Life and Style - Spring 2020 by The Southern Illinoisan

SPRING 2020

Crafting collections What inspires us to start collections and groups?

GETAWAYS

Missouri is home to world-class aquatic collections

WE LIVE HERE

How antique and DIY dĂŠcor make a house a home

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1100 West Diann Lane Carbondale, IL 62901 618-549-8006 Life & Style : Spring 2020

710 N. Illinois Ave. P.O. Box 2108 Carbondale, Illinois 62901 618-529-5454, 800-228-0429 lifeandstyle@thesouthern.com www.LifeandStyleSI.com

SPRING 2020 Publisher Terra Kerkemeyer Executive Editor Tom English Art Director/Editor Alee Quick Design April Burford Eli Quinn Emily Shullaw Contributors Shawn Anglin Nellie Baril Niki Davis Gabriel Neely-Streit Angela Rowe Valerie Schremp Hahn Isaac Smith Les Winkeler Katie Workman Photography Byron Hetzler David Carson Distribution Shad Hicks Business Development Director Lyn Sargent Advertising Sales Emily Blakely Susan Eubanks Logan Johnson Tina Moon Lisa Morgan Kathi Odum

Life & Style in Southern Illinois is a publication of The Southern Illinoisan. Contact us at 710 N. Illinois Ave., Carbondale, IL 62901, or at P.O. Box 2108, Carbondale, IL 62902. Reach us on the Internet at www. LifeandStyleSI.com. Life & Style in Southern Illinois is published four times per year and is distributed free of cost to a variety of businesses and hotels in Southern Illinois. ÂŠ 2019 by The Southern Illinoisan. All rights reserved. For more information, call 618-529-5454. Visit us online at www.thesouthern.com.

710 N. Illinois Avenue P.O. Box 2108 Carbondale, Illinois 62901

N SS O OU U TT H H EE RR N N II LL LL II N NO O II SS II N

EDITORIAL EDITORIAL TerraKerkemeyer Kerkemeyer publisher Terra publisher terra.kerkemeyer terra.kerkemeyer @thesouthern.com @thesouthern.com

TomEnglish English editor Tom executive editor 618-351-5070 618-351-5070 tom.english tom.english @thesouthern.com @thesouthern.com

Kody Blackwell Alee Quick special editor projects coordinator 618-351-5807 alee.quick 618-351-5092 @thesouthern.com kody.blackwell @thesouthern.com

ADVERTISING

ADVERTISING Lyn Sargent business development director Lyn Sargent advertising 618-351-5815 618-351-5815 lyn.sargent lyn.sargent @thesouthern.com @thesouthern.com

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We are always looking for new and exciting stories, people and events to feature in LIFE & STYLE! To submit story ideas or photos send an email to lifeandstyle@thesouthern.com.

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We are currently accepting applications for freelance writers. If you would like for us consider adding you to our writing team at LIFE & STYLE IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS magazine, please send an email to kody.blackwell@thesouthern.com. lifeandstyle@thesouthern.com. SUBJECT LINE: LIFE & STYLE FREELANCE. Include your contact information a brief paragraph about your qualifications and at least two writing samples in Word doc format. (Include one technical and one lifestyle piece).

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Life & Style : Spring 2020 5

CONTENTS

Spring 2020

Very vintage

Meet women bringing past into present

SPRING 2020

Getaways

Go under the sea with visits to Missouri aquariums

Scenic Beauty

Spring bird migration means more color in the wild

features

SOCIAL SEEN

See who’s been out and about at these select events

GOOD EATS

Flip through a treasured cookbook collection

6 Life & Style : Spring 2020

WE LIVE HERE

21 QUESTIONS

Take a tour of this home where antiques rule the day

Get to know Mike Absher, the mayor of Marion

Business Buzz

How a popular Facebook group is elevating the food scene

more inside 45 at home 48 history and heritage 56 medical profile 58 gadgets 62 parting shot

Crafting collections What inspires us to start collections and groups?

GETAWAYS

WE LIVE HERE

Missouri is home to world-class aquatic collections

cover photo

How antique and DIY décor make a house a home

For this issue, we looked at how collections and groups bring us together. For the cover, we talked with three women about their incredible, expansive vintage clothing collections. See the story on page 28. Cover photo by Byron Hetzler.

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SOCIAL SEEN

SIH Second Act

early 300 members of Southern Illinois Healthcare Second Act, a membership program for adults over 50, rang in the holiday season with their annual Christmas party Dec. 5 at Garden Grove Event Center in Carbondale. Members participate in a number of activities throughout the year, including travel, social events and classes.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY SIH

1. Aaron and Linda Hine of Carbondale 2. Beverly Kemp of Johnston City and Beulah Kemp of West Frankfort 3. Bonnie Glisson and Betty Adams of Carbondale 4. Brenda and Louis Mines of Sesser 5. Faith Jones, Betty Kinkaid and Cynthia Harris of Colp 6. Jane Kruse of Steeleville, Lois Sellers of Murphysboro, and Judy Bigham and Erla Lacy of Pinckneyville

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7. Norlyn Kingsten, Janie Kingsten, Ruth Waeltz, Donna Salger, Marilyn Dailey and Darwin Dailey, all of Steelville, and Pasquale Racana of Makanda 8. Fredia Doody and Mary Falaster of Murphysboro 9. Jane Harris of Carbondale and Judy Runge and Virginia Tucker of Murphysboro 10. Gail and Phil Kell of Cambria 11. Kent and Jean Burns of Pittsburg 12. Mary Hughes and Jim Little of Marion 13. Milly Kaiser of Murphysboro, Barbara Smith of Carterville and Kayla Lazorchak of West Frankfort 14. Pat Drake and Dr. Sandie Beebe of Carbondale 15. Rosa Marie Kirk of Carbondale and Gregory Kupiec of Murphysboro 16. Ruth Waeltz of Steelville and Tracy Herron of Carterville 17. Sandy and Jim Phillips of Pinckneyville 18. Teresa and Dave Ullman of Carbondale

WANT MORE?

Go to LifeandStyleSI.com or Facebook.com/LifeandStyleSI for more Social Seen photos.

Life & Style : Spring 2020 9

SOCIAL SEEN

Honor Wreaths for Veterans

onor Wreaths for Veterans placed wreaths on the graves of veterans at cemeteries across Illinois. In Carterville, pictured here, more than 150 volunteers placed wreaths Dec. 14 on the graves of all veterans buried in the cemetery.

PHOTOS BY KARINA NEILL

10 Life & Style : Spring 2020

1. Tony Zaccagnini, Tom Harness and Jim Koonce, all of Carterville 2. The Henderson family of Harrisburg 3. Tom and Judy Stewart and Rowan James Dixon, all of Carterville 4. Niki Pate of Herrin 5. Laurel Kathleen Sylwester of Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois 6. Jim Koonce of Carterville 7. Brian Flath of Carterville 8. Bradley Robinson of Carterville 9. Aur Beck of Carbondale 10. Jason Powell and Julie Campbell of Marion 11. Maggie Mandell of Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois 12. Karen Henderson of Harrisburg 13. Heather Pierce of Carterville, Jennifer Kays of Benton, Sarah Moore of Marion, Chris Lobmier of Herrin, Niki Pate of Herrin, Mckenzie Isaacs of Marion, Kate Moore of Marion, Kent Ingersoll of Herrin and Rodney Jones of Marion. 14. Jason Shadowen of Energy, Aylin Malacarne of Italy and Isaiah Shadowen of Energy

WANT MORE? Go to LifeandStyleSI.com or Facebook.com/ LifeandStyleSI for more Social Seen photos.

Life & Style : Spring 2020 11

SOCIAL SEEN

Purse-N-Ality

errin Chamber of Commerce hosted Purse-N-Ality on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019, at the Herrin Civic Center. Several purses were auctioned at the event, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the FranklinWilliamson Child Advocacy Center.

PHOTOS BY KARINA NEILL

1. Christy Powers of Royalton, Teresa Camarato of Herrin, Cindy Snyder-Peters of Royalton and Jessica Roland of Carterville 2. Jessica Roland and Dana Roland of Carterville 3. Christie Bybee, Halle Bybee and Kenadee Heise of Thompsonville 4. Melody and Kelly King of Herrin 5. Susana and Nicole Cook of Marion 6. Janet Usher of Herrin 7. Laura Chairez of Marion 8. Deb Payne of Herrin 9. Andrea Petro of Christopher, Leanna Bennet of Valier and Barbee Brady of Sesser 10. Cindy Snyder-Peters and Christy Powers, both of Royalton

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cardinalhouse21@gmail.com 12 Life & Style : Spring 2020

SOCIAL SEEN

Harvest Moon Masquerade Ball

he Harvest Moon Masquerade Ball was held on Friday, Oct. 21, 2019, at Legends at Walker’s Bluff in Carterville. Guests dressed up and donned masks for a party that included an appetizer and dessert buffet, a cocktail hour in Walker’s Bluff ’s Wine Cave and a silent auction. Proceeds went to the Franklin-Williamson Child Advocacy Center and the Perry-Jackson Child Advocacy Center. PHOTOS BY KARINA NEILL

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

Leah Brown of Carterville Kelly and Steve Bareis of Du Quoin Bryan and Jill Coleman of Campbell Hill Kyle and Bailey Griggs of Murphysboro Kelly and Jeff Green of Herrin Tom and Corey Hasenstab of Red Bud Morgan Laird of Marion Christine Huang and Dr. Tennyson Lee of Carterville Whitney and Josh Melton of Pinckneyville Ben Couri and Analisa Parker of Carbondale Sharon and Harold Powers of Herrin Bob and Brenda Rea of Benton Jamey Turner and Robyn Bowlin-Turner of De Soto Geo and Sue Trammell of Marion

Life & Style : Spring 2020

SOCIAL SEEN

Williamson County Shrine Club Annual Christmas Party

he Williamson County Shrine Club gathered Friday, Dec. 6, for its annual Christmas Party. About 50 Shriners, their ladies and guests enjoyed appetizers and a prime rib dinner with all the fixings. Club President Cody Stacey gave a brief overview of the year and presented the clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shriner of the Year Award. The club, which opened in 1952, primarily supports the St. Louis Shriners Hospital for Children, but also supports the Chicago and Cincinnati hospitals, with 15 fundraising events per year.

PHOTOS BY KARINA NEILL 1. Gary and Mary Popp of Fairview Heights 2. Dennis and Jama Kinkade of Benton 3. Mike McGee of Marion 4. Donnie Hoffard of Johnston City, Pat Dugger of Marion, Joe McPherson of Marion, Earl Whitson of Johnston City, Dave Buttler of West Frankfort and Jim Bucklew of Marion 5. Terry and Carolyn Brown of Fairfield 6. Kenneth and Patty George of Marion 7. Tara Spice of Carbondale and Melanie Tate of Herrin 8. Randy and Sheri Patchett of Marion 9. Merv and Diane Falk of Marion 10. Jim and Nancy Lare of West Frankfort 11. Mike and Sherri Dailey and Vikie McGlashen, all of Marion 12. Verne and Sally Ricker of Herrin 13. Dave and Dixie Barnhart of Marion 14. Roger and Jan Ellis of Crab Orchard 15. Mike and Shirley Trasher of Mount Vernon 16. Ray and Lou Dickens of Marion 17. Martha and Keith Clendenin of Marion 18. Randy and Cindy Lueber of Hurst 19. Larry and MaryAnn Carril of Marine 20. Jim and Mary Barbara Kurtz of Belleville 21. Tom and Laura Reece of Cambria 22. David and Martha Butler of West Frankfort 23. Cody Stacey and Christina May of West Frankfort 24. Denver and Johanna Tolbert of Mulkeytown 25. Kenny and Marilyn Hill of Walnut Hill 26. Bob and Pam Bundren of Marion 27. Chris and Rhonda Daugh of Cambria 28. Pat and Bonnie Dugger of Marion

14 Life & Style : Spring 2020

Life & Style : Spring 2020 15

SOCIAL SEEN

Pumpkins in the Park

amilies gathered at Herrin City Park on Sunday, Oct. 27, to celebrate Halloween with Pumpkins in the Park. Children showed off their costumes, as local businesses and organizations participated in a trick-or-treat. Pumpkins in the Park is an annual event. Stay up-to-date about future events at facebook.com/PumpkinsintheParkHerrin.

