The North Shore Weekend, November 26th, 2022

LIFESTYLE & ARTS

M c E lroy F urs c hrist M as s al E

Mental health for all.

Please join us for

A Few of My Favorite Things

Throw on a cocktail dress, grab a date and come to the holiday event of the season! Get ready to party with a purpose while finishing your holiday shopping amongst a curated collection of fashion, jewelry, wines and more.

Wednesday, December 14th

6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

The Glen View Club, 100 Golf Road, Golf, IL $50 per person or $75 per couple

Tickets available at josselyn.org/myfavoritethings

Vendors include:

Frances Heffernan

Mara Karzen Jewelry Angela Alvarez Luxury Handbags Kameo Vintage French Papers Deseda

M on the Square Iwan Ries & Co

And many more!

Sponsored By:

There has never been a more important time to support Josselyn as it launches its teen Intensive Outpatient Program. Help the Josselyn Auxiliary Board in its vision of Mental health for all kids. A portion of all sales goes directly to providing transportation to kids throughout Lake and Cook counties so they can get the therapy they need.

10 in memoriam

A tribute to the life and legacy of Ellen Stirling, iconic owner of the Lake Forest Shop

11 deck the theater

Check out classic holiday movies at the Fa-La-La Film Festival in Lake Forest

11 a mexican christmas

The Newberry Consort brings a 17th century Mexican holiday tradition to Evanston on December 9

LIFESTYLE & ARTS

22 it's a wonderful life

Frank Capra's legendary holiday film is staged as a radio play at Oil Lamp Theater in Glenview 24 on my nightstand

Melissa Burger, chairman emeritus of the First Presybterian Church Rummage Sale, shares a few of her favorite things

25 meaningful pursuits

12

art workout

Chris Falcon's new Highland Park gym features a gallery showcasing local artists

13 inspiration galore

Lake Bluff History Museum's Holiday Home Tour take you through the village's past and present

13 almost a fairytale

A remarkable story of survival premieres December 4 at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center

NORTH SHORE MONEY

20

out of africa

The Razny family takes a trip of a lifetime to visit their diamond supplier in Africa

This week's carefully curated luxury trends 26 the good nurse

Renowned film critic Rex Reed gives The Good Nurse a rave review 27 the menu

The Menu and its creepy take on foodie culture gets a lukewarm review from Rex Reed

28

north shore foodie

Our Viet Cajun shrimp and sausage boil recipe is the perfect warm weather dish

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

30 sunday breakfast

Woodlands Academy's basketball program nets quite a winner in new hoops coach Larry Farmer, a three-time NCAA champion as a player at UCLA

John Conatser FOUNDER & PUBLISHER

BY RONI MOORE NEUMANN

It’s the time of year to rejoice, to celebrate, and to give back and the RUSH Junior Board’s Holiday Tea is the ideal place to get in the spirit of the season.

Held Saturday, December 3, at Sunset Ridge Country Club, the event features a holiday boutique and the signature tea in the Club’s dining room. More than 300 people are expected to attend the fundraiser, which has sold out for many of its more than 30 years.

The Holiday Tea is one of three an nual fundraisers hosted by the RUSH Junior Board, a group of nearly 100 young leaders from New Trier town ship, operating under the auspices of the Auxiliary of the Woman’s Board of Rush University Medical Center. With leadership from Parent Advisors, the Junior Board’s fundrais ers include the Car Wash, Holiday Tea, and Fashion Show. Last year, Junior Board efforts netted more than $100,000 for RUSH.

“The Junior Board has been unwav ering in their support of RUSH. That is especially evident and appreciated these past two years. From supporting RUSH’s health care heroes to raising funds for critical education, research, and community service programs, they embody the next generation of leaders,” says Dr. Omar Lateef, President and CEO of RUSH Uni versity System for Health and RUSH University Medical Center. “They are the change we need in this world.”

“As a North Shore tradition, we see generations enjoying the Tea together, with many guests returning year after year. It’s a great way to kick off the holiday season and to support RUSH University Medical Center,” adds Jan Evans of Winnetka, president of the RUSH Auxiliary Board.

The result is a must-attend event, especially for those who want to get some holiday shopping done.

“The Holiday Tea features a bou tique with something for everyone on your list including our most popular traditional items including gingerbread cookies, chocolate bark, chocolate covered pretzels, hot cocoa kits, and our fleece blankets,” says Holly Miller of Winnetka, a RUSH Junior Board Parent Advisor.

Everything hits the “merry” mark.

“Our boutique is stocked with gifts for teachers, hostess gifts, and many things you will want to keep for your self too,” says Parent Advisor Anissa Forman of Winnetka. “Raffle baskets have some of the hottest and best items for this holiday season.”

While she says many of the items have been donated by generous retailers and member families, one of the big-ticket items is a weeklong vacation in Big Sky.

Winnetka’s Leslie Graham, creative con sultant and a 20-year RUSH leader in many capacities, says what’s also remarkable is that for the holiday craft sale, the Junior Board members actually make these items them selves.

“The girls dip the chocolate; they make the peppermint bark and the fleece blankets, and they do the packaging. They develop new ideas for gifts to sell and analyze costs and profits

before producing them,” she explains. “It’s something we’re all collectively very proud of. Making these items is a very real contribution of their time and effort and part of the impor tant life lessons they learn being a part of the Junior Board.”

The Junior Board also teaches young women about the power and impact of civic leadership, volunteerism, and philanthropy. Through their hands-on experience and fundraising efforts, the Board fuels RUSH’s work to promote health equity and engage with the diverse communities it serves.

Examples of the impact of the RUSH

Junior Board includes helping to address food insecurity by providing fresh and healthy food to more than 750 community members on Chicago’s West Side and providing critical resources to support the annual back-to-school health fair organized by the RUSH Com munity Service Initiatives Program (RCSIP), resulting in immunizations, back-to-school physicals, backpacks with school supplies, and winter coats for more than 500 children on the West Side.

Moreover, the Junior Board has also provided meals to dozens of veterans and families who travel from around the country to participate in leading mental health programs at the Road Home Program: The National Center for Excellence for Veterans and Their Families at RUSH. The Junior Board also conducts basic need supply drives, including coat drives and toy drives for Simpson Academy, a Chicago Public School that serves preg nant and mothering young women.

RUSH provides opportunities for the young women of the Junior Board to learn more about careers at an aca demic medical center, volunteer within the Medical Center, and volunteer for programs in the diverse neighbor ing communities RUSH serves. These experiences are intended to open Board members’ eyes to the impact of health care, the social determinants of health— such as access to education, housing, and nutritious food—and, more recently, the inequitable effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout the year, members of the Board shadow professional nurses at RUSH. They also work alongside RUSH University medical, nursing, and allied health students as part of RCSIP, the Rush Community Service Initiative Pro gram. In addition to the back-to-school health fairs, they support the “Mini Medical School” STEM program that introduces 4th-and 5th-grade students from the neighborhoods around RUSH to the wonders of health sciences and the health care professions.

