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Trucking, a bedrock of the economy
The fact is that 70 percent of Illinois communities depend exclusively on trucks to move their goods. Fewer trucks on the road would result in more expensive products and slower delivery times. Remove trucking altogether, and essential cargo would not arrive to our doorsteps at all.

A shooting
As part of our 40th anniversary observances, and in light of more recent events, we will revisit some of columns from James Krohe Jr.’s Prejudices series that ran from 1977 to 1994. Typos in the originals have been corrected and the pieces have been edited for length but they are otherwise unchanged.

LETTERS
Local musicians need to lower their expectations and either get a day job or learn the meaning of starving artist. Very few will become breakout stars. With a depressed economy and under-employment, the financial issue is not without influence in future music trends.

REMEMBERING
It is our tradition to reserve our last issue of the year to remember some of the Springfi eld-area people who have died in the past year. Those we write about here are people who have come to the attention of our writers, and others brought to IT by readers answering our call to contribute their personal essays to “Remembering.

‘Do what your heart tells you.’
It’s likely no one who knew Lana Benedict as a State of Illinois retiree, volunteer cook, gardener, singer, loving mother and wife thought she would leave life on this side of heaven at age 69 last October. Vibrant, passionate, and retired but never retiring, Lana always had enough energy for the next project.

Loyal employee of Illinois Times
Donna was the first New Year’s baby, born just seconds after midnight on Jan. 1, 1943. She was born in Springfield, at St. John’s Hospital, the daughter of Pete and Mary Urbanckas. For being the first New Year’s baby Donna was bestowed with many gifts. She was given a bassinet for our mother to rock her in.

Equestrian
Charles (“Chick” to everyone who knew him) was born in Springfield to Judge Roger and Mildred Armstrong Chapin in 1921. Chick was horse-crazy even as a child, and at age 8, he sold his bicycle and used the proceeds to buy his first pony, named Roany, which he kept in the back yard.

‘A gifted music man of many talents’
Evans Brittin was truly a gifted music man of many talents, which he willingly shared his whole life. After he served in the U.S. Navy as a pilot, he graduated from Illinois State University and taught vocal and instrumental music to many youth in Springfield and Sangamon County for 28 years.

He fought the good fight
“I run into all kinds of people who appeared before him once, twice, many times,” says his son, Don Craven, one of four children, all of whom became lawyers. “They describe him as always wanting to take time to teach, to help.

‘A consummate shopper... of professional status’
It has always been Mom and me against the world. She married her first and only love, had one child (me) and worked her way up to management at Illinois Bell, a great achievement in the 1970s. The marriage ended; we both had to start over together. We moved to Springfield from Chicago, a courageous move, in hindsight, the best ever.

‘Leigh Ann didn’t do anything halfway’
Leigh Ann Galyon Smith was an incredible person. The Queen of Everything! Everyone she came in contact with would probably tell you the same thing. Bubbly, beautiful, amazingly talented, angelic voice, patient teacher and wonderful director. She had much to give, and she gave us everything.

The crop doctor
I met Bill at a dance in junior college in Cicero in spring 1966. In conversation several weeks later, I bet him that I had more brothers than he, because I had three. With his ever-present smile, he said I bet wrong – he had seven. Surprised, I remarked – “No sisters?” Yes, he had seven.

He lived his faith every day
Dr. H. Brent De Land Jr. was born on June 20, 1949, in Chicago, the son of Harry and Margaret De Land. He studied radiology at Northwestern University School of Medicine, graduating in 1970. Brent’s passion was helping others, and he became a lay Franciscan missionary to Brazil.

He made things that made a difference
Maureen and Ron met when she visited Springfield from England for a cousin’s wedding. A member of Maureen’s family tried to set her up with an Englishman at the wedding. Ron walked into the room, and Maureen kissed him on both cheeks, the customary European greeting.

‘Emma Lou was anti-authoritarian at its finest’
Born soon after women earned the right to vote, Emma Lou Little relished politics. She loved President Obama because he restored honor to the State of Illinois, delivered intelligent speeches and listened to his wife. Emma Lou’s father took her as a child to see each president who visited the Midwest.

‘She lived a simple life of doing right’
The daughter of Lithuanian immigrants John and Tillie (Rinkienve) Treinis, Eleanora lost her mother at age 6. Raised by her grocer father, cousins from the Joseph and Mary (Treinis) Banaitis family became her siblings. Eleanora attended St. Joseph’s and Pleasant Hill Schools.

The builder
As smoke from explosives cleared on Oct. 22, 2013, both 14-story towers remained in place. It took 10 minutes for the first one to fall. The second stood for hours.

‘A man who could do anything’
When one of the speakers asked the gathering at the Firefighters-Postal Lake Club, “How many of you had your houses wired by Kevin?” numerous hands went up, and knowing chuckles filled the room. Kevin wasn’t an electrician. Well, he was and he wasn’t.

