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Bison aren't roaming through Hinsdale these days, but a vestige of the landscape they once inhabited survives on the western edge of the village: the Hinsdale Prairie. "That's not just a prairie, that's a remnant prairie," said resident Kathleen Thomas. "Here it is. A suite of plants that have been together for thousands of years." Saturday is National Prairie Day, celebrating the beauty and environmental value of the ecosystem once so vast it gave Illinois its "Prairie...
George Bull fell in love with the great outdoors as a 12-year-old summer camper, backpacking the Grand Tetons of Wyoming. So much so that the Hinsdale native and recent University of Vermont graduate has returned to that same western wonderland for his second summer as a backpacking trip leader at the Teton Valley Ranch Camp, guiding kids ages 12-15 into the wild. "My hope is that one of the campers I'm leading will find a passion for the outdoors like I did," Bull said from...
When Cathy Coyne Hofmann discovered that Southern Illinois University offered a degree in communications, she knew she had found a path for her education and a channel for her love of language. A chatty child, Hofmann said her report cards often included comments about her tendency to talk in class. But as an adult, she found a way to turn her gift of gab and endless energy into a successful career and a resource for her community. Now retired from her role in marketing and...
For Allison Peters, motherhood has been an evolution, with each stage having its joys and struggles. "I don't know that it gets better. It gets different," remarked the mom of four, ages 11 to 5. "When they're newborns and they're just a ball sleeping on your chest, I love that. Then being able to laugh with your 11-year-old to Monty Python is pretty great, too." Eventually they'll be fully baked, so to speak, as Peters invoked a bread analogy. "You're putting all these...
Patti Kolewe discovered Newcomers and Neighbors of the Greater Hinsdale Area not long after becoming a newcomer herself. Just months after she and husband Ort moved to Hinsdale from Minnesota, they spotted an announcement in The Hinsdalean about an open meeting of the Newcomers and Neighbors group. "We joined on the spot," said Kolewe. Eight years later, she's no longer a newcomer. Kolewe is now president of the group that she credits with helping make Hinsdale her new home. B...
Stewart Seman was stuck in rush hour traffic on Route 83 one day while driving from the northern suburbs back to his Calumet City home. That's when he got his first view of Hinsdale from the roadway's bridge and was instantly charmed. "I could look down into Stough Park. There was the train station and the park and the kids running around," he recounted. "It was like in a dream, seeing this beautiful place." Shortly thereafter, Seman and wife Mary relocated to the village...
The musical "Annie" is a story of hope and the country's recovery from a dark time - a fitting theme for Nazareth Academy's 2021 spring musical, said Hinsdale resident and cast member Harrison Gianares. After a canceled show in spring 2020 and a fall show compiled of individually recorded monologues, "Annie" takes a welcome step toward normal. The first half of the show is a compilation of individual recordings, but by the time the cast got to the second act, safety measures...
Several years ago Hinsdale's Christine Marzullo was at Robbins Park, taking pictures of her then-2-year-old son as he spun with delight as only a toddler can. A close look at her shots revealed a stunning image. "My dad's picture, that we had used with his funeral, was in the sun's rays," Marzullo related. It was a sign, she believed, that the village should play host to an event helping people process their bereavement. Years later that vision has materialized as the Memory...
The death of Molly Haunty's friend and sister-in-law in 2015 launched her into a group to which no one wants to belong. Like so many others, Haunty's life had been touched by cancer. "Cancer is pervasive, unfortunately," Haunty said. As her sister-in-law, Nancy, battled metastatic breast cancer, Haunty said she admired her friend's ability to continue living right up to the end. With help from her community, Nancy was empowered to travel, run and even climb a mountain while...
Srinidhi Rao's lifelong love of language began when she was still eating from a high chair. Even as a toddler, she loved spelling words. Now a fifth grader at The Lane School, Srinidhi will compete in the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee - her most prestigious spelling accomplishment to date. Competing with students three grades above her, Srinidhi placed sixth in the South Asian Spelling Bee in Chicago as a kindergartner. She may have placed higher had she not forgotten to...
Hinsdale Central senior Katrina Geiersbach isn't just an athlete, an award-winning speaker, an accomplished student and a musician. Geiersbach also is one of 26 high school seniors from across Illinois named to the Illinois High School Association's 2021 All-State Academic Team. The IHSA awards this honor to students who have excelled academically and in extracurricular activities. Geiersbach will be recognized, along with other members of the 2021 team, at a virtual banquet...
Last Friday was shaping up to be a big day for the Fussaro family. "We're actually getting a puppy today," mom Tracy Fussaro revealed during a conversation with The Hinsdalean that morning. "We're getting a chocolate Lab puppy. "Let's add to the craziness!" she added with a smile, speculating as to the level of house dog-proofing required. With her flexible schedule as a real estate agent and her husband Tom working from home, she envisions lots of neighborhood walks with...
