Donna Vickroy

If finding a book you can curl up and read on a cool fall day sounds appealing, check out your public library book clubs for your next great read, columnist Donna Vickroy says. (Sirinapa Wannapat/Getty Images)

Donna Vickroy: If you’re a book lover, library clubs may have your next great read

October 17, 2025 at 12:08 p.m.

When cooler temps make you want to curl up with a good read, finding one may be as easy as checking out your library book clubs.

The zinnias growing along the fence in columnist Donna Vickroy's backyard are nearly as tall as she is. It's one of the things she takes great pleasure in, partly because it offers a distraction for the problems of the world. (Donna Vickroy/Naperville Sun)

Donna Vickroy: When times are hard, embrace those things that give hope and strength

October 11, 2025 at 10:34 a.m.

I love my garden because each bloom adds beauty to the landscape, food for the circle of life and what humans need desperately — hope.

Few kids can resist the draw of playing in water, and that's a good thing, according to the experts at the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville, who put great stock in the skills children learn to employ through the simple act of play. (DuPage Children's Museum)

Donna Vickroy: How parents can help their children get the most out of play

October 3, 2025 at 12:35 p.m.

Play is essential to teaching kids things like problem-solving and how things work, according to the DuPage Children's Museum.

Columnist Donna Vickroy was shocked when she ran into the Rev. Ken Fleck, her former pastor at St. George Catholic Church in Tinley Park, while traveling in Munich. (Donna Vickroy/Naperville Sun)

Donna Vickroy: The joy of connecting with something familiar far from home

September 18, 2025 at 7:24 p.m.

While there's adventure in travel and experiencing new things, there's something joyful in finding something familiar along the way.

Neat Repeats, resale shop located in Orland park and Worth that benefits the Crisis Center for South Suburbia, is one of dozens in the Chicago suburban area that lets you recycle items you no longer need to help raise money for a nonprofit. (Neat Repeats)

Donna Vickroy: Resale shopping lets you clean out your closets, find bargains, support a cause

September 11, 2025 at 1:33 p.m.

Wherever you are in the cycle of consumer goods — buyer, seller, charity, downsizer — the growing resale shopping market is here for you.

Traffic like that seen on on the outbound Kennedy Expressway in Chicago Avenue can easily make drivers feel road rage. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Donna Vickroy: Don’t let aggressive drivers turn you into a road rager

September 4, 2025 at 9:47 a.m.

Illinois State Police say that while there is no specific citation for road rage, they are seeing more of it, especially on Chicago-area highways.

One of the highlights of columnist/lifelong Cubs fan Donna Vickroy's life was a chance to be on the field at Wrigley Fied to deliver the rosin bag to the pitcher's mound before the start of a game in 2016, the year the team won the World Series. (Donna Vickroy/Naperville Sun)

Donna Vickroy: Remembering that magic day I took the mound at Wrigley Field

August 24, 2025 at 10:46 a.m.

If you live long enough, you amass some glory days. Your wedding, the birthdays of your children, a fancy trip and, for me, a walk out to the epicenter of...

For myriad reasons, tribute bands are taking the nation by storm. They frequently take the stage at The Lyric Theater in Blue Island. (The Lyric Theater)

Donna Vickroy: Tribute to the tribute troubadours who help us stay forever young

August 14, 2025 at 7:38 p.m.

Tribute bands are gaining in popularity as people want to relive the songs of their youth without the hassle, expense of actual concerts.

Chicago-area residents were obsessed with serial killer John Wayne Gacy when his Des Plaines home was found in 1978 to be the burial place of his young victims. Decades later, long after he was executed by the state, there's still great interest in his crimes. (Chicago Tribune)

Donna Vickroy: Chicago’s long history with grisly killings, and why we’re so fascinated

August 7, 2025 at 1:28 p.m.

Nothing captivates like true crime, whether we’re a shocked and outraged member of the audience or an amateur sleuth trying to get to the bottom of things.

It's promising to be a bumper crop this year for columnist Donna Vickroy after she learned why previous year's mistakes had taken a toll on the land. (Donna Vickroy)

Donna Vickroy: Backyard garden yields a bounty of produce and one special gift

August 1, 2025 at 11:45 a.m.

After heeding her late father's advice, columnist Donna Vickroy's garden is overflowing this year and produced one touching surprise.

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