Channel 309

Channel 309 📺 Central Illinois nostalgia & stories
🎬 Daily videos, memories & local gems
📩 [email protected]
📸 Have old photos, film, or stories? Send them in!
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🎬 Welcome to Channel 309

We’re your daily dose of nostalgia, stories, and hidden gems from Peoria and Central Illinois. From old restaurants and malls…
to forgotten landmarks, local legends, and “remember when?” moments…

If it happened in the 309 — we’re bringing it back.

📺 What you’ll see here:
• Peoria Time Capsule (then vs now)
• Restaurant Flashbacks
• Old commercials & local ads
• Mall mem

ories & lost places
• Local legends & weird stories
• Interactive games, polls, and trivia

💡 Got a photo, story, or memory to share? Send it in — we feature submissions from locals.

📩 Email: [email protected]

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🎥 Need a short video for your business? We create fast, high-quality social media videos for:
• Restaurants
• Events
• Local businesses
• Promotions & ads

⚡ Quick turnaround
💲 Starting at $99

📩 Let’s work: [email protected]

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Channel 309
Stories from the Heart of Illinois.

🍔🌭 WHAT ARE YOU ORDERING AT LUM’S IN 1979? 🍟🥤It’s 1979. You just walked into Lum’s with a crisp $5 bill. 💵And $5 goes a ...
08/09/2026

🍔🌭 WHAT ARE YOU ORDERING AT LUM’S IN 1979? 🍟🥤
It’s 1979. You just walked into Lum’s with a crisp $5 bill. 💵

And $5 goes a LONG way on this menu. 👀

🌭 Lumdog — 90¢
🍔 Ollieburger — $2.05
🍟 French fries — 65¢
☕ Coffee — 40¢

That’s all four for just $4.00 — and you’ve still got a buck in your pocket. 😳

🌭 Lum’s wasn’t just a national chain — it was a familiar name around the Peoria area, too. Local locations included Dave & Ernie's Lums in Peoria and at the old Pekin Mall, with longtime residents still remembering the Lum’s on Knoxville, at Metro Center, and Western. 🍔

👉 Swipe through the actual 1979 Lum’s menu and build your meal.

💵 You’ve got exactly $5.00.

WHAT ARE YOU ORDERING?

🚫 No Googling inflation. 😂
🚫 No borrowing money from the next table.
🚫 And no saving the $5. You’re hungry.

08/08/2026

🏨 THIS was downtown Peoria.

✨ The Voyager Inn opened at 504 Hamilton Blvd. in 1959, billed as Peoria’s “Million Dollar Inn.”

🍸 And it wasn’t your average motel.

🏊 Seven years after opening, the Voyager underwent a major expansion that added a tower, new motel wings and that incredible outdoor swimming pool. At its peak, the complex included 175 rooms, a French restaurant, cocktail lounge, ballroom, health club, sauna and private steam baths — and even offered winter ice skating. ⛸️

🏗️ Then came an even bigger idea.

🏙️ In 1973, a 35-story tower and convention center expansion was proposed. That plan was eventually scaled back, and in 1976 a nine-story addition opened as the Continental Regency. The original 1959 Voyager structures were ultimately demolished as part of the redevelopment.

🔄 The Continental Regency later became the Holiday Inn City Centre in 1992, and eventually the Four Points by Sheraton.

🎬 We took some old Voyager postcards and brought the place back to life for about 45 seconds. 🕵️‍♂️

💭 Who remembers the Voyager Inn? And more importantly… who remembers that pool? 🏊‍♀️

📚 Historical information: Peoria Public Library local history archives.

08/08/2026

📚👻 THE GHOST LIBRARIAN OF ILLINOIS STATE
Angeline “Ange” Milner spent nearly four decades shaping the library at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, serving as its first full-time librarian from 1890 until her retirement in 1927. 📖

🏛️ Her influence lasted long after her death in 1928. When ISU opened its first standalone library building in 1940, it was named Milner Library in her honor. That building is now Williams Hall, and when a new university library opened in 1976, the Milner name went with it.

