MRN Top 10 Feel-Good Stories: Clydesdales, pageants, heroes and Grammy winners made readers smile
Journalism experts will tell you that readers often flock to bad news — crime, government waste, controversy, you name it. However, readers this year were fascinated by the stories of a restaurant waitress who was retiring after nearly five decades, a mother/daughter queen combo from the Adams County Fair, a Quincy man who saved a life by helping lift a car off a juvenile and the owners of a donut shop who were proud to live their dream in the United States.
Listed below are the most popular feel-good stories of 2024, as determined by MRN analytics.
1. Members of the community poured into the Coach House during the last half of December 2023 to get one last meal served by one of Quincy’s finest. Judie Jenkins decided it was time to hang up her apron at the age of 81. After waiting tables at the Coach House for almost 48 years, she served her last shift on Dec. 28, 2023. Jenkins died Dec. 3.
2. Brittany Boll interviewed Adam and Jessica Booth, who had welcomed to the world on April 11 a newborn Clydesdale foal named Marley. The Booths had brought home two horses in February, and one of them was pregnant. Clydesdales are rare around these parts and there are fewer than 5,000 of these horses worldwide.
3. Madalyn Gibbs wore the same blue dress that her mom, Amanda, wore when she was named Adams County Fair Queen 24 years ago. Granted, that in itself would normally be a pretty good story, but much more than that came to light following Gibbs’ coronation as Miss Adams County Fair at the 82nd pageant. “I was named queen in July 2000 … and in February 2001 I found I had cancer,” Amanda said.
4. Savana Santos was initially surprised by the announcement that she received a Grammy nomination for best folk album for her work on “Weird Faith” with singer-songwriter Madi Diaz. “Honestly it wasn’t even a thought in my mind that something like this would happen, but those are the best moments,” Santos said. “I was genuinely shocked and thankful to Madi for putting in all the hard work to make this happen.”
5. Quincy Police Department officer Kevin Taute was sent to the 1800 block of Spring and saw a juvenile pinned underneath a vehicle. A young man had been working on the car when the jack slipped, causing the weight of the automobile to come down on his chest. Steven Fuller, who lives nearby, and Officer Chris Mueller lifted the car off the juvenile, who was pulled free. Quincy Police Department Chief Adam Yates said Fuller’s recognition of the seriousness of the situation and his willingness to get involved and assist the two officers “did not go unnoticed or unappreciated.”
6. Connie Sue Heck died at age 80 on Oct. 18, 2021, in Good Samaritan Home. Before she died, Heck gave Gloria Wilson, a neighbor of Heck’s for 13 years, power of attorney and named her the executor of her estate. Wilson met in February with representatives of the Quincy Humane Society and Camp Callahan to present each organization with a check for $99,282. Wilson said Heck had a passion for Camp Callahan and “what they do for the kids and the adults in our community who maybe need a little extra help or have some special circumstances.” Heck also was passionate about her animals and, in particular, her three-legged dog named Annie.
Estate of Quincy woman makes gifts of nearly $100,000 apiece to Camp Callahan, Quincy Humane Society
7. Da Sorm and Dany Heng, co-owners of Yummy Donut Palace at 312 N. 30th, survived one of the most brutal dictatorships the world has known and now are comfortably settled in Quincy. “In this country, you work … you get paid. This government will help you,” Sorm said. “They helped us learn how to live and speak … even riding the city bus every day to go to work. “The U.S. is like heaven.”
8. Bradley Darnell reached the quarterfinals of the Taste of Home’s Favorite Chef competition and had a chance to win $25,000 and be featured on Taste of Home’s magazine cover and in a two-page spread. Had he won, he would have had an opportunity to cook with celebrity chef Carla Hall, who rose to fame on “Top Chef” and “The Chew.” Alas, Darnell was not the eventual winner.
9. Dozens of guests gathered to celebrate the sobriety, resilience and tenacity of the Adams County Problem-Solving Court’s latest graduates — Bruce Blevins, Zac Brown, Tim Wiemelt, Ashley Allen-Nichols and Gabriel Richardson. Before entering Mental Health Court, Allen-Nichols felt “lost and broken, and didn’t know how (she) could ever pick (herself) up again.”
10. Although she looked the part perfectly under the lights of the stage at the Quincy Community Theatre, where excited crowds gathered around her only minutes after the crown was placed on her head, Nicole Taylor said she felt far from a typical pageant queen after being named Miss Quincy in January 2024. “I am overwhelmed with joy. I never thought I would do a pageant, but I’m known for breaking stereotypes and I think I’m here to break pageant stereotypes,” she said.
Miss Clipping Out Stories to Save for Later?
Click the Purchase Story button below to order a print of this story. We will print it for you on matte photo paper to keep forever.
