The poor rich and the Scrooginess of Congress
It’s at this time of the year that generous, big-hearted Americans reach out to aid the less fortunate among us – like those who’ve recently been knocked down by the recession and seen their incomes plummet. I speak, of course, about our nation’s severely squeezed millionaires. Yes, many in the infamous 1 percent class are…
All about bubbly
“Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we are fighting for, it’s Champagne!” – Winston S. Churchill Most New Year’s celebrations seem a bit awkward to me. The silly hats, noisemakers and excessive drinking just feel wrong, somehow. We had a party at my house every year when I was growing up. There was little alcohol…
Auld Lang Syne
New Year’s Eve at 6:15 p.m., join the Springfield Area Arts Council and past mayors at opening ceremonies for First Night 2012 at Fourth Street and Capitol Avenue. Fireworks and chances to win cash begin an evening of dance, song and entertainment at almost a dozen downtown locations. Our picks for the evening include: District…
Robert Sampson & Blues Gumbo
Not just another blues band, this group of seasoned area musicians comes together to play music bringing decades of experience in performance, perseverance and practice. With Jacksonville resident Robert Sampson (vocals, songwriter, keyboards, saxophone, guitar, harmonica) leading the way through his spirited performances and multi-instrumentalist capabilities, Blues Gumbo consists of Lorrie Eden (vocals), Art Carey…
Cook County helps pay downstate’s way
I talked with former state senator Howie Carroll last week about state Rep. Bill Mitchell’s (R-Forsyth) proposal to kick Chicago and suburban Cook County out of Illinois. Mitchell’s resolution has just a tiny number of co-sponsors, but he’s managed to get himself lots of statewide and national media coverage and he clearly appears to be…
In Game of Shadows, Sherlock is better than ever
Briskly executed, genuinely exciting and altogether entertaining, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, manages to outdo its predecessor by keeping all that was right about that film – the chemistry between its two leads, the sumptuous recreation of England’s late Victorian Age and an inventive approach to action – and provide what that 2009 feature…
TRAVIS THIEL
In February, the St. John’s Hospital family lost one of our heroes. I met Travis when he was about 3 years old. He came with his mother for physical therapy for delayed development. Over the next several years, I had the privilege of working with Travis when he was in the hospital and for the…
This Langfelder son is a New York singer
From the moment he made his musical debut at age 10, lip syncing Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” at Blessed Sacrament School’s talent show, Jacob Langfelder wanted to be on stage. Now in his 30s, with a decade of experience behind him performing and working the business side of the music industry, he’s just released his…
New Year’s news
Wow, I feel like one of those people saying, “Wow, it’s New Year’s already? I thought we just celebrated the last one.” Or something akin to that exclamation of realization and regret, surprise and sentimentality that mingles into conversation as our society approaches a commemoration of the invented calendar year beginning again. I also feel…
DANIEL BRUCE BRINKLEY
Daniel Bruce Brinkley of Springfield was the father of two beautiful daughters, Shawnda Brinkley, 20, and Shyanne Brinkley, 5. He was a loving husband to wife Roxanne (Dunham) Brinkley. Daniel married my Aunt Roxie. He met his wife thought his best friend and sister-in-law, Rhonda Bixler (Dunham). Growing up, he was always known to be…
readingpoem #7
joan read all the time — do you recall when we were parked in front of the post office I don’t remember quite how it began but I have a clear picture of our sister emerging from the p.o. door her eyes on her book feeling with her feet her way down the steps never…
French fare
Take a trip to Paris this New Year’s Eve with the folks at the Firefighters Postal Lake Club located on Lake Springfield. The club has an evening of food and music and ambiance planned so you’ll feel as if you hopped the pond to that romantic city where everyone yearns to visit. Complete with Eifel…
Brief-stricken
A divorced male friend and I recently became “friends with benefits.” However, I’m not receiving the same, uh, level of benefits as he is. He isn’t giving me orgasms from intercourse, and his pleasuring of me is measured in seconds rather than minutes, despite my telling him that this is a problem. (I haven’t felt…
Electric party
Rock ‘n’ roll songster and reality show maven Bret Michaels selects Springfield as the location for his New Year’s Eve rendezvous this year. Hear the Poison band lead vocalist rock out at the Prairie Capital Convention Center while also filming a video for his new single, “Get Your Rock On.” Your cozy couch and television…
Gougres
These cheese puffs hail from France’s Burgundy region. They’re a traditional accompaniment to red wine, but make an outstanding pairing with Champagne. tsp. kosher or sea salt 1 clove garlic 4 T. plus 1 tsp. chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1 c. water pinch of freshly grated nutmeg tsp. ground white pepper 1…
Get Out of Jail cards
Writers of newspaper columns, it turns out, are not the only people who have trouble getting sentences right. Eyebrows, if not voices, were raised when federal judge James Zagel set 14 years in prison as the price Rod Blagojevich must pay for nearly committing a crime. That’s only one year short of the maximum that…
A renowned physician who wasn’t afraid to go against the grain
Dr. Thomas Shanahan of Springfield wasn’t the type to let success go to his head. A world-renowned doctor at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Shanahan created a specialized prostate cancer treatment that has become the de facto standard. He traveled the world to teach his method to other doctors. He developed a custom platform now…
No static at all
Call him Bob – that’s what everyone called him, when they weren’t calling him Uncle Bob. Or Chief Burning Feathers. Or The Kid. “He hated ‘Carl,’” says his former wife, Jeri Taylor, who was at his side when he died of multiple sclerosis at his Springfield home. A master of marketing and promotions, Bob Taylor…
GAETANO GAMBINO
