I can’t believe that another year has flown by! As this year fades away this week, I thought we’d take a look backwards at some of the more memorable posts from last year. Today we’ll be looking at January through June and then on New Year's Day we’ll do the final six months. Put on your time-traveling suits as we go back in time through this magical year of 2014.
365 Bars—Looking Backwards, Falling Forward—Happy New Year! - A look back at my 365 Bars blog.
Nailon’s Plumbing Supplies - Some of my favorite posts are where I just drop in some place unannounced and this is a good example of one of those posts.
The Semi-Monthly Peorian—Maggie At thirty-thirty Coffee and Frank at Acme Comics - Sometimes I start something that I think will be an ongoing series only to realize it’s not something that’s going to work. I enjoyed these two posts, but realized it wouldn’t work as an ongoing series.
A Day In My Life—February 10th, 1964 - This is a story about one of my first Beatles memories.
Gene’s Bar Exams—A Trip To A Land Down Under - Gene did a three part extravaganza on his trip to Australia, here’s part one and two that were published in January.
Guest DJ On The WWCT Lunch With Dani - A fun visit to WWCT and doing the lunchtime slot with DJ Dani.
One Year Anniversary Party At All Smiles Dental Care - All Smiles Dental Care turned one year old in January and I was there!
“People Come And Go So Quickly Here..." by Chip Joyce - Chip Joyce did this Wizard of Oz post at the end of January that has a Midwest connection to it.
A Phone Call Between Zager and Evans, January 26th, 2014 - This post was just a goof I put up on a Sunday that we didn’t have a Contributor’s Post about Zager and Evans. I put it up and then couldn’t believe it later in the day when I got an angry comment from Rick Evans, one half of the one-hit duo! I never did hear from Jerry Weintraub by the way! Dr. Bop summed the whole thing up nicely in his comment!
A Wrap-Up Of My Twenty Tenderloin Tour - I started a tour of eating twenty tenderloins in 2013 and finished it in January, this is a wrap-up of every place I went to.
A Father's Hands by “Boris” Boden - A classic post and tribute to his father by “Boris.”
The MBIP Year Of Pizza—Week Number One @ Agatucci’s - In February I started my Year of Pizza tour at Agatucci’s.
The Yellow Pages: “B” Is For...Bakery: Trefzger’s Bakery - Another series I started and then abandoned was going through the Yellow Pages. I got up to “G” and then got bored with it and couldn’t find anything interesting in the “H” section and decided I had done enough with this idea. This trip to Trefzger’s was the most popular of the series.
The Beatles 50th Anniversary Celebration At Limelight Eventplex - Craig Moore produced this Beatles concert at Limelight and it exceeded mine and pretty much everyone’s expectations. One of the best concerts I’ve ever been to in my life.
Making Art At The Art Garage - This was a fun trip to a cool new place on Main Street. I need to make a return visit this year!
Artwork By "Boris" - A collection of artwork that “Boris” created for my very first blog, The Marty Wombacher Show.
Revisiting George’s Shoeshine and Hatters World Headquarters - My yearly trek to George’s for a shine and visit with one of Peoria’s well-known characters.
Gene’s Bar Exams—A Trip To A Land Down Under: Part III - Part three of Gene’s Australian series.
This Used To Be...The Drug Store In Junction City (Now It’s Random) - Stopping in at the place in Junction City that used to be The Drug Store and was my place of employment through my high school years. Now it’s a shop called Random.
A Private Tour Of The Apollo Theatre - I had never been inside this theatre and it was cool to get a private tour of the place. One of the many perks of doing the MBIP blog!
Eating Peoria One Street At A Time: Main Street—The Nut House and Cracked Pepper - The start of a new series that can go on forever. I decided to start eating Peoria one street at a time. This was the first stop of eating Main Street. I’ve enjoyed this series and my next stop is Ulrich’s Rebellion Room, so stay tuned for that in 2015!
Free Coffee Courtesy of CILF at thirty-thirty Coffee in The Kickapoo Building In Honor of their Newly Landmarked Status - The Kickapoo Building got landmarked in 2014 and we were there for free coffee! The only problem is I don’t drink coffee!
Happy Birthday, Mom! - Happy birthday to my mom!
Two Beers @ Jan’s Tap With Some Photos From Nearby Nite Life - Jan’s Tap owner Jan dug up some old Nearby Nite LIfe papers and shared them with us.
The Search for the Flying Tomato By Chip Joyce - Chip’s memories of Garcia’s Pizza sparked interest in a lot of people and he met surprise guest star at the end of the post!
Wendy Liebman at the Jukebox Comedy Club - I’ve been a big fan of Wendy Liebman’s for years, so it was a thrill to get to meet her and hang out with her at The Jukebox Comedy Club. Thanks to Chloe Orwell and Brad Elvis for setting up my meeting with Wendy.
Opening Day At Emo’s! - This has become an annual tradition here at MBIP where I get up before the crack of dawn to go for chili dogs at Emo’s, one of Peoria’s iconic ice cream and hot dog drive up places. Here’s the first year’s post, which was part of a failed series I started and stopped called, “Dashboard Dining.”
