Meeting the Challenge

October 22, 2016angie

Getting our backyard prairie certified with Mary Fortmann of Conserve Lake County (on the right). Shown here is a “very happy” Rattlesnake Master plant!

Recently, my husband Aaron and I made good on a promise. In April of this year, I made a public pledge to work towards getting our 9 acres of property in Long Grove certified for eco-friendly practices and land stewardship (see my prior post, Accepting the Conservation Challenge). Last week, I am happy to say, we passed the inspection and are now the proud owners of a “Conserve@Home” yard sign!

We were lucky to enjoy a particularly beautiful October day for our visit from Conserve Lake County consultant, Mary Fortmann. While showing her around our yard, gardens, prairie and woodlands, we chatted about all the things we have done so far to help preserve the many native treasures. Mary had a wealth of knowledge about things growing in our yard that we weren’t sure of, in particular a prairie plant that we had never seen before and hadn’t identified yet. Turns out it is a huge rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) plant–the tallest one Mary had ever seen! Aaron and I learned so much from our consultation, particularly about species that we didn’t know we had (like Japanese barberry) and didn’t know were invasive (like burning bush). We received lots of tips and suggestions on lawn care and mulching that we will use now and next season. Mary identified many baby oak and hickory trees growing in the native woodland area of our property. I love her suggestion to transplant some of these seedlings to our more “suburban” area of the yard–why hadn’t that thought ever occurred to me? Brilliant! We now have several goals for next year including continuing our efforts at controlling the many invasive species starting to creep in such as teasel and reed canary grass. It will be an ongoing battle, but one worth fighting.

I would like to encourage all residents of Long Grove to schedule a consultation and learn more about how you can enhance your landscape in a sustainable way. The amount of personalized information we received was well worth the $50. charge. In addition, if you schedule a visit for 2017 before the end of this year, the Village of Long Grove will refund half the cost of your consultation ($25) as a way of encouragement. I was so delighted to get my own property certified, that I posted the picture above on Facebook, bragging about the giant specimen. My neighbor Claire threw down a challenge for next year–she is going to grow the biggest rattlesnake master in the neighborhood. Game on!

Proudly displaying our new yard sign showing that our property is certified!

Our Daffodil Tradition

September 28, 2016angie

Now is the time to pick up some free bulbs at Village Hall, to plant for springtime beauty!

Now is the time to pick up some free bulbs at Village Hall. Plant them this fall for springtime beauty!

Long Grove has a long-standing tradition with the daffodil, and if you’ve lived in the Village for more than a year you’ve seen them. Every spring, the roadsides are lined with thousands of yellow blooms signaling the end of the winter season and bringing the promise of warmer days ahead. Each year the Village of Long Grove offers free daffodil bulbs to our residents for planting in the public right-of-way. And I’m happy to announce that the bulbs have now arrived! They can be picked up now while the supply lasts, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For a little background on this tradition, we reached out to Long Grove Park District Volunteers Jane and Ken Wittig to do some research and I would like to thank them for providing the following history:

Where and when did the Long Grove daffodil tradition start? It has been going on for a long time–this year will mark what may be the 45th anniversary of the daffodil planting practice. No one knows exactly how many bulbs have been provided by the Village over the years. The Village Board allocates a fixed dollar amount to the project annually, and buys as many bulbs as possible with the budgeted funds. Last fall we provided 4,200 bulbs for residents to plant. If that number was consistent over 45 years, about 190,000 daffodils would have been available to beautify Long Grove.

The daffodil idea came from a group of civic minded women who were the founders of the Long Grove-Kildeer Garden Club in the early 1970’s. The moving force at the front of the idea was Betty Coffin, whose husband, long time Village President and Trustee Robert Parker Coffin, convinced the Village to agree. The project launched as a community effort, with volunteers from the Garden Club, Park District, and Scout troops planting the bulbs. Among the enthusiastic participants were Timmie and John Clemetsen, Lee Bassett, and Barbara Turner. Funding came from the Village and from builders who donated bulbs for planting along the right of way in areas where they were developing homes. The idea was popular, has continued through economic ups and downs, and is still going strong today. We now depend on individual homeowners to carry on the tradition.

Stop by Village Hall now and pick up your bulbs for planting this fall. You will be thankful (and so will your neighbors) this coming April!

First Day of Fall

September 22, 2016angie

Better get in line for all of the fun happenings this Fall in Long Grove!

Even though we enjoyed summer-like temperatures in Long Grove today, it also happens to be the Autumnal Equinox, which signifies the official first day of Fall. The blooming goldenrod in my conservancy is another sign, as are the leaves in the trees that are just starting to come down. I love the smell of burning leaves this time of year, and today was a perfect day to have the top down in my convertible and take in the scent of the season.