PHOTOS BY KARINA NEILL

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Brody and Brantley Wagley of Herrin Payton Wagley of Herrin Adam and Mila Emery of Herrin Zachary, Peyton and Maria Colombo of Carbondale Nora Sisrey of Christopher Dorien, Miles and Medow Williams of Herrin Luca Pisoni, Lilah and Noah Deaton of Herrin Emmanuel and Amelia Gonzalez of Herrin Mattaya and Mason Clayborn of Herrin Kaylyn Robinson of Herrin Zoie Cain of Carterville Luka and Danika Jakobsen of Marion Emery Skaggs and Ezra King of Herrin Josselyn Campbell of Herrin Athena Mary Pistono of Herrin Shawna, Kennedy and Evie Bwyant of Herrin Lynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Zarain and Lynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Zarius Jones of Marion Skylah Fourez of Carterville Aubree Monroe Dryden of Herrin Malorie Colp, Vickie and Frank King, Chad Skaggs, Tabatha King and Teresa Camarato, all of Herrin

Life & Style : Spring 2020

TOP LAWYERS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

These LEADING LAWYERS have been recommended by their peers to be among the TOP LAWYERS in Illinois. Douglas A. Antonik William L. Broom III Patricia A. Hoke Kenneth R. Hughes Craig R. Reeves Sarah J. Taylor Michael R. Twomey Mark J. Ballard Terry R. Black Aaron S. Carnine Jerome E. McDonald Paul R. Lynch Julie A. Webb Kenneth F. Werts Brandy Lynn Johnson R. James Giacone II Cheryl Lynn Intravaia Kara L. Jones Kevin L. Mechler Jonathan A. Mitchell Angela M. Povolish John S. Rendleman III John C. Ryan Pieter N. Schmidt Murphy C. Hart Morris Lane Harvey Shane M. Carnine Mark D. Hassakis A. Ben Mitchell John T. Hundley Thomas J. Wolf Jr.

Antonik Law Ofﬁces Barrett Twomey Broom Hughes & Hoke LLP Barrett Twomey Broom Hughes & Hoke LLP Barrett Twomey Broom Hughes & Hoke LLP Barrett Twomey Broom Hughes & Hoke LLP Barrett Twomey Broom Hughes & Hoke LLP Barrett Twomey Broom Hughes & Hoke LLP Black Ballard McDonald PC Black Ballard McDonald PC Black Ballard McDonald PC Black Ballard McDonald PC Craig & Craig LLC Craig & Craig LLC Craig & Craig LLC Early & Miranda PC Feirich/Mager/Green/Ryan Feirich/Mager/Green/Ryan Feirich/Mager/Green/Ryan Feirich/Mager/Green/Ryan Feirich/Mager/Green/Ryan Feirich/Mager/Green/Ryan Feirich/Mager/Green/Ryan Feirich/Mager/Green/Ryan Feirich/Mager/Green/Ryan Hart Cantrell LLC Harvey Baker & Reinhardt PC Hassakis & Hassakis PC Hassakis & Hassakis PC Mitchell Law Ofﬁce PC Sharp-Hundley PC Thomas J. Wolf Jr. PC

Mount Vernon Carbondale Carbondale Carbondale Carbondale Carbondale Carbondale Mount Vernon Mount Vernon Mount Vernon Mount Vernon Mount Vernon Mount Vernon Mount Vernon Carbondale Carbondale Carbondale Carbondale Carbondale Carbondale Carbondale Carbondale Carbondale Carbondale Benton Mount Vernon Mount Vernon Mount Vernon Mount Vernon Mount Vernon Marion

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Bankruptcy: Individual; Bankruptcy/Workout: Commercial Comm Lit; Land Use/Zoning/Condemn; Real Estate: Comm; Trust/Will/Estate Tax: Individual; Trust, Will & Estate Banking; Closely/Privately Held; Comm Lit Civil Appellate; Close/Private Held; Real Estate: Commrcial; RE: Residential Creditor Rights/Comm Collect; Gov/Muni/Lobby/Admin; Land Use/Zoning/Condemn Banking; Cred Rights/Comm Collect; Gov/Muni/Lobby; RE: Comm; Trust/Will/Estate Agriculture; Close/Private Held; Real Estate: Comm; RE: Residential; Trust/Will/Estate Banking; Creditor Rights/Comm Collect; Min/Nat Resource; RE: Comm; RE: Residential Family Ins/Insurance Cov/Reinsurance; PI Defense: General; Product Liab Defense Ins/Insurance Cov/Reinsurance; Med-Mal Defense; PI Defense: General ADR: Family; PI Defense: General; Tox Tort Def; Work Comp Def Work Comp Def Employment: Management; PI Defense: General; Work Comp Def PI Defense: General; Work Comp Def Work Comp Def Civil Appellate; Gov/Muni/Lobby/Admin; PI Defense: General Work Comp Def Ins/Ins Cov/Reinsurance; PI Defense: Gen; Prod Liab Def; Tox Tort Def; Work Comp Def Close/Private Held; Real Estate: Comm; RE: Residential; Trust/Will/Estate Close/Private Held; Employ: Mgmt; Gov/Muni/Lobby; RE: Comm; Trust/Will/Estate Comm Lit; Employment: Mgmt; Gov/Muni/Lobby; Med-Mal Def; PI Def: General PI Defense: General; Work Comp Def Creditor Rights/Commercial Collect; Real Estate: Commercial; Real Estate: Residential Family Personal Injury: General Nursing Home Negligence; Personal Injury: General; Work Comp: Petitioner’s Close/Private Held; Comm Lit; Mineral/Nat Resource; Trust/Will/Estate Bankrupt/Workout: Comm; Comm Lit; Creditor Rights/Comm Collect; RE: Residential Tax: Business; Tax: Individual; Trust, Will & Estate

These EMERGING LAWYERS have been identiﬁed by their peers to be among the TOP LAWYERS in Illinois who are age 40 or younger OR who have been admitted to the practice of law for 10 or fewer years. David R. Hughes

Barrett Twomey Broom Hughes & Hoke LLP

Carbondale

618.457.0437

Banking; Comm Lit; Creditor Rights/Comm Collect

Elisha D. Sanders

Barrett Twomey Broom Hughes & Hoke LLP

Carbondale

618.457.0437

Close/Private Held; Comm Lit; RE: Residential; Trust/Will/Estate

Daniel R. Twomey

Barrett Twomey Broom Hughes & Hoke LLP

Carbondale

618.457.0437

Close/Private Held; Comm Lit; Cred Rights/Comm Collect; Trust/Will/Estate

Casey L. Twomey

Barrett Twomey Broom Hughes & Hoke LLP

Carbondale

618.457.0437

Closely/Privately Held; Comm Lit; Trust, Will & Estate

Matthew B. Flanigan

Black Ballard McDonald PC

Mount Vernon

618.242.3310

Close/Private Held; Mineral/Nat Resource; Real Estate: Comm; Trust/Will/Estate

Douglas R. Hoffman

Black Ballard McDonald PC

Mount Vernon

618.242.3310

Banking; Bankrupt/Workout: Comm; Creditor Rights/Comm Collect

Jarred R. Tynes

Black Ballard McDonald PC

Mount Vernon

618.242.3310

Agriculture; Closely/Privately Held; Mineral/Natural Resource; Real Estate: Comm

Brittany N. Meeker

Craig & Craig LLC

Mount Vernon

618.244.7511

PI Defense: General; Work Comp Def

D. Brian Smith

Feirich/Mager/Green/Ryan

Carbondale

618.529.3000

PI Defense: General; Work Comp Def

Joshua A. Humbrecht

Hassakis & Hassakis PC

Mount Vernon

618.244.5335

Personal Injury: General; Work Comp: Petitioner’s

James M. Ruppert

Hassakis & Hassakis PC

Mount Vernon

618.244.5335

Personal Injury: General; Work Comp: Petitioner’s

Devin M. Jones

Law Ofﬁce of Devin M. Jones

Du Quoin

618.790.2102

Personal Injury: General; PI: Professional Malpractice; Work Comp: Petitioner’s

A lawyer CANNOT buy the distinction of Leading or Emerging Lawyer. The distinction was earned by being among those lawyers most often recommended by their peers. For a full description of our research process, a complete list of all Leading or Emerging Lawyers, and to view proﬁles of the lawyers listed on this page, go to

www.LeadingLawyers.com A Division of Law Bulletin Media – est. 1854

Life & Style : Spring 2020 17

GETAWAYS

THE

sea New St. Louis aquarium makes a splash by VALERIE SCHREMP HAHN, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

f you thought the literal and proverbial train left St. Louis Union Station decades ago, your mind may be changed by several thousand fish, a few otters and a single giant Pacific octopus. St. Louis Aquarium opened Christmas Day, and tickets for its big debut sold out. The attraction is the last major element in the most recent $187 million transformation of the historic former train station in downtown St. Louis. Thousands of visitors have streamed to the venue in recent months to take a ride in its new 200-foottall observation wheel, sip a beer next to a carousel and miniature golf course, and balance on an indoor ropes course. Steve O’Loughlin, president of Lodging Hospitality Management, which paid $20 million for the station in 2012, says the new attractions already are attracting twice the number of visitors he expected — up to 10,000 people daily on a busy weekend. He’s even witnessed at least five marriage proposals at the St. Louis Wheel.

Life & Style : Spring 2020

A giant grouper swims through the water in the 250,000-gallon Shark Canyon tank at the St. Louis Aquarium on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019. PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID CARSON, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH‌

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& DEBT DAWG! Life & Style : Spring 2020 19

GETAWAYS

St. Louis Aquarium employee Erin Clark, left, gives Natalie Calandro, center, and Melanie Mills a tour on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, of the St. Louis Aquarium Shark Canyon before the grand opening on Christmas Day.

“You’re seeing St. Louis people support a St. Louis project,” he says. “It’s just fun seeing the place packed.” As he spoke on the phone, it buzzed as he received videos of the aquarium’s new otter residents, Sawyer, Finn and Thatcher. They had just moved into their new habitat at the aquarium, and staffers couldn’t get enough of their antics. Union Station operators hope to attract 1.5 million visitors to the aquarium and its other attractions each year. The free St. Louis Zoo, one of the most-visited zoos in the country, attracts 3 million people each year. St. Louis-based PGAV Destinations, which has been involved with aquariums around the world, designed this project. It was built by St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Cos., which also has aquarium experience. Since the station is a National Historic Landmark, they had to preserve certain elements, sometimes relying on

20 Life & Style : Spring 2020

SIZE AND SCOPE The aquarium is 120,000 square feet with 1.3 million gallons of tank space. For comparison, Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga is 190,000 square feet with 1.1 million gallons, Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is 452,000 square feet with 5 million gallons and Sea Life in Kansas City is 28,000 square feet with 260,000 gallons. The aquarium is home to more than 13,000 animals representing 257 species.

original construction documents. The aquarium is operated by the zoOceanarium Group, based in Dubai. More

than one official has talked about giving visitors a “hands-wet” experience. “We really want to encourage our guests to just explore,” says aquarium director Tami Brown as she shows off a gnarled “tree” in an area that will house local river animals such as tree frogs, a milk snake and crayfish. Brown came to St. Louis from the Greater Cleveland Aquarium in Ohio, which was built inside an 1880s powerhouse.

