February 8, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

5 questions with Michelle Wagner

1. What is your favorite childhood holiday memory?
My favorite childhood memory is Christmas Eve. Our family would go out to dinner for Christmas Eve and then come home and open our presents from each other. We could play with our toys or do a family game night and then get everything ready for Santa. We would set out cookies and milk and then head to bed. I remember it all being nice and calm—just the 4 of us enjoying time together.

2. What is your favorite part of the holidays now?
My favorite part of the holidays now is having our daughter home from college! We will spend some time buying last minute gifts, baking cookies and having Tetris battles.

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?
This is a hard one for me because I LOVE music. Traditional songs are so beautiful–I love O Holy Night and O Little Town of Bethlehem. And more current– all of Kelly Clarkson’s Christmas songs 🙂

4. What is your favorite Christmas movie?
Hands down my favorite Christmas Movie is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. It is our family favorite–we quote it all the time.

5. What is your favorite holiday snack? My favorite holiday snack is the home made caramel corn that my grandma made every year. We have her recipe and are keeping the tradition going!

Banner
Related Posts

Earley, Altenbaumer help SJO baseball off to solid start

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Playing a difficult schedule is a staple of the St. Joseph-Ogden baseball program under coach Josh Haley. So is winning...

Vendor profile: Katie Creates

August 10, 2024

August 10, 2024

Tell me about your business. I am an acrylic pour artist, meaning that I create art by pouring acrylic paint....

Get to know our Little Prince and Princess Candidates :Emmett Binder

August 10, 2024

August 10, 2024

What is your favorite part of summer?Getting to go stay at Grampa’s Riverhouse What do you want to be when...

SJO fourth quarter high honor roll

July 9, 2019

July 9, 2019

High Honor RollFreshmenAllen, Addison Altenbaumer, Tyler Anderson, Kailyn Armstrong, Ella Atwood, Madison Behrens, Abigail Beyers, Andrew Bowln, Brandie Burkhalter, Mara...

Live at St. Joseph Village Board, Sept. 10, 2024

September 10, 2024

September 10, 2024

They are discussing personnel policy updates. They are formalizing the on call public works format. SOLAR!!!! For the 400th time....

Philo Exchange Bank President named 2024 Banker of the Year

July 5, 2024

July 5, 2024

AMELIA ISLAND, FL – During their Salute to Leadership Program at their annual conference, Illinois Bankers Association (IBA) awarded Kevin...

Village looking at options to sell wastewater system

December 2, 2025

December 2, 2025

 The Village of St. Joseph is exploring options to sell its wastewater system.  At a special meeting on Nov. 18,...

Get to know our Little Prince and Princess Candidates : Amelia Buckley

August 10, 2024

August 10, 2024

What is your favorite part of summer?Camping What do you want to be when you grow up?The tooth fairy What...

Business owners thankful for community support after break-ins

January 25, 2022

January 25, 2022

Around 6 a.m. this morning the owner of Country Chics, Stacy Cast, got a notification. The notification told her that...

Library to host author

February 5, 2026

February 5, 2026

The St. Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library, 201 N. Third, St. Joseph, IL 61873, is excited to announce we will have...

Challenging schedule testing SJO girls’ basketball early on

December 16, 2024

December 16, 2024

The first month of the season for the St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball has featured a challenging schedule and some quality...

Kicking it off: SJO football starts another season with lofty expectations

August 29, 2025

August 29, 2025

The playoff streak is at six seasons. Nowhere near close to the record-setting 26 straight seasons with a postseason appearance...

Q and A with SJO Hall of Fame inductee Morgan Gooding 

October 3, 2025

October 3, 2025

1. How does it feel to be inducted into the hall of fame? Honestly, it was a surprise. So many...

Comments
Leave a Reply