The day before Wilmette-based PolarExplorers’s 100th polar expedition was to start, founder Rick Sweitzer was feeling the usual mix of anticipatory thrill and hyper-focused sobriety that always precedes his journeys….
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Fairest of the Fairs
For thousands of North Shore youth, the Winnetka Children’s Fair (WCF) is the signal that school is truly out for the summer. Started as a backyard fundraiser for the Win-…
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Sunday Breakfast: Ray Kracik
If there were a board game created to map Ray Kracik’s life, his playing piece would most certainly be a 1930 Model A Ford—one with snappy, red-and-black striped upholstery. “Ha!”…
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Hadley 2.0
When 55-year-old educator William A. Hadley lost his sight due to a detached retina in 1915, the challenges he faced were enormous. One by one, Hadley met them, teaching himself…
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Isn’t it Loverly? If not, Juliet Abeille makes …
Just days before the ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Gurnee home for her Loverly Cottage boutique, Juliet Abeille is a blur of happy motion. “This will be the main…
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Strolling Through Time
By the time the Louis Gillson family moved into the Colonial Revival house in east Wilmette that they would occupy for many years, they were already established as one of…
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A Sentimental Journey
Perched on a metal chair in the middle of a crowded Loyola coffee shop, famed actor and playwright Ross Lehman closes his blue eyes for a second. Not to rest,…
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Sunday Breakfast: Steven Elrod
At eight o’clock on a sunny spring morning, Highland Park’s Country Kitchen café is a busy place. In the time that it takes Steven Elrod to walk the 15 or…
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Sunday Breakfast: CBS’ Vince Gerasole
Vince Gerasole is cracking eggs. Brown shelled, they split open, bright orange yolks and slippery whites sliding with a “plop!” into the mixing bowl. As Gerasole whisks, prepping the French…
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Keys to the C-Suite
Shepherding students through their experience at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, head of school Meg Steele keeps her eye on every aspect of development. Social, emotional, intellectual, academic—the spheres…
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