DDC_DC Magazine_092118

NIU VISUAL ARTS Offers Outstanding Performances for Local Residents

LODI TAP HOUSE

Leads to Maple Park Revitalization

122 YEARS OF PHILANTHROPY AND FELLOWSHIP The DeKalb Women’s Club

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INSIDE

6 NIU VISUAL ARTS Offers Outstanding Performances for Local Residents 12 KISHWAUKEE COLLEGE Celebrates 50 Years 16 THE ABC’S OF LEARNING EdUcate focuses on tailored instruction for K-high school students 19 LODI TAP HOUSE Leads to Maple Park Revitalization 24 BLUE MOON BIKES Bikes like this come around once in a Blue Moon 27 122 YEARS OF PHILANTHROPY AND FELLOWSHIP The DeKalb Women’s Club

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Project Manager: Lisa Angel Layout & Design: Allison LaPorta Photography: DM Herra, Stephen Haberkorn, Michael Embrey and Michelle Taylor Writer: Aimee Barrows, DM Herra & Stephen Haberkorn Articles and advertisements are property of Shaw Media.

No portion of DC Magazine may be produced without written consent of the publisher.

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NIU VISUAL AR Offers Outstanding Performances for Local Residents By: Stephen Haberkorn

Like athletics, the performing arts function as one of the front doors of a university. For Northern Illinois University, having world-class programs in the College of Visual and Performing Arts provides an exciting way for community members to experience NIU as much as a successful football or basketball program.

“One of the great things about living near a university are all the things you get to experience,” said Andy Dolan, Director of Marketing and Communications for the College of Visual and Performing Arts at NIU. “Part of our role is to bring arts and culture, not only to the university, but to the community.

It’s unique to be in a city the size of DeKalb or Sycamore, and have this caliber of performances just a few minutes away.”

If you attend a performance at NIU, you’re going to see extremely talented people performing. These students were the very best in high school and decided that this

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RTS was what they really wanted to do. NIU recruits nationally and internationally for their performing arts programs. The faculty are all working professionals who are respected in their fields.

The College of Visual and Performing Arts is comprised three schools: Theatre and Dance, Art and Design, and Music.

Alex Gelman directs the School of Theatre and Dance. He was drawn to NIU by the extraordinary faculty and its proximity to Chicago.

“Chicago is maybe the greatest theater town in the States,” said Gelman, who

has lived and worked all over the country, including New York. “If you go to any of the major theaters in Chicago tonight, including opera theaters, you would be hard-pressed to find one that doesn’t have our people either on stage, or backstage, or both, or at the very least preparing for the next project that company is doing.”

Gelman said that people who see their performances at NIU tell him all the time that they are every bit as strong as the performances they see in Chicago.

NIU has produced many well-known alumni over the years who are working in the entertainment industry, including

three-time Academy Award nominee Joan Allen, Joe Minoso (Chicago Fire), Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy, The Shield), and Mary Holland (Veep). They also have many alumni and faculty who’ve worked on Broadway.

“I love to talk about our well-known alumni,” said Gelman, “but a real point of pride is how many of our alumni work. The vast majority of our design and technology students are employed in the industry, and quite often in really impressive places right away.”

By attending live performances at NIU, you not only take in the excitement and DEKALB COUNTY MAGAZINE | September 2018 | 7

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energy of the event, but you are also able to participate in the experience in a way that is not possible by viewing a movie or TV show. Performers need to see and hear the audience’s response in order to perfect their trade. Performing live gives the performer and audience the ability to not just connect to one another but to learn from one another. And for the NIU students, that exchange is essential for their training.

The Stevens Building, home to theater and dance has reopened after a $23.7 million state-funded renovation. The new facility is 106,000 square feet, which is 55% larger than the old structure.

Despite the project being delayed two years because of the State of Illinois budget impasse, Gelman and the rest of the faculty are thrilled with the results.

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spaces for training and public shows.

In addition to providing a lot of technical flexibility, the black box theater can blur the lines between actors and audience, creating great intimacy without being very small.

“You can have 300 people here in the audience and none of them will feel any real distance from the actors,” said Gelman.

Probably the greatest benefit of the new facility will be to the technical programs— the people working behind the scenes to build the sets, make the costumes, and run the lights—because they’ll be doing all that in a larger, state-of-the-art facility now.

The scene shop is nine times larger than the old one. Scenery can be built and rolled right onto the stage, rather than having to disassemble it and then reassemble it as before. In the past they had to take an hour at the beginning of the work day to set things up on stage and then another hour at the end to take things down, thus reducing their rehearsal time in half. Sometimes, they had to build sets on

stage, and then that stage would not be available for anything else.

The Stevens Building now includes specialized design and technical classrooms and drafting laboratories for set and lighting design, and a new graphics lab for teaching industry standard software.

While enrollment in the college remained stable during the renovations to the Stevens Building, Gelman thinks the last five years of nomadic performances have strained their relationship with the community, and they are going to focus this year on bringing people back. Besides getting the word out about returning to their refurbished home, they will also be putting on two of the most-popular plays of all time: “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “Hamlet.” The hope is that when the crowds show up for those classics, they will enjoy them so much that they’ll come back for other plays throughout the season. While commercial success isn’t the main factor in producing the plays that they do, it definitely heightens the experience for the actors to perform before a large crowd.

The 2018/2019 Mainstage season begins October 3-7 with “The Flick,” which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2014.

That is followed by “The Importance of Being Earnest,” the comedy by Oscar Wilde, October 24-28.

