- Veterans Day's coming up.

How can we best honor our vets?

Maybe with a nice haircut.

- Well, we'll tell you all about it.

You gotta see this.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) Tell me more about how we can salute veterans and honor them by haircuts.

- Yeah, it's a new organization, the only one in the country.

It's based here in Central Illinois.

And they're getting the ball rolling, and they hope to go nationwide, and we'll tell you how you can help out with this new haircut effort.

- We'll also go visit a group of people who drive Jeeps.

They like to call themselves Jeepers.

And they salute each other and appreciate each other by giving each other little bitty rubber ducks, - Rubber duckies.

Is Ernie involved with this, or?

- Oh, well, you know, he is a fan of the rubber ducks.

(upbeat music) - And I can't wait to get to the story about Andre the Giant.

He's one of my favorite all time professional wrestlers.

- I can't say that I have a favorite all time professional wrestler, but I know Mark Welp does, and he went and visited a gentleman who has a collection of Andre the Giant stuff that could turn his house basically into a museum to him.

- It's pretty impressive.

- It is.

- But first we're gonna go back 60 Novembers to one of the darkest moments in American history.

This will be the 60th anniversary this month of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

- But then we're gonna take you back three years before the assassination, when JFK visited the Peoria area, inspired people, and it caused a lot of patriotism.

Let's take a look.

- [Phil] 60 Novembers ago, three rifle cracks shattered America.

One moment, life was Camelot.

The next moment exploded into chaos, fright, and foreboding.

The world had forever changed, its mood grim and shaken.

That horrible scene in Dallas was 180 degrees different than an autumn day three years earlier in Peoria.

That's when a young presidential candidate came to town, smiling from a convertible, bringing a message bursting with energy and hope.

John F. Kennedy made the stop here on October 24th, 1960, just 15 days before an election day in a tight contest.

At the Peoria County Courthouse, he made a speech before a huge crowd of 10,000 people.

In part, he cited America's need to create more jobs and stand up to Russia.

Mostly though, he promoted the idea of a better tomorrow, saying, "I want people around the world to know that a new generation of Americans is going to lead this country."

There that day was Fred Filip, a Peoria native and Bradley University grad.

Filip, who as a new reporter for the Journal Star, had already encountered crowds of all sorts, was amazed at the turnout for Kennedy.

- And you couldn't move, and it was just crowded with people, the whole intersection.

No traffic was allowed in this area to downtown.

So yeah, it was the biggest crowd I think I'd ever been in at that point.

- [Phil] Though some attendees toted campaign signs, many seemed drawn to the rally not because of JFK, the politician, but JFK, the celebrity.

- He was humorous and he was brilliant and smart.

Rich, came from a wealthy family and all that.

So I think it's more maybe the celebrity part of it, - [Phil] Especially enthused were the young ladies in attendance.

- They used to refer to him, and he'd go by in an open car, the leapers and the screamers, they called them.

You know, all the young ladies would be trying to get, you know, shake his hand or something.

- [Phil] A smaller crowd was on hand when Kennedy visited the East Peoria studio of WEEK-TV.

On hand was Joyce Hemphill, whose family lived on adjacent property.

Though only three years old at the time, she can still recall the enthusiasm.

- But what I remember was the crowd, the excitement.

I guess now I would say it was the energy level, you know, the buzz, the feel of the crowd and the energy.

- [Phil] Her father had brought along his movie camera, as the TV studio rarely drew a throng outside.

- [Joyce] To see a crowd there was unusual, and so that's, I think, why it sticks out in my mind.

- [Phil] She still looks at the film from time to time.

She always gets a chill at the end, seeing the smiling Kennedy riding in a convertible, and noting what would happen to him in a convertible three years later.

- [Joyce] It has an eerie, unsettling reaction that just hits you.

- [Phil] By the way, at the beginning of the Kennedy story, you saw part of the famous Zapruder film of that horrible day in Dallas.

