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An Oregon photographer captures nature

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P.O. Box 498 Sterling, IL 61081

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PUBLICATION • SPRING/SUMMER 2019

Changes are in the works for Stronghold Camp and Retreat Center

Ukulele Station in the top 100 for the third year running

Timber Lake Playhouse (TLP), the professional summer theatre of northwestern Illinois, has the shows you will love: hot new shows just leaving Broadway, great American plays, everyone’s “old favorite” musicals, and the best in country, pop, and rock-n-roll revues in our “JukeBox Series.”

Timber Lake Playhouse hires the best young theatrical talent from all over the United States, and we regularly bring back talented alumni who have gone on to stellar careers on Broadway, TV and Film. Noted past performers are Tony Winning Actress Jayne Houdyshell, Michael Gross (Family Ties), Jennifer Garner and Saundra Santiago (Miami Vice, Guiding Light, The Sopranos, and Broadway's Evita and more).

Santiago last appeared at TLP in 2016 as Rose in Gypsy.

Located just south of Mount Carroll, Illinois about 10 miles from the Mississippi River, TLP is a short drive from Fulton, Sterling and Rockford, Illinois. The current theatre building opened in 1975 with 371 seats. The building is fully air conditioned, and the nine-acre wooded campus is perfect for any other activity you and your guests desire. From picnicking on the deck overlooking beautiful Timber Lake to attending a pre-show activity in our newly acquired rustic barn, TLP is a great destination for a day of fun.

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Publisher Don T. Bricker General Manager/Advertising Director Jennifer Heintzelman Magazine editors Rusty Schrader & Kathleen Schultz Page design Laura Gaulrapp Published by Sauk Valley Media 3200 E. Lincolnway Sterling, IL 61081 815-625-3600 Do you have story ideas for Ogle County Living? Let us know.

Call 815-625-3600, ext. 5535, or e-mail us at news@saukvalley.com

Chasing the storm

Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media. No portion of Ogle County Living Magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher.

Ad content is not the responsibility of Sauk Valley Media. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, Sauk Valley Media cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy. Sauk Valley Media cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this magazine.

An Oregon photographer captures nature at its most beautiful, and its most menacing

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More inside

Stronghold Castle has big plans for its ‘third life cycle’

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Who knew there were so many different designs available for ukeleles?

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CASTLE made of PLANS

Presbyterian camp, conference center, wedding venue … and World War II battlefield.

Stronghold has hosted many community activities through the years, including Autumn on Parade, the Old English Faire, and this WWII re-enactment, which was held in 2017.

PHOTO BY EARLEEN HINTON STORY VINDE WELLS | FOR OGLE COUNTY LIVING

After nearly 60 years under the church’s wing, an iconic camp and retreat center in

Oregon is striking out on its own, and its director has big plans for its ‘third life cycle’ Continued on page 7

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OREGON – Changes are in the works for the well-known Stronghold Camp and Retreat Center just north of town.

After 57 years of being supported by the Presbyterian Church, the center is entering what Executive Director Danny Pierce calls its “third life cycle” – becoming a self-supporting nonprofit facility.

“The center will remain a Presbyterian camp and conference center, but it will be free-standing,” Pierce said.

“The church is unable to underwrite it as they have in the past.”

The church and Stronghold will have more of a “parent-child relationship,” he said, adding that the time has come for the center to pay its own way – with the help of donations.

“The churches will continue to support Stronghold but not at the level they have been,” Pierce said. “Community support will be a piece of the PHOTO BY ALEX T. PASCHAL puzzle in the future. I’m after 144 donors who would give $1,000 a year. Howard Strong, grandson of Stronghold Camp and Retreat Center founders Walter and Josephine Strong, talks about his time spent at the castle as a child at “Stronghold: Past, Present & Future,” a program held That’s my goal.”

March 9 at the Stronghold’s Brubaker Center. New plans for Stronghold, including the goal of becoming

Story continued on page 8 self-sufficient through more rentals. events and community support, were among the topics of the day.

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Continued from page 7

Stronghold also will appoint its own board of directors, and people from the community will be invited to serve on it.

The focus of the center will not change from conferences and retreats but will be expanded.