If you would like to advertise in the February 2019 edition of DC Magazine contact Lisa Angel at 815-756-4841 ext. 2236 or email langel@shawmedia.com.

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The fall dance concert is November 15-18.

Spring 2019 kicks off with “The Revolutionists” by Lauren Gunderson, February 6-10. Gunderson is the mostproduced American playwright in the country right now. The play features real historical characters like Marie Antoinette who lived during the French Revolution.

“Hamlet” will be performed February 27 - March 3. They usually do a Shakespeare play every year, since it’s a source of a lot of employment for their actors. Sometimes they’ll have people from Shakespeare festivals come and watch their productions and hire their students.

Next is a devised piece based on the works of Lewis Carroll called “Wonderfully Alice,” showing April 3-7.

Finally, they finish the Mainstage Series with Le Corsaire, a ballet, from April 25-28.

NIU is home to the only degree granting collegiate ballet program in the state.

More information about the shows and how to get tickets is available at niu.edu/ theatre.

2018/2019 Studio Series

“True West” by Sam Shepard, the great American playwright who died last year, October 10-14 The Greek play, “Bakkhai” by Euripides, October 31 - November 4 Christopher Durang’s “The Marriage of

Bette and Boo,” an important American play that debuted Off-Broadway in 1985, November 28 - December 2 “Boy,” a play about gender identity by Anna Ziegler, February 13-17 On April 10-14, there will be a BFA - MFA Showcase.

College of Music

The College of Music at NIU offers world class music in your backyard, with ample opportunities for area residents to take in live performances by skilled musicians.

One thing that is new this year a $5 concert admission fee for adults, $3 for non-College of Visual and Performing Arts students. The reason behind this charge is that it costs money to purchase the performing rights to some of the pieces they perform, especially the more current works. This small charge will allow NIU’s ensembles to continue to play the music that people want to hear.

This will be an adjustment for people who are used to coming, but priced at a point where people can still come to as many concerts as they want. You’ll just have to make sure you get your tickets online before the show or arrive early enough to purchase them the day of the performance.

“It’s still going to be the best value in town,” said Dolan.

Once the concert season starts for the School of Music, there’s something going on all of the time. There will be offerings of just about any flavor of music you want, from artists in residence like the Avalon String Quartet and Cor Cantiamo, to their student ensembles. They have a very popular World Music Series, featuring the world-famous NIU Steelband. They also have a Choral and Opera Series, a Concert Band Series, and even a Dance Party Series! In addition, you can enjoy the NIU Marching Band; they are at over 190 members this year, which is the largest marching band they’ve had in recent history.

“The breadth of talent that we have in the School of Music is amazing,” said Eric Johnson, Acting Director of the NIU School of Music. “All of our faculty are professional musicians in their own rights. They have their own performing careers.

When they’re not teaching at Northern, they’re in Chicago performing or traveling all over the world. You could go to Chicago or Lincoln Center and pay a lot more to hear them.”

This year, there are a couple of bigger projects that involve multiple ensembles that you’ll surely want to attend. To honor the 100th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth this year, several

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different performing ensembles in the school of music have chosen to program some Bernstein. From the middle of October to the middle of November, they have “Falling into Bernstein: A Celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s 100th Birthday.”

The academic year will conclude with a massive project as the School of Music presents the “Defiant Requiem: Verdi in Terezin,” April 28. They are able to produce the concert because of a grant the school received from the Defiant Requiem Foundation.

“Defiant Requiem” tells the story of the Jewish prisoners in Theresienstadt, which was a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. Within that population were artists, musicians, actors and intelligentsia of Jewish communities. While they were held in the camp, they performed Shakespeare and wrote new plays and music. They performed Verdi’s Requiem sixteen times for fellow prisoners, with full orchestra, full chorus and soloists. The performances were an act of defiance and resistance against the Nazis.

This concert tells that story and includes a full performance of the Verdi Requiem. The performance includes documentary film footage from the original performances and actors will perform oral histories of the event. American conductor Murry Sidlin will be brought in to conduct the performance.

In conjunction with NIU’s performance of “Defiant Requiem”, the School of Theatre and Dance is producing a play called “Bent,” which tells the story of how the Nazis treated homosexuals during that period.

“For museum-certified, I wanted to see people who really had kept an active exhibition record,” said Burke. Some of the artists have been working in the field for 50 years, while others are fairly new graduates.

“It’s going to be an amazing, powerful event,” said Johnson. “I’m personally very excited about that project. I’ve been working on it for quite a while.”

For a complete listing of events in the School of Music visit niu.edu/music.

A reception will be held to open the exhibit and recognize the artists, Thursday, September 20 from 5 – 8 p.m. The exhibition is held in both the Art Museum and in galleries in Jack Arends Hall.

School of Art and Design and NIU Art Museum The NIU Art Museum is located on the first floor of NIU’s iconic castle, Altgeld Hall.

Exhibits change out exhibits three times a year in fall, winter and spring.

Transparency in Form and Content (November 15 - February 15, 2019) They are aligning this exhibit with the show put on by the Burma Art Collection called “Vanishing Art from Myanmar: The Buddhist Reverse Glass Painting Tradition” (November 15 - February 15, 2019).

“What I love about NIU is that they have been teaching fine art since the very beginning in the 1890’s,” said Jo Burke, Director of the NIU Art Museum. “I think it’s important to see that people value the arts.”

This year, the School of Art and Design will commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the visual arts building, Jack Arends Hall. Part of the celebrastion is an alumni invitational art show called “ SWEET, Golden and Delicious…Faculty-select and Museumcertified” (August 28 - October 19, 2018).

