I have to admit, I did not come up with the clever line of ‘Kaylee’s Korner’ entirely on my own. I was inspired by a visit from a former Illinois Wesleyan University student and critically acclaimed sportswriter, Dave Kindred.
Dave Kindred was born on April 12, 1941 in Atlanta, Illinois. He played on the baseball team at IWU, which he likes to call “the Harvard of the cornfields”.
After graduating with his degree in English, he went on to write major sports columns and got to meet many sports figures, boasting 300+ interviews with Muhammad Ali.
When he visited Feature Writing 325 on January 23, 2025, he told us his story. “My passion came from creating something where there was nothing,” Kindred said.
Today he sits on the sidelines for Morton women’s basketball games and writes for their website. He claims he has missed only three games since he started writing for them in 2010.
Every member of Feature Writing is looking to become better writers, so we asked for Kindred’s advice. He started with the typical ‘fake it until you make it’ advice, but that’s not all he gave us
. “You want people to feel what you feel,” Kindred said. “Tell people a story in the way you would tell your best friend.”
My favorite piece of advice he gave during our discussion was three simple words: “Extract the extraordinary.”
Every time I sit down in front of my computer, whether my personal one or the one in the Argus office, I take these words to heart.
During his time at IWU, Kindred was the sports editor of The Argus, as I am today, about 60 years later.
When my professor and Argus advisor, Jim Plath, pulled out copies of Kindred’s old work, he quipped how clever ‘Kindred’s Korner’ was for a headline. Being new to the sports editor position, and also having a K name myself, it just seemed like a sign to bring the old tradition back.
I’m not sure how long Kaylee’s Korner will be around, but I hope to always have something interesting here for sports readers. And perhaps in another 60 years time, another K name will want to continue the Korner’s legacy. Only time will tell.