Why History Matters

Members of the 2018-2019 Long Grove Historical Society Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting on  April 25, 2018.

Members of the 2018-2019 Long Grove Historical Society Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting on April 25, 2018.

The Long Grove Historical Society has a website, and we are contacted fairly often by people all over the country with inquiries relating to our Village, past and present. I would like to share with you an email that we recently received, because it underscores the importance of remembering and honoring our history. I read this correspondence at our Board meeting last month so that all those who work so hard to preserve our past know that their efforts really do matter. Last week I paid a visit to Barbara Turner who will turn 99 next month, and had the pleasure of sharing these fond remembrances with her:

“We raised our three sons on Old McHenry Road in Long Grove until the 1970’s. When they went off to college, my husband John and I moved to Oregon in 1976.

Looking back, those were the years where we really matured. I worked closely with Barbara Turner to turn the local school library at Kildeer Countryside into a vibrant and relevant school library. My husband John was one of the first volunteer firemen who took the paramedic training. We really became contributing adults there. It was a wonderful learning experience.

Now I am living in a high rise retirement home in Portland, Oregon. I had dinner tonight with a couple who I knew but had no idea her family was originally from Buffalo Grove. We had a nice time exchanging reminiscences, so I came up after dinner and reread Virginia Park’s book on the area, Long Grove Lore and Legend. I had kept it all these years–I am so glad I did! For some reason, it made more sense tonight than when I was active living among the people mentioned in the book.

These days I am pretty ancient. I suspect Barbara and Virginia are long gone. But I wanted to make sure that their descendants, and you who are working to ensure that history is not forgotten realize that your work is SO worthwhile. I will now share this material with my Buffalo Grove friend. Who would have imagined?

If any of you are still in contact with the Turner and Park descendants, let them know. Even after all of these years, they will never be forgotten. If it had not been for Barbara, she and I would never have decided to pursue our advanced degrees in library science–and I would never have received a lifetime achievement award in the field. She was an amazing leader and loved Long Grove.”

Sincerely,

Sybilla Cook

On May 29th, while vacationing Greece, I got a personal tour of the local history museum in Kaloxylos, on the island of Naxos. I'm pictured here with museum founder Flourios Horianopoulos who gave me a personal tour and some awesome lemonade he makes from his lemon trees. Hats off to local historians world wide. Opa!

On May 29th, 2018 while vacationing in Greece, I got a personal tour of the local history museum in Kaloxylos, on the island of Naxos. I’m pictured here with museum founder Flourios Horianopoulos who gave me a personal tour and some awesome homemade lemonade he makes from his trees. Hats off to all of us world-wide with a passion for saving local history. Opa!

Chocolate Fest 2018

Enjoying the talents of professional  Puppeteer Krist Neumann is part of the fun to be had this weekend at Chocolate Fest in Long Grove!

Enjoying the talents of professional Puppeteer Krist Neumann is part of the fun to be had this weekend at Chocolate Fest in Long Grove!

Festival season has returned to downtown Long Grove, with this weekend’s Chocolate Fest kicking off the fun and entertainment. Yesterday’s comfortable temperatures and calm skies made it a pleasure for those attending, and for the merchants who enjoyed the healthy crowds. It was the perfect evening to relax in the outdoor seating at Broken Earth Winery, share a bottle of merlot and a pizza from Joanie’s, and enjoy the festival people-watching.

With Jodi Smith on the porch of Broken Earth Winery, soaking in the festival ambiance.

With Jodi Smith on the porch of Broken Earth Winery, soaking in the festival ambiance.

Of course, you can’t attend Chocolate Fest and not sample a bit (or a bunch) of chocolate! Among the many tempting options were classics like fresh chocolate dipped strawberries, and clever new combinations like chocolate bourbon espresso ice cream. Yep, I can verify that both are worth the indulgence. And who can resist a signature Long Grove specialty, the apple cider donut, covered in chocolate and placed on a stick for maximum enjoyment and festival portability? Not me!

As far as entertainment goes, there are carnival rides for the kids as well as free children’s activities on Towner Green. The Historical Society once again hosted a show on the back porch of our farmhouse featuring local youths and adults (and puppets!) in the family friendly production, “Chocolate, Chronicled.” Headlining bands round out the festival evenings and the street in front of the main stage at the covered bridge was packed last night with music lovers. Click below to view a snippet. Chocolate Fest continues today, May 20th until 5:00 pm in the historic downtown.

 

Mother’s Day Fashionistas

Long Grove boutique owners (L to R) Lynne Jankovec of Olivia's and Mira Pinscher of Bella Donna at the May 10, 2018 Fashion Show.

Long Grove boutique owners (L to R) Lynne Jankovec of Olivia’s and Mira Pinscher of Bella Donna looking stylish at the May 10, 2018 Fashion Show.

Now that Spring weather has finally arrived in Long Grove, it’s time to shift those boots and heavy sweaters to the back of the closet and make way for sandals and sundresses. To help you with that, we have two stylish boutiques in Long Grove chock full of beautiful things to wear in the warm months ahead. And I know this for a fact, because I attended the recent Mother’s Day Fashion Show at the Grove Country Club put on by Lynne Jankovec of Olivia’s and Mira Pinscher of Bella Donna.  This annual event has been held for the last five years and is always a really fun night out with the ladies while enjoying a preview of both the fashion forward and classic looks for the season. In addition, there was a bit of on-site shopping to enjoy and raffle prizes to bid on, with the proceeds going to support the fight against breast cancer. I was excited to find the perfect summery dress to take with me on vacation next month–and I’m still contemplating that matching hat!

No matter where this summer takes you, be it afternoons in the park, lunch in the garden with your girlfriends, or a romantic sunset dinner on Santorini, Lynne and Mira can dress you in the perfect attire. This weekend is a great time to stop by, as Chocolate Fest returns to Long Grove on Friday, Saturday and Sunday May 18-20. Now that is a winning combination if there ever was one–new clothes AND chocolate!