Sombrero Time With Terry Towery and Matt Buedel @ El Mexicano - The first of what I’m hoping will be a long-standing tradition here at MBIP!
A “Chilli” Day With A Bold Renegade By Chip Joyce - “Z” marks the spot as Chip visits Chillicothe and stops in at The Zorro exhibit at the Chillicothe Historical Society.
Twenty Three Minutes at Keith Cotton’s Photography Studio On Prospect Avenue - A look at Keith Cotton’s photography studio on Prospect that used to be a gas station.
A Trip To The Northwoods Mall To Count The Gumball Machines and Sit On The Easter Bunny’s Lap (It’s A Tough Job, But Someone Has To Do it!) - The annual counting of the gumball machines and sitting on The Easter Bunny’s lap for yet another extremely awkward photo-op, here on MBIP!
Back to the Basics by "Boris” Boden - I really liked the essay and photos in this post by “Boris.”
Drinking Wine At Julie’s Corner Store (Spo-Dee-O-Dee) - It’s not often you can spit wine out in a store that sells toys, so I had to do it!
Are You Experienced? Well Then, Experience Hendrix by Bob “The Whale” Miller - Whale posted some Hendrix memories in this post.
Record Store Day At Younger Than Yesterday Records Starring The Black Roses - An in-house concert by Black Roses at Younger Than Yesterday. Note that since this post they’ve changed their name to Arcade At Midnight.
Two Beers And A Lemon Drop Shot @ The Irish Villa - A fun night out with Amber and Justin and watching Lemon Drop Shots set on fire!
Steaks For The Memories By Bob Gordon - This memories of past Peoria steak houses post by Bob was a hit with all the red meat eaters out there!
This Used To Be...Peoria Spalding Institute (Now It’s Spalding Pastoral Center) - A tour of the building that used to house Peoria Spalding Institute and still has some of the original graffiti up in the attic from the old days.
Lunch With...Chad Weber, host of, “You Gotta Eat” @ TT’s BBQ - This is the last episode that Chad hosted and I was the special guest star, pretty cool! Here’s a clip of it.
Two Root Beers @ Lou’s Drive-In - I’ve heard that they’re trying to sell Lou’s, so this may be the final documentation of the place. Stay tuned this year to see if it re-opens.
I Had Lunch At Notre Dame High School Because Life Is Weird And Hilarious And Also Because It Was (Of Course) Chicken Thursday • Story and Photos by Justin Glawe - Chicken Thursday at Notre Dame!
This Used To Be...Jumer’s Castle Lodge (Now It’s Courtyard Estates) - A look at what used to be Jumer’s Castle Lodge, the bar is still there!
Where Good People Went For Good Food By Chip Joyce - Hardees memories by Chip.
Fort Creve Coeur: 16th Century History In My Grandparents' Backyard • Story and Photos By Brandon C. Hovey - A nice history of Fort Creve Coeur by Brandon.
This Used To Be...Hunt’s Family Restaurant (Now It’s Self Centered Hair Studio) - Hunt’s Family Restaurant is closed, but the recipes live on at Proctor Hospital.
The MBIP Bucket List—Delivering Buckets To: Moxie’s ReSale Boutique and Emack & Bolio’s - The Bucket List was something I started to help keep this blog alive. I’m going to try something different next year, so stay tuned for that!
Peoria, I Hardly Knew Ye... —The Book! by Jaws the Cabbie A.K.A. James Newberg - Contributing Writer and Artist, Jaws the Cabbie published a book consisting of his Peoria stories that he wrote for the MBIP blog and you can read about that at this post. And order the book too, they’re great stories!
Meanwhile, Back In New York: Presented By Chipstagram (A.K.A. Chip Joyce) - Chip’s trip to New York City in June.
This Used To Be...The Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery - This was so cool, I had no idea the original bar was housed in the jewelry store here, this is what I love about doing this blog, these unexpected surprises!
Peoria Hofbrau World Beer Tour—Week Number One - I started my World Beer Tour last year and I’m halfway through it now. I’m guessing I should be done with it before this summer, stay tuned!
Shooting Gallery by “Boris” Boden - Another great photo-essay by “Boris.”
Saturday Night Cheeseburger—Cruising For Burgers - Something a little different here as I go to some drive-through chain burger places and sample their cheeseburgers.
This Used To Be...Second Chance Nightclub—Now It’s Second Chance Church - This was a blast where I went to the old Second Chance Nightclub which is now a church and JoElle who used to manage the nightclub comes along for the tour.
Shop Hop—Channeling My Inner Goddess At Goddess Boheme - I always knew I had an inner Goddess and through the help of Goddess Boheme, it came alive this day!
The Yardbirds Through the Eyes Of A Garage Band Bass Player by Show Promoter and ”Frontman” Producer Craig Moore - Craig Moore writes about his love of the Yardbirds.
It’s a Dog-Eat-Food World: A Day in Snoopy’s Life at Conklin’s Barn II Dinner Theatre By Jimmy “Snoop Dog” LaHood - Jimmy LaHood writes about living in the skin of Snoopy at Conklin’s Barn Theatre.
That’s it for part one of looking back at our year here at MBIP. Check back on New Year’s Day for part two and we’ll see you all tomorrow!