The alumni invitational represents art from eleven areas of study in studio and design across five decades. All of the works were selected or recommended by faculty.

More information on upcoming exhibits in the NIU Art Museum is available at niu.edu/ artmuseum.

The final exhibit of the year in the NIU Art Museum will be “Data: BIG/-driven/ Visualized...” (March 28 - May 17, 2019).

The NIU Art Museum is free and open to the public. Regular hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m, Thursday, noon to 7 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.

For a complete listing of exhibitions and lectures in the School of Art and design, visit niu.edu/art.

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Kishwakee

College

Celebrates 50 Years By: Stephen Haberkorn

Nestled among the corn fields in rural Malta, Illinois sits a golden treasure: Kishwaukee College.

Celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year, they have grown through six construction phases and graduated over 24,000 students over their halfcentury of existence.

But while the physical space of the College has changed over the years, their mission has not changed: to serve their local communities by providing affordable, quality education while being responsive to the business community’s workforce needs.

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“It is really important that we have educational opportunities available locally to serve people who are interested in learning. At Kishwaukee College opportunities exist for students while they are still in high school and want to get a jump start on college, all the way through life-long learning through community education,” said Dr. Laurie Borowicz, Kishwaukee College President.

“People may want to re-career. They may want to learn a new skill. They may want to continue to have an opportunity to get education throughout their lifespan. And Kishwaukee College will be there, that is what a community college provides.”

Community colleges have expanded in scope and size over the years as many more people have sought higher education. Those in the workforce understand that in order to get a better job or move up to a higher level in their organization, education is their ticket.

A college education can be a key to a successful career and life.

“All of the research, everything we still see, demonstrates the value of a college education and why it’s still worth getting,” said Borowicz.

While costs of higher education have gone up rapidly due to decreasing government support, the Board of Kishwaukee College has tried to be fiscally responsible to make sure that they are still offering an affordable education.

The Kishwaukee College Foundation also works hard to make more money

available to students through increased scholarship opportunities.

“We are always very mindful of the fact that we need to be good stewards of the students’ tuition dollars, as well as the taxpayers’ dollars,” said Borowicz.

“Community colleges do things very efficiently and effectively. And in order to do that, especially in economic times like we’re facing, you have to be innovative and creative. Sometimes out of a challenge can come improvement.”

Maintaining strong relationships with the local business community is crucial for Kishwaukee College. The Career and Technology Education (CTE) programs are required by the Illinois Community College Board to have advisory committees that advise them on things like curriculum and how technology is changing in their industries. Advisory committee meetings are held once a semester, with the business leaders coming in and sharing with the College what is going on in their field.

big.” There are also a large number of NIU alumni who work at Kishwaukee College.

Many of the programs at Kishwaukee College are well-known in the area and extremely well-respected. The healthcare programs, for instance, have a great reputation. Dr. Borowicz pointed out that she’s had people in the community tell her that when they have been in the hospital they know when it is a Kishwaukee College-trained nurse who’s helping them.

“Our programs have a reputation for high quality instruction, with graduates being well trained in their field,” said Borowicz.

Kish is also known for their small class size and how much they support their students and help them be successful in their careers.

One of Kishwaukee College’s biggest partners is Northern Illinois University.

There are students who go between the two institutions through dual enrollment.

Seventy percent of Kishwaukee College’s students who intend to transfer for a bachelor’s degree go to NIU.

One of the most rewarding aspects of leading Kishwaukee College for Borowicz is traveling to local communities and hearing people’s stories about how they or someone in their family went to Kishwaukee College and how they really feel like Kish helped them get their start.

In fact, many leaders in the local business community have a strong affinity for Kishwaukee College and still maintain a close relationship with the school.

“Kishwaukee College benefits from having a university six miles down the road from us,” said Borowicz. “Because NIU is here, our transfer program is very

Bill Lloyd, Owner of Lloyd Landscaping and Garden Center in Genoa recalls not knowing what he wanted to do for his career, even after attending another

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college. Then he went to Kish and enrolled in the horticulture program. “[It] helped me get to where I am today,” said Lloyd.

Lloyd said he learned the most from his hands-on experience in the program. He currently has a second-year Kishwaukee horticulture student working for him, who has impressed him with her knowledge.

Jesus Romero, Owner of Taxco Restaurant in Sycamore, took ESL classes and completed his G.E.D. at Kishwaukee College.

Annually, Romero expresses his gratitude toward the College for being there for him by donating fifty percent of the money raised from the Sycamore Cinco de Mayo event to the Kishwaukee College Foundation for Hispanic scholarships. He also sits on the Foundation Board.

Tim Carlson, Principal of Sycamore High School, is a 1982 graduate of Kishwaukee College and

encourages students to take advantage of the affordable education Kish offers on the way to completing the requirements for a bachelor’s degree.

These are just a small sample of those in the area who are grateful for the opportunities afforded to them by Kishwaukee College.

To hear more testimonials from community leaders and alumni, visit kish.edu/50th Finally, Bob Boey, Owner of the Sycamore Industrial Park and former Kishwaukee College Board Member, explained how valuable he considers Kishwaukee College is to the local community in a video posted on the College’s YouTube channel: “I consider this a treasure in our area,” said Boey, “so I hope we never lose it.”

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The ABC’s of learning

EdUcate focuses on tailored instruction for K-high school students

By: Aimee Barrows After DeKalb resident Thomas Allen’s daughter had bounced around several schools in three years, the 7 yearold was falling behind. Knowing she needed help to catch up to her peers, last fall Allen enrolled her at EdUcate! Inc., an educational center in Sycamore that provides students in grades kindergarten through high school with extra help in a variety of academic subjects.

