Injured, he helps others with brain injuries

After sustaining a brain injury in a 1987 bobsled accident, William Shea strives for understanding

William “Bill” Shea’s wheelchair sits in the corner of his basement. It is both a reminder of the past and a foreshadowing of the future. At 59, Shea embodies the qualities of an Oly

The ballad of Tom Irwin

A songwriter’s long, winding road from high school rocker to Sangamon Songs

To call Tom Irwin a fixture on the Springfield music scene would be something of an understatement. Beginning in the mid-1970s as a bass player and eventual frontman for various local rock bands, stra

Holy warrior

On the ice and in the pulpit, Bishop Thomas Paprocki takes hard shots

The office of Bishop Thomas John Paprocki is a veritable shrine to hockey.On a table sits a miniature Stanley Cup, next to a photo of him posing on the ice with members of his beloved Chicago Blackhaw

A creative visit from Vachel Lindsay’s granddaughter

The spirit of Vachel Lindsay was alive and well in Springfield Nov. 5 in the form of his granddaughter, Louisa Lindsay-Sprouse. She was visiting from Eugene, Ore., to promote creative writing in Sprin

Rounding out her career

Jackie Jackson releases her magnum opus, Vol. 1

Jacqueline Jackson still tends a herd of cows but nowadays they’re figurines on her mantle.Raised on the Dougan Guernsey Dairy Farm near Beloit, Wis., in the 1930s and 40s, Jackie decided at age

Ossie’s incredible journey

In a new book, Springfield’s former mayor looks back on life and the home he left behind

He’s lived in Springfield for nearly 70 years – most of it with his wife, Midge, and their 13 children in a rambling white clapboard house at the corner of Whittier and Laurel Ave.But at a

Many buildings. Many battles.

Oxtoby honored for a lifetime of historic preservation

“What did I know about restoring old buildings when I started out? Absolutely nothing,” recalls Carolyn Oxtoby, who is often called “the patron saint of downtown Springfield” f

The cost of Bill Brady’s plan

Cutting state government ‘a dime per dollar’ would hit Springfield hard

Of the estimated 400 to 500 people who showed up to a Columbus Day rally in Charleston for state senator and Republican governor hopeful Bill Brady of Bloomington, most were Republican voters angry wi

A couple’s date to remember

“I believe in luck, fate and destiny,” says Christopher Trudeau.So when Trudeau, 27, and his bride-to-be, Joann Durbin, 24, realized that this Sunday comes up 10-10-10 on the calendar, the