Looking for locally grown food? Grow right to the source: An online link in the food chain
JULY 2026
Lake Carroll gears up to put its Fest foot forward \ p. 4
A pair of Lake Carroll residents lend a hand to help out communities \ p. 12
Lake Carroll residents look forward to a coming attraction: A moo-vie trailer \ p. 20
How much do you know about Lake Carroll? Test your trivia talents \ p. 40
A reader photo of Life on the Lake \ p. 48
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Putting their Fest foot forward Lake Carroll is gearing up to show itself off to visitors with a festival’s worth of fun for all.
Raising their hands
Building a better community begins with a strong foundation, which is what a local group is doing.
Here’s the scoop When the weather warms up, Lake Carroll residents start looking for a coming attraction: A moo-vie trailer.
Growing right to the source Fans of locally produced food have a farmers market at their fingertips: An online link in the food chain.
Trivial pursuit: How much do you know about Lake Carroll? Here’s a chance to find out. And ... A reader photo of Life on the Lake
PAGES 49-55
or one evening each summer, Illinois’ largest private lake community gets a little bigger.
That’s when Lake Carroll sees a surge in its population and becomes more than a destination just for members and residents, but anyone else who cares to drop by. The only hitch if you’re a visitor? You’ve gotta want to have some fun.
Lake Carroll Fest will return for a fifth year on Aug. 1, with music stretching across the Clubhouse grounds, food lines forming, children moving from one activity to another, and visitors who may not know much about the community getting a chance to see what draws people there in the first place.
For the people at the Lake Carroll Association planning it, those moments are about more than filling an event schedule — they’re opportunities to showcase their community. The festival has become one of the Association’s largest efforts to open its doors and create something designed not just for current members, but for visitors and younger families as well.
Lake Carroll communications and public relations director Macie Kaney and former recreation director Joseph Bebber organized this year’s event. This is Kaney’s second Fest, and was Bebber’s first.
“It brings in a big crowd,” Kaney said. “It brings attention to Lake Carroll, and it potentially helps us bring in new members, and that’s our biggest goal.”
FEST cont’d to page 6
This year’s Fest activities run from 4 to 10 p.m. but work on filling those 6 hours with fun began a lot earlier. Planning sessions for each Fest begin almost immediately after the previous year’s, and it’s up to organizers and Association staff to find ways to make each Fest better than the last one.
Entertainment planning starts even earlier. Music acts are often one of the first pieces organizers secure because summer schedules fill quickly.
“Especially with bands, you want to reach out to them at the end of the year,” Kaney said. “They get booked so fast. If we want to bring them out here, we don’t want to just bring them out for a night at the Clubhouse, we want to bring them out to something big. We want to reach out to the bands first and get them booked.”
As for vendor recruitment, it’s become a combination of outreach and growing recognition, Bebber said. “A lot of them message us because they want to be a part of Lake Carroll Fest. They know that it’s a great event, and they know that a lot of people come.”
Kaney said the festival has continued to evolve as organizers learn what people respond to, and this year
brought an emphasis on making it well-rounded for people of all ages.
“It’s our biggest public event,” she said. “We’ve migrated it to be more for both adults and kids. We’re trying to attract the younger age group because we don’t have many events for them, same for 20-, 21-year-olds and that age group as well. We’ve brought in more kid activities and also adult activities.”
Before the fest even begins, Lake Carroll’s weekly farmer’s market will set up, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, and some of the vendors will be open again, from 4 to 6 p.m. Other activities between 4 and 6 p.m. include a rock climbing wall, axe-throwing trailer with real axes for the adults (participants must sign a waiver before throwing) and plastic axes for the kids to throw at closer targets, face painting and bags. Also from 4-6 p.m., P&C Little Rascals of Chadwick will bring its mobile petting zoo to the festival.
Kaney
Bebber
Scheduled food trucks include Cousins Maine Lobster from 4 to 9, and Absolute Smoothies from Monroe from 4 to 8, serving up their tropical concoctions. Candlelight Inn will man the Association’s mobile bar throughout the festival.
Live music starts at 5 p.m. with acts familiar to Lake Carroll residents, having performed there in the past. The Lobbin’ Robbins will play from 5 to 6:30 p.m., and Back Country Roads takes the stage from 7 to 10. The Lobbin’ Robbins, a quartet of Freeport High School students, performs a set list spanning multiple genres. Back Country Roads is a northern Illinois-based six-piece band that brings a country-heavy set built around familiar favorites and newer hits.
Additional vendors and activities may be announced on Lake Carroll’s Facebook page in the weeks or days leading up to the event. FEST cont’d from page 6
FEST cont’d to page 9
“Resthave and Staff are amazing! I love the fact that You treat the Residents with such Dignity and Respect in this phase of life. If I lived in the area, I would volunteer at Resthave. It would be an Honor and a Privilege to do so! Keep up the good work, as God will reward you one day!”
~ Marriean T.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY MACIE KANEY
Organizers are packing a lot into one day for this year’s Lake Carroll Fest: music, games, face painting, a farmers market, a petting zoo and more — there’ll even be rock climbing and axe throwing, for the more adventurous.
PHOTO
BY MACIE KANEY
BY
FEST cont’d from page 7
The approach to include more activities for children has become more intentional in recent years. Lake Carroll has noticed increased participation from younger families and younger residents compared with previous years, Bebber said. While Lake Carroll has traditionally drawn an older population, he said that demographic has started to shift: “I think Covid changed that around and it shifted.”
Now, he said, “With the younger audience, we’ve definitely improved over the past year or so. We have a younger demographic than we’ve essentially ever had before.”
Bebber pointed to participation in other recent events as an example. Earlier this year, Lake Carroll held its largest Easter events to date in terms of child participation — between 60 to 80 kids attended events, which included an Easter egg hunt.