And after just a few months at EdUcate, Bella, now a thirdgrader at Jefferson Elementary School in DeKalb, made drastic improvements in her reading and math test scores. “[Bella] was struggling and was way behind the other kids,” Allen explains. “But after going to EdUcate three times a

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week last year and one time a week over the summer, she’s made incredible improvements.”

EdUcate owner Panthea Spyratos knows that every child learns best as his or her own pace, so she brings individualized lessons to all of her clients when meeting with them at EdUcate, which opened in June 2017. The educational center offers one hour after-school sessions during the school year, and flexible scheduling during the summer.

Spyratos, a former fifth grade teacher, and her staff of certified teachers bring tailored instruction that addresses the specific needs of each child, whether it be math, reading, study skills or test preparation. EdUcate doesn’t follow a set schedule or program, which allows each student to progress at his or her own pace.

“The most important thing to me is being accommodating to my clients. I knew from my [teaching] experience that purchasing a curriculum or specific program was not the best option for my clients,” she explains. “It’s about the consistency and quality of tutoring. I’m big on only hiring certified teachers because having knowledge in a content area doesn’t mean you can properly teach that content to a child in an engaging way.”

While a majority of the skills honed at EdUcate are in math and reading, the center also helps children complete their homework or school projects, organize class notes and study for exams. She stresses that tutoring isn’t just for students who

are having trouble in school. She says that many of her clients are good students who want to improve their performance in school or on standardized tests.

“I think there are a lot of misconceptions about what a tutor is,” she says. “It’s not just for struggling students. Every student can benefit. At any age they can benefit from learning how to study for a test, or having something explained in a different way.”

And that’s exactly why Carly Morris of Sycamore sent her daughter to EdUcate over the summer. The 6 year-old wasn’t struggling in school, but Morris wanted her child to continue building on the skills she had already learned. Her daughter met with Spyratos once a week for a one-hour session, and Morris says she is so happy with the results that she is considering sending her other children to EdUcate.

“I felt that her having one-on-one time with Panthea was critical in getting her excited about reading,” Morris says.

“Panthea was so good about communicating with me what they were doing and what they accomplished each week.

EdUcate is a great supplement to what my daughter was learning in the classroom.”

DeKalb resident Beth Williams enrolled her 13 year-old son at EdUcate last year to get extra help as he entered middle school. Williams said her son worked on science, math and language arts with Spyratos, as well as test-taking skills.

“Panthea was great. She really boosted his confidence,”

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Williams says. “He got more excited about school as the year went on and by the end of the year after working with her, his study habits and organizational skills improved. He made honor roll the first quarter, and high honor roll the rest of the year.”

Spyratos, a Sycamore resident, graduated from Northern Illinois University in 2014 with a degree in Education and taught fifth grade at Lake in the Hills District 158 for three years before opening EdUcate. She says that while she enjoyed teaching, she felt like she could better use her talents by working with students oneon-one.

“I love working with kids and I love helping them work through struggles,” she explains. “At EdUcate, we help kids in any way they need help. It could be math or reading, but we also work with kids who just want to get better at something.”

In addition to individual tutoring sessions and homework help, EdUcate offers small group enrichment courses, computer coding courses and STEM education sessions. It can also host private events or professional development sessions for companies or groups who need a space with advanced technological capablilites.

EdUcate is located at 141 E. Elm St., Sycamore. For more information or to schedule a session, visit www. educateinc.org or email info@ educateinc.org.

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Lodi Tap House

LEADS TO MAPLE PARK REVITALIZATION By: Stephen Haberkorn

Located on the eastern edge of DeKalb County, Maple Park is now home to a hot new destination spot that is helping to spur the redevelopment of its downtown business center. Opened in December of 2016, Lodi Tap House has been a big hit—so much so, that they have already nearly doubled their seating capacity and were recently featured on the WGN show, Chicago’s Best.

The cozy establishment at 309 W. Main Street specializes in a constantly rotating selection of Illinois craft beers, as well as local and Illinois-centric wine and spirits.

They also offer a tight menu that includes vodka-battered fried chicken, delicious burgers and sandwiches, wraps, soups and salads, and exceptional sides and appetizers.

Explaining what makes the Lodi Tap House unique, owner Gavin Male of Elburn said, “A lot of places, you can get good food, but they certainly don’t have the beer selection that we have. A lot of places that have a comparable (but not as good) beer selection, don’t have food, or don’t have TV’s. We like beer. We like food. We like TVs. We wanted a place that had all three.

We just made a place that we would want to go do, and apparently, a lot of other people have the same idea.”

They have the NFL package and the sports package, so there’s really not a sporting event that exists that you can’t come and watch on one of their six TVs; however, according to Luke Goucher, “The atmosphere, in a lot of cases, actually is the entertainment … making friends

with the people next to you, interacting with your server … getting intimate with the beer board, and tasting the offerings either through a pint or a flight.”

The four friends who own the pub come from commercial banking and real estate backgrounds, but are united in their love for craft beer and really good food.

They came up with the inspiration for an Illinois-centric Tap House from their travel to Michigan, where they heard a lot of talk about “Michigan-centric” food and beer.

“That became our focus and a pretty easy springboard, because there’s a lot of cool stuff going on in the state [of Illinois],” said Goucher.

