Plus a bonus puzzle:
Community & Lifestyle
Posted inArts & Culture
Share your ideas about the future of Springfield
Do you have an idea – big or small – about the future of the capital city? The Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln (CFLL) wants to hear from you. Over the next six weeks, from now until Thanksgiving, local citizens are invited to share their ideas about the future of the greater Springfield […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Creating new Halloween traditions
Starting back in August, my daughters began planning their Halloween costumes. At first, my six-year-old told me she wanted to be a vampire. Two hours later, she reconsidered that frightening getup and told me she wanted to be a beautiful princess. An hour after that, she changed her mind again. My oldest daughter is “totally […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Graffiti freedom
Graffiti is thousands of years old. In its literal sense, it’s the act of writing on walls and other surfaces – traditionally those that don’t belong to the writer. In modern times, it’s linked to cans of spray paint and more often than not, music. On walls in alleys and on passing trains, it’s become […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A generous community
“I can’t work on a vaccine, but I can give what I have,” says Cecelia Wendler, a Springfield resident who has been regularly fulfilling requests posted to the Springfield Families Helping Families Facebook (SFHF) group. “It’s the immediacy of stepping in; it’s very in-the-moment. It gives a sense of the lived concern for everyone in […]
Posted inArts & Culture
No fair
In a normal year, the Twilight Parade would be kicking off the Illinois State fair tonight, but 2020 has already been anything but normal. COVID-19 cancelled the Fair for the first time since World War II, affecting everything from agriculture to nonprofits who rely on revenue from working the gates and Grandstand. In this issue, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The show will go on
For city kids, the Illinois State Fair provides a rare glimpse into rural life. A walk by the barns often shows a livestock farmer in action, mucking out stalls and tending to animals. “Want to milk a cow? Here ya go kid, grab hold and squeeze.” Though it takes practice, most of us get the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
No fun and no funds
Many people will have more time on their hands this August. During a typical August, thousands of individuals volunteer at the Illinois State Fair staffing parking lots, admission gates and Grandstand concessions to help local charities and community organizations raise needed funds. No fair means a significant loss of revenue for these organizations. The American […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Building a butter cow
In my early 20s, I worked at a dairy in Longmont, Colorado. The company, which was part of the grassroots movement to revive home milk delivery, was known for having the creamiest, most delicious milk in the state of Colorado. In the early morning hours, long before anyone else was awake, milkmen (and women) dressed […]
Posted inArts & Culture
DIY fair food
Even though the 2020 Illinois State Fair was cancelled due to the pandemic, folks can still go out and find ways to celebrate Illinois. The very first state fair was held in 1853 in Springfield and showcased new and improved methods of agriculture and livestock production, innovations in labor and industry, the arts and education. […]
Posted inArts & Culture
For better or for worse
My wife, Kathy, did not want her full story told while she was alive. The Aug. 9, 2002, accident that forever changed our lives was simply too emotionally overwhelming for her to consider seeing it in print during her lifetime. Not long ago we had the discussion again, and Kathy agreed that if she were […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Learning remote learning
In mid-March, when Buffy Lael-Wolf realized in-person school was indefinitely postponed, she sprang into action. She knew her 10-year-old daughter, Nea, thrived on routine, and she wasn’t going to skip a beat. She felt her professional background had prepared her. “If I wasn’t going to be a nurse, I was going to be a teacher. […]
