Community Calendar

On Tuesday, February 7th at 6:00 p.m. central, the LaSalle Public Library, in partnership with Westchester Public Library, will virtually host New York Times bestselling authors Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White, for a discussion on their fourth and latest collaboration, and New York Times bestseller, “The Lost Summers of Newport,” a novel of money and secrets set among the famous summer mansions of Rhode Island, spanning over a century from the Gilded Age to the present day.

This program is free, open to the public, and presented virtually via Zoom. Register – https://bit.ly/3wgyR1d. For more information, please call Westchester Public Library at 708-562-3573 or the LaSalle Public Library at 815-223-2341.

About the Book – The Lost Summers of Newport

2019: Andie Figuero has just landed her dream job as a producer of Mansion Makeover, a popular reality show about restoring America’s most lavish historic houses. Andie has high hopes for her latest project: the once glorious but gently crumbling Sprague Hall in Newport, Rhode Island, summer resort of America’s gilded class—famous for the lavish “summer cottages” of Vanderbilts and Belmonts. But Andie runs into trouble: the reclusive heiress who still lives in the mansion, Lucia “Lucky” Sprague, will only allow the show to go forward on two conditions: One, nobody speaks to her. Two, nobody touches the mansion’s ruined boathouse.

1899: Ellen Daniels has been hired to give singing lessons to Miss Maybelle Sprague, a naive young Colorado mining heiress whose stepbrother John has poured their new money into buying a place among Newport’s elite. John is determined to see Maybelle married off to a fortune-hunting Italian prince, and Ellen is supposed to polish up the girl for her launch into society. But the deceptively demure Ellen has her own checkered past, and she’s hiding in plain sight at Sprague Hall.

1958: Lucia “Lucky” Sprague has always felt like an outsider at Sprague Hall. When she and her grandmother—the American-born Princess di Conti—fled Mussolini’s Italy, it seemed natural to go back to the imposing Newport house Nana owned but hadn’t seen since her marriage in 1899. Over the years, Lucky's lost her Italian accent and found a place for herself among the yachting set by marrying Stuyvesant Sprague, the alcoholic scion of her Sprague stepfamily. But one fateful night in the mansion’s old boathouse will uncover a devastating truth...and change everything she thought she knew about her past.

As the cameras roll on Mansion Makeover, the house begins to yield up the dark secrets the Spragues thought would stay hidden forever.

About the Authors

Beatriz Williams is the bestselling author of thirteen novels, including Her Last Flight, The Summer Wives, and The Golden Hour, as well as All the Ways We Said Goodbye, cowritten with Lauren Willig and Karen White. A native of Seattle, she graduated from Stanford University and earned an MBA in finance from Columbia University. She lives with her husband and four children near the Connecticut shore, where she divides her time between writing and laundry.

Lauren Willig is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty novels, including The Summer Country, The Ashford Affair, and The English Wife. She lives in New York City with her husband and family.

Karen White is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-five novels, including Dreams of Falling and The Night the Lights Went Out. She has two grown children and currently lives near Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and two spoiled Havanese dogs.

On Saturday, February 11th at 3:00 p.m., central, the LaSalle Public Library, in partnership with Aurora Public Library, and thirty-five Illinois libraries will host best-selling children’s author, Shannon Hale and award-winning illustrator, LeUyen Pham for a lively discussion on their graphic novel series, “Real Friends.”

In this virtual program, Ms. Hale and Ms. Pham will discuss their books, answer readers questions, and share an engaging hands-on activity. Free activity packets can be picked up at the Library or attendees can print their own by going to the Library’s website – https://bit.ly/3kyyAo3.

Shannon Hale is the New York Times best-selling author of over forty books for all ages, including graphic novel memoirs Real Friends, Best Friends, and Friends Forever, and multiple award winners The Goose Girl, Book of a Thousand Days, and Newbery Honor recipient Princess Academy. One of her novels for the adult crowd, Austenland, was made into movie starring Keri Russell. She co-writes books with her husband Dean Hale, like the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge, books for DC Comics about young Wonder Woman, and best-selling illustrated chapter book series The Princess in Black.

LeUyen Pham is the award-winning and critically acclaimed illustrator of more than one hundred books for children. LeUyen (pronounced Lay-Win) is the New York Times bestselling illustrator of the Julianne Moore’s picture book series, Freckleface Strawberry, Kelly DiPucchio’s picture book Grace for President, and Shannon and Dean Hale’s middle grade series Princess in Black. Her more recent books include Love is Powerful by Heather Brewer, and the Caldecott Honor Book Bear Came Along by Richard Morris. She is also the co-creator, along with Shannon Hale, of the groundbreaking bestselling graphic memoirs Real Friends, Best Friends, and Friends Forever.

This program is free and open to the public. Register – https://bit.ly/3keFChv. For more information, please call the Library at 815-223-2341.

Pablo Neruda is one of the most important poets in Spanish-American literature. This course will examine his works from a chronological perspective. Not only was he the literature Nobel Prize winner in 1971, but also a truly revolutionary author whose works renovated poetry in the Spanish language. Each class period will present one aspect of his life, from his literary background, to looking at his best-known poetry, to his most ambitious volumes, and ending with his later poetic output.

Convener: Francisco Solares-Larrave was born in Guatemala, where he completed his
studies in literature and philosophy before arriving in the United States in 1988 to do graduate studies in comparative literature at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in Spanish-American literature and currently teaches Spanish in the Department of World Languages and Culture at NIU.

