Pat Raia

2 weeks ago | dailyyonder.com | Pat Raia

When she started her search for a house, Amy Balicki didn’t set out to buy a Sears kit home in Downers Grove, Illinois – but she probably should have. That’s because Downers Grove was a prime location for siting Sears homes in the 1920s and 1930s. Now, there are 66 Sears kit homes located in the mid-size town – the fifth highest concentration of kit homes in Illinois, according to Nina Fuscaldo, curator of the Downers Grove Museum.

2 weeks ago | nextavenue.org | Pat Raia

You might want to think twice about leaving town — and your social circle — when you downsize in retirementEverywhere I looked last fall, I was bombarded with messages about cleaning up, cleaning out and moving on to pull equity from my house and invest it into living the rest of my life happily ever after somewhere else. Within 30 days my husband and I took the postings to heart.

2 months ago | dailyyonder.com | Pat Raia

Four years ago, family practitioner Dr. Jeff Chappell retired from his post as medical director of the Wayne Community Health Center in Bicknell, Utah. He was excited to undertake a new medical mission, through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to South America where he served as area medical director for Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Venezuela. But when he returned to Utah, then 63-year-old Chappell was not ready to swap his medical career for the life of a retiree.

Mar 7, 2025 | horseillustrated.com | Pat Raia

Economically speaking, 2023 was a less than banner year for most Americans, and charitable organizations that rely on public donations to keep their operations alive and healthy were not immune to these financial realities. Hardest hit were nonprofits like equine welfare organizations, which were challenged to think outside the box in order to hold onto existing donors, attract new ones, and compensate for those who fell by the wayside.

Jan 29, 2025 | fox26medford.com | Pat Raia