They are also highly involved with the RUSH University Children’s Hospital — bringing joy and comfort to pediatric patients and their families via a “Jolly Trolly” filled with games, treats, and sup plies needed to brighten a hospital stay. They help stock and wrap presents for the holiday boutique organized by Child Life Services where parents can select holiday gifts for their children.

“Both my daughters were members of the Junior Board, and I was fortunate to have been a parent advisor to the Junior Board. It was my favorite experience as a 12-year member. It’s a huge undertak ing!” adds Evans. “Every year, I’m amazed by the hard work these high school girls do to run this successful event.”

For more information about the RUSH Junior Board, jrboardrumc.org.

RUSH Junior Board Holiday Tea Chairs include the following high school seniors: Fiona McCaffery, Win netka, New Trier; Caroline Bachman, Winnetka, New Trier; Rush Junior Board President Emma Neumann, Winnetka, New Trier and Madeleine Alshouse, Winnetka, Loyola Academy.

Live your luxury.

WE ARE ENGEL & VÖLKERS

Engel & Völkers believes you should live your own idea of luxury .

Luxury is a feeling. It is a moment. It is a lifestyle. Everyone’s definition of luxury is something unique. At Engel & Völkers, we work with our clients to help them find the luxury to which they aspire. When you are home, you should feel surrounded by the ones you love and enjoy these luxurious moments together especially during the holidays. We all deserve to live our personal luxury.

Learn more at chicagonorthshore.evrealestate.com

Engel & Völkers Chicago North Shore 847.441.5730 • chicagonorthshore.evrealestate.com 566 Chestnut Street, 2nd Floor • Winnetka, Illinois

BY BILL MCLEAN THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Ellen Stirling changed rooms when she entered them.

“She walked in and was like a breeze of elegance and warmth,” says photojournalist Ellen Warner. “She was, by nature, beautiful, but beyond that she had a great sense of style.

“Ellen’s smile,” she adds, “lit up a room.”

Lake Forest lost a beacon on November 10. Stirling—owner and CEO of her family’s business, The Lake Forest Shop—died peace fully in Lake Forest after a lengthy illness. She was 73.

“Ellen was elegance personified,” says lifelong Lake Forest resident Ann Marie Scheidler, a writer, editor, and publicist. “She also was kind and utterly devoted to her fam ily, business, and community. Her mission at The Lake Forest Shop was always resolute— that’s what made her customers loyal, year after year. They appreciated the exclusivity of the brands offered at her shop.”

David Sweet, of Lake Forest, an author, journalist, and friend, attended The Lake Forest Shop’s 100th anniversary on Septem ber 15. Stirling emanating pride and joy is what he remembers most about the event.

“The Lake Forest Shop is an institution in town,” Sweet says. “What Ellen did to pull it from the brink of bankruptcy was amazing. She was passionate about saving the shop for her father (Volney). She then used that same drive to make The Lake Forest Shop flourish and thrive for years.”

Stirling attended the University of Chi cago, majoring in art history, and continued her studies at the University of London (1972-1975). She and her husband, Jim, lived in London early in their marriage. There she connected with English cousins and formed friendships that were among the most impor tant in her life. She also had a brief career as a travel writer for Passport Magazine.

In 1987, with three young daughters at home and no retail or business experience, Stirling took the reins of a business that her paternal grandmother, civic leader Margaret Baxter Foster, had launched in 1922.

She got to work closing three struggling store branches, re-naming and branding the store, modernizing The Lake Forest Shop inventory and leading a renovation of the original location in Market Square.

“Ellen was a brilliant business woman, and she worked incredibly hard to make the shop a success,” a loyal patron says. “She was always happy when the shop was full of cus tomers, many of whom became dear friends.”

Service and philanthropy were instinctive to Stirling. Her work with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (now the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab) and its founder, Henry Betts, M.D., along with architect and accessibility advocate Jack Catlin, formed Access Chicago, a nonprofit that addressed wheelchair acces sibility for people with disabilities in 1972.

She was vice president of the Women’s Board of the Lyric Opera of Chicago; a founder and vice president of the Auxiliary Board of the Art Institute of Chicago; a founding director of Lake Forest Bank and Trust, the first of Wintrust’s banks; and chairman of the bank’s Business Develop ment Committee from 1991-2011.

Stirling initiated The Lake Forest Shop’s annual, month-long charity drive, “Shop Your Cause.” Last year it raised funds and aware ness for numerous local nonprofits, including Boys & Girls Club of Lake County, Elawa Farm Foundation, Gorton Community Cen ter, Citadel Theatre, Lake Forest Open Lands, Mothers Trust Foundation, and Stirling Hall, the City of Lake Forest’s arts and activities center.

She served on the Advisory Board of Lake Forest College’s Oppenheim Center for En trepreneurship and Innovation. She was also a board member of Lake Forest Open Lands and Elawa Farm Foundation and a member of The Lake Forest Garden Club.

The History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff named Stirling its Local Legend in 2016. The distinction—all previous individual awardees were men—honors someone who

has contributed significantly to the com munity and the world. Among the early honorees were Jim Lovell, Adrian Smith, and John Bryan.

“She grew up in a culture where people didn’t boast about their accomplishments, and, although Ellen had many, she adhered to that principle,” Warner recalls.

“Her warmth,” Stirling’s longtime friend adds, “drew people to her. Ellen was always understanding, always supportive. ‘I know you’ll do well!’ was a comment I heard from her more than once when I fussed about a speech or presentation I had to give.”

“I always found her to be a great listener,” Sweet reflects. “Ellen was genuinely inter ested in what you had to say. I’ll never forget her smile, her friendliness, her grace, her elegance.”

Ellen Stirling is survived by her husband of 52 years, James; daughters Ginevra Stirling Ranney, Leslie Stirling Basedow, and Alexan dra Stirling; and five grandchildren.

Memorial contributions can be made in Ellen Stirling’s name to Lyric Opera of Chi cago, Lake Forest Open Lands, and North western Medicine Lake Forest Hospital. A service will be planned for spring 2023.

A MEXICAN CHRISTMAS

The Newberry Consort is pleased to announce the return of its annual holiday tradition, the popular “A Mexican Christmas” concert, which will be guest directed by El len Hargis, former co-artistic director of the Consort.

In this beloved holiday concert, audiences are transported back to 17th-century Mexico City at Christmas time, as a cast of nearly 30 musicians recreates the glorious singing of cloistered nuns soaring over the walls of their convent and filling the square while a street band plays villancicos—joyful folk music of praise and celebration.

The concert will be held at 8 p.m. on Friday, December 9, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Evanston with projected supertitles in both English and Spanish.

To encourage more families to attend, The Newberry Consort has reduced the ticket price for this show to only $25 for adults and $10 for students with a valid student ID. The concert is free for all children under 16. The Consort is also offering a special Family Package where people can buy a 10-person pass for only $100.