The film was crucial to the nation's reckoning with the president's assassination, as well as for countless investigations and conjectures as to what exactly happened there that day.

And the film, undoubtedly the most important home movie in the history of America, has a Central Illinois connection.

That would be Dick Stolley.

Born in Pekin in 1928, Stolley, as a teen, became the sports editor of The Pekin Daily Times.

He stuck with journalism, and by 1963, he was with Life Magazine.

After news broke on the Dallas shooting, he got a tip.

A dress maker named Abraham Zapruder supposedly had filmed the Kennedy motorcade.

Stolley called, and then the next day, went to Zapruder's office, not far from where Kennedy had been shot.

Stolley wanted Zapruder's film, but so did a throng of other reporters.

But in the end, Stolley prevailed and got the film for Life Magazine.

How?

As Stolley once told me, Zapruder appreciated Stolley's politeness, manners he learned as a boy, growing up in Pekin.

Jackie Patten wants to say thanks to military veterans.

Call it a salute with scissors.

Her new group, Veterans Cuts, aims to offer complimentary haircuts for any veteran who wants one.

- The idea is we benefit all US military veterans with complimentary haircuts as a form of gratitude to give back, showing them that we really appreciate what they do for us every day.

- [Phil] And she is aiming big, way beyond her native Peoria.

- So, it was my choice to debut it right here in Peoria, East Peoria, Central Illinois.

After that, depending on how we raise funds, we're gonna organically, hopefully, cross this country.

- [Phil] The 63-year-old cut hair in Peoria for more than 30 years.

- I pivoted one too many times and I wore out my hip.

So, four years later, here I am with Veterans Cuts, 'cause I wanted to give back.

I have two sons that are veterans.

- [Phil] Both of her sons served in the Air Force.

Over time, she began to think that US veterans don't get enough recognition.

So, she started to give complimentary cuts when she'd meet veterans, such as a 100-year-old Marine.

- The little 100-year-old woman couldn't see nor barely hear, so I just did my thing, rolled around her, cut her hair, and when I was all done, I went to give her a kiss on the cheek, I yelled in her ear, "Thank you for your service."

She whipped her head, looked at me and said, "Semper fi," and I was just goosebumps.

It was amazing.

- [Phil] So, she recently formed Veterans Cuts, the only organization of its kind.

Vets can sign up for a haircut on the website, veteranscuts.org.

From there, she'll coordinate a cut with a barber or hairdresser near a veteran's home.

- We really need this community to get involved to help this, because the veterans love it.

- [Phil] From the get go, the effort was appreciated.

- The one was 87 years old, and he was on a walker.

He didn't go for his walker when they helped him out of the chair, he went for me, tears in his eyes, and gave me a hug.

I mean, that, myself, was just amazing.

- [Phil] But the organization needs help.

Patten hopes barbers and hairdressers will offer discounted or even free cuts.

They can get involved via the website, as can donors.

Meantime, she has started to receive grants, so she's hopeful to expand the group far beyond Central Illinois.

- In Ohio, we've done a couple of haircuts.

In Michigan, we've done 11 haircuts.

In Indiana, we've done a haircut.

I have a daughter in West Virginia.

We did a haircut that was spontaneous.

I just walked into the shop, handed the guy my card in the chair, said, "Are you a veteran?"

And I paid for his cut.

- [Phil] Patten says that some veterans are thankful for the financial help of a complimentary haircut, but many others appreciate the haircut simply as a gesture of goodwill.

- The gesture of goodwill.

You know, so many are older right now, and they've been forgotten, and they just feel good.

And a haircut makes 'em feel good.

- [Phil] Jon Dewey of Peoria served as an army paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne.

He recently got a trim by Peoria Heights stylist, Kathy Davis, thanks to Veterans Cuts.

- I think it's a great deal.

I think veterans in this country are one of our greatest commodities, and if we can try to help them and give some of the thanks back that they've deserved over the years, I think it's a great deal.

