Originally published in the May 14 edition of the Antioch Journal
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Antioch residents’ Mother’s Day festivities bring joy
By DAN MORRIS
ANTIOCH – Moms and their families took turns twirling on the Zipper, spinning in the Tea Cup ride and munching on funnel cakes during the annual Mother's Day Carnival in Antioch, which is sponsored by the 885 Civic Club.
Residents were treated to a taste of Coney Island at the corner of Route 83 and Orchard Street in downtown Antioch during the festivities last week.
The atmosphere at the carnival was thick with family fun. Moms, dads and kids darted from rides to games to cotton candy vendors. Smiles, laughter and excitement abounded at every turn.
Becky and Shawn Hiemstra brought their sons Sam and Jacob to the festivities for the boys' first carnival. Both watched as 4-year-old Sam spun through the turns on the Tornado roller coaster, all smiles as his gleeful shouts rang out.
For Becky, motherhood is all about joy.
“I love it,” she said.
Jill and Bob Hughes brought their kids Lauren and Jake to the carnival for the second time. While 4-year-old Jake twirled on the Tea Cups, 1-year-old Lauren anxiously waited her turn in her father's arms.
What's the carnival all about for the Hughes family?
“Rides for the kids,” said Bob, motioning to a grinning Lauren. “She loves it.”
“I'm lucky that I have two really great kids,” said Jill, before heading off with the family to win some prizes at the Bull's Eye game and filling Jake and Lauren up to the brim with corn dogs and elephant's ears.
There was no shortage of variety at the carnival, which offered many rides, including a carousel and Ferris wheel. The event offered something for the casual carnival cruiser as well as the hard-core adrenaline junkie.
Joe LaFleur, Chairman of 885 Civic Club's Carnival Committee, manned the ticket booth as thrill seekers queued up for their favorite rides.
“Every dime that we make goes into the town,” LaFleur said as he doled out tickets.
The carnival is the club's largest fundraiser, providing for four $1,000 scholarships that are given to students at Antioch High School and Lakes High School. It also provides for other charitable initiatives including PADS, Open Arms Food Pantry and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Windy City Amusements provided equipment and staff for the event. The company has been involved with the carnival since it's inception more than two decades ago.
The 885 Civic Club was chartered in 1965 as a nonprofit group to raise money and support the Antioch community. It takes its name from the club's original meeting place address: 885 Main Street.
Now, the club meets the first Wednesday of every month in a member's home. Along with the carnival, 885 Civic Club also plans social events throughout the year, such as Halloween parties and picnics.
The next carnival, however, is 12 months away. It is a tradition many Antioch families continue to turn to every Mother's Day.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Librarian Celebrates 20 Years of Service
Originally published in the May 14 edition of the Lake Villa Journal
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Librarian Celebrates 20 Years of Service
By DAN MORRIS
LAKE VILLA – Lake County was a very different place 20 years ago. Gurnee Mills was nothing more than a few square miles of swamp land, Grand Avenue meandered between corn and soybean fields, and Lake Villa boasted a population of not quite 3,000 people.
Amidst all these changes, one thing remained constant – The circulation desk at the Lake Villa District Library had Cindy McBrady behind it.
“I can’t believe it,” McBrady said of working for two decades at the library. “It all kind of has gelled in the past 20 years.”
McBrady began her career at the library as a circulation clerk on May 9, 1988. Since then, she’s risen through the ranks to become the assistant head of circulation services.
The job came out of a hot tip from her mother-in-law.
“[My mother-in-law] had a friend whose son was coming to apply, and she said, ‘No, no, no. My daughter-in-law would be better for this,’” recounted McBrady. The rest is history.
Before working at the library, McBrady taught as a substitute teacher at Lake Villa Intermediate School (now Palombi School) for a year. She then moved into speech therapy for two years. She then took some time away from the professional world to be a full-time mom.
When she decided to return to work, the opportunity at the library was too good to pass by, she said.
“I worked at the college library; I worked at the high school library. So, when this job came open it was like the perfect fit for me,” McBrady said.
Growing up in Antioch, McBrady was a voracious reader. She would spend hours reading. And she constantly checked out books, she said.
“I’ve always loved the library,” McBrady said. “I’ve always got a book with me.”
During her daily work routine, the veteran librarian manages the interlibrary loan program, administrates databases, and above all, caters to patrons at the circulation counter.
