History | Thursday, May 6,2004

A passion for rail preserved George Pullman’s legacy

Although today we live in what might be called the post-railroad age, it is impossible to overstate the importance of railroads in the formation of our great nation. Before their appearance in

History | Thursday, April 29,2004

History Talk 4-29-04

By Bob Cavanagh

Justin Taft, well-known Sangamon County farmer and former Clerk of the Supreme Court, recently published a semi-autobiographical look back at his 80-plus years in a book entitled As I Saw It --

History | Friday, April 23,2004

A dyed-in-the-wool Springfield original

By Bob Cavanagh

James R. "Bud" Fitzpatrick (1895-82), owner and publisher of the Springfield Citizens Tribune, kept a plaque on his office desk that bore this quotation: "There is nothing so powerful as an ide

History | Thursday, April 8,2004

Made by God, delivered by Rechner’s

By Bob Cavanagh

At the corner of 12th and Reynolds, hard by what was once the site of the John Hay Homes, stands the former residence and business of August Rechner Sr., a native of Baden, Germany, who emigrated fro

History | Thursday, March 18,2004

Finding beauty in everyday things

By Bob Cavanagh

Just a few years ago, when our kids were still quite little, our family was watching an old black-and-white television program when my daughter allowed that she wasn't altogether enjoying the show. W

History | Thursday, March 4,2004

Back in the ’30s, they played for keeps

By Bob Cavanagh

Fans of such insipid pop-culture TV fare as Fear Factor, Survivor, American Idol and other staged, stultifying and overly orchestrated pabulum so mind-numbingly vacuous that you can actually fe

History | Thursday, February 19,2004

The school for wives

By Bob Cavanagh

In the days before television talk shows, cooking shows and HGTV -- indeed, in the days before television itself -- the American woman, who was almost always a housewife, had a limited network

History | Thursday, January 22,2004

From the junior leagues to the majors

By Bob Cavanagh

On June 18, 1945, Dick Schofield, a ten-year-old fourth grader from Harvard Park School, had the opportunity to meet the state's top elected official, Gov. Dwight Green. Schofield, a representa

History | Thursday, January 8,2004

With help from her friends, a young widow made a life for her girls

By Bob Cavanagh

On May 27, 1942, the Hunn sisters of Springfield were innocence and beauty incarnate as they modeled their new spring outfits at Aunt Hannah's Baby Shop, which was then located at 126 N. Fifth St. in

History | Thursday, December 18,2003

At home with the dean of Springfield physicians, nearly a century ago

By Bob Cavanagh

When Dr. Wilber Price Armstrong Sr. died on July 7, 1940, Springfield papers reported his death as the passing of "the Dean of City Physicians," an accurate and well-deserved appellation for the man w