I’m excited about the many community activities we have planned for the Fall season in Long Grove, starting with the Apple Festival this weekend! Don’t miss all the fun kids activities, musical entertainment, and apple treats in this annual celebration in our historic downtown, September 23-25. I can already taste that caramel apple now! For a full schedule of events visit http://longgrove.org/

The Long Grove Park District is sponsoring a Build Your Own Scarecrow event (with prizes!) on Saturday October 1st at Reed-Turner Nature Center. Check out http://lgparks.org/ for more details.

Now through October 9th is Oktoberfest at the Village Tavern. The beer tent is up and running and for more information visit their website at http://www.villagetavernoflonggrove.com/

And I have to give a plug for my personal favorite community event of the Fall season, the Historical Society Ghost Walk. In it’s fourth year, this fun family event just keeps getting bigger and better. The spooks are planning another spectacularly scary event this year on Friday night, October 28th. To register your desire to be haunted, visit their website at http://longgrovehistory.org/

Long Grove is a beautiful place to be in the Fall. However you choose to partake of the season, I hope it creates enjoyable memories.

Historical Society volunteers painting the farmhouse (L to R) Back Row: Chris Campbell, Aaron Underwood. Front Row: Amy, Maddie and Alex Gayton, and Mike Dvorack.

Historical Society volunteers sprucing up the farmhouse in preparation for the upcoming haunting: (L to R) Back Row: Chris Campbell, Aaron Underwood. Front Row: Amy, Nikki and Alex Gayton, and Mike Dvorack.

Artists and Authors

September 13, 2016angie

Long Grove resident Barbara English showcases her paintings in her “Back Seat Gallery,” the original inspiration for the event.

If you are looking for something fun to do in Long Grove on Saturday, September 17th, I have a good suggestion. The Long Grove Artists Guild (part of the Arts & Music Council) is sponsoring an “Artists and Authors” event on Towner Green, to showcase our homegrown talent. The idea first got started last year with an informal “Back Seat Gallery & Trunk Show” and has been expanded this year to include local authors, who will be present to sign copies of their books and meet with the public.

The inspiration for this event can be credited to Long Grove artist & author, Barbara English. She stopped by the home of Artist Guild Founder Georgia Cawley after an art class one afternoon, to share her recent paintings. With the framed pieces propped up in the back seat of her car, Georgia teased her about her “back seat gallery,” and the idea was born.

This year, several artists will have their cars parked along Towner Green, with a variety of art in all mediums available to admire and purchase out of backseats and open trunks. The event is a gathering of artist friends, invited by Artist Guild members, to share art with each other and with the public. Stop by downtown Long Grove for a look!

Hayrake Trail

September 1, 2016angie

Grovetrotter walking group member Jane Primack at the entrance to the Hayrake Trail.

Thanks to the hard work of a Long Grove Eagle Scout, one of our neighborhood pathway trails was recently extended and restored. Known as the Hayrake Trail, this path along Indian Creek starts on Port Clinton Road and runs north, just to the east of the Com Ed right of way. This path is attractive for a variety of reasons: it contains woodland wildflowers, winds alongside a lovely creek, features benches on which to rest, and a vintage artifact (old hayrake salvaged from the creek) as a point of interest. But my personal favorite feature of this trail is that it is entirely in the shade. And on the hot and humid August day that I recently hiked it along with my fellow Grovetrotters, that shade was most welcome!

We have Stevenson High School Senior William Jacob to thank for this, as he was the most recent local Boy Scout to choose the Hayrake Trail as his Eagle Scout project. William and his crew of volunteers spent several workdays this summer hauling mulch and clearing brush to restore the front section of the trail, and then extended the trail further north towards an eventual connection to Oakwood Road. In addition, William added a wooden entrance sign to the trail (pictured above) which is visible from Port Clinton Road so that residents can more easily access this community path. William was thanked for his service to the Village and the Park District at the August 9th Village Board Meeting, pictured below.

Long Grove is a community that depends on volunteers to step forward when needed to maintain and improve our many beautiful open spaces. Congratulations to William for gaining some valuable leadership skills, and at the same time giving all of us one more shady spot to appreciate the wonders of nature.

Honoring students at our August 9th Village Board Meeting: (L to R) Ted Tapas, Stevenson High School State Championship Men’s Bowling Team Captain; Dave Lothspeich, Village Manager; Angie Underwood, Village President; Eagle Scout William Jacob.

Penny Carnival

August 27, 2016angie

Girl Scouts and Historical Society volunteers prepare to run the games for the younger kids at the Penny Carnival.

