The Prairie Landscape

The Studs Terkel Humanities Service Award - 2006


Bill Tellano

Nominated By The Honorable Patrick Kitching


Alsip


Bill Tellano

Among the countless volunteer hours that Bill Tellano has contributed to his Village of Alsip, many have been spent working with the citizens of his community to gather photographs dating back to the 1920s and burn them onto a CD to preserve them for posterity. The collection captures life in Alsip over the past 80 years from many angles and includes—among others—pictures of the school that has since been demolished; Alsip's first fire engine and its original fire department; past fire and police chiefs; the village’s first baseball team, the Frogs; the clay pit that used to occupy the site of many of Alsip's current businesses; and the notorious Clark Refinery fire of the 1970s. Thanks to Mr. Tellano's passion and hard work, these memories of Alsip's past will live on for future generations to appreciate. As an artist who has donated memorial carvings to the Village and Chairman of the Memorial Carvings committee, Mr. Tellano has also worked to ensure that Alsip will not forget its history.

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