“We felt it was important to make this con cert as accessible to families — especially fami lies who may have limited means—as possible,” says Liza Malamut, The Newberry Consort’s new artistic director. “We’ve found in the past that when Latinx families attended the show, many of them were surprised to learn of this rich, classical musical heritage from Mexico and we wanted even more people to be exposed to this beautiful part of Mexican culture.”

This sumptuous program will once again feature a choir of women’s voices singing the music of the convent—including perform ing “Missa Bonae Voluntatis," from a set of 16th century Mexican choir books housed at the Newberry Library—as well as musicians from EnsAmble Ad-Hoc, a group that special

izes in Latin American and Spanish early music led by specialists Francy Acosta and Jose Luis Posada. These musicians will create the rich, jubilant folk music that would have been heard in the plazas at Christmas.

The music is from both Old and New Spain and features villancicos by Juan de Padilla from the Puebla Cathedral Archives, as well as treasures from many other manuscripts, re searched and edited by the Newberry Consort’s artistic directors. Exuberant singing and rarely heard instruments including the bajón (Span ish baroque bassoon), leona (large guitar from Veracruz) and the quijada de burro (a percussion instrument made from a donkey’s jawbone), will bring the soundscape of a Mexican Christ mas to Chicago.

The concert was first conceived by Hargis after she became interested in the ancient Mexican choir books housed at Newberry Library that were originally from the Convento De La Encarnacion, which existed in Mexico City from the late 16th century through the 19th century. Hargis researched the music, adapted it for modern musicians and then presented it in several different concerts—first in 2016 as part of a concert entitled “Juan de Lienas Vespers,” and later as part of “A Mexi can Christmas.”

“A Mexican Christmas” has been performed in Chicago every year since 2018 (with the ex ception of 2020), and in 2021, The Consort also released a live recording of the concert, which can be purchased on Amazon. There is also a DVD that has the music set to images that are projected during the concerts, which will be available for purchase at the concerts.

“A Mexican Christmas” will be performed at 8 p.m., Friday, December 9, at St. Luke’s Episco pal Church, 939 Hinman Avenue, in Evanston. Tickets can be purchased at the event.

DECK THE THEATER

Gorton Community Center kicked off its Fa La La Film Festival this week with a John Hughes classic that continues to define the North Shore—the iconic Home Alone

But if you missed that, do not despair. The festival, underwritten by the Hughes Film Endowment, continues on Tuesday, December 13, with National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

It’s a classic tale but for those who need a refresher: As the holidays approach, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife, Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), and children, as he tries to make sure everything is in line, including the tree and house decorations. However, things go awry quickly. His hick cousin, Eddie (Randy Quaid), and his family show up unplanned and start living in their camper on the Griswold property. Even worse, Clark’s employers renege on the holiday bonus he needs.

The festival’s next holiday installation comes with the Tuesday, December 20, screening of Elf. After a baby at an orphanage crawls into Santa’s sack and is taken back to the North Pole by mistake, the elves name him Buddy

directed by Jon Favreau, it stars Will Ferrell, James Caan, and Zooey Deschanel.

The Fa-La-La Film Festival concludes on Thursday, December 22, with one of the great est holiday movies of all time—A Christmas Story

In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.

Based on the humorous writings of author Jean Shepherd, this beloved classic follows the wintry exploits of youngster Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley), who spends most of his time dodging a bully (Zack Ward) and dream ing of his ideal Christmas gift, a “Red Ryder air rifle.” Frequently at odds with his cranky dad (Darren McGavin) but comforted by his doting mother (Melinda Dillon), Ralphie struggles to make it to Christmas Day with his glasses and his hopes intact. Written by Jean Shepherd (based on the novel “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash”), Leigh Brown (screenplay), Bob Clark (screenplay) and directed by Bob Clark, the film stars

and raise him, causing Buddy to believe that he too is an elf. When he finds out that he isn’t an elf, Buddy travels to NYC to meet his grouchy biological father that doesn’t know Buddy exists, to give him the gift of Christmas spirit.

A movie full of Yuletide cheer, Elf is a spirited, good-natured family comedy, and it benefits greatly from Will Ferrell’s funny and charming performance as one of Santa’s big gest helpers. Written by David Berenbaum and

These Fa-La-La Film Festival offerings will all be shown from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes prior to start, with drinks and concessions available for purchase. Price is from $5 to $10.

Gorton Community Center is located at 400 E. Illinois Road, in Lake Forest. For more informa tion, visit gortoncenter.org/film/.

Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, and Darren McGavin.

Catch holiday classics this season at Gorton Community Center’s Fa-La-La Film Festival at the John and Nancy Hughes Theater.

The Newberry Consort brings a 17th century Mexican holiday tradition to Evanston.

ART WORKOUT

BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

When Chris Falcon was a boy, his mom would often drop him off at his uncle’s gym on her way to work, where he would spend the day. He liked to pretend to be one of the muscle men lifting weights but after a while his uncle would shoo him away to a corner somewhere where he would work with his pens and doodle pad.

“I've always been a creative naturally. I was the kid who was always drawing and doodling and writing stories,” Falcon says. “But during that process, this really creative kid did fall in love with fitness entrepreneurship.”

Falcon grew up in Highland Park after his family immigrated from Cuba in 1967, well before he was born. Like his uncle, he started a gym of his own, Reactive Performance Enhancing Center, 16 years ago in Glenview. His second location in Highland Park is under construction in the former E Street Denim Building behind Madame Zuzu’s Emporium.

“I saw that my uncle was able to create expe riences for people, all the while doing something that he really loved to do, connecting with people and being a respected part of the com munity,” Falcon says. “I knew I wanted to have

that same feeling at some point in my life and so I decided to make it happen.”

Falcon says the fitness industry has many players, some of which are huge operations. The “big-box” gyms have a business model that is based on monthly membership fees. The idea is to get as many to sign up and hope that just a small percentage will show up to work out.

“I'm actually the complete opposite, more of a boutique style facility and I do everything that I possibly can to make people want to be there,” he says. “Part of us doing the opposite is recognizing that we're dealing with more than just bodies. We're dealing with the people inside the bodies, so as an artist myself, I always like to look at things from different angles and flip things upside down.”

This “thinking-outside the box” approach leads Falcon to want to create an experience that people are going to want to share with others and that other people will want to be a part of. He says it’s about finding ways to combine work passion and play into one seamless experience.

“From the moment you come into my facili ties, you'll see that art is everywhere. Music is not just something that's in the background, but it's something that is there for people to connect with,” Falcon says. “We just treat our clients dif ferently. We want you to be there, we learn who you are, and you’ll become a part of a family, part of something real.”

Falcon has featured his own artwork at his Glenview location and plans to feature works created by artists from the community in his new space in Highland Park. A number of art ists have already been lined up to have their art featured, and one artist is painting a large mural, currently in process, which will cover one of the gym’s walls.

“As an artist, for a while I have wanted to have my brand help emerging artists get out there and have their time in the sun,” he says. “My space in Glenview is loaded with my artwork, but now with this new venture, the Reactive Artist Collab, I really wanted to help other artists.”

