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I'm sitting at my laptop wondering how Pam does it. How does she compose a column, every single week, and one that's a lot longer than the 450 words I need to write. I don't mean to dissuade any of you from becoming a guest columnist. It's fun, pushes your creative muscles. I'm waiting for inspiration, a heartwarming story, anything to start the new year off right. Instead, I've got nothing but the doldrums. My holiday spirit put away with the decorations. I'm not a winter...
Ham and cheddar scones. Egg and watercress sandwiches. Salmon spread on pumpernickel. Sticky toffee pudding. That's the menu for tonight's book club meeting, a perfect compliment to our discussion of Jane Austen's "Emma," led by yours truly. To be honest, we probably won't discuss the book that much because we'll be watching the 1996 film version starring Gwyneth Paltrow as we sip on Earl Grey and English breakfast tea. (I imagine some other beverages will find their way into...
The new year opened with almost three weeks of warmer than normal temperatures, with highs in the 50s last week and this week. But 2023 also has brought us more than our fair share of cloudy days as well. You can probably count on one hand the number of times the sun has come out — and it won’t be out tomorrow. (The forecast shows our next glimpse of the sun will be on Friday, Jan. 27.) All these gray days can leaving us feeling, well, a bit under the weather emotionally. Do not despair! Hinsdaleans have plenty of opp...
Happy 150th anniversary, Hinsdale! Of course, it’s a little early to extend a happy anniversary wish, seeing as the village’s incorporation date is April 1, 1873. But this is the start of the sesquicentennial (a fancy word for 150th) year, and we’re excited to celebrate the occasion by sharing more about the village’s history with readers. The question is, where to begin? Hugh Dugan spends the first 92 pages of his 1949 book, “Village on the County Line,” writing about Hinsdale’s history prior to its incorporation...
My husband and I have a running annual competition to see who can go the longest without complaining about the winter weather. This year he won swiftly when the blizzard-like conditions settled in just ahead of Christmas. Though I've lived in the Midwest all my life and am not unseasoned to the climate, I find myself on Zillow daydreaming about a Florida address once the temperature drops. I lament the frigid weather, sunless skies and days cut short by darkness, so when I...
The doorbell rang shortly after dinner Tuesday night. As I flipped the deadbolt and opened the door, I expected to find someone trying to sell me more popcorn or more cookies (both of which I'm currently trying to avoid!). Instead I saw a woman and her young son, who was holding a package, standing on my front stoop. "Does Ainsley live here?" the woman asked. "She does," I answered, and they explained that a package for her had been delivered to their house, which has the...
The start of the new year marks National Blood Donor Month, a time to both celebrate those who generously roll up a sleeve to keep blood products stocked for hospitals providing critical care and encourage more of us to do likewise. The confluence of exhaustion after a busy holiday season, the rise of seasonal illness and threats of severe winter weather annually render January a tough time for donors to make and keep appointments. But the need for blood doesn’t go into hibernation. According to the American Red Cross, every...
In my years as a clinical social worker (now retired), I worked with many young offenders who told me, “If I see a nice car unlocked with keys, I will take it. If the owner doesn’t care enough to lock it, I’m entitled to it.” It appears Hinsdale is becoming a field of operation for like-minded criminals. When you leave your luxury car unlocked with fob available, you are inviting criminals into our community and putting your family, friends, neighbors and kids at risk. If you no longer want your luxury car, why not just co...
Our community had an amazing opportunity to directly help our own residents and those from surrounding communities recovering from alcohol and drug abuse. But rather than support Trinity Sober Living homes , the Hinsdale Village Board has fought for over three years and spent over $1.5 million in legal fees to prevent Trinity from owning a home in Hinsdale. Per Michael Owens, executive director of Trinity Sober living, the audience served is private pay and 90 percent of its clients live within 10 miles of the home. More...
I have never been a fan of New Year’s resolutions. The way I figure it, if you want to partake in self-improvement activities, why wait until Jan. 1? The date is utterly immaterial. But the pathetically predictable resolutions are the things that really irk me. Like losing weight. I already know I could use to shed a few pounds. That scenario is the same on New Year’s Day as it was on the Fourth of July. I’ve made the effort in the past, and yet here I am once again, lamen...
I was excited to learn, while working on the Pulse feature this week, that I am not the only one who struggles with New Year’s resolutions. I found all sorts of encouraging statistics. Twenty-five percent give up their resolutions after a week, 64 percent after the first month. Only 9 percent of resolvers are successful — and only 41 percent bother to make them in the first place. After decades of failure making resolutions, I tried a new strategy two years ago. I made a “21 for 21” list of nonresolutions, following a sugge...
I was making dinner a few nights ago when I heard my boys having a serious conversation - or as serious as serious gets for a 4- and 6-year-old. "Hey E," said C, the older one. "Do you think you're on Santa's nice list or naughty list this year?" They were in the middle of destroying the living room for the fourth time since school let out. Race cars and Magna-Tiles littered the floor, a couch cushion fort lay half-toppled next to the Christmas tree and a Pisa-esque tower of...