‘Lisa was the glue that held together her family of performers’
Of course, I didn’t know that when I fell for those gorgeous brown eyes. That was the joy and beauty of Lisa. There was always so much more beneath the surface. She was the girl with the crystal clear singing voice – who was too nervous to sing in front of people.

An immigrant’s tale
He was not initially impressed with the capital city when his family moved to Springfield while World War II raged in Europe, with the United States still at peace. It was the final leg of a journey that began in Austria, which his family fled to escape the Nazis.

‘No matter where he went, he made friends quickly’
Joe was a very likeable kid and adult. No matter where he went, he made friends quickly. He was outgoing, compassionate and loving. He loved to travel, and he always asked to bring a friend that otherwise would not have been able to travel as he did.

Writer, creator of community
For me the relationship began in my Sangamon State University Fantasy class where, as a new student, Lola quickly became a partner in building the desired camaraderie for enthusiastic learning. The day she died, after years of cancer’s roller coaster, she phoned me to come over, and there asked me to be her literary executor.

“A prankster and a jokester, but always reliable”
Dewey lived his entire life in Springfield and the surrounding area. He was a local musician and an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan, but his true joy in life was his wife, his children and his grandchildren. He spent his career with the Springfield Mass Transit District working as a dispatcher for Access Springfield.

Prolific artist, force of nature
When Hugh Moore passed away this past March, the Springfield area lost a writer, painter, radio host and general bon vivant. He was also president of Springfield Poets and Writers and on the board of the Route 66 Film Festival.

‘There wasn’t anything that he couldn’t do’
Dad was a proud veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served as sonar man on the Destroyer Escort USS Inch during WWII. He also served as an interpreter for German sailors captured after the sinking of the U490 German submarine in the North Atlantic during June 1944.

‘Lloyd’s eccentricity made him special’
He could be seen around town doing laundry every Saturday at Crystal Cleaners, shopping at Jewel, hand-pushing his mower in tattered jeans and T-shirt on his large lot across from the lake, or at the Environmental Protection Agency, where he worked for the last several years.

‘She enjoyed sharing her resources with many nonprofit groups’
Bettie helped enforce civil rights in housing, hiring and education. She worked with the People’s Bank, the first financial institution on the east side of Springfield. In one of her programs, she helped single moms on welfare understand banking and take control of their financial future.

‘A quintessential American of his time’
My stepfather was not a super man, or a super dad for that matter. Who he turned out to be is rare enough. Bob Bartlett was an old-fashioned, decent fellow who kept his feelings, if not his opinions, to himself. The oldest of 13 children, born into a poverty that encompassed everyone he knew, he didn’t remember his childhood as poor.

Tarantino flirts with greatness with Eight
A storm is coming fast and stagecoach driver O.B. Jackson (James Parks) knows there’s no way he can outrun it. In tow he has bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) who’s eager to get to the town of Red Rock to collect the price that’s on the head of Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), his reluctant prisoner who will bring him $10,000.

CuisineScene
LEGEND: B - Breakfast • L - Lunch • D - Dinner • LN - Late Night • OD - Outdoor Dining $ - under $8 • $$ - $8-$15 • $$$ - over $15.

New Year’s Day comfort food
I’ve long been ambivalent about New Year’s Eve celebrations. My parents and grandparents always threw a party, but it was far from a drunken debacle. To the best of my knowledge, alcohol was never served. Still, silly hats, noisemakers and other celebratory accoutrements abounded.

First Night Springfield is ‘Downtown to a fine art’
Send out 2015 in a blaze of performing arts, fireworks and creativity and celebrate a new year at First Night Springfield. The Springfield Area Arts Council-hosted celebration is Springfield’s 29 th annual New Year’s Eve arty party.

PUB CRAWL
Springfield Theatre Centre - Scene Selections.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Jackson Taylor and the Sinners
Born just outside Austin, Texas, Jackson Taylor spent his formative years traveling and soaking up the sounds of real country music with his migrant worker family.

New Year news
The New Year means a celebration the night before with New Year’s Eve occurring on a Thursday this year. Many, if not most, bars, clubs, restaurants and other public establishments of that ilk will offer bands, special dinners and whoopla of a celebratory nature.

SPORTS & RECREATION | Theatrical basketball
The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy to create a superstar sports show that will delight the young and old alike. The team plays Springfield on Friday, Jan. 1, at 7 p.m., as part of their 90 th anniversary world tour.

THE CALENDAR
Shifting Sands: Springfield’s Architectural Legacy.

FILM | Independent, international films
Indulge your excitement for the 25 th Annual Molly Schlich Independent and International Film Series by attending a popcorn and fun-filled preview party at the Springfield Art Association on Wednesday, Jan. 6, at 7 p.m.

BULLETIN BOARD | Learn self defense from a black belt
Learn the art of self defense in a free, hour-long seminar led by Mark Commean, a black belt trainer in the art of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu since 2001 and current head instructor and owner at Gracie Humaita. Each course covers the importance of confidence via eye contact and projecting your voice, plus situational awareness.