Your go-to guide for all the latest local events in the weeks ahead
8 north shore sports
Highland Park High School junior soccer player Bradyn Waxman has a connection to Muhammad Ali
8 help when you need it
Josselyn’s community mental health network offers support
LIFESTYLE & ARTS
14 #hashtag
Meet Anne Kaplan of Highland Park and learn more about the May 31 Joffrey Celebration
14 weekend poem
A raccoon of distinction steals the spotlight in this poetic ode
16 man about film
Our critic reviews V13, a film starring Alan Cumming as Sigmund Freud
16 a mother not a martyr
This Mother’s Day essay celebrates the trials and tribulations of motherhood
18 north shore foodie
Our Pepper & Quiche with Parsley Pesto is perfect for Mother’s Day brunch
20 wine connoisseurs
Schaefer’s Wine, Food, and Spirits in Skokie has roots that date back almost to prohibition times
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
22 sunday breakfast
One of former school psychologist Monica Chovanec's inspirations in high school had similar qualities to Chovanec's mother, Sheri.
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HELPING YOU MOVE FORWARD ™
JAMIE ROTH • ENGEL & VÖLKERS CHICAGO NORTH SHORE 566 Chestnut Street | 2nd Floor | Winnetka | IL 60093 M +1 847-219-6400
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER NORTH SHORE SPORTS
INSTRUMENTAL NETTERS
Music-loving tennis players Harris and Schweitzer have been a good match as Lake Forest High School’s No. 1 doubles team.
Good friends Drew Harris and Nick Schweitzer each made a guitar last year in a class at Lake Forest High School (LFHS).
Harris’ is metallic red. Schweitzer’s is royal blue.
Now juniors, they’re making sweet music together—on tennis courts. The Scouts’ No. 1 doubles team strikes percussive overhead smashes and, when necessary, dulcet drop shots.
Have racket strings; will travel to the winner’s circle.
“What do I like about Drew and Nick?” says LFHS boys’ tennis coach Scott Gilbert. “Everything. They’re both committed to the game, offseason and during the season. They love playing tennis and they have tremendous skills. Great guys, close friends. Easy to coach.
“But what thrills me the most about them,” he adds, “is how determined they are to improve. They want to get better.”
Schweitzer’s most effective shot is his topspin serve. It kicks high, often frustrating netters who like to rip returns at waist level. The jumpy delivery also allows
Schweitzer more time to establish a prime position near the net to finish the point.
The 6-foot-1 Harris pounds groundstrokes, forcing foes to either scramble to extend the point or concede when the 6-2 Schweitzer poaches weak answers to the open court.
“Drew is gritty and a gamer,” Gilbert says. Harris/Schweitzer—the reigning North Suburban Conference champs at No. 1 doubles—qualified for the Class 2A state tournament last spring by finishing third in doubles at the Stevenson High School sectional meet held in Vernon Hills. They then won three of five matches at the state meet, bowing to eventual state champions Chris Ackerman/Jovan Morales of New Tier Township High School in the second round of the main draw before winning a pair of consolation-round matches.
The LFHS pair earned third-team allstate status.
“It was a great experience for us, seeing the doubles teams there and getting to compete at that level,” Harris recalls.
The Scouts’ top duo fell to an eventual
champion at another highly competitive tournament last weekend. After winning a first-round pro-set (8-6) in the No. 1 doubles bracket at the 32-team Pitchford Invitational at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Harris/Schweitzer lost 6-1, 6-3 to Glenbrook North High School’s Max Manoshin/Troy Kaneshiro.
The buddies then won both of their consolation-round matches, pacing Lake Forest High School’s 14th-place showing (24 points).
They first met as seventh-graders at a summer camp held at The Racquet Club of Lake Bluff.
Harris and Schweitzer made the varsity tennis team as freshmen but didn’t get paired together for dual meets and tournaments.
“Our coaches wanted us to play doubles with seniors then,” Schweitzer says.
“That was helpful, competing alongside guys with high school experience,” Harris says.
They’re upperclassmen now, experienced and comfortable against stiff competition.