👻 But apparently, the name wasn’t the only thing that stuck around.

For decades, students and university employees have shared stories of Ange Milner’s ghost — 👣 strange footsteps, 📚 unexplained activity among the books, 👀 fleeting figures in the old library, and even reported sightings of Milner herself.

📺 The legend became well known enough that the Travel Channel came to ISU in 2004 to feature it.

🕯️ Nearly 100 years after Ange Milner died, the stories are still being told.

👻📚 Do you believe the Ghost Librarian still haunts Illinois State University?

🎡 Going to the 2026 Illinois STATE FAIR? It starts NEXT WEEK!SAVE THIS. 👇We put together a cheat sheet with some of the ...
08/07/2026

🎡 Going to the 2026 Illinois STATE FAIR? It starts NEXT WEEK!
SAVE THIS. 👇

We put together a cheat sheet with some of the stuff that's easy to miss — admission prices, free admission days, ride deals, food specials and a few things to know before you make the trip to Springfield.

💰 A few highlights:

🎟️ Adults are just $5 Sunday–Thursday
👧 Kids 12 & under get in FREE
🚗 Parking is $5/day

And Tuesday, August 18 might be the bargain day of the whole fair...

🎡 $2 admission
🎢 $2 RIDES — yes, $2 per ride

There are also free admission days for veterans and immediate family, seniors, Scouts in uniform, first responders and healthcare workers.

👇 So tell us:

🎡 What day are you going?

💵 What's your best Illinois State Fair money-saving tip?

🌽 And what's the ONE thing you have to do every time you go?

Butter Cow? Corn dog? Grandstand show? Rides? People watching? 😂

📅 Illinois State Fair
August 13–23, 2026
📍 Springfield, Illinois

Save this guide for later — and send it to whoever you're going to the fair with.

25,000 FOLLOWERS. 🎉That is absolutely ridiculous.When Channel 309 started just 4 months ago, we had no idea if anyone wo...
08/07/2026

25,000 FOLLOWERS. 🎉
That is absolutely ridiculous.

When Channel 309 started just 4 months ago, we had no idea if anyone would care about old photos, forgotten businesses, weird Central Illinois history, flying fish, creepy cemetery stories, local food, or whatever rabbit hole we happened to fall into that day.

Apparently, at least 25,000 of you do.

And yes... a few people have had other opinions. 😂
Every comment on the graphic is real. We couldn't make some of this stuff up if we tried.

Seriously, though — thank you.

Thank you for watching, sharing, commenting, correcting us when we screw something up, sending us story ideas, digging through your old photo albums, and telling us about things we never would've found on our own.

We're just getting started.

25K down. Let's see where this weird little Central Illinois page goes next. ❤️

— Shane & Bridget
Channel 309

P.S. Please continue leaving ridiculous comments. Apparently we save them now.

08/07/2026

Have one of these started roaming YOUR neighborhood yet?! 👀📬

After months of trying to catch Morton’s elusive new USPS truck in the wild, we finally got it. Meet the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle — better known by its unofficial nickname, the “Platypus.”

And they really are still a relatively rare sight. Only about 8,000 of the purpose-built NGDVs have reportedly been delivered nationwide, compared with a total USPS fleet of more than 260,000 vehicles. Morton has had just one that we've been trying to catch on camera for months.

There's a reason they're coming. Many of those familiar boxy Grumman LLVs still delivering America's mail were built more than 30 years ago. They were designed for a 24-year service life, yet many are still chugging along today — without modern safety features and, famously, without air conditioning.

USPS is now in the middle of a massive fleet replacement program. More than 50,000 of these new NGDVs are currently under contract, with electric versions becoming an increasingly large part of the rollout. USPS ultimately plans to deploy more than 66,000 electric delivery vehicles by 2028, including NGDVs and commercially available vehicles.

