SVM_Lake Lifestyle_December 2024 by Shaw Media

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Library gets Twice the bang for their books

Go with the snow: Where to ski this winter

Customers get the deLuxx treatment at new restaurant

Want to learn something new? Give it the old college try

DECEMBER 2024

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DECEMBER 2024

here others see a twig, a pile of rocks or a stray piece of mulch, Len Masella sees a tree, a mountain or a shingle for a roof.

They’re all pieces of a puzzle that have come together to reveal a picture of someone with a big imagination who created a small world, a diminutive diorama that came about naturally, built by hand in the basement of his Lake Carroll home.

Masella is both conductor and craftsman, guiding his tiny trains on a trip that winds through his basement, surrounded by scenery that he engineered mostly from objects he’s picked up around his home — a scrap of wood here, a branch there.

“I cut out what I need,” Masella said. “I use a bunch of different sticks. I make everything, every house is made with my own cut wood.”

Len Masella works on his train set-up in the basement of his home in Lake Carroll. The set-up (facing page) fills 2 1/2 sheets of plywood

The setup is a testament to his love of model railroading and his creativity. Retired for nearly 30 years, Masella took the free time on his hands and used it to make a small world. Working with HO-scale trains — with 0.65-inch wide tracks (about 1/87th of the standard gauge that makes up a real track) — he’s laid around 90 feet of track that works its way around the edges, winds through inner and outer rings, and branches off spur lines that meander around the middle.

The tracks are nestled among houses, a church, a barn with silos, a building frame, and varying terrain, all put together by the 84-year-old Masella. His current setup is about half the size of his previous one, which he took down a few years ago.

“Once I retired 27 years ago, I had to come up with a hobby,” Masella said. “This is my second train table. My first train table had 5 1/2 sheets of plywood, and this one has 2 1/2. I decided there wasn’t any more that I could do with the first one, so I took it down.”

Buildings typically take him about three weeks to put together, but one piece came to his current set-up ready made and it’s a ghost of the past. He brought the ghoulish Ghost Mountain over from his previous display and it sits on a corner of the current setup where two tracks travel through a tunnel, beneath an critter’s claw foot and dripping blood to conjure up chills and tingle the spine.

Wishing Lake Carroll a safe and wonderful holiday season!

Above: Len brought this piece, Ghost Mountain, over from his previous set-up. Dripping blood and a critter’s claws make for a spinetingling train ride through its tunnel.

Masella’s two-track mind relies mostly on inspiration for his designs, oftentimes coming across the building materials first and then letting them inspire his creations. Rocks become boulders, moss becomes foliage, pine cones become trees. Some pieces find a home right away, while others are set aside until he finds just the right spot.

“Before I come down here to work, I don’t really have any ideas,” Masella said. “I first painted the wood and laid out the track, and then I just build a house and put it someplace, and build this and that and put them some place. It’s a lot of work out here.”

There’s no real master plan for the nearly 60 cars and engines that scoot around the tracks wither. There are box cars and tanker cars, some plain and some with advertising on them. It’s whatever Masella feels like hooking together. Some of them even sit on their side beside the tracks after derailing.

The Northwest Illinois Model Railroading Club in Chadwick was featured in the Spring 2021 edition of Carroll County Living. The club consists of model railroad enthusiasts in the area, and it opens its doors to the public for occasional open houses (find it on Facebook for updates). Go to issuu.com/shawmedia/ docs/carroll living 021521/18 to read the story.

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Masella didn’t always have a keen fascination with trains, even while growing up around real railroads such as the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy or Milwaukee Road that strung along the Illinois landscape, where he worked for ComEd for 35 years, climbing Chicago power line poles as a troubleman before he retired. He and his wife of 61 years, Rose Ann, moved to Lake Carroll from their previous home in

Mount Prospect 28 years ago. When he did take up trains as a hobby though, that electrical knowledge came in handy. Getting the setup wired and keeping the trains moving comes easy for the longtime ComEd worker. But though he made a living troubleshooting electrical issues, don’t look for any power lines or poles on his set-up. He prefers to keep things simple, with a more classic, rural look.

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The creative part of the process was something new for Masella, but it’s a talent that didn’t take him long to tap into, and one that’s proved beneficial, said Rose Ann.

“He’s artistic,” she said. “It’s kept him active, and he enjoys it. It’s a relaxing thing. You got to have the imagination to do it.”

A visit to the couples’ home isn’t complete without a trip downstairs to see the display.

“I have some people who will come by and they get to see them,” Len said. “We’ll turn it on and talk about anything. Sometimes they’ll just stand in one spot for 10 minutes and look at it. They’ll say it’s nice to have finally come down to look at this.”

The setup was favorite attraction for the Masellas’ three granddaughters growing up, and now their 5-year-old greatgrandson Mason is all aboard with it.

“He loves to come and operate the train, and I’ll tell him what he can do and what he can’t do,” Len said. “He’s real smart. The first time he saw it, he thought he was going to take it home.”

“He loves to have his great-grandpa with him at the table

when he comes, he loves the trains,” Rose Ann added.