PEAKING AND BOOING
Don’t let Loyola Academy’s so-so boys’ volleyball record fool you. The Ramblers continue to improve and should scare playoff opponents.
it and assume it’s not great,” says Ramblers coach Lionel Ebeling. “But we’re young, with two freshmen and two sophomores, and competitive. We’re nowhere near our ceiling at this point of the season, while other teams, I believe, are at their ceiling.
“We’re getting better.”
Recent results back up his assertion.
LA defeated a highly regarded Glenbrook North High School squad 25-21, 19-25, 25-15 on April 25, behind junior outside hitters Drew Bevan (13 kills, four aces) and Luke Malles (nine kills) and junior libero Aldis Kins (15 digs, two aces).
Freshman Graham Stevenson (14 assists) and junior James Gervasio (13 assists) shared the setter duties, while sophomore outside hitter Charlie Trapp (six kills) and junior opposite hitter Owen Lamb (five kills) also made significant contributions.
“We did not allow Glenbrook North to
carry over the momentum it had gained in the second set to the third set,” says Ebeling, who guided last year’s Ramblers to a 38-4 record and program-best fourth-place finish at the state tournament. “We got out to a lead in set three and played confident volleyball the rest of the way, never showing any hesitancy and never losing the lead.”
Ebeling’s crew edged visiting St. Ignatius College Prep (SICP) 22-25, 25-20, 25-23 on April 29, receiving seven kills apiece from Bevan and Malles.
The 6-foot-4 Bevan (88 blocks for LA’s 2024 team) and the 6-3 Malles rank 1-2 among Ramblers in kills this spring.
“Drew Bevan,” Ebeling says, “jumps high, hits hard. So does Luke. Drew was a major part of our great team as a sophomore, and Luke filled in for us in the third-place match at state because our middle (blocker) got hurt.
“Luke,” he adds, “isn’t a middle.” And 11-14 LA isn’t a middling team.
DIGS & SPIKES: Ebeling traveled to Michigan State University last weekend to attend his son John’s graduation. A former outside hitter at LA, John Ebeling majored in Finance at the Big Ten school. | Raul Maniquis, Archie Alhambra, and Mary Kate Lopez are serving as the Ramblers’ varsity assistant coaches. | Last year’s Ramblers fell to perennial state power Glenbard West High School 27-29, 25-18, 25-22 in the match for third-place at the state tournament in Hoffman Estates. | Lamb popped for a team-high three blocks in LA’s defeat of SICP last weekend. Freshman defensive specialist Todd Pham smacked a pair of aces. | Loyola Academy’s 25-14, 25-14 defeat of visiting St. Rita High School on April 10 doubled as Ebeling’s 500th career victory.
Watch them play. Hear their winning shots.
Lake Forest High School No. 1 tennis doubles partners Drew Harris and Nick Schweitzer.
Q & A with Highland Park
High School junior soccer player BRADYN WAXMAN
Highland Park High School (HPHS) junior Bradyn Waxman has been a center back on the Giants’ varsity girls’ soccer team since her freshman year.
It’s a critical position on the pitch, requiring fearlessness, toughness, and vocal leadership.
“I talk a lot in games,” says Waxman. “I can be annoying but I keep everything positive, even if we’re down by a lot in games, and I like to say random, uplifting things to my teammates while directing them.”
HPHS got off to a rough start this spring, losing its first six matches. But coach Kate Straka’s club won five of its next eight contests and had a record of 5-8-1 after defeats of Maine East High School and North Shore Country Day (NSCD) on consecutive days last week.
We had a handful of questions for Waxman after she helped the visiting Giants defeat NSCD’s Raiders 6-2 in Winnetka on May 2.
HPHS junior forward Elliot Shields recorded her first hat trick in the nonconference match. Freshman forward Dari Velazquez, sophomore forward Rafi Rush, and senior forward Annie Manaster scored the Giants’ other goals.
Senior forward Daisy Stone and junior midfielder/defender Reese Meyers netted the goals for NSCD (5-5-0).
What are the three words, in your opinion, that best describe HPHS Coach Straka?
Goofy, personable, sincere.
What do you like most about the team?
