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In these times of emails and text messages, it's increasingly rare for life-changing information to arrive by mail. But that's what happened to Maya Singh when she received a letter encouraging her to participate in an upcoming pageant. "It was something I never knew I was dreaming of," said Singh, who participated in her first pageant competition in September 2023 and recently returned from the National All-American Miss pageant in Orlando. Held over Thanksgiving break, the p...
Adversity and unlikely choices were key factors in the success accrued by retired banker Jim McMahon. "Wisdom comes from humility," McMahon writes in "Here's What We're Going to Do," the memoir/leadership guide the Hinsdale resident published earlier in 2024. From family strife to financial strains, McMahon found his way through to reach the heights of the community banking industry. The oldest of five siblings, McMahon found himself early on thrust into a household...
For many, the days leading up to Christmas involve shopping, decorating and wrapping gifts. For Haley Tuck, that time of year has often been filled with rehearsals, costumes and lots of children. Tuck has been part of Union Church's annual Christmas pageant for as long as she can remember, first as a cast member and more recently as an organizer of the church's long-standing tradition. "I've been every single possible thing," said Tuck, who over the years portrayed various...
Hinsdale's Daphne Sheldon has made an impression during her first year in the world. Daphne, 8 months, captured best costume honors at the Hinsdale Fall Family Fest in October for her rodent tableau, sharing credit with handy dad Josh. "Josh built a mousetrap to sit on top of our wagon, and (Daphne) sat in the hole as a mouse," mom Lindsey said. This month she earned the title of Happiest Baby for 2024 in The Hinsdalean's annual contest for community cuteness. "We've had a yea...
Milkweed was always a staple in the garden of Susan Nedza Lastres and husband Oswaldo. Like many gardeners, the couple knew the importance of providing a crucial food supply for monarch butterflies and wanted to do something to help the monarchs flourish. It wasn't until the couple met world-renowned National Geographic photographer Chris Rainier that they realized their efforts might not be enough to protect the species. "Many gardeners in Hinsdale have actively planted...
Hinsdale's John Gorman was working as the communications director for the Cook County State's Attorney's office in January of 2003 when then-Illinois Gov. George Ryan granted clemency to the state's 167 death row inmates. Not surprisingly, Gorman's colleagues were livid. "As a member of the prosecutor's office, I was outraged, too," said the now retired Gorman, who had heard countless impact statements from victim's loved ones. The longtime Chicago Tribune reporter and editor...
Greg Warren remembers visiting the Hinsdale History Museum on an elementary school field trip. "I went there in second grade and I loved it," he said. Earlier this year, when he was thinking about potential Eagle Scout projects, the Hinsdale Historical Society came to mind. "I really wanted to do something that would be lasting, that would be meaningful to me and the community and that would be meaningful to the sponsor of the project," Warren said. "Something that came to...
The Community House was where Hinsdale native Dana Reko learned about etiquette, gathered for Girl Scout Troop activities and, most formatively, took fortnightly dance class as a middle schooler. "I haven't used ballroom dancing since," she admitted with a laugh. Having now settled in Hinsdale with her own family, Dana appreciates the nonprofit center's services in a way she never did as a youth. "Our kids, from when they were little, started Tiny Toes music classes there,"...
Hinsdale Central senior Leila Zou has always enjoyed painting and drawing. So when Hinsdale Central orchestra director Serge Penksik asked for volunteers to create a mural on the walls of the school's orchestra room, Zou quickly volunteered to take on the task. Any musician knows that practice is essential. That proved to be the case in the creation of the mural, as well. "This mural was the second attempt. The first was not very good," said Zou, who initially tried to...
The hues of a pinecone-shaped glass orb morph, dance and layer as Bennett Grimm manipulates it in front of his 2,000-degree torch. The Hinsdale craftsman aims to awaken the uranium-233 particles within. "Just seeing if I can give it that blacklight effect, but in glass," said Grimm, 34, in his garage studio. His efforts usually bear fruit, as evidenced by the enchanting array of finished works in his collection awaiting transport to an upcoming holiday craft show. Glass orname...
Maggie Akers’ parents knew she was failing to thrive as an infant, but they didn’t know why. Eating was clearly a painful ordeal for her. Rounds of testing yielded no answers, and physicians were baffled. Finally at 20 months old — after enduring 13 endoscopies — Maggie was diagnosed with a chronic condition called eosinophilic esophagitis, or EOE. The disease causes her esophagus to become inflamed and constrict. “Food gets stuck and it’s really painful,” she said. “Throwi...
Summer break can be a time to relax, to travel or even to catch up on things that didn't get done the semester before. Or, it can be a time to immerse yourself in something completely new. In summer 2024, Hinsdale Central High School senior Kaan Turkyilmaz chose the latter. Inspired by his mother's stories of the research she performed during her medical residency, Turkyilmaz set out to find a laboratory in which to spend his summer. "I basically cold emailed them,"...