- [Phil] Dewey is a third generation veteran with a son in the Army.

He plans to support Veterans Cuts, especially for veterans who never heard much gratitude for their service.

- I think you're gonna see some tears shed when they come in here and they get their free haircut and somebody says, "Thank you for your service," because it's been so many years they didn't get it, and I think it's just a little thing that we can do to help them out, and I think it really means something to 'em.

- [Phil] That's why Patten hopes to take Veterans Cuts nationwide.

- [Jackie] But these guys are really special because they deserve it.

(upbeat music) - [Mark] Inside a nice home in Groveland is a gigantic collection, a pro wrestling collection, celebrating the first wrestler to become a worldwide phenomenon and mainstream celebrity.

- [Announcer] The Eighth Wonder of the World, Andre the Giant!

- [Mark] Chris Owens started watching wrestling as a seven year old, growing up in Iowa, and got hooked quickly.

When he first laid eyes on Andre Roussimoff, billed at seven feet, four inches tall and 500 pounds, his curiosity piqued.

- This is what started the collection.

I paid $1 for it.

- [Mark] 40 plus years later, that button may be the smallest and least expensive piece of Chris's staggering collection.

- The three passports that were left in existence, his daughter has one, there's one in the museum in Ellerbe, North Carolina, and I have the third one.

And they were interested in getting the one that I had.

- [Mark] In 2020, in front of a national TV audience, the WWE sent wrestlers to Chris's house to try and buy Andre's passport.

Chris turned down their $20,000 offer.

- At one point, they were offering 20,000, and then they came down to 15,000, and I just said, you know, "Honestly, there is not a price tag for it right now.

Maybe some day, but not right now."

- [Mark] Is anybody else in your household like, "Come on, Chris, that's a lot of money"?

- They don't have the same appreciation that I do, but they definitely understand my passion and they supported my decision.

- [Mark] Unlike a lot of collectors who just buy things from eBay or other fans, Chris has befriended people close to Andre and received a lot of memorabilia as gifts.

- Here's another piece that Andre had in his collection.

This would've been his driver's license that he had when he was around 16 years of age.

This was the shoe he wore for the last six years of his career, especially made in Japan.

I don't know the exact size, but it is a very large shoe.

You know, you yourself have big feet.

You can compare your shoe to this and get an idea of what Andre wore.

- Pop that on down.

I wear a 14.

Oh my gosh.

That is considerably longer and a whole lot wider.

- So this was one of Andre's personally owned and wore T-shirts that he would've had back in the late '80s.

And one of the interesting tidbits of Andre's shirts I've learned over the years is he had a nervous habit when he was talking at times to sometimes take the collar and kind of chew on it.

And so you'll see chew marks on some of his shirts that he had from that era.

But that's definitely Andre's shirt.

He typically wore between a five and six XL T-shirt.

And there's been some doctors that have examined Andre that said that they have never seen another athlete with hands as big as Andre's.

- [Mark] This is just amazing.

(audience cheering) - [Announcer] The Superstars of Wrestling comes to you this week from the Civic Center Arena in Peoria, Illinois.

- [Mark] Andre the Giant made several appearances at the Peoria Civic Center in the 1980s.

Before that, he even wrestled at Richwoods High School in 1979.

After a lifetime of health issues, including gigantism, Andre died in 1993 at the age of 46.

30 years later, people are still watching him in wrestling, movies, and TV, and still buying little pieces of the giant.

- But one of the things I enjoy doing now is going out to wrestling shows and conventions and events and setting up an Andre display, and not only kind of preserving the legacy of Andre, but also interacting with fans, other wrestlers that got to know him, and just kind of spend some time remembering Andre.

- [Julie] At WTVP, we are pretty fond of rubber ducks.

We have one coworker in particular who is kind of obsessed.

