FEATURE

Jim Thome received a phone call last month at his Burr Ridge home from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America to announce voting results for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Sitting alongside his family at his dining room table, Thome learned that he was inducted into the illustrious fraternity on his first ballot.

During his 22-year playing career, the 6-foot, 4-inch, 250-pound slugger personified the baseball player of yesteryear, as the brawny Thome wore his black baseball stockings hiked above his calves, and sported eye-black each game. The left-handed hitter was known to stand in the batter’s box, and point his bat to center field during each at-bat. He struck fear into the hearts of pitchers, swinging his way to 612 home runs—eighth on the all-time list in a sport that has been played for nearly 150 years. Now he is in the company of baseball legends—Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and the most respected athletes who ever played the national pastime.

Thome’s numbers speak for themselves, compiling 2,328 hits, 1,699 runs batted in (RBIs) and a .276 lifetime batting average.

But Thome is not comfortable speaking about his athletic accomplishments. He deflects much of his success to the hard work-ethic his father and coaches instilled in him.

His image as a gentle giant was immortalized with his statue in Jacobs Field in Cleveland, where he played for the Indians most of his career, before joining the Chicago White Sox, and finally retiring with the Baltimore Orioles.

The call from the Hall of Fame filled the Thome household with tears of joy. With his wife Andrea, daughter Lila, 15, and son Landon, 10, at his side, Thome humbly said “thank you” about ten times during the phone call, and was

For any community to achieve vibrancy, it must possess an identity, which is composed of the diversified interests of the individuals that take an active part in it.

With its unique combination of affluence and midwestern hospitality, a considerable portion of Hinsdale’s identity as a community has long been a devotion to charitable causes. Through the years, volunteers have sacrificed both their time and money to further an array of initiatives, ranging from providing medical services to underprivileged individuals, to offering food and shelter to the severely impoverished.

On so many of these fronts, it is women who have taken the lead through philanthropic organizations such as the Hinsdale Junior Woman’s Club and the respective auxiliary chapters of the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago and Children’s Home + Aid that have been established in Hinsdale and surrounding villages.

At the forefront of the community philanthropic scene is Wellness House, a non-profit organization based on the north side of Hinsdale, which offers non-medical support for cancer patients and their extended families through free programs and services. The complimentary nature of the organization makes its associated fundraising arm essential for sustenance, but because cancer has afflicted the lives of many, both directly and indirectly, Wellness House has established a ranging volunteer base that continues to evolve in its third decade of existence.

When we conversed with a number of ladies in the community that have dedicated themselves to volunteering for Wellness House, the

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