I've learned over the past three years that change is inevitable - even when it comes to cherished holiday traditions. But there's one I plan to continue as long as I can. The final issue of the year also happens to be the issue before Ainsley's birthday, and I've used this space for more than a decade to pen her an annual letter. I typically make the same two points in my introduction each year and will do so again. I am grateful she has yet to object to the very public...
As we reflect on the highs and lows of 2022, we are also compelled to turn our collective gaze to 2023 and consider the possibilities for beneficial and constructive development as a community. Here are our resolutions for the year ahead. • Preserve and protect The village should continue to promote the historic overlay district it created earlier this year and the incentives available to homeowners looking to renovate qualifying properties. The program will be effective only to the extent that people are made aware of it i...
Nicholas Walter Waverley, 80, a longtime Clarendon Hills resident, passed away peacefully in hospice at home on Dec. 15, 2022 after a courageous, seven-year battle with kidney disease. Nick was born in 1942 in Pittsburgh where he later met and married his wife, Carol. They spent 58 years together, moving several times as Nick's work in industrial product sales took his family to different locations throughout the Midwest and Canada. They eventually settled in Clarendon Hills...
Last week, I had the good fortune of completing the Hinsdale Citizen’s Police Academy. Officer Karen Kowal, who was the primary instructor, guided the class through the 10-session, once-a-week evening program that gave us a “soup to nuts” look at the day-to-day challenges of being a law enforcement officer. While the course is not intended to land us a job on the force, almost every matter that a police officer could face each day was covered by members of the department, from the police chief to the newest members of the d...
Christmas is the most magical time of year - a time for family, friends, joy and many blessings. For as long as I can remember, I have spent my Christmases in Hinsdale with my family, celebrating the special meaning of the holiday season. However, this Christmas season began with something different. I got to travel to New York City with my best friend, Sydney. One thing I have wanted to do for the longest time is experience New York City at Christmastime. I have also always...
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the town The Hinsdaleans were scurrying, they rushed all around. For last-minute gifts and cards they did sprint, Armed with lists and ideas and maybe some hints. Gateway and Grant squares and downtown they traveled But with each stop, their nerves did unravel. The hustle and bustle had dampened their mood. They were tired and cranky and needed some food. They stopped for some lunch and looked over the list. To finish their s...
The nice thing about winter is that there is nothing to do, and since there is nothing to do, there is no reason to feel guilty about doing nothing. Got that? Now summer is a different story. When the weather is nice, we feel compelled to go out and do something. Anything. Run, jump, bike, swim, barbecue. Eat barbecue. Eat more barbecue. Summer is a very demanding season. But winter asks nothing of us. We can cuddle up on the sofa and read, watch TV, surf social media. We can...
More than a decade ago associate editor Ken Knutson and I covered one of my favorite Christmas stories of all time. Hinsdale's Wes Gibson and his elves - or rather, employees - from Gibson Consulting Inc. visited homes in this village, Burr Ridge and Willowbrook to bring Christmas to six families who were clients of HCS Family Services. They baked cookies, brought and decorated trees and left a host of gifts to be opened Christmas morning. One family received a new car,...
Sometimes the voice of common sense can be heard amidst the din of polarizing politics and extremism. We were encouraged when last week Gov. JB Pritzker signed off on amendments to the SAFE-T Act criminal justice reform measure that will do away with the cash bail system in the new year. Critics were rightly concerned about provisions that trespassers, for example, could no longer be arrested and that a suspect could only be detained if a threat could be demonstrated against a specific party. The largely Democrat-backed act...
The Tuesday before Thanksgiving I went to Shiny Nails, 5823 S. Madison, for my holiday manicure. Just to be safe I took off the bracelet I received from my husband for our 25th anniversary so as not to get any lotion on it. At 9:30 that night I looked at my wrist and sheer panic rushed through me — I left my bracelet at the salon. I decided to call them to leave a voice mail message inquiring if they found it. After three failed attempts, I received a call from Ari the owner. She was worried about why someone was calling h...
Hello. My name is Denise and I have struggled with alcohol all my adult life. And by "struggled" I mean I have never been able to convince myself that the stuff tastes good and is worth the calories. I would love to enjoy an occasional glass of wine with family and friends. But I've learned that drinking the wine isn't the problem; it's the "enjoying" bit. And I've tried. For years. And I'm envious of those who find something delicious and soothing in those cool-looking and in...
I feel like Sally Field at the 1985 Oscars. You like us. You really like us. Field unfortunately was misquoted and that's not exactly what she said (read more about it online, if you wish). And we didn't just win an Oscar - or even a newspaper award. But we have been looking through responses to our request for voluntary contributions to the paper, which we solicited in a recent letter to all Hinsdaleans and in ads in the paper (one appears today on Page 15). And they are...
Some like to decorate with multicolored bulbs for holidays. Others enjoy the simplicity of all white lights. At the Hinsdale Fire Department, the preferred color is red. Every year the department teams up with the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association and neighboring departments in the “Keep the Wreath Red” program. A holiday wreath hangs inside the Mini Museum, the small building located near the fire station’s entrance at 121 Symonds Drive. If there is a holiday related fire, one of the wreath’s red bulbs will be replace...