“We are back in the wedding business,” Pierce said with a grin.

An executive chef recently was hired, and catering may be added at some point in the future.

In keeping with those changes, parts of the center are being refurbished, starting with the banquet room at the Brubaker Center.

The banquet room was a hub of creative activity recently, as a group of design specialists worked their magic to give it an updated, more elegant look.

Kathy Boyd, of KB Design in Duluth, Minnesota, brought a group of decorative finishers and muralists from all over the country together for a weeklong “Re...Vive” retreat aimed at refinishing the large room’s walls and floor.

For the walls, they were trying out what Boyd said is a new product from Italy called Metallo-Fuso, which involves applying designs with epoxy and then burnishing them with fine sandpaper to a metallic look.

Continued on page 9

PHOTO BY VINDE WELLS

Re...Vive crew members Kathy Boyd (left) of Duluth, Minnesota, Beki VanMeter of Decatur, Charlee King-Adams of Lisbon, Iowa, and Jamie Seamons of Monkton, New Brunswick, pose near one of the finished focal walls in the banquet room at Stronghold’s Brubaker Center.

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Continued from page 8

Some walls will have a feathery finish, while the focal points get large stenciled designs.

Re…Vive volunteers go into nonprofit facilities to revitalize them; most of the products used are donated, Boyd said.

Stronghold began in 1928, when Chicago businessman Walter Strong and his wife Josephine bought 360 acres on the west bank of the Rock River.

Influenced by travel in Europe, the Strongs built the castle as their summer home for they and their five children. The property remained in the family until Josephine’s death in 1961 – which Pierce considers the facility’s first life cycle.

Continued on page 10

PHOTO BY ALEX T. PASCHAL

Volunteers renovated this banquet space at the Stronghold, painting the walls and redoing the floors.

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The second cycle began in 1962, when the Presbytery of Blackhawk, an association of 75 Presbyterian congregations throughout northern and central Illinois, bought the property and, in 1963, opened it as a summer camp for youths.

Since then, it has grown into a year-round retreat center with five modern buildings, 12 rustic cabins, and a camping area, and the iconic castle has become an area landmark.

It offers a variety of Christian and secular programs and events, including summer camps for ages 6 to 18, and also provides space for seminars, business meetings and professional development programs, church picnics, and family reunions.

In October, during Oregon’s Autumn on Parade festival, the center also hosts the annual Olde English Faire. n Beki VanMeter of Decatur holds up a practice tile finished using the Metallo-Fuso process, a new product from Italy that involves applying designs with epoxy and then burnishing them with fine sandpaper to a metallic look. The tiles were used in banquet room at the Brubaker Center at Stronghold Camp and Retreat Center.

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TAKE A TOUR OF THE CASTLE Stronghold Camp and Retreat Center is at 1922 N. state Route 2 north of Oregon.

Folks can learn more about “the castle,” at a Mother’s Day buffet luncheon and tour from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. May 12.

The tour will include information about the Strong family, the process of building their castle and a brief look at its Depression-era history.

Attendees also will get a glimpse into castle structure and medieval life.

Registration for the day is open until May 6, unless the event fills up before then.

The cost is $17 for Oregon Park District residents and $20 for nonresidents.

Call 815-732-3101, quickly, to reserve a spot.

Call 815-732-6111, go to strongholdcenter.org or find Stronghold Camp & Retreat Center on Facebook to donate or for more information on the center.

PHOTOS BY ALEX T. PASCHAL

ABOVE: The gift shop at the Stronghold offers a wide selection of Castle keepsakes and souvenirs.

LEFT: Danny Pierce, Stronghold Camp and Retreat Center executive director, greets a group of guests March 9 during a special program on the center at the Brubaker Center in Oregon.

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The little shop that could John Lindhorst, owner of Ukelele Station America, rehabbed an old gas station and now sells ukuleles out of the tiny stone building at 1000 W. Washington St. in Oregon.

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Success is no fluke – it’s a uke!

An itty bitty shop in Oregon has grown into a big deal among ukulele lovers, and the National Association of Music Merchants is a pretty big fan, too STORY BY KELSEY WOLFE PHOTOS BY ALEX T. PASCHAL | FOR OGLE COUNTY LIVING

OREGON – It’s a three-peat!

