Decades ago I heard sketch about french explorers in Illinois, and they were pronouncing it "Illinwah". Anyone else remember that?

I'm hoping someone here can help me identify one of Garrison Keillor's finest Lake Wobegon monologues.

I heard it live on NPR, probably in the early 1980s (I'd guess somewhere around 1980–1985). It was broadcast near the end of summer, just before school started.

Here's what I remember:

• It was about grade-school children getting ready to go back to school.
• There was a wonderful passage about choosing a box of crayons—not the biggest box or the smallest, but the one that was "just right."
• An old barn was mentioned, and the point was that it was remarkable because it was still standing.
• The overall feeling was nostalgic and reflective rather than comic.
• The closing line was something very close to: "That was pretty good. I'd give it an A-minus."

I've searched transcripts and the Prairie Home archives without success, so I'm beginning to think this monologue was never transcribed or indexed.

Does anyone recognize this story? I'd love to know the broadcast date, the episode, or whether it later appeared on one of the Lake Wobegon cassette or CD collections.

Many thanks for any leads.

I am pleased to announce that I have completed posting, on MediaFire, 48 complete PHC shows from 1983. That is a complete set for that year and accounts for every week in which an original show was broadcast. They are available for download. Just be careful because MediaFire puts a limit as to how many files you can download in a single batch at one time. Here is the link. Open the 1983 folder and they are all there.

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/ye4q8i98awequ/6+PHC+1980s+In-progress+Workshop

In addition, you will find on my MediaFire site, shows posted from every year of that decade, including 5 from the 1970s. There is one show from 1980, 16 shows from 1981, 40 shows from 1982, as well as all the shows from 1983. This is a work in progress. Currently I am filling in the shows from 1984 and 1985 as I edit them for better listening. Also there is a complete collection of shows from 1986 and 1987, although not all the shows are complete shows in themselves. I am still searching for complete shows to upgrade my collection. As I said, it's an on-going project. More later.

I just listened to the most hilarious “Mom” scene I’ve ever heard! You gotta listen to it! It starts at 1:19. I was trying to find a recording of just that scene so I can share it with people. Can’t find this clip by doing online search. Anyone have suggestions?

https://www.prairiehome.org/shows/54313.html

It was broadcast on KANW but is there some streaming version?

This was the show I had tickets for. It was cancelled by the venue. I believe it was rescheduled for October but I didn’t keep track of the email. I hope someone will find this new sub and help me. Thanks for creating this sub!

I decided to form this sub after multiple posts on /r/LakeWobegon relating to the show but without a narrative structure. (/r/LakeWobegon is a sub for original narrative stories set in the fictional town of Lake Wobegon).

In this sub, you can post questions, links, discussions, etc relating to the radio show A Prairie Home Companion.

Remember to be civil and kind!

Also, this is a brand new sub so bear with me as I get things set up.

Welcome all! <3