PEORIA, Ill. – Former students and family members came together to honor a man who has been described as the “Godfather of Peoria’s Talent Shows.”
On Monday, the corner of Lincoln and Griswold was named “Larry Hendricks, Jr. Avenue” to recognize the former Peoria Manual art teacher.
Hendricks was a teacher at Manual from 1970-2004. He also served numerous coaching roles at the school, most notably track and field, along with soccer and basketball. Hendricks also founded Manual’s Afro Club.
A ceremony in Manual’s auditorium came before the unveiling of the street sign, where numerous people spoke glowingly of Hendricks the impact he had on their lives. He was described as a father figure and mentor to many Manual students in his time there.
Hendricks says his biggest accomplishment is getting his students to believe in themselves.
“I embraced all my students and athletes, because I just thought that they would do well, and if they did well here, they could do well in life,” Hendricks said.
One of those former students is Peoria Mayor Rita Ali, who presented a Mayoral Proclamation to Hendricks at the ceremony, which she says was “very personal” to her.
“He saw the good in me, he encouraged me to go to college, he tried to tap into my creative side, he wanted to know what my interests were, he inspired me to really be the creative person that I am and just to try and do my best,” Ali said.
Hendricks is the second person to be honored with a street named after them at Peoria Manual, following former basketball coach Wayne McClain.
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