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.

Having some cents of Ogle County history: Centennial, quasquicentennial, sesquicentennial, dosquicentennial … Ogle County can observe them all this year, from the anniversary of driving through a cut up rock to blazing trails and rails.

Having some cents of Dixon history: Centennial, quasquicentennial, sesquicentennial, dosquicentennial … Dixon can observe them all this year, from the anniversary of an unbeatable high school football team to the establishment of governance in its rural areas.

At the corner of a street of Clay and a street of brick in Mount Carroll stands a place that bridges the past and present, a historical hotel where guests can relax and revisit a simpler time.

Large, fast-moving trains from Chicago to the West Coast zoom through Rochelle. It's where two important lines cross at a diamond, and where train enthusiasts cross paths at a park to enjoy seeing what each engine and car brings to their eyes.