Hinsdale Magazine June 2013

Hats Off

Hinsdale Central & South Graduations

Plus

Libby & Susie Watts Prospect students lend a hand Walk for Wellness House www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 1

2 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

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www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 3

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Publisher Letter

S

ummer has arrived at last. For some, graduation has finally come and passed, and a new challenge awaits Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South graduates as they enter the next phases of their lives.

Their hard work and perseverance has paid off, and they will undoubtedly reap the rewards of their dedication.

These young adults will continue to forge ahead in life to find their purpose in the world. Their purpose may be to lead or inspire others. Jennifer Planson of the District 86 Board of Education challenged graduates to think outside the box, as the career paths they follow may not have been invented yet.

We are reminded of the importance of this achievement after reading the story of Susie Watts and her daughter Libby, whose journey to her high-school graduation will inspire anyone who reads her story. You will see how unwavering faith brought this young lady through 79 brain surgeries and up to the stage of her 2006 Hinsdale Central graduation ceremony.

Another alumnus, Kerstin Regnery (HC Class of 1998), is the first installment of our annual Where Are They Now? series, in which we profile

past graduates of Hinsdale Central and South High Schools who have found their own paths in the world.

In this issue, we also bring you the first indepth feature article on historical Hinsdale Golf Club. Founded in 1898, Hinsdale Golf Club has a strong tradition of membership that has continued for over a century. Today, the club remains true to its family-oriented roots and consistently recognizes the tradition on which it was constructed.

Down the street from Hinsdale Golf Club, a group of Prospect Elementary School students teamed up to support local families in need this past spring. Altogether, the kids raised over $1,300 for the People’s Resource Center in Westmont. And a record number of volunteers gave up their Sunday mornings to join the fight against cancer by participating in the annual Walk for Wellness House on May 5. We would like to recognize individuals of all ages in this community who continue to show concern and support for those who are less fortunate.

Visit Hinsdale60521.com for more stories and photos that did not appear in the print edition; and remember to register as a member to receive weekly news alerts and special announcements.

Sincerely, Scott Jonlich, Founder & Publisher sjonlich@hinsdale60521.com

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www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 7

June 2013

CONTENTS

10 Hats Off!

Congratulations to the Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South Classes of 2013

14 Where are they now?

Kerstin Regnery

16 Hinsdale Woman Libby & Susie Watts

18 Inside 60514

Prospect School students lend a helping hand to local families in need

20 Spotlight

St. Isaac Jogues choir program

22 Cover Story

An in-depth look at Hinsdale Golf Club

22

30 Hinsdale DRIVER

Ferraris blaze at Autobahn

38 Inside 60521

Roberta Hoekwater

14

40 Community Scene

10

Wellness House Walk Hinsdale Central Prom Bully Screening Hinsdale Central Band performs

40

45 Columns

42

techKNOW Hinsdale Avenue

49 Inside 60523 Ginger Creek

Founder & Publisher Print Managing Editor Photographer Cover & Lead Designer Designer Columnists Hinsdale DRIVER Advertising Sales Feature Photographer Office Manager

| | | | | | | | | |

Scott Jonlich Mike Ellis

Marcello Rodarte Julia Sinogeikina William Walker | Errol Janusz Mike O’Connor Kirby Palait | Renee Lawrence Karen Hood Ginger Reidy

8 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

Hinsdale

60521

STAFF

30 16

magazine

38 Blaine Street | Downtown Hinsdale, IL 60521 phone: 630-655-3400 I fax: 630-622-1300 e-mail: news@Hinsdale60521.com

The advertisements, photographs, logos, and any other content inside this publication are not the opinions of Hinsdale Magazine, Inc., unless specified. This magazine may not be reproduced in any way, including ads designed by our graphic staff, and remain the property of Hinsdale Magazine, Inc.

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9

Congratulations

Hinsdale Central

H

insdale Central’s Class of 2013 completed its fouryear journey within the walls at 55th and Grant Streets in the gymnasium on the evening of May 30.

The gym was filled to capacity, as graduates’ parents and extended family members congratulated them on a job well done.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Student Council President George Relias recognized those students who would be entering the service upon matriculating from Hinsdale Central.

Senior speakers Ankit Aggarwal and Benjamin Herbst humorously recounted some of their class’s most memorable moments at the school, and identified a bevy of Red Devil accomplishments over the course of the 2012-13 school year.

“From a group of highly-talented break dancers who have captivated Variety Show attendees for the past four years, to a Jeopardy contestant, we have all played specific roles in contributing to the legacy of the Class of 2013 and Hinsdale Central,” Herbst said.

Honors orator Jordan Hank addresses his fellow graduates at the Hinsdale Central Commencement ceremony on May 30.

Hinsdale Central Principal Michael McGrory congratulates a Red Devil graduate.

Noteworthy Accomplishments in 2013 35 National Merit Finalists Boys’ Tennis—State Champion Boys’ Golf—State Champion Mock Trial—State Champion Girls’ Soccer—State Runner-Up Girls’ Tennis—State Runner-Up Boys’ Swimming—State Runner-Up

Photos by Marcello Rodarte

10 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

Speaking for the Class of 2013, Jordan Hank credited teachers with preparing him and his fellow graduates for taking the next step in a variety of ways.

“There are teachers who inspire, motivating us to push past the minimum effort,” Hank said.

“There are teachers who challenge our work, coaching us to fight for our ideals. And there are teachers with whom we fought and lost, showing us that life is not always fair,—but we will survive.”

Jennifer Planson of the District 86 Board of Education exhorted students to keep an open mind about their careers, citing numerous jobs that did not exist a decade ago.

“Some of you are fortunate enough to know what you want to study in college,” Planson said, “but if you’re like me when I graduated high school, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. It’s okay not to know what you want to do right now; it’s okay that you will change your major several times.

“I challenge you to go out and be the square peg in the round hole—the one who questions why; the one who would dare to change the world.”

TO the Class of 2013

Hinsdale South

H Master of Ceremonies Maura Carr speaks to her classmates at the Hinsdale South Commencement ceremony on May 31.

insdale South’s Class of 2013 rapidly wrapped up four years as Hornets in the gymnasium on the evening of May 31.

Graduates’ parents and relatives huddled into the gym to congratulate them on completing their highschool careers.

Master of Ceremonies Maura Carr drew comparisons between Hinsdale South and The Lion King, which was released the same year that many of the graduates were born, 1994.

“A story of friendship, forgiveness and love, The Lion King taught us all we need to know to get to the place we are today,” Carr said. “Timon and Pumbaa taught us friendship, and showed us how to love those different than us. Hinsdale South is known for its diversity, and our student population has grown close nonetheless.”

Principal Dr. Brian Waterman told graduates that the ceremony is more about their high-school journey than a certificate.

“Your experience at Hinsdale South has been a journey,” Dr. Waterman

Noteworthy Accomplishments in 2013 Emma Adcock—State Runner-Up, Girls’ Badminton Boys’ Golf—Conference Champion Girls’ Gymnastics—Conference Champion Girls’ Basketball—Conference Champion Girls’ Badminton—Conference Champion

said, “and the success that we are celebrating tonight is not as much about receiving a diploma, but more about celebrating a journey.”

Michael Kuhn of the District 86 Board of Education acknowledged the challenges presented by the current economic climate, but implored graduates to be confident and assertive as they progress from the stage.

“In these tough economic times, the path you take may change over time,” Kuhn said, “but know that you’re prepared for what lies ahead. I’ve found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. Work hard, be kind—and amazing things will happen.”

Speaking on behalf of the Class of 2013, Nicole Blumenstein said she and her fellow classmates are now prepared to become the working professionals of tomorrow.

“We have received our basic training, and we are ready to go on and embrace our futures in college or in the work force,” Blumenstein said, “given confidence from our parents, from our teachers and from each other.” www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 11

Top of the Class

Hinsdale Central Bryan Bu Tiffany Chen Maximilian Cornell Rajiv Deshpande Sagar Dommaraju Jordan Hank John Hickernell Rajan Khanna Megan Knister Veronica Peterson Maxwell Rong Adam Smith Lindsey Thiesfeld Stephen Tyson Xiangyu Wang Romi Xi Students listed finished in the top 2 percent of their class

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Top of the Class

Hinsdale South Lia Benes Nicole Blumenstein Lauren Bruckhauser Alyssa Cameli Joseph George Justin Lee Jeremy Leganski Kyler Shin Yee-Sean Elliot Yong Students listed finished in the top 2 percent of their class

www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 13

Where

are they now?