The past 20 years of service provide ample evidence of McBrady’s passion for sharing books, and encouraging children to read. Her manner, though, renders an undeniable enthusiasm for her work.
“I just love working with the kids,” she said when asked about her favorite part of the job.
For many, two decades mark the denouement in the story of their career. McBrady is still working up to her climax.
Instead of focusing on years past, or fading into retirement, she’s still taking things one day at a time.
In terms of what’s next, the librarian replies she’s staying put for the next several years, aside from next Saturday, when she’s picking up her daughter from graduation ceremonies in Madison, Wis.
Since 1988, many things came and went – Seinfeld, VCRs and the fall of the Soviet Union to name a few. Unwavering, McBrady still stands ready, book in hand, for the families of Lake Villa.
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By DAN MORRIS
LAKE VILLA – Lake County was a very different place 20 years ago. Gurnee Mills was nothing more than a few square miles of swamp land, Grand Avenue meandered between corn and soybean fields, and Lake Villa boasted a population of not quite 3,000 people.
Amidst all these changes, one thing remained constant – The circulation desk at the Lake Villa District Library had Cindy McBrady behind it.
“I can’t believe it,” McBrady said of working for two decades at the library. “It all kind of has gelled in the past 20 years.”
McBrady began her career at the library as a circulation clerk on May 9, 1988. Since then, she’s risen through the ranks to become the assistant head of circulation services.
The job came out of a hot tip from her mother-in-law.
“[My mother-in-law] had a friend whose son was coming to apply, and she said, ‘No, no, no. My daughter-in-law would be better for this,’” recounted McBrady. The rest is history.
Before working at the library, McBrady taught as a substitute teacher at Lake Villa Intermediate School (now Palombi School) for a year. She then moved into speech therapy for two years. She then took some time away from the professional world to be a full-time mom.
When she decided to return to work, the opportunity at the library was too good to pass by, she said.
“I worked at the college library; I worked at the high school library. So, when this job came open it was like the perfect fit for me,” McBrady said.
Growing up in Antioch, McBrady was a voracious reader. She would spend hours reading. And she constantly checked out books, she said.
“I’ve always loved the library,” McBrady said. “I’ve always got a book with me.”
During her daily work routine, the veteran librarian manages the interlibrary loan program, administrates databases, and above all, caters to patrons at the circulation counter.
The past 20 years of service provide ample evidence of McBrady’s passion for sharing books, and encouraging children to read. Her manner, though, renders an undeniable enthusiasm for her work.
“I just love working with the kids,” she said when asked about her favorite part of the job.
For many, two decades mark the denouement in the story of their career. McBrady is still working up to her climax.
Instead of focusing on years past, or fading into retirement, she’s still taking things one day at a time.
In terms of what’s next, the librarian replies she’s staying put for the next several years, aside from next Saturday, when she’s picking up her daughter from graduation ceremonies in Madison, Wis.
Since 1988, many things came and went – Seinfeld, VCRs and the fall of the Soviet Union to name a few. Unwavering, McBrady still stands ready, book in hand, for the families of Lake Villa.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Library hosts The Day of the Children
This one was on the Front Page of the May 7 Round Lake Journal. Front page, baby!
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Library hosts The Day of the Children to promote literacy
By DAN MORRIS
ROUND LAKE – More than 30 families gathered at the Round Lake Area Public Library on April 27 to participate in El Día de los Niños (also referred to as Día), which means The Day of the Children, a national celebration to promote literacy.
Toddlers to 10-year-olds gathered to hear Kay Elmsley Weeden tell stories, and they also sang songs in Spanish and English. The crowd listened to tales of Ferdinando, the bull who preferred sniffing flowers to bullfighting, and sang about elephants balancing on spider webs.
As the children sang and listened, Weeden invited them to become bulls and elephants, stamping the ground and swaying on gossamer. Thirty pendulous pachyderms perched precipitously in the spider’s web, then became a herd of Ferdinandos sniffing forget-me-nots.
Weeden, a professional storyteller for more than 20 years, began her involvement with Día six years ago. Her specialty is presenting bilingual programs in Spanish and English to promote learning multiple languages and foster respect for diversity.
“Día focuses on promoting the culture and heritage of a family,” Weeden said. “Whether Spanish speaking or English speaking, it’s about bringing families together around books.”
