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After a single father lost custody of his seven children because of his drug addiction, he reached out to Brightpoint for the tools to get his life back on track and his kids back home. At last year's Derby Day fundraiser, sponsored by the agency's Hinsdale Auxiliary, guests were stirred by the man's powerful testimony of redemption. "And now he actually works for Brightpoint in their 'Fathers First' program," related auxiliary volunteer Beth Lyons. "It's nice to hear those...
Christine McCarty began to suspect something atypical about her daughter, Addy, when Addy was just a few months old. "Something was just different with her," said McCarty, whose oldest daughter was preschool age at the time Addy was born. The biggest indicator, McCarty said, was Addy's inability to look her in the eye. As she grew, Addy was unable to point or pick up small objects. There were therapies along the way, but it wasn't until after years of investigating, testing...
When the Lohans first moved into their Hinsdale home, they discovered some unexpected neighbors: feral cats. "Then two years ago, one of these cats had kittens under our air conditioner," Amy Lohan said. "I called the Hinsdale Humane Society and said, 'What do I do?' " The lifelong dog lover and cat allergy sufferer was not exactly receptive to the humane society's suggestion that the family foster the two kittens. "I was like, 'Absolutely not. I have a dog, I don't know what...
McDonald's has played a role in Jeff Cantalupo's life for as long as he can remember. The son of former McDonald's Corporation CEO Jim Cantalupo, the Hinsdale resident knew from a very young age that the fast food giant was about more than cheeseburgers and fries. Through the work of Ronald McDonald House Charities, it's also about helping families. "I decided to join the board when there was an opportunity back in 2013," said Cantalupo, who served as board chair for Ronald Mc...
Hinsdale Central sophomore Arielle Shah didn't truly appreciate the gift of a good education until she entered into the young lives of those who had been denied it. The last three summers, Shah has taught English at a school for Venezuelan refugee children on the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad (and Tobago). Huellitas de Amor, whose name means "Prints of Love," is the sole educational option for the displaced kids. "They've been deprived of education for so long, so they...
People living in the Chicago suburbs seldom refer to driving as a relaxing activity. But Julie Beja of Hinsdale said every trip she takes as a volunteer for Interfaith Community Partners leaves her feeling good. "I always come home happier than when I left," said Beja, who began volunteering with the agency eight years ago. Based in La Grange, Interfaith Community Partners offers free transportation for seniors throughout the western suburbs who no longer drive. Volunteers...
Nov. 12, 2023, is a day the Meltzer family of Hinsdale will long remember. The late autumn Sunday began with a drive to the bike shop for 10-year-old Jacob Meltzer and his dad, Bob, to get Jacob's wheel fixed. Returning home, Jacob hopped out in the driveway and Bob proceeded into the garage. But something was off. "When my dad pulled in, he started hitting the garbage can," recounted Jacob, who jokingly admonished his dad to watch where he was going. It quickly became...
Grace Episcopal Church of Hinsdale was a part of Sara Clary's life long before she moved to the village in 2012. Grace was her grandmother's church of choice, and visits to her grandmother often included visits to the church, Clary said. "It just seemed like the logical place to continue going," Clary said. Today, Clary serves as senior warden at the church. Together with junior warden Sarah Tims, she helps interim rector Rev. Tom Crittenden make everything at the church run...
After five moves, Kassandra Fisher and her family settled down in Hinsdale in 2018 to put down lasting roots. She quickly sought out service opportunities to connect with her new neighbors. "The best way to meet people is just to jump right in and get involved," Fisher said. She accepted an invitation to attend Tablescapes, the annual fundraiser put on by the Infant Welfare Society-Hinsdale Auxiliary. She went away not only introduced to network of like-minded ladies but also...
Fresh back from an incredible three-day whirlwind experience at Junior Theatre Festival West in Sacramento, Calif., 11-year-old Veronica Gartner had flipped the script back to school. "I had a lot of work to catch up on, but we're getting there," the Hinsdale resident said this week. The assignment backlog was a small price to pay for the delight of taking part in the musical theater-dedicated annual event Feb. 9-11. Gartner, a member of Hinsdale-based BAMtheatre, was one of...
During Charlie Russ' visits to his family's longtime priest's retirement home, the teen pianist took note of how his playing had a way of resonating through the elderly man Alzheimer's disease haze. Russ then offered a performance for other residents who cared to listen. Dozens turned out. "They were serving wine and treats," he recounted of the Ravinia-like scene. "I played a lot of old jazz standards, which most of the seniors recognized, and their faces lit up with each new...
Less than two years ago, Katherine Wessel was a city-dwelling single woman with a corporate job and "living very much a bachelorette lifestyle." Today, she's living in Hinsdale with her partner, David Chiang, helping to raise Chiang's pre-teen twins and enjoying a very different work environment at the Hinsdale Public Library. "I made a 180-degree switch when I moved to Hinsdale," Wessel said. It's a change she does not regret. Not long after moving in with Chiang and his two...
Home. That was the theme of the West Chicago art show Rachel Weaver Rivera participated in a few years ago. For Rivera, home as a child was in Hinsdale, and life's unfolding had now brought her back mid-life. "I would be driving through the town thinking, 'Oh my gosh, I remember this event or that person,' " she related. "I thought I should do my own home show, because this is where my story began." Rivera drove around town snapping images of buildings and sites that...