Hinsdale's Katie Isadore and Pamela Pontikis are wrapping up last-minute tasks in advance of Saturday's Wellness House Ball. "We're expecting around 500 people in attendance," said Isadore, co-chair with Pontikis of the cancer support organization's annual fundraiser. "I feel like we're in a really good place." Perhaps their wisest move was forming a committee early to amplify their work by reaching out to the members' own respective networks. "It's about sharing the mission...
While balancing motherhood with a strenuous job as a scientist, Dominique Stepinski was looking for an activity that would provide her with an escape from the pressures and responsibilities of work and family. When a friend suggested a Zumba class, Stepinski never dreamed it would have such a profound impact on her life. Stepinski, who had no background in dance or music before taking that first class, said it wasn't long before she knew she had found what she was looking...
After two ambulance visits to Hinsdale Central on Friday morning, the school's new student resource officer Sandra Acevedo was thankful the incidents were minor and for the subsequent calm. "I don't think there's ever typical day," Acevedo said. "Every day's a little bit different. I'm still trying to get my bearings the first few weeks in." For a good part of the day she can found in her office inside the school bookstore keeping an eye on closed circuit cameras and looking...
Twenty-eight years after moving to Hinsdale and well over a decade after sewing her first stitches, Jeanie Gale finally became a member of the Hinsdale Embroiderers' Guild. "It never crossed my mind to join," said Gale, who learned needlepoint 15 years ago. It was during a trip to a needle arts store that Gale heard a group of women talking about the Hinsdale group that she considered joining herself. The Hinsdale Embroiderers' Guild is a 60-year-old organization that...
Ever imagined working for the U.S. State Department trying to craft foreign policy in a complex, dynamic world? Then the monthly Great Decisions group at Hinsdale Public Library may be for you, as participants grapple with global issues like Mideast realignment and NATO's future to better understand the important layers and proverbial land mines that confront government officials. "The materials are very good, and it takes you places that you probably wouldn't have bothered...
Since becoming a pastor nearly a quarter of a century ago, Bill Kasper has led churches all over the country. He worked in New Mexico, Texas, Alaska and Washington before accepting his current position at the Hinsdale Seventh-day Adventist Church late last year. “It’s good to be back,” Kasper said of his return to the Midwest, where he grew up and later attended seminary school before embarking on his career. Church ministry wasn’t Kasper’s first choice of careers. “I tried...
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as the maxim goes. Artist Marianne Patrevito recognizes that her abstract collages might not hit the beauty mark for some. And that's just fine. "Some people either like it or they don't," the Hinsdale resident said. "I'm OK if somebody says it's not their thing." Patrevito invites people to meet her and experience her work at a reception kicking off her Hinsdale Public Library exhibit, "The Process of Art in Nature," from 6:30 to 7:30...
Shelbi Domjen doesn't have to think long about what or who influenced her to enter the field of education. The daughter of an elementary school teacher, Domjen said she spent many hours in the classroom with her mother while her father worked long hours on their family's farm. "My entire childhood was a classroom with my mom," said Domjen, who now has a classroom of her own as a fifth-grade teacher at Monroe School. Domjen said that other than the family's agricultural...
Cathy Schlesinger had spent three decades in Charlotte, N.C., before the desire to be closer to her son's family led her to Hinsdale in 2021. "I had moved a lot in my earlier years, but 30 years in Charlotte was a lot to give up," she said. A couple of new neighbors invited Schlesinger to a coffee gathering sponsored by Newcomers and Neighbors of the Greater Hinsdale Area. Not only did she find a circle of fellowship - she's now president of the social organization. "It's...
Not many guitarists can say they played their first show with Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters. Eighteen-year-old Lauren Hunter of Hinsdale can. "That day completely changed my life," said Hunter, who started playing guitar in 2020, just a year before her parents surprised her with tickets to see her favorite band. Having seen videos of Grohl inviting fans on stage to play with the band, Hunter carried a sign asking for the honor. "It went crazy viral," Hunter said of the resul...
There are few Hinsdale traditions as delicious as the annual ice cream social in Burlington Park, and few people more excited about this year's 70th annual event than Harlan Apple. Apple is president of the UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Hinsdale Junior Board, the youth-driven organization charged with bringing the Sunday afternoon event to the community each year. He, along with other members of the 100-plus-member board, will run games and activities, greet guests and see th...
Studying a particular subject, like accounting or parks and recreation management, is one thing. Actually working in the field is something altogether different. For college students Ella Horstman and Jeremy Sramek, a summer internship with the Hinsdale Parks and Recreation Department is giving them an opportunity to put what they've learned in the classroom to use in the real world. Horstman, who also was an intern for the department last summer, is gaining experience in her...
Former attorney Vicky Bush-Joseph of Hinsdale is keenly aware of justice's often exasperatingly slow tempo. Joining a choral group post-retirement was refreshing for the tight time frame from first rehearsal to concert. "This is relatively short and sweet," Bush-Joseph said of the Sounds Good Choir. "There's a beginning, there's an end and there's improvement - it's very fulfilling." The alto will perform in the choir's summer show at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, at The Community...