And yours truly at Channel 309 knows those old trucks pretty well. I spent more than five years delivering mail — from the frozen tundra of Chillicothe, Illinois, to the mountain roads of Morrison, Colorado. Yep, I've spent plenty of time driving those old mail trucks with no A/C, questionable heat and approximately zero creature comforts. 😂

👇 Have you seen one yet? Better yet — does the Platypus deliver YOUR mail?

🍕 FEDORA’S IS BACK — WITH A NEW LOCATION.Fedora’s Pizza & Gyros has reopened in Peoria, taking over the kitchen inside R...
08/06/2026

🍕 FEDORA’S IS BACK — WITH A NEW LOCATION.
Fedora’s Pizza & Gyros has reopened in Peoria, taking over the kitchen inside Rudy’s Gaming Cafe & Slots.

📍 NEW LOCATION:
3311 N. Sterling Ave., Suite 21 — Peoria
If you’re trying to place it, that’s in Sterling Bazaar — the same shopping center as the Peoria DMV.

📞 SAME PHONE:
309-685-4976

And there’s one other change at the new location: they’re now serving alcohol, so you can grab a drink while you wait for your order.

Fedora’s announced the reopening today and thanked customers for their patience.

Welcome back, Fedora’s. 🍕

🔗 Fedora’s page:
https://www.facebook.com/FedorasPizza

Who’s been waiting for them to reopen? 👇
What's your go-to order from Fedora's? 🍕

08/06/2026

☕️ What’s the BEST COFFEE SHOP in Central Illinois?

With several new coffee chains opening around the Peoria & Bloomington areaa—and even more reportedly on the way—the local coffee scene keeps getting busier.

But your favorite can be anything: a locally owned café, a regional favorite, or a national chain. They’re all part of the Central Illinois coffee scene.

👇 Name your favorite coffee shop—and tell us WHY.

Is it the coffee?
The atmosphere?
The baristas?
The pastries or food?
The prices?
The drive-thru?
A specific drink you can’t get anywhere else?

☕️ Bonus points for including your usual order.

Let’s build a list of the best coffee shops in Central Illinois.

08/05/2026

🌿 East Peoria has been keeping this trail a secret...
Tucked along the Illinois River in East Peoria is a trail that feels unlike almost anything else around here.

The East Peoria Riverfront Greenway stretches about 1.8 miles, connecting the EastPort/Cooper Park area with Carl Spindler Campground and Marina. The highlight is roughly 1,200 feet of raised wooden boardwalk winding through river-bottom wetlands, dense vegetation and shaded tree canopies.

📍 You can start near Cooper Park South behind Jonah’s Seafood House, or use the smaller Cooper Park access area along the frontage road. From there, the trail continues north toward Carl Spindler Campground and Marina.

It’s flat, peaceful and surprisingly scenic—with sections that open toward the river and others that feel almost otherworldly beneath the trees.

This trail isn't finished yet. Long-term plans would extend it north to the McClugage Bridge, creating an even longer riverfront trail connecting East Peoria's bridges and parks.

Would you call this one of the most scenic walks in the Peoria area? What are your favorite places to walk or hike in Central Illinois?

🎶 Next week would have been Dan Fogelberg's 75th birthday (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007).Long before millions of ...
08/05/2026

🎶 Next week would have been Dan Fogelberg's 75th birthday (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007).

Long before millions of people knew the songs Leader of the Band, Longer, Same Old Lang Syne, and Run for the Roses, Dan Fogelberg was just a kid growing up here in Peoria.

Today his music is still played around the world, but reminders of his story are all over Central Illinois— the Riverfront Museum exhibit, Fogelberg Parkway, and the memorial overlooking the Illinois River.

🎸 Good news for fans—the Dan Fogelberg exhibit at the Peoria Riverfront Museum has been extended through October 4, giving visitors more time to experience this incredible tribute.

Which Dan Fogelberg song will always remind you of him?

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