The Headless Horseman of Long Grove

October 30, 2017angie

The Headless Horseman (Greg Abshire) joins Aaron and Angie Underwood at the Ghost Walk after-party on October 27th.

One of the three people pictured above is actually a sheriff, but it isn’t the one wearing the badge. Yes, strange things happen in Long Grove on Halloween, as witnessed during the Fifth Annual Ghost Walk last Friday night, sponsored by the Long Grove Historical Society. The event was a great success and one featured highlight was a menacing visit to the farmhouse by the Headless Horseman, aka Lake County Sheriff’s officer Greg Abshire.

Many other community volunteers pitched in on this cold night to bring thrills and chills to over 330 residents and visitors to our historic downtown. One survivor of my 6:00 pm tour group just happened to be a journalism student who was so taken with the experience that she wrote a fantastic story of her journey through haunted Long Grove. Click here to read Natalie Bober’s article published today on the Chicago Tribune website: Ghost Walk/Chicago Tribune Website Natalie says it better than I ever could!

Happy Halloween!!

A few of the many Long Grove spooks and spirits who volunteered to make the Ghost Walk come alive!

Neighbors & Newcomers

September 29, 2017angie

Members of the Long Grove-Kildeer Neighbors and Newcomers Club (L to R): Sandi

Some of the Long Grove-Kildeer Neighbors and Newcomers Club members (L to R) at the September 12th Brunch: Sandy Yogendran, Renee Clark, Katie Hodge, Susan Fasano, Lana Pollard, and Angie Underwood.

Today I’d like to highlight one community group that is near and dear to my heart and continues to be a force for good in our village. Founded in 1957, shortly after the Village of Long Grove was incorporated, the Neighbors and Newcomers Club of Long Grove and Kildeer has been welcoming new residents and sustaining friendships for 50 years. This vibrant group has helped countless residents get acclimated into their new communities and fostered social connections that have lasted in some cases, decades. I was introduced to this group 20 years ago when we first moved to the area, and quickly met other newcomers like myself who shared similar interests and had children the same ages as my own. Some of the ladies pictured above I have known since I joined, others are more recent friends. I have had the pleasure of serving as President of this wonderful group three separate times over the ensuing years.

Earlier this month was the fall “kick-off” event, a brunch at our current President’s home in which we welcomed three new members and had fun catching up on summer happenings with long-time friends. Everyone who attended brought donations of toiletry bags filled with essentials (shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, lotion, etc…) to be donated to WINGS, a local Safe House for women and children fleeing desperate situations. Each year the club sponsors one specific collection for a local charity. In past years the donations have ranged from food for the local food pantry, children’s pajamas for a shelter, toys for a holiday gift drive, and the adopt-a-family program through Vernon Township.

One way to really get to know your neighbors is through a shared interest. Here is where this group really excels, by offering eight different interest groups in which you can participate in, as little or much as you choose. My personal favorite is the Grove Trotters walking group, which meets at Heron Creek Forest Preserve or other neighborhood walking trails for fellowship and fitness in our beautiful Long Grove & Kildeer open spaces. You can participate in an evening book club, Bunco/Game Night, couples Wine Tasting or Gourmet dining, Out to Lunch with the ladies or take in a Chick Flicks show at a local theater. If social opportunities are what you are interested in, look no further than this friendly club. For more information please visit the Facebook page here.

As I mentioned earlier, I have a great amount of affection for this group. I liken it to the song I learned back in Girl Scouts, “Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.” The friends I have made over the last twenty years in Neighbors & Newcomers are truly golden.

Pennies and Prizes

August 23, 2017angie

A penny carnival attendee has fun launching a frog into outer space.

A penny carnival attendee prepares to launch a frog into outer space.

The second annual Penny Carnival sponsored by the Long Grove Historical Society was held this past weekend as part of Vintage Days. Little kids had a blast playing old-fashioned games on the farmhouse lawn, and big kids had fun running the games, awarding tickets, and helping with the all-important prize redemption. Many parents told us how much they appreciated the simplicity and “un-plugged” experience that the whole family enjoyed.

No electronics needed to ring this bell!

Two young ladies, Bella and Gabby Minichiello made a special visit to the Penny Carnival all the way from New Jersey. Last year while visiting Vintage Days with their Grandparents, they happened upon the games, had a great time and won 220 tickets! This year they purposely planned their annual visit to Grandma and Grandpa to include the Penny Carnival where they were determined to beat last year’s ticket tally. At the end of the afternoon, they had amassed 393 tickets!! Faced with the daunting task of trying to redeem all of those prizes, they graciously donated 300 tickets-worth of them back to the Historical Society. This story just melts my heart!