Kerstin Regnery 99

Hinsdale Central Class of 1

Photo by Marcello Rodarte

S

8

When Kerstin Regnery graduated from Hinsdale Central in 1998, she had no idea what career path she would follow. Fast forward 15 years, and Kerstin is the business manager for a rapidly growing company. How did she get there? by mike ellis

ome kids know exactly what they want to do as they enter their freshman year of college;—others haven’t a clue.

Kerstin Regnery (neé Ronning) graduated from Hinsdale Central in 1998.

Growing up in Burr Ridge, she previously attended Elm Elementary School and Hinsdale Middle School. Kerstin said she enjoyed her childhood and educational experience, describing it as a less pressuring academic and athletic environment than

14 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

the one students encounter today.

“My best friends today were my best friends from junior high and high school,” she said. “The education was outstanding; it allowed me to do well in my academics [at college].”

But when the time came for her to walk across the aisle at Dickinson Field, Kerstin was still undecided as to what career path she would like to pursue. She enrolled at the University of Dayton the following fall, only knowing that she was attracted

to business.

“The University of Dayton was a place that I chose out of a hat,” she said. “I had no reason or desire [to attend Dayton]; I only knew it was an excellent school, and I felt fortunate to have been accepted. I was one of those high-school students that graduated and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.”

Kerstin browsed a couple of majors in her first two years at Dayton before finally settling on a dual major of marketing and

management information systems (MIS) during her junior year; but it was her practical job experience on campus that confirmed her interest in business development.

“My marketing thesis paper was a business plan to build an entirely new coffee shop on campus to compete with Starbucks,” she said, “because at that time, Starbucks was becoming very popular.”

Supplying her with a $50,000 check, Dayton liked the business plan and enlisted Kerstin to construct The Blend Express on the business school campus, and hire students to build and manage the program moving forward. Today, the doors of The Blend Express remain open to coffee-loving students at the university.

“I [still] get the income statements and balance sheets from the business side of the organization just to show that it’s a thriving business and something that I started,” she said.

“That’s where I think I found I was interested in business and entrepreneurship.”

After graduating from Dayton, Kerstin quickly became involved with Radiation Oncology Consultants (ROC), a budding private practice comprised of board-certified radiation oncology physicians. She started as assistant business manager before assuming her current position in 2005. ROC now has 21 physicians and practices at eight community-based hospital cancer centers and four specialty cancer centers in the Chicagoland area.

“It takes a team to grow, and the physicians that I have worked with are the reason why I’m continuing to thrive in my career,” she said. “We all work really well together, and I think that pushes us to the next level.”

One of ROC’s practice locations is the CDH Proton Therapy Center in Warrenville—the ninth center of its kind in the nation.

Proton therapy allows for radiation to be controlled, depositing

the greatest amount of radiation into the tumor before stopping.

This type of therapy may be used to treat cancer in the brain, eye, lungs, spine and prostate.

Kerstin’s position requires her to be versatile and flexible. Her responsibilities range from developing business plans for new projects and ventures, to scheduling and managing physicians’ schedules, to overseeing a full office staff that is responsible for billing and accounting for the business. Now having two small children of her own, work can prove quite time-consuming for Kerstin, but she said she continues to enjoy her role with ROC. “I really do have an enthusiasm for both business and healthcare—and the ability to develop a career that fits into both,” she said. “I love being responsible for the day-to-day business, while the physicians in the practice can dedicate their time towards providing quality care to their patients.”

Personal Life Kerstin married her high-school sweetheart Geoff Regnery (Class of ‘97) in 2007, and after living together in Chicago for several years, they moved back to Hinsdale in 2011. The Regnerys have two girls, Peyton, 4, and Riley, 2.

“It’s interesting to be back here with my kids,” she said. “I want to give them the same experience that I had when I was growing up in this community.”

Ultimately, Kerstin said the message she wants to convey to new graduates is that there is still plenty of time to select a career path.

“When you graduate from high school and you don’t know what you want to do, I guess the best advice I can give is to try something,” she said, “and if you like it, it will work, and you’ll excel in it.”

www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 15

Hinsdale Woman

Libby and Susie Watts at their Hinsdale home

Photos by Marcello Rodarte

Libby & Susie Watts

An uplifting journey of hardships, triumphs and a faith that endures

S by mike ellis

urvival in doubt!

These were the words a neonatologist used to describe newborn Libby Watts’ condition at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. Libby was born 15 weeks premature, weighing a mere one pound, 15 ounces. Three days later, she sustained a life-threatening

Original artwork by Libby Watts

16 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

brain hemorrhage. As doctors began to operate on her, a local Presbyterian minister named Gareth Icenogle suddenly presaged, “I see Libby at her high-school graduation.”

For such a tiny baby in such a dire predicament, the future was enveloped with uncertainty—so to think that far off was well beyond her parents’ purview in that moment. But it did provide Susie and Steve Watts with the hope that their daughter might enjoy a complete life.

Due to the brain hemorrhage, Libby spent the next several months in the hospital, and developed a condition called hydrocephalus, more commonly known as water on the brain. Hydrocephalus occurs when fluid accrues in ventricles located deep inside the brain, thereby applying pressure to it. Her brain injury led to cerebral palsy, a perpetual condition that greatly inhibits motor skills.

Consequently, Libby lacks the ability to perform many muscular functions most people take for granted, such as walking, talking and swallowing.

“It’s like UPS showed up at my door with a package that I didn’t order—but it had my name on it,” Susie said. “And in the return address label, it said, ‘From God,’—so I knew I had to sign for it and receive it,—but the box was all beaten up.

I always tell people, ‘If you throw away the box that’s all beaten up, you never get the gift that’s inside.’”

Five years later, the Watts family

moved to Hinsdale. Upon their arrival, Libby required surgery, so they sought immediate aid from a neurosurgeon at Children’s Memorial Hospital. During their first six months in Hinsdale, Libby underwent over 20 neurosurgeries.

Susie said it was not easy to adapt to their new surroundings, as Libby

“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”

-Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery continued to require surgeries and constant supervision.

“We knew that we would have to find a community that would support her special needs,” she said. “What I didn’t realize at the time was, what a challenge it was going to be to be different in Hinsdale. I think it’s easy to get lost in feeling like there’s a stereotype in Hinsdale that everybody looks the same—all the kids in school are in the 90th percentile, and they’re all athletes, and they all have abilities.

“I think it’s easy to feel you’re different, until you realize that in this village there really are a lot of families that have a lot of differences, and that each member of this community and each family has [its] own gifts, limitations and uniqueness.”

At first, Susie said she and Steve were prepared to send Libby to a school for disabled children; but after consulting a therapist from the La Grange Area Department of Special Education (LADSE), they made the decision to expose their daughter to a regular classroom environment at Monroe Elementary School on Hinsdale’s northside.

“The speech pathologist told me, ‘I think she’s understanding everything we’re saying,’” she said. “And she said, ‘If I were you, I would include her in your local public kindergarten.’ We were certainly a pioneer family in doing that.”

Although destitute of the ability to speak, Susie said her daughter’s classmates perceived that she readily understood much of what was communicated to her. One of her peers wrote, “Even though Libby can’t talk, she still got all her recommended work done, and the PowerPoints she gave for her speeches were amazing. She told all of us that sometimes you don’t need to talk to be heard.”

Libby gave a further demonstration of her ability to comprehend and retain information by taking multiple-choice tests, receiving her choices through an earphone, and indicating her responses by hitting a switch on her auditoryscanning computer. Hinsdale Central informed the Watts family that Libby was understanding 80-85 percent of the regular-education curriculum.

She remained in a regular classroom environment throughout her academic career at Monroe, Hinsdale Middle School (sixth grade), the then-newly-constructed Clarendon Hills Middle School (seventh and eighth grades), and finally Hinsdale Central High School.

“It was a phenomenal challenge and learning process for us all—to have somebody so different be included in a regular-education classroom,” Susie said.

As each year elapsed, graduation drew nearer, and the seemingly prophetical words of Icenogle drew closer to fulfillment. But while the Watts family never forgot the minister’s words, Susie said they never had the opportunity to dwell on them.