John Lindhorst, who opened Ukulele Station America on July 4, 2015, is a National Association of Music Merchants Top 100 dealer for the third year in a row.

Lindhorst, who has 40 years of experience teaching in Illinois – in the Chicago suburbs, Dixon, and Stillman Valley – as well as San Diego and Hawaii, may have developed his appreciation for the Hawaiian twanger when he taught in the islands for 6 years, his last position there as coordinator for the gifted and talented in performing arts program for the entire Honolulu district.

Now the not-really-retired Lindhorst gives each customer his full attention, spending up to an hour with everyone who enters his magical mini-store, in a tiny, 208-square-foot stone building at 1000 W. Washington St.

Some ukuleles are made from exotic woods, but another popular style is less organic. Plastic ukuleles were a hit in the 1950s and they’re making a comeback today.

Continued on page 14

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Continued from page 13

One of the ways he helps customers select a ukulele is by a blind test.

“So, my formula is, narrow down what size they want, soprano, concert, or tenor. We can usually rule out the baritones or the basses.”

He then asks customers to pick out a few different models that they like visually, then has them turn around and close their eyes. He plays each ukulele separately and has them decide which one sounds the best.

In addition to selling ukuleles, Lindhorst keeps strings for guitars and other instruments on hand for local musicians so they don’t have to drive a distance or wait for an online order to arrive.

“So I’ll get someone calling from Sterling and they will be like, ‘Do you have guitar strings?’ And, actually I do. I have a little stock of guitar, banjo, and mandolin strings.”

Lindhorst was surprised by the clientele who came in when he first opened up shop. He expected to have quite a few young people, but instead he tends to have a more senior crowd.

The lessons he teaches, though, have included both young and old.

Music isn’t the be all and end all of his life, though.

Lindhorst also is the president of Oregon Together, a group formed “to grow the quality of life in our community through volunteer efforts and strengthening and promoting assets which define our town.”

He has been active in the local community in other ways, by performing with his strummers at retirement home, and partnering with businesses for events such as the Mix Street mixer, the Oregon Chocolate Walk and Rockin’ Riverfest.

Customers have come far and wide to see his fairy-tale shop.

“I get people as far away as 6 hours on a regular basis,” Lindhorst said.

Continued on page 14

John Lindhorst, owner of Ukulele Station America in Oregon, leads the Rock River Strummers during a ukulele strum-a-long at Alfano’s in Oregon on Dec. 16, 2018. Roughly 20 ukulele players filled the restaurant with the sounds of the season for a night of Christmas joy.

Photo by Michael Krabbenhoeft

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WHO KNEW THERE WERE SO MANY DIFFERENT DESIGNS AVAILABLE FOR UKULELES? JOHN LINDHORST DID, AND HE HOPES HIS CUSTOMERS WILL FIND OUT, TOO, WHEN THEY VISIT HIS SHOP. the personal aspect behind every sale.

He is currently looking for a way to get to the next level in his business.  “I’m looking at some options and meeting with some of my good friends that are somehow in the business.�

He says he has thought of possibly adding a little workshop to his home, “because I can’t even change strings without closing the door and moving everything off the table. You know if somebody says I need a strap button installed, I have to tell them to come back in a week and I’ll have it for you.� Working with 208 square feet has proved to be a challenge in that way. The small shop currently houses over 100 ukuleles and over 400 titles of books as well as accessories such as tuners, strings, and cases.  n

Continued from page 14

When he asked one couple who stopped in from Columbus, Ohio, how they found his shop, and they said they asked their phone to find the best ukulele shop in the Midwest. They actually planned a camping trip around making a stop in Oregon.

Many music lovers have made his shop a stop along their travels, some of them from ukulele groups throughout the state such as members of the NIUkulele Ensemble in DeKalb and members of the Springfield Uketopians.

Lindhorst is always looking for ways to do more with his business and he has contemplated adding another building or the possibility of selling online in the future. He is hesitant to sell online because he likes having

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UKE SHOULD STOP ON BY Ukulele Station America is at 1000 W. Washington St. in Oregon. It’s open from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Owner John Lindhorst holds a strumalong then third Sunday of every month at Alfano’s Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant, 801 S. Fourth St. in Oregon.

