In 1926, Sterling and Rock Falls were full of ambition – some of it still thriving today, some of it long gone. A barber chair, a bold Coliseum dream, a vanished golf course, a future NFL player – a century later, the stories still linger in local memory.

From early settlers to current football coaches, Prophetstown has launched lives that shaped the world. They're local leaders, inventors, artists and athletes who built and represented the town well, showing how hometown roots can leave a big mark.

Campus life reborn: A long-quiet part of Mount Carroll is filling with life again. Shimer Square blends housing, jobs and services into the town’s former campus.

Once a month, a Savanna museum comes alive after going dark. Candlelight, live music, poetry and neighbors share the room for a small-town concert series, turning the museum into one of Savanna’s most anticipated nights.

An 80-year-old ag equipment company in Oregon is still shaping land and lives. At Woods Equipment, the machines matter, but the people who use them matter more.

The past isn’t locked behind glass Carroll County. It lives in stone walls, school desks, train cars and family stories saved by neighbors who refused to let them disappear. A road trip through the county’s museums reveals how ordinary lives shaped the place we know today.

Playing at professional baseball's highest level was a feat achieved by five people born in Lee County: Lou Bevilacqua of Nelson, George Bristow of Paw Paw, Betty Degner of Amboy, Leroy Herrmann of Steward and Frank Shaughnessy of Amboy.

150 years on, a small Lee County village still finds its strength in the neighbors who never stopped looking out for one another. As Compton celebrates its sesquicentennial, its people remind each other what truly endures in their small town.

Coloma Township Park District has a lot to celebrate this year: A century of history in its green spaces and places, people passionate about supporting parks, a Village with lots of stories to tell, and much more … including a big fiberglass chicken.