Pekin Community High School District #303 - The Fire is Within

Since May of 2021, the Tazewell County Recorder of Deeds Office has been home to the Medal of Honor of Civil War Veteran Dr. Thomas Murphy, formally of Green Valley. Dr. Thomas Murphy received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on the second day of the Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, during the Civil War. When his Union Army unit came under friendly fire from Union artillery, Dr Thomas Murphy volunteered to deliver a message under friendly and heavy enemy fire to redirect the artillery action. The living descendent's of Dr. Thomas Murphy delivered the Medal of Honor enclosed in a picture frame with a photo of Dr. Thomas Murphy wearing the Medal of Honor and a map of the Battle of Vicksburg to the Tazewell County Recorder of Deeds Office for public display.

Late last year, the Tazewell County Board finalized the decision to demolish the Arcade Building in Downtown Pekin. Built in 1905, eleven years before the current Tazewell County Courthouse would be built across the road, the Arcade Building stood at the intersection of Elizabeth Street and South Capital Street for 118 years. Once the decision was finalized, Tazewell County Chief Deputy Clerk Dan Sullivan approached Pekin High School Career & Tech Education Teacher Matt Proehl with the idea of using some of the historic interior wood beams for the construction of a new Shadow Box to more securely hold the Medal of Honor on display within the Recorder of Deeds Office. The historic wood was secured thanks to assistance from the Tazewell County Maintenance Department and delivered to Pekin High School.

Today, Pekin High School students Kayden Maquet and Chase Benson delivered the completed Shadow Box made from the historic wood from the Arcade Building to the Tazewell County Clerk & Recorder of Deeds. In the weeks to come, the Tazewell County Maintenance Department will mount the Shadow Box on the wall of the Tazewell County Recorder of Deeds Office.

"We are extremely proud to receive this lasting remnant of the historic Arcade Building from the students of Pekin High School" stated Tazewell County Clerk & Recorder of Deeds John C. Ackerman. "I am extremely proud of this idea by Chief Deputy Clerk Dan Sullivan to preserve a portion of the building, realized and constructed by Teacher Matt Proehl and the students of Pekin High School. This Shadow Box will be a lasting reminder of the historic building and will hold one of our nation's highest honors for generations to come. The students and teacher did an amazing job and we extend our gratitude to them for this outstanding product!"