Oak Brook Issue Sept-Oct 2024
Former Hinsdalean takes home the Miss Illinois USA crown
She is Beauty, She is Grace By Anna Hughes Grace Rodi has spent half her life in the pageant industry. Her passion started at 12 years old when she received a letter in the mail inviting her to participate in a local competition. At 5-foot-11, she was too tall for gymnastics, and her self-proclaimed “two…
Read MoreA Fighting Illini
Local UIUC freshman discusses cancer battle in honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month By Anna Hughes Adrian Lam was weeks away from starting his freshman year at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was a healthy, active 18-year-old boy from the western suburbs both excited and nervous to take the next step in his life.…
Read MoreGlobal Reach with Local Roots
Ball Horticultural Company has grown to be the industry’s innovator By Anna Hughes Ball Horticultural Company is to be a major force in horticulture right here in the western suburbs. Driven by its commitment to pioneering plant science and supporting the needs of growers and retailers worldwide, it has grown from a small flower business…
Read MoreResurrecting Mary: Chicago’s most famous ghost-in-residence
By Maureen Callahan Legends. Every corner of the world has them. Local lore is part of a location’s identity. One dyed-in-the-wool staple of this area is the story of a young girl on her way home from an evening ball. Since the Roaring Twenties, Resurrection Mary has managed to elude dance hall patrons and cab…
Read MoreTravel: Pure Michigan
Autumnal days on Michigan’s “Sunset Coast” are the perfect weekend trip when the weather turns cool By Mia Jones Discover why Lake Michigan’s coastline is a fantastic place to visit even beyond the summertime. Within a comfortable, maximum three-hour car ride from the western suburbs of Chicago, you can take your pick from vineyards, restaurants,…
Read MoreWhat’s Brewing
Local Oktoberfest celebrations have fun for the whole family on tap this fall When September hits, Oktoberfest isn’t far behind. The famed fall festival originated in Munich, Germany, in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Ludwig, the Crown Prince of Bavaria, to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The celebration, open to the entire city, included…
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