As a child, Jeanne Hendrie remembers seeing her mother, a teacher, pack up food to bring to students in her classroom who didn't have access to breakfast. Hendrie said she's not sure if that experience sparked her own commitment to helping children, but the Hinsdale mom is dedicated professionally and personally to making life better for kids. Not long after moving to Hinsdale from Chicago in 2019, Hendrie discovered The Community House. Along with the many benefits the...
Dick Resseguie's high school Spanish is being tested in a way he never could have imagined. Since last month, the retiree has been serving alongside fellow members of Hinsdale's Grace Episcopal Church to help care for 25 asylum seekers being housed by a congregation nearby. "They're all about 20- to 30-year-old single men," Resseguie said of the migrants, who arrived on buses from Texas in late November. Grace Episcopal Church in Oak Park has been providing and food and...
It's been a lifetime since Rich Meyer lived in Hinsdale. But a part of him still calls it home. "It's a fairy tale town," he said. A graduate of Hinsdale High School, Meyer said he would have been content to stay in Hinsdale and start working after graduation. But even in the early 1960s, his teachers, neighbors and classmates encouraged and valued a college education. More than 60 years later, Meyer said he's grateful for what his hometown and his education have provided....
Camden Markowitz' birth in July not only added a third son to Sara and Andy's active Hinsdale brood, it also tipped the gender scales among the offspring of Sara and her five siblings. "He broke the boy-girl tie of grandkids for my mom and dad," Sara reported. "We've got four girls and five boys now." That's unlikely the source of Camden's joy, but his big smile garnered him the mantle of The Hinsdalean's happiest baby for 2023 and a spot on the cover. He timed his arrival to...
Volunteering has been a hallmark of Julie Smith's life since her kids were little. She and husband Chadd moved to Hinsdale when their oldest two were just 3 and 1. By the time they were in elementary school, she was ready to lend a hand where needed. "My favorite was helping Patty Mardula in the Madison library," she said. Meaningful opportunities to help others also have arisen through her church, Avenue Christian Church in Clarendon Hills. There she has been on the steering...
Christmas Eve was always a lively time in the Peckenpaugh household in Hinsdale. In addition to Doug Peckenpaugh and his five older siblings, the holiday banquet grew substantially, Peckenpaugh said, due to his mother's boundless spirit of hospitality. "My mom was one of these people who would open up her home to any family who could come," he said. "She would run a big buffet and we'd have 20, 30 people coming through." By 10 p.m. the gathering would disperse, leaving the fam...
Christmas Eve was always a lively time in the Peckenpaugh household in Hinsdale. In addition to Doug Peckenpaugh and his five older siblings, the holiday banquet grew substantially, Peckenpaugh said, due to his mother's boundless spirit of hospitality. "My mom was one of these people who would open up her home to any family who could come," he said. "She would run a big buffet and we'd have 20, 30 people coming through." By 10 p.m. the gathering would disperse, leaving the fam...
When Teri Zeidel and her husband moved to Hinsdale from Canada, she said she thought it would be a fun place to live for a few years. Twenty-three years later, Zeidel said it's still a fun place to be, and a great place to call home. Hinsdale is one of two places that hold a special place for Zeidel. The other is Nelson, a small town near Kootenay Lake in British Columbia, Canada, where Zeidel grew up and where she returns multiple times a year to visit family and enjoy the...
Hinsdale Central senior Lauren Doppke will give her vocal chords a workout over the next couple weeks. A member of the school's Chamber Choir, she and her fellow vocalists are making joyful sounds all around the community. "We're visiting Notre Dame Church (in Clarendon Hills) and we're going to a retirement home, as well," Doppke said. "We're doing an event (at Central) in the morning where we sing while people grab coffee. "It's definitely a busy time," she added. This week...
As an elementary school teacher, Cathy Daly helped hundreds of children become better readers. It wasn't until retirement that she began doing it with the help of a dog. Daly's dog Bogey is an 11-year-old cavapoo - a combination of a cavalier King Charles spaniel and a poodle - who has been a working therapy dog for nearly six years. Helping children to read is just one of many ways Bogey is able to help people, Daly said. Bogey joined the Daly family as a puppy, but it...
JR Tomkinson was a new Hinsdale homeowner in 2020 when he noticed a window poster for the Hinsdale Chorale while visiting neighboring Western Springs. "I had sung with choirs before, but it had been four or five years since I had," Tomkinson said. Joining the group during the pandemic made for a different musical experience than he'd ever had. The return to normalcy has been welcomed by the chorale, which will mark the holiday season with its concert Welcome Yule! Nov. 25 and...
When John Zick decided to apply for the Navy's Holloway Plan - similar to the ROTC - he had no way of knowing what his assignment would be after he finished his schooling. Soon after making full lieutenant on July 1, 1968, Zick received his orders. He was going to Vietnam. "The war was raging. This was a real hot area that I was going to. That I knew," he said. He arrived in Saigon Dec. 21, a "total cultural change," he said. "The night was lit up with fires and machine guns."...