The event began with a traditional song called “Un Elefante se Balanceaba” (“A Balancing Elephant”) followed by a classic children’s story, “El Cuento de Ferdinando” (“The Story of Ferdinand”) by Munro Leaf. Weeden then led the children in the song “Flaquita Mosquita” (“Skinny Fly”) and handed out drums, maracas, castanets and tambourines until the room seemed to be full of rather large and loud mosquitoes.
The first Día event took place April 30, 1997. Children’s author Pat Mora learned of the Mexican tradition of celebrating April 30 as The Day of the Children during a radio interview at the University of Arizona in Tucson in March 1996 and wanted to celebrate the event.
According to Mora’s Web site, www.patmora.com/dia/dia_history.htm, the Mexican tradition grew out of the 1925 World Conference for the Wellbeing of Children, which took place in Switzerland.
Mora, along with some faculty members of the University of Arizona and other organizations planned an event to celebrate Día throughout 1996. The inaugural Día took place in Santa Fe, N.M. Events also took place in Arizona and Texas.
Día sprouted from Mora’s passion for literature and writing, as well as her desire to spread “bookjoy” to kids and families throughout the country and across cultural lines.
Since then, Día has expanded across the United States, reaching more communities each year.
“It has grown by leaps and bounds throughout the country,” Weeden said.
Elena Lara and Maggie Rodriguez of the Round Lake Area Public Library organized the local event, which is sanctioned by the American Library Association. The Library hosts several child and family oriented programs, including Día.
“It's about the kids,” Lara said. “[And it's about] getting the parents involved and to read to their children. This is one of the biggest events that promotes that.”
Click Here
Library hosts The Day of the Children to promote literacy
By DAN MORRIS
ROUND LAKE – More than 30 families gathered at the Round Lake Area Public Library on April 27 to participate in El Día de los Niños (also referred to as Día), which means The Day of the Children, a national celebration to promote literacy.
Toddlers to 10-year-olds gathered to hear Kay Elmsley Weeden tell stories, and they also sang songs in Spanish and English. The crowd listened to tales of Ferdinando, the bull who preferred sniffing flowers to bullfighting, and sang about elephants balancing on spider webs.
As the children sang and listened, Weeden invited them to become bulls and elephants, stamping the ground and swaying on gossamer. Thirty pendulous pachyderms perched precipitously in the spider’s web, then became a herd of Ferdinandos sniffing forget-me-nots.
Weeden, a professional storyteller for more than 20 years, began her involvement with Día six years ago. Her specialty is presenting bilingual programs in Spanish and English to promote learning multiple languages and foster respect for diversity.
“Día focuses on promoting the culture and heritage of a family,” Weeden said. “Whether Spanish speaking or English speaking, it’s about bringing families together around books.”
The event began with a traditional song called “Un Elefante se Balanceaba” (“A Balancing Elephant”) followed by a classic children’s story, “El Cuento de Ferdinando” (“The Story of Ferdinand”) by Munro Leaf. Weeden then led the children in the song “Flaquita Mosquita” (“Skinny Fly”) and handed out drums, maracas, castanets and tambourines until the room seemed to be full of rather large and loud mosquitoes.
The first Día event took place April 30, 1997. Children’s author Pat Mora learned of the Mexican tradition of celebrating April 30 as The Day of the Children during a radio interview at the University of Arizona in Tucson in March 1996 and wanted to celebrate the event.
According to Mora’s Web site, www.patmora.com/dia/dia_history.htm, the Mexican tradition grew out of the 1925 World Conference for the Wellbeing of Children, which took place in Switzerland.
Mora, along with some faculty members of the University of Arizona and other organizations planned an event to celebrate Día throughout 1996. The inaugural Día took place in Santa Fe, N.M. Events also took place in Arizona and Texas.
Día sprouted from Mora’s passion for literature and writing, as well as her desire to spread “bookjoy” to kids and families throughout the country and across cultural lines.
Since then, Día has expanded across the United States, reaching more communities each year.
“It has grown by leaps and bounds throughout the country,” Weeden said.
Elena Lara and Maggie Rodriguez of the Round Lake Area Public Library organized the local event, which is sanctioned by the American Library Association. The Library hosts several child and family oriented programs, including Día.
“It's about the kids,” Lara said. “[And it's about] getting the parents involved and to read to their children. This is one of the biggest events that promotes that.”
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