The 1908 race riot is part of Springfield’s history and should not be ignored. That’s the view of Tim Farley, executive director of the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau. The bureau recently published a brochure detailing the events of Aug. 14 and 15, 1908, when white rioters rampaged, forcing thousands of black residents to flee […]
John L. Glosser
Posted inNews
The mission
By my count, there are more than 170 churches in Springfield. In the city we have downtown churches, neighborhood churches, mainline churches, independent churches, historic churches and recently formed churches. They’re diverse in size — and in theology, organization, and style of worship. And yet all of these churches grapple with the same questions: How […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Decatur celebrates the Emancipator
Abraham Lincoln, as a strapping young man earning his keep, split many a rail near Decatur, working for Macon County landowners such as Sheriff William Warnick. One day, Lincoln fell through the ice while walking on the frozen Sangamon River, and he was forced to nurse his frostbitten feet at the sheriff’s home. As he […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A celebration of everything fowl
John James Audubon — that is, a reasonable facsimile of the famous American artist — makes a local appearance Saturday as part of the Illinois State Museum’s “Bird is the Word” event. Storyteller Brian “Fox” Ellis, who plays the role of Audubon, will regale visitors with stories of the artist’s adventures in wild America in […]
Posted inNews
Know how to breathe? Think again.
In 1999, Dr. Padma Talchekar, a pediatrician, injured the cartilage in her knees while exercising at a gym. When she returned to her native India months later for a visit, she was still in pain. A friend encouraged her to take part in a stress-relief program being offered in Bangalore. The course taught breathing techniques […]
Posted inNews
The Road Home
Everyone knows Route 66 started in Illinois. But even before the legendary highway was created in 1926, the Prairie State had already built a paved road connecting Chicago and St. Louis. That road, established in 1918, went by two names: the Pontiac Trail and State Route 4. The Pontiac Trail followed Indian paths, and the […]
Posted inOpinion
Missing the mark
Eight markers in central Springfield were set out to tell the story of the 1908 race riots. The markers were put in place in 1994 by the Historical Events Memorial Committee under then-mayor Ossie Langfelder. On August 14 and 15, 1908, two blacks, Scott Burton and William Donnegan, were killed by a white mob. Governor […]
