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By mid-afternoon Tuesday, it was hard to believe rainy, gloomy weather had caused the Hinsdale Community Pool to close earlier that day. The sun was shining from a brilliant blue sky adorned with fluffy white clouds. The crowd might have been smaller than usual, but there are still plenty of patrons - adults swimming laps, playing with their kids in the water or reading a book in the shade of one of the large umbrellas. Two-year-old Millie Jane Muskievicz was participating...
The Hinsdale Herd U10 Black lacrosse team, with a 5-3 regular season record, went 6-0 in the post-season to become the Illinois Youth Lacrosse League state champions June 2 at Barrington High School. Parent coach Brendan Goss said his expectations at the start of the season in mid-April did not include a state title for the then third-grade boys. "We knew we had some good players. Truthfully, we never worried about wins or losses. We only cared about their effort," said Goss,...
Spring MAP test scores show Community Consolidated Elementary District 181 students are continuing to outperform their peers, with most showing a higher than expected level of growth. Thirty-four percent of students scored in the 90-99th percentile on the Measurement of Academic Progress in reading, with almost 60 percent scoring in the top decile in math, Kristin Reingruber told board members at their June 17 meeting. Seventy-two percent scored in the top three decile bands (70-79, 80-89 and 90-99) in reading and 83 percent...
A lot of Facebook posts will tell you what books you should be reading right now. I tend to look at these posts the same way I used to look at summer reading lists when I was in high school. I wanted to read all of the books so I could be as prepared as possible for the first day of school. But I’m not in school anymore, and so I don’t have to be tortured with the incomprehensible prose of William’s Faulkner’s “Light in August.” Nor do I have to find regionally appropriate...
A rainy start to the Hinsdale Fine Arts Festival Saturday morning didn't discourage first-time participating artist John Scanlon. "We still had people show up and I had a really good sale right off the bat," Scanlon said Sunday, noting that serious buyers are the ones who come out in inclement weather. Scanlon's decision to skip a show he usually attends in Minnesota to come to Hinsdale last weekend was a good one, and not just from a financial perspective. He was chosen as...
Copperhill, Tenn., was the site of one of the largest copper producing mines in the country in the early 1900s. By about 1920, however, the copper had been depleted and the environment had been destroyed. "When that copper vein was mined out, the area was devastated economically. Copper mining was about all that they had," said Kevin Pritchett, volunteer leader of the senior high youth program at Grace Episcopal Church in Hinsdale. While conservation efforts have restored the...
Church has been a part of my life since before I can remember. And since I haven’t had to move from town to town over the years, I’ve been able to attend only four churches since I was a kid. The one I spent the most time at, and the one where I experienced the most spiritual growth, is the First United Methodist Church of Western Springs. I attended my last service there last month. Actually it was the final service for the church at 4300 Howard Ave., which started in 188...
Construction projects have started at six elementary schools to enable Community Consolidated School District 181 to offer full-day kindergarten beginning in the 2025-26 school year. “We are making great progress so far in the short amount of time that we’ve been working,” Mike Duggan, facilities director, reported at Monday’s school board meeting. At Oak School, demolition is taking place in the area of the school being remodeled, according to Duggan’s memo to board mem...
I am sorry to report Hinsdale once again has fallen short of the North Shore. One of those fancy "W" towns - Winnetka - beat out Hinsdale for the No. 1 spot on the latest list published by HomeSnacks. What is HomeSnacks, you ask? We're not entirely sure, but it produces lots of lists - safest states, most dangerous states, even dumbest states. You can read all of these lists on its Facebook page (which contains no information about who is preparing them or why). And what does...
After spending 21 days in the district and holding meetings with more than 200 parents, staff, students, board members, administrators and community members, incoming Superintendent Michael Lach explained the approach that will guide him when he begins work full-time July 1. “I kept coming back to four questions — questions that I had, but questions I think we all need to tackle together,” Lach said during a presentation at the May 30 school board meeting. The questions center around four topics: passion, trust, organ...
Mention camping and it can elicit some strong emotions. Some have wonderful memories of camping as a kid and continue to do so as an adult. Others are perplexed or disgusted by the idea. Some have never even been to a campground. The folks at the Cook County Forest Preserve District want to encourage novices to give it a try - and to welcome back experienced campers. That was the goal when the district refurbished two of its older campsites and opened three new ones,...
The newspaper business, like many others, is seasonal. Our schedule mirrors the school year in many ways, with our busiest times occurring while classes - and high school sports - are in session. And then summer rolls around, and with it comes a slightly different to-do list. One of my responsibilities each June is to thank a group of contributing columnists who have been writing for us for the past two years and to invite interested writers to apply for one of the openings....
John Naisbitt began his tenure as Hinsdale Central's varsity boys tennis coach in 2010, hoping to lead the team to its fourth straight championship. Instead the team came in second. "I learned a great deal about details and making sure everything was in line and you can't take anything for granted," he said. In 2011, the team came in fifth. "Then 2012 came along. Martin Joyce, Eddie Grabill. We won four straight," he said. "We did five more in the next eight years." Naisbitt...
