A GREEN THUMB
Peyton Lamps’ love of plants led to a career
ALSO:
• Travel Connections takes the stress out of traveling
• Meet June Keeley, the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp’s general manager
• Bean recipes to boost your protein intake
The power of being nice
While I was in grade school, teachers routinely wrote comments on our report cards in addition to giving us a grade. I almost always had the same two words written to describe me – nice and sincere. Truth be told, those words always seemed a bit boring to me.
I’m not sure what I wanted my teachers to say about me, but I didn’t really see the value in being called nice because I simply believed that was how everyone should be. It didn’t seem like a real skill or an outstanding attribute.
As I grew up, I started to realize that not everybody was nice or sincere. Something in me shifted, and I understood my teachers had actually paid me a wonderful compliment when they wrote those same words over and over again on my report cards.
When I had kids of my own, I always talked to them about being nice and how important it was. Whether it was sitting with a child who was eating lunch by themselves, befriending someone who might look or sound different than what the kids in a small rural school were used to, or being respectful and kind to the staff at the school, I wanted them to think about how others were feeling.
At parent-teacher conferences each year, the most common comment I heard was how nice my kids were. Being nice didn’t make my kids immune to comments from mean kids, and they were often disappointed that other kids didn’t embrace being nice as much as they did. On those hard days, I always reminded them that being nice was something they could do on a daily basis to make the world a better place. And I still believe that.
After reading this, I hope you seize every opportunity you have to be nice to people today. It will take a small amount of effort on your part, but it could make a big difference in someone’s day.
Best wishes,
Shannon Serpette Niche Editor
It’s always busy season for Travel Connections 4
Save time and frustration by enlisting the help of an experienced travel advisor.
Growing her passion 7
Peyton Lamps discovered her love of plants at a young age.
June Keeley found her true passion – baseball 11
Keeley has been with the Pistol Shrimp from the start.
Cool beans 14
Beans offer fiber and protein.
Illinois Valley Woman
426 Second Street
La Salle, Illinois 61301 (815) 223-3200 (800) 892-6452 www.newstrib.com
General Manager/ Advertising Director Jeanette Smith jmsmith@shawmedia.com
Niche Editor Shannon Serpette sserpette@shawmedia.com
Writers Brandon LaChance Shannon Serpette
Photographer Shannon Serpette
Designer Liz Klein
PORTUGAL AND THE DOURO RIVER CRUISE
Date: July 8, 2026
On the cover: Peyton Lamps stands inside her flower and plant shop called Petals by Peyton, which is located on First Street in LaSalle.
PHOTO BY SHANNON SERPETTE
It’s always busy season for Travel Connections
Story by Brandon LaChance
In the present technology age, it isn’t hard to hop on the internet and book travel reservations yourself. However, it can save you a lot of time and frustration to enlist the help of an experienced travel advisor like you’ll find at Travel Connections in Peru.
“We’re with our clients every step of the way. It doesn’t cost more to use a travel advisor,” said Erin Foster, agency manager and travel advisor for Travel Connections in Peru. “The way I look at it, and how we all feel in our office, if you’re booking directly with Apple Vacations or Royal Caribbean, you’re paying the same price for a service that you’re not getting if you were to book the trip through a travel advisor.
“Are there some things people can do on their own? Absolutely. There are people who travel around the United States and they can do it themselves. We focus predominately (for U.S. travel) on packages for Alaska, Hawaii, escorted group tours in the U.S., and ocean and river cruises. We have agents who specialize in Walt Disney and Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. But really, the bulk of what we work on is all international,” Foster said.
Understanding what a travel advisor does may help people decide if they need the services, so Foster
Travel Connections in Peru has helped travelers book, plan, and enjoy amazing vacations throughout the world over the last 14 years. Helping make those trips and memories happen are agency manager and travel advisor Erin Foster (front row, left to right), owner and travel advisor Colleen Mitchell, group tour director Don Grant Zellmer (standing, left to right), and travel advisor Carol Keller.
explained how having a travel advisor can help.
“When you put the deposit down for the trip, our job doesn’t end there. We’re constantly working around the clock dealing with itinerary changes and airline schedule changes,” Foster said. “This airport moved their seat and they weren’t notified. This cruise line had an issue with dinner
reservations. We resolve those issues and handle all of the maintenance side most people don’t see.
“That’s how it should be. We’re handling it on our side of things because our clients don’t have the time or the patience to deal with those things. They shouldn’t have to,” she added.