It was sweet to see the big kids having so much fun helping the little kids.

Polly Pureheart Prevails

August 7, 2017angie

The back porch of our Historical Society farmhouse will serve as a stage for the upcoming production of “Polly Pureheart Prevails.”

Last summer a new festival debuted in Long Grove, known as Vintage Days. The entire event was a huge success, pairing old-fashioned fun with community group volunteerism to produce a hometown festival put on by locals, for locals. Right now, organizations such as the Long Grove Community Church, Long Grove Performing Arts Academy, Long Grove Historical Society, Long Grove Arts & Music Council, and the Historic Downtown Long Grove Business Association have partnered together to plan a weekend full of family friendly entertainment and shopping, August 19th and 20th. Over 40 antique, vintage, upcycled, and/or reclaimed dealers will have unique items for sale on the Robert Parker Coffin Road street market in front of the covered bridge. The bridge crossing will be open to pedestrians, bikes, and vintage tractor traffic only, so it will be the perfect opportunity to come linger under our iconic bridge, which is poised to be listed on the National Register. Admission and parking are free, as well as the live music, historic tractor rides, ice cream social on Saturday at the church, and penny carnival on Sunday at the farmhouse.

A couple of new activities this year include the Pop-Up Car Show and two entertaining dramatic presentations at our farmhouse “back porch” stage. The car show will feature registered VIP parking for classic cars in the Stemple parking lot. On Saturday at 4:00, our farmhouse stage will host “A Salute to Old Glory,” as narrator Mike Dvorak takes audience volunteers back to 1814 to tell the story of the Star-Spangled Banner, followed by “Old Glory in Barnwood,” a presentation by artist Marie Roth featuring stories and selections from her celebrated collection of historic flag recreations. On Sunday, trade in your pennies (if you don’t have any, we will give you some!) for a chance at old-timey games and nifty prizes at the Penny Carnival from noon till 2:00, then stay for a wacky 1-act melodrama, “Polly Pureheart Prevails,” presented by the summer session theater students of the Long Grove Performing Arts Academy. Showtime for the half-hour performance is 2:00. Cap off the day by attending the 4:00 Arts & Music Council concert on Towner Green featuring the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. And don’t forget–all of this is free of charge! Visit longgrove.org for a full listing of all the weekend activities.

Plan to bring the kids and grandkids to downtown Long Grove Saturday and Sunday, August 19th and 20th, for one last blast of summertime memories before school kicks into gear once more. Vintage Days will be rocking and rolling fun for the entire family–be there or be square!

Outdoor Concerts Return

July 28, 2017angie

Arts & Music Council concert series founder Tobin Fraley (Left) and loyal concert supporter John Marshall (R) at the July 9, 2017 kickoff concert.

Arts & Music Council concert series founder Tobin Fraley (Left) and loyal concert supporter John Marshall (R) join me at the July 9, 2017 kickoff concert.

One of my favorite summer activities is now in full swing–the free outdoor concert series on Sunday afternoons at 4:00 on Towner Green. Blues harmonica artist Corky Siegel and his band performed for the sixth consecutive year at the kickoff concert earlier this month on July 9th. I was lucky enough to be one of the estimated 350 people to relax, meet up with friends and neighbors, and enjoy some beautiful music in our historic downtown. Long Grove residents are truly fortunate to have free entertainment of such high caliber right in our hometown.

But is anything in life really free? In Long Grove, many of the elements that make our community so special are the result of volunteer efforts. This summer, we can continue to enjoy this wonderful concert series because of the passionate and committed work of the members of the Long Grove Arts and Music Council. Thank you!!

In my opinion, a true gem in the revitalization of our village is the enrichment that comes through music and the arts. For the last twelve summers, the Arts & Music Council has given us the gift of this high quality concert series to enjoy. Besides the diligent efforts of the council volunteers, monetary support for the concerts comes by way of donations from individuals, civic groups, businesses, and a grant from the Village of Long Grove. I hope that this can continue for many more years to come.

This summer you can still enjoy five upcoming concerts:

July 30th – Black Oak Ensemble

August 6th – Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands

August 13th – Harpeth Rising

August 20th – Maxwell Street Klezmer Band

August 27th – Reggie Harris & Scott Ainslie

Enjoying the July 9th concert (L to R): Mary Dorner, Mike Dvorak, and George Dorner.

What to Keep

July 22, 2017September 11, 2017angie

One of our wilder neighbors, caught hunting in our backyard conservancy area in April of this year.

