Ask an Angel: February 13, 2025

As Valentine’s Day approaches, I’m seeking advice on how to make this holiday a little easier for my grandma. She lost my grandpa last year, and I want to be sensitive to her feelings during this time. I know she will be feeling the loss, especially around Valentine’s Day, and I want to ensure she feels loved and supported.

Click here to read our latest edition online in PDF format.

Political Place: February 13, 2025

Note: The views expressed in these political submissions do not reflect those of the Sun Day, its staff, or those associated to the Sun Day.

You’ve got mail

Huntley High School Medical Academy teacher Renae St. Clair had an idea four years ago. St. Clair founded the HHS Medical Academy Huntley High School. Then, she was named Educator of the Year by the McHenry County Regional Office of Education in 2023.

Her initiative was to connect her students with pen pals. She looked to Sun City residents to help with this project.

St Clair said, “Sun City residents have vast experiences to share with our students.”

Sun City resident offers new personal development class

Mary Nelson, a Sun City resident, is passionate about helping people understand who they are.

“My purpose in life is to help you find the love, peace, and joy of knowing who you really are,” she said.

Nelson is a speaker, workshop coach, and author. Her book, Journey to Awakening: A Guide to Finding Your True Self, is a comprehensive guide that helps you let go of life’s biggest misunderstandings and live abundantly in its most profound truths. It’s about finding answers and discovering joy.

Civics committee to host village president candidates meet and greet

Sun City’s Civic Committee invites residents to meet the candidates for the Village of Huntley’s President’s position.

Vito Benigno, a member of the Civic Committee, is chairing the event. He emphasizes, “We hope that residents participate in the forum. The Civics Committee is committed to arranging non-partisan programs that benefit all residents of Sun City, ensuring a fair and balanced platform for all candidates. With our non-partisan approach, we believe events like this provide information that helps shape our community’s future.”

Oh, give me a home from catalog by phone

My son lives in a century-old house he has been rehabbing in Crystal Lake for the last four years or so. It’s a solid little house with great bones — and he recently told me that it’s a Sears house.

Sears! Of course! The low-tech Amazon of a century ago, with the mail-order catalog from which you could buy a hat, a hammer, or even a house.

Growing up, Caraher watched Nancy Dickerson, a pioneering TV newswoman, report on John F. Kennedy. “I thought, I want to be a part of that,” remembers Caraher.

The year of the wood snake

My 2025 word of the year came to me without me having to search for it. My coworker mentioned offhandedly that, according to the lunar calendar, 2025 is the year of the wood snake.

“It fits with all kinds of metaphors,” she told me. “A snake sheds its skin, it lives close to the earth, things like that.”

My vote for word of the new year

Although we’re only a few weeks into the new year, let me be the first to suggest that the 2025 Word of the Year should be “Oligarch.”

It’s a fun word to say. Try it. “Oligarch.”

Work share

Huntley High School’s Career and Technical Education Department Chair, Nick Wedoff, emphasizes the invaluable role Sun City residents can play in shaping the future for students.

“Your expertise is not just a resource but a catalyst for our students’ growth. They need to hear what the day-to-day experience in the workplace is like and what opportunities there are for their interests,” he said.

U.S. public health: A look back at 2024

An end-of-year comprehensive report by the John Hopkins School of Public Health reviewed 10 major public health news events of 2024 and concluded with this headline describing the past year: “A rollercoaster for public health, with historic firsts, unwelcome comebacks, and rays of hope.”

Local author shares her research on the store that helped build Chicago, Marshall Field’s

Marshall Fields has been gone from Chicago since Macy’s, Inc. acquired it in 2005 and ceased operations on September 9, 2006. It was a high-end department store founded in 1852 by Marshall Field. Some still miss the store.

Author Gayle Soucek shared her knowledge of one of Chicago’s famous residents and his store with Sun City residents. Soucek is a historian and freelance editor with over a dozen books and numerous magazine articles.

Rotary Club hosts new mental health lecture series

This March, the Huntley Rotary Club invites Sun City residents to listen to a series of speakers organized by the Rotary’s Mental Health Task Force. The Rotary Club has long been involved in mental health and wellness initiatives. Rotary’s culture of “Service Above Self” builds community and promotes acts of kindness.

Jim Uszler, a Sun City resident and Rotarian, said, “This series on mental health created by Northern Illinois Rotary clubs welcomes all residents to view on Zoom. The Rotary Club of Huntley focuses on many local health issues that impact our community. If you would like to learn more, visit HuntleyRotary.org.”

A gathering of Chicago sports fans began new year with trivia at the Huntley Library

A gathering of Chicago sports fans began the new year with testing their knowledge in a fun atmosphere at Huntley Ares Public Library.

Now you know: Curious in Neighborhood 4

A new column that answers common and maybe not-so-common questions in and around Sun City!

Jabba the Hut-suey

We are proud to say we have survived another round of holidays and things are returning to normal. Our stomachs are also returning to normal size after being stretched out to the point of no return due to all the holiday goodies. We have successfully rung in the New Year, and we hate to brag, but we actually stayed awake until 9:30 on New Year’s Eve. Truth be told, Rosie, aka the party animal, only made it up till 8:20 before falling in a heap in the middle of the living room floor.

For good

 Everyone have a good holiday? Hope you all got to rest and have time for friends and family. Well, a new year is upon us. However, there were some films that came out during the break that I plan to cover. So if you have seen them, great to hear it; hope you enjoyed them. For those still unable to get to the theater, these will be some recommendations for your next visit.

Hang Your Hat: January 16, 2025

Letters for the week of January 16.

Political Place: January 16, 2025

Note: The views expressed in these political submissions do not reflect those of the Sun Day, its staff, or those associated to the Sun Day.

’Tis the season

Holiday fun in Sun City and Huntley!

How the Woodchucks celebrate a season of giving

Al La Pelusa has been the head elf for the Toy Makers group, making and delivering toys for eighteen years.

La Pelusa said, “We started the initiative in 2008, but we were making toys before that. The shop was there, but there was no charter club. A lot of work had to go into starting the club. Safety was the first consideration and still is.”

An audience of one

I’m handling my heart with kid gloves this season. I’m typically a newshound, but for the past month or so, I’m choosing my news carefully. TV news is completely off the table for now, and I’m being selective with print news, too. This won’t go on forever, but for right now, my heart is too raw, too tender to take on the pain and hurt of the entire world. I’m giving myself a break.

Waiting to exhale over holiday greetings

With Christmas lurking just behind the next snowflake, I find myself waiting in breathless anticipation for The Arrival.

No, it’s not Santa’s arrival that I find my heart a-flutter for. It’s not the Star of Bethlehem or midnight madness sales or Bing Crosby film reruns. “It’s a Wonderful Life” would have been a good guess, but it’s not that either.

Proudly Serving the Community of Sun City in Huntley

Proudly Serving the Community of
Sun City in Huntley