Off the field we’re such great friends, and we love the times we get to sing or dance together. The best dancer on the team is (senior defender) Tobi Kleinman.
Which teammate awes you the most and why?
Klara Fussle (senior midfielder). She’s so calm on the ball and never gets angry.
Did you like soccer right away?
I think I started playing it before I was even aware of who I was. My parents (David and Jessica) put me in a Lil’ Kickers program right around the time I started walking.
Best soccer advice you’ve received from your parents?
Kick the ball hard.
You get to be an extra in a movie, meaning you might also get the chance to interact with the flick’s star. Name the movie star you’d like to hang out with between scenes.
Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler. They’re both so funny. I loved Will Ferrell in Step Brothers. I laughed a lot.
What’s the homework assignment or test that’s on your mind now?
AP pre-calc and AP English tests. I’m taking them in less than two weeks.
Complete this sentence: We’ll do well in the postseason if …
… we stay positive, keep our heads up at all times.
Which historical figure, dead or alive, would you like to interview?
Muhammad Ali. My great uncle refereed one of his fights.
BY MONICA KASS ROGERS THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
For North Shore homeowners with design aspirations, architecture history buffs, and those who simply want to support the many beneficial programs of Winnetka’s nonprofit Community House, the chance to explore the gorgeous homes in the Woman’s Board’s Annual Home Tour is an opportunity not to be missed.
Now in its fourth year, the 2025 version of the event kicks off at 9:15 a.m. Friday, May 16, as participants check in at the Community House and then head out to visit the five homes in the tour.
Stepping back through time, the first of these is an 1898 Newport-style shaker house set high on a bluff overlooking both Lake Michigan and the spot where settlers first populated what would become the Village of Winnetka. Two more are Georgian brick manors by esteemed Chicago architect Edwin Clark—one built in 1919 and another in 1930. The next is a 1966 mid-century modern by another famous Chicagoan—architect Don Erickson, who was a master apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright. And capping things off is a modern, Southern-coastal-inspired family home that just completed an 18-month renovation.
In each dwelling, homeowners worked with experts, balancing the desire to respect original architectural stylings or heritage, while at the same time updating or renovating to suit family needs. As a bonus to participants in the self-guided tour, several of these designers, builders, and architects will be on hand at each home to add insight and provide perspectives.
“We are so thankful to the generous homeowners who open their beautiful homes to the Home Tour each year, and to our generous sponsors and designers whose philanthropic support is vital to our mission,” says Kristen Cross, co-chair of this year’s tour. “The tour is a great opportunity to view some of the most beautiful homes, and to support the programs North Shore residents have come to rely on from the Community House.”
“The overwhelming popularity the Home Tour has each year is incredible,” adds Kelly Laszlo, also a co-chair of this year’s event. “The Community House Woman’s Board is so fortunate to showcase the incredible history of the North Shore year after year.”
Although it is unclear who originally built this 1898 Newport-style shaker home as a summer retreat from the city, records show that the first owner was Joseph Block, founder of Inland steel, who then sold it to Quaker Oats' founder Henry Coleman Crowell. But whatever its provenance, the current homeowner—principal at Hollender House Inc, a full-service general contracting, project management and design company, fell in love with the bluff-top beauty despite the need for significant repairs.
Working as the designer/contractor for the restoration and remodel, the owner lived in the home with his wife and children prior to and throughout the renovation—wanting to get a feel for how the space worked before reshaping it to fit both family needs, and the desire to maintain the home’s architectural history and character.
Many features from the late 1800s remain. Among them, the family room boasts the original plaster ceiling and grand fireplace with its embossed family crest, while original antique European sconces still grace the formal living room. And the designs for original casement, bow windows, and transoms throughout the home were carefully matched as the owners replaced all windows and trim.
The butler pantry’s original German-silver counter was also restored, as were all of the home’s door knobs and doorplates.
Updating systems and spaces to work better for the family, the owners relocated the front door to the center of the house, and completely opened up and brightened the kitchen area which had been divided into four rooms. The lower level was also completely restored. Once all non-bearing walls and layers of dry wall had been removed, the original stone walls were revealed, and are now a feature of the space.