“I don’t think we ever looked that far ahead,” Susie said. “When Libby was five, I didn’t think she would live [to be] ten, and when she was ten, I couldn’t imagine her living [to be] 15, and when she was

Original artwork by Libby Watts

15, I couldn’t even begin to imagine she could ever turn 21.”

When the time finally came, Susie and Steve contacted Icenogle. Coincidentally, they learned that he would be in the Chicago area and wanted to attend.

The 2006 graduation ceremony was conducted outdoors at Dickinson Field, and as a fellow student rolled Libby up to the stage to receive her diploma, Susie said she and those around her quickly became emotional.

“Gareth was crying; Steve was crying; I was crying,” she said. “We were just moved to tears to remember that night in the neonatal unit, where Gareth said, ‘I see her at her high-school graduation.—And there she was, and there he was, and there we were—all together.”

indescribable vicissitudes of being Libby’s mother and constant caretaker over the past two and a half decades. Her answer is her faith.

“I was pursuing a Christian faith when I met and married Steve,” Susie said, “but it wasn’t until Libby was born that I truly had to live it. My faith has given me the strength to face each day, not knowing what’s around the corner.”

But Susie isn’t the only member of her family who possesses a strong faith. Libby regularly attends services with her family at The Chapel, a non-denominational church on the north-side of Hinsdale.

When others pray during worship, Susie and youth pastor Josh Pardee said she vocalizes audibly, but imperceptibly, as if to share in their exhortations and prayers.

They said that because of her condition, Libby may be moved in ways that others cannot comprehend.

“One time, we took her out of church, and one of the ministers came up to us and said, ‘Don’t you ever pull her out of church again,’” Susie said. “‘More of us should be moved to tears in worship.’”

Who Is Libby Watts?

Her inability to speak notwithstanding, Susie described Libby as gregarious and social, with a great sense of humor.

- Continued on page 46

Living the Faith The 18-year road to Libby’s graduation was as remarkable as it was tumultuous for Susie, Steve and their sons Marshall and Leighton. Now 26, Libby has completed 79 surgeries, and her future near and distant continues to be undetermined.

Dr. John Ruge, a Hinsdale resident and head neurosurgeon at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Park Ridge, said Libby suffers from a complex type of water on the brain known as compartmentalized hydrocephalus, making it all the more difficult to operate on her.

One might wonder how Susie has coped with the www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 17

Inside 60514

Photo by Marcello Rodarte

Front Row (from left to right): Kurt Salvatore, Ajay Singh, Maya Gin; Back Row (from left to right): Luke Salvatore, People’s Resource Center supervisor Hank Anzelone, Arjun Singh

Prospect School students lend a helping hand to local families in need

S by mike ellis

even students from Prospect School teamed up this spring to raise over $1,300 for underprivileged families in DuPage County who receive assistance from the People’s Resource Center.

Prospect parent Amrit Singh, who chairs the enrichment committee within the Prospect PTO, said she wanted to provide kids with an opportunity to give back to their community.

“The goal was to inspire them,” Singh said. “Seven kids signed up for this event, and we decided we would take them in [to the PRC] and see what resonated. I am so proud of the seven kids that came and the over $1,300 that was collected in a six-week period.”

Singh’s son Arjun, 9, said the kids selected the PRC to help people in need close to home.

“We chose the People’s Resource Center, because it helps 1,000 families [per] month in our neighborhood,” he said.

After visiting the center, students were given a week and a half to develop fundraising strategies.

18 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

“When I told my parents about this [fundraiser], they wanted to get involved,” third-grader Luke Salvatore said, “and they donated a lot of toothpaste and toilet paper.”

Kindergartner Maya Gin suggested the group collect toiletries for the families, because she did not see any at the center.

So, she and two other kindergartners applied for and received a Kids Initiating a Difference in Society (KIDS) grant in the amount of $150 from the District 181 Foundation, which they used to purchase the toiletries. The third-graders also received a $150 KIDS grant, which they employed to buy art kits.

The foundation grants and two individual family donations contributed significantly to the cause, but third-grader Michael Crannell saw an additional opportunity to raise more funds for the center. Crannell developed the ingenious concept of a “Crazy Hair Day” during which students could donate loose change, toys and other items to the PRC, and dye their hair to indicate their contributions. Altogether, “Crazy Hair Day” raised over $550—over 40 percent of the total amount donated.

“There’s 400 kids at school, and I thought if 200 kids brought in a little bit of money, it would all add up,” Crannell said.

The third-graders also assembled a classroom presentation, explaining the service project to their classmates.

“It was really great that they were able to stand up in front of their peers,” Singh said, “and get them excited [about the cause].”

PRC volunteer and supervisor Hank Anzelone said he was appreciative of the students’ generous aid.

“Our youth are so important,” Anzelone said. “Their volunteerism is a great experience, and it helps adults remember to get involved too. It is amazing the way caring communities come forward to help each other.”

Singh said she plans to conduct service projects annually moving forward, allowing student volunteers to select a local charity within a ten-mile radius.

“I’m pretty confident that all of the kids would do this again for enrichment,” she said. “Hopefully, they caught the giving bug, and that was the goal.”

www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 19

Spotlight

In 2001, there was no choir program at St. Isaac Jogues. Just over a decade later, it’s the most popular extracurricular activity at the school.

Mallory Turner steps up to the microphone.

Photos courtesy of Jim Legner

Building a Program by mike ellis

A

ccolades, excellence, respect—the choir program at St. Isaac Jogues in Hinsdale has all three of these.

The Cadence choir has won the Chicagoland Showcase competition— which features 11-14 top-performing choirs throughout the Midwest—the last two years and five times overall.

But there are no tryouts held to gain admission into Cadence, or for the other St. Isaac’s choirs, because for director Julie Petrando, the children’s choir experience is not about ribbons and trophies.

“I don’t audition,” Petrando said. “I don’t believe in it anymore at this level, because I believe that my job is to invite as many kids to embrace and experience the arts [as possible].

“I feel like [choir] is a place where everyone can be successful. Not everyone can be an athlete, not everyone can be an academic leader or scholar; but I believe firmly that everyone can

succeed in the arts if they are completely committed and willing to work hard.”

Founded in the fall of 2002, the St. Isaac’s choir program has grown into the most popular extracurricular activity at the school. It now features four choirs: Angel, an elementary girls’ choir, Crusaders, an elementary boys’ choir, Spirit, a middle-school choir for those who did not participate in choir previously, and Cadence, a competitive middle-school show choir for boys and girls who participated in choir at the elementary level.

“There was a group of parents that wanted a choir program formed at [St. Isaac’s],” Petrando said. “They had a director lined up, and at the last minute, that director pulled out. It was kind of a perfect storm, because I was starting maternity leave at my full-time teaching position in Wheaton, and they asked me if I could come in for a year and work with 47 second- through eighth-graders once a week.

“Long story short,—that one year - Continued on page 27

20 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 21

Hinsdale Golf Club

From generation to generation Founded in 1898, Hinsdale Golf Club is the oldest golf club in the Greater Hinsdale area. How has the club grown and thrived for over a century?

G by mike ellis

olf is a game rich with history and tradition.

For some golfers and aficionados, that history and tradition is summarily conflated under legendary champions, picturesque courses and thrilling moments—under Tiger and Jack, Augusta and St. Andrews, Larry Mize’s chip-in and Jean van de Velde’s self-destruction.

For others, that history and tradition is more localized and personal—it’s enjoying

the game in the company of family and friends within the comfortable confines of the course and club you were raised on.

Hinsdale Golf Club has an extensive tradition of golf—and also as a family-oriented club filled with multigenerational members who respect their forerunners and the environment they sought to preserve.

“I think the one thing that describes Hinsdale Golf Club is that it’s a family club,” said Ross Forbes, a former club president and a member since 1976.

“There are business clubs around, there

are men’s clubs; but Hinsdale has always prided itself on being a family club. There are a lot of legacies—a lot of three- and four-generation families that have been members.”

Founded in 1898, Hinsdale Golf Club’s history predates the 20th century. In 1893, Atlee Edwards of Philadelphia came to Chicago for the World’s Columbian Exposition. Edwards visited his aunt and uncle in Hinsdale, and brought golf clubs along. He showed his uncle how to play the game, and left the clubs behind after returning home. A short time thereafter,

Photos by Marcello Rodarte

Course Information: Length: 6,520 yards, Par 71 Opened: 1910 Signature Hole: #16 “Andy Gump” Course Record: 62, Dick Hart

club’s current eastern boundary to the west.