Foster, who has been with Travel Connections since it
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
opened 14 years ago, added that she and her staff are involved in every stage of the trip, not just the problems or emergencies. The process starts with a consultation, whether in-person or through email, phone, or Zoom, for Travel Connections to meet their clients who are local, in Illinois, and around the country.
The consultation gives the advisors an opportunity to meet the client and get to know them and their travel experience, what they’re interested in doing, and then give them all of their options to help them accomplish their mission of reserving a dream vacation.
The travel advisors also help prepare their clients for departure, help obtain documents, and give their cell phone numbers to clients when they travel so they have 24-7 access if there is an emergency or issue.
“I think it can be great to have a travel advisor in your back pocket. We develop great relationships with our clients,” Foster said.
“We have clients who have experience at all ends of the spectrum. We’re working with first-timers.
We’re working with people who maybe have a few trips under their belt. And we have very experienced travelers that still want the knowledge, experience, and security of having someone to go to in the event of an issue or problem when they’re traveling,” she said. “We’re here for everybody. We like to work one-onone with our clients and develop those relationships. That’s really important to us.”
Residents from the Illinois Valley have used Travel Connections to go near and far. But, of course, some places are more popular destinations than others.
“Europe is off the charts right now. Europe, Alaska, and Hawaii are always incredibly popular. I think our advisor who specializes in Alaska travel is closed out for the season. Alaska has a short season, and they’re already booking into 2026,” Foster said.
“I’m doing a lot with Italy since this year is a Jubilee year in Rome. I have a lot of people looking for new destinations, such as Spain, Portugal, and Croatia has been on the rise. We’ve had multiple requests for African safaris that we’re working on. Mexico Caribbean
is also very popular. We’re kind of all over the globe when it comes to travel destination popularity,” Foster said.
In a world where people can book their own travel arrangements, it seems weird to some when a travel advisor is mentioned or suggested. Foster is asked often if Travel Connections is busy.
She immediately thinks of an inside joke with her husband.
“My husband, Joel Foster, always jokes when I say we are in our busy season. He says, ‘It’s always busy season.’ And honestly, he is probably right because we are always so busy,” Foster said.
“We just made our third office move, so we had more space to bring in another employee. Our business has grown exponentially year after year. The only year we saw a decline was the year of the pandemic – 2020. It was short-lived, and we had people traveling by 2021. Then we had two of our best years in 2022 and 2023. We’re still seeing sales continuing to rise. Things are not slowing down anytime soon. We’ve always felt in demand,” she said.
JULY 10-20, 2025
Growing Her Passion
Peyton Lamps discovered her love of plants at a young age
Some people spend their whole lives without discovering what their true passion is. Peyton Lamps stumbled upon her calling at a young age and hasn’t looked back since.
“I’ve always loved plants since I was a young girl,” she said.
When she was 13 years old, she got a part-time job watering plants at a greenhouse.
“It was the best thing ever,” Lamps, now
25 years old, said.
During her senior year of high school, she started selling stuff on Facebook marketplace. She studied horticulture and floral design at Kishwaukee College. From there, she gained traction and opened her own shop when she was just 20 years old. Her shop, Petals by Peyton, is on First Street in LaSalle.
Story and photos by Shannon Serpette
Peyton Lamps shares her love of plants at her shop, Petals by Peyton, and can find suitable plants for everyone – even those who don’t have a green thumb.
Petals by Peyton recently celebrated its fifth year in business – a milestone many small businesses never reach. She opened her shop in November of 2019, shortly before the Covid pandemic hit.
Fortunately, plants were something people embraced and wanted during the pandemic, so her shop did well.
“I did Facebook live sales. It was insane,” she said.
She’s been amazed at all the community support she’s received.
“I’ve built something here,” she said. “Everything has been a learning curve.”
Lamps has found that owning a business means she doesn’t get her hands in the dirt as often as she’d like because there are a lot of duties to oversee and complete. All the paperwork and record-keeping involved with being a business owner needs to be completed, which cuts into her favorite part of owning her business –directly working with plants.
Her shop has plenty of sideline items for those who want to buy more than plants. She has cups, candles, signs, and more.
Visitors to her shop will immediately be drawn in by the variety of plants she has. There are big ones and small ones that can fit into any budget.
People who worry they don’t have the proper light in their homes to grow plants or say they even manage to kill succulents will find plenty of support at Petals by Peyton. She can find the right type of plant for every customer.