♪ Oh, rubber ducky, you're the one ♪ (rubber duck squeaks) ♪ You make bath time lots of fun ♪ (rubber duck squeaks) - [Julie] We found a group of people who like rubber ducks almost as much as Ernie, people who drive Jeeps, or Jeepers, as they call each other.

Jeepers like to show their appreciation for each other in a fun way.

If they're out and about and see a Jeep they like, they give them a duck.

That's what they call getting ducked.

- I honestly don't know how it started.

I just know that everyone goes around and shares ducks when they like their Jeep or when they find a cool one.

I just think it's fun.

- [Julie] And there's every type of duck, from cute to crazy, some shaped like other animals, supporting causes, even a little bit scary.

- Well, originally- - Originally, it was for modified, nice Jeeps.

- Built up.

- Built up.

- And now it's, you know, how pretty they are, how fun they are and stuff like that, so, you know, I think it's fun.

They just love getting- - The kids love doing it, I guess.

- Oh, the kids just love it.

They just go put little ducks on every Jeep.

- [Julie] So how in the world did this migration of rubber ducks to Jeep door handles get started?

Well, it started just a few years ago with one Canadian woman named Allison Parliament.

- During the last few years, just felt that everybody was kind of down on the... Just, you know, in general, just through moods and everything else, and so she decided one day, she had a rubber duck, and she saw a Jeep, and she just loved it and thought, "You know, I'm gonna give this to one of the Jeeps."

And so she put it on there, and just to make somebody happy.

And so that kind of started a trend, and she kept going with it, and it grew into the phenomena it is now.

- One of my favorites is this cute, little, teeny, tiny, little red one.

I watched a little girl go running to her mom to get it one day.

We were at a Jeep event out at Psycho Silo.

And she went running back to my Jeep to go put it on there, and it was such an adorable little thing.

- [Julie] These Jeepers are birds of a feather, so they often flock together for fundraisers, community outings, so it's not unusual to get ducked at an event.

- Jeepers wanna get together.

They want to give back to the communities that, you know, they grow up in, you know, that they're with.

And we love that.

That's what we're all about, you know?

The friends we've made, lifelong friends, my wife and I, and just in a few years that we've had our Jeep, my dad had Jeeps all when he was growing up, and of course, my grandpa fixed 'em, so it's kind of a generational thing for us.

- [Julie] Not only do Jeep drivers like to give each other surprises, they also have a special way they greet each other on the road.

- You drive by and a Jeep is coming at you, you're gonna get a wave.

Everybody waves at each other.

- I think that there's, like, this, whatever, yeah, I think we do a lot of that, you know.

Or, "Hey," you know?

- My dad usually drives my Jeep because he's got a thing about being the one driving.

But every single time a little Jeep drives by, he always throws up a little wave, and he always is like, "Yay," when the little...

I'm like, "Oh my God, you're a dork."

- [Julie] There's even a little history behind the Jeeper wave that dates back to World War II.

- After World War II, when the military, when the Army came back, a lot of the military had the Jeeps, the old Willys Jeeps, as are over there.

And so when they would drive by each other, they would do the wave, the victory in Europe wave.

That became kind of the symbol, the victory for World War II and afterwards, so it's just kind of held through the community and through the Jeep.

So when you see people waving, that's just...

The Wranglers especially, but all Jeeps, you know, if you wanna wave, we'll wave back at you.

- [Julie] One thing for sure is that Jeep drivers have all their ducks in a row.

(Ernie quacking) (gentle music) Do pesky invasive plant species really get your goat?

Well, we've got a story for you.

- Here, goaty goat!

Goaty goat!

- [Julie] Meet Goats on the Go, a mobile goat service.

(goat bleating) That's right, you heard me right.

It's a goat service that brings this hardworking herd of on the call goats directly to landowners who need help with regenerative grazing.

- A lot here in Central Illinois would be the honeysuckle.

We also have multiflora rose, which is a vining plant that really can kind of get in and kind of make a mess on people's property.