The kids aren’t the only family members who’ve spent time in the rails. Rose Ann has been a big help to her husband.

“I was working on a house recently and had trouble with it,” Len said. “It aggravates me, but she talked to me last night and she said, ‘It’s going to come, just wait, it will come.’ When I start building, I want to have a feel for what I’m doing. She can take a lot of credit for something; she’ll tell me, ‘No, that’s not right,’ or ‘That doesn’t look good,’ and she’s right. When I stop and look at it again, she’s right.”

Len also spends time making the rounds at model railroad shows — where he’s yet to see a set-up like his one-of-akind creation — and exploring the selections at hobby shops. Those visits connect him with fellow enthusiasts, some of whom he keeps in touch with; one of them designs models based on pictures taken of old towns.

For Len, the train trip from electrical worker to engineer has been one that he’s enjoyed taking, and he just keeps chugging along.

“It occupies my time,” Len said. “I spend a lot of time down here and I just enjoy doing it. I just put it together as I go.”

hen people want to learn a new skill or pick up tips, there’s no shortage of DIY videos online. You can YouTube your way through just about anything, and with Artificial Intelligence getting smarter every day, there aren’t too many questions you can’t find the answer to online.

While clicking through tips and tutorials online has its place, there are still some things technology can’t do yet. You can’t ask a pre-recorded video a question, and AI can’t give you a handson learning experience.

But a college class can.

Don’t worry: You won’t be sweating over grades or cramming for finals. These are the kinds of classes that can help you pick up a new skill, start a new hobby, or learn to play a new sport. No GPAs or ACTs or SATs, just DIY learning.

Even better? You don’t have

go far to find classes like these. Through the Lifelong Learning program at Highland Community College in Freeport, and the Business and Community Education program at Sauk Valley Community College in Dixon, adults will find a host of classes only a half-hour away from Lake Carroll — and who knows? You might even make new friends with similar interests. These classes can also be a good way to get out of the house during the winter, when we all get a little fed up with our own four walls.

Want to learn how to weld yard art or play the ukulele? How about better managing your finances or other issues in life? Both Sauk and Highland offer a variety of personal and professional development courses, and there’s no college credit accumulated, so there’s no stacking the gen ed credits through them en route to the associate degree. However, becoming acquainted with the colleges and what they offer has inspired students to continue their learning and take the plunge to pursue a certification or two-year degree through standard college classes.

Some students have taken on the challenge of taking a different course each semester for many years, and there have been many friendships made along the way, Highland Lifelong Learning Coordinator Rebecca Anderson said.

“In one of our creative arts classes people came to, they happened to be in a group of women where nobody knew each other, but by the end of that class they were best friends and they said, ‘What should we take next?’” Anderson said. “As a group of strangers who had never met before, they were saying, ‘I was thinking about taking that one, too, are you going to sign up?’ Now they’re friends outside of our Lifelong Learning program.”

Jackie Schultz and Rebecca Anderson of Highland Community College’s Lifelong Learning program coordinate several how-to and arts classes, as well as historical lectures, for the general public.

Many of Highland Community College’s Lifelong Learning classes take place at various locations in northwest Illinois, such as its “Galentine’s Day” wood floral bouquet class at Lena Brewing Company in Lena, sunflower weaving class (top) at Higher Grounds Coffee in Freeport, and a beginner watercolor painting class (below) at Elizabeth Business Hub in Elizabeth. PHOTO COURTESY HIGHLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE

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Among Sauk’s business and community education offerings are its College for Kids program (left) for grades 3 through 8, retirement planning (above), and phlebotomy technician training (below).

he end” doesn’t have to be the end for a book — all it needs is some good friends and a place to go where it can live happily ever after, and in Lanark it’s got both.

Thanks to a group of volunteers, books are getting a longer shelf life at Twice-Sold Tales, a used bookstore operated by the Friends of the Lanark Public Library, which is the library’s fundraising organization. Proceeds from sales of books — which can run anywhere from 10 cents for a small children’s book to 5 bucks for a new hardcover — help support the library’s mission.

Denise Krysiak of Lanark leads a group of about 20 volunteers, many of whom are former school teachers.

“It’s a place for people who love books to send their books when they don’t know what to do with them, when they can’t bear to throw them out,” Krysiak said. “You never know what you’re going to get in here. We’ve had real wild things come through.”

Twice-Sold Tales volunteer Rebecca Koening checks through books at the store. “We get people from Lake Carroll who go south for the winter come in and get some stuff,” she said. “Someone recently was flying somewhere and got a couple of paperbacks.”

Twice-Sold Tales bookstore carries a variety of genres — non-fiction, fiction, fantasy, young adults, sci-fi, and more. It also has a selection of large-print books. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Fill out a form (right) and the staff will keep an eye out for your requests.

There’s not too many topics you won’t find at the shop, from fiction to nonfiction, mysteries, westerns, drama, religion, sci-fi, gardening, decorating, knitting and quilting, self help, travel, history, humor and more. There’s no shortage of cookbooks, too — from local churches’ to mainstream publishers’ — that’ll inspire countless culinary creations.