As part of the Vintage Days festivities last weekend, the Long Grove Historical Society hosted a Penny Carnival on the grounds of their restored 1860’s farmhouse. This was not a fundraiser, but rather an event to connect with the community in a family friendly way and participate with the downtown merchants in a lower-key, local festival. It was a huge success and a perfect result of residents coming together to make something special happen.

First off, you could not have asked for a more beautiful summer day–cool, clear, and comfortable. The girl scouts and Historical Society volunteers were ready and waiting, after spending the previous weeks concocting games to entertain our local families. For example, my household was home to the creation and construction of both the “More Cowbell, Baby” bag toss, and the “NASA Frog Launcher” game. Other vintage-inspired games included the penny toss, bottle rings, duck pond, and tin can knock-over. The cost to play was one penny, and the kids received tickets which could be redeemed at the end for prizes such as penny-candy, trinkets, and small stuffed animals.

As this was a first-time event, nobody knew just how many families to expect, if any. We were pleasantly overwhelmed with nearly 150 families spending their Sunday afternoon having old-fashioned fun on the farmhouse lawn. I was supposed to conduct tours of the museum, but instead was assigned to pitch in running a game and I served a constant line of happy children for two hours straight! I don’t know whether to blame Mike Dvorak, our “carnival barker” or John Kopecky, our “wagon driver” for bringing in the crowds, but at one point I looked up to a line of 30 strollers parked all in a row and knew our expectations had been exceeded. In a wonderful way!

When I look back at my years as Village President, there are some days and experiences that will be remembered as pure joy.

I had a blast helping families and kids with the bean bag toss game!

Camp CEO: Mentoring with a side of S’mores

August 18, 2016August 19, 2016angie

Happy Campers: Arriving at Camp CEO and being greeted by my mentee, Trinity.

Last week I participated in what will surely be remembered as one of the highlights of my summer–camping with the Girl Scouts! In it’s tenth year, Camp CEO is a premier leadership camp for teen girls and high-level professionals held at Camp Butternut Springs in Valparaiso, Indiana. I was invited to attend as one of the 25 female “CEOs” along with 40 high-achieving Girl Scouts selected from the Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana Council who applied and wrote essays to participate. I had not been camping since my days as a leader with my daughter’s troop 20 years ago, and it was incredible fun to be hiking, swimming, and singing songs around the campfire once again.

In addition to these traditional camp activities, what made Camp CEO so special was the opportunity to mentor the girls one-on-one and share stories, life experiences, advice and inspiration. I was fortunate to be paired with Trinity, an impressively smart and sweet girl from Chicago who aspires to be a doctor. I really enjoyed spending time with my mentee as well as all the girls at camp and I was continually amazed by the thoughtful questions the girls asked. They were truly focused on learning and absorbing as much as possible from their time with the adult mentors. Women were present from a wide variety of professions such as science, technology, law, government, finance, communications, entrepreneurs, and more. I was asked to lead a workshop on networking and social etiquette in politics, which challenged me to step out of my box a bit to design a seminar. But I had a ball doing it, and the girls really seemed to enjoy discussing the role of women in elected office particularly in light of the history being made this year in our U. S. Presidential race.

One activity that seemed to really resonate with adults and girls alike was the “Dreaming Your Future” tradition. A couple of times each day, everyone would gather around the fireplace or campfire, and listen as three or four of the CEOs took center stage and shared their own life story and pathway to leadership. As usual, the girls had intriguing questions to ask. I found it so interesting that every woman’s story showcased the fact that most of us are not doing what we thought our careers would be when we were in high school or college–in most cases our journey has taken twists and turns to lead us to a place we never dreamed possible. I know that I never planned on becoming a Village President when I was majoring in Foods-Nutrition/Dietetics during my college days!

As luck would have it, the day I chose to arrive at camp, August 10th, just happened to be National S’mores Day–score!! Who knew it was a thing? But I cannot imagine a better place on earth to be on National S’mores Day than at Girl Scout Camp! We celebrated with a fabulous bonfire, singalong, marshmallows toasted on sticks, and a few mosquitoes to complete the woodsy atmosphere. I discovered a new taste sensation–using a peanut butter cup sandwiched between the graham crackers and marshmallow, in place of the traditional plain chocolate bar. I am still thinking about how delicious that tasted–maybe the fresh air and female empowerment are enhancing the memory?

Camp CEO was an all-around wonderful experience. I’m grateful that we have organizations such as Girl Scouts to provide opportunities like this, which bond women and girls together to inspire the next generation of leaders. But the inspiration works both ways, because I came home uplifted by Trinity and all the other young women I now know who give me hope for a bright future for us all.

Adding our hopes and wishes to the “Dreaming Your Future” dream-catcher at Camp CEO.

Music on Towner Green

August 5, 2016angie

Enjoying an Arts & Music Council concert on Towner Green with one of the founders and guiding forces of the group, Tobin Fraley.