The name, Lodi Tap House, is a nod to the history of the village that straddles DeKalb and Kane Counties. Maple Park

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was originally called Lodi from the time it was incorporated in 1865 until 1880 when they changed the name. “For the love of community, before we even knew we were going to open up a restaurant/bar establishment, we knew that Lodi was a good name for a business in town here,” said Goucher. “So our very first shirts reintroduced Lodi to the community, basically welcoming it back after 136 years of it being out of existence.”

Goucher and his wife, Nicole, have lived in Maple Park for over a decade and are vested in the community. He was the Elburn Chamber of Commerce President twice, and he and another Lodi owner, Brandon Harris, are Maple Park Trustees.

So when the opportunity to purchase the building that houses Lodi came up they wanted to make sure that it didn’t go dark. Goucher said that the success of the restaurant/bar has been wildly unexpected.

After just nine months, they expanded the building by adding a four-season patio, increasing their seating capacity from 45 to 80 people and enabling them to host larger groups and private parties, including wedding receptions.

“Unfortunately, we’re about as big as we can get,” said Goucher. “It’s a really small place, so expect to come in, pick out your spot, and meet some people. The space is quaint in a way that is enjoyable, so you’re going to make friends.”

Lodi Tap House was recently featured on a road trip edition of Chicago’s Best on WGN. The show originally aired on August 19th.

They are expecting a boost in their business because of the segment, as they have heard of other establishments who were featured on the show tripling their business afterwards.

Stoffregen is very excited about the Chicago’s Best segment. “I had a great time sitting here all day with the guys, making them food and just hearing what they had to say,” said Stoffregen. “They were just sitting here like, ‘Oh, my gosh, the food is amazing.’ I was trying to get some feedback about what I could improve on, and they had nothing.

There was no negative criticism.”

Illinois-Centric Craft Beer

At Lodi Tap House, you can get an education in Illinois craft beer, as they offer a rotating selection of twelve tap handles and 25-30 cans and bottles. They make sure that they stock a wide range of styles that change throughout the seasons. If you are seeking out something special, chances are they have it now or they’ll get it later, claims Goucher.

“We were able to focus our beer board solely on small batch Illinois craft beer. We have a large network of breweries throughout the entire state,” explained Goucher. “We focus on getting the best of the best and bringing it to a single source tap room, so you don’t have to travel five-and-a-half hours south. You can get it at a one-stop shop.”

You can track what Lodi has on tap at any given moment through live updates of their beer board on both their website (www.loditaphouse.com) and the Untappd application. Untappd is an app that allows you to search any beer from a brewery, read reviews, rate it yourself, and know where it is on tap at any time.

Their craft beer offerings are both DeKalb County-centric and Illinois-centric. A small sampling of the breweries whose products they sell include The Forge in Sycamore, Pig Minds Brewing in Machesney Park, Recess Brewing in Edwardsville, Blue Cat and Bent River in Rock Island, Generations Brewing Company in Freeport, Penrose Brewing in Geneva, Solemn Oath Brewery in Naperville, and Big Thorn Farm & Brewery in Georgetown.

Lodi also maintains an Illinois-centric craft cocktail list as well. They rotate 7-8 Illinois distilleries and wineries, such as Whiskey Acres in DeKalb, Wishful Acres in Lena, and Acquaviva Winery in Maple Park. They feature a ginger beer from Geneva and their root beer offering is produced in Chicago.

“If it’s Illinois-based, we seek it out—the wine, the mead, the spirits, the ginger beer,” said Goucher. “People enjoy the fact that they know where it’s coming from. They know who made it. And they know that it’s quality.

You’re actually getting higher quality product at an equivalent price, and you might know the guy who made it, which is kind of fun. He

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might be sitting next to you at Lodi, because we get them in here with regularity.”

They do three or four days a month where they’ll feature a local brewer with 3-4 tap handles. Representatives of the brewery will come in with samples and explain what’s in the beer and the process they use to produce the beer.

They also do a lot of events, like National Mead Day, where they had two meads on tap. Their next scheduled tap takeover will be Crystal Lake Brewing on September 26th.

Mug Club

Another idea that Goucher brought back from Michigan that they have incorporated at Lodi Tap House is the mug club. He got the idea from the Dark Horse Brewing Company in Marshall, Michigan.

For $45, you get to select your own mug that is made by a local artisan. To get started, the first beer in your mug is only one dollar. The mug hangs on the wall of the pub, and every time you come in they will fill it with a generous pour of your choice of beer for one dollar off the regular price.

In addition, as a member of the mug club, you receive a 10% discount on all of your food for the year. You also get invited to releases and special events. After the first year, it costs $25 per year to renew your membership.

Since opening less than two years ago, Lodi Tap House now has about 400 mugs hanging on their walls.“Our renewal rate’s been really strong,” said Goucher. “People enjoy that sense of community.”

They do “Meet your Maker” events, where you can come in and make your own beer mug with the help of one of the local artists.

Their two primary mug makers are Kathy Westman from Elburn and Chris Swedberg from Sycamore.

A Step Up from Normal Bar Food

Stewart Stoffregen has been the head chef at the Lodi Tap House since it opened. He hand makes all of the restaurant’s specialties from scratch, using fresh ingredients from local farms like Wiltse’s, Kuipers, Yaegers, and Theis Farm in Maple Park.

“Everything they’re going to find here is fresh,” said Stoffregen. “I don’t like using frozen. I don’t like anything that’s already pre-prepped. I like to have everything handmade, hand-battered, and able to be produced in a fairly decent amount of time.”

Stoffregen, who grew up in Geneva and now lives in Maple Park, began cooking with his grandmother when he was 13 or 14 years old, baking pies and preparing Thanksgiving dinners. When his grandmother passed away, he took over the family tradition. He later completed two years of education in Culinary Arts at Elgin Community College

and has been working in the restaurant business ever since.

