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Carolyn and Chris Hart bought a house in Hinsdale in 2021, not knowing at the time that it would soon be home to a family of three. After a lengthy renovation project during which the Harts lived in Carolyn's brother's basement just next door, they moved in in February 2022, leaving them several months to settle in and prepare for the next big event in their lives - the birth of baby Ashley. Hart became a mother on June 29, 2022, and will celebrate her first Mother's Day as a...
How does the need to achieve affect teens? Being a teenager can be tough. Being a teenager in Hinsdale can be especially challenging, said Megan Cannon, licensed clinical social worker and owner of Back to Balance Counseling. "There's been a steady shift into this idea of perfectionism" said Cannon, one of five counselors offering help at the Hinsdale clinic. Cannon said she and her fellow therapists too often see young people who believe they need to take every Advanced...
The role of Monroe School Parent-Teacher Organization president is a big one. Co-presidents Lara Massouras and Dana Reko work together to get the job done. "I knew how thoughtful and resourceful she was from our interactions there," Massouras said of her PTO partner. Already a PTO board member, Massouras recruited Reko to be the board's vice president of communications. "She was, of course, a great fit and I am so grateful she stepped up to be co-president with me this year,"...
What is the musical 'Urinetown' about? The plot of Hinsdale Central High School's spring musical isn't easy to explain, but junior Grace McGowan summed it up in a single sentence. "It's the American revolution, but with pee," said McGowan, who plays Little Sally in "Urinetown," coming to the Central stage April 21 and 22 (see Page 18 for details). "Urinetown" takes a satirical look at the nation's legal system, capitalism, bureaucracy and local politics. It also makes fun of...
On Saturday, April 15, 100 or more volunteers will descend on homes throughout Hinsdale as they distribute thousands of grocery bags for the 10th annual Seeds of Service food drive. Ensuring that each of those bags gets to its intended recipient is Hinsdale resident and St. Isaac Jogues church member Edward Pound. "I've been involved from the get-go," said Pound, who uses his extensive background in operations to divide the village into 31 routes for volunteers to follow on...
Everyone is familiar with the phrase about making lemonade when life hands you lemons. When the housing market was handed a proverbial lemon in the mid-2000s, home builder Cathy Walsh turned it into a new career in real estate. "That was an impetus," Walsh said of her transition from general contractor and designer to full-time real estate agent. "Real estate is now my primary focus," said Walsh, a Hinsdale resident and broker with Jameson Sotheby's International Realty. She's...
Hinsdale Central High School senior Meghna Mitra will serve as liaison to the Hinsdale District 86 school board for just a few more months, but it's a job that she said will follow her into college and beyond. "I'm interested in studying public policy and politics on the pre-law track," she said. One day, she hopes to use all that she's learned to affect health and environmental policy. As the liaison between the Hinsdale Central Student Council and the school board, Mitra...
Each year the Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Chapter of the National Charity League holds an all chapter meeting at which mothers and daughters team up on a project to benefit one or more of its philanthropic partners. This year's event took place at The Community House on Feb. 26 and benefited a pair of local organizations. Mothers and daughters from the local NCL chapter gathered to create handmade cards and handwritten letters for residents of Birches Senior Living and Memory Car...
Why is it important to support forest preserves? David Stang's relationship with the DuPage County Forest Preserve District began as he used the trails at Fullersburg Woods for his outdoor fitness endeavors. "It's an area I've used for years for walking, running, biking and so forth," he said. After volunteering at a workday at Fullersburg in December 2021, Stang said he learned of the need for a volunteer site steward - someone to coordinate regular efforts to keep the area...
Why did you invent FlagGuard? Erin McLaughlin's life changed the day her daughter was nearly hit by a personal watercraft while tubing in the lake at her family's summer getaway. While her daughter escaped injury, McLaughlin was haunted by the thought of what could have happened. The relief of knowing her own daughter was OK wasn't enough for McLaughlin. In the months following the incident, she began working on a device that would make children more visible in the water. Her goal was to prevent others from suffering a simila...
Long before she ever set foot in the village, Shilpa Upadhye knew she would one day live in Hinsdale. While studying at the University of Michigan, she became friends with a fellow student who raved about her hometown in the western suburbs of Chicago. "I just heard her talk about Hinsdale all the time," Upadhye said. But she would move many times and live in many states and two countries before realizing her dream of residing in the town that her college friend described as...
Bea Wolfe already was familiar with at least five languages when she moved to the United States from Europe three years ago. She quickly learned yet another - the language of the U.S. Realtor. "I had to learn to understand everything," said Wolfe, who despite her extensive background in the field was unfamiliar with the terminology and laws of her new home. Originally from Hungary, Wolfe began her real estate career in 2003 before taking on a series of positions that put to...
