Susan DeGrane –

David Dammon, vice president of Moraine Valley Community College Administrative Services, shows off a newly planted tree on the school’s campus during an Arbor Day planting session Friday, April 24, in Palos Hills. (Susan DeGrane/Daily Southtown)

Moraine Valley Community College kicks off sustainability effort by planting 61 trees

April 27, 2026 at 3:19 p.m.

Volunteers planted 61 trees at Moraine Valley Community College in an Arbor Day effort they hope will lead to advance arboretum status.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New Lenox researcher highlights Lockport’s abolitionist connections

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Susan DeGrane

All Stories

Moraine Valley Community College kicks off sustainability effort by planting 61 trees

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

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

New Lenox researcher highlights Lockport’s abolitionist connections

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

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

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

Faces of freedom come alive through Black history storytelling effort

Former Roseland resident collecting memories of a place once called Hope

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