Susan DeGrane

Susan DeGrane is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.

Dorothy C. Straughter monograms a quilt patch in her home workshop in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood. Her textile work has been featured at The Art Institute of Chicago, Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, Hyde Park Art Center, Zhou B. Gallery, Beverly Arts Center, Bridgeport Art Center and elsewhere.(Susan DeGrane/Daily Southtown)

Beverly artist Dorothy Straughter evokes fabric of African American history in quilts

February 28, 2026 at 5:02 a.m.

Beverly artist Dorothy Straughter's quilts evoke painful and often ignored historical realities related to slavery, the Underground Railroad, the Great Migration and racist advertising.

Garden Club of Beverly Morgan Park member Eileen Quirk Rowan displays a still-life of more than 100 crocheted and knitted flowers she created to commemorate the club's 100th anniversary during a recent club meeting. The piece will be on display throughout the year at area businesses. (Susan DeGrane/Daily Southtown)

Garden Club of Beverly Morgan Park marks 100 years of growth, community spirit

February 14, 2026 at 5:05 a.m.

The Garden Club of Beverly Morgan Park was formed by a handful of women in 1926 as the Morgan Park Garden Club and now has over 100 members.

Lockport’s original Congregational Church, once a hub for abolitionists such as Ichabod Codding, now is the Gladys Fox Museum of Lockport history. (John Smierciak/Daily Southtown)

New Lenox researcher highlights Lockport’s abolitionist connections

February 5, 2026 at 3:30 p.m.

In the years leading up to the Civil War, Lockport had become a fulcrum point for abolitionists, according to researcher Lindsey Minas.

An image of longtime Bethany Union Church member Chuck Diddia looms large in the church sanctuary as family members, from left, Liz Diddia, Eric Diddia, Nancy Diddia, Cheryl Diddia Bernstein and Jamie Pierce, assemble for a photo near a grand piano. Diddia, who died in Nov., is being honored by the church with a fine arts scholarship to encourage local artists. (Susan DeGrane/Daily Southtown)

Beverly church creates fine arts scholarship in memory of member who was ‘all things Bethany Union’

October 2, 2025 at 10:19 a.m.

Longtime Bethany Union Church member Chuck Diddia had a fine arts scholarship created in his memory by the church in Beverly.

Fred Olivi, a native of Chicago's Pullman neighborhood, signs a model of the B–29 bomber "Bockscar" he copiloted in World War II on May 19, 2001, during an event at the Highland Branch of the Lake County Public Library in Indiana. (Post-Tribune file)

Pullman native Fred Olivi piloted ‘the aircraft that ended World War II’ 80 years ago, and left a lasting legacy at home too

August 8, 2025 at 2:12 p.m.

It was the dawn of the atomic age and Pullman residents were reeling. One of their neighbors had just made history. Some were telling his mother he would likely get...

About 150 people came out Sunday, Aug. 3 for Pike House Fest, a fundraiser event supporting turning a historic home in the Dan Ryan Woods Cook County Forest Preserve into an arts and community center. (Susan DeGrane/Daily Southtown)

Pike House Fest in Beverly highlights arts center plan for historic Dan Ryan Woods home

August 6, 2025 at 5:11 a.m.

The historic Pike House in Cook County's Dan Ryan Woods was the backdrop for a fundraiser to help turn it into a cultural center.

Calvin Christian School student James Kelly flashes a peace sign at Sand Ridge Nature Center in South Holland after participating recently in a play about the life of freedom seeker Caroline Quarlls, who journeyed to Canada by way of an Underground Railroad Network route that cut through the Chicago region. (Susan DeGrane/Daily Southtown)

Faces of freedom come alive through Black history storytelling effort

July 8, 2025 at 1:27 p.m.

The Midwest Underground Railroad Network and Chicago Association of African American Storytellers are presenting freedom seeker stories.

Former Roseland residents referred to Michigan Avenue as "The Ave" and considered it the perfect place for cruising and shopping. This circa 1960s photo looks south from 110th Street and was taken by Dr. Gene Ossello, a local dentist. (Calumet City Historical Society)

Former Roseland resident collecting memories of a place once called Hope

July 1, 2025 at 5:02 a.m.

Roseland has a legacy of racist real estate practices and disinvestment, but it also holds a place in the hearts of those raised there.

Mount Carmel High School freshman Timmy Carter, 15, of Alsip, is a member of the school’s Caravan Sailing Club and volunteers as an instructor at the Jackson Park Yacht Club. (Susan DeGrane/Daily Southtown)

Once a sport for the wealthy, competitive sailing attracts fresh crew at Mount Carmel

May 23, 2025 at 4:52 a.m.

The South Side sailing community is helping foster interest in a sport once reserved for the wealthy with program at Mount Carmel.

Orland Grassland Volunteers gather after a 2024 cleanup of Marley Creek at Orland Grassland Land and Water Reserve near Orland Park. The pile of items they collected included artifacts leftover from the property's agricultural past, including a wagon or cart wheel. (Pat Hayes)

Area’s ancient landscape and human impact showcased at Orland Grassland

April 21, 2025 at 2:34 p.m.

An Earth Day volunteer event at Orland Grasslands in Orland Park will showcase the area's native landscape, human impact.

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