I've departed from the accepted format for a FAQ - mainly because let's face it, there really are very few "frequently asked questions" re. Mr. York. Instead, the format I have adopted is a hodge podge of random facts and a kind of stream of consciousness.

First of all - I'd like to preface this with some of the fundamentals for our non-Peoria visitors: Willie York is a rather colorful character who for the last 50 years has frequented Peoria's streets.  Willie has a penchant for wild, hand sewn costumes and face paint and is alleged to subsist on roadkill.  His habitation of choice is a make shift wigwam.  Winter months, he prefers the warmth of the city jail.

Now down to business

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Birth place: Willie was born in Mississippi and came to Peoria some 50 years ago.

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Military Service: Willie has seen military service and was stationed in Vietnam and the Panama Canal zone.

        Willie also was a reservist in the USN E-3 Steward (Equiv to Mess Specialist rating)

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Ghetto name: BayBro

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Weight: 240 lb.

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Shoe size 10 (He's looking for new shoes by the way)

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What's with the face paint?: Willie credits America's indigenous population as his inspiration to adopt tribal face paint.

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Arrest Scorecard: 60 and counting.

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Marital Status: Single now - previously married

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Progeny: Willie is without issue

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Political Affiliation: Prior member of the UAW - and presumable still loyal.

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Modelling Portfolio: 2 Calendars, at least one magazine, this web site

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Willie's philosophy on material wealth: Willie believes one really can't posses anything "We're all on this planet for such a short duration - everything we try to posses almost instantaneously evaporates from our grasp. Even if your goal is to bequeath your possessions to your offspring - they're here for such a short span themselves, they never can posses anything anyway.

This project was initially conceived purely to celebrate Mr. York's distinctive couture - but during my conversations with Mr. York, I found a depth of character more than just his outward appearance would indicate. Mr. York is a very nice gentleman and even when inebriated, is quite lucid. At all times, he's a hell of a nice guy... Numerous times, while sitting and chatting with Mr. York, various people have come up and given testimonials of Mr. York's generosity - indeed, I've witnessed it firsthand; one day after I offered him some money - he immediately turned it over to one of his friends with a simple request that he bring him back an "IceHouse".

As Willie gets more and more inebriated, his personality takes on a more acerbic flavor (perhaps that is too strong an adjective - maybe urgent is more a propos) He certainly tends to get more vocal. But if you find it unbearable - you merely have to walk away - although, truth to tell, as Willie advances in age, he has adopted a mellower, less confrontational demeanour.

Delving into the Peoria Journal Star Archives we pretty much find a chronicle of his arrest records with a few side forays into describing his costumes, lifestyle, cuisine, etc. - all of which tends to be somewhat romanticised.

The commonly held belief is that Willie commits crimes as a ticket to jail to escape the cruel Peoria winters - whether or not this is true, we like to pretend it is so so we can absolve ourselves for incarcerating this poor guy. Be that as it may - he certainly has spent his share of winters in the lockup.


Let the circus begin! -

Our chronicle starts in March 1993. We find Willie in trouble with the law for attempting a bank robbery. Dressed in his devil costume (see Willie's Fashion pages) or as the Peoria cops described it, "his Cannibal costume"???? Willie hands the teller a note that read in part "Give me 1110000000 $ or I kill you." Willie also backs up his threat by producing a small paper bag that allegedly contains the gun. The uncooperative teller throws a monkey wrench into the works by informing Willie that he can't rob them as he doesn't have an account at that particular bank. Willie backs down from that compelling logic and is collared by the police on the way out the door. Net result? 1 year in jail.

Evidently, Willie manages to join the ranks of respectable citizenry for about 2 years until July 1994 - Willie flings a Molotov cocktail (actually filled with water) through the window of the Federal Building - resulting in a sentence of 21 months. Paroled a mere 6 months later, Willie was soon in trouble again - accusations flew ranging from disorderly conduct, harassment, to illegal consumption..... of a pet cat. Who knows whether any of these charges had merit, but Willie was not jailed until an argument resulting over roadkill. Willie was interrupted by a lady while gutting his dinner. Understandably, he became a bit territorial over it and threatened her with his knife. Back to jail for another 14 months.

1998 we read about Ron McFall, a Peoria businessman who creates the first Willie York calendar - Ron also has grandiose plans for Willie T-shirts, and heavens knows what else... How much of this came to fruition - I haven't a clue, although I believe he did get the calendars off the ground.

One year later, Willie is back in trouble again (March 1999). A policeman is called to the Community Action Center due to a gentleman causing a disturbance. When the policeman arrives, there is a bit of a confrontation - culminating in Mr. York throwing a punch at the officer. Willie gets sentenced and presumably tossed in jail, although I'm unsure as to how long a sentence he drew.