Because they are landscaping and garden-
ing enthusiasts, the current owners were delighted to learn that their home was one of four that originally shared communal gardens designed by famous landscaper O.C. Simonds. Seeking to replicate the feel of gardens from this bygone era, each tree surrounding the home’s outdoor pool was handpicked and placed by the owners.
GEORGIAN BRICK MAGNIFICENCE
Famed Winnetka architect Edwin H. Clark was known not only for the beautiful single-family homes he built on the North Shore, but for public buildings such as the Chicago Zoological Park, Brookfield Zoo, and Winnetka’s Village Hall. One of the last homes he built in his architectural partnership with William Otis was this 1919 Georgian brick manor in Winnetka—less than a half mile from the home Clark once lived in on White Oak Lane.
Honoring this architectural legacy, the current owners of the home on Ash Street took great care as they worked with designer Laura Berquist of Kipp and Keeler to reimagine its interiors.
Balancing bold structure with delicate softness, Berquist transformed the main living area into two spaces: an elegant lavender dining room, and its adjacent “Bourbon Room”—moody, masculine, and designed with quiet conversations over shared evening cocktails in mind. Bedrooms were each approached as serene retreats with bathrooms dressed in refined finishes. And befitting the homeowners love for entertaining, the gourmet kitchen at the heart of the home is newly outfitted with dual refrigerators and dishwashers. Carrera gold marble countertops add timeless elegance, while the woodburning fireplace adds warmth and character.
Three more fireplaces plus radiant heated floors add warmth throughout the rest of the home. And outside, the property features three bluestone and brick terraces, an outdoor fireplace, and in the backyard, some
original seat from historic Wrigley Field. And one more special touch? The original architectural plans for the home hold pride of place. Framed and displayed on the second floor, the plans are a reminder that the current homeowners take their role as caretakers of this home seriously, lovingly preserving it for generations to come.
EDWIN CLARK MASTERPIECE
When you are the owner of a successful interior design firm, visualizing fresh new possibilities for classically built homes is your daily reality. Nonetheless, when the owner of the North Shore’s White Couch Design fell in love with the Georgian Clark built in Winnetka and wanted to move her family there, her husband needed some convincing.
The issue was that although beautifully built with grand formal rooms, the home’s
ICONIC BLUFFTOP MANSION
DUSTIN O'REGAN ILLUSTRATION BY TOM BACHTELL
Highland Park’s ANNE KAPLAN, Chair of the Joffrey Board of Directors, is eagerly anticipating the Joffrey Celebration on May 31 at Cinespace. This year’s event will transport guests into the whimsical world of Wonderland, inspired by the ballet’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland performances. Anne has been a dedicated member of the Joffrey Board since 2011, contributing to the Executive Committee as Vice Chair and lending her expertise to the Development, Strategic Planning, and Campaign Planning Committees. In addition to her leadership role at the Joffrey, Anne is actively involved with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and is a strong supporter of organizations like Chicago Cares, Marwen, and the Chicago Architecture Biennial. She also serves as a trustee of The Mayer & Morris Kaplan Family Foundation. Outside of her philanthropic endeavors, Anne is the owner and designer at Insight Environmental Design, a Chicago-based interior design firm. Amidst her many commitments in the world of design and philanthropy, Anne took a moment to share how she stays current in an everevolving world of creativity and generosity.
#ON MY NIGHTSTAND
The Joffrey’s performances stimulate my reading list! I’ve recently read Of Mice and Men, Atonement, and Anna Karenina, followed by the charming Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Each has allowed me to absorb stories through words and movement. I am looking forward to diving into Eugene Onegin next.
#ON MY MOBILE
Like Alice, I’m feeling “curiouser and curiouser” every day. I’m less about scrolling online and more about exploring real life and expanding my mind through people, places, and things around me. Our city holds innumerable treasures, and I find inspiration from exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Wrightwood 659. I’m especially excited about the “Joffrey + Ballet in the U.S.” traveling to Wrightwood 659 in October. There’s nothing like getting lost in an exhibit and emerging with new ideas. It’s my own kind of Wonderland.
