The Lake Forest Fire and Police Departments will perform a Remembrance Ceremony from 9 to 9:30 a.m. on Friday, September 11, to commemorate fallen comrades on the eighth anniversary of the terrorist attacks the United States suffered on September 11, 2001. The ceremony will take place in Market Square in downtown Lake Forest, and the public is welcome to participate.
The 9/11 Community Remembrance will provide an opportunity for the Fire and Police Departments and community members to recognize the many acts of heroism, bravery and generosity that reflect strongly on all Americans since that day. This ceremony will be a salute to community leaders, civic officials, military personnel, firefighters, law enforcement, public works, park district, and citizens alike. For questions or more information, please contact Deputy Fire Chief Chris Garrison at 847-810-3866.
The Fort Sheridan golf course last week was noticeably blue, and it wasn’t from a reflection cast by Lake Michigan beyond the bluff. Several readers wrote to GazeboNews.com wanting to know: What’s going on at the Fort?
The blue sheen came from the hydro-seeding that the Lake County Forest Preserve District sprayed over the former golf course last week, according to Michael Fenelon, director of planning, conservation and development at the LCFPD. The hydro-seed includes a standard field mix of fescule and rye grass, 20 flowering plants and mulch, as well as a blue coloring agent that enables sprayers to tell which areas they’ve covered and which ones still need to be seeded. The blue had faded by Friday and was hardly noticeable.
But why did the Forest Preserve regrade and seed a lame-duck property whose future is uncertain as commissioners decide whether to build a golf course, prairie or park? In early August, the Forest Preserve finished grading to the specifications of the golf course base plan that had been approved by the LCFPD board in 2003. The regrading has been going on since a lawsuit with the developer of the Town of Fort Sheridan was settled. “At that time, we had to immediately implement the conditions of the settlement,” said Mr. Fenelon. This included sorting through 235,000 cubic yards of dirt to separate construction debris from the soil, of which only about 500 cubic yards had to be hauled off site.
“We didn’t know what we were grading for–open lands or a golf course. We didn’t want to waste money and effort to grade for one over another, so we decided to adjust the grades to the golf course plan but not put in the basic infrastructure such as extending piping and digging lakes for irrigation. What’s there now will make a nice rolling topography for a park if that’s what is decided on for the site. But if we have to go back in for a golf course, at least the majority of the grading is done.”
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Concerned about the plight of the Knollwood pitbull pups, Eileen Baldwin of Lake Forest sent us the link to this story from PawNation.com. It's a bad-good-sad-news story about a pitbull that was thrown off a bridge by heartless owners, and saved by a young woman who was then evicted from her apartment because her landlord doesn't like pitbulls—even though the rescued pup has a friendly disposition.
There are a lot of important events, fund-raisers and parties coming up. Here's a "save the date" primer:
Deerpath Art League's Art Fair On The Square: Sept. 6-7 at Market Square in Lake Forest.
Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Artisan Guild Show: "Artisans for CROYA' takes place Sunday and Monday Sept 6 and 7. Visit LFLBartisanguild.com for more information
Friends of Lake Forest Library 34th Annual Book Sale: Sept. 17-20 at the Lake Forest Recreation Department. Repeat: the book sale is at a new, indoor location this year.
Shop Your Cause will take place Oct. 1 through Oct. 10 at The Lake Forest Shop and other hot spots around town. This year's non-profits include CROYA; Deerpath Art League; Lake Forest Symphony; Elawa Farm; Lake Forest Hospital; Stirling Hall; Lake Forest Preservation Foundation and Gorton Community Center.
Lake Bluff Barbeque Society's RibFest: Oct. 3, all day long in the Village Green. Contact mattn@nielsenmassey.com if you want to grill; or just come to the event if you want to sample the goodies.
Lake Bluff Pumpkin Fest: Oct. 16 and 17 at Artesian Park. Everyone is welcome to this spooky tradition.
The 100th Anniversary Pink Rabbit Ball is Oct. 24, 2009, from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. at Pasquesi Home & Garden. Tickets go on sale in September. Visit the website for Vliet Museum of Lake Bluff History for more details.
A new flower shop called Twigs is opening in Lake Bluff, helping to
fulfill the downtown district's endeavors to create an old-world
European shopping experience that includes a butcher, baker, wine shop,
take-out food, eat-in restaurants, gift shops and now fresh flowers
year round.
Twigs will open in early October at 38 E. Center
Avenue in the storefront formerly occupied by Helanders. It's owned by
Jeannie Fanning of Green Oaks, a life-long flower lover who has been
creating arrangements for friends for many years. Ms. Fanning has
five children; her youngest, boy and girl twins, will be seniors at
Libertyville High School this year. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years, but as her children grew she started taking classes in flower arranging and retail
management at the College of Lake County. "I have all this energy," she
said, which is a sentiment that many stay-at-home parents feel when
their children become more independent. "It's time for me to do
something and flowers have always been my first love."
Much
to her surprise, Ms. Fanning found she liked the business classes as much as
flower arranging. And she's not escaping her mothering role–her
23-year-old daughter, Erin, is working with her. Erin has been studying
at the Milwaukee School of Flower Design. "She has a wonderful eye for
color and will be bringing a younger, fresher approach to the
arrangements, while I am more traditional, " said Ms. Fanning of her
daughter.
Twigs will specialize in fresh cut flowers, arrangements and
plants for all occasions and price points. "It's not a gift store,
because Lake Bluff already has beautiful gift stores," she said. The
store does not have a phone number set up yet, but you can reach
Jeannie Fanning on her cell phone at 847-204-9088 or e-mail her at
ffanmail@aol.com. (And we'll update this story when the store's phone
service and web site are set up.)
