Sorted by date Results 201 - 225 of 271
The season of the wreath has come around again, that symbol of continuous life with no beginning or end woven of enduring evergreen boughs. Every year a sizable one adorns the Graue Mill and Museum building just north of Hinsdale in Oak Brook. The wreath, suspended high up and illuminated, is a holiday hallmark casting out Yuletide vibes for both visitors to the grounds and those motoring past on York Road. Hinsdale resident and Garden Study Club of Hinsdale member Pamela...
To Kristen Laakso, rooms are filled with much more than furniture and buildings are made of more than wood and steel. For this lifelong student of art and architecture, rooms are full of questions and buildings tell a story. As president of the Hinsdale Historical Society, Laakso hopes to share the stories and answer the questions hidden within the village's oldest and most interesting buildings. "This town has a story to tell," said Laakso, who moved to Hinsdale in 2012 with...
"The best beloved of all things in my sight is Justice." These are the words of Bahá'u'lláh, the 19th-century founder of the Bahá'í Faith, which emphasizes the value of all religions and the oneness of humanity. It's a belief system that Hinsdale's Gordon Coates found compelling as a young man and which he now supports professionally as a correspondence coordinator for the Baha'i National Center in Evanston. "We assist Bahá'í communities through the United States in applying B...
George Floyd, the man whose death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers sparked demonstrations across the country, didn't identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. He wasn't victimized for his sexuality and his rights weren't compromised because of his gender. Yet as a person of color, Floyd had a great deal in common with the members of Hinsdale Central High School's Gender Sexuality Alliance, said Bridget McBride, co-president of the club. "The purpose of the club...
On a rookie mission at the start of his combat tour in Vietnam, U.S. Marine pilot Bill Trader was jolted in his cockpit by bright tracers of anti-aircraft fire in the skies ahead. His veteran bombardier/navigator next to him brushed it off. "He said, 'Oh, that's far away, don't worry about it,' " the longtime Hinsdale resident recalled. "Because it's at night, you see the tracers streaming and it's like, 'Ooh!' " Trader had been deployed to Da Nang, Vietnam, in September of 19...
Julie Curran has never considered herself an artist. But she knows and appreciates the important role that art in all forms has on people, families and communities. That's why she's been part of the DuPage Foundation's Arts DuPage Advisory Committee since it was established nearly five years ago. 'It's one of the things I like about living in Hinsdale and about living in DuPage County," Curran said of the area's vast and varied opportunities to enjoy art in its many forms....
A virtual networking tool brought to Jacqui Wooldridge's attention a very real need earlier this year. The Hinsdale resident saw a call for helpers to join a group of Downers Grove women's outreach to the dozen or so homeless citizens that gather near that village's downtown train station. It was an invitation her servant-hearted spirit couldn't refuse. "I felt like (God) opened a door for me to help here," said the deeply faith-driven Wooldridge. Once a week since June, she...
Music was an important part of Lisa Pomeroy's life throughout her years at Hinsdale Central High School. She was a member of the madrigal singers, concert choir and musical casts, sang in the school talent show and further honed her vocal skills with private lessons. It wasn't until she had graduated from University of Illinois with a degree in French commercial studies that Pomeroy considered music as a career. As she prepared to embark on the world of international...
Wellness House Board of Directors Chair Lauren Haarlow has had a front-row seat to the Hinsdale-based nonprofit's evolution since its early years helping those with cancer live and thrive. Her father-in-law, Bill Haarlow, was instrumental in the organization's founding in 1990, and Lauren Haarlow cherishes contributing to that legacy. "Wellness House was always part of what we did as a family," she said. Many families would undoubtedly attest to the vital role Wellness House...
Anton Riegger loves just about everything about being outdoors. Everything, that is, except for the plastic waste that litters the forests, lakes and oceans that he so loves to explore. A few months ago, Riegger decided to get behind a movement to decrease the amount of plastic waste in the environment by taking a pledge to reduce his own use of plastic and encouraging others to do the same. After taking the No Plastic Drinks pledge himself, Anton signed on as a youth...
Mayslake Forest Preserve in Oak Brook is overlooked by locals as a destination for decompressing, according to volunteer Anne Cahill. She's been reminded of that recently amidst the renewed popularity of open spaces. "When Fullersburg (Woods) parking lots were full, I would go to Mayslake and there would be, like, three, four or five cars in the parking lot," Cahill said. She surmised the reason is that the historic Peabody Mansion is closely associated with the site. "People...
A Friday morning get-together with a group of fellow Christian men changed Charles Lewis' life for years to come and the lives of thousands of Chicago residents forever. It was at one of these weekly gatherings that Lewis heard Glen Kehrein tell the story of Circle Urban Ministries and the good work it was doing to make the Austin community of Chicago a better place to live. It wasn't long before Lewis was part of the Circle Urban mission. "Circle really had a calling on my...