He also holds open classes Saturday for drop-ins.

There’s a level one course for beginners from 9 to 9:45 a.m., a level two from 10 to 10:45 a.m., a baritone-only session from 11 to 11:45 a.m., and a level three lesson from noon to 12:45 p.m.

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The eye of the storm

An Oregon photographer captures nature at its most beautiful, and its most menacing

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Story on page 18

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STORY BY KELSEY WOLFE | FOR OGLE COUNTY LIVING

MOUNT MORRIS – For Tim Bejster, photography started as a way to document what he was seeing in nature.

“I have done storm-chasing since about 2003, and I had never had a camera to really document any of my chases. I started out doing that with one of those 2.3 megapixel flip phones, and when you traded it in you’d lose all of your pictures. And you can’t even see what it really is.

By the late 2000s he had bought his first point-and-shoot camera, “and that’s the moment it kind of dawned on me that this is what I like to do,” he said.

When the 33-year-old Bejster first started taking photos, he wasn’t very serious about it, but as time went on, he decided he wanted take better photographs.

The goal was to recreate what he actually was seeing in nature, so it got to a point where, “a point-and-shoot just was not doing it for me.”

In 2016, he invested in his first DSLR camera along with several lenses. “That’s when I kind of just jumped fully into it,” he said.

Bejster started to learn from other storm chasers who also were photographers, and they helped him to decide what gear to buy. He

also began to learn about lighting in his photographs, and picked up tips and tricks online.

One of his hobbies on the side is bird-watching, and now “I enjoy going out during migration seasons and photographing birds, too,” he said.

Bejster, originally from the Lasalle/Peru area, enjoys shooting landscapes, nature, and astrophotography, but he’s also dabbled in other areas, such as portraits.

When he first started out, in fact, he did quite a bit of portrait photography for friends and family.

“It was OK, but I just kind of strayed away from it. It wasn’t for me. It didn’t really make me happy,” he said. “I’m all about landscaping.

Anything that’s weather-related, I love.”

He has an associate degree from Sauk Valley Community College in Dixon, and since he always has been interested in weather, he did a bit of meteorology coursework at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb after graduating from Sauk.

Continued on page 19

For Oregon’s Tim Bejster, photographry started out as a hobby, but these days he spends a lot more time behind the lens.

PHOTO BY ALEX T. PASCHAL

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He took some time off from school and started a full-time job at Walmart in 2008, and now is majoring in geosciences online through Southern New Hampshire University.

He and his wife, Lindsey, have two daughters, ages 2 and 5, and last year welcomed twin boys; he works at the Walmart Distribution Center in Sterling. n

When he’s not chasing storms, Oregon photographer Tim Bejster is chasing the perfect photo of out feathered friends. “I enjoy going out during migration seasons and photographing birds, too,” he said.

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Dark clouds dwarf the farms below, in this storm photo captured by Oregon photographer Tim Bejster.

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STORY BY TODD MCKENNA | FOR OGLE COUNTY LIVING

Byron Civic Band founder Ron Kroeger started playing tenor sax in fourth grade. After high school, he had a 25-year gap when his sax gathered dust in a closet, until a community band in Brookfield, Wisonsin got him back in the saddle, and he’s been riding high on his love of music since then. Today, he plays the alto sax.

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OGLE COUNTY RECYCLING GUIDELINES Clean & Empty Replace lids & caps

PAPER

METAL

Cardboard (flattened), Office Paper, Newspaper, Magazines

Steel & Aluminum Containers and Foil

CARTONS May be acceptable in some programs, check with local authority.

PLASTIC

Containers: Bottles, Tubs, Jugs, and Jars Only

GLASS

Containers: Bottles & Jars Only

No Plastic Bags No Product Wrap (return

No Big Items (Electronics, Wood, Propane Tanks, Scrap Metal or Styrofoam – check with local authority for other options)

Put material in loose - Not in Bags

clean to retailer)

No Tanglers (Hangers, Hoses, Wire, Cords, Ropes or Chains)

No Clothing Textiles or Shoes (donate)

No Food, Liquid, Diapers, Batteries or Needles

These Guidelines represent the common items accepted in most recycling programs in Illinois. For greater detail on specific items or programmatic variations, reach out to your local authority.

