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SIXTEEN Lonnie’s voice came up the stairs ahead of him. “Bruce, you have any idea what time I gotta be up in the morning?” “Lonnie, this man came all the way from Chicago.” “Is that so?” He was a big black guy, six-four or so, and muscular. But he walked a bit sideways, one leg […]

Festivals • Concerts • Theater • Day trips • Calendar See stories below.

What tastes better on a cool fall day than an apple plucked right off the tree? Well, maybe a fresh apple pie, homemade applesauce, or apple butter. This month the fruit is ripening in many backyards and commercial pick-your-own orchards. Besides tasting good, apples are also good for you. They’re fat-free, sodium-free, and cholesterol-free. A […]

Once again it’s show time–air show time, that is–when the annual Springfield Air Rendezvous returns to Capital Airport on September 20 and 21. This year it’s also celebrating the “100th Anniversary of Flight.” One of the longest-running air shows in the nation, the in-your-sky affair has been put together by an all-volunteer board. Their main […]

The family farm has come to a fork in the road. Some farmers find the lure of a fat paycheck from one of the behemoth agribusiness corporations irresistible. Others opt to get out of farming entirely. But fortunately for the rest of us, a few choose to try the old Judy Garland/Andy Rooney answer to […]

Ever since the demise of Lincolnfest, the moaning and groaning for a downtown street festival has echoed from Southern View to Sherman, Clearlake to Curran–and all points in between. Well, cry no more, Springfieldites, here’s the second coming of the International Route 66 Mother Road Festival, September 26 through the 28. Brought to you by […]

Illinois Times theater critic Phil Funkenbusch recalls his own days working as the playwright’s assistant, back when his boss couldn’t get a good review. In January of 1980 I was living in New York City, and one early evening I walked past the Morosco, a beautiful 63-year-old theater that would later be demolished to make […]

When Roosevelt Sam Smith became the pastor of New Salem United Methodist Church in New Berlin two years ago, he considered it a homecoming of sorts. The 47-year-old Smith was born in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia. But back in 1883 his great-grandparents had moved to the African nation from Jefferson County, Tennessee. Settled in the early […]

FIFTEEN I went back the way I’d come, over the highway, and then pulled into the truck stop. There was a restaurant inside and a “travel store.” But the place was quieter than I’d expected at that time of night. It was a bit past 11. I found an empty game room along a hallway […]