Falcon sits on the board of the Art Center of Highland Park and says he wants to do his best to connect with the broader local artist com munity, and just not those who work with paint. He’s planning a fashion show for some time in 2023 with an emerging designer.

“We are going to find as many ways as we possibly can to use our space and the passion that we have for fitness to also bleed over into the passion that I have for the arts and helping and supporting artists,” Falcon says. “I want to give them as many opportunities to thrive as I can.”

It’s a unique vision of the world Falcon has shaped for himself, one of fitness entrepreneur, advocate for the arts, and gallerist. We’d all be

so lucky to integrate our varied interests in such fashion.

“I think the biggest thing for me is that it's passion. Passion is the biggest reason why I believe I've had any success in this industry or why people might want to work with me and my team,” Falcon says. “I like to tell people that I create amazing soil for anything to grow as long as it's positive, and that's what happens in my spaces.”

Artist and gym owner Chris Falcon is opening a new location of his REPC gym in Highland Park with a mission to shine the spotlight on the work of local artists.

INSPIRATION GALORE

Lake Bluff History Museum’s Holiday Home Tour next weekend offers glimpses of the past and present.

One of the best ways to gather ideas for holiday decorating is to get a glimpse of how other people infuse their homes with the spirit of the season. Lake Bluff History Museum’s Holiday Home Tour is just the thing. This year’s tour on Sunday, December 4, includes a record number of homes decked out for the holidays in ways that will inspire and delight.

The tour captures the charm of Lake Bluff and showcases the diversity of the village’s housing stock. Each house has a story to tell, both in its current design, holiday décor, and historical significance.

It includes two late 19th century cottages built when Lake Bluff was a summer resort. One went up in 1890 in an area that became known as the Artists Colony, as it was home to intellectuals and avant-garde writers, poets, and artists. The other was built in 1893 on a parcel that has a long history of notable own ers, starting with the area’s first homesteaders in the 1830s, the Lake Bluff Camp Meeting Association in the 1870s, and early Lake Bluff Village President William F. Cochran and his wife, Ella—who in 1893 built the Queen Anne-style house that’s standing there today.

Their daughter Nell and her husband John Kreutzberg were the next residents, notable because John volunteered in World War I to drive an ambulance purchased by the residents of Lake Bluff for service on the battlefields of France. The French Government awarded him the Croix de Guerre medal, and the Chicago Tribune named Lake Bluff “America’s Most Patriotic Town.”

Guests will enjoy visiting a Colonial Revival home built in 1900 and renovated many times. In the mid-20th century, it was home to a well-known policeman who, as a member of

the village’s then three-man police force, was responsible for keeping teens out of mischief and home by curfew. Today the home is beau tifully decorated in a rustic modern style, with a 21st century front porch, kitchen with wood beams on the ceiling and a powder room with shiplap walls.

Another home is a Cape Cod built in 1938 nearly a decade after the lot’s previous house was mysteriously blown up, in a case never solved but long considered to have been mob ster related. Completely unrelated to mobsters is the current owner’s collection of Santa figures and the display of her needlepoint artistry.

More holiday decorations can be enjoyed at two post-World War II homes built to meet the housing demands of returning World War II veterans and their growing families. One of these is a traditional Ranch, still beautifully proportioned as a mid-century one-story in a neighborhood that has seen much new construction and many remodels. The other post-war house is in Lake Bluff’s first subdivision built for the Baby Boom. Originally a Ranch, the house has been expanded many times up to 2007 and is an excellent example of how village housing has evolved as family needs and changing styles have dictated.

Visitors also will walk through a late 20th century Nantucket-style home filled with English antiques and vintage accessories. As befits such a setting, holiday decorations are traditional, with a Welsh cabinet filled with Christmas Spode and a Christmas tree dis playing ornaments collected over 50 years.

Lake Bluff History Museum has been

hosting the Holiday Home Tour since 2010 to celebrate the season, showcase lovely architec ture, and raise funds for its archives, programs, and exhibits. Guests are encouraged to make a day of it, as several businesses, cafes, and restaurants in Lake Bluff’s historic downtown will be open. The Museum also is offering two Holiday Boutiques in historic homes featuring

ALMOST A FAIRYTALE

A remarkable film of survival makes its Midwest premiere December 4 at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.

Orphaned and torn apart at the age of 3, twins Adam and Ida Paluch survived the Holocaust without knowing what had happened to each other.

Adam endured life in a concentration camp and was later adopted. Ida evaded capture as a hidden child in Nazi-occupiedPoland. Both children were baptized, issued fake birth certifi cates with new names, and raised Catholic, but never forgot each other.

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie invites the public to join them for the Midwest premiere Adam & Ida—Almost A Fairytale, a remarkable film detail ing two Survivors’ lifelong quest for belonging—a story told through interviews and stunning animations illustrating the lives and memories.

Following the screening, there will be a Q&A with film star and Museum Board Member Ida Kersz.

a variety of home décor, jewelry, food, gifts, and more.

The Lake Bluff History Museum Holiday Home Tour takes place on Sunday, December 4, from 11 am to 4 pm (last tour starts at 3 pm). The self-guided tour starts at the Museum at 127 E. Scranton Avenue, Lake Bluff. Tickets cost $50 and may be purchased at lakebluffhistory.org/events.

The on-site film and discussion will be held at 2 p.m. on December 4. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit ilholocaustmuseum.org.

To our

amazing

clients, thank you.

From the bottom of our hearts, we are so grateful that you’ve trusted us to help you through one of the most important decisions of your life. We are proud to not just be your real estate advisors, but your friends, confidants and friendly faces you see around town. Thank you for helping us to achieve our goal of hitting over $60 million in sales * this year so far — we couldn’t have done it without your constant support!

Jacqueline Lotzof

Licensed Real Estate Broker jacqueline.lotzof@compass.com 847.917.8220

*Source: MRED, 1/1/22-11/1/22

Stephanie Malk

Licensed Real Estate Broker stephanie.malk@compass.com 630.750.7835

Count on Carrie and the Community House

For over 100 years, the Community House in Winnetka has been a vital non-profit organization serving this extraordinary community. It is the place for you and your family to come together to celebrate, perform, create, learn, exercise, and make friendships that last a lifetime.

The Community House is thankful for the generous friends who provide meaningful tax-deductible donations in the holiday season to continue serving families and everyone of all ages. Give thanks and make a difference for your community by scanning the QR code to donate, or visit mycommunityhouse.org/giving

CARRIE NADLER HEALY 847.507.7666

carrie.healy@compass.com

We’re Thankful for

We moved to the North Shore 12 years ago, and we love living, working, and raising our family here.

As the year comes to a close, we want to thank you, our community, for making the North Shore such a wonderful place to live and work. Now more than ever, our area has proven to be a highly desirable location in Chicagoland, and it’s largely due to the welcoming atmosphere found here. People want to live here, and we feel lucky to call it home.

This community wouldn’t be possible without you, so from our family to yours, we wish you a happy holiday season.

