Skydivers know how to have a great fall

When Brian and Tracey Meade’s air conditioner went out, club members showed up with two window units. The club is the Mid-America Sport Parachute Club, based out of the Taylorville airport. &ldq

A reason to celebrate

Six years ago, Christmas was about putting on a brave front

My father retired in 1995, and, beginning in 1997, he and my mother began spending their winters in Weslaco, Texas. Our family would celebrate the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays in October before

Navel gazing

The skinny on Springfield’s two belly-dancing groups

On a recent Monday evening, 10 women are gathering in Kari Dotson's dining room. There is much to do this night, and they arrive ready and dressed for business. As Middle Eastern music fills

Jumpstart

Local drummers explore the frontiers of percussion

Drumming is an obsession for Dennis Maberry, who started banging away on a drum set 25 years ago. For years, he played with rock bands until he couldn't maintain a semblance of a normal life. H

Miner turns curator to share coal’s story

You could say William Stone has coal in his veins. After more than three decades working for Mr. Peabody's coal company and more than a decade in retirement, Stone opened a museum devoted to -- w

History in the making

An hour west of Springfield, researchers are piecing together what life was like in New Philadelphia, the first African-American town.

November 8 was cold and windy, with gray, overcast skies threatening rain, but that didn't stop a group of archaeologists and volunteers from walking over a tilled field about 65 miles west of Springf