Sun City resident recalls time at orphanage

Boney Bones: that’s the name that Joanie Berg was known by at St. Hedwig.

“In the forties, my sister Sally, who was two years older, and I were put in St. Hedwig’s orphanage in Niles. My mother died of cancer at the of 34 and my father was in the U.S. Army in Europe, fighting the Germans,” Berg said.

How to get better care from your doctor

Even though older adults are living longer in this country, almost 61% are dealing with multiple chronic conditions. CONSUMER REPORTS states “This makes solid medical care essential as we age…for older people errors are “much more likely to have consequences – their physiology is just not as adaptable.” Furthermore, Americans over the age of 50 say that 20% of them have doctors (who) have made assumptions about them based on their age, which can lead to inappropriate care. (For instance, both my husband and I fairly recently fainted in two foreign countries due to overcrowded conditions with heated temps, made worse through an overdose of blood pressure meds having been prescribed to both of us. This was due to our family physician not taking into account that we both had been very physically active in our daily routines for years.)

Fundraising effort for Huntley Hospital builds character

Characters of Character is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide a firm foundation for children to establish strong civic values and we are focused on the Huntley Hospital!

Flyers Club/Aviation Interest Group soaring

Wilbur Wright said, “The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their grueling travels across trackless lands in prehistoric times, looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space, at full speed, above all obstacles, on the infinite highway of the air.”

Sun City has its share of residents that have a background in aviation or just a love of flying. The Aviation Interest Group is inviting those residents to join their group.

Kurt Kuehnert, please take a bow

I want to tell you for a minute about an unsung hero. Sorry, I can barely keep a straight face just writing that because unsung hero is probably an overstatement so far as our readers are concerned, but the term is still apt because he’s both unsung and a hero to this newspaper.

His name is Kurt Kuehnert, and after ten years, he recently retired from his Advertising Manager position.

Water conservation, planning prove critical as Huntley area population grows, local experts say

As the population in McHenry and Kane Counties continues to grow rapidly, will there be enough drinking water to satisfy the demand?

Yes, with smart planning, a region-wide collaboration and residents as well as businesses adopting a strong water-conservation ethic.

That’s the word from local and state water experts.

Happy camper

If you were an active camper, does not mean you have to give up camping when you hit your golden years. Esther Bell, a Sun City resident, camping for 55 years continues to hitch her camper to the wagon and get back to nature.

Bell said, “In college, we went camping to a spot with no water, and no toilets. We brought big coolers, dug our latrines, and hung our toilet paper on branches. That trip as difficult as it sounds, but it was made worse when a tent started on fire from a spark from a campfire.”

Having been a wholesale produce buyer for major hotel chains for over 30 years, Begora has had the opportunity to experience the whole pineapple lifecycle through his visits to plantations in Hawaii and always had the idea in his mind to grow a pineapple of his own.

Local author wins 2022 bronze Independent Publisher Book Award

Women’s fiction author and former life coach Merida Johns took a leap of faith in 2017 when she decided to transition from publishing academic literature to writing fiction upon being challenged to do so by one of her colleagues during a conference call.

“The other [life] coaches and I were talking about how best to disseminate information about leadership and how to have a flourishing life and one of the coaches asked me about writing a book on leadership,” Johns said. “I really wanted to take the concept of leadership and positive psychology and self-awareness and flourishing lives, and I wanted to embody those concepts in stories looking at how ordinary folks, ordinary people, really face challenges.”

Huntley resident builds model castle from pennies

Russ Becker saw a small log cabin while at a museum in New York State when he was in grade school. He couldn’t get that building out of his mind. It was his inspiration to build a castle.

Becker, a resident of Huntley, said, “I wanted to build something bigger than a log cabin, but there wasn’t anything around at the time that would give enough material to build a castle. I would have to buy many Lincoln Log kits. I decided to use pennies. So, I started collecting pennies.”

Village Board discusses new business developments, Hampton Inn

The need to replace the water main at the Mill and Dean Street intersection was addressed. The H. Linden & Sons Sewer and Water company bid of $804,346 to complete the work was accepted and approved.

The payout of $120,404 to Martam Construction for their work on the Eakin Creek Sanitary Interceptor Sewer at the Jim Dhamer-Illinois Route 47 intersection was approved. This was the first payout on the progress of the project.

Everyone’s best friend, ‘Harvey,’ takes the Sun City Stage

Elwood Dowd, the kind-hearted, eccentric protagonist of the play, “Harvey,” enjoys talking to strangers, although, he says, they don’t stay strangers for long.

“Soon, the faces of all the other people, they turn toward mine and they smile,” says Elwood. “And they’re saying, ‘We don’t know your name, mister, but you’re a very nice fella.’”

Retail coach to begin driving new business into community

As residents may already be aware, at the April 28 Village Board meeting, trustees unanimously approved a $47,000 one-year contract with a retail recruitment firm called The Retail Coach.

The Retail Coach states that they are “the nation’s premier retail recruitment, market analysis, and development firm that will assist in creating a retail recruitment and development strategy that will help drive new business to Huntley.”

The problem with COVID booster shots

After two and a half years into the world viral disaster, health experts and White House officials are pivoting and stating a Covid-19 vaccination conclusion: “The current approach of offering booster shots every few months isn’t sustainable.” Due to the critical need for the initial quickly developed vaccination to curb the drastic amount of deaths and hospitalizations at the onset of the pandemic, it now becomes apparent that these shots are not as successful as viral vaccines from the past.

