When Monica Vest Wheeler was let go by the Observer, a Peoria weekly, in 1992, she said that “It turned out that it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“After I left the Observer I stumbled into Peoria history. We were in the middle of the tricentennial celebration (the 300th anniversary of the founding of Peoria). During that time we’d been highlighting Peoria history in the Observer,” said Wheeler in a new episode of WCBU's history series Postmark Peoria.
“Later in 1992, I was approached by the Peoria Park District. They wanted to know if I would be interested in doing a history of the district. That led to the ‘Grandest Views,’ a book published in 1994, tying into the park district’s centennial celebration,” she said.
“I worked with Steve Wilkinson of Peoria Camera Shop who scanned in all the photos while I did the writing and the layout,” said Wheeler.
Her next project was a second volume on Peoria history devoted to business. “Jerry Klein (of the Peoria Journal Star) had done the first book, covering Caterpillar and other major industries. I covered material such as hotels, transportation, department stores downtown and the mom-and-pop shops. I learned so much about Peoria,” said Wheeler, who said people assume from her knowledge of the area she must have been a Peoria native.
“I moved here from Indiana in 1979 with my fiancée—now my husband. He got a job at Caterpillar and we moved here. (Working on the history,) I lived at the library, at special collections, at warehouses and at nooks and crannies I found around town,” she said.
Wheeler said more people need to be aware of the rich history she’s found. Too many are unaware of their heritage, she said. “That’s the thing that really bothers me. I’m so glad that the historical society is doing these tours,” said Wheeler.
“There was a generation that wanted to cover up the colorful side of that history—the Prohibition days, houses of ill repute downtown—but it’s a fascinating part of our history,” she said.
“We can’t erase it. It happened. It’s part of what makes Peoria what it is today,” said Wheeler, who believes people need to pay more attention to history. “We need to understand why things happened,” she said.
While stop being so negative, she added. “Peorians need to get off your pity party. We can capitalize on what we have,” said Wheeler.
In addition to local history, Wheeler has written extensively about health issues such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and stroke victims. “After attending 130 stroke camps around the country—weekend camps for stroke survivors—I wrote a book about coping with stroke,” she said.
Some of Wheeler’s other projects include writing about the Holocaust (including trips to Auschwitz and Germany), a history of the Itoo Society and St. Mary’s Medical Center in Galesburg. Now she’s back working on local history, delving into past events at Peoria Heights.