- Dave + Amy Chung

Due to a massive influx of adoption rates during covid, it also means an unfortunate spike in return to shelter pets. Show these animals some love this winter while also getting a mood boost!

There are tons of charity-oriented races throughout Chicagoland during the holidays. Sign up for your local Turkey Trot or Christmas Dash for a fun way to raise money.

Help ensure everyone gets the holiday meal they deserve by serving dinner or dropping off food at a soup kitchen, food pantry, or services like Meals on Wheels.

Feeling generous and spontaneous? The holiday trend of paying for the car behind you at a drive through is a great way to bring holiday cheer to unexpecting strangers.

JULIE CHESNE

OUT OF AFRICA

BY ANN MARIE SCHEIDLER THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Razny Jewelers, with four locations throughout the Chicagoland area, is the lead ing family-owned and operated source for loose diamonds, bespoke jewelry, and Swiss timepieces. In business since 1951, the third generation of this family business is entirely devoted to the future of luxury.

Stan, Ingrid, and Michael Razny were recently invited to the South African nation of Namibia by their direct diamond supplier to experience the country’s beauty. “Razny is one of the very few jewelers to have access to the direct supply of diamonds,” notes Ingrid, “securing our customers the best value by eliminating the middleman.”

Even more important than learning about where their diamonds are sourced, the Raznys gained a greater appreciation for the good that comes from the sale of natural dia monds. “There is no question that the people

of Namibia and South Africa benefit from the diamond industry as it is a key compo nent of the economy,” says Ingrid. “This in dustry has taken great effort to harvest these natural wonders from the land and sea in the most environmentally friendly way. Seeing the process and meeting Africa’s people has given us the ability to tell the story of natural diamonds. We are honored to be the ambas sadors for the natural diamond industry.”

The main source of natural-colored dia monds, as well as a majority of the fancy yel low diamonds, Namibia also produces gems of pink and blue. “Many of these stones are retrieved from the sea using a vacuum mining process that leaves little disruption to the ocean floor,” says Ingrid. “We were so lucky to experience this first-hand.”

The Raznys also visited the cutting and polishing facility of their diamond supplier while visiting the country, which gained its independence from South Africa in 1990. Opened in 2008, this facility has grown to in clude 60 employees, many of whom began as

The Razny Family, owners of Razny Jewelers since 1951, took the trip of a lifetime to visit their diamond supplier in Africa.

trainees and have since moved into manage ment roles.

In addition to getting a firsthand under standing of the sourcing and processing of diamonds, the Raznys visited a kidney dialy sis clinic equipped with machines donated by their direct diamond supplier in collaboration with Razny Jewelers and met children from the Eros Primary School, which has also re ceived substantial support from their supplier.

Before coming home, the Raznys trav eled to South Africa where they visited the Nelson Mandela Foundation. There they saw the cell where the Nobel Prize winner was imprisoned for more than 27 years before becoming the nation’s president in 1994. They also went to Soweto, the Johannesburg township whose residents played a key role in the anti-apartheid movement. Kliptown, the oldest township in Soweto and histori

cally important as the place where the 1955 Freedom Charter was adopted, is home to 44,000 people but lacks the most basic needs such as schools, health clinics, electricity, and proper sanitation. The Raznys are committed to supporting such empowering initiatives as the Kliptown Youth Program, an after-school center and mentoring program serving stu dents from first grade through high school. “The Kliptown Youth Program was really

amazing,” says Ingrid. “The children looked happy and healthy and we are even more determined to increase our support.” Clearly, what began as a business trip turned out to be much, much more.

To learn more about Razny Jewelers, visit razny.com. To learn more about the Kliptown Youth Program, visit kliptownyouthprogram. org.

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Glenview’s Oil Lamp Theater offers a creative take on Frank Capra’s classic holiday film by staging it as an audio play in a radio studio, complete with sound effects.

BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Oil Lamp Theater got its start in 2005 in a condo in Chicago’s Lakeview neighbor hood. Its founder, Keith Gerth, was inspired by episodes of the Dick Van Dyke show he watched as a boy, during which the main characters, Rob and Laura Petrie, would entertain friends in their home with musical and theatrical entertainment.

Fast forward to 2022, and Oil Lamp has evolved into a professional theater company with dozens of productions under its belt. It incorporated as a nonprofit in 2012 when it moved to Glenview and established a 60-seat theater downtown.

One of Oil Lamp’s early productions—one that will be staged for the 9th and final time this holiday season—is an adapted version of the iconic Frank Capra film, It’s a Wonderful Life. The theater space is transformed into the studio of New York radio station WBFR on Christmas Eve in 1946 for a reading of the famous Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed film, complete with sound effects and audience participation.

Stephen Smith has worked on previous productions of Oil Lamp’s It’s a Wonderful Life as a performer, Assistant Director, and Director. Smith is again directing the theater company’s 2022 version of the play. He says the script, for the most part, follows that of the film.

“It's adapted from the film, and many of the lines you'll recognize, like ‘Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings’,” Smith says. “We have to tweak some parts of it to get it on a stage, but it's definitely based on the movie and follows the movie pretty closely.”

Smith, a retired educator, says he’s always been an avid theater goer and has enjoyed

atmosphere of the lobby as you walk in. It's so comfortable. It’s almost like you're going into someone's living room,” he says. “The other thing is that the actors, the employees, have great respect and dignity. They treat the audi ence with respect, and there are people who never miss a production.”

Mary Margaret McCormack, who plays the role of Mary Hatch in It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, grew up in Woodstock and has been performing on stage since she was 7 years old. She started with community theater and performed through middle school and high school before studying theater in college.

“For a little while I thought I wanted to be

audience, and you can absolutely hear their reaction and that's really nice.”

McCormack played the same role as Mary Hatch last year and says what she loves about the show is the holiday cheer it engenders and how it lifts the spirits of the audience.

“It’s really sweet because this is such a touching story and we can immediately see how this affects people,” she says. “We see people smiling. We see people wiping away tears, which is the sweetest thing.”

She adds that what she appreciates about her character in the play is that she’s complex and, in many ways, drives the narrative of the story.

the day,” McCormack says. “She's not just the love interest, but someone who is integral to the plot, which I very much appreciate. It makes it a lot more of an interesting character to play.”

Like Smith, McCormack says she enjoys her work with Oil Lamp because of the qual ity of the cast and the production team.

“Because I've done it so much, it's a professionalism that they really bring. They approach it not just as a hobby like some community theaters,” she says. “It's a business, in a good way. Their mission is to put on good performances for the audience and the actors.”

his various roles with Oil Lamp Theater because of the company’s professionalism. All involved with the production—actors, design ers, directors—are paid contributors.

“What is special about Oil Lamp is just the

an opera singer, but my heart wasn't in it and what I really found I liked with theater is that connection with the audience,” McCormack says. “I feel like in a place like Oil Lamp, it's a small intimate space. You can see the

“What’s nice about playing Mary Hatch is that she's not your typical ingénue. A lot of the times she's the driving force behind George Bailey because she's the one that comes up with the ideas that often help save

It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play runs from November 25 through December 30 at the Oil Lamp Theater, 1723 Glenview Road in Glenview. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit oillamptheater.org.