The club leased this land from Henry Middaugh, a former DuPage County school director.

Take in a view of Hinsdale Golf Club’s signature hole, “Andy Gump.” The Shortly thereafter, hole’s nickname is derived from the cartoon character of the same name, the club arranged whose likeness is seen in the enormous bunker to the right of the green. nine additional holes north of Ogden Ave. to Edwards’ uncle and several of his friends become an 18-hole course; in 1907, this laid out a six-hole course near Burns Field on Hinsdale’s north-side and began course hosted the prestigious Western playing. Several years later, in the fall of Open, which was won by Robert Simpson, 1898, these men applied for and received a native of Carnoustie, Scotland. The a charter from the State of Illinois to course required golfers to cross Ogden organize Hinsdale Golf Club, with an Ave. and Naperville Road twice, and was express purpose “to promote, foster and famous for the gaping gravel pits on its encourage the game of ‘Golf’ and such finishing hole. In 1909, the club was other athletic social games as its members forced to move, and sought to procure a 133-acre parcel of land adjacent to it. may desire to engage in.”

Designed by early Chicago golf architect Frank Butler, an HGC member and father Herbert Tweedie, the original course was of Oak Brook founder Paul Butler, entered nine holes, bounded by Chicago Ave. to into a partnership with two other men to the south, Ogden Ave. to the north, what purchase the land from Oliver Stough. is now Ill. Route 83 to the east, and the

...

The Golf Course In the fall of 1910, the new course opened for play. In The Architects of Golf, authors Geoffrey Cornish and Ron Whitten, attributed its design to famous golf-course architect Donald Ross in either 1913 or 1918. But since the course opened in 1910, HGC member Dick Pinto, the club’s unofficial historian, said this theory does not seem to add up.

“As far as we know, the course was laid out by our [club] pro at the time, Scotsman John Adams,” Pinto said. “We believe that he had the help of James and David Foulis, club pros at Chicago Golf, who learned the sport from Old Tom Morris in St. Andrew’s Scotland.”

Pinto said the club lost all of its records in a 1920 clubhouse fire, and Cornish and Whitten were unable to corroborate Ross’s alleged work at Hinsdale.

“We would welcome any further information on [the connection between] Donald Ross and HGC, and continue to look for it ourselves. Also, we understand

Club Information: Original cost of membership: $10 initiation + $10 annual dues Fourth-oldest club in the Chicagoland area, according to the Golfer’s Green Book Founding member of the Western Golf Association (WGA) in 1899

Noteworthy Members: Francis Peabody

Founder, Peabody Coal Frank Butler

Father of Oak Brook founder Paul Butler Jay Berwanger

First Heisman Trophy winner (University of Chicago, 1935) Mary Dynes

Distinguished local gardener R. Harold Zook

Distinguished local architect Charles Comiskey II

Grandson of Chicago White Sox founder Charles Comiskey Bill Veeck*

Chicago White Sox owner (1958-61, 1975-81) Robert Gardner Two-time U.S. Amateur Golf champion (1909, 1915) * Son of William & Grace Veeck

Photo courtesy of Hinsdale Golf Club

24 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

An historic photo of the club’s first members in 1897, the year before the club was incorporated

that people may wish to continue to believe this claim to be the case, and respect their opinion.”

Other architects, including Lawrence and Roger Packard, Dick Nugent, Bob Lohmann and William Fuller, have also made modifications through the years.

At 6,520 yards in length, HGC’s distance pales in comparison to mammoth 7,000-yard courses stretched for professional usage.—But that doesn’t mean it is without obstacles and pitfalls to challenge players of various skill levels. Small greens and numerous trees allow accuracy to trump power on this golf course.

“The big defense of Hinsdale Golf Club is the size of the greens,” Forbes said. “They’re really small—typically 5,000 square feet or under.”

Many holes involve radically different strategies from the rough than the fairway, due to the multiplicity of trees. Out of bounds also enters into play on the back nine on the right side of holes 11, 12, 15 and 17—and even 10, 14 and 16 if you have a penchant for severely slicing the ball.

“I think we have a good golf course,” Pinto said.

“It’s not the longest or the toughest, but it’s a nice, playable course.”

HGC’s signature hole, “Andy Gump,” is a 196-yard par-3 which plays above 200 yards from the back tees. Its name is derived from a cartoon character of the same name, whose likeness is clearly visible in the elaborate bunker to the right of the green.

“Andy Gump was a cartoon character in the ‘10s and ‘20s,” Pinto said, “and the man that drew the cartoon was a good friend of several members. His name was Sidney Smith.”

The green slopes severely from right to left, and combined with the length of the hole and the pronounced uphill slope, creates perhaps the most difficult hole on the golf course. Birdie is a score seldom recorded on “Gump.”

“I think [the course] is eminently playable for people of all ages,” Forbes said. “There are at least three tee boxes per hole, so depending on your skill level and age, it’s fun—it’s not like some courses where there are forcecarries, and you have to hit over a marsh.”

- Continued on page 34

www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 25

26 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

St. Isaac Jogues Choir

-Continued from page 20

turned into four choirs of over 200 students.”

Last year, 74 St. Isaac’s students participated in Cadence, which Petrando said is a remarkable number for a middle-school show choir.

Why has the program expanded so rapidly? Perhaps part of the reason is Petrando’s relaxed environment that allows students to be themselves in a school setting.

“We have our rules,” she said, “but we want [our students] to come out and be kids when they come to choir.”

Petrando said all of her concerts have a theme, which she believes is ideal at the middle-school level.

“I try to always have an idea in my show that I can share with kids at this age,” she said. “That’s why I love middle school: because this is the age when things need to be pointed out to them.

“I love giving them an opportunity to connect with the audience.”

Peter Bromann assists Petrando in working with the elementary choirs, and shares her belief in encouraging students to enjoy performing first and foremost.

“The reason I was hired was to work with [Crusaders],” Bromann said. “It was my job to kneel next to them, to tell them silly jokes, and to really make them enjoy music in general. You can have fun while rehearsing; you can have fun on stage.”

Bromann said he believes another reason the choirs have been so successful is the popular numbers they select for performance.

“We do a great job of picking music that [students] like, that their parents know, that they can sing along to in the car,” he said. “We’ve done a Beatles concert, Bruno Mars and a Queen Medley with ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’”

Despite the stage prowess Cadence performers have exemplified in recent competitions, most of them will not star on Broadway or even pursue musical careers; but Petrando and Bromann said they can all derive valuable life-skills from choir that will be applicable to the career paths they choose.

“It’s a great way to get in front of people and learn speaking skills,” Bromann said. “Public relations [practitioners] and other professionals use the skills we’re teaching them as kindergartners.” www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 27

C

Free WiFi in downtown Hinsdale?

by Scott Jonlich

ommittee members within the Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce are exploring the possibilities of a WiFi network in downtown Hinsdale. Dr. David Loiterman provided the committee with topic points which explore how municipal WiFi can facilitate innovative municipal parking solutions. In April, the committee visited Skokie, which implemented its own WiFi system in 2006 for the purpose of economic development and for disseminating information. Its primary goal was to bring people to public areas. Financing was paid by Skokie TIFF dollars and did not involve local tax dollars.

The Hinsdale group met on May 9 at the chamber office to discuss the possibilities of an open a dialogue with Hinsdale residents in order to receive feedback from businesses and neighbors about the pros and cons of introducing such technology into the community.

According to Dr. Loiterman and committee member Tom Piette, the goal of the committee is to have the WiFi network privately funded and without tax burden to residents. Piette also said that “full connectivity is coming,” and pointed to a proposal by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to open up a big block of spectrum to spread WiFi throughout the country.

O u td

This block could potentially create a stream of free Internet and cell-phone access; however, large telecom companies such as Comcast and Verizon could fight that maneuver, as consumers might opt to use the WiFi to make free calls from their mobile phones.

Tech giants like Google and Microsoft are countering by saying that a free-for-all WiFi service would create innovations and tech devices that would benefit citizens of all income levels.

The committee also pointed out that residents and visitors to downtown Hinsdale can take more time to enjoy the amenities the historic village has to offer. A WiFi user could get work done on a laptop or mobile device in town or at Burlington Park. The visitor may also be directed to an available parking location, local restaurant or retail locations.

The possibilities are vast, and the committee stressed that ultimately the Hinsdale community would have to want the WiFi service.

