William “Bill” Shea’s wheelchair sits in the corner of his basement. It is both a reminder of the past and a foreshadowing of the future. At 59, Shea embodies the qualities of an Olympian. He is physically fit, resilient and determined. This has not always been the case. As a child, Shea struggled with respiratory […]
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The ballad of Tom Irwin
To call Tom Irwin a fixture on the Springfield music scene would be something of an understatement. Beginning in the mid-1970s as a bass player and eventual frontman for various local rock bands, straight through to his present status as an accomplished songwriter and bandleader, Irwin has been a popular draw in local clubs since […]
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Holy warrior
The office of Bishop Thomas John Paprocki is a veritable shrine to hockey. On a table sits a miniature Stanley Cup, next to a photo of him posing on the ice with members of his beloved Chicago Blackhawks. In the office foyer hangs a photograph of Paprocki posing with the cup itself, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with […]
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A creative visit from Vachel Lindsay’s granddaughter
The spirit of Vachel Lindsay was alive and well in Springfield Nov. 5 in the form of his granddaughter, Louisa Lindsay-Sprouse. She was visiting from Eugene, Ore., to promote creative writing in Springfield schools and to celebrate her grandfather’s 132nd birthday with the Vachel Lindsay Association at Maldaner’s Restaurant. Her grandfather’s expressive poetry readings seemed […]
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Rounding out her career
Jacqueline Jackson still tends a herd of cows but nowadays they’re figurines on her mantle. Raised on the Dougan Guernsey Dairy Farm near Beloit, Wis., in the 1930s and 40s, Jackie decided at age 14 to chronicle her family’s business. In the decades since, she’s published more than a dozen books, had several plays and […]
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Ossie’s incredible journey
He’s lived in Springfield for nearly 70 years – most of it with his wife, Midge, and their 13 children in a rambling white clapboard house at the corner of Whittier and Laurel Ave. But at age 85, Ossie Langfelder says he still longs to go home. “Home was Vienna, Austria,” he says. “My relatives, […]
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Many buildings. Many battles.
“What did I know about restoring old buildings when I started out? Absolutely nothing,” recalls Carolyn Oxtoby, who is often called “the patron saint of downtown Springfield” for her work as a real estate developer. Recently Oxtoby was in Chicago to receive the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from Landmarks Illinois as part of the Richard […]
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The cost of Bill Brady’s plan
Of the estimated 400 to 500 people who showed up to a Columbus Day rally in Charleston for state senator and Republican governor hopeful Bill Brady of Bloomington, most were Republican voters angry with the state of the state. They cheered loudly as Brady criticized the policies of current Democrat governor Pat Quinn, comparing him […]
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A couple’s date to remember
“I believe in luck, fate and destiny,” says Christopher Trudeau. So when Trudeau, 27, and his bride-to-be, Joann Durbin, 24, realized that this Sunday comes up 10-10-10 on the calendar, they rescheduled their wedding to coincide with what they think will be an auspicious date for them. “I don’t know what’s going to happen to […]
