I remember back when both WMBD TV and radio were located in the same building just off University behind Burger King and Steak ‘n Shake. In fact I’ve got some history with that building as I used to do all the WMBD/KZ93 radio shows back when I was publishing my magazine, People of Peoria in the early '90s. Every time an issue would come out, I’d go and do the Gary Olson show on KZ93, then walk across the hall and talk to John Williams who had a popular WMBD AM morning show, then I'd hang out and be a guest on Denise Henley’s mid-morning program, then maybe I’d get some lunch and come back and plug the magazine on Greg Batton and Robert Roth’s afternoon and early evening radio shows. Kendra the receptionist used to joke and ask if I was ever going to leave! Well, WMBD radio no longer broadcasts out of that building, but WMBD TV is still located there. I thought it would be fun to do a, “Can I Eat My Lunch In Here” post, eat lunch there and then maybe even get a tour of the TV station and see where they do the news and weather in there. So let’s go and see if I can eat my lunch at WMBD TV!
Off we go and as you can see there’s still snow out there and it is freezing outside. I can’t wait for spring to be sprung!
I thought I’d get my lunch here at JJ Big Fish. Years ago this was an Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips restaurant and I haven’t been in here for decades! I thought it would be fun to go in and get some photos, but the manager said I couldn’t take any because the owner wasn’t there. He was really a nice guy and said he was sorry, so I ordered a chicken dinner and felt somewhat defeated that I couldn’t take any pictures in there. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll be welcome at WMBD, especially since they did a segment on MBIP way back when the blog had just started.
Here’s a picture from that segment, I couldn’t find the clip in their archives, I guess they deleted it. That’s a little sad, but let’s head on over to WMBD TV and see if we can eat our lunch in there!
Drive-by shot of WMBD TV!
Okay, here we are. It’s not only WMBD, but also WYZZ Fox TV. WYZZ always makes me think of a TV station with a urination problem. Check out the address on the door, 3131! I’ll have to ask how they got that address, surely it can’t be a coincidence!
Here’s the reception area, this sure brings back some memories of doing radio here at WMBD. I once met Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere and The Raiders here. He was performing at the HOI Fair and was doing radio here to promote it. I heard him on the way to the station and had Kendra the receptionist bring him to the reception area so I could meet him and he was really a nice guy. That’s a great memory from this place. Okay, let’s march up to the reception window and see if we can eat our lunch in here!
This is Julie the receptionist. She was really nice and when I told her about the MBIP blog and asked if I could eat my lunch in there, she said she’d have to go ask the “Bosslady.” Well, she was gone about ten long minutes and I didn’t have a good feeling about that. When she finally returned she said I couldn’t eat my lunch in their lunch room because there was no one there to give me permission. The whole thing was kind of weird because she was gone for so long she had to be talking to someone. Again, she was really nice, but now I really felt defeated after being shut down at both JJ’s and now WMBD. Ugh! Time to do the walk of shame to the MBIP mobile and figure out what the hell I'm going to do for today’s blog.
I drove around and tried to think of another business to go to as my lunch was getting as cold as the snow on the ground. I really wasn’t in the mood to do the “Can I Eat My Lunch In Here” thing anymore and I was starving like you know who! Finally I just pulled over into a parking lot...
And ate my lunch. By now I’m pretty depressed and trying to figure out what I’m going to do for today’s post. I decided to drive home and maybe I’d get hit by a semi or a large truck and it would kill me and then I wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. Sometimes I’m good with this kind of positive thinking, so I drove off in search of a large truck that would run into me and put an end to this horrible and rotten day. Oh, the chicken dinner was delicious!
As I was driving up on Sterling I passed Ferdinand’s Wigs. I tried to do a post from there way back in December of 2012 when this blog was still in it’s infancy. I remember the woman working there was real nice, but said she needed to get permission from the owner who was unavailable at the time and said I could stop back later. I’ve always meant to come back and today is finally that day! Maybe we can salvage this post after all!
Okay, we’re inside and I think that woman over there is the same one I talked to back in 2012, let’s go say hi and see if she’ll let us take some pictures in here this time...
I was right, this is Alysha and we did meet back then. While talking to Alysha I remembered my friend Amber telling me that her mom, Diane had some connection here, since my memory is horrible, I thought that she just knew the owner, so I asked Alysha if she knew Diane and she smiled and said, “Diane worked here, she’s great!” And then she told me she remembered Amber and said I could take all the photos I wanted to and she told me to say hi to Amber and Diane, so hello to Amber and Diane from Alysha at Ferdinand’s Wigs! It’s nice to have well-connected friends in wiggy places! Now let’s take a look around here in Ferdinand’s Wigs.
This is a 2015 PJ Star article written by MBIP pal, Steve Tarter featuring Alysha and her grandmother, Myrna Hawkins who is the founding owner of Ferdinand’s Wigs. Ferdinand’s Wigs opened up in 1962 and has had several locations around Peoria including a downtown location, Sheridan Village and Northwoods Mall. They’ve been doing business in this location for over 22 years.
Here’s a shot from the back of the shop.
In addition to wigs, they also sell hats and caps in here.
This is a Raquel Welch hair extension piece. So of course I had to run my fingers through it!
Suddenly...obligatory full-length mirror shot!
Here’s some wigs on the wall, but what I really love to look at in wig shops is...
All the mannequin heads that the wigs are placed on!
Most mannequins don’t have faces painted on them, but usually in wig stores they do. When I lived in New York, there was a wig store on 14th Street that I used to go and stare at all the mannequins in the window all the time. I find them equal parts art, kitsch and creepiness and I could stare at them all day long. They really fascinate me!
They’ve got a great selection of mannequin heads in Ferdinand’s and Alysha told me some of them have been in the store since the ‘70s and ‘80s. How cool is that?
Here’s a few group shots of these intriguing mannequin heads, I love them!
There’s some loose wigs down here and I think it’s just about time to...
Get wiggy wit it! Thanks to Alysha for letting me take pictures in Ferdinand’s and saving the day for this blog post! It was great to see her again and I had a lot of fun! I think I’ll go home now and watch WEEK TV! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Ferdinand’s Wigs
4325 N. Sterling Avenue
Peoria
309-682-8423
facecrack page
Related Posts: A Fun Day At The Greg and Dan Show on WMBD Radio, Can I Eat My Lunch In Here @ The Pekin Daily Times (Originally Headed For The PJ Star, But You Just Don’t Walk In There And Eat Your Lunch) and Enterprise Rent-A-Car (Originally Headed For the Quinn - Johnston Law Offices. Yep, Someone Finally Said, “No!”)
Gettin' jiggy wit it,
Na na na na na na na nana,
Na na na na nana,
Gettin' jiggy wit it...
Surprise link, click on it, I dare you!
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Bonus Bag Lady Art By Jaws The Cabbie!
Jaws the Cabbie sent in this art of me as a wigged out bag lady! Ha! Thanks, Jaws!
