Cover Story
Grillin’ and Chillin’
There wasn’t much happening last summer, although many people took advantage of the extra time at home to improve their living space, in some cases expanding it to the outdoors. If you’re ready to host a backyard barbecue or spend a day at Lake Springfield with family and friends, we have plenty of suggestions for…
Letters to the editor 07-01-21
NO SYSTEMIC RACISM The opening paragraph in your recent cover story mentions systemic racism, which is not true of this country or city (“Crisis care beyond cops,” June 17). There are individuals that are racists, and that is true with people of all color. But the systemic racism claims are reverse racism. The statistics on…
A backyard oasis
Is your outdoor space a beautiful refuge of relaxation? If not, there’s no time like the present to transform it into your own piece of paradise. Landon Kirby, president and owner of Knob Hill Landscape Company, 661 W. Camp Sangamo Road, said “business has just exploded” since the pandemic kept people in their homes for…
Be great on the grill
Summertime barbecues tend to conjure up images of different varieties of meats, sizzling away on a hot grill, little kids covering hot dogs with entirely too much ketchup, cold drinks packed into ice-filled coolers and maybe a slip-n-slide marathon or two. There’s nothing better than smelling the piquant aroma of grilled meat drifting over the…
A day at Lake Springfield
Heading out to Lake Springfield with friends and family to enjoy an event at one of the many clubs or venturing out on your own just to explore can add to summer fun. The clubs are back with chicken fries, fish fries and parties. Lake Springfield Marina is open for rentals; there are picnic areas,…
Grilln’ veggies
My earliest grilling memory dates back to Brat Day, an annual summer tradition in the neighborhood where I grew up. Once a year my dad and I would drive to Sheboygan, nearly 150 miles away, to bring back coolers full of Sheboygan bratwurst for the neighborhood. This was back in the 60s when regional specialty…
Lasting music legacies
Welcome one and all to July of 2021. As we work our way through the vestiges of a pandemic that reached global proportions, our music community continues to expand toward what we had before COVID-19 altered almost everything. In the midst of this ever-changing world in which we live in, some things remain the same,…
Fried chicken favorites
One of the dearest memories my husband has of his childhood is watching his mother and grandma, standing side by side in his grandmother’s kitchen on Sunday afternoons, frying chicken together. Once their task was complete, his family would gather around the table, the air heavy with the delicious aroma of cooked poultry, spices and…
Don’t let mosquitoes bug you
Of all the things I’ve yearned for this summer, like cookouts and picnics and leisurely fishing trips, the itch of bug bites is definitely not one of them. I don’t actually get bitten much – there’s speculation that a diet rich in B vitamins helps to stave off bug bites, but little conclusive evidence. But…
NPR Illinois to lose university funding
Public funds for public radio in central Illinois will be phased out over the next five years. But National Public Radio (NPR) Illinois plans to use this fiscal lemon to make lemonade through enhanced fundraising and increased news coverage. The $7 million deficit sustained by University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) during the COVID-19 pandemic has…
Saving blue ash trees
Tens of millions ash trees have died across a large part of the U.S. due to the emerald ash borer, according to University of Illinois Extension. The emerald ash borer was first found in Illinois in the Chicago area in 2006. More than 99 percent of infected ash trees have died. Trees infested with the…
Editor’s Note 07-01-21
For the past year, Springfield historian Mark Flotow has been doing newspaper transcription work about Springfield during the Civil War era. He found a gem from the Illinois State Journal, dated July 6, 1866, that noted celebration of July 4 by the city’s Black residents: “Feeling that they also now have an interest in the…
Family and feelings behind the new park name
Springfield residents of various backgrounds and political persuasions gathered to celebrate the name change of a Springfield park, previously honoring the legacy of Stephen A. Douglas. The park at 943 W. Mason St. is now named after Otis B. Duncan, by means of a park board vote last November. On June 22, park board members,…
COVID protocols varied greatly
Last week, I asked the spokespersons for all four state legislative caucus leaders if they considered the spring session’s COVID protocols in their respective chambers to be a success. I didn’t think I’d get much in the way of a newsworthy response, but I actually did. Jaclyn Driscoll was a Missouri Statehouse reporter before she…
Talking tea
Long before folks were drinking tall glasses of iced tea, tea was a staple in the heavily spiked alcoholic punches that were popular in the young United States and much of Europe throughout the 18th century. Taverns and private clubs had their own proprietary and often highly secret punch recipes, and it’s easy to imagine…
Tour de Route 66
On May 9, Dan Reagin and his wife, Vickie Wilson, set out on their tandem bicycle from Tucson, Arizona, on Tour de Route 66, a planned 2,200-mile trek along the Mother Road from Flagstaff to Chicago. When they arrived in Springfield last weekend, they had logged 1,867 miles across six states. This is from their…
