About PPL
Norman Kelly Stories
Local Historians have wonderful stories to tell. Our talented local writers and researchers often find gems of local history that have escaped being chronicled. Here are a collection of essays that will reveal little known facts about Peoria and its history.
Click on the links below to read the full stories by Norman Kelly.
The Wonders of Rocky Glen
The Peoria Automobile Club
1866: The Shaft
A Man About Town – Mayor Woodruff
A Shelton Chronicle
Beer: Hail to the King!
Crazy Maizey
Early Peoria Killers
Jimmy Runs Amock
My Home in El Vista
Operation Earth Mover
Peoria: 1920 and 1921
Peoria’s 1918 Spanish Flu Terror
Saturday Night in Peoria
Terror on a Downtown Streetcar
The Grand Opera House
The Shoot-Out at Larson’s Barbershop
Peoria’s Teenage Warriors
A Gift from The Detweillers
Meet George Finley
Big Trouble in Averyville
The Ambush of Tony Miller
Amerikanisch! Amerikanisch!
An Old Man Looks Back
Murder in Our City Hall
Molly and Me
A Hallmark Murder
A Sailor’s Story
A Summation of Murder
Peoria: A Bawdy, Lusty Town
Bye-Bye Miss Birdie
Diamond Lil
Here’s Where We Came In
Murder in the Heartland
My Mother’s Christmas Tree
Peoria Gangsters
Peoria’s Railroad Man
St. Mary’s Cathedral
The Corruption of a Small Town
The Shoemaker
Was Peoria Run by Gangsters?
1913
Chief Coy, Man of Steel
Railroad Detectives
Peoria’s Coliseum & Armory
Colonel Fahnestock
Early Peorians Had a Dream
1918
Diary of Our River City-1
Diary of Our River City-2
Norm Talks About Old Peoria
Prohibition in Peoria
Famous Peorians – Part 2
Summer in Peoria
Famous Peorians – Part 1
The Coliseum and The Armory
Norman V. Kelly
Norm is a local historian and author who most recently wrote a story entitled, “The Mystery of the Missing Manuscript” for The Big Read Peoria Reads which incorporated local history into a story about the 2009 book choice The Maltese Falcon. His book, UNTIL YOU ARE DEAD, detailing all of Peoria’s executions is available in the Peoria Public Library. Much of his writing comes from his real life experiences as a private detective in Peoria. Norm welcomes your comments and questions and can be reached at norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net