FEST cont’d to page 10
PHOTO PROVIDED
MACIE KANEY
PHOTOPROVIDEDBYMACIEKANEY
Kaney pays close attention to details and attendance patterns from event to event and uses that information when planning the next one. She pointed to the Easter egg hunt as one example.
“Last year, we had around 500 eggs, and that was just too many for the kids,” Kaney said. “This year we lowered it to 300 and that was enough, but it didn’t feel like enough to make them seem like they got a lot. It was fast.”
Adjustments such as those carry over into larger events like Lake Carroll Fest. The first three Fests ran across two days, but when 2025 came along, the Fest was condensed to one day, to avoid competing with other Lake Carroll activities going on at the same time.
FEST cont’d from page 9 FEST cont’d to page 11
Lake Carroll’s fifth Fest will be Aug. 1, serving up food, fun, music and more for the whole family.
Kaney said she watches closely for how members react when changes are introduced.
“I like looking forward to the feedback from the events,” Kaney said. “I like to know if people like what we’ve changed, or if we need to keep it the same every single year. 2024’s event was different where it was two days, and then we changed it to one and I didn’t hear too much negative feedback on it. We’ve brought in different activities along with having some of the same, and it’s nice to see what members think about that.”
Plan to go?
But attendance numbers only tell part of the story. What interests Kaney the most, she said, is who shows up, and whether the festival succeeds in introducing new people to the community.
“One of my things with public events is that it’s cool to find out how many people actually come to them, but I want to know what the divide is between the members and the public,” Kaney said. “The public coming in can see how good of a community this is, and how good our members come together.”
Find Lake Carroll on Facebook for more information and an up-to-date schedule for this year’s Lake Carroll Fest, which runs 4 to 10 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 1.
The event’s evolution has also changed how its organizers think about time. What was once planned as a 50th anniversary event has gradually become one of Lake Carroll’s marquee summer gatherings — large enough that planners have adjusted schedules, expanded attractions and built more time into the day to accommodate the growing turnout.
It’s also nice to see what visitors think, and apparently they think the changes are for the better, because the turnout continues to grow.
“Normally we try to keep our events from 3 to 4 hours because we bring in more people, but this year we extended this event to 6 hours, so that’s how much of a big crowd this brings in,” Kaney said. “It’s worth it.” n
Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
very community depends on people willing to invest in something larger than themselves.
Just as important is having a place where that generosity can be put to work and grow.
Scholarships, children’s literacy programs, classroom safety kits, downtown improvement efforts and nonprofit projects may seem unrelated on the surface. Yet each represents the kind of community investment that a Lanark foundation — with some Lake Carroll minds helping with it — hopes to make possible.
The Eastland Area Community Foundation serves as a local charitable organization that connects people who want to make a difference with projects and causes throughout Lanark, Shannon and Lake Carroll — all within the Eastland School District, hence its name. Through donations, endowment funds and grant making, the foundation works to identify community needs and direct resources toward programs and projects that improve quality of life.
The foundation’s mission is summarized in its slogan: “Connecting people who care with causes that matter.” Board member Derek Carroll of Lake Carroll, an agent with the Clark Carroll Insurance Agency in Lanark, said the organization helps answer a question many community-minded residents ask themselves: How can I give back in a meaningful way?
FOUNDATION cont’d to page 14
“That really summarizes the group as a whole,” Carroll said. “I think it nails it right on the head of being involved in the community. I’ve been on different boards and people are asking me what they can do to give back to this or that, or where do they start to give back.
The community foundation is really kind of the catch-all.”
Originally established as the Lanark Area Community Foundation in 2014 by Floyd Roberts, a Lanark communications and advertising executive, the organization was renamed in 2025 to better reflect its service area. It is an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, which provides administrative support.
The foundation provides a way for residents, businesses and families to support local causes while ensuring contributions remain invested in the community. According to foundation President Dan Lamoreux, a fifth-generation farmer with Lamoreux Family Farms in Lanark, one of its primary goals is to serve as a home for charitable giving while helping identify local needs.
“A foundation within a community came up as something that was needed,” Lamoreux said. “The idea is to be a
home for charitable giving and be a local group that can help identify needs.”
Over the years, the foundation has supported a wide range of projects. Grants have helped fund park improvements, downtown beautification efforts, nonprofit facility upgrades and community development initiatives.
Since the foundation’s inception, nearly $140,000 has been circulated back into the community through its various funds.
Among the projects board members are most proud of is the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in the Eastland School District. Through a partnership with United Way of Northwest Illinois, the foundation helped provide funding for a year of books for local children enrolled in the program. Participating children receive a free book in the mail each month from birth through age 5.
FOUNDATION cont’d to page 15
ROCK FALLS, IL STAY
JULY
- PLAY - EXPLORE
7/11 | ROCK RIVER JAZZ BAND CONCERT
7/18 | EATS ‘N’ BEATS @ THE DISTRICT
AUGUST
8/1 | GEORGE FEST
8/8 | EATS ‘N’ BEATS @ THE DISTRICT
8/15-16 | AQUA PALOOZA/ROCK FALLS RIVER CHASE
8/22 | ROCK RIVER JAZZ BAND CONCERT
8/29 | ART IN THE PARK SCULPTURE WALK/ OUTDOOR ART GALLERY
“That was a big one for us,” Lamoreux said. “It took some significant funding, but it was one that we’re pretty proud of.”
The foundation’s most recent endeavor involved contributing $1,000 toward Teachers to the Rescue safety kits for every classroom in the Eastland School District. The kits are designed to provide emergency medical supplies that could help save lives during a crisis.
Other support has included facility im-
provements at Rolling Hills Progress Center and assistance for Cornucopia Community Development of Northwest Illinois, an organization focused on strengthening local economic opportunities and improving food access.