Buckthorn, autumn olive.

Poison ivy is another one that we get called out for a lot.

- [Julie] These 40 fuzzy friends can be delivered to your property to clear about one acre in about five to seven days.

That's with eating about 4% of their body weight in brush and hay each day.

It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.

- Their job description, they are just here to eat.

Invasive species are their favorite thing, and so they are all about eating and stressing out these plants and making it so that they don't grow back as prolific as before.

They have the life that, really, nature intended for goats, because I mean, if you see goats in the wild, they're not fenced in, obviously, but they are eating these kinds of things, and they're not a huge, big problem in the areas where goats run free.

So, they're eating what nature has for them, and they live outdoors, and then in the winter, they come home to the farm and they live the life there as well.

(laughs) - How do I get a job where all I do is go and hang out in nature and eat all day?

Because I'm interested.

I mean, are you taking applications?

It may be a good gig, but these goats?

They take their job very seriously.

- So typically, we'd fence in a small section, they'd compete for their food, and we'd have another section set up, ready to go.

When they're done with the one that they're on, they move to the next one.

We close 'em in, take down the previous section, set up the next one.

It's like a conveyor belt of goats going through.

- [Julie] Cyndi Clark and her family are Central Illinois transplants, moving here all the way from California.

Three years ago, she didn't know anything about goats, but her life changed one day while searching on the internet.

- And they said goatsonthego.com, that was the only comment.

It was goatsonthego.com, and I thought, "What's that?"

Click, that was the end of the story.

I wanted to do a goat grazing service immediately.

My daughter and I decided that's what we wanted to do for the next few years.

And so my husband thought we were insane and kept telling me, "No, we can't," and then he loves it now too.

So, that's how we did it.

I learned I can do hard things.

That's one of the main things I learned, is that I didn't think I could do this, 'cause there's a lot of heavy terrain to go through in heat and different things like that, so I learned personally that I could do hard things.

I have learned a lot about goat behavior and husbandry.

I do a lot of my own goat vetting in conjunction with a goat vet that we have in Morton.

But he trusts me a lot to do a lot of the things I need to do.

- [Julie] Goats on the Go doesn't discriminate.

They have all types of goats.

Billy, nanny, fainting, and the mixed breed variety.

In fact, they become part of the family, including getting names.

- So, we have a bunch of babies born on the farm every spring.

We had 15 born last year, and we needed a way to keep track of them.

So, we decided to pick a theme.

And so I love the TV show, "The Office".

So we went with "The Office" theme names for all of our babies.

So we've got a Dwight, we've got a Michael Scott.

There's a Kevin in there somewhere.

This is Fat Francis right here.

She always looks five months pregnant, and she's not pregnant, so that's always a thing.

Banana Split is in there.

This is Michael Scott.

He's one of our babies from last year.

Hi, Michael.

How's it going, buddy?

Yeah.

- [Julie] When property owners find they're stuck with stubborn weeds and invasive species, all they have to do is call.

- (whistles) Goaty, goaty, go!

(lips smacking) Come here.

(lips smacking) Go, go.

- You know, watching those goats chomp away, it's making me a little hungry.

I mean, it's not like I wanna eat the weeds or anything like that, but I could use a little something around now.

- Well, like a sandwich, right?

- Sandwich would be fine.

As a matter of fact, tomorrow just happens to be National Sandwich Day.

- What a coinkydink.

- Yeah.

What's your favorite sandwich?

- Are tacos a sandwich?

- No, they're not, Julie, they're not a sandwich.

- I mean, it's meat and there's... (Julie imitates eating) - Yeah, that's delicious too.

But you know what?

Lots of different things, lots of different people like to have lots of different things on sandwiches, right?

And so we went to find out what are the most unique sandwiches in the Peoria area.

- Let's check it out.

(upbeat music) - [Phil] Ah, the sandwich.

So simple, yet so delicious, and so popular.