If you ever gazed into the window displays at the State Street Marshall Field's store back in the early 2000s, chances are good you were admiring the work of Hinsdale resident Molly Haworth. While working for the Chicago department store, Haworth also decorated several homes in Hinsdale. "The town stayed in my memory," Haworth said, and when she and her family decided to become suburbanites, the village became her home. Haworth designed window displays for Macy's and Saks Fift...
The 2021-22 Illinois Report Card lists Hinsdale Central High School's student population at 2,490. Of those students, only 62 identified as Black. Early this school year, three of those students approached their counselor, Gia Maniscalco, in hopes of starting an organization that would give Black students at Central a safe place to share experiences and build community. In December, they received approval to launch the Hinsdale Central Black Student Union. "We felt it was very...
As someone who spent her childhood in Hinsdale and returned after college to live and work in the area, Laura Liss has watched her hometown grow and change. Now, she's helping to keep that growth and change going, both as a business attorney and as chair of the Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. "It's both a personal and a professional sense of pride to be involved," said Liss, who joined the chamber as a member in 2019 and served as a board member and vice chair...
For decades, fans of college sports could only support their favorite players through cheers and applause. But adoption of the NCAA Name Image Likeness policy in 2021 opened up a new world of opportunity for fans to support players, and for players to profit from their work as athletes. It also opened up opportunities for entrepreneurs like father-son team Steve and Ryan Thayer. Steve, a longtime former Hinsdale resident, and Ryan, a current resident of Chicago and a graduate...
Those who attend the Stage Door Fine Arts production of "Matilda the Musical" should come prepared for an evening that includes a little bit of everything. From tender songs that evoke tears to outlandish characters that are sure to make people laugh, Stage Door co-founder and artistic director Don Smith said the musical version of Roald Dahl's story has it all, including a little bit of theater magic. Through a soundtrack that goes from softly sung ballads to boisterous...
Whether as a student in its classrooms, a worshiper in its pews or an employee in its offices, St. Isaac Jogues Church has always been part of Lara Krupicka's life. Now a resident of Naperville, Krupicka makes the drive to Hinsdale four days a week to work in the church office. Every Monday through Thursday she takes phone calls, answers parishioners' questions, completes payroll, composes the weekly church bulletin and takes on special projects, including the creation of the...
What are some choices for NYE toasts? For centuries, the sparkling wine known as Champagne has been used to celebrate birthdays, promotions, marriages and of course, the arrival of a new year. And according to Angel Rangel, assistant manager at Il Poggiolo in Hinsdale, it's not something to be messed with. "Champagne you want to keep the way it is," said Rangel. While Rangel believes Champagne is best enjoyed on its own, it is not the only way to mark a special occasion....
Like many teenagers, Grant Glowiak didn't consider himself the smartest, most athletic or most talented of his peers at Lyons Township High School. But at his church's youth group, none of that mattered. "Standard cliques didn't necessarily apply in that space," said Glowiak, who grew up attending First Congregational Church in his hometown of Western Springs. Now, as associate pastor and director of youth ministries at Union Church in Hinsdale, Glowiak said he wants to create...
How does music enhance worship this time of year? As minister of music at Grace Episcopal Church, Andrew Fredel's primary job isn't to make music, but to encourage music making from others. "It's very important that the congregation sings," Fredel said, and that's never more true than during the celebration of Christmas. Christmas draws a collection of those who frequent church, as well as those who come only for the holidays. Fredel said he's careful to include music that...
Kristin Sweis discovered her knack for fundraising as a member, treasurer and eventually president of the Elm School Parent Teacher Organization. It didn't take long for others in the village to discover it, too. With two daughters enrolled at Hinsdale Middle School, members of the school's PTO approached Sweis with an invitation to step in as president this year. The invitation likely was a result of her success at Elm, Sweis said, where during her two years as president the...
What's next after Caffray closes? Caffray Jewellers in Hinsdale's Grant Square has never been just about making and selling jewelry. The store's tagline is "making fine jewelry and friends," and owner CJ Grad said that during these last days in business, she's constantly reminded of just how many of both she has created. Some are happy and some are sad, Grad said of the customers visiting the store in its final weeks. Others are panicked about where they'll take their watches...
Jaclyn McNamara rose to the ranks of president of the Hinsdale Junior Woman's Club quickly. She said that's partially due to her inability to say no, but mostly because of her commitment to the good that's accomplished by the organization's 271 members. McNamara was new to the community when she joined the 73-year-old organization in 2017. She said she joined as a way to meet her neighbors and stayed to make a difference in the lives of neighbors in need. "You don't think the...
Ideas for a news story can come from just about anywhere, including the walls of Hinsdale Central High School. For Taylor Levin, editor-in-chief of the Devils' Advocate student magazine, fliers and posters are no longer just announcements or decorations on a wall. Each announcement of a club meeting, school dance or after-school event is a potential article for the monthly publication. Levin, a member of Cherise Lopez's journalism II honors class, is one of nine students on...