How do you feel about free WiFi network in downtown Hinsdale? Hinsdale Magazine would like to hear your opinion at www.Hinsdale60521.com.

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Hinsdale Driver

T

Photos by Marcello Rodarte

by mike o’connor

hree Hinsdale area residents ventured down to Autobahn Country Club in Joliet for Continental Autosports’ customer appreciation day on May 15. Dozens of Ferraris roared around the racetrack and prowled around the parking lot.

Joel Weinberger, whose father founded Continental Motors, told Hinsdale Magazine why his dealership hosts this biannual event. “[Customer appreciation day] allows our enthusiastic customers to enjoy their cars in a motorsports environment, and offer them instruction if they need it, so they can really stretch the legs on their cars,” Weinberger said. “These are great performance cars that you can’t necessarily appreciate on the streets of Hinsdale, and that’s why it’s great to have a facility like Autobahn so nearby.”

Pete Kavooras of Burr Ridge said Autobahn’s unique tracks are ideal for an event like Continental’s customer appreciation day.

“Autobahn is the perfect venue for drivers like me who enjoy tracking these very special cars,” Kavooras said. “Some drivers like to test both themselves and their cars at high speeds in a safe, controlled environment.”

And there certainly wasn’t a lack of appreciation at this event.

After taking a few laps around the track, Hinsdale resident Rob Tonn stepped out of the bright red Ferrari California with a massive grin on his face.

30 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

“What a car—it was unbelievable!” Tonn said. “The power, the handling—it was an easy car to drive, and a lot of fun.

Pulling out onto a hot track with a dozen other highperformance cars coming up behind you was a little intimidating. But the California was so easy to drive, even very aggressively, that I felt comfortable behind the wheel immediately.”

While these exotic cars are incredible to drive on the racetrack, there’s something that sets the new Ferraris apart from other sports cars like Lotus and Lamborghini: Ferraris are made to be more practical for everyday use.

Joe Ghaben, a Hinsdale resident who owns a 2013 Ferrari 458 Italia Spider, told us about his car and why he bought it.

“It’s a supercar, but it’s also a car you can drive on the street

???

Rob Tonn of Hinsdale

every day,” Ghaben said. “It’s not a collector car that you just park in a garage. I drive mine to work at least twice a week.”

Ferrari has made a lot of advancements in making more driver-friendly cars. For example, a 2004 Ferrari 360 did not even have cruise control or automatic headlights available, which were optional features for Cadillac in 1959. Rob Tonn agreed that Ferrari has improved its cars for everyday driving without sacrificing performance.

“You wouldn’t want to drive a Ferrari from the ‘80s every day; it’s just not comfortable,” he said. “But the Ferrari California was beautiful inside. It was easy to drive fast for those lucky enough to drive it every day.”

Ferrari has been working hard to combine performance with practicality for the interiors of its cars, and that’s where most of the improvements have been made in the last decade. New Ferraris all come equipped with the Formula One-style steering wheel to give the car racing capabilities, but they also have amenities like memory seats and dualzone automatic climate control.

These new Ferraris are made to be driven both on the track and out on the open roads, and Weinberger said he appreciates the Ferrari engineers who designed these incredible machines.

“It’s a driving experience that you just can’t get out of anything else.”

Pete Kavooras of Burr Ridge

Joe Ghaben of Hinsdale

www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 31

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The Huizenga and Akers families work on their putting skills on the practice green adjacent to the clubhouse.

Caddy Program Many local residents of manifold ages spent portions of their youths as caddies at Hinsdale. The HGC caddy program allows kids to caddy from the time they complete seventh grade until the summer after they graduate from college. On the course, their duties include carrying clubs, washing balls, raking bunkers and removing flagsticks. By spending time on the course with different groups of people with a variety of personalities, caddies not only enhance their knowledge of golf, but also social skills.

“Hinsdale is known for attention to detail, the teaching of etiquette, as well as the rules of golf,” Forbes said.

Pinto said Francis Peabody, an influential club leader who served as president from 1912-14, was a strong advocate for caddies. “[Peabody] said, ‘You should treat your caddy like your son,’” he said. “While he was president, he went out of his way to improve conditions at the caddy-yard.”

Coordinated by the WGA, the Evans Scholar program provides full-ride scholarships to experienced caddies with exemplary academic records who require a certain level of financial aid. Throughout its history, 61 HGC caddies have completed the Evans Scholar program.

“We feel great about contributing to the Evans Scholar program so that these kids can go to Michigan, Colorado, Illinois [or] Northwestern [on a fullride],” Forbes said. ...

34 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

- Continued from page 24

Establishing a Family Club For roughly four decades, golf was the only sport played at HGC; but that changed in 1934, when the club completed a pool and began offering swimming.

Three years later, tennis got underway on several green clay courts somewhat akin to the U.S. Open surface from the 1970s. In an area known for producing tremendous tennis and swimming talent at the high-school level and beyond, many a competitive career commenced on the grounds of HGC. In the 1970s, the club constructed the first platform tennis courts in the Greater Hinsdale area. As the popularity of the sport has rapidly expanded over the past decade, HGC recently finished a modern platform tennis facility, complete with four courts, a fireplace and large-screen TVs. “It’s always been a family-oriented club, and that’s never changed,” Pinto said. “That’s been a constant, and it’s really guided and influenced the club ever since [its early years].”

Besides offering golf, tennis and swim lessons for kids, HGC also launches fireworks annually on the Fourth of July. With a platform tennis facility and a permit to shoot skeet (i.e., clay pigeons) in the winter, Hinsdale is a club that members can utilize year-round.

“Living in Chicago, there are five months of the year when it’s pretty hard to get a lot out of your club,” Forbes said, “but with the platform tennis and skeet, there’s a lot of things to do even in the winter.”

“The history of the club is special, and I wanted a place that I could bring my daughters to golf,” said P.J. Huizenga, whose family joined HGC last summer. “You’ve got paddle and shooting in the winter; you’ve got golf, tennis and swimming in the summer—and there’s a great membership [with] great young families.”

Forbes’ daughter Sarah Salmen recently became a junior member, and said her children frequently participate in the sundry activities the club has to offer.

“I spend every day of the summer there,” Salmen said. “My

boys do swimming and tennis, and my oldest does golf. A lot of the staff has been there since I was a little girl, so I’ve grown up with them too.”

The membership application process is not exactly a cakewalk, as Forbes said the club does not merely seek to add members who are willing and able to pay their dues.

“There’s a very distinct membership process,” he said. “It’s not to keep people out—it’s very inclusive—, but it’s a situation where you want people to be comfortable.

“The key cornerstone is, we want someone that joins the club to know other members; we don’t want somebody that can just write a check and show up.”

An applicant must be invited to join, and multiple vouchers are requisite for approval. Forbes said these vouchers must be detailed—more than simply, “I met the man getting off the train, and he seems like a decent guy.”

Despite the thoroughness of the A map of the original nine-hole course just to the east of the current club location in Clarendon Hills; Ogden Ave. is still the northern boundary.

Interesting Facts Baking powder cans served as holes at the original sixhole course in Hinsdale. William Coffeen, director of the Price Baking Powder Company, supplied the cans.

The original 1909 clubhouse was burnt to the ground in a 1920 fire, and a second clubhouse suffered a similar fate in 1922. The current clubhouse was completed a year later, and has stood for 90 years.

Jane Moeller made two holes-in-one in the same round on August 12, 1992, acing the fourth and sixth holes. To this day, the ladies’ league holds Jane Moeller Day annually to commemorate this improbable feat. process, Forbes said HGC is always looking to add new members, and offers rates that compare favorably with many other clubs.

“You can’t buy your way in, but it’s a club that really thrives on attracting new families and new members,” he said. “I think the monthly dues and initiation fees are very competitive.”

The family-based membership is complemented by an experienced staff that enables the club to continue to thrive.

Golf professional Phil Campoli, dining room manager Margaret Ferguson, club manager Jim Kravcik and caddymaster Walter Kowalczyk have each spent multiple decades with HGC in significant leadership positions.

“We were drawn into this club, because the people we met happened to be members [here],” said Julie Akers, whose family joined the club last August. “It goes beyond the members—it goes to the staff; the staff is like family. You come in after the winter break, and everybody hugs and welcomes each other back— staff and members alike.”

Pinto echoed the same sentiment.