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of simplifying. It all started this spring, when I retired from the Village Board and found myself cleaning out six years worth of job related clutter–physical, mental, and the electronic variety. I’ve moved on now to closets, and in a five-bedroom house we have more than a few. With three children now grown and living on their own, I’m pretty sure we can live without the Middle School fashion statements and treasures hauled home from numerous college apartments. Fat clothes? If I haven’t worn them in five years, why in God’s name am I hanging on to them? Yes, the charity pickup trucks have been welcome at my doorstep this summer.

All this purging has gotten me thinking about scaling back my life in other ways. I am volunteering a little bit less these days, while still focusing my leadership efforts on causes and groups that I’m most passionate about. As empty nesters, my husband and I regularly discuss the pros and cons of downsizing our properties now that it’s just the two of us at the dinner table. But as we talk about what to get rid of, it always leads us back to what we want to keep.

We do have an affection for our house where we have raised our family, but the happy memories from the last nineteen years are what we will cherish. Houses come and go. Yet, it is the intangible part of Long Grove that has gotten hold of our hearts and keeps us rooted to this land and this community. Our neighbors have been a blessing, and although I know they too are having similar downsizing thoughts, collectively we love and have been loved by too many individuals in this community to be able to give that up anytime soon. Even though it is part of a larger suburban area, Long Grove has the soul of a small town, and my husband and I feel a very part of that fiber.

Besides our human ties, the other tether holding us to this particular spot on the globe is the beautiful nature that we are fortunate to be a part of on a daily basis. We are the lucky recipients and stewards of the majestic open spaces strewn throughout our Village, set aside by prior neighbors so that native flora and fauna could co-exist with us for years to come. Sightings of coyotes, fawns, monarchs and prairie orchid bring peacefulness and serenity, when we really take the time to notice it. As our future days unfold, this is the richness that we want to remain.

The opportunity to be up close with nature, coupled with small town charm and neighborly kindness is what drew us to Long Grove in the first place. It’s what we choose to keep.

Open space in Long Grove this time of year features many wildflowers and native prairie plants.

Our backyard view in Long Grove this time of year features many wildflowers and native prairie plants.

A “Mayberry” Moment

July 6, 2017July 6, 2017angie

Longtime resident Barbara Turner, pictured in December of 2014.

When you are a genuinely good person and live to be 98 years old, that in itself is a blessing. An additional result of having endeared yourself to so many people over the years is that you acquire many, many friends. A whole community of them, actually. And in a time of need, those friends can come together in the best sort of way. Recently, Long Grove experienced one such moment, in which citizens randomly pitched in to help longtime resident Barbara Turner enjoy her beloved Woodland again.

Barbara and her family are best known in Long Grove for the donation of the Reed-Turner Woodland, a 36 acre nature preserve just north of our historic downtown on Old McHenry Road. In the last year Barbara’s health has not allowed her to get outside and enjoy the beautiful open spaces right outside her home; even the porch has not been accessible due to a large step down. All that has been recently remedied, when a crew of local businessmen and resident volunteers showed up to build Barbara a ramp out to her screened-in area. Today, she is once again enjoying the bird songs and wildflowers. And despite the current heat & humidity–who doesn’t just crave a little fresh air now and then?

All this came about when several of Barbara’s friends tried coming up with ideas to get her back outside. The porch presented a challenge regarding the ramp design, which was finally solved by a local builder and contractor. Past and current elected officials helped design and organize the project, and waived the building fees. The local Lions Club helped out with building materials and labor, with assistance from a few handy members of the Historical Downtown Merchants Association and Historical Society. All of this could not have been done without the cooperation of the Long Grove Park District, which owns and maintains Barbara’s home as well as the entire Woodland preserve.

In our fast -paced modern world, it is easy to get caught up in the negative headlines and news feeds. It can seem discouraging that we live in a time and place where civility and human kindness take a back seat to being right and being in control. Witnessing everyone collaborate to help a beloved neighbor is an important reminder that by working jointly with others, great things can happen. Small town spirit is still alive in Long Grove! When we labor together, it’s a “win” for all of us.

Ramp construction underway!

One Yuuuge Check

June 28, 2017angie

Ryan Messner, President of the Historic Downtown Business Association presents a ginormous check to Diane Trickey, Treasurer of the Long Grove Historical Society.

