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Most fans of Brookfield Zoo know about the upcoming fun promised at the annual Boo at the Zoo! event (see Page 26 for details). But they might not know a visit to the zoo also means the chance to see several calves born this year, including a reticulated giraffe. "The pitter patter of little hooves is what we're calling it," said Joan Daniels, senior director of hooved mammal care and conservation for the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo. "We seem to...
Whew! When we sent the 120-page special section commemorating the village's 150th anniversary to our printer Tuesday morning, I felt a sigh of relief. The section has consumed a lot of time and energy since early this summer, not just for me, but for everyone who worked on it. We wanted, as we state in the introduction on Page 5, to create a truly special section that would celebrate the village's sesquicentennial. And we created, I think it's fair to say, a pretty ambitious...
Hinsdale's Jennifer Gallwas, an accomplished athlete who earned a scholarship to DePaul University, played competitive tennis until two years ago. So how did she end up as a member of the Naples JBB United team, traveling around the country to compete - on pickleball courts? "I was on a girls trip to Cabo. I kind of thought, 'It looks easy, and I'm a tennis player,' " she said. She agreed to give it a try. After she and her friend won a little tournament, there was no turning...
I am jumping the gun a bit with that headline. Fall doesn't officially start until the autumnal equinox occurs at 1:49 a.m. Saturday. But we're close enough (especially when TV folk started observing "meteorological fall" Sept. 1). Fall, as many of you know, is my favorite season. I frankly don't understand why that's not true for everyone, given all there is to recommend it. I will admit I have warmed up to summer since my daughter was born 14 years ago. I think it has...
A federal jury has convicted the man accused of detonating a homemade explosive in the Hinsdale train station 17 years ago. Thomas James Zajac, 70, formerly of Oakbrook Terrace, was convicted Monday of all three counts against him, including one count of attempting to destroy property with an explosive device, one count of possessing an unregistered destructive device and one count of willfully making a threat through the mail to kill or injure a person with an explosive device, according to a press release from the U.S....
Debbie Levinthal resigned this week from the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board. She addressed several topics in her resignation letter, which she emailed to The Hinsdalean Tuesday morning. She opened with words of support for Interim Superintendents Linda Yonke and Ray Lechner. “The district is in excellent hands under the leadership of Drs. Yonke and Lechner,” she wrote. “Their collective wisdom, along with the wisdom of member (Kay) Gallo at the board table, can optimally guide this district through this trans...
The Hinsdale Central Hall of Fame will induct six new members tonight, Sept. 21, at its dinner at Ruth Lake Country Club. The event has taken place every year since the inaugural class was inducted in 1997. Following are brief bios of members of the Class of 2023. Stephen Cashman Class of 1978 A National Merit Scholar, Cashman was a member of the National Honor Society, Latin Club and gymnastics team. He was part of the 1978 team that won sectional and regional championships en route to taking fifth at the state. He had...
Hinsdale trustees are poised to approve a three-year extension to the village’s contract with Republic Waste for the collection and disposal of garbage, landscape waste and recyclables when they meet Tuesday, Sept. 19. “Republic Services has been a longstanding provider of this service, dating back to 2007,” Trustee Neale Byrnes said at the Aug. 15 village board meeting, when trustees first discussed the proposal. The last extension was approved in 2018 and runs through Nov. 1. At that time, the standard form of colle...
Hinsdale Public Library and its patrons are taking the "I Spy" concept to a whole new level. Each month the library will have a 3-D I Spy case downstairs in the youth services department. September's Back to School display was created by the Cudney family of Hinsdale. "It's something I've seen in libraries throughout the years," said Lisa Winchell, youth and young adult services manager. "The 'I Spy' books have continued to be so popular. We thought this would be a really fun...
People commemorate 9/11 in their own way. My husband and I always make sure our American flag is on display near our front door. Monday morning we watched news coverage of family members reading the names of those lost in the attacks, including their loved ones. One of the readers was a young boy there to honor the grandfather he never had the chance to meet. Hinsdalean Dave Pequet sent out the annual "Remembering Sept. 11" email from his company, MPI Wealth Management. "The...
For more than a dozen years, the Eighteenth Amendment made it illegal to manufacture, transport or sell alcohol in this country. In Hinsdale, Prohibition lasted another 68 years. While the ratification of the 21st Amendment in 1933 meant an end to Prohibition nationwide, it allowed state and local authorities to remain dry. Hinsdaleans worried about the sale of liquor in town from the early days. In 1878 an ordinance was passed to prohibit bars and drinking establishments in...
The board and teachers union in Community Consolidated Elementary District 181 continue to negotiate the next teachers contract. “As you may know, negotiations take a great deal of time to ensure that both parties come to a consensus on a variety of topics. The board of education/district and the teachers’ association have been in conversations since January,” according to a joint statement released late Tuesday afternoon by the board and the Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Teachers Association leadership. “We have made tremend...