“The club [has an] excellent, longserving and devoted staff that makes everyone, member or guest, feel very much at home, and anticipates their every wish,” he said. “Most of the senior staff has worked for the club for a long time, and has known several generations of members.

“The staff, in many ways, is part of our family.”

With many of the members being so well acquainted with their forerunners, upholding tradition is carefully weighed with crafting changes for the future. For instance, when the course was recently rehabbed in 2005, the club made an effort to restore some of its original features while improving upon several greens that

Samuel Stout, Jr., won the Men’s Club Championship 11 times in five different decades (1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s). Mr. Stout captured his first championship in 1955 and his last 42 years later in 1997.

In 1952, HGC tennis coach Harold King and swimming coach Dixon Keyser partnered to open a sporting goods store in downtown Hinsdale. More than 60 years later, KingKeyser continues to serve local residents. required modification. And the pool, which has stood in its present place for the past four decades, will be supplanted this fall and be replaced by a new one that will be completed by next spring.

Comprised of 12 members serving three-year terms, the Board of Directors is entrusted with making such pivotal decisions.

“I think it’s a board that, if you get asked to serve on, it’s a real honor,” Forbes said. “You find out very early that there’s a lot of policy and procedure that’s gone before you. But to be an organization of any kind, you need to adapt; you don’t want to turn your back on what’s good about tradition, but you don’t want to have a blind eye towards

changing demographics.”

Pinto said the family-rooted nature of the club, coupled with the focus on tradition, ensure the next century will unfold as many memories as the last.

“Among our membership, we have always been able to find competent people willing to step up and devote the time and effort, as officers and directors, to the governance of the club,” he said, “and the continuance of its many fine traditions, as well as properly planning for it’s future.

“We have a great family-oriented membership, and continue to get new, younger members to ensure the continuity of this tradition in the future.”

www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 35

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I’m a 44-year old male golfer and I spend several days per week on the golf course. Should I be concerned about cancer risks?

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Wear a UV-rated hat (those with fabric that protects from the sun), excellent UVrated sunglasses and loads of sunblock.

In addition, ask your dermatologist about oral supplements to protect your skin from the sun. You must protect your skin from the UV rays, even on a cloudy day. Check your skin head-to-toe every month, get to know your freckles and moles, and look for changes. Schedule an annual skin check with a qualified dermatologist, and if you see changes, ask your dermatologist about them. Caught early, almost all skin cancers are curable; but not caught early, disfigurement or death may result. So, be smart on the course and off. You are only in your 40s, and we want you “playing through” for a long time to come!

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36 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

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Dr. Steil, am I better off tanning outdoors or indoors?

DR. STEIL: A tan, whether you get it on the beach, in a tanning bed or just gardening, is always bad news. Real tans, versus those in a bottle, are caused by harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or tanning lamps, and if you have one, you’ve done serious damage to your skin.

Do not believe what you hear at tanning salons about the safety of their beds. It simply is not true. If you get into the tanning bed habit, you are inviting skin cancer into your life. And along the way, lax, wrinkled, prematurely-aged skin. Indoor tanners (i.e., those who use tanning beds) are 74 percent more likely to develop a melanoma than those who have never tanned indoors. And if you have a teenage daughter, her age group is experiencing more melanomas than ever, and at younger ages, because of indoor tanning.

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Inside 60521

Roberta Hoekwater with former students Demetra Gatzulis (left) and William Gatzulis (right) Photo by Karen Hood

Job well done

Families and faculty bid adieu to Grace Episcopal Preschool director after 18 years

G by mike ellis

race Episcopal Preschool Director Roberta Hoekwater retired after 18 years at the school and 30 years in teaching last month. Dozens of Hoekwater’s former parents and students gathered for a reception held in her honor at the church to show their gratitude and celebrate her career on May 19.

Hoekwater said she felt it was time for her to pass the reins along to a successor and spend more time with her husband as they grow older.

“This was my 18th year of teaching at Grace, and I felt it was time for a new chapter,” she said.

Hoekwater, who received her degree at the University of Detroit, taught in Michigan and Connecticut for 12 years prior to arriving at Grace.

After moving to Chicago’s Western Suburbs, she and her husband noticed that Grace had a preschool while driving

38 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

around one day. When she inquired into any possible teaching positions, Hoekwater learned of a director and teacher vacancy.

“I was offered the position, and then decided to give it a shot,” she said. “And here I am.”

During her tenure at Grace, Hoekwater taught three-year-olds in addition to serving as director. She said being exposed to good families and staff members was the most significant part of her experience.

“I think the most significant thing for me has been the children, their families and the teachers,” she said. “We have wonderful children who come from great families. I have had a wonderful staff to work with all these years, and so it’s been a real treat for me to be here.”

Dawn Lantero, who has worked at Grace for the past five years and sent three of her four children through the preschool program, said she looks up to Hoekwater as an educator.

“Roberta to me is a mentor and consummate professional when it comes

to young children,” Lantero said. “She sets the tone for this school, and it’s been one of nurturing and creating a loving and caring environment—which I completely believe is the best way for children to begin their educational process.

“I’ve learned a lot from her about how important a learning environment is when it’s loving, supporting, nurturing and play-based.”

Hoekwater said she feels creating a comfortable atmosphere for children is beneficial to their classroom experience.

“I think it’s important to be warm, nurturing and calm, and I think it’s important to get inside the children’s heads, and figure out what they’re thinking and feeling,” she said.

Robin Strausser will replace Hoekwater as preschool director beginning in the fall.

“This has been a wonderful ride for me,” she said. “I get up in the morning, and I’m happy to come to school; I’m happy to walk down this hall.

“It’s been a great opportunity, and I have learned so much from the children.”

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Community

Scene

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bout 1,700 runners and walkers teamed up to contribute over $405,000 to the fight against cancer at the 15th annual Walk for Wellness House on May 5.

“There are so many people to thank for the success of this year’s walk: sponsors, teams and individual fundraisers,” Walk chairperson Tracy Anderson said. “The staff at Wellness House, under Kara Grell’s guidance, were responsible for making the event run so smoothly.”

Some participants arrived from out of state, coming from Minnesota and California. Offering running and walking routes that wound throughout the north-side of Hinsdale allowed people of all ages and various conditions to participate.

Wellness House is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free non-medical support and programs to cancer patients and their families. The Walk is one of two primary fundraisers that help Wellness House provide its programs and services.

Brian Cowell of Darien, who was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer in July 2009 and currently utilizes Wellness House, was the top individual fundraiser, raising nearly $8,000 altogether.

Hinsdale resident Sakeba Issa also raised about $6,000.

“We could not be more thrilled at surpassing our goal for fundraising,” Anderson said. “These efforts help in keeping the programs at Wellness House going at no cost. I have been moved to tears more times than I can count when hearing participants’ stories and how much Wellness House has meant to them.”

For more information about Wellness House and the programs and services it supplies, visit www.wellnesshouse.org. To read Brian Cowell’s story, go online at http://hinsdale60521magazine. ning.com/profiles/blogs/brian-cowell-s-story.

Photos by Marcello Rodarte

Top fundraiser Brian Cowell of Darien and his team

Why did you walk or run?

“I ran for my father-in-law Ken Miller and my grandmother, who had breast cancer.”

-Laura Johnson, 34, Lombard “We’re supporting a cause. If you don’t believe in it, I guess you shouldn’t do it; and if you do, you should give it 100 percent or more.”

-Juan Olivares, 23, Berwyn “I’m on the Board here [at Wellness House], but I ran in honor of my father, who passed away nine years ago. He fought [cancer] courageously, and Wellness House would have been a great place for him.”

-Jim Hallene, 52, Hinsdale

Wellness House Executive Director Jeannie Cella

“I ran for a good friend of mine, Gunner, who passed away from anal cancer about two months ago. His wife [Katie McGowan] organized a group of people to walk today.”

-Tim Leahy, 52, Clarendon Hills “To support my mom.”

-Debbie Hultquist, 51, Hinsdale “I ran for my grandma.”

-Reilly Hayes, 12, Clarendon Hills Middle School

40 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

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As a plant, Robusta has more resistance to higher temperatures, hile sipping his single-cup brew of medium-bold coffee, my guest recently asked me, what is the difference and is generally found to be cultivated from sea level up to 2,000 feet above sea level. It is a taller plant with a yellowish and between Arabica and Robusta coffee? rounder-shaped bean. The taste tends to I told my new friend that the coffeebe harsh with earthy notes, so it becomes growing world is shared by two species of difficult to enjoy on its own—and thus coffee: coffea Arabica and coffea canephora, the need to blend. most commonly known as Robusta coffee.

