365 Writing Prompts Day 15

[schadenfreude]

January 15, 2017 Place of birth:

Springfield, Missouri

The area where I was raised is North Springfield, or as I prefer to call it, Moon City; it was built and developed by Frisco Railways in 1881 for employees and their families. In 1887, North Springfield and Springfield voted to unite under the name Springfield. My grandfather, my father, four of my uncles and several cousins worked for Frisco until they merged with Burlington, and the majority of jobs moved to Nebraska.

Jefferson Avenue Footbridge is a historic Footbridge built in 1902, measures 562-foot (171 m) long, and allows pedestrians to cross 13 sets of railroad tracks. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Recognized by convention as the "Birthplace of US Route 66", it was in Springfield on April 30, 1926 that officials first proposed the name of the new Chicago-to-Los Angeles highway.

During the 1950s, Springfield ranked third in the U.S. for originating network television programs behind New York and Hollywood. Four nationally-broadcast television series originated from the city between 1955 and 1961: Ozark Jubilee and its spin-off, Five Star Jubilee; Talent Varieties; and The Eddy Arnold Show. All were carried live by ABC except for Five Star Jubilee on NBC; and were produced by Springfield's Crossroads TV Productions owned by Ralph D. Foster. Many of the biggest names in country music frequently visited or lived in Springfield at the time. City officials estimated the programs meant about 2,000 weekly visitors and over $1,000,000 in fresh income.

Some of our more notable citizens are Bob Barker, Brad Pitt and Kathleen Turner.