The annual Memorial Day ceremony that took place Monday will have a new setting next year - a renovated plaza on the south side of the Memorial Building. "She is in need of some love and we are hoping to fix that," Trustee Michelle Fisher said of the area at the May 19 Hinsdale Village Board meeting. Improving the plaza first was discussed last year as part of the village's 150th anniversary celebration. The $400,000 project will be jointly funded by the village and the...
I can't make up my mind most days whether I find cicadas fascinating or disgusting. I can't deny, though, that they provide a great writing opportunity. I wrote my first cicada story in 1990 for The Doings. My father-in-law, John Litster, was a letter carrier in town and had recorded interviews with homeowners on his route about the emergence of these rare insects. Their comments were hilarious. Seventeen years later, in 2007, before this paper had even turned a year old, I wr...
As of last week, electric bikes powered by batteries rated 750 watts and higher are no longer permitted in the village. "Some of these ebikes are upwards of 2,500 watts," Trustee Luke Stifflear said in introducing proposed changes to village ordinance at the May 21 Hinsdale Village Board meeting. One area of concern are high-performance dirt bikes that can travel more than 50 mph, Deputy Chief Tom Lillie wrote in a memo to trustees. "Riders have been witnessed with inadequate...
Following residents’ comments at recent Hinsdale Village Board meetings regarding serious accidents at Fuller’s Car Wash, Village President Tom Cauley decided to do some research of his own. “There were a couple of residents who stood up and talked about previous accidents at the site, and it just didn’t ring a bell with me at all,” Cauley told The Hinsdalean Wednesday morning. “After that, I went back and had the police pull the reports and go through it. “It just didn’t jibe with what residents were saying had happened as...
Andrew O'Connor and Katie Lambert were thrilled to move from Chicago into an 1883 Gothic Revival home at 136 N. Washington St. in November 2021. They were not as thrilled with the staircase leading to the second floor. "When we moved in, we couldn't bring furniture upstairs. We slept on the first floor, on the mattress on the floor, for a few days. Then we decided we need to renovate," Katie said. Eventually they were able to get a bed upstairs, but they knew a construction...
Jay Klein grew up Jewish, which made his conversion to Christianity at age 32 unexpected and "electrifying," in his words. "It's life-changing. My God is not distant and far away. He is close at hand. He has given me his Holy Spirit to live and dwell in me," he said. Klein said he felt he needed to do something, but was uncertain of his next step. At the urging of his pastor, he agreed to spend a week on a mission trip doing street evangelism in New York City. "I saw the rejec...
Swastikas drawn in pencil were discovered in two separate incidents in the span 15 days at Hinsdale Middle School. The first was discovered April 25 on a bathroom wall, and the second, drawn on a music stand, was reported by students Friday. “This symbol of hate and intolerance has no place in our community, and I am disappointed by its presence at our school,” HMS Principal Cory Burke wrote in an email to parents Friday. “I want to assure you that I am taking this incident very seriously and am working diligently to inves...
The Hinsdale Central varsity girls badminton team finished a great season with a strong showing at state. Senior doubles players Rachele Cameli and Maria Jiao came in sixth, and the team placed sixth as well. "We had one of the best seasons that we've had overall in a while," head coach Katie Maley said. "This was probably the best team overall I've had in the last four or five years." Cameli and Jiao started out strong, winning their first three matches. Their first loss in t...
The western suburbs will soon be alive with the sound of music. The season of live outdoor concert series is right around the corner, blending the joy of good tunes with the delight of summertime weather. Watch future issues for more information on Hinsdaleans' favorite summer concert series, Uniquely Thursdays. Here are a few others in the area to check out. • Cantigny Park's Summer Concert Series runs from 3 to 5 p.m. Sundays from May 26 to Sept. 1 (no concert June 23). T...
Supporters of the Hinsdale Central boys gymnastics program were out in force at the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board meeting last week, upset about plans to cut the gymnastics coaching positions at Central. Speakers at the May 9 meeting objected to the proposal as part of a move to combine the Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South boys gymnastics programs for the next three years. A large crowd of parents and students joined Lena Theotikos, mom of senior gymnast Nikolas,...
Amy Owens had undergone a cancer diagnosis, a total mastectomy and chemotherapy when I first met her in 2007. She had generously agreed to meet with me once a month for a year as she recovered from a rare form of breast cancer, invasive triple negative ductile carcinoma, as part of our Making a Difference partnership with Wellness House. I talked to her again in September 2009, about a year after my story was published and days before she celebrated her second year of being...
Say the words “equity and inclusion,” and people might come up with a number of different definitions. “I am no stranger to the abundance of narratives about what these words mean — and what they might mean in our schools or in a professional or personal aspect as well,” said Chris Biddix, director of equity and inclusion in Hinsdale High School District 86. “I think naming some of those narratives from the start, knowing them, is really important.” Some narratives might suggest that it’s naive and optimistic to try to addre...
