Roger Whitaker, a member of the Sangamon Valley Radio Club (SVRC), has been a ham radio operator for 64 years, having earned his license when he was only 11. The SVRC, one of the oldest clubs in Illinois and an affiliate of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), will celebrate its 75th anniversary next March. […]
Cinda Ackerman Klickna
Cinda Klickna is a former teacher from Springfield and past president of the Illinois Education Association.
Posted inArts & Culture
Donations to make a difference
Margaret Herath, formerly of Springfield, now of Indiana, has fond childhood memories of going with her father, the late Guerry Suggs, to the Illinois State Museum. “He would take me to the Saturday movies and then we would walk around and see the dioramas. I loved seeing the diorama with the bobcat and wanted a […]
Posted inNews
STEM UP brings STEM careers to young adults
State senator Doris Turner, D-Springfield, and Gina Lathan, president of the Route History museum and souvenir shop, 737 Cook St., have a keen interest in helping young people of color learn about the history of Springfield, as well as explore possible careers. Their interests have led to a new program administered through the Route History […]
Posted inNews
Meet me at Southtown
The block between 11th and 12th streets along South Grand Avenue, known as Southtown (often spelled as two words), appears run-down, with empty buildings and lack of upkeep. There are a few businesses still going strong. According to John Stremsterfer of the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln and Dominic Watson of the Springfield […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Thousand-Year Statehouse
David L. Finnigan, originally from Lincoln, now of Springfield, was a graduate student in architecture at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 2018 and was reading a book about English palaces. He says, “My first thought was that it is too bad we don’t have something like that here. Then, it dawned on me – we do. […]
Posted inNews
The Hickox family of Springfield,a clan of builders
Harris “Buzz” Hatcher, 70, of Springfield, invited me on a tour, saying, “I want to tell you about the Hickox family.” I was intrigued, since I had conducted research about homes the Hickox family owned over generations. We stand at Fourth and Cook in front of the Hickox Apartment complex, which is listed on the […]
Posted inOpinion
Creating a culture of historic preservation
Hats off to Lisa Moffett and Theresa O’Hare who went into action to save the summer kitchen at the famed Leland Farmhouse even though the main house was demolished. And hats off to the Springfield Park Board for seeing the significance of preserving a piece of history and entering into a letter of intent to […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
A teacher at heart
Chuck Flamini held about every job in education in Springfield District 186 one could possibly have: teacher, coach, union president, principal, athletic director, central office administrator, assistant superintendent and board member. Ask anyone about his main philosophy while serving in any of these roles, and the comment always is, “Chuck had teachers in his heart.” […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Central Illinois filmmakers at work
Julie Staley started Spencer Films two years ago and has been hard at work on several projects. Just completed shooting in Los Angeles is The Lie, a short film about heroin addiction. Staley says, “This addiction is affecting many, but we don’t make strides to get ahead; more momentum is needed, and the film helps […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Easy Rider
In June 2021, June Flood was helped into a side car of a motorcycle and taken on her first-ever motorcycle ride. That was what she requested to celebrate her 100th birthday. When asked about the ride, she says, “It was fun but not long enough and not fast enough.” The video of her ride was […]
Posted inNews
Bustos enters SHS Hall of Fame
Congresswoman Cheri Bustos stood on the Springfield High School stage addressing students as she accepted induction into the SHS Hall of Fame. She advised the group, “There will be so many opportunities for you. The foundation built through SHS will serve you well and lead to places you may never have thought of. The foundation […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Historical Midwest poet comes to life on video
In 1979 John Hallwas was a young professor, doing research about what early Illinois settlers would have read. While scouring through newspapers from the 1830s, he found poems in the Sangamo Journal that caught his attention, each simply signed “H.” Hallwas wondered who the poet was and kept searching, finding a total of 71 poems […]