To find out more detail, including recycling and reuse programs beyond the bin, visit www.oglecounty.org or contact the Ogle County Solid Waste Management Department at 815-732-4020.

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No Shredded Paper (check with local authority for other recycling options)

Director Mark Rose leads the Byron Civic Band during a rehearsal. Rose comes with a wealth of musical experience: He’s conductor of the Rock Valley College Old Towne Band and also plays in the Rockford Wind Ensemble and the Rockford Concert Band.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Talk about a noteworthy achievement:

When Ron Kroeger moved to Byron and found out the city didn’t have a municipal band, he took matters – and a sax – into his own hands and started one BYRON — Ron Kroeger is an avid musician and a problem-solver.

After moving to Byron from Minocqua, Wisconsin, to be closer to family, Kroeger was eager to continue his love of music and to build on the 25 years of playing in a band.

There was just one problem: Byron didn’t have band.

“The first thing I looked for was a community band, but I found none and had to go Rockford,” Kroeger said. “I thought, ‘Somebody has to start a band here,’ and I looked in the mirror and I saw that somebody.”

So, after a lot of phone calls, connecting with others and just plain asking around, the Byron Civic Band gradually took shape.

Like an open casting call, Kroeger put out the word that musicians of

all skill levels on all instruments were welcome to pull up a seat and join the band, from young players in middle school all the way up to seasoned pros.

After that recruitment campaign, Kroeger soon had 35 members who wanted to participate. Two of them, husband-and-wife team Cathy and Jon James, are from Sterling, while most of the other members are from the Ogle County area, and a few come from Rockford.

Continued on page 25

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Continued from page 23 The band performed its first concert late last year.

Kroeger, who plays alto sax, is hoping to make beautiful music with his bandmates midweeks in Byron.

“Wednesday night is our night.

I found out nobody meets on Wednesdays,” he said.

That also is not a busy night at Byron Middle School, which is good, since that is where the band rehearses and holds its concerts.

“We’re tied in with the school and so follow a school-year schedule,” Kroeger said. “It’s an A-1 facility, and we use them at no cost thanks to the school board there.”

Not a bad gig for a band that’s just getting started and trying to carve out a slice of the Byron entertainment scene.

Another huge advantage for the blossoming Civic Band is its director, Mark Rose.

Rose comes with a wealth of musical experience: He’s conductor of the Rock Valley College Old Towne Band and also plays in the Rockford Wind Ensemble and the Rockford Concert Band.

Kroeger knows Rose because he, too, played in the Old Towne Band. When he was forming the Byron band and looking for a director, Kroeger thought Rose could direct him to a few people.

Sarah Byrnes plays flute and piccolo. The Byron Civic Band isn’t her only music gig. She’s a middle school band teacher, and counts among the groups she’s played with: the Rock Valley College Concert Band, Beloit College Concert Band, Rockford Wind Ensemble, Rockford Summer Band, RESA Community Jazz Band, West Middle School Pit Band, Monmouth College Wind Ensemble, Monmouth College Jazz Band and Monmouth Community Orchestra. Find “Civic Band Byron, IL” on Facebook for more profiles of band members.

Mary Buzzell picked up the clarinet in fifth grade and hasn’t put it down since. She also performs with the Rock Valley College Concert Band, Rock Valley College Old Towne Band, and Rockford Christian Fellowship Band.

SUBMITTED PHOTOS

Continued on page 27 TO JOIN THE BAND Those interested in learning more about the Byron Civic Band can contact Ron Kroeger at ronkroeger@gmail.com or 847-219-9393, or follow the band on Facebook.

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Continued from page 25 Instead, Kroeger got a huge surprise.

“I called him and asked if he knew somebody that would want to be our director, and he said ‘How about me?’”

Kroeger was stunned and more than a little pleasantly surprised at Rose’s offer. After all, Kroeger never expected someone with Rose’s background and experience to come take over a small-town community band just getting started.

But that’s exactly what happened.