He came to town with a dream of owning his own restaurant – a Cajun/Creole restaurant as authentic as it could be, since many of the recipes were from his own family. This man’s family had spent many years in the restaurant business during his childhood in the belly of Louisiana. He was no stranger…
CHARLES E. BRITTIN
Charlie Brittin was a true renaissance man. He was interested in so many different things that even now I’m learning new facts about him. Many knew Charlie as a fine musician, which he was. He was a member of several different bands here in Springfield, playing bass. Tom Irvin in his column last June gave…
CELIA ANN KRETSCHMER WESLE
Twinkling eyes, slow smile lighting up a handsome face. That’s Celia, a “Tinker Bell” spirit in a statuesque body. Those who knew Celia delighted in her presence, a persona filled with light, love and laughter. I met Celia 30 years ago while working at the Illinois State Board of Education. Her enthusiastic, independent nature drew…
A life of loving and giving, gone too soon
When Rosetta Bowen first laid eyes on her daughter, Helynda Thompson, 23 years ago, two words came to mind – angel face. From that moment on, Bowen looked forward to waking up each day to her beautiful daughter and her “trillion-dollar smile.” But on July 21, fate took that smile away. The day began like…
A scholar with a love for literature and Lindsay
What qualities make a superior university professor: intelligence, the ability to work hard, a caring attitude for students of all ages and backgrounds, research skills, enthusiasm and aptitude for teaching, an endless curiosity about one’s field of study, as well as a curiosity about all things intellectual – the life of the mind? Prof. Dennis…
The man behind ‘Old Stoneface’
For decades, Don Hickman spent his evenings in thousands of homes around Springfield, beamed over the airwaves as the face of Channel 20 news. Many people knew him as the second most recognizable face in Springfield after Abraham Lincoln. But Hickman was more than “Old Stoneface,” the nickname he earned for his serious on-air persona.…
KEALY CARLSON
On Oct. 10, 2011, Kealy Alexa Carlson was on her way to ballet class when she died in an automobile accident. She was seven years old. Those of us who knew and cherished Kealy discovered a unique personality embedded in an otherwise typical little girl. Typically, Kealy demonstrated only a grudging tolerance for fruit and…
GREGORY ALLEN GRAHAM
Greg and his family moved to Pleasant Plains about eight years ago. He is the father of six wonderful kids: Marissa, Caleb, Paige, Blake, Shaina and Colin Graham. He married Julie Jackson on July 25, 1987. Greg was always a hard-working man, working many jobs. Before retiring due to his health he was an Illinois…
ANTHONY LASEAN SMITH
Anthony had a smile that would light up any room and a heart as big as all outdoors. Anthony started work at McDonald’s on MacArthur before going to Lindsay’s. Then he pursued an associates degree in culinary arts, attending Lincoln Land Community College, then Joliet Junior College. He earned a bachelor’s degree in hotel and…
JOSEPH F. HENDERSON, JR.
A crowd of sleepy-eyed family members, friends and well-wishers waited anxiously at the Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield. They were not waiting for a rock star or even the President of the United States, but instead were waiting for the return of the Honor Flight to touch down. My father, Joseph F. Henderson, Jr.,…
A U.S. senator, independent and faithful to his beliefs
For followers of contemporary Illinois politics, the name Charles Percy needs some refreshing. In an earlier day he served as a Republican for three terms in the U. S. Senate (1967-1985) and established a record for independence that today would be admired – or feared. He died Sept. 17 in Washington at the age of…
JERRY GLADU
Jerry Gladu was a national-caliber talent in the world of philanthropic development. He spearheaded the founding – and funding – of the St. Francis Foundation, the endowment for the 13 hospitals of Springfield-based Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS). During Jerry’s tenure at HSHS from 1985 to 1996, charitable giving grew from about $2 million to…
‘He pushed people to do the right thing.’
It’s almost impossible to talk about the Springfield National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) without mentioning Robert Goza. He was a life member of the national organization and an active member of the local chapter for more than 50 years. Perhaps his work and dedication to the NAACP is the result of…
FLORENCE L. BONER
We lost our mom, Florence Boner, unexpectedly April 19. She was 81, but still very active, volunteering all over town as usual. I had the job of emptying the house and going through all the papers that she and my dad collected for the last 50-some years. Among the thousands of recipes, greeting cards, newspaper…
Gourmet comfort food, and life with a full plate
“Would you like a box?” Aubrey Caitlin Barker would have appreciated how many folks said yes to doggie bags at a sold-out dinner at Lincoln Land Community College on Dec. 6 to raise money for a scholarship in her name. Big portions were a hallmark of Caitie Girl’s, the restaurant founded by Barker that succeeded…
The 25th annual First Night
On Dec. 31, 1987, Springfield became the first city in Illinois to host a First Night event celebrating the new year through the arts. Penny Wollan-Kriel, executive director of the Springfield Area Arts Council, jokes that the organizers could have won a “First Night on a Shoestring” award that year because of how much they…
Remembering the lives they lived
About the issue In this last edition of the year, Illinois Times celebrates the lives of just a few of the Springfield-area people who have died during the past year. By reading their stories, you can see that each one in this diverse collection contributed vastly to the fabric of life here. So they represent…
Chocolate truffles
Champagne pairs deliciously with sweets, especially chocolate. 12 oz. good quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate 1 c. unsalted butter 9 large egg yolks 6 T. superfine sugar (sometimes called bar sugar) or baker’s sugar 3 T. liqueur, such as Frangelico, Amaretto, dark rum, brandy, etc. Heat the butter, chocolate and sugar over very low heat…
Resolutions for a compassionate Springfield
With annum’s end here again, it’s time to bring out paper and pen – iPod or -Pad? – to begin another list of good intentions for the new year. For me it’s a challenge to make it past the first days or weeks of January with resolutions intact. Most of us are stretched with our individual…