The NIU Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI), established in 2000, is a member-directed group of individuals primarily age 50+ who enjoy learning in informal, flexible, non-competitive groups and like connecting with peers who share their interests. No grades, no tests – just learning for the fun of it.

During the last ten years, there have been giant steps in the development of effective alternatives to carbon-producing energy sources. We will look at many of these improvements, both in cost and efficiency, and see how well countries are adopting them. Several sources of information will be examined as well as strategies we can all use in helping transition to new energy sources. Wind farms have been a part of DeKalb County for over a decade. Solar farms are following. The improvements in home-based technologies will also be considered.

Convener: Patricia Vary is a retired molecular microbiology professor from NIU, who has taught many LLI courses, on Microbes, Climate Change, Musicals, Arctic and Antarctic-Animals, and Great US Orchestras. She has also taken many courses each semester and loves LLI and her fellow students for keeping her brain alive.

The NIU Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI), established in 2000, is a member-directed group of individuals primarily age 50+ who enjoy learning in informal, flexible, non-competitive groups and like connecting with peers who share their interests. No grades, no tests – just learning for the fun of it.

Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, all country music giants, formed a group after each had established a stellar career as a performer and writer. Over many years, these men and other singers and musicians united to release recordings, squabble occasionally, be fast friends and create a legacy. Join us for the music and mythology of
The Highwaymen.

Convener: Lynn Neeley is retired from NIU’s College of Business and now pursues many and varied interests.

The NIU Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI), established in 2000, is a member-directed group of individuals primarily age 50+ who enjoy learning in informal, flexible, non-competitive groups and like connecting with peers who share their interests. No grades, no tests – just learning for the fun of it.

Since our beginning, LLI has offered Notables, weekly talks by experts, most often NIU faculty. A full schedule of topics and speakers will be available later, but we can promise you topics ranging from the changing nature of work to health-care issues. Members have often found that topics that seemed of minor interest turned out to be intriguing. As always, we include plenty of time to ask questions.

The NIU Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI), established in 2000, is a member-directed group of individuals primarily age 50+ who enjoy learning in informal, flexible, non-competitive groups and like connecting with peers who share their interests. No grades, no tests – just learning for the fun of it.

The Spartan Food Pantry is open every other Wednesday from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM at the school district warehouse located at 520 N. Maple Street, Sycamore, IL. The food pantry is open to families of Sycamore School District students only and Photo ID is required. We are a choice pantry, meaning families can choose what they would like, how much they would like, and can omit certain items.

These four sessions will explore the Italian peninsula from the Alps to Sicily, focusing on the cities, landscape, history, cuisine and sights of eight of the most important regions of the nation.

Convener: Christopher Nissen received his Ph.D. in Italian from the University of California at Berkeley in 1987, subsequently serving as a professor of Italian language and literature at Northern Illinois University from 1988 until his retirement in 2019. He is the author of numerous studies of Italian literature.

The NIU Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI), established in 2000, is a member-directed group of individuals primarily age 50+ who enjoy learning in informal, flexible, non-competitive groups and like connecting with peers who share their interests. No grades, no tests – just learning for the fun of it.

Hollywood films have much to do with how we think about history. This course will examine the representation of old New York City in four feature films: The Gangs of New York,
The Age of Innocence, The Greatest Showman and Citizen Kane. Course format will be mostly guided discussion, and to participate fully, please view the assigned films each week. (Information on streaming availability will be provided. All of the films are available from the DeKalb Public Library and many other libraries.) The four film texts provide contrasting aims and artistry in the depiction of Manhattan in the 1800s.

Convener: Jeffrey Chown has a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Michigan. He taught film-study classes in the communication studies department at NIU for 37 years, where he was a Board of Trustees Professor. He is the author of Hollywood Auteur: Francis Coppola. Among documentary films he has directed are: Barbed Wire Pioneers and Lincoln and Black Hawk. He is presently finishing a historical novel set in New York City during the Boss Tweed era.

The NIU Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI), established in 2000, is a member-directed group of individuals primarily age 50+ who enjoy learning in informal, flexible, non-competitive groups and like connecting with peers who share their interests. No grades, no tests – just learning for the fun of it.

The DeKalb School District’s food pantry is moving from Huntley Middle School. Beginning on Thursday, July 29, Barb Food Mart’s new home will be Chesebro Elementary School, 900 E. Garden Street in DeKalb. Barb Food Mart will continue to be open every week on Thursdays between 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
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The pantry’s final food distribution day at Huntley is on July 14. The pantry is closed on July 22.
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Barb Food Mart serves families with children in DeKalb schools. Those using the pantry must register every year, either online at www.barbfoodmart.com or by contacting the office of the school attended by a child. Send questions to barbfoodmart@d428.org.
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At Chesebro, food will continue to be distributed outdoors with curbside pickup for those who drive up to the front door at the Garden Street entrance. Walk-up pickup will be available for those who park in the parking lot accessed off Taylor Street and walk to the entrance. Wagons will be available to help people carry food boxes to cars.
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Beginning on July 28, donations of food and personal care items may be dropped off at Chesebro using the Garden Street entrance. Donation times are Wednesdays between 1:00-2:30 p.m. and Thursdays between 9:00-10:30 a.m. Beginning July 26, mail monetary donations to Chesebro Elementary School, 900 E. Garden St., DeKalb, IL 60115. Do not mail or drop off donations at Huntley at this time.