Stoffregen described the food offerings at Lodi as “higher-end bar food,” that is a step up from what you would find at other pubs.

Their most popular items are their signature Smash’d Burgers and their Beer Battered Cheese Curds, which were featured on the Chicago’s Best segment. The Smash’d Burger is fried in butter and bacon grease and is served on a toasted Turano bun.

The cheese curds are made from a handcubed block of Chihuahua cheese, and are hand-breaded using a special proprietary breading.

Another specialty is their “Franklin’s Fried Chicken,” which is hand-dipped in vodka batter.

Stoffregen’s personal favorite item is the Buttermilk Brined Chicken Sandwich. He also recommends people try their Prime Steak Wrap—it’s 95% prime, served with lettuce, melted mozzarella and cheddar cheese, red onion, green pepper and tzatziki sauce.

They have new featured items every couple of weeks and new menu items every couple months.

Stoffregen is specially trained in desserts and makes all their cheesecake. They also feature Graham’s Ice Cream from Geneva.

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“I think our cheesecake is one of the best in the area,” said Goucher.

Lodi also serves late night food every evening until 11:00 o’clock. According to Goucher, they are filling a void that previously existed in the area and it has been really popular. He said their busy time lasts until 9:30-10:00 on most nights.

In order to fill the vacuum from the departure of the Moon Dance Diner that they replaced, the Lodi Tap House also serves breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays. As a fun theme, every item on their breakfast menu incorporates names tied to the history of the town. They feature Loaded Bloody Marys and Mimosas on Saturday from 8am-3am and Sunday from 11am-3pm.

Local, Passionate Staff

The staff at the Lodi Tap House plays an important part in the customer experience.

They make sure they all have enough knowledge about what they offer so that they can help a newby coming in for the first time figure out what he likes.

“They’re passionate about the beer and the food; I think that really comes through when you’re in here,” said Goucher. “If you’re not sure what you like, just talk to the staff in the front of the house and they can steer you in the right direction. They’ve tried most of what’s on the board at any given time and are knowledgeable enough to be able to coach even the most skeptical in the world of craft beer.”

Tom Vierig, Owner of Castle View Real Estate next door to Lodi Tap House, dines at the pub a couple times a week. He is not really into craft beer, but he comes for the great food and the casual, friendly atmosphere.

His favorite items are the lunch specials, like the Burger of the Month and the Brat Special from Ream’s in Elburn, served with homemade chips.

Emma Brink from St. Charles loves working at the Lodi Tap House, because of the great environment and the “awesome” customers.

She enjoys talking to patrons and making them feel comfortable.

“I’ve never had a disappointing meal there,” said Vierig.

She uses the Untappd app to learn more

“I love it out here,” said Brink. “It’s a little different from St. Charles. The great thing about this place is that it pulls people in from everywhere.”

about the different craft beers they offer, and she’ll try any new beers they haven’t had before so that she can give her opinion to her customers. They will also give people samples of the beer to try before they order, and they have flights of small glasses of five beers for $10.

“It’s fun to help them figure out what they like and don’t like,” said Brink. She personally enjoys the sour beers and New England style IPAs. She said that the staff work really well together and enjoy each other and what they do. “We make it fun, even though it’s work,” said Brink.

The staff sometimes has cocktail competitions where they each create their own drink, and whichever one sells the most in a given period of time gets added to the menu.

The reason for [the staff] being here is to promote the greatness of what is going on in Illinois, and promoting the greatness of what we have here in Maple Park,” said Goucher.

“Those folks who come here may live in town or it may be their only time coming through.

We’re really focused on trying to make everyone’s experience top notch.”

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Bikes

LIKE THIS COME AROUND ONCE IN A

Blue

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e Moonn

By DM Herra Twenty years ago, Rod Griffis was looking through a barn on his family’s farm when he found a treasure he had nearly forgotten – a mint-green Monark motorbike he had owned as a kid.

He had the bike restored by a man who happened to collect Stingrays, a bicycle made by Schwinn from 1963 until 1981.

Griffis looked at the man’s collection of vintage bikes and fell in love.

“My son was about 12 years old at the time and was with me,” Griffis recalled.

“We saw the bikes in this guy’s basement and we both thought they were kind of cool. Ebay was just coming on the scene, and we went kind of crazy. I ended up with 200 bikes in my basement.”

In 2001, Griffis bought a mid-nineteenthcentury building in downtown Sycamore to house his bicycles. A nurse anesthetist who also owns and operates an anesthetist staffing agency, he began Blue Moon Bikes purely for the passion of sustaining his hobby.

The main floor sells new bicycles and houses a repair shop. The second floor is a sales floor for vintage bikes. And the third floor is Griffis’ private collection.

“It’s hard to say exactly why; they just hit me in the brain,” Griffis said.

“I think of it like my art collection. I can come

up here and I just feel better when I walk around my bikes.”

A collector’s paradise

Griffis had no interest in bicycles when the Schwinn Stingray hit the market in 1963 – he was already in his teens and was more interested in vehicles with four wheels and an engine than in the bike with the distinctive banana seat and high handlebars. Some had additional features and fancy names like the Deluxe and Super Deluxe to distinguish them from ordinary Stingrays. Stingrays marketed to girls were emblazoned with names like the Fair Lady, the Slick Chick and the Stardust.