Northwestern

Monday, November 28, 7 pm

Presented by: Michael McGuire, MD

Dennis Pessis, MD

Matthew Schaff, MD

Book Stack: Ken Follet, The Evening and the Morning; Beth Kanter & Aliza Sherman, The Happy, Healthy Non Profit; The Monks of New Skete, The Art of Raising a Puppy, Divine Canine, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend; Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Douglas Abrams, The Book of Joy, Crossway, ESV Study Bible

LABOR OF LOVE

This box was made by son Ryan in a Lake Forest High School woodworking class.

This trinket bowl from Rummage holds a ring from Therese Crowe Design and a necklace Designs by Charlotte. Ruby slab ring, Therese Crowe Design, 291 E. Deerpath Road, 847-234-7501; bead necklace, Designs by Charlotte, DM cmuzik.lady on Instagram or call 847-778-7329

My treasured, heirloom Bible

Melissa Burger, chairman emeritus of the First Presbyterian Church Rummage Sale and consummate community volunteer, shares what is currently on her nightstand.

A favorite, recently discovered photo of my father in a frame from Rummage

Illustration by Tom Bachtell

BY MELISSA BURGER THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

One year ago, my nightstand was essential ly a simple shelving unit with one tiny drawer and open shelves—open shelves which drove my husband crazy with the menagerie of books, rotating found items, lotions, and potions, and dust. Since the “stuff” was not going to change, we bought a pair with two drawers and an opening at the bottom. Voila! I was going to be organized and streamlined. Well … that did not happen. I have more “stuff” in the drawers, the same number of books, and the nighttime necessities seem to have grown. What I display changes quite frequently as I am a hopeless rum mage enthusiast. Pair this obsession with an Eldership at First Presbyterian Church Lake Forest (FPCLF) overseeing the Bi-Annual Rummage sale (requiring daily donation and sorting operations) and you create a reduce/ reuse/recycle monster. It has been a passion and labor of love to work with our team of dedicated Rummage volunteers for the past three years. There are some involved who have been there for as many as 50 years since start

of this mission 70 years ago!

Mission is a major focus at FPCLF, and over 30 partners are supported through church fund donations and the proceeds from Rummage sales. Over 2 million dollars have been distributed to charity throughout seven decades of sales. One of the most brilliant relationships is with Beacon Place in Wauke gan. During the sale week set-up, members of the Beacon Place community aid in set-up and then shop the sale. The organization then receives proceeds in the form of grants. A true full circle.

Nothing goes to waste. When donations are dropped at the church, they are sorted, then sale worthy items are packed and stored off-site until sale week. Damaged or broken items are sorted for textile recycling, local artisans for use in their creations, and special collections for area charities who are collect ing specific items throughout the year. One of our biggest partners is WINGS Chicago, which takes our sales-worthy overflow to its shops to raise money for domestic abuse relief programs.

Rummage aside, my nightstand collects books from the Lake Forest. Presently I am

MEANINGFUL PURSUITS

This weekend’s curated luxury trends.

GT40 GOES ELECTRIC

Everrati, a leading technology company specializing in the redefining and futureproofing of automotive icons through the integration of advanced electric vehicle pow ertrains, and Superformance, the leading manufacturer of 1960s-era continuation component sports cars, have formed a strategic partnership–with the first new model being an electrified version of the legendary GT40. Each Everrati is fitted with a custom-designed electric power unit and battery system, leading to enhanced performance and a zero-emissions future. Sold as a rolling chassis, a Superformance car can be configured with heritage or modern drivetrains. For more information, visit everrati. com.

AS COOL AS ICE

Since 1895, Swavorski has designed crystal cut creations. Under the company’s first ever global creative director, Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert, the new collection exudes cool glamour. Born in Milan, Engelbert modeled for Dolce & Gabbana before transitioning into a career in styling. Having worked for Vogue Italia and W she brings her well-known fashion lineage to her role. For more information, visit swarovski.com/en-US/.

reading three of the Monks of New Skete tutorials on how to raise a puppy. Yes, we adopted a COVID-19 puppy and I need refresh on the basics. How quickly we forget how much work they are and what joy and love you receive in return! Also in the queue are The Happy, Healthy Non Profit and Ken Follett’s The Evening and the Morning, which I will read when I finally get some sleep.

Although the top shelf books come and go, the bottom shelf is the permanent home of my heirloom bible gifted by a dear friend and the beautiful trinket box my son hand made for me.

Finally, my most recent found item is a sweet frame from the rummage in which I placed a favorite picture of my dad the year before he died. We were all dressed up for church and I don’t even recall who snapped the pic. It was a happy time before he was taken from us by suicide. Seeing him before I turn off the light makes my heart happy and reminds me that everyone has a story, everyone is going through something, and to never forget to reach out to your people with messages of love as often as you can.

THE MATOUX SCHUMACHER COLLECTION

Two heritage companies synonymous with beauty and quality present an exciting collaboration together. The Matoux Schumacher Collection combines Matouk’s crafted linens with Schumacher’s famed prints. Perfect for the transitioning season, the Rubia table linens have an etched quality, clean hem, and a blossom motif that pairs well across a multitude of styles. For more informa tion, visit matouk.com.

What I display changes quite frequently as I am a hopeless rummage enthusiast.

THE GOOD NURSE

RUNNING TIME: 116 minutes

RATING: 4 stars

BY REX REED THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

At the movies, serial killers are a dime a dozen. They all provide popular and disturbing movie fodder, but I don't remember one as baffling and complex—or played so charm ingly—as the one Eddie Redmayne plays in the true-life crime procedural The Good Nurse

He's a great Academy Award winning actor with a solid record for creating fresh, unforgettable characters on stage and screen, but paired with another Oscar winner, Jessica Chastain, this film is a prime example of how thrilling it can be when two extraordinarily gifted artists pool their resources to turn a routine thriller into a memorable work of art.

Chastain, on the heels of her own colorful Oscar-winning triumph in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, plays Amy Longhren, another actual real-life person but someone quite different from anything she's done before—a supervising nurse in the intensive care unit of Parkfield Hospital in New Jersey with a heart ailment—at risk of a stroke, mentally and physically exhausted from juggling long hours on her feet, acting as a single mom to two daughters, and unable to rest or take the time off for a heart transplant because she needs the money for health insurance.

Help comes at last with the arrival of a new medical as sistant, Charlie Cullen (Redmayne). His experience includes previous nursing jobs in nine hospitals, and he pitches in so quickly to relieve her stress that Amy's gratitude is palpable. Charlie is also personable, helpful, supportive, quiet, gentle, and capable of assuming such huge responsibilities that in no time Amy is trusting him with extra jobs, including the demands of night shifts and babysitting her own children.

Charlie is a godsend--until his dark side surfaces.