“There’s a plant for everyone,” she said. “We have plenty of low-light plants.”
One segment of her business that Lamps spends a lot of time on is workshops.
“I do tons of workshops,” she said, adding that she had 86 workshops last year, such as Southwest cactus gardens, terrariums, and more.
Lamps spends a lot of time each week – often 50 to 60 hours – working at her shop or dreaming up new ideas.
“Definitely the more effort and work you put in, the more success you’ll see. It’s a go-go-go industry. But it’s so fun,” she said. “It’s my baby.”
When you’re looking for a cute gift to give a plant lover, Petals by Peyton offers plenty of options.
Although much of Peyton Lamps’ store is based on flowers and plants, she also carries other items, such as candles and signs.
June Keeley Found Her True Passion –BASEBALL
Story by Brandon LaChance
The Illinois Valley had a reason to celebrate in the summer of 2024 when the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp won their first Prospect League Championship.
Everyone involved with the Pistol Shrimp played their part in that success, including team owner and field manager Jon Jakiemiec, the players, the staff, the interns, and general manager June Keeley.
Keeley extends the congratulations a step further.
“I tell people when they say congratulations to the
team for winning the championship, it’s congratulations to everyone because the entire community is the secret sauce that puts us over the top,” Keeley said. “You can have the best athletes on the field – the most competitive and fundamentally sound athletes – but they have to have a certain chemistry and work together.
“The enthusiasm and the support from the fans, what the players hear from the fans, is really what sets it apart and makes it all
happen. To kind of stand back and look at how big it has grown and what it has become and what it means to people is amazing,” she added.
Keeley has been with the Pistol Shrimp from the start.
In 2019, the team was founded in DuPage County as the DuPage Pistol Shrimp, with home games played at Benedictine University in Lisle.
The franchise’s first season
KEELEY page 12
Keeley
FROM PAGE 11
was played in Lisle, but then COVID-19 canceled the Prospect League’s 2020 season.
The Pistol Shrimp played 18 games in a summer in-house league started by the Joliet Slammers, with all contests played in Joliet.
In 2021, the team became the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp when they moved to Peru and Schweickert Stadium.
“It’s very rewarding and very validating that everything we’re doing is amounting to success. We won the league championship in six years, but not even a full six years,” Keeley said. “Building the team within the community in terms of our attendance records being broken every year and to achieve a Prospect League Championship on the field, it’s huge. Every year the club has been in existence has been unique and has offered its own challenges.
“Strange things have happened. Wonderful things have happened,” she said. “The move to the Illinois Valley in 2021 was so much because we didn’t have any previous relationships with businesses. We didn’t know a lot of people. I’ve lived in the Chicago suburbs my entire adult life and hadn’t really been to the Starved Rock area much.”
However, from the first visit, Keeley appreciated what the Illinois Valley had to offer.
“When Jon and I first visited, we just knew the Illinois Valley felt like home and it was the place to be. There were so many pieces logistically to figuring out how it was going to work, who was going to work, and we needed staff, interns, and a team. Everything shifted because we had planned on being in Lisle but only played one season there before the big move, big change,” she said.
Keeley, who is also an independent insurance broker, is originally from Peru, Indiana, (she laughs and calls it ironic)
Although June Keeley didn’t take an at-bat or make a mound appearance for the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp in 2024, she was instrumental in helping the club win its first Prospect League Championship.
and resides in Naperville. However, from mid-May to mid-August, she lives in the Illinois Valley during baseball season.
“The job is too much to drive back and forth every day, even though it’s only a one hour and 15-minute
drive,” Keeley said. “I feel very at home in the valley. I’ve gotten to make a lot of friendships in addition to the relationships that have developed through the team with sponsors, vendors, and community organizations.” She has built connections
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
with fans and can relay stories she has been told about fans coming to games with their late spouses and their children.
Keeley is also proud to be a female general manager of a baseball team.
“Being a general manager of a baseball team has not been traditionally a female role. In the Prospect League, there is Jeanie Cooke who is a co-owner of the Danville Dans, whose entire life is baseball,” Keeley said. “We just had the retirement of Ginger Fulton, who was the general manager for the Champion City Kings. And the Johnstown Mill Rats have Sarah Rex as the general manager. Out of the 18 teams in the Prospect League, it is nice we have female representation.
“No one seems to bat an eyelash that I’m a woman and a general manager. When the umpire crews come into town, there isn’t a discernible notice that it’s a female or male in the role. For me, the most satisfying part about me being a female in this role is working with the interns I do. I am showing younger female students that anything is possible. They can have any job they want. They can be a general manager of an MLB team,” Keeley said.
