This Langfelder son is a New York singer

Home for the holidays, Jacob Langfelder performs in Springfield Dec. 29

From the moment he made his musical debut at age 10, lip syncing Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” at Blessed Sacrament School’s talent show, Jacob Langfelder wanted to be on sta

Ossie’s incredible journey

In a new book, Springfield’s former mayor looks back on life and the home he left behind

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 a

‘Medicine was doing God’s work.’

DR. JAMES DOVE Aug. 2, 1939 - Nov. 7, 2010

“He was the whole package” is Dr. Marc Shelton’s description of cardiologist Dr. James Dove, founder of Prairie Cardiovascular Consultants, who died Nov. 7 at age 71, one year to the

What Lincoln read shaped the man, and history

The first book I ever owned was a child-sized version of the life of Abraham Lincoln – a gift from my book-loving father, who was convinced Lincoln read everything he ever got his hands on. His

Lincoln and Darwin, born on the same day

Fans of fanciful, history-inspired books like Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter will surely find Lincoln and Darwin – Shared Visions of Race, Science and Religion a tough slog through the mid-19th

The symphony’s singer of a century

A talented centenarian looks back on a remarkable life

When Illinois Symphony music director Karen Lynne Deal first met Polly Roesch at a musical program several years ago, numerous women around the table urged Deal to ask Roesch to sing with the symphony

Many buildings. Many battles.

Oxtoby honored for a lifetime of historic preservation

“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” f

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, the

Hundreds of Lincoln places

What to do and where to go in the old Eighth Judicial Circuit

A recent estimate by the Abraham Lincoln Association puts the number of distinct titles about Lincoln at 17,000. Add another hundred or so generated by the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial, and Lincoln may i

Dancing without the stars

The capital city learns to tango, swing and waltz

It’s chilly in the packed parking lot of the Eagles Club on Springfield’s far east side. But inside the club’s cavernous concrete ballroom more than 100 novice dancers are shedding s