TOURING THE AQUARIUM

Brown loves St. Louis Aquarium’s historical nods to Union Station, starting with its ticket desk menu that resembles a train station flipboard and its downsized grand lobby with changing scenery on LED ceilings and walls. Colorful discus fish swim inside a clock-faced tank; its clock face is the same size as the one on the station’s iconic tower. Inside two spaces designed to look like

St. Louis Aquarium Foundation aims to reach and teach others

The front entrance to the St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station.

full-size passenger train cars, benches rumble, and St. Louis native John Goodman narrates a historical journey, viewed through digital “windows.” The trip starts in 1894 St. Louis, when Union Station was built, and travels under the Mississippi River to the present day. “We played up the trains so much at this point,” Brown says. “We need to transfer you from the train experience to the aquarium experience.” The aquarium is divided into six galleries, showing off the underwater worlds of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers as well as the deepest parts of the oceans. More than 13,000 animals at St. Louis Aquarium were relocated from other zoos and aquariums, as well as rescue organizations. Staffers gradually introduced the animals to their habitats in recent weeks, covering the clear panels with paper so the residents could acclimate to their new homes before being

exposed to the shadows and noise of visitors. Visitors can learn more about the animals with the help of large touchscreens, even “flipping” an animal to see it from all sides. They can poke their hands into a pool filled with “doctor fish,” which feed on dead skin and are used at some spas to nibble at people’s feet. “Only manicures; no pedicures,” Brown says. A J-shaped, 250,000-gallon tank — the aquarium’s largest — holds 60 sharks and stingrays, thousands of schooling sardines and other shimmery swimmers, and one giant, grumpy-looking grouper that likes to hang out at the bottom. A wall opposite the tank opens to the midway at Union Station, providing an aquatic backdrop for special events. Guests can interact with divers inside the tanks and also with an animated otter at the “Otter Chat,” similar to the “Turtle Talk With Crush” attraction at Epcot. An animated otter, controlled by a voice actor, can have

The St. Louis Aquarium wants as many people as possible to serve as good water stewards. It created the St. Louis Aquarium Foundation, which runs a free visitor center, just inside the lobby, and raises money to provide free aquarium entry to area students in need. The foundation hopes to raise enough money to give tickets to up to 25,000 students in Title I schools and other groups. A curriculum is being developed for STEM-based education classes, and the foundation is creating a volunteer program and working with other conservation groups. At the visitor center, guests can color a fish on a piece of paper, learn more about that specific fish and then place it under a special scanner that allows the fish to “swim” on a virtual screen. Other interactive screens show the evolution of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and river watersheds in the United States. Another globe-shaped screen shows short videos about ocean currents, melting ice caps, animal migration and the flow of trash into the oceans. Another large screen displays interactive games, where visitors can work together to clean up a nature or river habitat. Tanks will show animals that can be found locally, such as a box turtle and tiger salamander. An outdoor rain garden will greet students at a bus dropoff area. Even more kiosks let visitors zoom in on a map and find conservation groups in their area. Inside the visitor center, artist Gart Britzman created a sculpture using 5,000 empty water bottles gathered from Busch Stadium and LHM-managed hotels. The piece represents the number of bottles bought in the United States every 1.5 seconds. The sculpture is sure to be popular with Instagrammers, but it hopefully also will make people think twice about how they get their water. “We want them to leave and go, ‘Now what? What can I do now?’” says Diane Bauhof, the foundation’s executive director.

— Valerie Schremp Hahn

Life & Style : Spring 2020 21

GETAWAYS A sandbar shark glides through the water in the 250,000-gallon Shark Canyon tank at the St. Louis Aquarium on Dec. 12, 2019.

22 Life & Style : Spring 2020

ABOVE: A sandbar shark glides through the water in the 250,000-gallon Shark Canyon tank at the St. Louis Aquarium on Dec. 12, 2019. RIGHT: Piranha swim in a tank at the St. Louis Aquarium on Friday, Dec. 12, 2019.

conversations and play games with guests. Kids can play at a large water table, experimenting with dams and water levels. They can also dress up and pretend to help sick animals or prepare food for them; in other areas, they can feed shrimp to stingrays or slices of carrot to turtles. An ecological scavenger hunt for younger visitors includes learning experiences at 10 interactive stations. Lord Stanley, a rare blue lobster donated to St. Louis Aquarium in June by a Massachusetts restaurant, will live in this area. (Sequined, stuffed likenesses of Lord Stanley are available in the aquarium’s gift shop, naturally.)

MAKING WAVES‌

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson got a sneak peek at the aquarium before it opened to the public, and loved its mix of animals, especially the stingrays, sharks and otters. She also envisions a promising future for that corner of the city, especially with the next-door soccer stadium, set to be complete by 2022. “I see a few hours before the soccer game, lots

of people in the area, some people are walking from their loft or apartment or condos, and after the game, going over, riding the wheel, taking a look at some fish,” Krewson says. “I see people coming into St. Louis from out of town, staying in the hotels. It’s just an incredible energy and a beautiful location.” That energy has already intensified. Aaron Snivley, general manager of Maggie O’Brien’s Restaurant & Irish Pub next door, says the establishment saw an uptick in business several years ago when redevelopment started

GETAWAYS

at Union Station. It’s picked up in recent months with the opening of the wheel and other attractions. “It’s already boosted people through the door substantially, so I can only imagine what the aquarium is going to do,” he says. Snivley, 48, grew up watching the second rise (as a shopping mall) and then the demise of Union Station. Maggie O’Brien’s, open 40 years, felt similar growing pains. “We kind of look at it as a payoff for us sticking it out,” he says. Bob O’Loughlin, chairman and CEO of LHM (and Steve O’Loughlin’s father), says he wasn’t sure what would become of Union Station when his company took over. “We knew how iconic and beautiful it was,” he says. LHM officials tossed around potential concepts such as a train museum and even a roller coaster, eventually warming up to the idea of an aquarium. St. Louis was the largest city in the country without one, he says. They traveled the country, visiting aquariums and contacting companies including Ripley’s and Sea Life to gauge interest. O’Loughlin is sure St. Louis Aquarium will have staying power, citing the longevity of other family attractions such as the Magic House, City Museum and St. Louis Zoo. Families want things to do together and return to, he says, and it’s a bonus that LHM’s attractions are at iconic Union Station. “It’s a great feeling to know you’ve taken something that literally could have been shut down, and you bring it back,” he says.

St. Louis Aquarium diver Michael McKinney cleans a viewing port inside of the otters swimming tank on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019.

IF YOU GO WHERE: St. Louis Aquarium, Union Station, 201 S. 18th St., St. Louis, Missouri HOW MUCH: $25, $18 for ages 3-12; annual passes available MORE INFO: 314-923-3900; stlouisaquarium.com HOURS: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; last entry is 1 hour before closing

MORE TO SEE AND DO AT UNION STATION A-Maze-Ing Discoveries Mirror Maze  This indoor attraction, on the second level, honors the 1904 World’s Fair in an unusual way: with a surprisingly disorienting mirror maze, a “distortion room” with black-and-white spirals and lights, and a gusty “cave of wind.” Photos and interactive elements from the era of the fair dot the 900-square-foot space. (10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily; $8) Mini Golf  No-frills yet challenging 18-hole golf course, decorated with stonework and water elements, is ADA accessible. It’s tucked next to the carousel, with the St. Louis Wheel as a backdrop. (10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily; $10) Carousel  This carousel features two chariots and 30 animals, including a bald eagle and an ostrich. It was made by Chance Rides of Wichita, Kansas, and opened in September. (10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily; $5)

24 Life & Style : Spring 2020

Ropes Course  Adults and kids can challenge themselves on this indoor course, which includes more than 45 rope bridges and other obstacles, 50 feet above the Union Station lobby. Each participant is strapped into a harness and attached to an overhead rail. A 100-foot zip line sends riders soaring above spectators below. Young adventurers under 48 inches tall can test themselves on a separate, smaller course. (10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily; $15, $5 for children’s course) St. Louis Wheel  Climb into one of 42 climate-controlled gondolas to ride to the top of this 200-foot-tall observation wheel. On a clear day, visibility is nearly 20 miles, operators say. The enclosed gondolas each hold eight passengers and are wheelchair-accessible. A ride takes 12 to 15 minutes, and a rotation takes 2 minutes. Splurge for a ride on the VIP car, which has a glass floor and four leather captain’s chairs. The 1.6 million LEDs brighten the night sky with a kaleidoscope of colors. (10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily; $15, $10 for ages 3-12, $50 for VIP car)

Fire and light shows  Every half-hour, from 5 to 9 p.m. daily, see a thrilling display of fire, water and light, set to music, on the lake behind Union Station. Every hour from 5 to 10 p.m. daily, watch a 3D light show on the Grand Hall’s 65-foothigh vaulted ceiling. Food and drinks  The complex includes several options for dining, including the new St. Louis Soda Fountain, which specializes in diner fare, outlandish milkshakes and other sweet treats; the Train Shed, serving contemporary American cuisine and cocktails; 1894 Cafe (on the second level), a family-friendly spot with sandwiches, salads and quick options; and an outdoor beer garden and beverage kiosk, made from a repurposed shipping container. Landry’s Seafood House remains, located behind Union Station near the St. Louis Wheel, and a bar inside the Grand Hall serves small plates and signature cocktails named for railroad companies.

A penguin swims at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri.

WONDERFUL

Wildlife

More than fish at Wonders of Wildlife museum and aquarium

story and photos by SHAWN ANGLIN

ave you ever wanted to swim with sharks? Stand face-to-face with bears? Touch a stingray? Get up close to alligators or an anaconda? These are just a few of the opportunities guests can experience at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri. The nonprofit 350,000-square-foot facility is located adjacent to the Bass Pro Shops national headquarters, and was created by noted conservationist and Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris.

meant to inspire generations of future conservationists.” Wonders of Wildlife opened Sept. 21, 2017, and features 35,000 live fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds. There is over a mile and a half of trails through immersive wildlife habitats and 1.5 million gallons of freshwater and Clownfish saltwater aquariums. swim in an “Wonders of Wildlife was a project aquarium at Johnny Morris’ Wonders more than 10 years in the making,” of Wildlife National said Public Relations Manager Shelby Museum & Aquarium Stephenson. “As the largest immersive in Springfield, attraction of its kind in the world, the Missouri. project’s massive size called for an expansive team who spent a decade creating the elaborate details that make the experience so rewarding for visitors.”

“Wonders of Wildlife is an inspirational journey around the world that celebrates the role of hunters and anglers as America’s true conservation heroes,” said Morris in a 2017 press release. “We proudly invite families and sportsmen to come share the wonder with an unforgettable experience

Life & Style : Spring 2020

GETAWAYS

A grizzly bear and wolves are shown in a diorama to mimic Denali National Park at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri.

Where do you need to be?

Stephenson said more than 2,000 painters, sculptors, woodworkers, iron workers, taxidermists, illustrators, designers, scientists, biologists, engineers and others contributed to the facility. “The museum and aquarium pay homage to the sportsmen and women of yesterday, today and tomorrow with the knowledge that the surest way to preserve our rich outdoor heritage is to expose more people to its awe-inspiring beauty,” Stephenson said. “Visitors can literally journey through the world’s most exotic habitats — experiencing changes in lighting, sounds, smells, and temperatures — without ever leaving Springfield, Missouri.” Guests will learn about Native Americans and see rare historical artifacts such as authentic clothing and arrowheads. The wildlife galleries feature 4D dioramas that take visitors through the sights and sounds of native wildlife of the Savannah, the rain forest, the Arctic, America’s National Parks, and more. Each wall within the attraction features handpainted murals. Painters spent more than a year painting the Great African Hall alone. “One of the most dramatic exhibits immerses guests in the African Savannah with an array of animals including elephants, giraffes, rhinos, crocodiles, zebra and more capturing the continent’s daily drama and raw beauty as a tribute to the importance of African wildlife conservation,” said Stephenson. The world-record-setting polar bear is just

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Life & Style : Spring 2020

A shark swims in an aquarium at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri.