The earthy collector

For some people, sand is an inconvenience that gets stuck between one’s toes. For others, it is something fun to collect and display. Sand collectors are called arenophiles. They look for sand samples with a variety of textures, colors, mineralogy, and location.

Sun City resident Kari Freeman has a collection of small bottles filled with samples of sand from all over the world.

Sunflowers, mice, and more

In the June 2 edition of The Sun Day, Chris La Pelusa invited readers to share their unique collections.

“Seriously, I really want to know. If you have an opinion or would like to share your collection,” he said.

Judith Aronson answered his call. Her collection concerns sunflowers. She said, “I still have some of the same items from 20 years ago but have added to them.”

Huntley Community Radio celebrates 10 years broadcasting

November 2, 2020, marked the 100th anniversary of the first commercial radio broadcast. Radio broadcasts have delivered lifesaving information during emergencies, entertained us with music and stories, provided us with broadcast sports, and made us feel connected to our communities, listeners have always counted on the radio to be there for them. FDR’s Radio ‘Fireside Chats’ kept Americans informed and connected.

Huntley Community Radio (HCR) is celebrating its own anniversary this year. James Eggers, Executive Direct of HCR, said, “We are rolling out an entirely new music format. We have changed our music library to specifically cater to the 45-year-old and up demographic. Basically, we are playing all the songs most people will actually recognize.”

Warehouse, distribution building possibly coming to Huntley

The intersection of Jim Dhamer Drive and Illinois Route 47 may be getting a new look.

A 729,600 square foot speculative warehouse and distribution building on the northwest corner of the 44-acre site has been presented to the Huntley Planning commission. The building will be constructed by Venture One Real Estate. It might be divided into two tenant spaces if a sole tenant is not found. No users of the building have been identified.

In wake of Uvalde, Sun City resident recalls her granddaughter’s own frightening experience

Columbine High School shooting took place in 1999. More than 1800 kids in the school that day; 13 were killed and another 20 injured. Since that shooting, more than 23 years ago, more than 311,000 students have experienced gun violence at school, according to an analysis done by The Washington Post.

Esther Bell, Sun City resident, was unfortunate to feel that fear. Bell said, “My granddaughter is a student at Oshkosh West High School. Last year the school was evacuated during a threat. It was terrifying for her parents and myself. A teenager had stabbed the school’s resource officer in a struggle for his gun. The officer managed to keep the gun away from him by shooting the teen while being staffed.”

The stigma against mental illness, part 2: Public & institutional stigma

With our country’s two mass murders having taken place very recently, the discussion about mental health issues has become a primary subject on social media (itself even possibly thought to be a contributing factor for loneliness). All forms of printed or computerized/televised press have weighed in on the subject. Stiffer laws for the prevention of lethal weaponry usage are now being discussed and, hopefully, passed. The background of a world and country suffering from extreme difficulties has brought mental illness to new raging proportions with the critical need for daily conversations. The Covid-19 pandemic, the Ukrainian/ Russian malaise, and the U.S.’s own economic decisions are just a few of these problems. Both public and institutionalized stigma for mental health are affected during these difficult times in history.

Homestead Exemption Act is revised

Senate Bill 1975 was originally introduced on February 26, 2021. It became Public Act 102-0895 some 15 months later on May 23, 2022. What’s the significance?

Valor Quilts

Sew N Sews of Sun City presetented quilts to veterans of Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan to honor their service to this country.

Tennis Club to donate tourney funds to Model Railroad Club

Before Covid, Sun City residents and the community enjoyed the elaborate model train layout during the holidays at Prairie Lodge. Trains pass through a bustling small town; passengers wait and wave. Children and adults alike marveled at the model train set, the towns, buildings, even a sign advertising Jameson’s Restaurant during the annual train display.

Larry Rostis, club president, said, “Even with everything opening up, at this time we probably won’t be able to set up the train at Prairie Lodge this holiday season. It takes a lot of manpower to move all the set up and do maintenance on the trains. Our membership has aged and we are not capable of lifting and transporting the boards and equipment.”

Kane County State’s Attorney to go before grand jury amid mounting pressure to serve justice for dog shot to death

On Aug. 10, 2021, law enforcement responded to the 5N block of Pearson Drive in Wayne for a reported shooting incident that involved a Dogo Argentino named Ludwig.

The dog was shot and killed by Hal Phipps, who is the husband of current Wayne Village President Eileen Phipps and the neighbor of Ludwig’s owner, Joe Petit.

‘Aunt’ Magda

The world watches the current events in Ukraine and complains about the price of gas and goods. Some Sun City residents remember their ancestors that lived through harder times; grandparents who survived the depression and World War II. We watch as Holocaust survivors who fled the Nazis as children must now run from Russians.

Adrianne Kaplan, Sun City resident, recalls a woman in her life that survived the Holocaust, Magda Brown. Kaplan thinks of a woman she grew up calling “Aunt.”

Sun City Resident Creates Sharemystories App

Sun City resident Jim Hanekamp has designed a new app called Sharemystories, focused on preserving memories using photos, written word, and audioclips in a timeline format.

Hanekamp, 66, grew up outside of Chicago in a large family. During the pandemic, the six adult siblings, separated by geography, enjoyed regular Zoom calls to reminisce about family vacations and forgotten family lore.

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