Many families’ back-to-school shopping list will include a new backpack this fall. Don’t buy the cheapest one you can find, advises Dr. Paul Venturini, a Springfield chiropractic physician. Correct backpack design, size and usage help keep children’s backs, shoulders and necks properly aligned and pain free. In fact, “A 2016 study on back pain published […]
DiAnne Crown
DiAnne Crown is a longtime freelance writer based in Springfield and former editor of Springfield Parent Magazine.
Posted inSpecial Issues
Destination Danville, a city reclaiming its treasures
Just two hours east of Springfield with plenty of highlights that can be enjoyed in a few hours, Danville is a pleasant daytrip – and a city claiming a progressive new status. A strong foundationDanville considers itself at the corner of progress and history. Its water tower says so. That history is based on hard […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Stained glass, a Springfield tour
Springfield is home to gorgeous stained glass installations in churches, historic sites and other public spaces. Architect Ralls Melotte, co-founder of Melotte Morse Stained Glass and Melotte Morse Leonatti Parker, Ltd. Architects, spent 21 years restoring, repairing and fabricating much of it. Here, Melotte presents several examples of Springfield’s wide range of transcendent light. “For […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Home security essentials
As the temperature rises, so does crime. Make sure your home isn’t an easy target. Lock and light, day and night Lock your house, your car, and your garage all the time, says Sergeant Travis Dalby, head of Sangamon County’s crime prevention unit. “As the weather heats up, all kinds of crime increases. But you […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Make your yard home to feathered friends
Early spring is a wonderful time to attract birds to your yard. Natural seed sources from last fall have been picked over and used up. Many of the insects that overwinter are still inactive. And it’s courtship and nesting time, which creates a high demand for fuel and housing. To make your yard a neighborhood […]
Posted inNews
Kinetic energy turns kids on
Everyone wins when Engineer in the Classroom (EITC) arrives in area fifth grades for 12 weeks each winter. Engineers from local firms visit participating classes – this year 12 – to generate excitement about careers in science and math. Classroom teachers engage students of all abilities and learning styles in an unforgettable cross-curricular experience. And […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Lighten up
What’s your clutter? Boxes of 30-, 40-, 50-year-old receipts and records? A set of dishes unused for years, but given to you by your mother’s best friend for your first apartment? Your kids’ outgrown bicycles that their kids might use someday? Two extra sizes of clothes, just in case? Depending on who you are, what […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Birthday party for Lake Springfield clubs
This Sunday, Sept. 10, the Council of Lake Springfield Clubs celebrates its 60th anniversary with food, drinks and music from noon to 6 p.m. at the Aqua Sports Club. The public is invited and admission is free. “We’ll have a welcome and proclamation by Mayor Jim Langfelder for the 60th anniversary at the beginning,” says […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Broom Orchard
Jeff and Lisa Broom are getting ready for another busy autumn in their Carlinville orchard and Farm Market. Customers will head into the orchard for you-pick apple days beginning Labor Day weekend, the orchard will celebrate its 35th anniversary Apple Fest Sept. 23 and 24, and family fun will fill the grounds two weekends later […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
What is success? How can we help our children achieve it?
In 2015, Trinity Lutheran School in Springfield began examining what a successful graduate would look like in a future vastly different from the school’s foundational days. The journey of discovery was both deep and wide, and the destination would be a new design for Christian education. This fall, 157 years since the humble start described […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Write. Don’t let anything stop you.
John B. Jamison, J.B. Jamison and Pops Jamison have two things in common. On any given day, they’re all storytellers. And they don’t take no for an answer. The names“They’re all me,” says Jamison. “I don’t hide that. Each comes with a different mindset.” Anyone who knows Jamison from his early career as pastor and […]
Posted inNews
Runners honor a hero and friend
Organizers from Lincoln Land Community College, the Illinois State Police and Illinois Air National Guard will host the Brian McMillen Memorial Run/Walk Saturday, May 27, at 8 a.m. on the LLCC Campus. At this 10th and final celebration of McMillen’s joy, service and sacrifice, his friends and family will provide the remaining funds to endow […]