Hinsdale's Alexandra Collins was quite familiar with the Sterigenics industrial sterilization facility in Willowbrook when she learned about its decades of emitting ethylene oxide, a gas linked to cancer risks. "I used to run on the street across from the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook," said the Hinsdale Central junior. "I realized that my health could actually have been getting worse when I was doing something to try and improve my health." Deeply concerned, she and her...
Adam Maycock said the decisions his parents made about raising children have shaped his life in more ways than one. His mom stayed home for years with him and his two siblings, even though his dad didn't earn all that much as a Seventh-day Adventist pastor. "I think that's a big part of who I am, that commitment that they made early on in our childhood," Maycock said. "It sticks with you and creates the framework on how you want to be a parent and create your home and lead,...
A low-income background should not dissuade a young person from aiming for a high-level college education, Sally Guglielmo asserts. That belief inspired the Hinsdale resident two years ago to co-found Green Halo Scholars, an organization that comes alongside promising but under-served high school seniors to help them navigate the college application and admissions process. "There's no way things are going to change unless we change the education," Guglielmo said. As a...
Author and historian John Horn compared his recounting of the Jerusalem Plank Road Operation of June 1964 to reconstructing a shattered piece of glass. The result of this long, intricate and painstaking process is part of Horn's latest book, "The Petersburg Regiment in the Civil War." Published in 2019, the Hinsdale attorney's work was recognized in June with the Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award, an honor that Horn called "one of the happiest, most...
Exploring antiquity has been a passion for Hinsdale's Sarah Jane Nicholson since not long after her own timeline began. Her American Girl dolls were more than just play props - they were portals into the past with their representations of colonial and pioneer-era Americans. World history was also a source of fascination. "When I was probably in first or second grade I took a class at Northwestern University about ancient Egypt," Nicholson related. The Hinsdale Central junior...
Suja Mathew's first encounter with Cook County Hospital, now known as John H. Stroger Hospital, wasn't as a physician or even as a medical student. It was as the daughter of a critical patient. That experience 30 years ago led Mathew from a career in foreign service to one dedicated to providing care for underserved populations. Today as chair of medicine for the Cook County Health System, Mathew considers it "a profound privilege" to help lead the team at the same facility...
Hinsdale's Helen Johnson may be on the verge of turning 100, but don't rush her. "I'm not there yet," quipped Johnson, who will reach the milestone Saturday. For her, one's level of activity is a more accurate age barometer than the number of calendars burned through. "I'm still moving. As long as I can move around, it's all right with me," she said. "When I can't do that, then I'll complain. Then I'll be 100." Johnson continues a pedigree of longevity in her family, with a...
As associate vice president of facilities at Governors State University, Hinsdale resident John Potempa has a lot on his plate, not the least of which is the construction of a state-of-the-art cafeteria where students can fill theirs. The nearly $4 million remodel of the dining hall, expected to be unveiled when school starts in late August, is perhaps the largest project currently under way on the University Park campus. "It's an unending job," Potempa said of his role as...
The Willowbrook Corner program, run by The Community House, provides life-impacting academic and social support to youth and families in an underserved community about 10 minutes south of Hinsdale. Hinsdale's Trayce Biancalana, a longtime volunteer, said the pandemic's repercussions have taken a particularly heavy toll on residents there. "They have absolutely been hit a lot harder," she said. "The whole issue of child care for people who were able to maintain their jobs has b...
When Dina Patel's parents moved to the United States from western India in 1970, there was no cultural center or organization to help them connect with people who shared their culture. So they got creative. "They used to call random people with the same last name and made friends through that cultural bond," Patel said. Born and raised in the United States, Patel said she grew up in the traditions of her culture and the community her parents helped to build. A few years after...
Several years ago a recent immigrant from China who had settled in the Hinsdale area with her family stopped into The Community House, looking for a way to connect with her new neighbors. She met Marcie McGonagle, director of volunteer services, who worked through the language barrier to find a good fit. "I was trying to get a sense of what she would be interested in," McGonagle recounted. "I could sense that she was lonely." She asked the woman if she had made any friends....
New Hinsdale Central High School graduate Vivian Eck wants to turn her love of fashion into a career, and she's not waiting until after college to get started. "I realized I didn't have to wait," said Eck, who was spurred to action when she read her senior letter - a letter she had written to herself as a high school freshman. Realizing that she still held the same dream of starting her own fashion company, she decided to waste no more time. In November 2019, Eck presented...
Fatherhood arrived decades ago for Hinsdale's Bob Hinkle, 89. Dad to son Rob and daughter Kristin, Hinkle said the experience has been joyful - and fast. "One thing I've learned is that (time) speeds up," as a parent, he said. Both children have kids of their own now. Rob is a doctor in Baton Rouge, La., and Kristin is a veterinarian in Columbus, Ohio. Hinkle remembered Rob as an easy baby. "He didn't cry much. He was pretty good," he said. Wife Barb, listening in, chuckled...
