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Antique Auto Show Offers 'Fabulous Fins'

Sunday is the day to cast aside all feelings of aggravation regarding the automotive industry. It is, instead, a day to celebrate cars, particularly those work-of-art vehicles from the '50s and '60s that will be featured at the 61st annual Lake Forest Antique Auto Show at Deerpath Middle School.

The show is sponsored by the 70-member local Rotary Club and will feature 400 antique and vintage cars spanning the decades from the early 1900s to 1984. Special emphasis will be given to mid-century vehicles, given that the show's theme is "Fabulous Fins of the Fifties and Sixties." Combined, all the cars in the show are worth more than $50 million. And you can walk right up to them and talk to their owners.

"This is an opportunity to see the history of the automobile right before your eyes," said John Looby, Rotary member, alderman, and proprietor of Lake Forest Flowers.

The Lake Forest Antique Auto Show is one of the largest in the country and draws auto aficionados from all over. It's also a fun family event that provides a visual and tactile look at the history of cars. Food and libations will be available, including a beer tent. And there will be several surprises. If you've got a pre-1984 vehicle that you'd like to show off, you can still participate--the Rotary is accepting registrations up through Sunday morning, but you must be there before 10 a.m. for the judging. Cars also can be on the field for display. The show opens to the public at 9 a.m. and costs $10 per person, with those 10 and under getting a free ride as long as they're with an adult.  Registration and other information can be found at lakeforestcarshow.com (or click the ad on GazeboNews.com's left sidebar!)

Local Donors Spare Senior Advocate's Job

A good-deed doer and local senior citizens have pooled resources to save the full-time job of Dickinson Hall's senior advocate, Janet Fryer. But the Family Service social service agency has been unable to raise enough money to keep CROYA's youth advocate on staff full-time.

The jobs of  Ms. Fryer (shown at left) and Jean Odwazny were threatened earlier this year following deep cuts in funding for senior and youth services by United Way and others. (Click here to read GazeboNews.com's previous story about that.) Family Service sent letters appealing for support to 900 households in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, to no avail.

"But when the word got out that Janet's time at Dickinson Hall was being reduced, the seniors spoke -- and with their checkbooks," said Family Service spokeswoman Jane McCarthy, adding that the GazeboNews story helped spread the word. "A very generous donor who wishes to remain anonymous asked what it would take to keep Janet and all the current services in place--which is $25,000--and volunteered to pay half with a match from the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Senior Citizens Foundation. Everyone is thrilled." Ms. Fryer, a licensed clinical professional counselor,

A Sneak Peak At LB'S New School

Editor’s note: School District 65 recently offered a media tour of the new Lake Bluff Elementary School, led by principle architect Tim McGrath of the BLDD deisgn firm. To cover the tour, GazeboNews recruited Kevin Considine, a Lake Bluff dad whose two daughters will attend the school. Here’s what he found…

By Kevin Considine

Construction of Lake Bluff Elementary School is behind schedule, but the building is ahead of the curve on everything else. Led by principle architect Tim McGrath, the design team has built an effective and fun learning environment that is both environmentally efficient and safe.

Everywhere you see the marriage of form and function. Having to work around the then-operating Central School meant wedging the new building into the rear area of the lot. It turns out this was ideal, forcing a primarily southeast orientation. This provides lots of natural light, but not the heat of direct southern exposure. The school has two wings, academic and administrative. The two-story academic wing is built around a central courtyard, which has several purposes. It brings light deep into the school, provides an outdoor project or assembly space and also serves as an orientation device for navigating the school.

That orientation also fed the color choices. Bright hues of kiwi, orange and grape line the corridors of the academic wing, bringing cheer to the space. The color-coding will also make it easier for children, particularly the younger set, to learn their way around the building. The classrooms seem enormous. At 1,150 square feet, they are larger than most parents' first apartments. All the classrooms are bright and airy, some with an enviable view of the 10th fairway next door. Many couple the large central area with a small conference room that can be used for teacher workspace or group projects.

