Just before this past Christmas, my mom's cousin Wanda died. Back in Cicero, Illinois in the late 1930s, 40s, and early 50s, Wanda was like a big sister to Shirley. My own sister Karen drove us down to attend Wanda's wake and, arriving with plenty of time to spare,...
[Monarch]While waiting for Racine to be buried by the Blizzard of 2011, many of us here in southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois are recalling the great Chicago Blizzard of 1967. That storm — on January 26, 1967 — dumped 23 inches of snow on northeast...
No matter what else I try to do today, my feeble little brain won't stop singing the song in the video above — "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" by Warren Zevon, shown here in his last public performance on The Late Show with David Letterman. [includeme...
We took our niece Nadine to the Kohl Children's Museum in Glenview, Illinois last Saturday. She's 20 months old, so she's just entering the age when she can enjoy trips like this. Meanwhile, we're just entering the season when we start looking for indoor activities to...
Dixon, Illinois — The brass historical marker sign at Reagan Memorial Park describing "Reagan Way." It reads: REAGAN WAY Hennepin Avenue was often walked by a young Ronald Reagan from home to downtown and back. The street...
Dixon, Illinois — The Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home, at 816 S. Hennepin Avenue, adjoins this small park, centered around a bronze statue of Ronald Reagan holding corn kernels in his hand. The sculpture was a gift from Dwayne...
Dixon, Illinois — This statue of Ronald Reagan holding corn kernels in his hand stands at the center of the small park next to the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home at 816 S. Hennepin Avenue. Designed by Stan Efran of Inocast...
Dixon, Illinois — The kitchen of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home at 816 S. Hennepin Ave., with kitchen cabinets, Detroit Jewel ("They bake better") gas stove and oven, tea kettle, and coffee pot. The Reagan family moved here...
Dixon, Illinois — The fireplace in the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home at 816 S. Hennepin Ave. The Reagan family moved here in 1920 when Ronald Reagan was 9 years old. The Reagans moved from here to another Dixon home in 1923....
Dixon, Illinois — The fireplace in the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home at 816 S. Hennepin Ave. The Reagan family lived here for about 2 years beginning in 1920 when Ronald Reagan was 9 years old. After decades of neglect, the...
Dixon, Illinois — Boys' bedroom at the boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan. Neil Reagan and his younger brother Ronald shared the smallest bedroom in this house at 816 S. Hennepin Avenue from late 1920, when Ronald was 9...
Dixon, Illinois — This 2-story, Queen Anne-style house at 816 S. Hennepin Avenue was the boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan's parents, Jack and Nelle, moved to Dixon in 1920 when Ronald was 9 years old. The home...
Galena, Illinois — The 1845 Peck Building, at 420 S. Main Street. Originally a steamboat provisioning warehouse, it is one of Galena's oldest commercial buildings. Since 1982, the Peck Building has housed Galena River Wine...
Elizabeth, Illinois — The view east across the farmland of Jo Daviess County, from the top deck of the Long Hollow Tower, about 4 miles west of Elizabeth and 11 miles east of Galena, Illinois on U.S. Route 20. The...
Elizabeth, Illinois — The Long Hollow Tower, about 4 miles west of Elizabeth and 11 miles east of Galena, Illinois on U.S. Route 20. Built by the Illinois Department of Transportation in 1983-84, the 75-and-a-half-foot tower...
Lake County, Illinois — Horses at pasture along Hunt Club Road, just south of the Wisconsin-Illinois border.