Last weekend’s Strawberry Fest featured lovely weather and a healthy attendance. The Historic Downtown Long Grove Business Association generously pledged to donate a portion of the admission fees to help offset the costs of needed restoration for our Historic Covered Bridge. The happy result is pictured above, as Ryan Messner, President of the HDLGBA presents a giant check to Diane Trickey, Treasurer of the Long Grove Historical Society, during the June 27th Village Board meeting. It is exciting to see donations such as these–earmarked for covered bridge restoration–start to accumulate, and this is only the beginning. Stay tuned as efforts continue over the summer and into the fall as the residents, merchants, Historical Society, and other community groups work together in raising funds to “Save the Bridge.”

Many Beautiful Rainbows

April 25, 2017May 27, 2017angie

UPDATE: This photo was taken during our hike in Peru on April 30, 2017, five days after this blog post was originally published. Mother Nature provided the perfect illustration!

The following article appeared in the April edition of our Village of Long Grove newsletter, The Bridge. Tonight marks my last Village Board meeting. I will be taking a few weeks off from the blog to rest and recharge, but will resume later in May bringing you more stories of Life in Long Grove.

From the Village President, Angie Underwood, 2013-2017

It is with a deep sense of gratitude that I write to you this last time as your Village President. Representing Long Grove and serving each of you has been an honor. When your work is truly your passion, as mine has been these last six years volunteering for the Village Board, it feels more like a privilege than a job. Thank you for the valuable learning experiences, unique opportunities, and abundant good memories that I have to carry forward.

A sentiment that I love from poet and author Maya Angelou reminds us to always try to “be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.” My term as Village President was mainly sunny but did feature the occasional clouds, a few of which were quite stormy. I have been blessed with many beautiful rainbows to support me through the rough weather. Our staff who never failed to welcome me with a smile at village hall, current and former elected officials who gave me advice and mentoring, friends and neighbors who listened and took me out for lunches and drinks to vent, downtown merchants who are now mutually respected colleagues, blog readers who reply with such positive feedback, and residents who have randomly emailed encouraging shout outs just when I needed it most–rainbows each and every one! The pot of gold at rainbow’s end is my family, who will now get more of my time and energy, and my husband Aaron, who is joining me soon on an adventure to take the high road in Peru.

I am proud of what our Village Board has accomplished these last four years as I have held the gavel, and I am confident that the new Trustees and President will continue to work hard in the years ahead for the best interests of our residents. Recently a friend asked me if I felt that holding elected office had been “worth it.” Helping the community that you live in, in big or little ways, is always worth it.

The Blog Will Go On

March 31, 2017angie

Two of my blog readers (L) Georgia Cawley and (R) Marie Borg, who have encouraged me to keep the blog going. Photo taken at the open house for Joanie's Pizza, one year ago.

Two of my readers (L) Georgia Cawley and (R) Marie Borg, who have encouraged me to keep on blogging. Photo taken at the open house for Joanie’s Pizza, in April of 2016.

When I started this blog a little over two years ago, it was an experiment in trying to communicate more. My intention was to provide one additional way for residents of Long Grove to find out about major issues going on with the Village Board, and to give a little insight into what my job as Village President entails. I also wanted a platform that was not an official village communication, still publicly accessible on the web, but where I could use my own voice and perspectives and hopefully connect a bit on a personal level with the readers. Along the way I found that I could also use the blog to highlight the community, the downtown shops, festivals, our history, open spaces, community groups, scouts, schools, local citizens of merit, and generally all the good things that make life in Long Grove so special.

Last fall when I announced that I was not running for re-election, I planned to wrap up the blog when my term expires at the end of April. I thought it would be best for me to focus my energy on non-Long Grove things and take a break from any community involvement for awhile. But what I have found is that when you truly care about something, it is nearly impossible to give it up.

Two things have caused me to have a change of heart. The recent campaign to save our one-lane covered bridge and get it listed on the National Register has highlighted the importance and the need to stay involved in the preservation of our local history and the character that makes our Village unique. This has been a long term passion of mine as I have been an active volunteer and board member of the Long Grove Historical Society for the past 18 years, serving as President from 2009-2011. I have been asked to step back into this role, so in a few weeks I find myself taking up the gavel again as the President of the Historical Society.

The other reason I have decided to stay involved with Long Grove is because of so many of you, my faithful blog readers! The number of personal requests to ask me to please continue has been humbling, and as always, I appreciate the feedback. So yes, due to popular opinion, the blog will go on. I will continue to write about our wonderful community, our downtown and civic groups, local events and people, and whatever else pops into my head that somehow relates. Once I leave office the posts will no longer focus on government, but I may still write about local issues as they relate to the community. I guess we will all just have to see how this blog experiment continues to evolve–it’s still a work in progress!