Ted Butterman, 1935-2022 (center)
The Chicago Cubs paid regal tribute to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II with a moment of silence before Friday’s game against the San Francisco Giants.
But they missed on Wrigley Field’s King of Swing.
Slugger Dave Kingman? Nope. Third baseman Patrick Wisdom? They’re still here.
Wrigley Field bandleader Ted Butterman died Aug. 31 in a care facility in Buffalo Grove, Il. The Dixieland jazz maestro was 87 years old. He was in hospice for one day. A lifelong musician, Mr. Butterman played to his biggest audiences between 1982 and 2017 at Wrigley [...]
High school-era Pete Crow-Armstrong
SOUTH BEND, Ind.—Maybe this isn’t all about baseball.
I’ve devoted some of the summer following the South Bend Cubs, the Midwest League High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The future lives in South Bend, the birthplace of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. I’ve followed the team to Midwest League outposts in Beloit, Wi. and Davenport, Ia. Last Friday I saw the Cubs lose 3-1 to the Quad Cities River Bandits before 6,700 fans on a steamy South Bend evening.
I keep a notebook on the passenger side of my car. I jot down thoughts and observations. [...]
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.–Out on the west side of Springfield, Mo., there is a new campground called Revive 66. It is along a forsaken stretch of Route 66. Some dreams died here. Others moved on. The campground is across the Chestnut Expressway from the Orchard Hills pharmacy and flower shop. The campground is adjacent to the Redwood Motel, a separately owned transient lodge where a sign suggests “Try Jesus.”
Revive 66 is a landing place for the homeless.
It is one of the most innovative projects to serve the homeless in America.
People sleep in one of 43 new solar-powered teardrop campers. It is the first solar-powered RV park in the United [...]
The one and only Otis Clay.
Otis Clay was a singer that was filled with goodwill.
No gig was too small, every note he sang created a choir of inspiration.
The world-renowned Chicago-based gospel and soul vocalist died of a heart attack in January 2016. He was 73. He is greatly missed. In a 1988 interview, he asked me, “What is it that makes a man rich?” Without hesitation, he answered, “You’ve contributed something.” Otis was always looking at forward progress.
The City of Chicago will honor this community treasure Otis with an Otis Clay street sign in a dedication ceremony [...]
