From the Women’s Suffrage March of 1913 to serving in Congress, the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., have served both their communities and their nation. The group, formed in 1913 by 22 Howard University women dedicated to promoting academic excellence and providing assistance to people in need, has grown over the past 100 […]
Grace Sweatt
Posted inArts & Culture
Country dancing for 25 years
Yes, it’s a little boot scootin’ and a little two-steppin,’ but Prairie Land Dance Club (PLDC) in Illiopolis ain’t your mama’s square dance. Folks at PLDC are just as comfortable sliding through “Sex on the Beach” or “Moves Like Jagger” as they are with local darlin’ (and current contestant on “The Voice”) Gracia Harrison’s yodeling. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Golf classic to benefit injured motorcycle riders
Charlie Roberts, 51, of Springfield, knows what it’s like to race a motorcycle at speeds of more than 130 miles per hour around a flat track. He also knows what it’s like to lose control of a bike, ending up seriously injured and hospitalized a long way from home. After an injury in 1980, Roberts […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Civil War’s effects on ordinary folks
The stories we tell and the songs we sing help us make sense of the past, understand the present and build the future. Civil War Journeys, which opened last weekend at New Salem’s Theatre in the Park and continues its run July 19-22, is not an action-packed drama and it is not a lighthearted musical. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Pottery summer at Edwards Place
The Springfield Art Association is offering two exciting opportunities for the community to explore ceramics and pottery-making over the summer months. A kickoff event, ROASTED:%u2008Hot Pots or Pork, is June 16. A visiting potter offers several workshops and classes in June and July. Work with a visiting potter Southern Illinois potter CJ Niehaus will travel […]
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A civic sorority marks 100 years of good works
Good works and camaraderie build relationships that last a lifetime. Just ask the sisters of Springfield’s Kappa Chapter of the Phi Beta Psi sorority. As she reflects on a recent photo of her sorority sisters, Audrey Roesch recalls, “I’ve made a lot of good friends over the years that I never would have known. It’s […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Come, Creative Spirit
Over the past 16 years, the Liturgical Arts Festival has become Springfield’s premier event for those interested in liturgical and sacred arts. Representing each of the three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) as well as Buddhism, Bha’i and Native American traditions, “Come, Creative Spirit” promises to be one of the most diverse festivals in […]
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Indoor art fair with plenty of room
Local artist Ed Martin is bringing a different kind of art fair to Springfield. More akin to a casual, multi-artist gallery opening, Martin’s “An Art Affair – Second Annual Juried Invitational Fine Art Show,” takes place in the Orr Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds Saturday, April 14, and Sunday, April 15. Martin, who has experienced […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Injured, he helps others with brain injuries
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 Olympian. He is physically fit, resilient and determined. This has not always been the case. As a child, Shea struggled with respiratory […]
Posted inNews
Cooking up a Bike Kitchen
Neighborhoods in transition are often fertile grounds for new ideas. In the near future, the Enos Park neighborhood will become home to Springfield’s only community bike shop. Organized by local master mechanic and bike builder Robert LaBonte and a growing network of donors and volunteers, the Springfield Bike Kitchen will help assure that every cyclist […]
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Andi’s Run to benefit children’s tumor research foundation
“She loves with everything that she has.” Ivy Brog says of her daughter, Andrea Heath. “She gives anything that you ask and more than that. I think that somebody that endures as much as she does on a regular basis, who doesn’t make excuses, that’s the type of person you want around you because they […]
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Making Springfield a compassionate city
Long, long ago, Rabbi Hillel, an older contemporary of Jesus, was challenged to teach the Torah while standing on one foot. Hillel responded, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor.” He went on to tell his challengers that this statement alone sums up the teachings of the Torah and that […]
