn't in the movies.

It certainly wasn't happening in real life in schools.

- [Narrator] Located in the middle of Peoria, St. Cecilia's had 80 students in grades five through eight.

Because of declining enrollment, the school already was slated for closure after the spring semester of 1973, but the school would not fade quietly, thanks to Melvin Burch.

The 25-year-old Peorian had returned from Vietnam with a Purple Heart and embittered attitude, friends would later say.

He looked around and saw a country in need of change.

He wanted to shake things up.

He made his move just after 2:00 PM on May 1.

He and three friends held up Brown's Sporting Goods, just south of downtown.

They snatched two rifles and five handguns, plus boxes of ammunition.

One of the robbers dashed off.

Burch led the other two to St. Cecilia's.

- Some men busted into the classroom, and started orderin' us around, and they were armed, and we didn't know what to think.

And so they basically said they were there, they were takin' over the school and takin' us hostage.

- [Narrator] Burch yelled that he had enough explosives to blow up the school.

The gunman forced 30 5th graders, including John Ardis, into a basement cafeteria.

At first, students were too stunned to do anything, except follow orders to lie on the floor.

- We were all just kind of adapting, and trying to just process what was going on.

I mean, this kind of thing was unheard of back in 1973.

Fortunately, it was way less common than it is today.

- [Narrator] Teachers cooly told kids to stay calm, they did, for a while.

- They started firing out basement windows at the police.

I was terrified, I absolutely was terrified, we all were, it was surreal.

- [Narrator] Some students began to sob, many prayed, none understood the gunman's goals.

Burch sounded chaotic and unclear.

- They basically had just said that they were there on some mission.

They were fine if they died.

I do remember, they specifically told us that for every one of them that was killed, they were gonna kill 10 of us.

- [Narrator] Then Burch announced a new plan.

- And at one point, the main guy, Burch, said that he wanted a couple volunteers to go to, as I remember, to take their demands to the police or to a radio station, I can't remember what it was.

- [Narrator] Burch asked for a volunteer to go outside as a hostage.

Several kids raised their hands, including John Ardis.

Why did he volunteer?

- I don't know, I mean, I've gone back over time and I've read some of the clippings, and stuff that I said then.

I think I thought they were gonna hurt the classmates, and it was just like we need to do what they say or somebody's gonna get hurt.

And I think that was really it.

It was just as simple as somebody's gotta do this.

- [Narrator] About 2:50 PM, Burch headed out a school door with the boy.

- He tells me, "Don't try anything funny."

I say, "Don't plan on it."

I mean, I'm 10 years old.

- [Narrator] Outside, the boy noticed a crowd of about 5,000 onlookers, including parents of school children, along with legions of police officers.

- Like, oh my gosh, there's guns everywhere.

(ominous instrumental music) (guns firing) (people chattering) (ominous instrumental music continues) (ominous instrumental music continues) (ominous instrumental music continues) - [Narrator] The boy didn't know what the gunman would do.

- With his right arm and with his left hand, he has the gun and he's firin' it in the air.

After he fires each time, he puts the gun back to my head.

And so as a result, I ended up with some powder burns from the gun, 'cause it was still hot when he put it to my head.

And tellin' everybody to get back.

He's yellin', "I've come to die."

- [Narrator] He did.

Burch stumbled slightly, allowing a crack of daylight between him and the boy.

- But it was enough for one of the snipers to take him out.

- As Burch fell, Ardis bolted away.

A shower of police gunfire rained down on the prone Burch.

Officers grabbed Ardis, and led him away from danger.

He soon was reunited with his mom than his dad.

Police continued to crouch around the school as two gunmen remained inside with the other students.

- Well, I was scared at the time because they said for every one of them that got killed, 10 of us would get killed.

Well, one of 'em just got killed right next to me.

So I was thinking, you know, wow, I feel, I feel fortunate, but I was terrified that some of my classmates were gonna get harmed.

- [Narrator] Soon, about 90 minutes after the standoff had begun.

the other two gunmen surrendered.

- [Officer] Come on (people chattering) Come on.

- [Phi] Afterward, headlines screamed across front pages of newspapers nationwide.

From across the globe, letters poured into artists from well wishers.

He received commendations from Governor Dan Walker, as well as President Richard Nixon.

And the 10-year-old boy felt overwhelmed by what he now calls a circus.

- It was just like, it wasn't real.

It was just too weird.

It was too bizarre that all of this attention suddenly was going on.

- Ardis, who experienced no discernible emotional drag from the standoff - And it went on, it had just started fadin' into memory.

- [Phi] Went on to graduate from the University of Illinois, Now retired, he worked for more than 30 years in marketing and advertising.

A half century after the standoff, he commends the poise of teachers and police, who at the time had no playbook or training regarding active shooters.