A jellyfish is pictured at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri.

of many record wildlife examples on display. The 11.5-feettall bear weighed 2,210 pounds and was taken by Arthur Dubs on March 3, 1961 in Alaska. “Wonders of Wildlife is home to the world’s largest collection of record-setting big game animals like deer, elk, bear, bison, caribou, moose, muskox, antelope, sheep and more, set amongst dioramas that transport you to the native environments of these species,” said Stephenson. In the aquarium area, visitors will find giant freshwater and saltwater aquariums that resemble lake and river bottoms as well as the ocean floor. Amphibians, anemone, bass, crab, eels, flamingos, gar, grouper, jellyfish, otters, penguins, piranha, rays, sea turtles and sharks are just a sample of the live species seen along the tour. In addition, there is an entire exhibit dedicated to seashells that are found around the world. The site is also home to the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, International Game Fish Association’s Fishing Hall of Fame, Boone and Crockett Club’s National Collection of Heads and Horns, NRA National Sporting Arms Museum and the National Archery Hall of Fame. Attention to detail is one of the areas Wonders of Wildlife excels in. Every section of the facility is meticulously decorated to mimic the desired natural surroundings. There are many inspirational and famous quotes about nature and conservation featured throughout.

Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium Located within Bass Pro Shops 500 W. Sunshine St. Springfield, Missouri 888-222-6060 wondersofwildlife.org

The Exploring Caves section resembles a real cave and features live bats and cavefish. “Wonders of Wildlife has a fitting acronym, as the most common words we hear out of visitor’s mouths is ‘WOW,’” said Stephenson. “People are often blown away by the sheer scale of the facility, yet it doesn’t lose its meticulous attention to detail. A word to the wise: Wear your walking shoes, and plan plenty of time.”

Giraffes are displayed in a diorama at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium.

Life & Style : Spring 2020 27

ON THE COVER

Betty Williams is pictured with some of her vintage collection in 2018.

Life & Style : Spring 2020

then now BECOMES

Vintage collections bring past into present

T PHOTOGRAPHY (LEFT) BY LES O’DELL, (RIGHT) COURTESY BETTY WILLIAMS

by NELLIE BARIL

he popularity of vintage apparel has been increasing steadily in recent years, perhaps due to the singular charm of the pieces or maybe more so due to the implied historical significance of vintage clothing. Did the previous owner wear this soft, cashmere sweater while attending a university in a different city or state? Did the woman who purchased this black velvet gown attend a Hollywood soiree? Imagining the past of a vintage piece is as exciting as its uniqueness. Vintage collectors have a love and desire not only for amassing pieces of clothing and accessories from bygone eras, but also for finding the story related to certain items and later giving those pieces new life by reselling to fellow vintage enthusiasts.

GEEKBETTY VINTAGE

Betty Williams, of Carbondale, has been wearing vintage since she was 13 years old, and continues sharing her love of vintage clothing through her business, GeekBetty Vintage. Inspired by her Aunt Millie, with whom she used to spend childhood summers in Chicago, Williams has carried that strong style influence with her over the last two and a half decades, both donning and reselling beautiful vintage pieces. “She would take me to all the best vintage shops and thrift stores in Chicago. She believed that women should wear furs on a daily basis and that women should wear cocktail dresses while

Betty Williams, who owns GeekBetty Vintage, started wearing vintage clothes when she was 13 years old. She is pictured here as a teenager wearing ‘70s vintage.

cooking dinner, because why not,” Williams said. Williams worked during high school, mainly to afford her wardrobe of 1950s dresses, eventually growing her collection to nearly 300 pieces. After receiving a psychology degree and later working at a local bank, Williams decided that she wanted to follow her passion for vintage once again while also paring down her personal collection, which at one point took up an entire converted basement. Williams currently has over 20,000 pieces of vintage clothing in her inventory, not including accessories. “I’m a collector first and foremost. I definitely want to resell and see people in these pieces but part of that thrill is that something was going to be in the trash and now somebody is wearing it Life & Style : Spring 2020

ON THE COVER

Betty Williams, owner of GeekBetty Vintage, poses in the Sharon dress, which its original owner wore the night her husband proposed to her.

The Lenore dress: When Lenore’s daughter put this dress on consignment with GeekBetty Vintage, she remembered that her mother would wear the dress for date nights over several years, recalling the rustling sound it made when Lenore would come to kiss her daughter goodnight.

GEEKBETTY VINTAGE

and loving it. That’s amazing. Reselling gives me an excuse to collect,” Williams said. While Williams has a keen eye when visiting thrift shops and estate sales, her newfound love is selling pieces of vintage clothing on consignment and discovering the very personal history of dresses and other cherished frocks. “For years, I bought at estate sales or auctions, but I’ve recently started going into people’s houses and meeting them, and hearing their stories, and seeing pictures of their parents in these dresses,” Williams said. Just a few examples of recent consignment pieces, and the related stories Williams fell in love with, are the Sharon dress, the Lenore dress, and the Agnes dress. The Sharon dress is a beautiful, pale green dress that was originally sewn by a consignment customer’s mother for a church formal event. In a sudden change of events, Sharon wore the dress on a date with her boyfriend, Ted, before he was to leave for military training. That night, Ted proposed to Sharon, and the pair enjoyed 56 years of marriage, with Sharon carrying the dress with her through relocations to six different states and four different countries. The Lenore dress is a gorgeous, richly hued red 30 Life & Style : Spring 2020

This dress was handmade by a woman named Agnes in the 1930s. She would wear it to church every Sunday, then take it off immediately upon arriving home, spot clean, press and mend it, then hang it up to wait for the next Sunday.

dress that Lenore’s daughter put on consignment with Williams. Lenore’s daughter remembers her mother wearing the dress for date nights over several consecutive years, recalling the rustling sound it made and the scent of perfume when Lenore would come to kiss her daughter goodnight.

The Agnes dress is a darling piece from the ‘30s that was handmade by Agnes and entrusted to Williams as a vintage reseller. Agnes’ daughter remembers her mother wearing the dress to church every Sunday, and taking it off immediately upon arriving home, spot cleaning, pressing, and mending the delicate dress until the following week. Williams takes care in inventorying, hand washing, soaking, repairing, and photographing her vintage pieces, so that they are ready for her adoring customers. She feels confident that every person can find a vintage piece that they will fall in love with, and hopes to keep her prices reasonable to increase that possibility. “It’s a labor of love. I try to keep it affordable. I don’t want to stick a $500 price tag on a dress. I want someone to be able to buy it and wear it and love it,” Williams said. Part of Williams’ education throughout her time as a vintage collector is identifying the origin and date of a vintage clothing item. It is a practice that takes times to perfect, and even then, having helpful resources in the form of other vintage collectors is one of the best places to start. “It’s really important to be in a vintage community. Instagram is a huge resource. I will

PHOTOGRAPHY (THIS PAGE) COURTESY BETTY WILLIAMS

Etsy: OutofAtticVintage Instagram: @geekbettyvintage Facebook: GeekBetty Vintage and More or @geekbettyvintage Email: geekbettyvintage@gmail.com Poshmark: @geekbetty

PHOTOGRAPHY (THIS PAGE) BY BYRON HETZLER

Amanda Hopkins (left) and Emily Hayes pose in one of their storerooms of vintage clothing.

post something in my stories and get several messages with feedback. But, I’ve been buying for 25 years now so I can tell at a glance by looking at the inside seams if it’s handmade. If somebody has used a serger on it I know that it’s pre- or post- a time period,” said Williams. While tags are, of course, the easiest way to identify a piece, zippers are also very helpful, depending on if it is metal or nylon, what the zipper pull has printed on it, and how wide it is. “Some of it I just know now. It’s sometimes not something I think about but other times I really have to research things,” Williams said. The beauty in Williams’ collection is not only the vintage clothing itself, but also her love for every item that she comes across, and the story that comes along with it. While her customers span from Carbondale to France, a piece from GeekBetty Vintage is sure to bring a bit of love, history, and sophistication into one’s life.

INCENSE AND PATCHOULI

A fortuitous meeting of two like-minded Capricorns is the basis of Incense and Patchouli, a vintage resale company made up of Emily Hayes and Amanda Hopkins. The two met through Hopkins’ brother, and after their first “date” at an

Mod-style dresses on display at Incense and Patchouli.

Life & Style : Spring 2020

ON THE COVER

The majority of the current Incense and Patchouli collection is from the 1960s and 1970s.

INCENSE AND PATCHOULI

antique shop, they realized almost immediately that they shared many common interests. During a later journey to locate Sears kit homes in the region, Hayes and Hopkins came up with an idea. “We had been talking for a while about how we both have a love for old stuff. This came around to clothes and one day one of us said we just need to buy a Sears house and make it our big vintage closet,” Hayes remembered. Soon afterward, the two began spending their free time attending estate sales, going to digs in abandoned homes and warehouses, and following leads for historical pieces. At times, the work didn’t come easy and required masks and a flashlight. Other ventures consisted of immaculate collections stored in pristine conditions. “There have been times before that I have jumped into a closet and belly flopped to get to a dress that’s hanging up in the end of it,” laughed Hopkins. 32 Life & Style : Spring 2020

Amanda Hopkins (left) and Emily Hayes look through some of their vintage clothing collection.

Hayes, who has a master’s degree in English literature, currently works as a clinic manager and medical assistant for a functional medicine doctor. Hopkins, who is a stay-at-home mother and wife, has extensive work history as a radio program director and on-air presenter. The two combined their distinct interests with a shared love for vintage fashion, and found common ground from which to grow their business.

“She’s a history person, and I’m a pop culture person, and we’re both kind of nerds about both of those things. And we came together to do things that are fun for both of us,” Hopkins said. So, while Hayes is interested in tracing genealogy to find the descendants of the original owner, Hopkins is thrilled to think that a pair of vintage jeans may have been worn at Woodstock 1969. No matter their passions, the two both agree

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BYRON HETZLER

Etsy: VintageIandP1963 Instagram: @incenseandpatchouli Facebook: Incense and Patchouli: Hand-Picked Vintage or @incenseandpatchouli Email: vintageiandp1963@gmail.com

Hayes and Hopkins agree that finding the background of a vintage item and tracing its local history is a huge thrill.

that finding the background of a vintage item and tracing its local history is a huge thrill. The pair recently embarked on a journey that they now dub Project B.R.P. After finding a fur in an abandoned factory, with the monogram B.R.P., the two discovered that the slightly tattered coat was originally purchased at The Fashion Shop in West Frankfort. Through tireless research, the family of the original owner, Bessie Rose Peffer, was found. “I started building an ancestry tree based around this coat, and there was one person in the 1940 census, in West Frankfort, that had those initials B.R.P. and we were able to validate it because her granddaughters have pictures of her in the coat and it was an exact match. So we heard a lot about (Peffer) and learned about her. The idea of the relic is that pieces of her live through these items,” Hayes remembered. Peffer’s family was elated to receive the fur coat, and the founders of Incense and Patchouli fulfilled a dream of contributing to historical preservation. Currently, Incense and Patchouli has in excess of 10,000 pieces stored in a climate-controlled space on the second level of a historical home in West Frankfort. While they are looking for a larger warehouse to store their ever-growing collection, the pair still love the excitement of finding and rescuing rare vintage clothing. “I hate the thought of finding these amazing things and thinking that if we hadn’t found it, it would have ended up in a dumpster. And fashion is art and that would be a piece of history going into the trash,” said Hopkins. The majority of the current Incense and Patchouli collection hails from the ‘60s, but the

Who wore this? Imagining the history behind a vintage piece brings bygone eras to life.

pair are looking into different eras and more elusive items. “We both gravitate towards the ‘60s and early ‘70s in general. I’m more of a prairie peasant and Amanda is more mod, so the collection is focused on mid-to-late ‘70s and down,” Hayes said. The two are finding increased interest in pre1950s items, and hope to increase their inventory for that time period, as those pieces are becoming harder and harder to find. With their intense love for all things vintage, the ladies of Incense and Patchouli aren’t slowing down anytime soon in their continued efforts to curate the most superlative vintage collection possible. “There’s such an adrenaline rush with the dig-through that we’ll never stop that,”

remarked Hopkins. No matter if a shopper is searching for a lavish piece of vintage apparel for a special occasion, or looking to add to their current wardrobe, already brimming with styles from the past 100 years, both GeekBetty Vintage and Incense and Patchouli are local vintage collectors that can be entrusted to fulfill any vintage clothing request with enthusiasm and personal interest. Life & Style : Spring 2020

SCENIC BEAUTY

Blue grosbeaks arrive in the spring and can be seen feeding on insects in open fields.