Elawa Farm In Living Color

It's fun to see how artists interpret places that many of us take for granted. Here's a link to a blog by a LaGrange artist who recently painted a scene "en plein air" from the Middlefork Savanna in Lake Forest. She's a member of Wilderness Painters of Chicago, which meets at locations once a month to paint in the open air. Her first stop with the group was Elawa Farm, where she had a diverse menu of natural scenes to choose from, including a creek, forest, wetlands, building, bridge, garden and savanna. The artist, Christine Kane, focused on the savanna. She posted a photo of the scene on her blog, followed by more pics and descriptions of the painting in various stages. It's interesting to see how it evolved--that's the final version at left. For more information on Ms. Kane, visit Lets Paint Nature. 

Manicure Helps Woman Nail $1,000

For the price of a manicure, Aileen Emery of Lake Forest won $1,000.  The Lake Forest resident entered her name in a Chamber of Commerce raffle after getting her nails done at Phoenix Nail & Spa last month, but she forgot about the drawing by the time the nail polish had dried. "I literally filled it out and forgot all about it until Joanna called me to say I had won," said Ms. Emery, referring to Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber Executive Director Joanna Rolek. The Chamber is conducting two more "Shopping Zone" raffles to encourage people to keep shopping at downtown stores during the Western Avenue reconstruction project. All you have to do is fill out a raffle form at participating businesses on Western between Laurel and Westminster. There's no minimum purchase required, and the loot is $1,000 in Lake Forest coupons. The Chamber is holding two more drawings--the next one is on July 30 at the season's final Concert on the Green, and the last drawing will take place at the end of October, when the north section of the rehab is expected to be completed.

Same Time, Different Place For LB School Start

Lake Bluff students in Kindergarten through fifth grade will not start the school school year in the Village's new elementary school due to construction delays that have consistently kept the project three weeks behind schedule. School will begin on Sept. 8 as planned, but Kindergarten through third grade classes will be held at East Elementary School, while classes for the fourth, fifth and multi-age grades will be held at Christ Church on Waukegan Road in Lake Forest, according to a press release issued by District 65.

Transportation decisions have not yet been made, spokeswoman Kathleen Reidy told GazeboNews. She said there will be no need to combine classes, since both East School and Christ Church have the capacity to house individual classrooms. She could not provide an estimated opening date for the new school, but said: "We want the students in there as soon as possible."

"This contingency plan was developed by the Board of Education in the spring of 2009 to be used in case the building was not ready for the start of the school year. Teachers and the administration planned accordingly at the end of the last school year to easily move into and instruct in temporary classroom space to make the transition as smooth as possible," the press release stated. 

Students in Lake Bluff Middle School will not be affected by the contingency plan. The construction schedule for the fine arts addition and infrastructure work in the existing building is on target.

GazeboNews will update this story as more information becomes available.

Lake Forest Post Office For Sale

The U.S. Postal Service is seeking a buyer for the Lake Forest Post Office, a circa 1932 art deco building that's in the National Register of Historic Districts as well as one of Lake Forest's Historic Preservation Districts.

U.S.P.S. District Manager Robert Hart last week sent a notification to "postal customers" in Lake Forest, informing them that the Postal Service wants to sell its building and move retail operations to a smaller site in Lake Forest. The note does not specify where in Lake Forest it hopes to relocate. (Please hit the continue reading button for the full text of the note.)

"They are not committing to anything at this point," said City Manager Robert Kiely in an e-mail to GazeboNews. "By law, they will have to entertain proposals from any interested property owner and then evaluate them with input from the City." He said the U.S.P.S. wants to downsize from the 6,000 square feet it has at 230 Northgate Street to 2,000 square feet. He also said the U.S.P.S. has not yet listed the building, nor has it decided on an asking price. "They will be doing all the necessary due diligence studies before any listing (appraisal, survey, etc.)," he said. "They will be working with a real estate firm, but we do not know who at this point."