A tradition that I love in Long Grove is our free concerts on summer Sunday afternoons, planned and supported by the Arts & Music Council. The six-concert series is halfway through the 2016 season, but there are still three more opportunities to bask in the summer warmth on Towner Green while enjoying incredible music. This Sunday, August 7th features gypsy-jazz music by Alfonso Ponticelli & Swing Gitan, followed by bluegrass band Special Consensus on August 21st and wrapping up the season with Sons of the Never Wrong on August 28th. Bring your family and friends, lawn chair or blanket, and favorite beverage or even dinner to savor along with the beautiful music. The concerts start at 4:00 and did I mention that they are free?

For the past 11 years our volunteer Long Grove Arts & Music Council members have worked hard to provide this high-quality entertainment for our community, and I for one am grateful. I have so many pleasant memories of concerts in the park over the years and this coming weekend will be one more to remember. To read more about this group and the history of the concerts see my blog post Summer Concert Series Kickoff.

Arts and Music Council board members Georgia Cawley (left) and Rachel Perkal accept donations at a recent concert.

Glorious Garden Walk

June 24, 2016September 28, 2016angie

Just a small portion of the beautiful gardens created by Jo and Harry Moser of Kildeer.

Today the members of the Long Grove-Kildeer Garden Club brought a little bit of beauty and joy into the lives of others. Five area private gardens were open to the public for tours this morning, to share the wonders of nature and raise a bit of money in the process. Whenever I attend this event I invariably come away with creative ideas and inspiration, and also a healthy dose of garden-envy. We have some seriously talented (and hard working) gardeners in our corner of Lake County! The gardens featured this year in the annual Garden Walk were quite diverse and unique: vegetable gardens, unusual flowers, water features, a serene Japanese garden, fruit trees and berries, wildflowers, orchids, cactus, a garden shed to die for and even a couple of fairy gardens–we saw it all. Thankfully, Mother Nature set a perfect scene today for the gardens in all their glory.

By volunteering and participating in this event I was once again reminded of the best things our Village has to offer. Neighbors working together for a common goal were raising money for scholarships and stewardship work in our public Woodland and open spaces. And in the process, showcasing some outstanding gardens and those who create them; providing beauty and inspiration to fellow green thumbs in our community. Our local garden club is a real asset to Long Grove all year round, but in the summer it truly shines the brightest.

Birthday Wishes For Some Leading Ladies

June 13, 2016angie

Some of the women attending the recent WINGS celebration: (seated L to R) Cheri Neal, Zion Township Supervisor and current WINGS President, and

Some of the women attending the recent WINGS 30th Birthday celebration: (seated L to R) Cheri Neal, Zion Township Supervisor and current WINGS President, and Evelyn Alexander, Founding Member. (Back row L to R) Cynthia Alexander, Mara Grujanac, Village of Lincolnshire Trustee, Nancy Rotering, City of Highland Park Mayor, Alyssa Knobel, Highland Park Trustee, and Angie Underwood, Village of Long Grove Village President.

This past week marked a milestone in history as Hillary Clinton became the first woman to secure major party support to be placed on the November ballot for President of the United States. Being raised in nearby Park Ridge, Hillary has her roots in Illinois and we do seem to have a heritage of strong women leaders here in our neck of the woods. Today I want to celebrate the birthdays of just a couple of examples.

Having a chat with Barbara Turner in December of 2014

All of us in Long Grove are delighted to send our best wishes to Barbara Turner today, June 13, 2016, as she celebrates her 97th birthday! Barbara and her family have been instrumental in preserving and sharing some of our high-quality open spaces and natural areas in the Village, as well as advocating for conservation efforts throughout Lake County. Barbara has been a resident of Long Grove since her youth, and has served the community in many capacities over the years. She is well known to a generation of students as the librarian at Kildeer Countryside School, and was one of the founders of the Long Grove Historical Society, serving as curator and co-authoring a book about our local history. These days Barbara is less able to get out in her beloved nature preserve and battle back the invasive species, but we all know if she could be alongside the interns at Reed-Turner pulling garlic mustard today, she would be! Happy Birthday, Barbara.

Another happy milestone was the 30th Birthday Celebration that I recently attended for a group know as WINGS (Women Interested/In Government Service). This Lake County organization was created to encourage women to seek elected office and offer support and education for those women in leadership roles and interested in the political process. This group meets three times a year and offers inspiring speakers and valuable networking, as well as sponsoring an annual college scholarship. The birthday celebration featured a panel discussion with founding members of WINGS discussing their original dream for the organization back in 1986, and their hopes as we move forward. As we saw in the national events of last week, the contributions of women as leaders in America is a story that continues to be told.

Life in Long Grove

by Angie Underwood

Community Groups