We are stardust, we are golden
We are arriving, this year, at some important anniversaries. Already, we have observed one. The big day having passed, D-Day, 75th Anniversary: A Millennials Guide, is on steep discount at Amazon. “D-Day is one of the most recognizable terms in World War II lore and the invasion of Europe that it signifies is being commemorated…
Pritzker follows Gov. Thompson’s model
If you talk to the Statehouse old-timers, they’ll tell you they haven’t seen such a productive spring legislative session since Gov. Jim Thompson’s days. I think it’s probably safe to say that Gov. J.B. Pritzker cleared even that high historical bar this year, mainly because he had friendly Democratic super-majorities in both chambers. The Republican…
Letters to the Editor
BASEBALL STORIES A GOOD READI have enjoyed the recent stories on baseball by Stuart Shiffman. Regarding his story on Harry Caray (“Baseball’s salesman,” May 30), I heard many a broadcast by Harry, first with the Cardinals and later the Cubs. While I’m also a White Sox fan, I didn’t hear him broadcast Sox games since,…
Editor’s Note
In the current Pure News USA, fellow newspaper CEO T.C. Christian, Jr. observes Father’s Day by paying tribute to his father, T.C. Christian, Sr., in a piece called “He left me his name.” The elder Christian, a butcher in the Armour meatpacking plant in East St. Louis, spoiled the son a bit with gifts like…
Pritzker gambles on new direction
Democratic Gov. J. B. Pritzker and the legislature have gambled on a new direction for Illinois. The dramatic new course seeks to turn our state from a government mired in conflict, impasse and perennial deficits to that of big-picture thinking, and big spending. The state of Illinois has seen its net assets decline, from a…
Concert season
Municipal bands are a tradition in many towns and cities nationwide, and Springfield is fortunate to have one. In fact, for over 80 years the Springfield Municipal Band has been providing summer entertainment for devoted followers and fans. The band is managed by Ken Pratt who has a bachelor’s in music theory and jazz studies,…
History Comes Alive
The history of cricket goes back to 16th century England. It later made a successful leap across the Atlantic and eventually made its way to this area by the early 1800s. For a time, it was almost as popular as baseball. Visitors to Edwards Place can try their hand at this venerable English tradition with…
Letting go
Twenty-five minutes into a city council discussion on the future of City Water, Light and Power last month, someone finally used the c-word. “We always say that CWLP is the crown jewel of Springfield,” proclaimed Ward 3 Ald. Doris Turner. “We have to treat it like it’s the crown jewel of Springfield.” “Crown jewel” is…
Historic Marbold Farmstead makes a comeback
Doris Marbold Decker, 82, is looking forward to the Sixth Historic Marbold Farmstead Antique Show and Farm Fest on June 22-23. Tears well up in Decker’s eyes – and in all listening to her – as she expresses her appreciation for the work of the Historic Marbold Farmstead Association (HMFA). “It is wonderful to see…
Getting tough
Perhaps the biggest question about Marco Nicolas-Sanchez is why he stayed. Maybe he was naïve. He got busted for driving under the influence in Rantoul last year, and it’s well-known that illegal immigrants arrested for such offenses end up on Immigration and Customs Enforcement radar. Maybe he was greedy. His job at an Indiana company…
MAKING WHOOPEE
When we think steamy historic romances, our eye turns to Elizabeth Bacon Custer and her husband George Armstrong, who was court martialed on charges of abandoning his duties to visit his beloved, whom, after her husband’s death, spent the remainder of her life spinning webs of heroism at Little Bighorn. There’s also Jimmy Carter, whose…
IT’S A CODE BROWN!
There is no truth to the rumor that a 30-foot-high statue of beleaguered nice guy Joe Crain, erstwhile TV meteorologist, has been commissioned for installation outside city hall, but lordy, stranger things have happened. Crain, as folks from coast to coast know, got pulled from the air by Sinclair Broadcasting last week after observing that…
A musical tribute to civil rIghts
When the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s gained momentum, music and song were at the forefront of the action. To honor the holiday known as Juneteeth, celebrated on June 19 to commemorate an official end of slavery in Texas in 1865, and accepted by the African-American community as a national date for…
MIB: Int’l a pointless drag
I was pretty sure the world didn’t need another Men in Black movie. I’m sad to say that after sitting through the latest installment of the franchise, I now know I was right. 2019’s “Cinematic Summer of Blah” (copyright pending) continues with F. Gary Gray’s Men in Black: International, a film whose sell-by date is…
Jamie and Lilly Merideth
This father and daughter duo from the local music community are both gifted musicians and singers, blessed with powerful and emotive voices that blend with a special harmony reserved for family members who sing together, all while accompanying themselves on piano and guitar. Along with a good selection of original tunes in their collective pockets,…
Mendoza: Illinois must ‘remain grounded’
With a fiscal year 2020 operating budget in place and a historic legislative session in the rearview mirror, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is “cautiously optimistic” about the state’s new direction. “I think this was truly the most monumentally historic session that I have witnessed in my lifetime. And I’ve been around the Springfield legislature now…
Father’s Day Poem #1
fathers day poem # 1 if you have to explain a joke it’s no longer funny when I tell this one I draw blanks but when I was a kid the elopement-ladder-to-the-girl’s-window was as common a cartoon site as is the perennial desert-island-with-palm-tree my friend says her dad really meant it though when he…
Cook like a Cajun
Food and music top the list of things I’m passionate about. Several years ago I saw a southwest Louisiana band called the Red Stick Ramblers who played a mix of Cajun, Texas Swing and gypsy jazz. At the set break they announced that the Ramblers hosted an annual festival in Lafayette – the Black Pot…
June is upon us
Welcome to the middle of June, as the outdoor events continue to multiply like the mosquitoes and gnats that seem to like to attend the events almost as much as our intrepid Springfield-area music fans. But hey, what would summer time in central Illinois be like without the heat, storms, humidity and bugs to go…