RESTORING

by LES WINKELER

pring arrives in layers. The days get longer as the leaves of the calendar turn from February to March to April. Temperatures begin to moderate, sometimes slipping unexpectedly into shirtsleeve territory well before the spring equinox. And, sometime in mid-February, color begins to return to a brown and gray world. It begins modestly

34 Life & Style : Spring 2020

enough with tiny crocus poking through the icy ground. A few weeks later, the hyacinth brave the frosty weather, and then daffodils pop open, removing any doubt spring has arrived. In the meantime, the woods and grasslands come alive with flecks of color. Through the winter months, there are occasional glimpses of blue jays and the red of woodpeckers, but by and large, grays, browns and blacks are the color of the season.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LES WINKELER

Spring bird migration brings color to gray world

As the leaves begin to repopulate the trees, the colorful neo-tropical migrants begin to return with their palette of gaudy reds, oranges, blues, yellows and various mixtures of all the above. “I would say, really it starts in March with some of the birds,” said Don Mullison of Carbondale. “Some of your earliest warblers and things of that nature ... you might get a Louisiana waterthrush kind of early. The parula and pine warblers, they are here fairly and your yellowthroated warbler are here fairly early. “About mid-March is when some of that starts to happen and it continues to ramp up through April and May. I don’t think it’s any accident the Bird Blitz was set for them. New warblers are coming in through May.” Mullison has been tracking, observing and photographing birds for decades. “I started birding, I’m not actually sure, it was long enough ago,” he said. “I was either 14 or 15 when I started. A very good friend of mine, I lived in New Jersey at the time, one day his mother said ‘I think the two of you would enjoy birding.’ She gave us a bird guide. He actually became an ornithologist. For me, it became lifetime hobby. I became a psychologist. I guess I’ve been at it for 50 years or more.” Now retired, Mullison volunteers at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, conducting weekly bird counts. The spring migration is triggered by a

The male Baltimore oriole is perhaps the brightest of the spring migrants.

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Life & Style : Spring 2020 35

SCENIC BEAUTY

variety of factors, weather and lengthening days included. “I’ve heard a variety of things,” Mullison said. “My guess is that it is more determined by a combination of light, temperature and food availability. I think a number of birds, as long as they can get food as long as they aren’t freezing, will hang around. It doesn’t do them a lot of good to arrive at a place that doesn’t have food yet.” When the migrants start arriving, they’re generally easy to spot. “I would say by the time they arrive, they are pretty much in their breeding clothes,” Mullison said. “There are a few warblers that some time hang around. They hang around during the winter, but even when you’re seeing them in the spring, they’ve got their spring clothes on by then and are significantly more colorful than they are now.” The newly arrived birds bring color to the forests and the fields. The orange of orioles and bright red of tanagers can be spotted in the tree tops and the blue grosbeaks and indigo buntings will fill the fields — as well as the edge areas in between. “The grosbeaks and the indigos, we generally start to see them around the time of the blitz (late April),” Mullison said. “A lot of times they’re 36

Life & Style : Spring 2020

The summer tanager adds a dash of color to the Southern Illinois woods beginning in the late spring.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LES WINKELER

Judy Groskind (left) Don Mullison (right) and John Van Dyk scan an area of Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge for water birds in 2018. The volunteers conduct a weekly count at the refuge.

“One thing you can do to see some of the birds is to make a little noise. What they’ll do, because they are curious, is to pop up for a second.” - Don Mullison

not here much before that. Your grosbeaks and orioles and tanagers, that’s about the time they start to come in and can be seen. A few weeks prior to that, they’re not really here. Just a few individuals and they are harder to find.” And, although the gaudy nature of the new arrivals makes them easy to spot, amateur birders can enhance their chances by taking a few simple steps. “One thing you can do to see some of the birds is to make a little noise,” Mullison said. “What they’ll do, because they are curious, is to pop up for a second. Even the white-crowned sparrow, which we don’t have during the summer, for a sparrow they are quite colorful.” And, while Southern Illinois is a wildlife wonderland, not all fields and trees are created equal. “In terms of the blue grosbeaks, there are a few different places I like,” Mullison said. “Crab Orchard isn’t a bad place. They like open areas and edges, the drive there is good. I think another really good place is the Jackson County flood plain. Just drive the levee roads. What’s nice about that is it puts you up in the air, it gives you a nice vantage point and sometimes they will be practically outside your window. “The levee roads are a good place to find some of those birds. At times depending on water and fish conditions, you can’t expect this all the time, but one day in a couple hours time I saw 101 bald eagles. But, the orchard orioles often can be seen from the levee road. They actually prefer some of the more open areas.” For forest birds, Mullison suggests Atwood Ridge in Union County, Oakwood Bottoms, and the area around Pomona in Jackson County. And, a few common sense suggestions will enhance your viewing pleasure. “If you get a woodland area and you’re out fairly in the day, what you want to do is position yourself so you are facing west and sun is behind you,” Mullison said. “As the sun comes up and

Indigo buntings can be spotted in fields and edge areas as they and other birds migrate through Southern Illinois in the spring.

hits those trees, the warblers will come. And, you’ll have good light to see and photograph them. There are a lot of good places to do that. Oakwood Bottoms, if you get up on the Big Muddy Levee road to the east of Oakwood, as the sun comes up behind you just stop at certain places where the trees are close to the road. “Whenever you can you want to try to get an edge effect. If you have a woodland abutting an open area or water, you get more activity on that edge. The other advantage to that is you can see them better, whether you’re in an open area of grassland or you’re in a boat.” The yellow-throated warbler is one of the first birds to migrate through Southern Illinois in the spring.

Life & Style : Spring 2020 37

GOOD EATS

The author’s cookbook collection has grown over the years to almost 400 titles.

A TREASURED COLLECTION by NIKI DAVIS

eople collect many things for many reasons. Often, there is an emotional connection to the collection. A collection might represent childhood or it might be a sign of status or success. Learning the story behind a collection gives you a tiny peek into the person who holds that collection so dear. My cookbook collection began upon receiving my grandma’s 1963 “Good Housekeeping Cookbook” after moving into my first apartment — oh, so many years ago! The teal and cream cover is slightly discolored from age, and many pages are dogeared. There are notes in the margins and recipe cards from her friends tucked between pages. This is my go-to for many recipes, especially banana bread. 38

Life & Style : Spring 2020

By the time I was born, Grandma didn’t need recipes. She cooked from memory, but this was the one cookbook she used when she did need a recipe. Each time I remove it from the shelf, memories Niki Davis of standing at Grandma’s hip making potato salad come flooding back. That cookbook tells the story of her life and mine and in its pages are many recipes that I grew up eating. These are the same recipes that I know by heart today and cook “from the hip.” When I received Grandma’s teal cookbook, I was solidly into genealogy research and had become a self-proclaimed history enthusiast.

I suppose this helped launch my love of old cookbooks — they represent a piece of history. My collection includes nearly 400 cookbooks: modern favorites like Ina Garten’s “Cook Like a Pro” and many heritage cookbooks like an 1890 copy of “Compendium of Cookery” that was so well-loved the cover is peeling and many pages have come loose. Because my family is of German heritage, I collect cookbooks from and about Germany. Many are in German, so translating has become a natural part of my collecting, as well as metric conversion for recipes. These are some of my favorites because they connect me to where my family came from. Sometimes I hear about a cookbook and add it to my list of “must-finds.” More often, I will browse used bookstores and antique or resale shops and find treasures. That is how I uncovered my 1901 copy of the “Presidential Cookbook.” I collect collections, too, like the Better Homes & Gardens single-topic cookbooks from the 1960s and ‘70s.

COOKBOOK PHOTOS BY NIKI DAVIS, NIKI DAVIS PHOTO BY PHOEBE DAVIS

Massive cookbook collection began with a gift from grandma

ABOVE: Titles from the ‘60s and ‘70s single-topic Better Homes & Gardens cookbook collection. LEFT: A cookbook collection of recipes from Aunt Sammy, central character of the 1920s “Housekeepers’ Half-Hour” radio show.

Cookbooks represent how we live and cook, and what we eat. Many of my friends find treasures and save them for me, which is how I received my copy of “Aunt Sammy’s Radio Recipes.” Aunt Sammy predates modern cooking show and podcast hosts. She is the central character of the 1920s “Housekeepers’ Half-Hour” radio show that delivered recipes to listeners. I read every cookbook in my collection, just as I do Grandma’s “Good Housekeeping.” They each tell a story and depict a specific time in history. Cookbooks represent how we live and cook, and

what we eat. They provide a history of food and cooking, and even recipe-writing. Cookbooks share cultures other than our own and provide insight into how people from around the world live and eat. On the whole, cookbooks teach us something, whether it is how to cook, how our ancestors preserved food through the winter, or even the many ways we used hot dogs and Jell-O in midcentury America — sometimes together. Preserving food and family history is my passion, and my cookbook collection helps me share my story.

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Davis takes a particular interest in collecting and translating German cookbooks as a way for her to connect to her family heritage.

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Monday - Thursday 11am to 10pm Friday 11am - 11pm • Saturday 4pm to 11pm • Sunday closed losed Life & Style : Spring 2020

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The front porch of the Baker home is seen decorated with patriotic bunting. Katie Baker painted the shutters a rich black for added visual appeal.

Outfi tted IN Collections converge in this artfully appointed Herrin home

Life & Style : Spring 2020

as an artist and small-business owner. Ryan, who works as a registered nurse, is happy to let Katie enjoy the freedom to lovingly and expertly decorate each room of the abode, while also improving the structure with some very crafty DIY projects. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom suburban ranch home, which was built in 1989 and purchased by the Bakers in 2013, is a U-shaped structure with a columned front porch, open living area, and several large windows, which is characteristic of many ranch-style homes and their

desired connection to the outdoors. A winding brick pathway, surrounded by a variety of lush shrubs, trees, and flowering vines, leads visitors from the driveway to the cheery front entrance, flanked by picture windows all along the expanse of the front face of the home. Mature trees are abundant in the yard, creating a cheery glow of green, filtered light for the Bakers to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee on the bench outside the front door, and plentiful shady space for sons Jack and Henry to cavort on the back lawn.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATIE BAKER

long Clark Trail in Herrin sits the bright and inviting home of Ryan and Katie Baker. The couple, who share the home with their two sons, enjoy the simplistic beauty of their dwelling and its lush grounds, especially after a refreshing remodel and the expert interior design of Katie, who left her corporate career to pursue her dreams of working

by NELLIE BARIL

The entryway of the Baker home features a barn quilt and antique chairs.

The entryway just inside the front door opens up straight ahead into a spacious living room, with two looming vertical windows and one, higher horizontal window on each side of a gas fireplace. Just to the right of the entryway is a formal dining room with a splendid double picture window spanning most of the north wall. Just beyond the space where the dining room and living room intersect is a commodious kitchen with gleaming granite counter tops, crisp cabinetry, and a perfectly placed skylight for letting in nature’s beautiful glow. At the rear of the home, just off the kitchen, is a sunny breakfast nook, with more soaring windows and a glass door leading out to a serene stone patio. On the opposite side of the home are two bedrooms, a bathroom, and the master suite with a full, luxurious bathroom and another glass door leading out to the patio space. Before moving in, the Bakers hired a local contractor to perform a somewhat substantial remodel. A set of cabinets was removed in the kitchen and a window was created in the space to open up into the living room. The master bedroom also received a complete makeover. While the structure of the home is top-notch, the remodel, along with a fresh coat of white paint and new hardware, created a much brighter, open concept in the common areas and allowed for some updates in the kitchen and bathroom. But the real work began soon after the remodel, when Katie began searching for and collecting the impeccable antiques that now adorn each room of the house. While traveling for her previous job, she would often stop to shop and really began to explore her style and love for design. “I absolutely love to decorate. I was traveling everywhere and I would just go in random antique stores. As I have gotten more stuff, I am more selective now in what I buy. I usually go antiqueing with a purpose,” said Katie. And that choosiness has resulted in some beautiful and rare pieces of antique furniture along with several collections of items ranging from vintage oil paintings to blue Mason jars. In the entryway of the home sit two pristine turn-of-the century chairs that originally came from a shoe store but were recovered from under a carport. The chairs work with every season

The living room of the Baker home in Herrin.