Despite those accomplishments, Lamoreux said awareness remains one of the organization’s biggest challenges, with many residents still unaware of the foundation’s purpose or the opportunities it offers.
“One of the big hurdles for us is awareness of what we can do and what we’re capable of,” Lamoreux said. “All of us involved know the capability, the benefits and the potential. We’re trying to remember Floyd’s persistence and his positivity, and honor that. He was extremely passionate about it.”
FOUNDATION cont’d to page 16
For donors who want to support local causes but are unsure where to direct their contributions, the foundation offers several options, including its Community Impact Endowment Fund. The organization also maintains scholarship, education, health and community improvement funds designed to provide lasting support for future generations. They include the EACF Community Impact Endowment, Cornerstone Project Fund, Eastland Education Foundation, the John and Yvonne Nelson Family Endowment for Special Preschool Education,
Lending a helping hand to those who need it is the mission of the Eastland Area Community Foundation, made up of a group of local people who’ve taken an interest in their community’s future. Pictured are foundation board members (from left) Allan Rahn of Lake Carroll, Dan Lamoreux of Lanark and Derek Carroll of Lake Carroll.
the Roberts Family Endowment, and the TsmJ Colorectal Cancer Endowment.
“If someone is passionate about good things happening in our community, and they’re thinking that they want to help out but are not sure how to put their money to good use, we can put it in our Community Impact Endowment Fund,” Lamoreux said.
FOUNDATION cont’d to page 17
Rahn
Allan Rahn of Lake Carroll, a retired professor and poultry economist at Michigan State University, became involved with the foundation in 2018 as a way to honor the memory of his daughter, Jennifer, who died from colorectal cancer in 2014. He and his wife Letha established the TsmJ (“Thank You So Much, Jennifer”) Colorectal Cancer Endowment, which the Foundation is operating. Rahn’s efforts to promote awareness of colorectal cancer screenings and testing for those in Carroll County led him to be more active in helping the community, he said, and his work on the board has helped establish bylaws that previously hadn’t been in place.
NURSERY,LLC
Donating toward the TsmJ Endowment, along with others hosted through the Foundation, can be done electronically on the Foundation’s website. The endowment’s own website – tsmjcs.com – provides information on its activity and how it helps people in Carroll County with the illness. Jennifer’s story also is told on the website, and how she was informed by doctors that she, in her 40s, was “too young to need a colonoscopy despite experiencing gastrointestinal difficulties.”
“It’s a way that you can be able to do things that you want to do anyhow, and contribute to the community,” Rahn said. “We’ve been able to set up an endowment and the money goes to the Carroll County Health Department, which does screening for cancer mainly directed at younger people. According to the statistics, about four or five people every year in Carroll County have some incident of some kind with colorectal cancer. I think there’s a need, if we can somehow educate the public.”
Foundation leaders say their needs extend beyond simply raising money. They are also seeking worthwhile projects, grant applicants and community members willing to become involved.
“There’s a financial need to receive gifts and build the
funds that we have, but we also have a need for people to apply for and receive our gifts,” Lamoreux said. “We have the need of taking in the money, and we also have the need of good, worthy projects. That’s really the need: to make good things happen.”
Carroll said the foundation’s greatest strength may be its ability to combine many smaller gifts into meaningful community investments.
“If someone passes away and they have a couple of thousand dollars, they might not make a huge impact at just a couple of thousand dollars,” Carroll said. “But if we bundle those couple of thousand dollars with a bunch of other couple of thousand dollars, all of a sudden we have $10,000 or $20,000 that we can make a nice little project that pools the resources of the community to help the community.”
FOUNDATION cont’d to page 19
The foundation also educates donors about charitable giving incentives, including the Illinois Gives Tax Credit Act, which can provide eligible contributors with a state income tax credit for donations to qualified endowment funds.
The idea of creating such a community resource traces back to founder Roberts, a marketing and communications executive who championed the foundation’s creation. Roberts became one of the organization’s strongest advocates, despite not originally being from the area.
“The one thing that always stuck with me is that Floyd — and I only knew this after a few years into this — is that he was a transplant to town, and wasn’t raised around here,” Lamoreux said. “Yet he was the most persistent one trying to get this community foundation going, and was more passionate than any local bornand-raised person.”
More than a decade after its founding, board members say the organization’s mission remains unchanged: helping generous people invest in the future of their communities and creating opportunities for good things to happen throughout the Eastland area. Rahn said that long-term impact is one reason he believes community foundations play an important role in local philanthropy.
“We want people to be aware that there is an opportunity that exists that they can go to, and if they have something that they want to support for eternal time, locally, they can,” Rahn said. “That’s where we’d like to be.” n
Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
Find the Eastland Area Community Foundation on Facebook or go to lanarkfoundation.org to learn more about the foundation’s functions; or to donate, apply for a grant or establish a fund in the foundation.
t’s hard to miss summer — and who would want to? The sun sticks around longer, the lake grows warmer and evenings grow longer, and calendars matter a little less as vacation time rolls around and routines loosen their grip.
It’s also a time when people are looking for a way to cool things down as the weather heats things up — and in Lake Carroll, they don’t have to look far.
They just keep their eyes peeled for a trailer carrying the coolest cargo around: Cones full of treats that trickle down your hand as your tongue races to head it off, delicious dishes, mouth-watering malts and more.
It’s enough to a make ice cream fans feel udderly beside themselves with happiness.
The person with the treats in tow is Bobbi Decker, and the business she hauls around is Udderly Delicious, a food trailer specializing in cool desserts — and among her regular stops: Lake Carroll.
The trailer has become a familiar site of the summer season in recent years, where children scan the menu and adults debate and decide what flavor to get.
Decker owns the Stockton-based business that brings frozen treats and açai fruit bowls to events across northwest Illinois, including Lake Carroll.
