Phil Bradley

 President Eisenhower said, “If you aren’t in the middle of the road, you are in the gutter.” What he expressed 60-plus years ago applies to today’s Facebook.  Sure, there are lots of pictures of happy family gatherings, new babies, memories of past good times. But increasingly my newsfeed is filled with hatred, largely from the […]

 We are close to the time of year when the big decision on air-conditioning must be made. Flip the switch now or wait for hotter weather? Some of us crank it up when the heat starts, others are more parsimonious and delay to save money. In the ’40s and ’50s most of us didn’t have […]

 On April 29, 1944, my mother was admitted to Memorial Hospital in Springfield where I was born. I was the first in my line to be born in a medical facility. There is a house up on Salt Creek in Menard County where my father was born. As was my grandfather. And my great grandfather. […]

Before McDonalds came to town after the Second World War, in the late ’40s and the ’50s, we ate differently than today. In fact we got our food in different ways. At my grandparents’ farm in Menard County there was a large vegetable garden outside the back door. As you left the house you walked […]

 Back in the 1960s, one community college opened every week in America. Illinois was part of that movement. This year, proclaimed by Governor Rauner as the “Year of the Community College,” marks the 50th anniversary of Illinois’ law setting up the community college system. His proclamation bears a certain irony given his failure to fund […]

 Our next door neighbor on MacArthur was a nice lady named Mae Shaheen. She lived with her brother, George. They were the siblings of Joe Shaheen, who ran the Springfield Speedway. On race nights Mae worked the beer stand at the track. George was a traveling salesman. After Mae’s death the house was cleared and […]

 One of my fellow students from the Springfield High School class of 1962 is retiring at the end of January. While most of us have already retired with little fanfare, this is a lady whose leaving will be felt by many in our town. Marianne Rogers is ending her longtime role as the owner of […]

 I was at the comic book rack in Overaker’s drug store doing free reading and drinking a vanilla Coke (10 cents for the large size in 1960). My attention was caught by the conversation at a table near the back. It was a group of society women who gathered every afternoon for Cokes and gossip. […]

 “Three for me says Allen T.” That mantra guided Democratic voters in Sangamon and Menard Counties as they cast their votes for state representative in the ’50s and ’60s. And the man jokingly quoted, Allen T. Lucas, spent many years in the Illinois House of Representatives because his fellow Democrats usually marked their ballots to […]

 In 1952, when I was entering second grade, my mother and I moved from my grandparents’ house to an old Victorian house on the corner of Douglas and Governor. Like many families in those days, we shared the house with several generations. In our case with mother’s cousin, Ruth Butler, Ruth’s two children and her […]

“Frances Platt, whatever happened to that wonderful mind of yours?” That was Miss Elizabeth’s greeting to my mother after not seeing her for years. The question was asked in a booming voice heard all over the main floor of the old Lincoln Library. Typical Elizabeth Graham, no small talk, just going directly to what she […]

My family bought our house in 1925. At the time the address was 1207 West Grand Avenue South. During World War II the street name was changed to MacArthur Boulevard. Now, 90 years later, we are getting it ready to be sold. I have lived in the house for 70 years. People express surprise saying […]