- They were just going off of their instincts and their skills, and they just did an unbelievable job.

- [Phi] And he still marvels at all those letters he got from across the globe.

Something he doubts would happen today.

- They came flooding in from everywhere.

It was amazing how far it reached, but again, it, I mean, no one had ever heard really hardly of a hostile situation, let alone a grade school full of little kids.

It was unprecedented.

(no audio) (no audio) (train whislting) (soft country music) - [Artist] She's rollin' away from the depot now.

- [Julie] From 1909 to 1953, the Illinois Traction system was a bustling transport between big cities and small, traveling the rails from St. Louis to Peoria, carrying everything from freight to passengers.

It's hard to imagine now, but those trains stopped in the smallest Illinois towns, like Forsyth, Rodwell, and Mackinaw.

- This car here would operate through Mackinaw.

- [Phi] In fact, Mackinaw Depot is one of the only surviving landmarks from this era of electric interurban trolley service in central Illinois.

- Train comes down the track.

The farmer could walk down to that crossing during daytime, wave his hand, they stop and pick him up.

Or at night, have a lantern hooked on a telephone pole, and flag him down, or a light of newspaper to stop him.

And that was their transportation for a lot of good people, in these small rural towns to get to the big cities.

- [Conductor] All aboard.

- The electric chain was awesome.

People would, you know, out in the fields, I've heard stories of them flagging them down, just at their farmstead, or, you know, wherever they were along the tracks.

And the train, the conductor would stop for it, and they'd hop on and ride to Peoria or Bloomington wherever they needed to go.

- [Julie] The electric interurban kept towns, villages, and cities on the right track for progress.

- We got actually electricity that came from Peoria and Bloomington.

And so that is what powered the town as well as the trains.

So we thought we were pretty cool, gettin' it from two directions.

- [Julie] Ultimately, it was a popularity of the automobile, which derailed the success of this train system.

And after 46 years, they shut down service, that left the Spanish style colonial revival substation abandoned for more than 40 years.

A.G. Chubbock designed this depot, and he loved the Illinois River area.

He also designed one of Peoria's most majestic homes the castle on Grandview Drive.

- But Mr. Chubbock.

he did build that castle for his daughter.

And of course, he had a big place himself.

Matter of fact, he had a streetcar line, came up to back of his house to bring coal for his home furnace.

- [Julie] The people of Mackinaw knew they had a little bit of history deteriorating in their own town so they banded together and got it listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

- I love old buildings and architecture, and it seems like so many times we end up ta tearing 'em down putting something else in its spot.

I just love the old gems that we have.

This is a train car or a depot that I drove by on my way to school every day going to high school.

- It wasn't until 1998 when Beth Wegan purchased the depot that it was back on the right track.

- I came in and looked at the depot that first day, and my mom thought, "You are crazy."

And then I brought my dad back and he kind of like me, saw the potential in this place, and how amazing it would be to be able to restore it.

There were birds flying around in here.

You looked up, you saw sky, you looked down, the concrete was all tore up.

You could see dirt.

The windows are, you know, I think there was one window still intact, and that got busted in the restoration, so- - [Julie] With a lot of sweat equity and help from her family, friends, and community, nine months later, Beth opened the doors to the depot, a gift shop and tea room, right in the heart of the substation.

Trying her best to keep the historical integrity of the train station.

- I added the stairway, which is kind of cool.

So this print, or design style, I really debated like, "Okay, I'm gonna put a stairway in here, but I want it to fit into the building."

I don't want it to look like, "Oh, she came in and just butchered the place."

I wanted to make sure to preserve the dignity of the building.

So I really pondered on, you know, "What do I do?"

Do you throw a wooden staircase up there or what?

And I was looking at of the train books, and pictures on the Illinois traction.

And I saw this real design and I thought, "Oh, it was on the back of the parlor car," which I love.

- [Julie] The whole depot is open to the public.

So even today, you can take a trip down memory lane, and see the exposed beams, electricity, insulators, and experience a little bit of hometown hospitality at the Mackinaw Depot.

(music artist vocalizing) (train whistling) (upbeat instrumental music) - [Phi] From the early '60s to the early '70s, California-based International Fiberglass made giant people for businesses that wanted to get attention, and boy did it work.

The very first statue, based on Paul Bunyan, now sits at Arizona State University.

The lumberjack mold was soon modified to make Vikings, cowboys, Indians, and more.

The automotive industry loved the idea.

And soon, these giants were holding auto parts, including mufflers.

Decades later, the Giants would be referred to as muffler men.

The Uniroyal Tire Company commissioned the Uniroyal Gal, and you can see a pristine example of her right in our own backyard.

- She's a Peoria landmark.