Because it follows the school calendar, the band will wrap up its schedule for this season soon and then prepare to resume performances again in the fall once school is back in session. n

Dennis Morris, on baritone sax, has been playing the saxophone for 35 years.

He’s also played with the Magic of Orlando Drum and Bugle Corps.

Jake Rocha has played trumpet for about 9 years.

He joked that his earliest musical memory “was the day I got my trumpet and my family was making fun of me for the awful noises.” For more profiles of band members, find “Civic Band - Byron, IL” on Facebook.

SUBMITTED PHOTOS

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Noodles AND Neighbors PHOTOS BY EARLEEN HINTON FOR OGLE COUNTY LIVING

ABOVE: Volunteers, and noodles, hung around Chana United Methodist Church ahead of its annual chicken noodle and lasagna dinner. The homemade noodles were hung out to dry ahead of the March 9 meal.

RIGHT: Linda Daub slices lasagna March 9 at Chana United Methodist Church’s chicken noodle soup and lasagna dinner.

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CHANA – It was a pasta extravaganza.

People noshed on noodles and laid into some lasagna March 9 at Chana United Methodist Church’s chicken noodle and lasagna dinner.

The annual dinner is big draw in this Ogle County community, filling the church with food-lovers, friends and neighbors who turned out for the homemade noodles with chicken, lasagna, salads and cheesecake.

Volunteers served up the meal and the church’s youth group held a bake sale for a steady crowd that poured into the church from 4 to 6 p.m. The church also catered to a carry-out crowd who got their dough to go. The crowd was a little smaller this year, due to the cold and rainy weather, but the dinner still packed them in.

If you missed the meal, you can follow the church on Facebook – find Chana United Methodist Church – for updates on the next one.

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A HELPING HAND STORY BY TODD MCKENNA | FOR OGLE COUNTY LIVING

GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY IS SECONDHAND NATURE TO THE PEOPLE AT A POLO THRIFT STORE – THEY’VE BEEN DOING IT s p r i n g / s u m mFOR e r 1 9 3 DECADES 30

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL KRABBENHOEFT

TOP: A collection of miniature shoes sit on display.

MIDDLE: Second Hand Rose, a used clothing store in downtown Polo, carries more than just clothes. Items at the store also include shoes, books, jewelry, silk flowers and many other items.

BOTTOM: Sharon Miller, manager of the Second Hand Rose resale store in Polo.

POLO – A community business staple has been helping area nonprofit agencies in Polo for more than 30 years.

Second Hand Rose, 107 E. Mason St., specializes in used clothing, and also offers jewelry, home decor and housewares.

All of the money it raises from its resale venture are sent to various community agencies. Those funds then are used to pay for needed services throughout the city.

The Polo Council of Churches operates the store, which is staffed completely by volunteers from the nine churches that belong to the council, manager Sharon Miller said.

“It’s always been volunteers. Nobody’s ever gotten paid here,” she said.

Churches in the council provide volunteers for a week at a time on a rotating schedule.

Those volunteers handle everything from waiting on customers to sorting and pricing the clothes and other donated items, to stocking the shelves.

They also come up with creative window displays to help draw customers into the store.

The store is full of clothes for all ages, all more than reasonably priced.

Customers also can find shoes, toys, books and even small appliances for sale, Miller said.

“We have a lot of nice, clean clothing and some of it has never been worn. We don’t put out any junk.”

It’s a small shop with limited space, so donations are collected at Polo Church of the Brethren Church, at 401 S. Congress Ave., which is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week, and then brought to the store.

Everything is extremely affordable, Miller said.

Most of the adult clothes cost $2; infant clothing is only 50 cents.

The shop also has a fill-a-bag sale: 5 bucks gets you a big brown grocery bag full of clothing. The staff holds the brown bag a few times a year, usually to get ready for a new shopping season.

The store not only serves the community by raising funds for needed projects, it’s also become a place where folks can stop in and catch up on what’s going on around town.

“It’s a social time here at the store, too,” Miller said.

“People come in and talk and get caught up on the news of the day.”

In a day and age when small businesses are struggling to get by, Second Hand Rose continues to thrive, thanks to the generosity of area residents.

“We’re very fortunate to have this store. It’s probably one of the oldest around,” Miller said. ■

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