A winter star barn quilt, tobacco basket and a set of blue mason jars accent the breakfast nook of the Baker home.

and decor, and are an exquisite find, garnering compliments from all who encounter them. In the dining room, a collection of Windsor chairs surround the table, which were collected over time, with Katie’s practiced eye. The solid wood chairs,

with angled legs and curved backs, are stunning additions to the space. “Windsors are super hard to find, especially really good ones so it took time,” remarked Katie. In the breakfast nook, the decor changes throughout the year to correspond with the seasons and holidays, but many of the pieces are used continually, being appropriate for all periods. The vintage table, which belonged to Ryan’s grandmother, is paired with antique Bentwood chairs. A tobacco basket adorns the wall just above a hefty mint-green Stimpson scale, which adds superb utilitarian charm. “The date on it says 1907. This one came from an antique store in Chicago. It weighs almost 500 pounds. I move it everywhere, so I know,” adds Katie. While most of the home is decorated in a primitive style, with salt crocks, Colonial furniture, and vintage Americana items like a 48-star flag, the master bedroom deviates from that theme in that it is purely Victorian, with an ornate mantel, which Katie salvaged from a historical home, a pastel floral plate collection displayed artfully on the wall, and a Queen Anne stained glass window hanging in the picture window. One of the Bakers’ most beloved pieces of antique furniture is the pre-Civil War cabinet in the living room that displays a beautiful quilt collection through the glass windows of the upper doors. Everything on the 1830s piece is original and came from the home of an antique dealer who also adored the cabinet. Life & Style : Spring 2020 41

WE LIVE HERE

ABOVE: Jadeite and blue Mason jar collections accent the table in the breakfast nook. TOP: Jadeite and blue Mason jar collections alongside Stimpson scale in the Baker home’s breakfast nook.

42 Life & Style : Spring 2020

Several items in the home have a meaning or history, whether they have been passed down in Ryan’s or Katie’s families, or found at an estate sale. Katie proudly displays her mother’s cherished family Bible that is several hundred years old. An oil painting of her great-great-grandfather not only looks right at home among the decor, but also is also a piece of history that is totally unique. “I like to fill my home with things that tell a story. I buy what I like and what makes me happy and that’s what I want in our home,” said Katie. Katie, along with the unwavering assistance of Ryan’s parents, Joe and Connie Baker, has also acquired multiple collections of smaller antique items, such as Ironstone pottery, Jadeite dishes, and blue Mason jars, all of which are integrated into the interior design of the home. Joe and Connie, who own Rosebud Antique Mall in Carterville, are a fantastic resource for Katie and encourage her desire to find meaningful, historically significant pieces for the home. “Not only do they have a good eye in picking, but they know the history. All the information that I have learned from them is invaluable,” Katie said. Ironstone, which originated in England and has had many different makers throughout the last 300plus years, is impossible to find as a set, so Katie has spent hours and hours searching for pieces to add to her collection, which is beautifully displayed on the bayberry built-in cabinet in the dining room. “It’s impossible to find old Ironstone sets. The first thing I do when I see a plate, or a pitcher, or a bowl, is flip it over and look for a marking. There’s obviously hundreds of different makers of ironstone, but English Ironstone tends to be more yellowish in color and American tends to be more white,” Katie said. Jadeite, which is mid-century glass tableware made of jade-green opaque milk glass, is another beautiful collection featured in the Baker home. Whether used in place settings atop the table in the breakfast nook, or artfully arranged on a shelf, Jadeite is another item that can take years to cultivate a set worthy of bragging rights. With a mix of modern, or fantasy, Jadeite, and older pieces in circulation, it takes some searching and identifying to know what is what.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATIE BAKER‌

Katie Baker’s Ironstone collection is displayed on a bayberry built-in cabinet in the dining room.

“It’s just like Ironstone, you flip it over, look for some sort of marking that will tell you who the maker is, and that helps you date it and put a value on it,” Katie said. Katie completed numerous do-it-yourself projects in the home varying in size and difficulty, but all with outstanding results. For added visual appeal, she painted the front door and shutters a rich black. Inside, Katie added crown molding to the built-in cabinet in the dining room and painted it, along with the inside of the front door, with gorgeous, matte-finish Fusion Mineral Paint, of which she is a specialist and retailer. Katie painted the dated linoleum floors in the laundry room and powder room to create a more modern look, making a black-and-white checkered pattern in the laundry room, with a pure white floor outlined with gold in the powder room. That powder room was also outfitted with custom shiplap boards installed where wallpaper once was. A larger project was the construction and installation of wood beams in the breakfast nook and the master bedroom. Using various sizes of common boards, a saw, drill, hammer and wood stain, Katie installed the three-sided box structures to the ceilings of both rooms, adding stunning architectural detail for minimal cost and just a fair amount of elbow grease. “I made the beams and hung them all by myself. I got on a ladder and held them over my head and screwed them into the ceiling. I did the bedroom first because it was easier and because it doesn’t have a pitch. It was my practice run,” Katie said.

Some of the most striking decorative items in the Baker home are the barn quilts designed and painted by Katie as part of her business, Baker Nest Design Co. In 2017, Katie began the venture, stemming from her love of history, woodworking, and “all things vintique” with the idea to encourage the use of barn quilts and American folk art in home decor. The idea has blossomed enormously. She teaches group barn quilt courses, where participants are taught the pattern, painting, and finishing processes. Katie has also been a presenter at several Country Living Magazine Fairs on the topic of barn quilts. She still designs and creates barn quilts to sell to her loyal following of customers and sells custom pattern books for the crafty individuals looking to try their hand at the artistic process. The Meadow Star hanging on the inside of the front door, the beautiful variation of the Lone Star design hung over the pair of chairs in the entryway, and the Winter Star pattern displayed atop the tobacco basket in the breakfast nook are just a few examples of the innovative design concept that Katie is passionate about. The Baker home, a remarkable example of recent suburban ranch architecture, is full of beloved family treasures, historically significant antique finds, and tasteful design. While many may only hope to find a few worthwhile items to display at home, Katie Baker has managed to not only aggregate quite an impressive collection, but also incorporate that collection into her family’s extraordinary living space.

The master bedroom is decorated entirely in Victorian style. Pictured are the plate collection and the antique mantel.

MORE INFORMATION Information on barn quilts, patterns, and materials can be found on Katie Baker’s blog at baker-nest.com.

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44 Life & Style : Spring 2020

AT HOME

2020 TRENDS Furniture flow for open floor plans

by ANGELA ROWE of DECORATING DEN INTERIORS

he High Point, North Carolina furniture market is THE place that designers from around the world go to see the latest in home furnishings trends. The market, open only to the trade, consists of over 180 buildings, 12 million square feet of show space and is home to over 3,000 exhibitors who show there twice a year. I have been to High Point furniture market many times and it is here we can see the latest trends in color, furniture, lighting, floor covering, fabrics and accessories. Rarely does market have an overall theme, however this past market could have been labeled, “The home should be a place that is livable and comfortable.” With new home construction having fewer “rooms” and just large open spaces for

the kitchen, dining, and seating areas and renovation shows on HGTV always requesting open concept, an open floor plan of kitchen, dining and living zones is a new “must” for modern life’s dynamic. The traditional separation of common areas, rooms and kitchens no longer works for modern homes. This being the case, furniture manufactures are very well aware that our furniture needs to float in the room. Therefore, curves and details are all over the market. Curves and round shapes associate mostly with softness and classic design, but furniture with curved shapes and rounded corners can also be used in modern interiors with a retro twist. And, it makes perfect sense with the open floor plans we see today. Details, both front and back, are an ongoing or continuing trend on upholstered furniture.

Life & Style : Spring 2020

In other words, we have seen them in the market for some time, they are not going away, and continue to grow in popularity. Because of open floor plans, furniture manufacturers are designing upholstery with the back of the piece with details and interest to make the back as attractive as the front. We also see what is termed an “inside-out” effect, which is using one fabric on the chair front and a different, coordinating fabric on the back. Other examples of details are: nail heads used in decorative patterns, metal or wood frame designs that are only seen to the back of a chair, embroidery on chair backs, especially dining chairs, and curved back sofas. Today, chairs or sofas cannot float alone, they cry for a table to be between them or next to them. Instead of reaching to the coffee table to get something, the table between the chairs is a more convenient place for your morning coffee, a book, the newspaper or snacks. Therefore, accent tables are a wonderful solution and the shapes, sizes, and finishes are endless. Along with accent tables, ottomans and cocktail tables have merged into the cocktail ottoman. Again, this isn’t a new market trend, but a continuing trend that has grown leaps and bounds. Today they come in all shapes, sizes and styles and remain or have become, in some cases, literally the center of attention in any living room or family room. They certainly add a functional and design feature to a room but can also make any living room or family room more livable and comfortable. Another popular continuing trend is “animal prints.” The market has been showing animal prints in art, floor covering and upholstery fabric for years. The good news is that it is not going away for any time in the near future. Try mixing animal prints with florals, bold stripes, or pops of color — everything’s permitted! Lastly, the current trend of open floor plans can be a task that many are afraid to tackle. Not everything has to match, just let the design concept flow with style, color, and comfort.

ANGELA ROWE, DDCD is owner and interior designer of Decorating Den Interiors.

EDITOR’S NOTE: AT HOME will be a series of articles including current trends in interior decorating and design. All content is provided courtesy of Angela Rowe, DDCD, Owner and Interior Designer of Decorating Den Interiors.

Life & Style : Spring 2020

COURTESY DON MOLYNEAUX

An open concept room with furniture expertly floated in the living room and the dining area in the kitchen are placed with virtual “rooms.” COURTESY CHRISTINA JOHNSON

LEFT: This downtown condo is the perfect open concept with living room, dining room, and kitchen all open to each other. BELOW: A cocktail ottoman that adds so much interest with the tufted surface and a tray for drinks. It is right on trend!

COURTESY TIFFANY RINGWALD‌

ANGELA ROWE PHOTOS, DECORATING DEN INTERIORS‌

ABOVE: A perfect use of animal print, the “inside-out” upholstery, and a petite accent table. LEFT TOP: This room displays attention to details such as the nail head trim on the sofa/chaise, and the side chairs are the perfect example of “inside-out.” LEFT BOTTOM: A beautiful example of lucite (another popular trend) and shaped hems and nail head detail on the bunching seats.