- [Phi] Vanna Whitewall debuted at Plaza Tire on Southwest Washington in 1968.

She isn't the only muffler person in our area.

Route 66 was and is a hotbed for these three dimensional billboards, and they all have a story.

Meet Paul Bunyon, that's Bunyon with an O.

- He was changed to an O because of copyright reasons, they were worried about copywriting The Paul Buyan Cafe that's located in Arizona, also on 66.

- [Phi] This 1960s Paul Bunyon giant has been a fixture in Atlanta, Illinois, just south of Bloomington for the last 20 years.

You may be wondering how an enormous 19-foot man holding a hotdog ended up in Logan County.

Tall Paul was a restaurant mascot in Cicero, Illinois for nearly 40 years, until the owner retired.

The owner's family struck a deal with the Illinois Route 66 Preservation Association to prominently display Paul on the Mother Road.

The city got a heck of a deal, paying the family only $1 a year.

- He's the reason that people stop and take pictures.

We have motorcycle groups, we have people from other nations come that are doing Route 66 that stop stop to take a picture.

Hopefully, if they're willing to stay, then they can get some food at the bar, just down the street, and come into our library, and enjoy some of our other tourist stops.

- We noticed Paul's hotdog is a bit bland, but as part of the deal with the family, the statue cannot be altered.

- I don't know, that's more of an acquired taste.

I don't like mustard.

I would not eat mustard on a hotdog.

I'm more of a ketchup and relish kind of gal.

But if we're doing a Chicago style, you'd think there'd be like poppy seeds on the bun.

So I'm gonna assume it's not Chicago style.

- [Phi] From hotdogs to ice cream, some people are having new muffler men built from scratch.

The owner of Carl's Ice Cream in Normal, had this 12 foot tall big guy custom made by a company in Virginia.

- Definitely wanted the cone and the cone with eyes, because eyes are one of our trademarks.

The kids all love the candy eyes, so we wanted eyes on him.

And then we also served food here, so we wanted the food, the cheeseburger in his hand.

- [Phi] Irwin says the nearly $10,000 investment he made five years ago has been well worth it.

And a lot of people would love to own Big Carl.

You ever had somebody drive by and say, "Hey, I wanna buy Carl?"

- Yeah, we have.

- What do you say?

- No, get your own.

- [PhI] If you want to check out other muffler men, here's a unique Gemini Man at the Launching Pad restaurant in Wilmington.

To the west, in Galva, an old Viking kitchen carpet giant from Little Rock, Arkansas is now a king at a concrete company.

South in Springfield, you can see two muffler men in the state capitol.

This patriotic giant has welcomed customers to Lauterbach Tire & Auto Service for decades.

A short 10 minute drive away is Southeast High School and another Viking kitchen carpet Giant.

Did I mention carpeting your kitchen was a thing?

Anyway, a local home building company donated the giant, and with a few alterations, the Viking is now a Spartan mascot.

(upbeat instrumental music) But wait, just when we thought our tall tales about muffler men were over, the owner of Big Carl says he wants to expand the family.

- Now, we would like to get him a wife someday.

So there could be a Mrs. Carl's on the horizon someday.

- [Phi] Hm, if Carl doesn't mind a long distance relationship with someone older and taller, I may know just the woman.

(soft instrumental music) A tiny town eatery has triggered world stage attention.

With only 43 residents, Hollowayville is one of the smallest municipalities in the state, but it's loan eatery, Tony's Butt Shack Barbecue, has garnered hundreds of thousands of visitors online, thanks to a competitive eating challenge, gobble seven pounds of grub in 45 minutes.

- And when we bring it to the table, it looks nothing like the picture.

It is overwhelming, once you actually see it in real life.

I think they second guessed themselves immediately at that point.

- [Phi] Tony, and wife, Heather, set up shop in Holloway Villa inside a former 1940 supper club.

For years, the Butt Shack drew customer after customer.

Folks all around flocked to the Bureau County village for its smoked meats, big burgers, thick sandwiches, and generous sides.

But attention exploded in 2022, thanks to the night Tony Vaccaro softball team stopped in for some after game beers and chow.

They started to talk about competitive eating, wondering if the butt check could start a contest.

- "You know what would be fun?"

And there it went.

And they kind of just created it, and it came out, and it just exploded.

- Thus was born Tony's Butt Buster Food Challenge.

- [Competitor] Pulled pork, smoked brisket, rack of ribs, their homemade mac and cheese, and their signature side, the fried potato salad.

Then we've got a meatloaf sandwich also.

- Success at the challenge earns you a T-shirt, and they'll waive the meal's $59 price tag.

Plus, you get your name on the wall of fame.

But so far, that's been accomplished only thrice, and only by pros.

- [Announcer] Very Much.

Listen, he's still working hard now.

