Joan Cary

Mullets Sports Bar in Homer Glen holds Game Show Night where participants can win prizes. Wednesday, March 8th, 2016, in Homer Glen. | Gary Middendorf-Daily Southtown

TV fans, families vie for prizes on Game Show Night

May 22, 2019 at 5:13 p.m.

The regulars at Mullets Sports Bar in Homer Glen know the popular Wednesday night special: half-priced wine, two-for-one pasta and most importantly, the trivia contest. Pub Trivia USA packs the...

Troubadour Peter Oprisko sings songs that make romantics swoon

May 22, 2019 at 5:12 p.m.

This season of love can make us tongue-tied and fretful over what to say and how and when to say it. But singer Peter Oprisko doesn't stumble over any of...

Ed Emig, 66, stands in Oak Hill Cemetery on Oct. 30, 2015, in Lewistown, Ill. Emig, who lives across the street, is an expert on the cemetery and its role in the Edgar Lee Masters book "Spoon River Anthology."

‘Spoon River’ voices speak from grave for a century; who’s still listening?

June 16, 2018 at 4:20 p.m.

Ruby and Brian Berryman traveled from New Hampshire to this small central Illinois town recently just to walk among the graves at the Oak Hill Cemetery. A playwright, Ruby yearned...

Madison Elementary School fifth-graders, including Matthew Hyde, left, and Ian Boedigheimer, play a game of Gaga Ball during recess at the Wheaton school Sept. 24, 2015.

Gaga ball becoming the great playground equalizer

August 19, 2019 at 5:19 a.m.

When the doors open for recess at Madison Elementary School in Wheaton, kids and more kids charge straight to the school's gaga pits and jump inside. "Ga-ga, ga-ga," they chant...

Carriage horse picks up painting in retirement

May 10, 2019 at 12:30 a.m.

There's a prolific new artist in residence at the Danada Equestrian Center near Wheaton. He can turn out six or more abstract art pieces during a 20-minute session. He also...

Prop insect-maker from Naperville creates a buzz in Hollywood

May 16, 2019 at 10:02 a.m.

One of the more popular episodes of the cable television show "Breaking Bad" revolved around a little housefly that tormented the main character, Walter, in his meth-making lab. But the...

Women take aim at balloons during an archery class at a Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshop in Oregon, Ill., on June 6, 2015.

Outdoor life very becoming to this group of women

August 19, 2019 at 1:00 a.m.

Mitch Ingold bravely stood before 85 women and delivered potentially disappointing news. It was a warm, breezy Saturday in the woods — perfect weather for camp. But Ingold had to...

Birth of Mexican gray wolf pups a success story for Brookfield Zoo

June 16, 2018 at 9:58 p.m.

Brookfield Zoo is celebrating its first births of Mexican gray wolf pups. Born in late May, the pups charmed visitors Tuesday morning as they trotted in and out of their...

Denny and Dolores Zimmerman relax in their Downers Grove garden. The bench provides a shady spot for them to rest while they're tending to the vegetable garden.

Downers Grove garden is proof to power of patience and teamwork

May 23, 2019 at 1:46 p.m.

When Dolores and Denny Zimmerman bought their new house in Downers Grove 12 years ago, it came with two trees and a yard of rubble. They were thrilled. Hastily sown...

Henry Griffin is flanked by Xavier Roche, left, and Thomas O'Connor, 11, as they spot a bird during a birding tour in an Oak Park alley April 12, 2015.

Teen birder’s walking tours are taking flight in Oak Park

May 8, 2019 at 4:01 p.m.

Early one morning last May, Henry Griffin was leading a group of bird enthusiasts through an alley near his Oak Park home and heard a song that made him stop....

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