Forget power lunches and power suits. Nothing really says power like steel, glass and concrete uniquely fashioned into a building designed to stand for the ages.

Back in the 1940s, the congregation of the Church of the Little Flower set up temporary quarters in a Quonset hut because building materials were in short supply and that was what was available.

The Cathedral Church of St. Paul has been described as a church that prompts one to kneel and say a prayer. It is that and more. It is a place of reverence and authority. It is a place that has an aura of power and a sense that the prayer will be heard and heeded.

Back in the middle part of the last century, when jazz was still in the mainstream of popular music, Springfield served as host to some of the genre's legendary performers.

Tiffany Beane wears a bunch of hats.

She's a businesswoman, a teacher, a photographer and an animal lover. She's also a mother and a wife, the pride and joy of her life.

Suzanne Schmid wanted to be a sculptor when she was going to school in California, but she was sharing a tiny apartment with several other students, and the room she had for her artistic pursuits was too small for sculpting.

While we can admire the sleek lines of a Corvette and the power of a Mustang, we shouldn't forget this nation was built with pickup trucks. From construction sites to farm fields, trucks deliver. Generations of young people learned to drive either grinding the gears of a pickup on a forgiving country road or traveling with a relative to job sites with the sun just peeking over the horizon.

The Corvair was Chevrolet's muscle car that never quite made it big, but it still has quite a following. Mike Hall, a member of the Corvair Society of America, has a couple of Corvairs, including a fairly rare Corvair truck.

"Giddy up, giddy up, 409" was the refrain of the iconic Beach Boys tune embraced as a national anthem by muscle-car enthusiasts. The 409 engine had giddy-up aplenty, and Chevy bumped up production of the engine and made it available in full-sized Chevys such the Impala, the Bel Air and the Biscayne in 1962.

There are very few singers who cause a rush of emotion just with the singing of the national anthem. Oh, they can impress a crowd blasting, "And the rockets red glare" at an octave range so high that dogs cringe - but it doesn't bring the flood of feelings that comes when the singer really believes in the lyrics.

Any distance runner will tell you that running a good race more often than not requires a good start. Interesting that a guy like Bill Moredock would choose to start his days with a pretty good run. It's just two miles or so, not a great distance, but it's certainly no sprint.

There's no place like home - a haven of comfort, security and familiarity. While the Hope Institute for Children and Families has been providing a home to children with developmental disabilities for more than 50 years, the nonprofit is preparing to break barriers by creating a child-centered medical home at Noll Medical Pavilion. With health-care reform in the news, Brian Allen, vice president of Healthcare Partnerships at Noll Medical Pavilion and retired president/CEO of the Mental Health Centers of Central Illinois, believes that now, more than ever, the medical home model and approach are needed.

Interesting alternatives to that large green expanse of lawn are limited only by the supplies at area greenhouses. From grasses to containers, landscaping adds color, texture and interest even in the dreary winter months.

While sustainable landscape or landscaping that is eco-friendly and requires little maintenance has been the craze, we are now on our next generation of vegetation. Mike McWilliams of CopperTree, 3111 Cockrell Lane, says when putting in landscaping people are considering color and how things look year-round.

They call her a terror; they say she's mean and she lies. But Lex Bitner, a personal trainer with attitude, wouldn't have it any other way and neither would her clients.

While most of us have heard about the benefits of taking vitamins and dietary supplements, knowing what to take - and when to use it - can be confusing at best. But with the new year under way, now is a good time to begin getting healthier. By listening to some expert advice on what vitamins you need - and following a good diet and exercise regimen - chances are you'll be feeling better in a short time.

Meditation is a practice of self love that helps to relieve stress and chronic health problems.

Mother Nature may have slammed Springfield with a snowstorm in February, but spring is just a step away in the home owned by Max and Cheri Hammer at Panther Creek.

In the case of the Lowder home on Pleasant Dale Road in Girard, less really is more. The 3,000-square-foot residence is low to the ground but high in energy efficiency. Some might call the design "mid-century modern," yet the materials that went into making the home are reclaimed, and in some cases, a hundred years old.

David and Eileen Crabtree were taken by the lovely stone homes in France, but they also wanted the formality of a brick home. Their residence on Old Salem Lane in New Berlin is the perfect blend of formal and warm French provincial styles.

It's basketball season. March Madness is in full swing, and the big tournaments are right around the corner. At each game, every person involved sees the game from a different perspective. Players, coaches, referees, scorekeepers and fans all look at the game differently. And photographers see it in their own way, too - through a lens. Here you'll find pictures by art director Erica Cusumano as she takes an artistic look at the game of basketball.

Less than 20 miles separate America's first permanent English settlement (1607) in Jamestown, from the last battle of the Revolutionary War (1781) in Yorktown. Located strategically in between these two historical areas is the second capital of Virigina: Colonial Williamsburg.

It's a question I don't get often here in the prairie state: "Ever been above tree line?"

Hmmm. Born in Iowa. Moved to Nebraska after college and eventually back across Iowa to Springfield.

Short answer: No

You probably know Sam Madonia from his morning radio show on WFMB. Maybe you pour that first cup of coffee in your kitchen as you tune him in to start your day. Or maybe you listen in as he calls the big football games, his high-energy, rapid-fire delivery barking into your car radio on a Friday evening or Saturday afternoon.

On a cool, frigid February morning, Tyler and Harriet showed nary a care about the weather as they roll around on an iced-over pond in their enclosure.

The motto of the Secret Service is "Worthy of Trust and Confidence."

The elaborate and impressive chandeliers that grace foyers and great rooms today were borne of necessity.

A girl on the go needs to have a cosmetics bag packed and ready. But - so many choices. After all, it's not called a cosmetics suitcase or a cosmetics trunk - it all has to fit in a little bag.

Valentine's Day most often provokes images of the perfect romantic ideal portrayed in the movies. The dashingly handsome male with a stunning woman dressed in a glittering evening gown enjoy a candlelit dinner at a sophisticated restaurant where the perfect corner table is decorated with red roses, beautiful crystal glasses, china, silver and linen napkins. Frank Sinatra croons a love song quietly in the background during a passionate conversation of love-never-ending and dreams that are sure to come true.

Every year Springfield's Own Magazine asks local folks a question. This year, we asked some of the area's movers and shakers as well as our Facebook fans, "Do you have a collection? If so, what is it and why do you collect it?" You might be surprised by some of the answers we received.

Wedding trends like food stations with themes, all hors d'oeuvres, mini meals or tasting menus could take awhile to make it to Springfield, but a few brides are being a bit more adventurous.