Life & Style : Spring 2020 47

HISTORY AND HERITAGE

Tamira Brennan, curator of the Center for Archaeological Investigations at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, holds one of dozens of volumes of archaeological data gathered by the university during the Black Mesa Archaeological Project.

home SIU RETURNS HOPI, NAVAJO REMAINS AND RELICS by GABRIEL NEELY-STREIT

In the spiritual tradition of the Hopi Tribe, which, along with its Puebloan ancestors, has populated the American Southwest for centuries, death is the beginning of two journeys, “distinct but inseparable,” according to former Hopi Tribal Archaeologist Kurt Dongoske. There is a physical journey that brings the body back to “a oneness with the earth,” Dongoske writes, and a contemporaneous spiritual journey, taking the soul to “a place where it finally resides.” For more than 200 Hopi and Navajo ancestors, 48

Life & Style : Spring 2020

the journey resumed this year after a long and painful interruption, including a pit stop in Carbondale. From 1977 to 1983, Southern Illinois University Carbondale led a massive series of archaeological digs at Black Mesa, in Northern Arizona, where Peabody Energy leased land from the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe to strip mine for coal. Because Peabody was working on reservation land, it was required by the National Historic Preservation Act to search for, remove and preserve

Native American remains and relics. As the mine grew, the project became one of the largest in the history of North American archaeological fieldwork, according to SIUC, employing hundreds of people, identifying nearly 2,500 archaeological sites across about 100 square miles of the mesa, and unearthing several million Navajo, Hopi and ancient Puebloan and prehistoric artifacts, some as much as 8,000 years old, as well as the 200-plus skeletons. The items were placed in the temporary care

TAMIRA BRENNAN PHOTO BY GABRIEL NEELY-STREIT

RETURNING

Poly Lawn Furniture Patio Pavers Outdoor Kitchens Fireplaces Pergolas Fire Pits

PHOTOS (THIS PAGE) COURTESY SIU CENTER FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

ABOVE: An SIU Center for Archaeological Investigations archaeologist analyzes pottery from the Black Mesa Archaeological Project in 1983. RIGHT: SIU Center for Archaeological Investigations archaeologists excavate at Black Mesa in 1971.

of SIUC. But their return to Native American hands has been slowed by politics and logistics. “There’s been a dialogue for decades,” said Tamira Brennan, curator of SIUC’s Center for Archaeological Investigations, which was created to manage the Black Mesa collection and has since added other projects. “Both the Hopi and Navajo have claims to much of this collection. For a long time, the tribal leadership could not agree on what to do with it.” Richard Begay acted quickly to break the logjam when he was hired as the Navajo Nation historic preservation officer in 2017. Questions swirled about the future of the mine, and Begay worried that Peabody’s commitment to fund the repatriation of the bodies and artifacts might weaken if its operation shut down. Begay met with Hopi historic preservation officer Stewart Koyiyumptewa over lunch. “We had a very frank discussion, both recognizing there were larger political differences between our tribes, but that our primary objective was to get the remains back in the ground,” Begay said. Properly reburying the skeletons would require an extensive matching game, using field notes from the original excavations to pair each body with the ceremonial burial items that accompanied it. Those burial objects remained in Carbondale, while the human remains had been transferred to a researcher at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Representatives from both Navajo and Hopi traveled to Las Vegas to arrange for the skeletons’ return to Arizona. They also visited Carbondale twice to retrieve the burial items, driving them back to Arizona in a U-Haul.

“SIU took really good care of the BMAP (Black Mesa Archaeological Project) collection,” Begay said. “They really did provide us with all the info we wanted and worked hard to make sure the Navajo and Hopi were happy with the process.” A reburial ceremony was held in May. Together, Hopi and Navajo representatives picked a new grave site as close as possible to the ancestors’ original resting places within the mine’s working area. Peabody provided excavation equipment and paid for all the storage, travel and shipping costs to get the bodies and their possessions back to Black Mesa. The reburial began early in the morning, with about 15 volunteers working all day. There were no media present, no videos or photographs. Each tribe handled the dead according to its own customs, and Hopi and Navajo spiritual leaders performed blessings on the remains and the workers. “It was satisfying,” Begay said. “As unfortunate as it was that the remains were removed, it was probably a good decision to remove and protect them. They would’ve been completely destroyed otherwise.” Like the Hopi, the Navajo believe in a life after death. “We believe that the spiritual remains of those people are still residing at Black Mesa, though they had been languishing for quite some time,” Begay Life & Style : Spring 2020

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said. “We were adamant we bring them back as soon as we could. We wanted to make sure we gave them a sense of peace.” Now, Begay and Koyiyumptewa have turned their attention to the rest of the BMAP collection. At SIU, that’s about 4,000 more boxes containing everything from beautiful clay bowls and pots, to metate stones for grinding corn, to soil samples and countless pottery shards that could not be reconstructed. Since the 1990s, it has all been housed in a secure, climate-controlled facility on the north side of Carbondale. Like the rest of the project, its costs have been paid by the coal company, which also funded SIUC’s 11-year effort to repack everything in new containers and build a database cataloging the collection. That work began in 2008 and is nearly finished, conducted by SIUC staff and student researchers. “At this point we’re just complying with what the tribes want us to do,” Brennan said, separating the more recent Navajo artifacts from their older Hopi counterparts. The university has hosted researchers in Carbondale to study the collection, with the permission of the tribes, Brennan said. But she believes scholarly attention will intensify once the artifacts are returned to the southwest. “I think that’s why it’s important to get it back there,” she said. “It’s a singular collection, and it’s

One of many rows of boxes containing artifacts from the Black Mesa Archaeological Project, within a secure, climate-controlled facility in Carbondale.

the project that sort of allowed archaeologists to define the cultural history of that region ... to say: ‘These artifacts belonged to this time period. Here’s where different groups were. Here’s how they moved. Here’s what they ate.’ A lot of those things were just kind of unknown before this project.” The present challenge is finding a home for thousands of cubic feet of artifacts. The top candidate is the Museum of Northern Arizona, which has longstanding relationships with both tribes and has played a key role in the

Black Mesa repatriation for about the last five years, according to MNA Archaeological Division Director Kim Spurr. But the MNA doesn’t have the space for such a large acquisition, Spurr said. Discussions about an expansion are ongoing, but no one is expecting the rest of the collection to move from Carbondale to Arizona as quickly as the burial items did. “I’d say it would be reasonable within the next 10 years to get a lot of it back there,” Brennan said.

PHOTO (THIS PAGE) BY GABRIEL NEELY-STREIT

HISTORY AND HERITAGE

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PHOTOS (THIS PAGE) COURTESY SIU CENTER FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

ABOVE: Black Mesa, Arizona. RIGHT: An archaeologist from the SIU Center for Archaeological Investigations processes soil from the Black Mesa Archaeological Project, looking for prehistoric plant remains, in 1983.

“You can never say for sure.” When the collection does finally move, Spurr believes it will get good use from scholars, including the growing community of Native American historians in the American Southwest. Any study or public exhibition, she noted, would be only with the Navajo and Hopi’s consent. The return of the Black Mesa Collection to Native American hands is one of many long overdue repatriations in recent years. The movement began with the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which explicitly recognized all human remains and cultural items removed from federal or tribal lands as property of those tribes or their descendants. All agencies holding any such remains, like

museums, universities and federal agencies, were given a deadline of 1997 to inventory their materials and contact tribes who might claim them as cultural patrimony. But a 2010 audit by the Government Accountability Office revealed many agencies had never reached out to the tribes as the law required. “All of the agencies said: ‘We don’t have the money to follow through,’” Spurr said. A decade later, after the government authorized funding to get the process going, many major repatriations are complete. “It’s an amazing time, because the relationships between the tribes and the archaeological community are totally different than they were

a decade ago,” Spurr said. “People are complying with the tribes and understanding why this is important.” SIUC was in compliance with NAGPRA even before the 2010 audit, Brennan said, and continues to actively dialogue with tribes to repatriate items. The university is currently in conversations with the Chickasaw, who were pushed from the southeastern woodlands to Oklahoma, about items in its collection that were excavated in Tennessee. Today, Begay agreed, NAGPRA compliance has repaired relationships between tribes and federal agencies and museums. But many sacred funerary items remain in museums and private collections, instead of in the ground, where they belong, he said. “As we keep having these discussions, I think people are understanding that having a skull or human bone collection in their personal homes is not ethical or appropriate. We’ve had people contact us in the last couple years when they see stories like this in the news, understanding its actual people and we have accepted remains and put them back in the ground,” Begay said. “Hopefully that will continue. I think tribes all across the country are wanting to do this whether or not they’re in their aboriginal lands.”

Life & Style : Spring 2020

21 QUESTIONS

Mike Absher, mayor of Marion.

52 Life & Style : Spring 2020

Mike Absher

‌M

ike Absher is a lifelong resident of Marion, the founder and former CEO of Watermark Auto Group, and served for six years as the president of the Marion Community Unit School District No. 2 Board of Education. He estimates that he gave out 1,500 high school diplomas during his tenure as president. Last year, he successfully campaigned to become Marion’s newest mayor — the first mayor elected in Marion after the late Bob Butler’s morethan-50-year tenure. His reasons for running were selfish, he said — he wanted his three sons to have business opportunities that will enable them to raise their families in Marion.

THE QUESTIONS‌

1. What is your current state of mind? 100% fascinated with the wonders and opportunities of life. 2. What is your favorite avocation/hobby? Playing the trumpet. 3. If you could go back in time 1,000 years, what year would you visit and why? 1775. I would love to meet some of the Founding Fathers before they became famous and before the revolution started. It would be fascinating to be able to separate fact from fiction. 4. What is your most treasured possession? I have one or two nearly meaningless-to-most items that were childhood possessions that were the only things to survive the tornado of 1982. They have become treasured. It is interesting what we deem as “valuable.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BYRON HETZLER‌

5. If you could rid the world of one disease what would it be? Multiple Sclerosis. 6. What is your most obvious characteristic? Intensity. 7. Which words or phrases do you over-use most? “At the end of the day…” and “accordingly.” 8. If you were to die and come back as a person or animal, what do you think it would be? When this life is over, I know what is next. I have no desire to come back, but only live THIS life to its fullest potential. 9. What is one thing you refuse to share? The “Polaroids” of life I have only in my head.

10. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why? Intuitive Aptitude because I love to learn. 11. What song would you sing for your American Idol audition? “My Way.” 12. If you could start a collection of one kind of item, what would it be? Fountain pens. 13. If you were given the chance to run for mayor of your city, would you take it? Well, yes, I believe I would! 14. What is your favorite smell? A burger or steak on a grill. 15. What is the last book you read? “The Obstacle is the Way.” 16. What was your favorite color of Crayola crayon growing up? Navy Blue. 17. If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be? Unintended. 18. What bad habit do you have that you know you need to break, but don’t really want to? I stay up way too late. 19. If you had to choose to live without one of your five senses, which one would you give up? Perhaps smell, but this a terrible question to contemplate.

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54 Life & Style : Spring 2020

A smash burger at Keeper’s Quarters in Carbondale.

For food, for good Facebook group celebrates regional cuisine

by ISAAC SMITH

“I think someone just needed to advocate for t’s been a year of change in Carbondale’s the small restaurants,” Will said. food scene. They decided to take a backMultiple for-sale signs have burner idea, starting a food blog, been put up at landmark and use it to help grow local businesses as owners seek awareness about all the good to retire. Some places food Southern Illinois has have outright closed to offer. their doors — Newell So, last July, they launched House and Fat Patties the Southern Illinois Eats both shut down last year. Facebook group. They wanted As this transition was a place where visitors and happening, Will and Keesha locals could post about the Lo had one thought. “Someone’s food they were eating at local got to do something.” restaurants. Keesha and Will admitted these Keesha and Will said they thought developments weren’t the death of William Lo, along they’ d be lucky to get 2,000 people Carbondale or the region, despite with his wife, to pay attention and play along. its reported status as economically Keesha Lo, founded In its first four months, the group the popular Southern depressed. But still, they felt like Illinois Eats has more than 14,500 members. It’s someone needed to point out the Facebook page. become a full-time thing — Keesha good that’s here, food-wise.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ISAAC SMITH

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said Will is on his phone every spare moment checking on it. Will said he starts getting the “dings” by 8 a.m. each day. There’s a lot to moderate, and at the moment, that is primarily Will’s task — he approves every post. Keesha and Will said they shared the vision that the page was there to spotlight local restaurants. “It’s not a review page,” Keesha said, adding that they don’t allow negativity. This isn’t to say they don’t allow fair criticism — but bandwagon bashing isn’t tolerated. “If you don’t like it, just say, ‘Hey, I don’t care for it,’” Will said. When there are complaints about restaurants, Will said he tries to forward them on to the owners, but Keesha and Will said they believe it’s best for customers to go to owners with issues directly. The food economy is fragile — a public pile-on about a small problem could end a place, or at least hurt it. Will said in order to remain objective, he never posts about his family’s restaurant, New Kahala. The Carbondale staple gets posted about, but he said he would never want someone to think he was playing favorites. As for the biggest debates the Los have seen on the SI Eats page — Italian beef ranks up there, but nothing tops pizza. Will said there’s one man in particular who stirs up trouble any time pizza is brought up — he has his preferences and is vocal about them. “He’s on his last warning,” Will said.