“In 1966, they came out with the Fast Back,” Griffis said as he ran his hand along a blue bike with a gear shift that looks like it would more at home on the floorboard of a car than the center bar of a bicycle. “It had a shifter, like a four-onthe-floor car shifter. …They had different models, but they were all Stingrays.”

In 1968, Schwinn released Griffis’ favorite bike, the Krate. With a design based on drag racers, the Krate had a wide, slick tire on the back and a smaller tire on the front. It had a stick shift, front springs and rear shock absorbers.

“They’re actually awful to ride because they take a lot of energy, since they bounce,” Griffis said.

The mid-century Schwinns may be Griffis’ favorite bikes, but they aren’t the only

cycles in his collection.

Bicycles hang from the ceiling of his private museum with fat balloon tires. Dubbed Phantoms, Griffis said they were commonly called “paper boy bikes” because they were equipped with a rack on the back where a newspaper carrier could rest his bag of papers.

The collection also includes bicycles by Schwinn competitors like Monark and Hiawatha. There is a 1938 Silver King aluminum bicycle and a 1930s Shelby model with a figure of Donald Duck mounted to the handlebars. The horn on the Donald bike makes a quacking noise, and battery-operated headlamps light up the iconic duck’s eyes.

There are World War II-era bikes with large battery compartments, housing a battery that does nothing more than light the headlamp and taillight. Some feature built-in toolboxes.

“I bought this 1939 bike from the original owner,” Griffis said, lifting a tag hanging from a set of handlebars. “He had it registered with the police department

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and gave me the registration card.

According to this, he was 4 feet, 1 inch tall and 80 pounds – he was probably about 10 years old at the time.”

bicycle parts, they sold vintage bikes and new parts from a garage. They kept no regular hours, telling customers they were open “every blue moon.”

The oldest bikes in the collection date back to the nineteenth century, when bicycles were still in their infancy. They aren’t on display on Blue Moon’s third floor, though.

Griffis bought the downtown Sycamore building on Black Friday 2001. With a physical location and regular store hours, Blue Moon was able to get a dealership license from Schwinn to sell new bikes in addition to vintage bikes and parts. Earlier that year, Griffis met Matt Mutschler at a swap meet for bicycle collectors, and brought him on to be the store’s manager.

A gifted mechanic, Mutschler runs the store’s repair business.

“They aren’t really my specialty, but I have them because I bought out other collections,” Griffis said.

The business of bicycles

Griffis first entered the bike business with his son. Licensed through Schwinn to sell

“He knows more about these bikes than anybody should know,” Griffis said. “He can fix anything. …A lot of bike shops like to focus on high-end stuff. We’re more a family-oriented bike store. We’ll fix practically anything.”

Schwinn has a loyal following of collectors worldwide. A significant portion of Blue Moon’s business involves selling new and vintage parts online to collectors and restorers around the world.

“Our main business in winter is selling parts through Ebay to people who are doing restorations,” Griffis said. “That keeps the doors open.”

Griffis describes the store as “pretty much

zero profit,” but he enjoys the business and the home it provides for his collection. He also considers it a service to the community, as dedicated bicycle shops become increasingly rare.

“It’s harder and harder to do a storefront with bicycles because of the Internet,” he said. “It’s funny because people will come in here and look at a bike, then they’ll buy it on the Internet for the same price they could have paid here, then bring it in here and have us put it together.”

Celebrating the Krate

Once a year, bicycle collectors from around the Midwest descend on Sycamore for Kratefest, a swap meet, flea market and celebration of vintage Schwinns. The celebration began in Milwaukee in the 1990s, and in the early 2000s was adopted

by Blue Moon.

“It’s usually the Saturday before Father’s Day,” Griffis said. “We rent two parking lots and people get together to buy and swap and meet other people interested in bikes.”

Schwinn has recognized the interest bicycle enthusiasts have in its classic designs. It has reissued the Stingray, selling new bikes with the classic design for an entirely new generation to discover.

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122 YEARS

OF PHILANTHROPY AND FELLOWSHIP The DeKalb Women’s Club

I

n 1896, a group of women met at the DeKalb home of Mrs. John Taylor for the very first meeting of the Woman’s Club of DeKalb.

Today, the group now known as the DeKalb Women’s Club is still going strong, meeting seven times a year for fellowship, education and philanthropy.

“I enjoy the opportunity to meet other women in the community and to be a part of interesting and helpful things in the community,” said Elaine Goodwin, a member since 2000.

The club meets monthly from October to May, except in January. Meetings are held at the Elks Lodge in DeKalb, and each meeting features a guest speaker. Sometimes the program is on a light topic, like whiskey distilling or DeKalb County tourism. Other times it’s more serious; the upcoming season includes talks on advance directives in health care and on the local impact of immigration policies.

By: DM Herra “As a new member, I really appreciate the networking,” Michelle Bringas said. “It’s been great to meet women from the community and to find out about services in DeKalb and Sycamore. I’ve learned so much from the programs.”

CARRYING THE TORCH Many social organizations wish they knew the secret to carrying on for more than 100 years. The women’s club is not just surviving but thriving – at last count there were 65 members, ranging in age and from all walks of life. While it is always recruiting, new members typically learn of the organization through low-key word-of-mouth – “sort of a ‘bring a friend’ policy,” Goodwin joked. The meetings are open to any woman who is interested in attending, and members are encouraged to bring friends and neighbors.

Bringas joined the club after attending a meeting in 2017 at the invitation of Ging Smith, a member since 2007 and

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currently co-president. She said she was instantly struck by the sense of collective friendship that enveloped her as she entered the hall.

