Harry was my close neighbor. “Close” in rural lingo generally refers to an adjacent landowner, as opposed to folks living several miles away who are still considered neighbors. The distinction is purely geographical. Harry occupied a tiny one-room cabin, situated precariously at the edge of a bluff, whose most notable feature was a front porch […]
Community & Lifestyle
Posted inArts & Culture
Earth talk 1-27-05
Dear “Earth Talk: What is the modern meat industry’s impact on the environment? — Jeremy Smith, Bellefonte, Pa. In a recent E/The Environmental Magazine cover story, author Jim Motavalli wrote: “Just about every aspect of meat production — from grazing-related loss of cropland and open space to the inefficiencies of feeding vast quantities of water and […]
Posted inArts & Culture
When the drugstore served the best drinks in town
At the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Edwards Street is a two-story building with a “For Lease” sign in the front window of the vacant first story. Until recently, the location served as a religious meeting house and, for many years before that, as an antique shop where a languorous cat spent her days blissfully, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
prairie notes 1-6-05
It’s hard to find a food with a longer history than milk, a staple of the human diet. For at least 10,000 years, milk and foods made from milk have nourished children and adults in nearly every culture on earth. During the 1930s, pasteurization was introduced as means of making the milk supply safe from […]
Posted inArts & Culture
You never know where a job here might take you
Like most other capital cities, Springfield has always had a certain transient population whose ebb and flow are governed not by the moon but by the rising and falling tide of work necessary to efficient state governance. Some people come here to work, become attached to Springfield, and end up spending the rest of their […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Earth talk 1-6-05
Dear “Earth Talk: What are the environmental and health risks of genetically engineered foods, and do they outweigh the benefits such as reduced pesticide use and increased crop yields? — Liz from California Genetic engineering is a technology in which the genes of organisms are manipulated and transferred between species. Although genetically engineered (GE) foods […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Fifth Street, December 1938
Photographer Herbert Georg captured a classic film noir image in early December 1938, with the neon of Springfield’s many movie theaters reflecting on the rain-washed bricks and streetcar tracks of South Fifth Street. Looking north from Jackson, we note a street full of sedans, but not a single person is in sight. Even the double-parked […]
Posted inArts & Culture
prairie notes
This past year, the Illinois Department of Agriculture and local health departments offered financial incentives to assist in the sealing of abandoned wells. It’s a worthwhile cause that I sometimes become involved with. Often they’re old dug wells, barely visible in such places as the middle of a field or hidden in a thicket where […]
Posted inArts & Culture
earth talk
Dear “Earth Talk”: I’d like to start saving more energy in my home. Do you have any tips? — Mitch Rochelle, Carson City, Nev. A University of Michigan study estimates that the average American household could reduce its energy bills by 65 percent and, over the home’s lifetime, save $52,000 if it maximized energy efficiency. […]
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Protecting plants in winter
The winter storm that hit central Illinois recently played havoc with driving conditions, holiday plans, and area trees and shrubs. The heavy snow that fell the day before Thanksgiving knocked branches and, in some cases, entire trees to the ground. But the snow sure was great for making snowmen. Most winter damage to landscape plants […]
Posted inArts & Culture
earth talk
Dear “Earth Talk”: What environmental and health problems are associated with the use of chlorine by the paper industry? Is chlorine really essential in the production of paper? — Misty Landletter, Tempe, Ariz. To achieve its pearly-white color, most paper goes through a bleaching process that involves the use of chlorine or chemicals derived from […]
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prairie notes 11-25-04
In November, the last autumn colors vanish into piles of dry leaves and the prairie hardens itself for the coming winter. Here at Prairierth Farm, the crops are at last all gathered and the cattle will soon be coaxed in from the summer pasture. The once-magnificent summer prairie has become a dismal brown and gray, […]