The trailer first visited the community in 2024, and is scheduled to stop at the West Marina on July 18 and Aug. 22, with additional appearances announced through social media.
Bobbi Decker enjoys seeing the smiles on customers’ faces when they dig in to the ice cream she serves up from her food trailer, Udderly Delicious. Lake Caroll is a regular stop for the Stockton business that opened in 2020.
Decker loves to see the smiles her trailer’s treats bring as kids and kids at heart line up to grab a cup or a cone. They’re moments and memories that are like the cherry on a sundae.
“We enjoy how excited everyone is when we are set up at events,” Decker said. “It’s really about getting out in the community and seeing how excited people are when we’re serving them.”
The ice cream comes from The Chocolate Shoppe in Madison, Wisconsin, a company with creative flavors that Decker selected after sampling products from several regional suppliers; you can see a full list at chocolateshoppeicecream. com/flavors.
The most popular flavor, Decker said, is a unique
combination: This $@&! Just Got Serious, made with salted caramel, sea salt fudge ripple and roasted cashews. Alongside it are different concoctions with names that are as fun as their flavors — Zanzibar deep dark chocolate, Munchie Madness, Cotton Candy Twist and S’more to Love.
While the specialty flavors are a big hit, traditional favorites such as vanilla, chocolate or fruit flavors also are on the menu.
“Some places we sell a lot more fruity flavors, some we sell with addons in them,” Decker said. “It just kind of depends where you’re at. There are always the nostalgic flavors that people like to come back to, like Superman and Blue Moon. I haven’t found a flavor that anyone hasn’t liked.”
UDDERLY cont’d to page 24
to her father.
Lake Carroll, however, seems to know what it wants. Kitty Kitty Bang Bang — cheesecake ice cream layered with raspberry ribbon, Oreo cookie pieces and chocolate chunks — has developed a following of its own.
“They love Kitty Kitty Bang Bang out here,” she said. “I could go somewhere else and not sell any of it. They get very excited when we come out here.
The Lake Carroll community has been very welcoming to us, and we’re grateful for that.”
Her trailer’s story started with a joke during a serious time. During coronavirus slowdowns in 2020, Decker’s parents, Mick and Patty Arand, saw business soften at their Subway restaurant in Stockton. Decker came across an ice cream trailer for sale online and sent the listing
“We were getting bored during Covid,” Decker said. “My parents own some Subway restaurants and they were limited with indoor dining, and sales slowed down. As a joke, I sent my dad a picture of an ice cream truck I found on Facebook and said we should start selling ice cream out of a trailer. He messaged me back, and said that was a really good price.”
Decker and her mother, who co-owns the business with her, launched the operation from repurposed shipping containers in the Subway parking lot, where it remains in business today, before eventually adding the trailer that customers have come to recognize.
The menu expanded, too. What once centered on ice cream, sundaes, root beer floats, shakes and malts gradually grew, with new ideas coming from customers, family and a younger generation eager to test trends — particularly Decker’s daughter Mayci Humphrey, who helps her mother out with the business.
One of those additions came from Decker’s athletes through the Stockton/Warren track and field co-op she coaches. Açai bowls — made from blended açai berries and topped with fruit, granola and additions such as peanut butter, Nutella or honey — started as a suggestion and became a permanent part of the menu.
“I coach high school track, and last year and this year my kids were really getting on top of me about selling açai bowls,” Decker said. “Last year we were too far into the summer to worry about it, but they started getting on me this winter about it. Now we sell them, and … people love them. I’ll be honest, I was a little nervous when the kids started wanting me to do this, but it’s been a huge it.”
In addition to ice cream and açai bowls, it sells what it calls “dirty” lemonades, which include a selection of fruity add-on syrups; “dirty” sodas, which are floats with Coca-Cola and vanilla syrup, Dr. Pepper with cherry syrup, or Sprite with blue raspberry and strawberry; and “dirty” energy drinks.
In addition to a trailer, Udderly Delicious has a permanent location at the Subway in Stockton, in a former shipping container transformed into a place to load up on cool treats.
Newer allergy-conscious additions have expanded her menu, and her audience. Raspberry Italian ice remains a staple, and oat cream ice cream, introduced in June 2025, gives dairy-free customers another option.
“It’s been getting out there a little bit better lately,” Decker said. “Even when they read it out from our board, a lot of times I’ll remind them that it’s dairy-free, because some people don’t know that oat cream or oat milkbased ice cream is not dairy. People get very excited when we have it.”
One of the rewarding parts of being in business has often been hearing the positive reaction from customers, Decker said. That is especially true when she visits nursing homes, with recent visits at Serenity Estates in Lena and Allure in Stockton giving her reason to smile.
“One of our favorite things to do is when we go to the nursing homes and the elderly people are so excited to see us,” Decker said. “We go there several times a year, and our customers there just get so excited when we pull up. Usually they’re sitting outside waiting for us, and know exactly when we’re going to be there. They’ll set up camp and then get multiple things for their freezer for when they’re not there. They’re very excited about it.”
UDDERLY cont’d to page 26
Keeping a food truck operating isn’t cheap. Beyond serving customers, Decker said a surprising amount of time is spent keeping track of permits, fees and local requirements that can differ from place to place.
“We have to be licensed in the counties that we’re in, and within a lot of those there are towns that have started requiring their own licenses as well,” Decker said. “To be in Galena, you have to pay a fee. To be in Freeport, you have to pay a fee. We can simply register at Lake Carroll and that’s not as hard. The fees and licenses can get very expensive, and that in itself is a whole world to navigate because every county and town is different.”