“That’s what first attracted me,” she said. “Then I began to see the impact the group has. This unassuming, gentle group of women is dedicated to doing good for the community, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

Goodwin attributes the club’s longevity to a history of strong leadership and to members who believe in the club and are willing to roll up their sleeves and get down to work.

“There are two levels of care,” Bringas said. “There’s care for the community; that outward focus that is so important to so many of us. But there is also inward care; paying attention to what is happening with individual members.

The whole organization is undergirded with caring.”

Members keep track of and look out for one another, said Angela Johansson, a member since 2014 and the club’s vice president. In addition to planning and executing the monthly meetings, the social committee also writes and sends notes to members. They might be get-well wishes or condolences, Johansson said, or they could be notes of congratulations.

That fellowship and connection to other women in the community is important, Smith said. So is the club’s devotion to philanthropy and education. Its mission statement says the DeKalb Women’s Club is intended “to promote the social and intellectual interests of its members as well as to support community concerns for the betterment of humanity.”

“Our overall goals have not changed,” Goodwin said. “They have been consistent for a long time, and that has been the glue that has held us together.”

DEDICATED TO SERVICE Since its incorporation in 1912, the women’s club has been dedicated to service. That year, the club purchased a parcel of land along the Kishwaukee River that had been a favorite picnic spot of local icon Annie Glidden. The club donated the land to the city of DeKalb, which turned it into the park now known as Annie’s Woods.

The women’s club collects monetary donations for international charities Operation Smile and The Heifer Project, but most of its philanthropy is kept on the local level. Members deliver regular donations to the Salvation Army food pantry in DeKalb and to the DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Center. Each year, the board of managers selects five local nonprofits to receive monetary donations from the club. And each spring, the scholarship committee selects two girls graduating from DeKalb High School to receive scholarship funds. One scholarship is reserved for a girl continuing her studies at Northern Illinois University and the other for a girl enrolling at Kishwaukee College.

“We visit the high school every year and award the scholarship on Awards Night. I think it’s one of the best parts of the whole year,” Johansson said. “I love seeing all the high school seniors on stage, and our ladies are always so gracious and grateful. They often come back the next year to address the club at our spring luncheon.”

The scholarships are a great way to help local students access higher education, said Margaret Phillips, club treasurer and a member since 1994.

“The need is ever growing. It may have never been greater,” Phillips said. “There is great impetus for our membership to give to this initiative and see these young ladies be successful.”

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JOINING THE DEKALB WOMEN’S CLUB The DeKalb Women’s Club meets on the first Friday of each month October through May at the DeKalb Elks Lodge. There is no meeting in January. Meetings typically begin at 1 p.m. and are open to all area women. The October and May meetings are catered luncheons; they begin at 12:30 p.m. and require a reservation.

Membership dues are $30 per year. For an application to join the women’s club, attend any of the monthly meetings or contact Margaret Phillips by mail at PO Box 316, Sycamore, IL 60178 or 815-895-4329. Callers should identify themselves and the reason for their call. Women interested in attending the fall luncheon should call Phillips to RSVP.

THE SCHEDULE OF SPEAKERS FOR THE 2018-2019 SEASON: MARCH 1 – Martha Brunell and Ashley Scurte of the Advance Care Planning Team at Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital, “Advance Directives”

OCT. 5 – Jay Anderson, president of Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital and Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital, “Health Care in DeKalb County”

APRIL 5 – Dan Kenney, executive director of DeKalb County Community Gardens, “DeKalb County Community Gardens”

NOV. 2 – Lisa Freeman, acting president of Northern Illinois University, “Communiversity: Strength of Collaboration”

MAY 3 – Debbie Armstrong, executive director of the DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau, “DeKalb County Convention and Visitors Bureau”

DEC. 7 – Jen Conley, music therapist, “Music Therapy”

YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME

FEB. 1 – Joe Gastiger, pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ, “Immigration Matters and Its Local Effects”

Philanthropy is important, said Linda Wahlstrom, co- president and a member since 2013, because it makes women feel good to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

But the monthly get-togethers are also an important aspect of the club.

“I really enjoy the programs,” she said.

“Everything is decorated beautifully and there are lace tablecloths on the tables. It’s just very feminine in a way you don’t see anymore.”

“There’s definitely a sense of hospitality,” Bringas agreed. “Even though you’re at the Elks Club, you feel like you’re in someone’s home.”

The meetings are a chance for old friends to catch up and for new friends to meet, the women said. And one can always learn something new from the guest speakers. 2017 program topics ranged from “Are You Prepared for a Disaster” to “Humor as a Health Tonic” to “A Sycamore Woman Abroad: The Life of Georgia Townsend Yates.”

“It’s a nice way to meet people you don’t have contact with otherwise and to work together on community projects,” Goodwin said.

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The ARTS at NIU THEATRE

Attend a performance in the new black box theatre!

The season starts with: The Flick, by Annie Baker, October 3-7 The Importance of Being Earnest, October 24-28

ART

This fall, celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jack Arends Hall, home of the School of Art and Design

50th anniversary events kick off with Sweet, Golden, Delicious, open now at the NIU Art Museum.

MUSIC

Upcoming featured events include: WORLD-CLASS ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE Avalon String Quartet, October 9 AND MORE… NIU Philharmonic, October 10 NIU Jazz Big Band Concert, October 11 Concert Choir and University Chorus, October 16

THAT’S JUST A SMALL SAMPLE OF WHAT’S GOING ON For the full schedule of events and ticket information:

go.niu.edu/arts

College of Visual and Performing Arts 2018 - 2019 Season Performances Presented By

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