Elmhurst resident David Baruch has spent a lifetime making sense out of his near-death experience aboard the USS Franklin, the most decorated air-craft carrier in naval history. (See You Tube video link here) A retired Clinical Director of Chicago’s Laredo Hospital, Baruch worked in social services and in mental health facilities his entire professional career. He is a longtime member of the Elmhurst College Holocaust Education Committee, and is a District 205 mentor and tutor. But sharing his experiences as an 18-year-old seaman in the Navy aboard the USS Franklin air-craft carrier to middle…
Elmhurst resident Murray Peshkin was only 19 when he was tapped by the U.S. government to work on the Manhattan Project. He was studying mathematics and physics at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., when his professor approached him and nine others about the secret government project. “The professor called it the mystery program,” Peshkin said. He was told that should he decide to accept the offer, he would be in the U.S. the entire length of his service, that he would not see his family until the war was over and that he would contribute technically to the war effort. Peshkin and two others…
The Easter Bunny lives in Elmhurst, and her name is Dare Messina. She doesn’t hide eggs or leave baskets on Easter Sunday. But on the Thursday before Easter, the 5-foot-6-inch Messina steps into her fluffy white bunny suit and hops over to DuPage Easter Seals in Villa Park, where she gives out Easter baskets and has her picture taken with about 200 special-needs children. Messina said most of the kids are very excited about having their picture taken with her, but some are sensitive to face paint so she doesn’t wear any. And sometimes, in order to get a good picture with those kids who are …
Every year, for the past six years, Jim O’Connor has been sprinkling a little luck o' the Irish over Elmhurst's St. Patrick’s Day parade. That's how long he’s been parade chairman, but he's been involved with the parade much longer than that—ever since Doug Kuester, Scott and Charity Ahlgrim, Frank Catalano Sr., former Mayor Tom Marcucci and Silverado owner Jack Island launched the parade in 1996. “So, in actuality, a German started the parade,” O’Connor said, referring to Kuester, who passed away in 2003. O’Connor said he took over the parade by default because he was the only one in the …
Every week, 82-year-old Milt Honel makes his way to DuPage County Jail, Bible in hand. He’s a familiar face among the staff members there—and the inmates, who are either awaiting trial or serving sentences of up to one year. For the last 13 years, the Elmhurst resident has taught Catholic Bible study sessions to the men incarcerated there. It seems a far cry from his days as a principal at Edison, Washington and Field schools, where he worked over a 19-year period until he retired in 1993. He also served one term on the Elmhurst District 205 School Board. So what prompted him to shift his …
In the last 14 years, Darrell Whistler has received 10 awards from a multitude of Elmhurst organizations. In 1996, the Elmhurst Jaycees gave him its Distinguished Service Award. In 2003, the Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst named him its Lay Person of the Year. And just a few months ago, Elmhurst College graced him with its Community Service Recognition Award. "Darrell Whistler is one of the best men I know," said Paul Koch, a member of the Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare Board of Governors, of which Whistler is chairman. These recognitions no doubt reflect Whistler's lifetime investment in Elmhurst. "…
Elmhurst resident Brian DeBosschere has several fire hydrants tastefully displayed in his back yard on the 300 block of Emroy. A pathway leads visitors by each hydrant and ends at a cleverly designed fire hydrant fountain that shoots water into a pond below. DeBosschere, 45, obtained his fire hydrant collection from junk yards, antiques shops and public works departments. "There are people who only collect fire hydrants," DeBosschere said. "They go nuts for them, sometimes paying as much as $100 or $200 for just one. It's unbelievable." As former firemen, he and his father, Roger DeBosschere…
Actor Dennis Franz, best known for his portrayal of Detective Andy Sipowicz on the long-running ABC drama NYPD Blue, has a sister who lives in Elmhurst. Her name is Marlene Schraut. "He's the nicest guy you'd ever meet," Schraut said of her brother. The 73-year-old Schraut and her husband, Stan, have lived in Elmhurst for 38 years. He is a retired United Airline's mechanic, and she is the proprietor of Pik A Pot N Paint, a ceramic shop in Elmhurst that Schraut calls a "pottery painting playground." With her auburn hair, horn-rimmed glasses and endearing smile, she welcomes patrons to the …