Photo of the Post Office in downtown Lake Forest, courtesy of Gunnar Soderlind

The Lake Forest Post Office has a long history. To find out more about the building, we turned to the experts: Gail Hodges of the Lake Forest Preservation Foundation; Stephen Vignocchi of the Special Collections/Archives department at Lake Forest College's Donnelley-Lee Library; Cathy Czerniak of the City of Lake Forest; and Robert Willms, former Postmaster from 1967-1990. Here is the information they shared:

Grove Center Hosts Family Carnival

The Grove Cultural Center is hosting a Campus Carnival that's sponsored by some heavy hitters in the local music/entertainment arena: the Music Institute of Chicago, Lake Forest Symphony, Stirling Hall Arts Center, Lake Forest's Parks & Recreation Department, and Dickinson Hall Senior Center. The carnival will include something for everyone: music by Run Surace in "Full Swing" Big Band; a performance of the Jungle Book by members of the Music Institute; historical tours of an original log cabin; the chance to try a potter's wheel; a ceramic exhibit and studio tour; food; face painting; train rides and balloon sculpture. The carnival takes place Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. at 40 East Old Mill Road in Lake Forest. 

Students from the Music Institute of Chicago will perform the Jungle Book on Saturday

Weekend Forecast: Free and Easy

The opportunity to attend free and interesting events continues to grow ever wider in our community, beginning tonight with Market Square's Concert on the Green. The show features The New Invaders' Ultimate '60s Flashback. It starts at 6:30 p.m. and is sponsored by Lake Forest Bank & Trust and Broadacre Market Square Management Co.

On Friday, Lake Forest Parks & Rec opens its maintenance fleet. Kids can explore and even get behind the wheels of the City's fire trucks, front-end loaders, bulldozers, street sweepers and other big rigs. From 10 a.m. to noon behind the Deerpath School Parking lot. 

The Lake Bluff Farmer's Market is in full swing with a bounty of mid-summer goodies, Friday on the Village Green from 7 a.m. till noon. If you eat up all the peaches and string beans by Saturday, you can restock the vege bin at Pasquesi's Home & Garden, which is selling locally grown produce on Saturdays and Sundays from July 11 through the first week in October. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 975 North Shore Drive in Lake Bluff.

On Saturday you can romp with animals at Lake Forest Bank & Trust's petting zoo at 810 S. Waukegan Road. The zoo promises sidewalk pony rides and an assortment of animals to pet, such as sheep, goats, ducks, rabbits and piglets. Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Also on Saturday, the Grove Cultural Center  plans a Campus Carnival, which will include music by Run Surace in "Full Swing" Big Band; a performance of the Jungle Book by members of the Music Institute of Chicago; historical tours of an original log cabin; the chance to try a potter's wheel; a ceramic exhibit and studio tour; food; face painting; train rides and balloon sculpture. The carnival takes place from 1 to 4 p.m. at 40 East Old Mill Road in Lake Forest.

If jewelry is your thing, you can attend a trunk show at Peg Ann Kompany in Lake Bluff, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 79 E. Scranton. It features J'Artisa and many new designs from artist Lisa Kula.

On Sunday evening, you can unwind from the busy weekend at Bluffinia, which features the "Billy Childer's Band."  The concert series takes place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Village Green in Lake Bluff and is sponsored by Baytree National Bank & Trust Co.

Festival & Fireworks Was A Blast

It's hard to believe she can pack it in, but McKey Sullivan, Lake Forest's very own Next Top Model, won the pie-eating contest at Festival & Fireworks. More than 12,000 people attended the Fourth of July celebration in Lake Forest's Deerpath Park, which included picnic fare, fireworks beneath the stars and live music from Rock Candy and Village People. Yes, THE Village People (click here to revisit the '80s) performed in Lake Forest on a tour that includes England, France, Ecuador, Canada, Spain and Ireland. The Festival & Fireworks is planned and funded by Friends of Parks & Recreation, whose goal is to give you---you!--a good time on the evening of the Fourth as well as other key events. The group still needs help funding this year's party. Click over to the Friends website to see how you can help.