“The sky is the limit, and there is nothing you can’t do. I think it’s showing through action. Here I am as an example that they can do these things too. It’s whatever they put their mind to.”
What is really interesting is how it all started. Keeley didn’t search for a general manager job. She never thought it was something she was going to do.
“I was halfheartedly job hunting. I had been doing a lot of volunteer work,” Keeley said. “My son, Ryan Keeley, had a pitching coach, Mark Sheehan, who told me a friend and business associate of his was starting a baseball team in the Prospect League. He had mentioned the job would be in sales to help with sponsorships and it should be super easy.
“I met with Jon in the fall
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
As the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp general manager, June Keeley plans unique events for the team, fans, and sponsors. If there is something planned like Beach Bash Night, she will be there, and she may even take photos like she did with Emme Bottom (right).
of 2018. At the meeting, I figured out quickly the position was so much more than a simple ad-selling position over the phone. I knew Jon needed someone to be a manager and take care of the behind-the-scenes aspects of baseball. He and I clicked right away. He brought me in as general manager, and the rest is history.”
Taking the chance to explore her options led her on this path.
“This little meeting for a
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
When a player signs with the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp, the first thing they do is go to the field for general manager June Keeley to get them outfitted for the season. Throughout the season, Keeley maintains relationships with the players during events and games.
part-time sales job led to me being a general manager and it has become a really big part of my life. It’s been the best part of my life for the last six years and into the future,” she said.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
June Keeley has a family outside of her baseball family as well. Her daughter Jordan (left) lives and works in Chicago, while her son Ryan (right) is finishing his final year of college in Hilo, Hawaii.
Wednesday’s Chili
INGREDIENTS
1 and 1/2 ground beef
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
10-ounce can Campbell’s onion soup
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
21-ounce can of undrained kidney beans
6-ounce can tomato paste
8-ounce can of tomato sauce
DIRECTIONS
Brown ground beef in oil in skillet until well browned. Crumble beef and dust with salt. Pack beef firmly into a saucepan. Cover and heat for 20 minutes on low. Meanwhile, put the can of soup through the blender for one minute (if a smooth consistency is desired) and add to the beef. Cover and simmer for five minutes on low. Add chili powder, cumin, and pepper. Add kidney beans, tomato paste, and tomato sauce. Heat thoroughly for about 20 minutes to let the flavor blend.
Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos
INGREDIENTS
3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 an onion
1 tablespoon of oil
2 cups cooked black beans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon cumin, depending on preference
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 flour tortillas
1 and 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS
Sauté sweet potatoes and onion along with one tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan just until tender. Add small amounts of water as needed to prevent sticking.
Add the beans, cumin, cinnamon, and salt to the sweet potatoes and onions. Cook until heated through. Divide the sweet potato and bean mixture and cheese among the tortillas and roll up the tortillas. Place in a 9x13-inch baking pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Garnish with sour cream, fresh cilantro, and salsa, if desired.
Creamy White Chili
INGREDIENTS
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 chopped onion
1 and 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cans (15 and 1/2 ounces each) great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 and 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
2 small cans of chopped green chiles
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
DIRECTIONS
In a big saucepan, saute the chicken, onion, and garlic powder in oil until the chicken isn’t pink. Add the beans, broth, seasonings, and chiles. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered. Remove the soup from the heat, and stir in the sour cream and heavy cream.
Cowboy Caviar
INGREDIENTS
3 roma diced tomatoes
2 diced ripe avocados
1/3 cup diced red onion
One 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
One 15-ounce can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 and 1/2 cup frozen sweet corn, thawed
1 diced bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, diced with seeds removed
1/3 cup fine chopped cilantro
DRESSING INGREDIENTS
One-third cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Tortilla chips for serving
DIRECTIONS
Combine tomatoes, avocado, onion, black beans, black-eyed peas, corn, pepper, jalapeno pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl. Toss so ingredients are well combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Pour the dressing over the other ingredients and toss well. Keep refrigerated if not serving immediately.
Kidney Bean Salad
INGREDIENTS
2 cups drained cooked kidney beans
1/4 cup diced celery
3 sweet pickles, chopped
1 small onion, minced
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup mayonnaise
DIRECTIONS
Stir all ingredients together except mayonnaise. Mix the mayonnaise in lightly and chill thoroughly.