CROYA last week held its first ever “Middle School Workstay,” a two-day/overnight community service project that benefited local organizations and a senior citizen almost as much as the kids themselves. The activity brought together 19 local teens from three schools–Deer Path Middle School, Lake Bluff Middle School and The School of St. Mary.
Caroline Hermes, the CROYA middle school youth worker, hoped to plant the seed that young people are a big part of our communities, and that they too can give back. Monday kicked off with a joint service project with members of the Lake Forest College football team, which included refinishing furniture and putting in 75 new donor bricks at the entrance of the Student Union. They ended their time together with a giant game of capture the flag and kickball.
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Lake Bluff police and other emergency personnel responded to a two-car accident in front of the Lake Bluff train station on Wednesday evening. Village Police Chief William Gallagher said a vehicle heading west on E. Scranton Avenue failed to yield to a vehicle heading north on Sheridan Road. Two people appeared to have minor injuries and were transported to Lake Forest Hospital.
Also on Wednesday, the LBPD received reports of two stolen bicycles, one from in front of the library, which had been left unlocked, and one from the train station, which had been locked. Chief Gallagher said a citizen called to report a suspicious bike on the bike bath. A police officer investigated and located the library bike near Witchwood Lane. Well, most of the bike: it was missing its front tire and seat. The officer combed the bike path in search of the bike parts and/or other stolen bike, to no avail.
Katherine Bennett, a long-time Lake Forest resident and patron of the arts who could trace her ancestry to Eleanor of Aquitane, died on Thursday, Aug. 20, of natural causes at her home in Dunedin, Fla., according to her son, Frederick Phillips of Lake Forest.
“She was an amazing woman, ahead of her time in so many ways,” said her daughter-in-law, Linda Gardner Phillips. Mrs. Bennett worked as an editor in New York, served on the board of Poetry magazine for years and started Lyrebird Press in London with a prominent poet from Sri Lanka. One of the literary press’s better-known publications was “Notes To Myself” by Hugh Prather, which reached a respectable level of popular distribution. “I remember seeing this book in high school, long before I ever heard of Kay or even knew much about poetry,” she said.
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Click here for an obituary in the Chicago Tribune, which provides many highlights of Mrs. Bennett’s life; Ms. Gardner Phillips provided photos and additional fascinating details about her mother-in-law for GazeboNews:
Kay and her second husband, modern architect Edward “Ted” Bennett, Jr. (shown with Kay in the photo above), lived for many years at 530 N. Greenbay Road in Lake Forest. The contemporary house at 540 Greenbay was designed by her son, Frederick Phillips. Ted was a co-founder and the first president of the Lake Forest Preservation Foundation, and both he and Kay were early contributors to Lake Forest Open Lands
Kay was the owner of Deerpath Farm after Ted’ s death. Deerpath Farm’s 200 acres were originally assembled by Lake Forest’s Frank Farwell Sr., then acquired in the 1930s by Kay’s father-in-law, Edward H. Bennett, the co-author (with Daniel Burnham) of the 1909 Plan Of Chicago. The family used Deerpath Farm as a country retreat for many years before transforming it with Kay’s blessing into today’s Deerpath Farm Conservation Community
Kay was completely ahead of her time in terms of practicing yoga, eastern spirituality, and a healthy diet – a lifestyle that is very popular today but was practically unheard of in mainstream 1950s society.
Editor's note: School District 65 released the following press release on Wednesday:
Lake Bluff, IL, August 26, 2009 –- It was announced at the August 25th District 65 Board of Education meeting that the new Lake Bluff Elementary School will be officially open for students on Monday, September 28th. As previously announced, on September 8th Kindergarten through 5th grade students will begin the school year in alternative locations. Kindergarten through 3rd graders will attend classes at East School and 4th and 5th graders and 4/5 multi-agers will attend classes at Lake Forest High School's West Campus. School will run its regular schedule from 8:05 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.
September 25th has been selected as the moving day and classes will be cancelled. This instructional day will be made up at a later date and the school calendar will be adjusted.Lake Bluff Middle School will be ready for classes to start on September 8th. Locker Day for 6th graders and new students is planned for Thursday, August 27th from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.
Further details about the start of school will be announced on the District website www.lb65.org as they are known.
It’s not exactly 101 Dalmations, but it sure seemed like it the first time Margit Metsur walked past her neighbor’s lawn in Knollwood. “I thought there was something wrong with my eyes,” she said in an e-mail. “There on the front lawn was a beautiful mother dog with so many puppies!”
The litter was born May 30 and includes 10 American Pitbull Terriers, all but one of whom are in need of a home. We know what you’re thinking: Pitbulls! What’s a dog like that doing in a place like this? The name alone conjures images of a flag emblazoned with the skull & bones. But Shane Klebig, the owner of the pups, also owns the parents and both of them are mellow, pure bred APBTs (the litter was an accident). “I just hope people can put the stereotype aside,” he said about the puppies. “There’s no reason these animals can’t love and be loved. I take the parents to the dog parks, to the beach. They’re people friendly and friendly with children. They are a product of their environment; it’s how you raise them and how you treat them.”
Want to learn more about the breed? Visit Midwest Rescue of Illinois for more information, including an article on “Myths Vs. Facts: The Truth About Pitbulls.” Want to learn more about the pups? Contact athenabone@yahoo.com.
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