Family holiday celebrations always included a birthday cake for my paternal grandmother who was born on Dec. 25. She often seemed somewhat surprised that we remembered. I wondered if maybe her birthday as a child was overlooked. I hope not.…
Lawmakers hit secret VA scheme to partially privatize health care. Five congressional Democrats, all military veterans, have warned the Department of Veterans Affairs against its reported scheme to partially privatize VA health care by merging part of its system with…
Blacks as Amnesia Victims My grandmother has begun to age, and it is the norm that her memory is beginning to phase out. Maybe the stress of losing her daughter at the young age of 50 or burying two sisters…
Memorialized on postcards and souvenir vases after opening in 1910, the Jefferson Building (Fulton and Jefferson streets) towered over the Peoria skyline symbolizing the city’s move into the modern age. Shortly before, local civic leaders William Hull and Edward Leisy…
December is for Reflection and Celebrating the Season of Joy As I write my last column of 2017, I reflect on the extraordinary public service careers of three outstanding Central Illinois citizens. My mentor and friend, former Congressman Bob Michel, passed…
Just before Christmas 1946, Dorothy Day permanently left Maryfarm in Pennsylvania, one of dozens of Houses of Hospitality her group, Catholic Worker, started setting up in the 1930s. This Christmastime, Day remains an impressive figure. Her granddaughter Kate Hennessy has…
Setting the Record Straight A story in the sports section of the Peoria Journal sent me scrambling to research Bradley basketball because I felt the writer had made several errors. He wrote that current basketball fortunes could lead to a…
BY HARRY ELGER When the Hubble telescope was positioned outside the distortion of Earth’s atmosphere, an extrapolated estimate of 2 trillion galaxies became visible. The universe is 13.82 billion years old. Earth is only 4.52 billion years old. Humans are…
Santa is taking the time to stop by and enjoy breakfast with West Peoria kids 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 2. He has checked with the Franciscan Complex and booked a time for breakfast there for him and Mrs.…
Unannounced visitors aren’t necessarily my favorites, mainly because I don’t always live organized and clutter free. I can pull it together given adequate notice, but spur of the moment isn’t my forte. Likely it’s a genetic thing. My mother was…