Arabica, on the contrary, is the Arabica is what we serve here at Café La bean that can be enjoyed totally on its Fortuna; it is catalogued as “other milds” own, offering complex notes and cup in the New York Stock Exchange, and characteristics as those of fine wines, trades in dollars per 100 pounds, while keeping into consideration that an Robusta trades per ton in the London Stock improperly processed Arabica bean Exchange. will result in a distasteful cup, which Robusta is mostly used to make soluble heightens the challenge and fun in the or instant coffee due to its high yield, and quest for the perfect cup for each of us. is also blended in various percentages to I invited my guest to come back for make espressos. Due to the density of the another cup—this time perhaps to enjoy bean, most canned coffees are blended with 46 Village Place another conversation over a chai tea or Robusta unless specified on the contrary; the (In the alley, south of the train station) iced latte. Since my wife Angela and I reason being that the printed weight on the Downtown Hinsdale opened Café La Fortuna in November label cannot be reached using only Arabica, www.cafelafortuna.com since the size of the tin can is universal.

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Community

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Happily Ever After Hinsdale Central Prom 2013

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Photos by Marcello Rodarte

insdale Central continued its tradition of holding its Senior Prom at breathtaking Crystal Gardens at Navy Pier in downtown Chicago on May 4.

Hundreds of students turned out in their finest apparel to celebrate their high-school experiences coming to a close.

This year’s prom king and queen were Carl Lamoureux and Emily Schaefer.

“I was really honored to be selected by my peers to be the prom king,” Lamoureux said. “I met some really awesome friends at Hinsdale Central who I will always remember. I thank them all so much for making my four years at Central amazing, and for topping it off by making me king.”

“I didn’t expect to be prom queen,” Schaefer said. “I want to thank the seniors, because the whole thing made prom pretty unforgettable.”

Attendees were treated to a gourmet buffet, and were given the opportunity to ride the famous Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier before the night concluded.

“Navy Pier was great, and I loved how we got to ride on the Ferris Wheel,” Schaefer said. “I’m so glad prom was in such a cool location.

“Prom was bittersweet, because even though we were having fun dancing and looking snazzy, it was the last time that the seniors were all together before graduation.”

42 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

Erika Ghaben, Maggie Orton, Alex Usher and Cameron Tanko

Prom queen Emily Schaefer, prom king Carl Lamoureux

Bully Screening Community addresses serious issue in society

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ver 135 people joined the fight against bullying when they attended a Bully screening event at the Union Church of Hinsdale

on April 26.

The event, which was hosted by the Social Justice, Adult Christian Formation and Women’s Association, featured two screenings of the documentary film Bully, which chronicled the serious, disaffecting bullying that many children across the nation experience on a daily basis.

“We were passionate about this particular movie, Bully, particularly because this is an issue that at times is glossed over in certain communities,” event organizer Rose Ross said. “Bullying is not just a school-related issue, but a societal one.”

The screenings were age-appropriate; one designed for guests 13 and older,

and a second for kids between the ages of seven and 13.

Both screenings also included panels comprised of various professionals who work in fields related to the topic.

Panelists answered questions from audience members pertaining to bullying, such as the use of bullying for power, the social and emotional needs of both the bully and the bullied, and resolution techniques.

“We strive to deliver programming that is current, relevant and thoughtprovoking, while demonstrating our willingness to tackle challenging subject matter,” Ross said. “Bullying is one of those subjects—especially when it is ignored or misunderstood by mainstream society.”

A free copy of A Bully Field Guide, designed by Gail Bravos, can be obtained at Union Church at 137 S. Garfield Ave. in Hinsdale.

Photos by Marcello Rodarte

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www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 43

Hinsdale Central Band performs at grand opening

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olunteers from the Hinsdale Central Marching Band shared their musical talents on a Saturday morning when they performed at the grand opening of Concentra Immediate Care in Darien on May 11.

The band’s program featured a variety of music, including selections from Pirates of the Caribbean, “Land of 1,000 Dances,” and school spirit tune “Red Devils.”

Hinsdale Central band director Matt Kurinsky said Concentra contacted the school regarding the opportunity, and the band gladly accepted the invitation.

“As our band has grown, we’ve been getting phone calls to perform at events like this,” Kurinsky said. “We’re happy to do it; we’ve got music ready to play. It’s a good service opportunity for the kids and a great way to be out in the community.”

As a gesture of appreciation for their services, Concentra provided the band with an $800 check after the performance concluded.

For more information about the Hinsdale Central Marching Band and music at the high school, visit www.hcmusic.org.

Photos by Marcello Rodarte

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Tech Know Bring Mobility & Portability Equipping your grad for college to your Business

SA

chool is finally ending and the summer s technology weather is just evolves getting in but our itworkplace started, is never day, the too each early to consider 20-pound desktop and monitor your children’s future— on your desk is slowly becoming especially when it comes to college. obsolete. It seems each month a If your junior is attending school new tech product is introduced next year or your senior is shipping to the business world, and by the out innext three months, we have a few month something even more ideaspowerful to keep them connected in the and smaller becomes worldavailable. of technology.

In this edition of I graduated from college years techKNOW, we will take ten a look at ago, and the idea of having tablets the three leading forms of office Errol Janusz or laptops “Skyping” Contributing Writer mobility,inandclass, some or examples that your go parents from home was just with them. beginning.

If youSmartphones: have never heard communication program Believeofitthe or online not, your smartphone is capable of calledmore Skype, then my guess is you still your than browsing Facebook and have takinga rotary funny phone pictures.inMany kitchen.

Skype is the leadingsuch global Internet communications popular software companies as Intuit, LexisNexis and Sage are developing “apps” to run your software on your phone. Example: company through which millions of people communicate with QuickBooks to view entire others through now free allows voiceyou and videoyour calls, ascompany well asfinancials instant on your in an instant. This This iscommunication great for retail storefronts that messages on phone their computers. tool is ideal need quicktoinvoice for their customers. for students keepaccess in touch with their parents and friends while they are thousands of miles away. Gone are the days of Tablets: Microsoftbills Windows-based tablets are perfect for mobile expensive cell-phone and non-video communication;— productivity.

Many tablets thataway. are produced today are more powerful Skype is just a free download thanthat some you of the have older desktop in your communication office! Companies Now heard computers about online like AT&T and Verizon are now introducing tablets software, what type of hardware are you going toequipped run it with on? cell-phone datacommercial plans for fast Internet access everywhere.

Example: Although every on television shows students Dental firms can run Dentrix and Eaglesoft on explore tablets to the easilyworld show holding tablets, it may be a better idea to patients their charts and x-rays. of Ultrabooks, or tiny desktop computers for classroom productivity. An Ultrabook has the same concept as a laptop, Ultrabooks: The gap between tablets and laptops is increasingly but it is half the size and weight. For travel, my Acer brand getting smaller. Ultrabooks are the newest wave of laptops that include Ultrabook weighs in at under three pounds, and can run Skype touchscreens and weigh less than three pounds. The traditional and Microsoft Office all day long. Gigabyte, a leading computer keyboard and mouse that accompany laptops will always be a standard manufacturer, is workplace, coming out withis BRIX. type desktop feature in the and that the No. 1This reason whyof they survive computer is under five inches long and two inches in height.

It in the business world today. Example: Because ultrabooks are small promises to be a they verycan powerful alternative that can fitthat in and portable, be a greatlaptop alternative to the bulky desktops the smallest dorm rooms.desks. reside onof your employees’ It’s never too early to start budgeting for technology. A plannedProbably budgetthewill you a chance to devices provide better singlegive greatest feature of the three mentioned technology when it comes time for yourfeature teenagers to above is devices Remote Desktop Connection.

This fantastic will allow leave.you Whether they are down street or thousands to remote connect to yourthe offices desktop computers of justmiles as if away,you your children will That seemfeature, like they left homeofwith the were sitting there. alongnever with thousands others, is fantastic toolsmore of technology that are available today. becoming and more adopted in the workplace to keep businesses at their peak productivity.

Errol Janusz is President and Lead Technician at Edward Technology.

moreisinformation, contact Errol at (630) 333-9323, ext.Technology.