It's not a question of effort at this point.

- [Announcer] Never.

- Chestnut's a special eater, he is really is the greatest of all time.

- [Phi] Competitive eating has become big business.

The big daddy of challenges, the July 4th Nathan's hotdog eating contest, garners more than 1 million TV viewers.

Some pros motor about the United States, doing local contests not, to win a T-shirt, but to promote their name and brand on YouTube.

Fans follow along on social media, gobbling up their exploits.

- It's almost like its own universe right now.

There's people that travel the country, and the world doing these food challenges, to best up the one that did it before.

- Three, boom, all right.

(people cheering) That is good, man.

(upbeat rock music) (upbeat rock music continues) - [Phi] Online clicks bring big attenion to small places.

Last June, pro eater, Randy Santel did the Butt Shack Challenge in just under 40 minutes, sparking almost 400,000 YouTube hits.

- He had over 1 million followers when he stopped at our restaurant in a town of 50 to do our challenge.

(upbeat instrumental music) - You can do it.

(people chattering) All right, everybody.

- Whoo-hoo.

- Half way, all right.

(people cheering) - [Phi] Even more impressive, was the visit a month later, by another pro, Joel Hansen.

He did the challenge in a ridiculous time of 12 minutes and 53 seconds.

- Now the second one, guys, this is where I die.

The fun starts, but I die.

This is gonna be real hairy.

This is, it's big.

- [Phi] And then, he completed a second challenge within the allotted time.

That video has brought almost 600,000 viewers inside the Butt Shack.

A less conspicuous attempt there, was made recently by Bob Tieman, a Peru alderman.

He's not a pro eater, he's a tax preparer.

- I haven't eaten in 24 hours, so hopefully that helps.

- At six foot one, and 310 pounds, Tieman thought he might have a decent shot at completing the challenge.

He started out well, like the pros, he focused first on meat, which is easier to down than the heavy carbs.

At the eight minute mark, things were going so smoothly, he even asked for hotter hot sauce.

Soon, he was almost halfway done.

Then he started to slow down.

- He's breathing a little heavy.

I see a little sweat.

Not sure how it's gonna play out.

- [Phi] Tieman hung in there, until 35 minutes and 49 seconds, about 10 minutes short of the goal.

He exhaled hard, then tapped out.

- I think I'm gonna keep it down, that's the goal.

- [Phi] Mission accomplished.

- I tried.

- [Phi] Plus, he had plenty to take home in a doggy bag.

(soft instrumental music) (soft instrumental music continues) (soft instrumental music) - Legend has it, chocolate covered strawberries were first created in Chicago.

I'd like to take it one scrumptious step further, strawberries stuff with sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread, dipped in chocolate, and chopped hazel nuts.

I've already de-stemmed 12 strawberries, and I cut out a small well inside of the strawberry to accommodate the filling.

And this empty egg carton is perfect to stage the strawberries for our next step.

I've got my pastry bag filled with sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread.

I think the Europeans invented this.

Aren't we lucky?

I'm gonna pipe the hazelnut filling right inside of the berries.

If you haven't tasted this creamy goodness, you're in for a real treat.

Once they are all filled, we're gonna place them in the refrigerator, while we we prepare our dipping chocolate.

I'm using six ounces of bittersweet chocolate chips, but you can use a chocolate bar, just make sure to chop it in coarse pieces.

Pop it into the microwave, and heat it for 15 second intervals, making sure to stir in between, because we don't wanna burn the chocolate.

You may need to do this a few times.

Just do it till it's completely melted.

I have my strawberries and my chopped hazelnuts ready to go.

We're actually dipping these strawberries upside down.

So take your four inch wooden toothpick, and we're going to skewer the bottom of the strawberry.

Dip the other end right into the chocolate about halfway up.

Then dip into the chopped hazelnuts.

Place it on a parchment line baking sheet, and continue dipping the strawberries one at a time.

Pop them right back into the refrigerator, so the chocolate gets a chance to set up.

You can serve them right away, or store them in a seal type container, lined with parchment paper for up to two days.

Truth be told, I always make a few extra strawberries because I have to vouch for how incredible this sweet treat is.

And I love making these for my loved ones for a special occasions.

(soft instrumental music continues) - We covered a lot of ground on these stories today.

A lot of different fun things.

- It's nice to get all over the place, but right now, today, like a typical spring day in Peoria, looks like it could rain at any moment.

Where's that stupid umbrella of viewers?

- It wasn't that stupid when it was keeping us dry, was it?

- Let's go get that umbrella.

Let's go get some new stories, and we'll bring it to ya next time.

- On, "You Gotta See This."

(upbeat instrumental music) (music artist vocalizing) (upbeat instrumental music continues) (upbeat instrumental music continues) ♪ Ah