She could have been secretary to the president of a major company, the young bride of a military leader or even a professional musician. But Mary Ellen "Ditty" Reck didn't let any obstacle or opportunity get in the way of her dreams of going to college and becoming a teacher. "I was determined," said Reck, who in her 100 years of life saw that dream, and many others, become reality. Born in 1921, Reck was just a few months old when she faced the first obstacle to realizing...
Among its many sobering revelations, the pandemic has shone a light on the importance - and vulnerability - of the nation's economy. Hinsdale Central junior Paton Mehrhoff wants to help youth bone up on the topic. "I kind of thought it would be helpful for younger kids to understand principles of economics before starting middle school and high school," she said. Mehrhoff is finalizing plans for a summer program for kids in second through fifth grade to impart foundational...
Scott Altemose's search for his family's new home ended when he discovered Robbins Park. Here was a place where his children could kick a ball or swing a bat. And right across the street, at The Community House, was a place where they could learn to do those things and so much more. The Altemose family, including Scott and Katy's three children - Emma, 9, Luke, 10, and Jack, 13 - made Hinsdale their home in 2015, settling into a house just a few blocks from the park that...
Laurie McMahon never had a dog growing up. Neither had her husband, Bob. But they decided in 2007 that their Hinsdale household was ready for a four-legged addition. "Bob did the research to find a breed that had a good disposition with families," said McMahon, whose three children are now grown. "He recommended a Welsh springer spaniel." Sadly, Bob passed away in 2013. Now Ranger, the Welsh springer spaniel, is 12, and McMahon is thankful they took the pet plunge. "Ranger...
With a full-time job, three children, a husband, a house and a dog, Walker Rediehs was busy enough already. In the weeks following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she and fellow moms everywhere found out just how much busier life could get. With kids learning from home, parents working from home and the stress of the whole situation, Rediehs decided her fellow moms were deserving of an award. "It was a made-up award for my girlfriends. The Homeschooling Mom of the Day...
Compiling a high school yearbook against a backdrop of limited in-person instruction and extracurricular activities thanks to a pandemic takes some artfulness, to say the least. Erin Palmer, Hinsdale Central teacher and advisor of its yearbook, The Diablo, said the staff has risen to the challenge. "We had to rethink how we do yearbook this year. We had to rethink the process and revamp the curriculum in many ways," Palmer said. "It took a great deal of time and thought to...
When it comes time to apply to colleges later this year, Hinsdale Central junior Shivani Rao's list of accomplishments will include presenting her own medical research study at the American Society of Hematology's annual meeting. Rao planned to spend the summer of 2020 in a laboratory as part of her summer Science Inquiry and Research class at Hinsdale Central. With classrooms, laboratories and most other things closed due to COVID-19, Rao found a way to complete the class...
As a longtime Hinsdalean, Bob Lassandrello knew little about the food pantry operating out of the village's Memorial Building, Then five years ago his neighbor, an HCS Family Services board member, invited him to get involved in stewarding the organization behind it. "I had no idea the extent to which HCS was doing what they were doing," Lassandrello said of his subsequent education after joining the board. Currently chair of HCS' board of directors, he now tries to spread...
Doctors go to medical school, police officers attend the police academy and chefs go to culinary school. But for most people, being a citizen of their community requires no training at all. Hinsdale Central junior Suzan Nofal thinks that should change. Nofal is one of more than 20 high school students from across the country chosen to help draw attention to the need for civics education through the inaugural Equity in Civics Youth Fellowship. Throughout the yearlong program fu...
Sarah Blatchford submitted the entry for her daughter, Lily, to be on the cover as Hinsdale's happiest baby at 12:08 a.m., after she finished her shift at Loyola University Medical Center. Her husband, Marcus Quek, is a surgeon there, and with two small children at home, the couple's schedule is full. "I think medical school and residency was great training for raising kids," Marcus said. "We're used to not getting a whole lot of sleep." Since the two moved from River North...
December 23 is a date that holds a place in Hinsdale's culture and history. For generations the evening has been reserved for the Hinsdale Assembly's annual ball - the culmination of a year's worth of work and involvement by the program's debutantes and honor guard. "In 57 years the ball has never not been held on Dec. 23," said Laurie Eichelman, chair of the 2020 Assembly board. She said the decision was made back in August to stray from tradition in the interest of safety....
Hinsdale's Jackelyn Kastanis spent a year helping care for childhood best friend Brooke Bolley in their native Detroit area until Bolley succumbed to cancer in 2011 at the age of 27. Kastanis moved to Chicago for work, but her desire to provide comfort remained deep within. "Every time I would pass all these hospitals downtown, I kept wanting to go inside," she said. In 2014, she launched Simply from the Heart, a nonprofit that honors Bolley and her cosmetology/hair styling...
Kathy Graham was never a Girl Scout herself. But the Campfire Girls played a big part in the life of this Minnesota native. She became a Bluebird in third grade and worked her way up through the ranks of the organization until senior year of high school, learning lessons and new skills along the way. “I definitely had just a wonderful, fulfilling experience as a young girl. It taught me a lot about the world,” Graham said. Today, she’s dedicated to providing some of those...
