JEFFREY HOFMANN Despite spending the better part of his working life as a radio personality, Jeff Hofmann wasn’t much for the limelight. A fight with cancer is never easy, but Hofmann did it with grace and wit. Didn’t want sympathy, and didn’t talk much about it after his diagnosis in 2008. “He was losing weight,” […]
Community & Lifestyle
Posted inArts & Culture
A genius in science, art and humor
Dr. David Sumner of Springfield was a renowned surgeon, academic and artist. One of his paintings, at right, depicts the Rue Dauphine, a well-known street in Paris, France. A beautiful Parisian streetscape, a sailboat race on the North Carolina coast, and a peaceful snowfall on frozen Lake Springfield: Those picturesque scenes and many more were […]
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The premier downstate political strategist
KEITH LARKIN TAYLOR A host of prominent Illinois politicos attended the July 16 memorial service for Keith Taylor. Among them were Attorney General Lisa Madigan, former Attorney General Neil Hartigan, former Senate President Tom Hynes and his son, former Comptroller Dan Hynes. The younger Hynes gave a moving tribute to Taylor, who had squired Hynes […]
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His knowledge took his class to places they’d never been
KENNETH ROBERT FOLKS Ken Folks is missed by me, his coworker, and all the lives he touched in his classroom at Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries. He was the kind of guy that you only had to meet once, and from then on you were friends forever. It was like you’d known him for years. […]
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‘It’s OK. Everything will be all right.’
MARK ALEXANDER MACDONALD “isn’t easy being a man / all those lines we paint / to the endless amusement / of those who live between them” – from Mark’s poem “Lines” Mark visited Illinois the year the Mississippi flooded. As a participant in the 1993 World Free Fall Convention in Quincy, he took a Springfield […]
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She was a volunteer from the word go
ELSIEJANE “NING” O’KEEFE “I’m a better person because my life touched Ning’s,” said Elizabeth Kloppenburg of her dear friend, Elsiejane “Ning” Staley O’Keefe, who died Aug. 4. It is a sentiment echoed by many in Springfield. This city was Ning’s love, and much of her adult life was spent in service to its people and […]
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As war escalated in Liberia, life became increasingly difficult
TECUMSAY JUMO ROBERTS, SR. Sisters Gifty Smith and Yarvo Roberts say their childhood home in Liberia was so full of familiar faces that they didn’t know which people were actual relatives. “Those in need came to our house and my parents would find a way to get them whatever they lacked. Dad was always helping […]
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Wimp daddy
A woman wrote you about flirting relentlessly with a male classmate who seemed interested in her but may have been too timid to ask her out. You asked her, “If a man can’t endure a possible 10 seconds of rejection, is he the man you want with you when danger rears its head?” Absent a […]
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Skunked before Christmas
PHOTO BY TOM FRIEDEL VIA WIKIPEDIA.ORG We lived in a frame house in Hickory Hollow during our younger years. We had many interesting experiences there, especially in the wintertime. Brother Jack and I woke up early on a dark and cold December morning. Mom usually called us twice. Once to wake us and once to […]
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Flesh prince
My boyfriend of two years has always disparaged gentlemen’s clubs. I truly believed him until he visited his family and I searched Google Maps on his computer for something in his hometown. The text box predicted “strip clubs” there. I confronted him, and looking to prove me wrong, he showed me his “places” history. Various […]
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Toy land, toy land … tablet, game and joy land
Disney infinity (above) Skylanders swap force (below); $74.99 each Innovation. Building skills. Out-of-the-box thinking. This year, toys trends are more about stretching the mind than providing temporary entertainment – or finding new ways to do both. “This is the year of toys powered by kids’ imaginations,” says Marianne Szymanski, the founder and president of Toy […]
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Party 9-1-1!
Choosing a menu where most dishes can be prepared ahead of time, such as sliced meats and cheeses, crudites and baked goods. Along with the holidays come many parties, but unfortunately, parties don’t always go the way you hope they will. We asked Susan Spungen, founding food editor at Martha Stewart Living and author of […]