An Italian Beef at Louie’s P&R in Herrin.

That said, out of 14,500 people, Will and Keesha have only had to ban 10 to 12 people, mostly for “bashing” local places. As the page has grown, so have the Lo’s plans. “Our big goal is to bring money (to the region),” Keesha said. Will has developed a website, southernillinoiseats.com, where he hopes to centralize the page’s activity. Currently, it is building a database of local restaurants. From there, Will said, he hopes to advertise the page in bigger cities like St. Louis and Paducah to drum up interest in the food scene in Southern Illinois.

Will and Keesha said ideas about good food have evolved and people have started to look for high-quality meals at places other than the traditional white tablecloth bistros. Funky breakfast spots, nondescript Chinese restaurants and townie diners all could be home to incredible food. This is worth highlighting to out-oftowners, and their website and Facebook page could help provide a centralized list of the best Southern Illinois has to offer. “People are already traveling here for the wineries. Why can’t they eat at some place good?” Keesha said.

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MEDICAL PROFILE

Dr. Jeffrey Lehman, SIH Allergist & Immunologist

Life & Style : Spring 2020

Treating rare

DISEASES For Dr. Jeffrey Lehman, it’s all about making people feel better

PHOTO PROVIDED BY SIH

provided by SOUTHERN ILLINOIS HEALTHCARE

r. Jeffrey Lehman grew up in the central part of the state. However, Southern Illinois’ outdoor beauty drew him and his wife, Dr. Kelly Higgins, to settle here. They met during medical school at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in 1997. As chief resident, she was his “boss” the final year of his residency. Asked if she was still his boss, Dr. Lehman smiled and answered in the affirmative. Dr. Lehman practiced in Springfield for five years before returning to Carbondale in 2012. He credits longtime friend Dr. Clare Fadden Williams with helping his family make the decision. The group had met for dinner in Carbondale one weekend, and Dr. Lehman remarked he and his wife would like to practice in the area. The following week, they received a call from Southern Illinois Healthcare physician recruitment — and the rest is history. Lehman is a board-certified allergist and immunologist at SIH Center for Medical Arts in Carbondale. He is also board-certified in pediatrics and internal medicine. Dr. Lehman’s love for immunology was birthed in graduate school. He credits his master’s thesis adviser, Sean Arkins, for his influence. “We became extremely close as I was his first grad student and I am even his son’s godfather. He moved to Ireland and we have visited him a few times. I have a particular interest in treating children and adults with primary immunodeficiency disorders. During my fellowship, I was fortunate to be involved with one of the largest immunodeficiency clinics in the country at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. We were exposed to patients with extremely rare cases that came from all over the world.” A case that stands out for Dr. Lehman in his current practice involved a 3-year-old from a Middle Eastern country. The child experienced an extremely severe case of vaccine-related chicken pox. “She was sent to me for immunodeficiency evaluation.

I found that she did not have any lymphocytes (white blood cells that protect from infections). I diagnosed her with an extremely rare immunodeficiency called Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase Deficiency (PNP deficiency). There are only about 30 cases reported in the medical literature. It is so rare that even the world expert in PNP deficiency at Duke wasn’t sure what to do. These were the type of cases I saw at St. Jude, so I never imagined I would be diagnosing someone locally with a rare immunodeficiency.” He and his wife have two children, 12-year-old Lauren and 9-year-old Will. This past summer, both Dr. Lehman and Dr. Higgins coached their children’s softball and baseball teams. Lehman serves on the Giant City School Booster Club Board and is a member of the Knights of Columbus in Springfield. “We love it here. There are so many things to do outdoors.” When he is not working, he enjoys spending time near the family pool, golfing, working in his vegetable garden, and visiting area orchards and wineries. “We have friends who own an orchard and we enjoy going out with them on the side-by-side.” The family enjoys living in a college town and holds season tickets to SIU basketball and football. “We also love to travel and have been to 12 different countries and plan to go to several more. I also love eating fast food. It is my weak spot. Fortunately, I don’t eat it much anymore especially since I have children. I want them to eat healthy and not develop the same unhealthy eating habits as me.” His career choice has allowed him to help so many people, regardless of their age. “We can make a large impact on someone’s quality of life when we can find out what’s wrong and what can be changed to make them feel better.” He said some patients undergo allergy shots for four or five years — and that can make all the difference in how they feel. At the end of the day Lehman said, “Making people feel better, that’s what it’s all about.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: MEDICAL PROFILE is a series of articles highlighting the medical staff at Southern Illinois Healthcare. All content is provided courtesy of SIH.

Life & Style : Spring 2020

GADGETS

Essential

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These are worth adding to your kitchen collection

3 6

1. Perfect peeler: I use a peeler pretty much every day for something. I am a fan of Kuhn Rikon peelers, which are lightweight and easy to use on peels thick and thin. 2. Peppermill: Freshly ground pepper is much better than pre-ground. The Peppermate Traditional Pepper Mill is sleek and contemporary looking, made of ceramic with a side crank. It has a removable, clear bottom cup under the grinder to catch the pepper, and an adjustable grinding size, from very fine to very coarse. 3. Madonline: It’s hard to get perfectly thin slices for most of us home cooks. With a mandoline, you can get even slices of all sorts of vegetables

5 and other ingredients. One example is the OXO Good Grips Hand-Held version, which comes with settings for three different thin-nesses, and a handle so you can slice safely and quickly. 4. Food processor: I use no appliance more than this one. I use it for pureeing, chopping, slicing and shredding. Cuisinart has long been my go-to brand; I grew up with one and now own half a dozen. Other companies, like KitchenAid and Breville, also make good food processors. I recommend one little one, for things like mincing garlic or making pesto, and one large, for everything else. 5. Microplane: This is basically a small, handheld grater. The most classic one is long and narrow, with lots of fine blades that turn lemon zest and hard grating cheeses and chocolate into fluffy mounds of delicate tiny shreds. 6. Instant-read thermometer: When you want to make sure that you’re not overcooking a roast beef, or that your bread is cooked through, an instant-read thermometer is indispensable. In the most user-friendly digital arena, Thermapen instant thermometers are fast and precise with

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a wide temperature range. 7. Immersion blender: If you’ve ever tried to transfer a pot of hot, chunky soup to a blender then you understand why an immersion blender is such an asset. Instead of pouring, just place the immersion blender right into the pot. There are loads of good ones on the market, from companies like Breville, All-Clad, Braun and Philips. 8. Wine opener: Investing in a nice one makes opening a bottle a real pleasure. Williams Sonoma makes a great assortment including classic winged corkscrews and easy-to-use lever corkscrews. Rabbit is an another reliable name in the wineopener world. 9. Sous vide: Sous vide is a cooking method that entails putting food in a vacuum-sealed bag and cooking it in water at a controlled temperature. It’s basically impossible to overcook it. The Joule Sous Vide is small compared to other sous vide appliances, but powerful, as well as sleek and attractive enough to leave out. It works with phone apps as well for the ultimate in modern cooking.

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Life & Style : Spring 2020

PHOTO BY CHEYENNE COHEN/KATIE WORKMAN VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

by KATIE WORKMAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS

love a shiny new kitchen object as much as the next cook, and at times my kitchen has resembled a kitchen specialty store. But if you have a small kitchen, counter space and cabinet storage are at a premium. Here are some of my all-time favorite gadgets to make your cooking life better. This is about great gadgets, both low- and high-tech, that deserve a spot in your kitchen because they work hard and smart.

4 9

Life & Style : Spring 2020 59

ENTERTAINMENT

Bob Odenkirk arrives at the 2019 Primetime Emmy Awards in September at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The Southern Illinois University Board has opted to give Odenkirk, an SIU alumnus, an honorary doctorate degree.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I went to four different colleges, and SIU is the one that gave me the college experience that I needed.â&#x20AC;?

alum HONORED

Bob Odenkirk remembers his SIU days

T PHOTO COURTESY OF ASSOCIATED PRESS‌

by GABRIEL NEELY-STREIT

hough his starring role on AMC’s “Better Call Saul” keeps him busy, actor Bob Odenkirk would “love to come back” to one of his “favorite parts of this whole country,” he said, to receive the honorary Doctor of Performing Arts degree recently designated to him by Southern Illinois University Carbondale, his alma mater. The degree could be bestowed at the 2020 commencement ceremony, on Saturday, May 9, or a later date. “I’m very honored,” Odenkirk said in an interview. “I went to four different colleges, and SIU is the one that gave me the college experience that I needed.” Classes were interesting but not overwhelming, Odenkirk said, allowing him to, for the first time, get serious about comedy. “I loved the weather, the people, the freedom I had,” he said. “I had the protective barrier of a university community to experiment: read, write, try things, perform.” He first lived off campus in a trailer park, then later in a big house on or near Wall Street, he remembers.

He went hiking in Giant City, drank coffee at Makanda Java, and caught shows at Hangar 9 and other local bars, though he’s never been a big drinker and didn’t drink at SIU. “It’s an interesting thing to go (to college) deciding you don’t want alcohol in your life,” he said. “I didn’t, but I had a great time. I was very driven and I had a lot of free time to do my homework and comedy and that’s where everything kicked into a higher gear for me.” His main comedy project was “The Prime Time Special,” a late-night sketch radio show that he wrote, produced and often improvised, alongside fellow students Jody Williamson, Keith Tuxhorn and Tim Thomas, beginning around the spring semester of 1982. “I was focused on writing satire,” he said, modeling his work on Monty Python’s mix of carefully constructed sketches and utter absurdity. “We also made short videos that they would show on the closed cable system inside the Student Center,” and did live performances on the Quad. A 1983 write-up of “The Prime Time Special” in the SIUC student newspaper, the Daily Egyptian, featured Odenkirk describing his interests as “anything out of the ordinary, anything that’s twisted.” His body of work from SIU is preserved on a cache of cassette tapes that he gave to a friend years ago, and Odenkirk has “no interest” in sharing them with the world, he said. “It’s very sloppy comedy material and performances,” he said. “I’m thankful that I had

the place to do it and the encouragement and freedom to do the show, and the relatively small audience, because you’ve got to start somewhere, and start rough. But you don’t want all that to be kept.” Odenkirk left SIUC three credits short of graduation. “It didn’t seem like staying would be worth it when I knew I wanted to try my hand in comedy in Chicago,” he said. He finished those credits from Chicago, and received his bachelor’s degree in 1984. His work at SIU Carbondale became “the basis for everything I did,” he said, especially ‘“Mr. Show,” the popular HBO sketch comedy show he co-created in 1995. He still keeps in touch with several friends from the university and “Prime Time Special,” including Thomas and Steve Meisner, who took over the show when Odenkirk left. “I loved the environment down there in every way, physical and mental, the vibe of SIU,” Odenkirk said. “I loved the fact that people were more relaxed there and having a good time and socially interacting a lot. That’s what audience and comedy needs.” After the SIU board made the honor official in December, Odenkirk and SIU Carbondale representatives were expected to discuss whether he could accept the degree in person. “The thing that will be challenging is if there’s a production happening and they can’t let me out,” he said. “I’m going to try to make it.”

Life & Style : Spring 2020 61

PARTING SHOT

p.s.

A colorful sunset is reflected in a farm pond near Bremen.

PHOTO BY BYRON HETZLER

Photographers, we want to see Southern Illinois through your eyes Do you have a color photo that you’d like to share with us? Please email it to lifeandstyle@thesouthern.com. Use the subject: PARTING SHOT. Include your name, where the photo was taken and a brief caption for the photo. Please submit only one shot. You may see it here in print in the next issue. Don’t worry if you aren’t chosen. We’ll publish your photo online at lifeandstylesi.com. See page 5 for terms of use.

Life & Style : Spring 2020

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Life and Style - Spring 2020

Articles inside

Life and Style - Spring 2020