Fuller House Bar and Grill remains closed after a kitchen fire Sunday afternoon that caused an estimated $300,000 in damages. “Unfortunately Fuller House did suffer some damage from a fire that started what seemed to be behind a wall,” owner Sam Vlahos told The Hinsdalean. “Thankfully all staff and guests remained safe, and the Hinsdale Fire Department was amazing through it all.” The DuPage Public Safety Communications Center received notice at about 1 p.m. Sept. 3 that the fire alarm at the restaurant, 35 E. First St., ha...
The Hinsdale Central boys and girls golf teams faced their first opponents last month; the girls tennis team saw its first competition last weekend. Such is the nature of the fall season for Red Devil athletes. All three teams hope to end the season with a spot on the podium - if not a trophy - at their state meets. This is the second of three installments of fall previews. Boys and girls cross country and football were featured last week, and girls volleyball, girls swimming...
At my last book club gathering, one member said she wants to live to be 120. “I’ll be dead,” I replied, knowing she’s about 20 years older than I am. I couldn’t understand why she would want to live that long. But then I went to a presentation at the Hinsdale Public Library last week and learned all about the secrets to living to 100. Adult service librarian Doug Nye told us about five Blue Zones, or places with a high concentration of centenarians. They are Sardinia,...
Summer has flown by once again! It seems we just presented a list of activities for a Memorial Day roundup, and Labor Day is already here. If you're looking for something fun to day, we've got some ideas for you. • Kick off the weekend with a trip "Back to Dogwarts" from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, at The Community House, 415 W. Eighth St. Families can bring kids for a fun night of playing with the adoptable pups in attendance at their first day of school. Each will be s...
Were it not for my summer sabbatical from column writing, each one of these probably would have been its own column. Instead, I offer an abbreviated look at summer 2023. Since June, I ... • saw my birth mom and birth dad reunite for the first time in more than 50 years when they traveled here for Ainsley’s eighth-grade graduation. Not long after I connected with them in 2020, someone asked me if I ever thought they would meet. “I hope not!” I replied, thinking it would b...
Jennifer Cave could barely hear the voice on the other end of the line when she got the call that she had been named the 2023 Volunteer of the Year at The Community House. "When they called it was over the summer and I literally was at Disney World," she said. "It was so loud in the background." The Magic Kingdom was the perfect place to learn she had received the Katharine Van Duysen Sylvester Service Award for her work to "empower and support adolescents as they navigate...
Almost a century ago, Hinsdale residents came together and raised almost $150,000 in a single week to pay for a new building to honor those who fought in the first World War. Village leaders hope residents will do the same this year to fund improvements to the Memorial Building in honor of the village's 150th anniversary. "They had a committee 100 years ago for how to create a memorial and they wanted it to be something lasting and something that would serve the community...
By Pamela Lannom [email protected] This is the second installment in a two-part series on high school student-athletes who will continue to pursue their sport in college. All but Grace Carstensen, a graduate of Nazareth Academy, attended Hinsdale Central High School. Alex Burt University of Chicago, track & field I'll remember: my teachers. I've had a lot of teachers that were fun or inspiring or interesting or annoying, and there have been a lot that are memorable...
You might recall from previous columns how much I detest the use of June 1 and Sept. 1 as the start of summer and fall, given the existence of actual events that mark the seasons. That said, the summer solstice and autumn equinox are not always the most pragmatic dates to use. Autumn won’t officially start until Sept. 23, but practically speaking, summer is over here at The Hinsdalean. I know because my summer column-writing sabbatical has ended. I’ve spent the past 10 wee...
Eight years ago this month, lightning struck twice in Hinsdale on the same day, causing one house to catch fire and destroying the chimney of another. These excerpts are from the article that ran Aug. 6, 2015. Shortly before midnight, lightning struck the home at 561 Walker St., causing $75,000 in damage. "The guys did a great job," Chief Rick Ronovsky said of the firefighters who responded. "They got there and there was fire coming out of the roof of the house." They located...
All Illinois schools will be required to offer full-day kindergarten by 2027-28, but Community Consolidated Elementary District 181 is on track to do so for the 2025-26 school year. Gov. JB Pritzker signed House Bill 2396 Aug. 2, Superintendent Hector Garcia reported at the Aug. 14 school board meeting. No announcement has been made about whether the state will offer any funding, but District 181 is not likely to qualify. “Due to the formula they use, District 181 will not receive any of that funding,” Garcia said. The dis...
Brian Griffin remembers playing games under the lights on Dickinson Field at Hinsdale Central when he was on the team. "I still get the same feeling that I got as a player waiting to walk from the school out to stadium," said Griffin, who played at Central from 1999-2003 and is now head coach of the varsity team. "It just fills you with a sense of pride and a sense of community and just being part of something which is cool to experience on both ends of the spectrum." The fact...
The number of properties on the village’s Historically Significant Structures Property List is growing, with the third set of homes slated to be approved by the Hinsdale Village Board next week. “After Tuesday, we will have 68 houses approved,” said village planner Bethany Salmon. “I’ve got more coming through. We have four more that are en route officially and I have two more coming through starting in September.” Other homeowners are preparing to apply. “We do have a handful that are not quite in the queue yet that are...