Every day, Americans eat 300 million sandwiches.

Yes, every day.

That's even more impressive when you think that's almost one sandwich a day for each person in the United States.

But think about this.

The average school kid will gobble 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before high school graduation.

But think beyond PB&J or ham and cheese or whatever it is you have for that same old, same old sandwich.

November 3rd is National Sandwich Day, so, "You Gotta See This" asked viewers to direct us to unique sandwiches in Central Illinois.

In other words, you won't find these beauties anyplace else.

A recent menu edition stretches to the sky at W.E.

Sullivan's Irish Pub and Fare in Peoria Heights.

This is the Porkimus Prime, and even the name sounds daunting.

It features thick cut pork belly and a glaze base with Knob Creek Smoked Maple Bourbon.

Added to the heft is a thinly sliced prime rib, plus crispy pickled red onions and Sullivan's Pub Sauce, with everything piled onto an everything-seasoned brioche bun.

Begorrah!

Fieldhouse Peoria sits next to Bradley University, so The Kaboom is named after the school's mascot.

The sandwich combines two local favorites, a cheeseburger is topped with a mini pork tenderloin, plus onion, pickle, lettuce, and tomato.

Kaboom!

Speaking of tenderloins, Thyme Kitchen & craft beer offers a twist on the Central Illinois favorite.

The Peoria eatery serves a vegetarian tenderloin.

Roasted cauliflower is coated in panko breadcrumbs and fried to perfection, served on a potato bun with lettuce, tomato, pickles, garlic aioli, and dijonnaise.

Yum!

Perhaps Elvis Presley would've liked Ashers Bar & Grill.

The Pekin pub makes an imposing peanut butter burger.

This baby involves two smashburger patties surrounding cheddar cheese and peanut butter, plus candied bacon, all on a brioche bun.

You can also add bacon jam, making this a PB and J burger.

Thankya, thankya very much.

Maquet's Rail House started the 420 Wrap as a special on April 20, but due to popularity, the Pekin eatery kept it on the menu.

It's quite the massive mix.

A fried chicken strip, a slider patty, mozzarella sticks, tater tots, onion rings, shredded jack cheese, American cheese, and house-made Santa Fe dressing.

Whoa!

- It is so beautiful out here.

The leaves are gorgeous.

I love walking out here.

- Detweiler Park, always one of the best places in the autumn to check out leaves and scenery, all the foliage and all that good stuff.

Very thankful we have this around here.

- Well, actually, you should stick around for our next "You Gotta See This" episode because we're gonna talk about Thanksgiving and what you can be thankful for.

- Lots of thanks on "You Gotta See This".

- "You Gotta See This".

(upbeat music) - We'll also go and visit some Jeepers, people who drive Jeeps, and how do they (mumbles).

- They drive the Jeeps with a steering wheel?

They have a steering wheel?

- No.

(Phil chuckles) - In a remarkable... (mumbles) Three, two, one, go.

- He tells me when to go.

Did you see that?

Three, two, one.

You're so handsome and you smell good.

I mean, you're better than my other co-host, so you know, tell me, what should I do?

♪ Rubber ducky, I'm awfully fond of you ♪ (rubber duck squeaks) ♪ Bo, bo, bo, de, oh ♪ ♪ Rubber duckie, joy of joys ♪ (rubber duck squeaks) ♪ When I squeeze you, you make noise ♪ (rubber duck squeaks) ♪ Rubber duckie, you're my very best friend, it's true ♪ (rubber duck squeaks) ♪ Oh, every day when I make my way to the tubby ♪ ♪ I find a little fellow who's cute and yellow and chubby ♪ ♪ Rub-a-dub-dubby ♪ ♪ Rubber duckie, you're so fine ♪ (rubber duck squeaks) ♪ And I'm lucky that you're mine ♪ (rubber duck squeaks) ♪ Rubber duckie, I'm awfully fond of you ♪ (rubber duck squeaks)