To her dismay, Amy's patients—including the healthy ones on the road to recovery—begin dying mysteriously. With a growing array of empty beds in the once-overcrowded I.C.U., local homicide detectives grow suspicious but find themselves

stonewalled by hospital bureaucracy.

It is Amy who discovers to her horror that her patients have been injected with insulin in their I.V. drips, but nobody can prove it. Then strange reports come to light, based on the reasons Charlie was dismissed from his old health care posi tions in the past. Once the police recruit Amy, against her will, to spy on her friend and hopefully trap him into a confession, risking her own life and career, the film becomes a game of cat and mouse orchestrated with an unbearable intensity until a climax that only be described as nerve-shattering.

The success of The Good Nurse is due in no small part to the tense screenplay by Krysty Wilson Cairns, based on Amy's own interviews and memoirs, and the gripping direction by Denmark's Tobias Lindholm, who is making his American film debut.

Chastain infuses Amy with so much moment-to-moment subtle naturalism that I forgot I was watching an actress at work and really believed I was in the company of an actual overworked, underpaid nurse. As for Redmayne, words fail to accurately describe his powerful transitions in sweetness and anxiety until he finally snaps in a scene of such madness and revelation that it has become enshrined in memory.

He paints a controlled but fascinating dichotomy of charac teristics—Norman Bates cross-pollinated with Ted Bundy—in a portrait of a very special kind of mental defective who kills for no reason at all. The actor digs so deep into the complexity of the character that he becomes inseparable from him.

The real Charlie Cullen was a beloved nurse for 16 years, convicted in 2003 of 40 killings, but suspected of 400 more. He is now serving 18 consecutive life sentences. No one ever stopped him, and no hospital where he worked has ever been sued.

It's a nightmare from 2003 that has, now turned by experts into one of the best films of 2022.

Illustration by Tom Bachtell

RUNNING TIME: 116 minutes

RATING: 4 stars

THE MENU

BY REX REED THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Bizarre, original, and loaded with revelatory surprises with every turn of the page, The Menu uses the culture of haute cuisine as a metaphor for the spit-roasted values of high so ciety, with results that are vicious, delicious, and horrifying.

The setting is a high-end restaurant on a remote pri vate island off the coast of the Pacific Northwest called Hawthorn, a pinnacle of culinary art so exclusive that even reservations made a year in advance are no guarantee of admission. But if you do get in, dinner lasts 4 hours and 25 minutes, costs $1,250 per person and is prepared by a dour, meticulous staff under the intimidating control of a humorless and demanding world-famous chef named Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) who seems more like a Marine drill sergeant running a boot camp than a celebrity cook.

Tonight, he is hosting a feast for a small party of guests with money and influence, including a fawning, gung-ho gourmand (Nicholas Hoult), his cynical last-minute date Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), a cruel critic (Janet McTeer), a trio of nasty Wall Street techies, a rich businessman and his wife (Reed Birney and Judith Light), and a has-been movie star (John Leguizamo) looking to revive his career with a TV food show.

Each of them has been carefully researched and invited except Margot, which makes her a special target for punish ment by the chef, and none of them has any idea of the culinary horrors that await them as they are forced to endure the chef's revenge for reasons that are better not revealed to preserve the fun.

The guests are labeled "takers" and the wait staff that lives in a dorm on the island and obeys the chef's every demand are the "givers". The deceptively supportive maitre d'—a frozen-faced sadist named Elsa (chillingly played by Hong Chau) is the most ferocious threat to the entire restaurant and her eventual violent outburst will leave you

shaking.

Directed by Mark Mylod, the creepy screenplay by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy unfolds like the courses of a menu, from farm to table, with such a running discourse from the chef that you don't know whether to laugh or frown. Scallops are covered in frozen, filtered sea water to kill bacteria. The bread plate is breadless. The smoked thighs are accompanied by tortillas with the guests' photographs laserengraved in rust.

The horrors begin with the fourth course called "The Mess", created by a sous-chef who commits suicide and his bone marrow is served au jus . Course after course, some thing dreadful happens as the chef's motives for revenge are revealed. The patron prompted to exit in disgust is prevent ed from leaving when his fingers are chopped with a meat cleaver. And finally, the chef, who has gone uncontrollably insane, reveals the secret of the evening's menu: everyone will die!

The ultimate dessert course is—you guessed it—the per fect end to a perfect meal, by knife, noose, and other lethal kitchen utensils. No spoilers, but I promise you will never eat another "smore" again.

The Menu is grotesque, but hypnotizing, like something out of an old "Crypt of Terror" comic book. It's also funny, because even as a satire it' s so preposterous.

Ultimately, it adds up to less than a satisfying sum of its parts, the final resolution is disappointing, but the perfor mances are uniformly arresting (especially Ralph Fiennes, who has a blast exploring a dark side of his talent never seen before). My main objection is the film's criminal abuse of food, but I like the way it ridicules pretentious restaurants, ludicrous recipes, and ego-ravaged celebrity chefs.

It may be a curious, palate-cleansing amuse bouche , but you'll never see The Menu on the Food Channel.

A TOUCH OF SPICY

This Viet Cajun shrimp and sausage boil adds a powerful punch to fall dining.

BY MONICA KASS ROGERS THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

When my mom grew up in Houston, Texas, excursions to Galveston, where my grandfa ther owned land, were a beach-filled regularity. Grandfather loved fishing, and my mom loved seafood. Especially shrimp. Those days, shrimp boats were manned by a tough lot of Texans, with some Cajuns mixed in. But by the time my Mom and Dad bought Neil Armstrong’s old house in the shrimping village of Seabrook on Galveston Bay, the shrimping community had broadened to include a large group of Vietnam ese immigrants. Mom—a spicy food lover—was thrilled to discover the fusion cuisine that resulted: Viet Cajun. While the marriage of these two on the plate may seem unusual, both cultures share colonial French roots, which gives them a natural affinity. Best Viet Cajun dishes take familiar Cajun fare and ramp it up to include Vietnamese spices and seasonings such as lemongrass, ginger, and fish sauce. This shrimp and sausage boil is a classic example.

INGREDIENTS

STOCK:

• 8 cups water

• 3 stalks lemongrass (halved)

• 2 heads garlic (each cut in half)

• 1 large knob of ginger (about 4 inches long)

• 1/4 cup fish sauce

• 1/2 cup Old Bay seasoning

• 1 .80-ounce container Cajun seasoning blend

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

• 2 pounds tiny red pota toes

• 2 pounds smoked sausage, cut on the bias in chunks

• 4 pounds fresh Gulf shrimp (with heads and tails intact)

• 3 ears of corn (each cut into three pieces)

SPICY

SAUCE:

GARLIC BUTTER

• 1 cup (two sticks) butter

• 1 large head garlic, peeled, trimmed, and minced to make 1/2 cup

• 1 stalk of lemongrass, smashed and minced to make 2 tablespoons

• 2 teaspoons cayenne pep per

• Salt and freshly cracked pepper

GARNISH:

• 1 small bunch of green onions, green portion cut into two-inch pieces

• 1 small bunch cilantro leaves

• 2 Thai peppers chopped (optional)

• 3 fresh limes

METHOD

• In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with minced garlic and lemongrass. Stir in cayenne, salt, and pepper. Continue heating and stirring until butter foams up and lemongrass and garlic are cooked tender.