303, or Errol For Janusz President and Lead Technician at Edward For more contact Errol at (630)Visit 333-9323, ext. 303, emailinformation, him at ejanusz@Hinsdale60521.com.

Errol’s website at, or emailwww.edwardtechnology.com. him at ejanusz@Hinsdale60521.com. Visit Errol’s website at, www.edwardtechnology.com.

www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 45

- Continued from page 17

“Libby loves to go anywhere with anyone and do anything,” Susie said. “When we’re in the hospital, there are people that are drawn to her—therapists, lab techs, nurse assistants. If people are willing to get past the physical disabilities and realize that Libby is just a person with a heart, a soul and a bright mind, then they’re in a position to receive what she can give. I think people who’ve been willing to get to know Libby have gotten to see the treasure that’s inside the beaten-up box.”

What Lies Ahead In 2009, Libby spent six months in the hospital, suffered a stroke, six brain infections, and survived 17 additional neurosurgeries. Her life may never be without painful procedures and struggles, but with she and her family grounded in faith, they are also looking beyond the temporal sphere.

Bill Huskisson served as Libby’s adaptive physical education teacher at Hinsdale Central. In 2006, before Huskisson lost his bout with cancer, she came to visit him at Lutheran General Hospital.

“You know, Libby, one day you’re going to walk,” Huskisson told her, “and one day you’re going to talk; and one day we’re going to have a conversation.”

Libby with Gareth Icenogle at her graduation

Photo courtesy of Susie Watts

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Hinsdale

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Graduating as a community

H

ow many graduates did you watch walk across the stage this year? How many congratulatory, challenging and cautionary speeches did you sit through? How many meaningful life passage gifts did you struggle to find?

The odds are your answers to each question is more than one.

In many ways, we all graduate each year—the entire community.

First, whether a child or two in your household is graduating from one of the several strata we celebrate in this William Walker Contributing Writer era or not, we are all affected. Just try to stay out of the way of the parents responsible for end of year class events.—And try to avoid the balloons, confetti and teepeed yards.

And there is the end of the school year syndrome that afflicts most of us. After the better part of two decades racing to complete papers and projects as the weather improved and beckoned us outside, we all suffer a variety of symptoms.

More of us report waking from a dream of missing an exam or of failing to meet all of the requirements for graduation in May or June than any other time of the year. My personal dream is vividly informed by a prank on several of us by a fellow college senior who pinched stationery from the dean’s office. “I regret to inform you that your non-major hours, while sufficient for your Bachelor of Science degree, are insufficient for a Bachelor of Arts degree which you must satisfy first.” Huh—falling for this should have disqualified us from most things in life, but one by one we marched into the office and out to peals of laughter.

Finally, just as a graduating class allows the next class to age up, a passel of graduates reminds us all that we have aged up as a community. Our villages are one year older. Thankfully, with the quality of our schools, we bring in a young family for each one that has reached its last public school graduation. Hopefully, we don’t lose one to gain one.

I spent about an hour counting graduations I had attended over the last 50 years—I lost count at 342. I was the commencement speaker at nine. My favorite graduation experience was handing my daughter her diploma at the University of Richmond four years ago—an honor accorded me as a former faculty member.

My worst: I graduated from college on May 17, 1970. The chairs were all on the football field when an Arkansas spring thunderstorm hit us at 5:40. We heeded the president’s edict to reassemble in the field house. We students watched as three faculty members and two fellow students succumbed to the heat and the weight of wet graduation robes as we all stood for the remainder of the ceremony. Sadly, as we all peeled off the robes after the ceremony, every shirt, every dress was stained with the black of the robes. Nonetheless, we had graduated, and there was a celebration to be had, just as thousands among us celebrated their accomplishments and the accomplishments of their loved ones this year. Congratulations to all—even if you didn’t walk five miles to school each day for all of those years.

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48 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

Inside 60523

Photos by Marcello Rodarte

Maintaining a beautiful community

B by mike ellis

efore the northside of Hinsdale was overrun with teardowns and Oak Brook and Burr Ridge abounded in gated communities, there was Ginger Creek. Longtime west suburban residents will remember Ginger Creek as the premier property destination in the 1960s.

The subdivision, which borders Butterfield Country Club, wends diagonally from Meyers Road and 31st Street in the southwestern corner to Midwest Road and Interstate 88 in the northeastern corner. The 34-acre creek—aptly called Ginger Creek—is situated in the center of the development, aligned by some of Ginger Creek’s most magnificent homes on all sides. Several islands lie within the creek, which were

Photo courtesy of Dennis Brugh

Ginger Creek

popular destinations for kids growing up in the subdivision years ago, according to property manager Dennis Brugh. The islands were also used to set off Fourth of July fireworks until the 1980s.

The land on which Ginger Creek currently rests was formerly farmland.

The Village of Oak Brook annexed the land in 1958 and 1959, and in Dec. 1960, the village gave builders approval to begin constructing houses. Ginger Creek was one of four inaugural Oak Brook subdivisions, York Woods, Brook Forest and Steeplechase being constructed at about the same time.

Early notable Ginger Creek residents included June Martino, the secretary of legendary entrepreneur Ray Kroc, Mo Douglas, who handled pensions for Sears Roebuck, and the Wegner family, owners of West Chicago-based JelSert.

Many early homeowners also belonged to adjacent Butterfield Country Club, built

several decades earlier.

Brugh, who works for Hinsdale-based Oak & Dale Properties and has served as Ginger Creek’s property manager for the past quarter century, said the subdivision was quite the spectacle when he was growing up.

“In the early 1960s, Ginger Creek was basically the Beverly Hills of the Western Suburbs,” Brugh said. “This was the new area; if you were making money and the head of a company, you came out here.”

What was it that attracted prospective homebuyers to the subdivision? Karen Bushy of Oak Brook, who lived in Ginger Creek from 1973 until about a decade ago, said the individuality of neighbors afforded a comfortable setting for her family.

“It was a neighborhood of people who did things,” Bushy said, recalling neighbors who took pride in doing their own yard-work. “What made it so much www.hinsdale60521.com |Hinsdale Magazine 49

fun to be there was the independent nature of all the residents.”

Bushy said longtime resident Peter Huizenga, the son of the Waste Management co-founder of the same name, went around Ginger Creek each Saturday morning in his van for years, picking up garbage strewn about the neighborhood.

Director of Community Development Bob Kallien said village founder Paul Butler’s vision for newly-incorporated Oak Brook also played a key role in growing the community.

“Back when Oak Brook was founded in 1958 by Paul Butler, he tried to create a model community different from any other suburb,” Kallien said. “Larger lots— very little fence obstruction—very large homes.”

Many older homes in the Western Suburbs were constructed on smaller lots, as you may see by driving down a street in southwest Hinsdale or La Grange.

Ginger Creek lots are roughly one acre on average—an attractive draw for more affluent homeowners seeking to relocate.

“You think back to the ‘60s—you live in Brookfield, and all of a sudden you make some money and say, ‘I want to move,’” Brugh said. “You move [to Ginger Creek], and you’ve gone from a bungalow to all

50 Hinsdale Magazine | www.hinsdale60521.com

of this land.”

Another remarkable feature of Ginger Creek and other Oak Brook subdivisions is that they are maintained by homeowners’ associations, meaning that properties must be maintained to certain standards. Original Ginger Creek restrictions included the prohibition of television antennae, burning trash and hanging laundry on a clothesline.

Brugh said that while villages possess a similar power, because they have larger areas to oversee, they are less likely to enforce beatific regulations as strictly.

Furthermore, Brugh said Ginger Creek was the first Oak Brook subdivision to adopt restrictive covenants to determine whether or not a particular home could be constructed.

“It’s a different type of community than Clarendon Hills and Hinsdale,” Brugh said. “Where I grew up, there were 20 kids on the block. When you go to a subdivision like [Ginger Creek], there are no ‘blocks,’ and you don’t have sidewalks—it’s a different type of living.”

Today, like many developments, Ginger Creek has seen newer, larger homes spring up alongside smaller, more established residences. Ginger Creek is also a more diverse community in 2013, as Oak Brook’s Asian population has increased

considerably over the past several decades.

The changes that have occurred through the years notwithstanding, Ginger Creek remains a desirable destination for homeowners in one of DuPage County’s premier communities.

“Parts of Ginger Creek have never changed,” Brugh said. “As you drive down 31st Street, there’s still a split-rail fence to keep the same mystique that was always there.”

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