Ice cream on the moooove
Udderly Delicious’s ice cream trailer makes appearances throughout northwest Illinois, including Lake Carroll. Find “Udderly Delicious — Ice Cream on the Mooooove” on Facebook for upcoming appearances. The business has a standalone location at the Subway at 207 E. North Ave. in Stockton, open noon to 9 p.m. daily from spring to early fall (closing during inclement weather); season opening and closing dates also are announced on its Facebook page. Email udderlyd@gmail.com, send a Facebook message or call 815-2918828 for more information.
açai bowls? Decker also offers açai bowl parties, where bowls can be pre-ordered for private events. It’s part of her ongoing effort to find ways to increase business and continue serving customers beyond the summer season. She recently purchased an ice cream cart that can be used at indoor events during the winter months.
“So many of our customers were missing us in the winter,” Decker said. “We had people ask how they could get us in the winter, and we were trying to figure it out.”
Growth, new menu items and more stops have changed plenty over the years — but the reaction at Lake Carroll has not.
Enjoying the
“The customers are always excited to see us,” she said. “When they see us out here, they know that summer is coming, and that it’s going to be good.” n Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
forward.
Thursday, July 30
5 p.m. — Forreston Boosters Club Concession Stand OPEN! Football Field, Forreston High School
5:30-6:30 p.m. — Kids Fun Run & 5k Run/Walk Registration, Football Field, Forreston High School
6:30 p.m. — Cabbage Patch Kids Fun Run, Track, Forreston High School track
7 p.m. — Kraut Days 5k Run/Walk, Track, Forreston High School
9 p.m. — Fireworks!, Forreston High School
Friday, July 31
5-10 p.m. — Food Trucks Fri-YAY; Corner of E. Cherry St. & S. Walnut Ave.
5-10 p.m. — Mechanical Bull Rides with Wild Bulls LLC, Corner of E. Cherry St. & S. Walnut Ave.
5-10 p.m. — Jumping Into Kraut Days: Teens and Kids Inflatables, Memorial Park
Saturday, August 1
8 a.m.-4 p.m. — Forreston FFA Car & Bike Show, Forreston Grade School
8 a.m.— Drew Crase Memorial Basketball Tournament, Outdoor Courts, Forreston High School
9 a.m.-3 p.m. — Craft & Vender Show, Memorial Park (behind Forreston Grade School)
9 a.m.-12 p.m. — Faith Lutheran Bake Sale, Memorial Park (behind Forreston Grade School)
11 a.m. — Bags Tournament; Event Tent (Corner of E. Cherry St. & S. Walnut Ave.)
12 p.m.-10 p.m. — Mechanical Bull Riding with Wild Bulls LLC, Corner of E. Cherry St. and S. Walnut Ave.
12:30-1:30 p.m. — Foam PAR-TAY, Memorial Park (behind Forreston Grade School)
2 p.m. — Watermelon Eating Contest, Memorial Park (behind Forreston Grade School)
4 p.m. — Parade, from Forreston Grade School to Locust Ave.
4:30-7 p.m. — Sauerkraut Days Pork Chop Dinner, Memorial Park (behind Forreston Grade School)
8 -11 p.m. — LIVE MUSIC, Flannel Daze, Event Tent (Corner of E. Cherry St. & S. Walnut Ave.)
August 2
7:30-11:30 a.m. — Forreston Firefighter community breakfast, Forreston Fire Station
9:30 a.m. — Community Church Service; Memorial Park
First
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a farmers market at your fingertips? Fans of fresh food do — an online link in the food chain that’s connecting people with food from places right in their own backyard
BY
Cody Cutter ccutter@shawmedia.com
Jo Daviess Local Foods’ Amera Striegel (left) and Erin Keyser lead an online farmers market offering fresh food with the convenience of onlocation pickup.
There was a time when most people knew where their food came from — and not by simply reading a label or scanning a barcode, but by knowing the farmer who raised it or the field where it grew.
These days, modern supply chains can send produce thousands of miles before it reaches a grocery shelf, often leaving consumers disconnected from both the people and places behind their meals.
Across northwest Illinois, however, a growing network of farmers, bakers, makers and consumers is working to reconnect people with their food source. They’ve come together as Jo Daviess Local Foods, an online farmers market and storefront based in Elizabeth helping connect residents with locally produced foods and goods from close to home.
Amera Striegel is one of those bakers. The owner of Faith Over Fear Fermentary in Freeport sells sourdough products and kimchi through the market and also serves as its communications director. She sums up the concept with a term she proudly embraces.
“I’m a hardcore ‘localvore’,” Striegel said.
cont’d from page 33
A localvore, she explained, is someone who curates their menu with intent and purpose: to eat food produced close to home.
“There are different variations,” Striegel added. “Some people say within 100 miles, some say within your watershed. We’re in a beautiful region here, and we just have so much. I support all of that. I can eat 75 percent of my meals at home and know who grew it, and it brings a whole new dynamic to eating, feeling grateful for it and enjoying it.”
Founded in 2018, Jo Daviess Local Foods began as an effort to help local producers work together while adapting to changing consumer habits and the decline in number of smaller, traditional farmers markets. The organization has grown considerably since then, expanding from eight producers and seven pickup locations to roughly 40 producers and 13 pickup sites across Jo Daviess, Stephenson and Carroll counties — including a few within a half-hour drive from Lake Carroll.
If local food is ultimately about connection, then the challenge becomes finding ways to preserve those connections in a changing world. For JDLF founder and executive director Erin Keyser, the answer involved combining modern convenience with the traditional relationship between producer and consumer.
JDLF cont’d to page 35
JDLF
ERIN KEYSER
Jo Daviess Local Foods
CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM
Whether you’re full-fledged “localvore,” or just someone who enjoys homegrown and homemade food, Jo Daviess Local Foods has plenty of farm-to-table flavors.
Larry Heckman (815) 864-2808
25235 Payne Rd. Shannon, IL 61078 forestgreen44@hotmail.com
“The idea was to have an online farmers market and bring our producers together,” Keyser said. “I had seen where some of our smaller farmers markets in the surrounding towns were dwindling or dying out a little bit, so I thought if we came together and worked together, we could better serve the county.”