• Make stock in a large, heavy-bottomed soup kettle, over medium heat, combine water with lemongrass, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, Cajun seasoning, and Old Bay. Heat to boiling; lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

• Add potatoes and sausage. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Scoop sausage and potatoes out of kettle and set aside, keeping warm.

• Add shrimp and corn to simmering stock. Cover pot and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until shrimp are bright pink and corn is tender. Scoop shrimp and corn out of kettle and set aside.

• In a very large bowl, toss shrimp, corn, potatoes, and sausage with a few spoons of the garlic butter. Pile everything on a serving tray. Sprinkle with the two-inch slivers of green onion and the cilantro sprigs. Add a sprinkle of sliced Thai peppers if you want it extra hot. Serve with more of the spicy garlic butter and wedges of fresh lime.

WOODLANDS LANDS WOODEN DISCIPLE

BY BILL MCLEAN ILLUSTRATION BY BARRY BLITT

Three-time UCLA men’s basketball champion Larry Farmer sits in a conference room at his new employer—Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest—and recalls the moment he turned down John Wooden’s offer of … jelly beans.

Wooden was UCLA men’s hoops coach at the time, a man in the midst of guiding Bruins teams to an unprecedented seven consecutive NCAA championships.

Farmer was a sought-after, 6-foot-5 forward recruit at the time, a boy who had almost quit basketball after his sophomore season at Manual High School in Denver.

“There I was on a Sunday, on the third and final day of my college visit to UCLA,” Farmer says. “In those days, you didn’t get to sit down with the head coach—the ‘closer’—until day three of the weekend. Coach Wooden was a modest, slightly built man. And a legendary coach in the making. Right away he asked me if I wanted any jelly beans from the jar on his desk.

“I told him, ‘No, thank you.’ I was too nervous to eat anything. But he put me at ease, mostly be cause we talked about academics, a little religion, ROTC, and other non-basketball topics. He even recited poetry. Coach Wooden was genuinely in terested in getting to know me, the person, during my time in his office.”

That person would say yes to Wooden’s second sweet offer—a basketball scholarship—and help the Bruins amass an 89-1 record and capture three straight national titles from 1970-1973.

On November 17, the 71-year-old Farmer, a college and professional basketball coach from 1973-2018, became 1-0 as head coach of the bas ketball team at Woodlands Academy, an all-girls college-prep high school.

His visiting Wildcats defeated Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep 38-31 in Waukegan.

“Coaching at the high school level was some thing I’d envisioned decades ago,” says Farmer, whose final stint in college coaching ended as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Western Michigan University in 2018. “Had I been lucky enough to play professionally for 10-12 years, I saw myself taking a coaching position at a high school. Unlike in coaching positions at the col lege and pro levels, you get to mold high school athletes, on and off the court.”

Friends had warned Farmer, a Gurnee resident, that retirement would bore him to rivers of tears. But he loved working out three times a week at a gym and heading out to a theater complex to watch a movie and inhale free popcorn practically every Tuesday.

He started writing a book, too. Role of a Life time will be available for readers on February 21, 2023.

“I was enjoying retirement,” Farmer says.

But a void in his career gnawed at him earlier this year.

“I didn’t want to be sitting at some senior center one day, regretting that I never coached high school basketball,” says Farmer, who, at the ohso-tender age of 30 in 1981, landed the coveted job of UCLA men’s basketball coach and guided squads at his alma mater to a combined record of 61-23 in three seasons.

Farmer applied for prep coaching jobs in the

team’s first gathering last month was Woodenesque.

“I told the girls, ‘I’m not here to try to win games,’ ” Farmer recounts. “ ‘I want nothing more than to help you become successful.’ ”

Wooden, a 10-time NCAA champion coach who retired in 1975 with a cartoonish career record of 620-147, died in 2010 at the age of 99. But his definition of success has a shelf life of forever: “Success,” he believed, “comes from know

and the impact he had on me as a player and as a person. One of Coach Wooden’s rules was to acknowledge the success of your teammates. Dur ing my time at UCLA, whenever a player scored a basket off a pass, he’d point to the player who had delivered the pass while hustling back on defense.

“One of my players at Woodlands did that in a practice one day. I stopped the practice immedi ately, smiled, and yelled, ‘That’s what we do here!’ You know what? I’m having more fun at practice than the girls are.”

Farmer was a regular on the bench as a member of Manual High’s sophomore basketball team in the late 1960s. A fun sport had become a dreary activity. He’d logged more minutes of game action, barely, than the team manager had. The thought of burying his high tops six feet under pitched a tent in his mind.

“Last game of the season, the varsity and junior varsity teams needed players from the sophomore team,” Farmer says. “That meant that I would jump from last guy on the bench to the team’s eighth guy. Coach put me in with two minutes left. The first shot I took, I kind of threw it toward the rim. Somehow it went in.”

Farmer took two more shots in the waning moments, netting both of them to finish with six points.

“Career high!” shouts Farmer, the father of 33-year-old Larry (“Trey”) III, a Harvard men’s basketball assistant coach, and 26-year-old Ken dall, an Illinois Bone & Joint Institute physician’s assistant. “My career high before that game was one point, maybe two.

“An assistant coach pulled me aside after the game and encouraged me to work hard, to push myself, in the offseason. I chose to stick with basketball. Getting that opportunity, in that final game … divine intervention. Had to be.”

Farmer became a fixture on Colorado news papers’ all-state basketball teams after his senior season. Division-I college coaches courted him. He averaged 12.8 points per game in his final UCLA season and got drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA and the Denver Nuggets (when Denver was an ABA franchise).

He did not play pro ball.

Farmer then served as a UCLA grad assistant in 1973-1974, Bruins great Bill Walton’s senior season.

“Years later, I got the chance to introduce Coach Wooden to my children at a Final Four,” says Farmer, who coached men’s basketball at Loyola University-Chicago from 1998-2004. “He was super busy, but he found time to spend with them. You should have seen my kids’ attentive looks as they listened to Coach Wooden and talked with him.”

Farmer’s eyes well up.

Chicago area. Woodlands Academy responded first and put the former Golden State Warriors assistant coach (1990-1991) through two rounds of interviews.

His message to Woodlands’ Wildcats at the

ing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”

“That,” Farmer says, “is our basketball team’s foundation at Woodlands Academy. My players have heard a lot about John Wooden from me

“It reminded me of that day Coach Wooden got to know me in his office on my recruiting trip,” he says. “I loved John Wooden. You know how you can tell when someone loves you back? By the way they treat your children.”

Woodlands Academy’s new basketball coach Larry Farmer helped UCLA win three national championships under coach John Wooden.

Larry Farmer

I didn’t want to be sitting at some senior center one day, regretting that I never coached high school basketball.

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