Little isn’t always small
No, the Little Theatre on the Square isn’t little. In fact, it’s quite big, and in its heyday it had quite a few big names in show biz performing there. That includes both Broadway and Hollywood stars: Eve Arden, Alan Alda, Leonard Nimoy, Dennis Weaver, Betty Grable, Kitty Carlisle, and Mickey Rooney all worked the…
Summer Guide 2003
See the stories below.
Worlds away
If you don’t happen to be one of those lucky long-term employees with enough vacation time stacked up to leave for a month, don’t worry–you can drive 100 miles southwest and find yourself a world away. Down Interstate 55 and west on State Highway 140 lies the tiny village of Elsah, nicknamed “the town that…
Two wheels good
In Springfield:Lost Bridge Trail begins at the Illinois Department of Transportation, at Ash and Dirksen Parkway, and wends for five miles on a shady, tree-lined asphalt path to Rochester. At the end of the Lost Bridge Trail is a mile-and-a-half loop that goes into Rochester Park. The Wabash Trail begins at Park and North, and…
Hot fun in the summer time
Things can get steamy in the summer around here–it helps the corn grow–so chill out with some cool live music. You’ll hear it from the rooftops to the Grandstand, in the streets and the parks, and in all your favorite nightclubs. Hardee’s Jam Fest kicks off the scene. The second annual benefit for Friends of…
Peace without prosperity
State legislators are rebelling across the country. You’ve heard about the Texas Democrats who fled to Oklahoma in order to kill a Republican redistricting bill? Here are some other stories: • In Arizona, the Republican Senate rejected the Democratic governor’s budget, then put together its own plan. But the Republicans can’t pass it because one…
Flirting with disaster?
In the spring of 2001 Joe Mackay left a message with the Springfield Metro Sanitary District. He’d seen sewage flowing out of three manholes in the Lick Creek Wildlife Preserve near Lake Springfield. The next day, Mackay says, sewage district director Andy Alvey called him back, asking “What are you doing hunting down there?” Mackay,…
Knoepfle 5-29-03
dogwood branch with blossoms girls milling at the chapel door after their first communion oh they are full of life this sunday morning ©John Knoepfle 2003
Your Turn 5-29-03
Reporter shows “honesty and integrity” . . . Dear Editor, The article by Karen Fitzgerald on the lepto outbreak of 1998 pleasantly surprised me [“Troubled waters,” May 22]; it was refreshing to see someone offer up a plausible explanation to what happened that fateful summer. One fact that was not addressed in the article was…
Fair’s not bad
Will anyone notice that $700,000 less is being spent on this year’s Illinois State Fair? Most likely the answer will be “yes.” Parking will be a buck more expensive (rising to $7), and some of the free concerts may no longer be free. But officials say any comparison to last year’s fair isn’t, well, fair.…
Summer preview 2003
The summer movie season is upon us, bringing the latest batch of sequels, remakes of TV shows, and star-driven action and comedy vehicles, all with hefty budgets. Money buys spectacle, but it represses creativity–originality is too risky when so much is at stake. Hollywood, much more than Washington, is in serious need of finance reform.…
Funk’s Grove
Funk’s Grove Sirup Camp is tucked in a grove of towering trees just off a quiet stretch of old Route 66 near Bloomington. At the end of a curved dirt lane sits a modest shingled home and a low-slung brown sap house, which spouts large clouds of steam during the late winter production season. Ancient…
Bards of the Sangamo 5-29-03
Venus Fly Trap Somewhere between puberty and menopause I have been metamorphosed by life firmly entrenched in the soil of reality no longer watered and fed by admiring glances nor warmed in the sunlight of a man’s desire I have become less Lily of the Valley and more Venus Fly Trap. –Cheryl Miles Local poets…
Summer onstage 2003
Summer theater has experienced a bit of a boom in central Illinois over the past few years, with more eclectic choices offering something for everyone. Springfield’s Muni Opera breaks new ground with two area premieres–Titanic (June 6 through 15) and Big (June 27 through July 6). Director Paul Presney Jr. has been working on Titanic…
Now Playing 5-29-03
Listen my children and you shall hear of bands a-playing and bottles of beer. Music galore and good times a-plenty but you must be at least one and twenty. Hey here’s one place you can go for music and not be the magical 21: Hardee’s Jam Fest, on Saturday, May 31. The third annual music…
Hometown boy does good
Near the bottom of Illinois, not far from Paducah, Kentucky, the small town of Metropolis snuggles up to the Ohio River, a few miles from Fort Massac State Park. When Robert Westerfield moved there in the early 70s, no one had thought of the place as the home of comic-book character and film star, Superman.…
Lovable losers plan to go all the way
In Spanish, “umbilical cord” is cordon umbilico, or–as Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano told reporters–“almost the same thing.” The topic came up three weeks ago, after the 21-year-old Venezuelan went head-to-head with St. Louis Cardinals ace Mike Morris, losing 6-3 before a capacity crowd at Wrigley Field. Zambrano had spent the previous two nights at a…
Summerguide Calendar
Miscellaneous Old Capitol Farmers Market, downtown Springfield, on Adams between Third & Fifth, 36 seasonal vendors, every Wednesday and Saturday through October, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. J. H. Hawes Grain Elevator Museum, Atlanta, 1-3 p.m. every Sunday in June, July, and August. Restored wooden grain elevator and museum (648-2056). Flag Retreat Ceremony by the 114th Illinois…
First summer jobs
Like sunburn and ant bites, summer jobs are one of the rituals of the season. We asked some prominent Springfieldians how they earned money in their teenage years. “My first job was as a professional hoer. That is, I hoed weeds in experimental alfalfa plots at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The job paid 80 cents…
Celebrate, celebrate, dance to the music
Once the distant cousin of Springfield’s Lincolnfest (remember Lincolnfest?), the Decatur Celebration has become the largest free family street fair in the Midwest. Under the guiding hand of promoter Fred Puglia and the caring city fathers of Decatur, this celebration is an award-winning wonder of organization and entertainment. The “Party on the Prairie” will feature…
Let It B & B
On December 10, 1994, Bob Bartel drove from Springfield to Benton on a mission. He wanted to buy for his wife, Janice, the new Beatles CD being released that day. Of course, the CD, Live at the BBC, was available in Springfield, but Bartel wanted the receipt to say Benton. Why? Because Beatles guitarist George…