For those not familiar with online farmers markets, here’s how JDLF does theirs: Go to jdlf.org/online-market and hit the “shop” button to browse through its more than 40 different vendors. Orders are accepted from noon each Friday to noon each Monday, and orders are available for pickup between 4-7 p.m. Tuesday at one of 13 locations in Jo Daviess, Stephenson and Carroll counties. Locations closest to Lake Carroll include Mount Carroll, Lena, Savanna and Stockton. Exact pickup locations are announced upon ordering.
Customers can choose among fruits and vegetables, grass-fed beef and pasture-raised poultry, dairy products and cheeses, duck eggs, locally produced honey, sourdough breads and fermented foods. The market also offers elderberry products, herbal remedies, soaps, lotions and skin-care items made by regional artisans.
Its vendors — many of them family farms throughout the region — help create a marketplace that reflects the diversity of northwestern Illinois agriculture. Many vendor profiles also provide information about growing practices, production methods and the people behind the products, helping consumers connect with the farms and businesses supplying their food.
JDLF cont’d to page 36
Landscape Design &Installation
Seeding *Sodding
Locally GrownNursery Stock
Evergreens *Shade Trees *Perennials
Hardscape Installation *Stone Walks
Retaining Walls *Fireplaces
Sea Walls *Rip Rap
Maintenance *Mowing *TreeRemoval
Mulch Delivery *SnowRemoval
Licensed Pesticide Applicator
The ordering system is designed around convenience for customers while helping producers harvest, bake and prepare only what is needed.
“We’re bringing the food to them,” Keyser said. “There’s a pickup location that’s close and convenient for them where they can go there and grab their order. They have all weekend to shop, they can go on and then add more things later. They can edit their order up until Monday at noon. They can be at home clicking buttons and have the food ready for them on Tuesday.”
When ordering closes Monday at noon, producers receive reports detailing exactly what customers purchased. Bakery vendors can begin preparing fresh items Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. Farmers can harvest produce shortly before delivery, sometimes even on Tuesday morning.
“We want it to be as fresh as possible,” Keyser said.
The process also reduces waste. Utilizing pick lists allows producers to harvest or make only what’s been ordered, whereas traditional farmers markets often leave vendors trying to predict demand and sometimes disposing of unsold products.
“It’s great not having the waste, and knowing what exactly to bake, instead of baking and then going to a market and hoping it sells,” Striegel said. “It’s been incredible that way, and the customers are so consistent. We have a really dedicated customer base that loves local stuff.”
The online market is only one part of Jo Daviess Local Foods’ recent growth. In 2025, the organization became a nonprofit known as the JDLF Collective, established a farm-to-food-pantry program and opened a physical grocery store. The farm-to-food-pantry program purchases excess food from local producers and distributes it to area food pantries. Through grants and donations, the initiative provides another outlet for farmers while increasing access to fresh foods for families in need.
Completed in June 2025, the rear portion of its building is used each Tuesday to sort online orders before distribution, while the front portion, which opened in August 2025, is the grocery store.
“We’re coming up on almost a year with the storefront, and it’s going good,” Keyser said. “I still think we need to keep spreading the word that we’re here and we’re open, and make sure people who are just driving by know what it is, and they can stop and come in. I’d like to keep increasing our traffic, but it’s been a slow-but-steady trajectory.”
JDLF cont’d to page 38
The storefront offers another option for customers who prefer shopping in person.
The online market is great, Keyser said, but “there are some people who don’t like shopping on a website, and prefer to come pick out their food in person, see the veggies and pick their favorite. We’re trying to appeal to a greater range of people.”
The benefits of Jo Daviess Local Foods are many, Striegel said.
“This allows for more access. Those who can’t make it to a Saturday market, they can have it delivered to 13 different places. It increases access to a variety of local foods. It helps people understand the power of buying local, and the nutritional benefits, the environmental benefits.”
Freshness is another advantage of sourcing food close to home, Striegel said. “When you’re getting it from here, it’s fresher. That’s huge.”
Environmental benefits are part of the equation as well. Rather than relying on products that may have traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles before reaching a grocery shelf, Jo Daviess Local Foods focuses on connecting consumers with producers from across the immediate region. The approach not only supports local agriculture but can also reduce transportation-related impacts while getting food into customers’ hands sooner.
By sourcing products from nearby farms and businesses, Keyser said the organization is working to reduce food miles and the carbon footprint associated with long-distance transportation.
“The main thing that we’re trying to do is provide as fresh of produce as possible, you can’t get any fresher produce anywhere else,” Keyser said. “We’re trying to use our super-local producers in this county and surrounding counties to really lower that carbon footprint and lower those food miles and be environmentally friendly.”
“What JDLF is doing is building a food system that we didn’t have in this area,” Striegel said — and building that system begins with a good foundation, which the region has.
Northwestern Illinois sits within the Driftless Area, a region that largely escaped the flattening and scraping effects of the last glaciers. As a result, the area retains its rolling terrain, deep valleys and rich soils that help support a diverse agricultural economy.
JDLF cont’d to page 39
“We have some of the most rich biosoil in the country,” she said. “It’s called Driftless because the glaciers missed the area, and so it didn’t wash away a bunch of it. It’s rich soil that, hopefully, we’re not completely degrading with our practices.”
Striegel believes local food can also help people reconnect with cooking, eating and appreciating where their meals originate. As JDLF continues to expand, its supporters hope the connections it’s making grows as well — not only between consumers and producers, but between people and the landscape that feeds them.