#IN MY EARBUDS
“White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane. It’s psychedelic, a little surreal, and perfectly captures that curious journey down the rabbit hole. With Joffrey’s Wonderland-themed celebration in May, I'm hoping the DJ plays it, too. I also enjoy the enriching podcast, Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Each episode offers an opportunity to hear her in conversation with an iconic older woman. These conversations are refreshing, honest, and often humorous. I finish each episode feeling like I just got to know someone very special, and I think other listeners would agree. The women are forthright and revealing, which is a gift.
RACCOON OF DISTINCTION
BY HARLAN CHETWYND
He comes at dusk with a gentleman’s gait, In a tux of soot, perpetually late—
Yet always on time for the garbage bin feast, A gourmand, a bandit, a fur-covered priest.
With a paw like a thief and a gaze like a judge, He'll dismantle your locks without grudge or grudge.
Don’t mistake him for beast or for low-class brute— He’s studied your habits. He knows the chute.
—AN ODE FROM THE NORTH SHORE
He once bested a Yale-bound intern’s trap, Disarmed it with twine and a bottle-cap. Then rolled his eyes at the Ring doorbell light, And mooned the lens in pure delight.
The neighbors compare him to Clooney and Holmes, He surveys Lake Forest like one of his homes. With a whisker twitch and a haughty sneer, He poaches your scones and artisan beer.
We named him "Chet" for the Candy of lore,
Who fought such a beast just outside his front door.
Remember that scene? The trash-lid ballet? Our raccoon's the sequel—Broadway meets prey.
He flirts with foxes, snubs the deer, Has opinions on hedge funds and artisanal beer.
He’s banned from Ravinia for heckling Brahms, Yet mingles with skunks at backyard proms.
So, if your compost’s been plundered, your fencing breached, Know the legend of Chet has only increased. For on the North Shore, in moon’s soft cocoon, Reigns a tuxedoed tyrant: the raccoon.
EDITED BY
POEM
WINE CONNOISSEURS
With roots dating back almost to prohibition, North Shore residents visit Schaefer’s Wine, Food, and Spirits in Skokie for their epicurean needs.
BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
The City of Skokie is known internationally as a First Amendment battleground with a rich history of Jewish culture and efforts to preserve that culture for future generations. Also, that ear-splitting rendition of “Okie from Muskogee” that replaces Muskogee with Skokie.
But party town? Believe it.
Bill Graham is owner and manager of Schaefer’s Wine, Food, and Spirits, provides the history.
“Schaefer’s has been at the same location since 1936. It was right after prohibition. It was a bar, and all the suburbs were dry, but Skokie was wet,” Graham says. “So, back in the day everybody would go to Skokie to get their liquor or to go to a bar.”
Schaefer’s was the passion of George Schaefer Sr., who founded the store in 1936. It was at first a bar called The Boundary, later renamed Schaefer’s Wine and Spirits when
it became a package store. After George Sr.’s death, it was run by his widow, Eileen, and son, George Scheafer Jr. While the store is no longer in family hands—Graham purchased it in 2009—he says the Schaefer spirit lives on.
“I pretty much run things the way George
Nearly 90 years after it was established, Schaefer’s holds a place among wine enthusiasts as having one of the finest selections in the region. The Chicago Tribune has called it, “Chicago’s finest wine shop.”
“We can cover all price points but we're
not just a little shop,” Graham says.
Schaefer’s is especially known for its party business, loaning out glassware. The company provides stemware, delivery service, and credits for returns.
“It’s a high-touch customer service for small backyard gatherings or summer blowouts,” Graham says. “We can buy 50 cases of wine, so we get that price break from the distributor.”
A good place to sample Scheafer’s offerings is at its annual Warehouse Sale, which has become of a cultural phenomenon on the North Shore.
“We sell 3,000 cases of wine in two days,” says Graham. “It draws a huge crowd. People come out of the woodwork to get a great deal.”
Schaefer’s Wine and Spirits is located at 9965 Gross Pointe Road in Skokie. For more information, call 847-677-WINE (9463) or visit schaefers.com.
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