“You can get something here that’s taste really brings back the joy of good food,” Striegel said. “We’ve had a decline in people who prepare their own food, and when you get to a farmer’s market, and you’re exposed to new things and if encourages you to try using it in new ways, or in recipes or different things. We’re connecting people with their food and who grows it.” n
Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
MOREINFO
To order from Jo Daviess Local Foods, go to jdlf.org/online-market and click the “shop” button. The buying period is from noon each Friday to noon each Monday. Pickups are between 4 to 7 p.m. each Tuesday at various sites in Jo Daviess, Stephenson and Carroll counties. Pickup locations closest to Lake Carroll are at Mount Carroll (4:15 to 4:30 p.m.), Savanna (4:30 p.m.), Stockton (4:15 to 4:30 p.m.) and Lena (4:45 p.m.). Exact pickup locations will be announced upon ordering. JDLF also has a store at 2757 W. Headquarters Road in Elizabeth; it is open from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Find JDLF on Facebook, call 815-775-2674 or go to the website for more information.
BY CODY CUTTER SAUK VALLEY MEDIA
50 nifty facts and figures about the Lake — stories you may have heard and some that are new to you.
The stories behind our communities can be fascinating and fun, and knowing them can help us understand a little but more about the character of the places we call home. That ranges from annual traditions, the landmarks that longtime residents reference without thinking about why they’re there, and the people whose names echo through the amenities and gathering spaces.
So, how well do you know Lake Carroll? Let’s test your knowledge with a quiz we’ve put together about its basic functions, locations, people and history — 50 multiple-choice questions. So put on your thinking cap and see if you can catch up to this trivial pursuit.
Good luck!
Questions begin on next page. Answers are on page 47.
RUSTYSCHRADER/SVMILLUSTRATION
1. Who is the Aquatic Center (above) named for?
A. Claire Holmberg
B. Charlene DeFrancesco
C. Don Watson
2. The geographical quadrant of Lake Carroll where Dan Herman Trail Riders Park is located is:
A. Northeast
B. Northwest
C. Southwest
3. Lake Carroll observed its 25th
anniversary in what year?
A. 1997
B. 1993
C. 1999
4. Which of the these United States Navy admirals does NOT have a street in Lake Carroll named for them?
A. David Farragut
B. Matthew Perry
C. Hyman Rickover
5. Pell Park is the location of which pre-Lake Carroll relic?
A. A house
B. A bridge
C. A silo
6. The Association Office formerly was the location of …
A. Fawn Ridge
B. Trailside
C. A house
7. Along with Lake Carroll Holdings, the two
names of Lake Carroll’s other developers were:
A. Patwood and Russet
B. Russwood and Patten
C. Russville and Patrick
8. The total number of campground sites at Lake Carroll is:
A. 135
B. 130
C. 125
9. Which business is at the end of a side trail which goes off from the main Lake Carroll trail system?
A. Miller Sports Center
B. Hickory
Hideaway
C. Slurp ’n
Burp
10. The first Lake Lifestyle magazine was published in:
A. 2018
B. 2020
C. 2022
11. Trunck, Turtle and Turkey are the names of what at Lake Carroll?
A. Remnant prairies
B. Ski hill slopes
C. Bays
12. This future president once traversed a trail a couple of miles northwest of Lake Carroll as a young soldier in the Black Hawk War (hint: There is a statue of him about 10 miles north of Lake Carroll):
A. Abraham Lincoln
B. Ulysses S. Grant
C. Franklin Pierce
13. Lake Carroll is located in which two Carroll County townships?
A. Freedom and Cherry Grove-Shannon
B. Freedom and Mount Carroll
C. Cherry Grove-Shannon and Mount
Carroll
14. Which Lake Carroll road serves as a dividing line between Lake Carroll’s two townships?
A. Old Wharf Road
B. Peace and Quiet Road
C. Payne Road
15. The total acreage of Lake Carroll is advertised as being more than:
A. 5,000 acres
B. 3,000 acres
Kitchen Hours
Mon Tues Thurs 4-9 Fri 4-10, Sat 12-10 Sun 12-8
C. 6,500 acres
16. The total acreage of Lake Carroll’s lake is:
A. 725
B. 640
C. 760
17. The Yacht Club’s “Lady of the Lake” mannequin is named:
A. Lori
B. Lorelei
C. Lola
18. This church hosts Sunday morning nondenominational services during the summer months at the East Marina:
A. St. Wendelin, Shannon
B. Zion Community, Pearl City
C. Bethel United Methodist, Shannon
19. The following series of streets are in Section 1:
A. Grandview, Sandpebble, Beachcomber
B. Parkview, Westcrest, Eastcrest
C. Perry, Farragut, Hooks
20. The following was Lake Carroll’s first slogan:
A. “The great escape”
B. “Pleasure on the prairie”
C. “On the hills of tranquility”
Lanark, IL
& Check
21. Lake Carroll hosted this long running amateur golf tournament in 2023: A. Rock River Classic
B. Illinois State Amateur Classic
C. Lincoln Highway
22. One of the Lake Carroll Activity Club’s activities is named for a famous line from what movie?
A. Top Gun
B. Jerry Maguire
C. The Firm
23. Water from Lake Carroll eventually winds up in this stream:
A. Plum River
B. Apple River
C. Cherry Creek
24. Which is NOT a street
name at Lake Carroll:
A. Bluewater
B. Whitewater
C. Clearwater
25. The par at the golf course is:
A. 70
B. 71
C. 72
26. The high school athletic conference that Eastland High School — the home school district for Lake Carroll — competes in is called:
A. North Central Illinois Conference
B. Next to the Campground
C. West of the dam
28. This food pantry has been the recipient of several donations from Lake Carroll clubs over the years:
B. Northwest Upstate Illini Conference
C. Northern Illinois (NIC-10)
27. The Equestrian Area is located:
A. South of the Association Office
A. Lanark-Shannon Food Pantry
B. Shannon-Lanark Food Pantry
C. Eastland Food Pantry
29. The name of the former winery on the southwest edge of Lake Carroll was called:
A. Carroll Ridge
B. Driftless Wonder
C. Silver Moon
30. This person represents Lake Carroll in the Illinois House of Representatives:
A. Tony McCombie
B. Andrew Chesney
C. Eric Sorenson
31. The Women’s Club Bowling League meets at what alley?
A. Mount Carroll Bowling Center
B. Four Seasons in Freeport
C. Stockton Bowling Lanes
32. This is the name of the local little league baseball and softball organization that Lake Carroll kids play in:
A. Carroll County Baseball-Softball Federation
B. Carroll County Little League
C. Carroll County Youth Summer Ball
33. An annual bonfire and parade is held on which holiday?
A. Labor Day
B. Memorial Day
C. Flag Day
34. Leroy Hinkle is the namesake for which Lake Carroll place?
A. The dam
B. The East Marina
C. The trail pavilion
35. During the summer months, the West Marina concession stand (above) is open:
A. Thursday through Monday
B. Monday through Saturday
C. Tuesday through Sunday
36. The Prairie Club’s informational message board is located in what section?
A. 25
B. 21
C. 28
37. This organization helps support Lake Carroll’s bluebird population:
A. Northwest Bird and Nature Alliance
B. Bluebirds
Across Nebraska
C. Northwest Illinois Bluebird
Recovery Program
38. The speed limit at the campground is:
A. 10
B. 15
C. 20
39. The speed limit at the curve on Lake Carroll Boulevard immediately south of the dam is:
A. 25
B. 15
C. 20
40. This couple is Lake Carroll’s 2025 Mr. and Mrs. Club Champion, having won a golf tournament this past summer:
A. The Curias
B. The DeCranes
C. The Feuchts
41. A&E stands for what, in regard to the Lake Carroll Association?
A. Arts and Entertainment
B. Architectural and Environmental
C. Amenities and Engineering
42. This fish has no limits to maximum catch count on the lake:
A. Bluegill
B. White Bass
C. Redear Sunfish
course changed this year. The previous hole Nos. 3, 6 and 8 are now what numbers?
A. 12, 15, 17
B. 11, 13, 18
C. 13, 15, 17
45. Who wrote the history of the first three decades of Lake Carroll (books are available at the Lanark Public Library):
A. Evelyn Rolfs
43. The original Clubhouse was originally a …
A. Morton building
B. House
C. Barn
44. The holes at the golf
B. Donna Beyer
C. Janie Dollinger
46. Lake Carroll’s first ski instructor in the 1970s, Joseph Molena (left), competed in the 1948 Winter Olympics for which European country?
A. West Germany
B. Czechoslovakia
C. Romania
47. About how many years did it take before current holes No. 1-9 on the golf course (formerly 10-18) opened after the original nine holes?
A. 5 years
B. 10 years
C. 20 years
48. The name of Lake Carroll’s newspaper, published for nearly 45 years, was ...
A. Lake Carroll Courier
B. Lake Carroll Review
C. Lake Carroll News
49. The water pump at hole No. 4 has a nickname:
A. The Hump Pump
B. The Bump Pump
C. The Gump Pump
50. Who can fish at Lake Carroll?
A. Property owners only
B. Property owners, plus guests when accompanied by a property owner
C. Anyone with an Illinois fishing license
How’d you do? Answers are on the facing page
1) A. Claire Holmberg
2) B. Northwest
3) A. 1997
4) C. Hyman Rickover
5) B. A bridge
6) A. Fawn Ridge
7) B. Russwood and Patten
8) A. 135
9) C. Slurp ’n Burp
10) B. 2020
11) C. Bays
12) A. Abraham Lincoln
13) A. Freedom and Cherry Grove-Shannon
14) A. Old Wharf Road
15) A. 5,000 acres
16) B. 640
17) C. Lola
18) C. Bethel United Methodist, Shannon
19) C. Perry, Farragut, Hooks
20) A. “The great escape”
21) C. Lincoln Highway
22) B. Jerry Maguire (“Show me the money!”)
23) A. Plum River
24) A. Bluewater
25) C. 72
26) B. Northwest Upstate Illini Conference
27) C. West of the dam
28) B. Shannon-Lanark Food Pantry
29) C. Silver Moon
30) A. Tony McCombie
31) B. Four Seasons in Freeport
32) C. Carroll County Youth Summer Ball
33) A. Labor Day
34) A. The dam
35) A. Thursday through Monday
36) C. 28
37) B. Bluebirds Across Nebraska
38) A. 10
39) C. 20
40) A. The Curias
41) B. Architectural and Environmental
How’d you do?
50-36 correct: If you and your friends ever find yourselves at a local watering hole for a Lake Carroll Trivia Night, there’s a good chance the other teams will be raising a glass to salute your team’s victory.
35-16 correct: You didn’t do too bad, but you’re probably on one of the teams raising their glass.
15-0 correct: Hey, at least you got a few but if you’re at that Trivia Night too, drinks are on you.
42) B. White Bass
43) C. Barn
44) A. 12, 15, 17
45) A. Evelyn Rolfs
46) B. Czechoslovakia
47) C. 20 years
48) C. Lake Carroll News
49) C. The Gump Pump
50) B. Property owners, plus guests when accompanied by a property owner
Roofing & Exterior
A beautifiul day in our neighborhood
There’s nothing like a little scratch behind the ear on a relaxing day spent on a boat — just ask Jackie Grabarek’s “best friend,” Murphy, who joined Jackie for a little lake time. Jackie said she loves being on “beautiful Lake Carroll” with family and friends. “The people of Lake Carroll are the best. Awesome community!” Thanks, Jackie, for sharing your photo of life on the lake!
A Guide To Lake Carroll Real Estate
Are you looking to enjoy the Lake Lifestyle?
The following pages will show you the proper ties available to you right now!