“You name a topic, we got it,” Krysiak said. Books range from gently used to as good as new. Titles published in the last year or two have their own special section, and many come in giftable condition.

Plenty of children’s books are available as well, and some are sorted in bins according to appropriate grade level, a system attributed to the volunteers’ experiences as teachers. Krysiak and her volunteers have spent more time in recent years getting the word out about its small-town one-stop book shop. Since the store opened in 2011, it has raised nearly $79,000, which has helped the library with the purchase of large print books, computers and software upgrades, and opportunities for author and historian meet-and-greets.

Last year saw the store’s best sales yet at around $6,800, and that figure was already met this year by October.

“We’re getting better known, and word is getting around,” Krysiak said. “Word of mouth is helping a lot. We’re on Facebook now, and we’re getting a better idea of what our customers want.”

Can’t find the book you’re looking for? Or want to delve more into a certain subject or genre? Shoppers can put their requests on a list and when titles come in that fit the bill, the staff will set them aside. About 100 new books come in each month, so there’s a good chance a customer’s request will turn up.

The request list setup is something the store is “proud to have,” Krysiak said.

“We won’t say it will come in right away, but eventually it all comes in,” she said. “If you tell us that you want any sci-fi, we’ll let you know when we get any sci-fi.”

Books aren’t all you’ll find at Twice-Sold Tales. Puzzles, DVDs, piano books and sheet music, audio books and even some vinyl records also are available. What aren’t found are magazines (sorry, no Lake Lifestyles accepted), books with serious damage, encyclopedias or books from Harlequin and Silhouette romance novel collections — “they don’t sell,” Krysiak said, noting that the staff has to be mindful of how much space the store has to work with. Also not found are credit card readers: It’s cash only at Twice-Sold Tales.

The store began as a way to shed some of the donated books that had been piling up at the library’s former home.

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Denise Krysiak, general manager of Twice-Sold Tales, enjoys helping customers find a new tale to read and providing a place where books can find a new home. “As a former reading teacher, I really like being able to get the books off to the kids and young people,” she said. “I love talking about books with people who come in.”

When the library moved to its current location, in town hall, the staff came up with a plan to sell the extra books during a one-day fundraiser. The fundraiser turned into two days, then three, and eventually became the basis of a standalone store in May 2011, originally located in Lanark attorney Kipp Meyers’ downtown building before it moved to its current location on the town’s southwest side in February 2013.

The bookstore is located inside The Special Touch clothing and home decor store, in space donated by store owner Rosemary Flikkema. Like the books themselves, the fixtures tell a tale of finding a second life for things: shelves came from Northern Illinois University after its library was renovated, and spinner racks came from surplus from the Eastland School District in town.

“Rosemary generously donated all of this space, and she’s been very, very cooperative because we’ve expanded outward,” Krysiak said. “We were only supposed to go back to the counter, and only supposed to go to the edge of where the bookcases were. We don’t pay rent, we don’t pay utilities, it’s just astonishing how wonderful she’s been to us. It’s marvelous, we really do have all the room we need.”

As for the shop’s name, that was Krysiak’s creation: “We’re selling them twice, so why don’t we just call it Twice-Sold Tales?” she said.

Twice-Sold Tales also sells puzzles, DVDs, piano books and sheet music, audio books and even some vinyl records.

When volunteers, such as Rebecca Koening, aren’t helping customers, they’re sorting through donations, and they’re happy to see books find new homes.

“We’ve had some instances where people were going to throw the books in dumpsters, and then someone hears about it and calls Denise,” Koening said. “There was nothing wrong with the books, but people didn’t want to deal with them.”

“People come in and say they don’t know what to do with their books, or know what to do with Grandpa’s books and don’t want to throw them away,” Krysiak said. “I want to applaud our volunteers, because they don’t have to do this, they don’t get paid anything for it, they do it out of the goodness of their heart and to support the library – and because they love sitting around books.”

Donations are always welcome — just call ahead to arrange a time to drop them off.

If you’re a book-loving bargain hunter, Twice-Sold Tales has semiannual half-off sales in May and November, and an afterChristmas sale. Sometimes, there’ll also be on overstock sale, when the donations start to pile up, but that’s something the shop hasn’t had to deal with for a couple years.

Twice-Sold Tales, 504 W. state Route 64 in Lanark, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Find it on Facebook, email dek645@gmail.com or call 815-238-4763 for more information. Proceeds from sales go to the Friends of the Lanark Public Library, the fundraising arm of Lanark’s library.

The library, 111 S. Broad St., is open noon5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, noon-7:30 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m.3 p.m. Saturday. Find it on Facebook or call 815-493-2166 for more information.

Volunteers have seen customers from throughout northwest Illinois come in since the shop opened 13 years ago; some are regulars, some are first-timers who dropped in after passing by the shop along the highway many times, and some are snowbirds and frequent travelers looking for something to read during the trip, Koening said.

“We get people from Lake Carroll who go south for the winter come in and get some stuff,” Koening

said. “Someone recently was flying somewhere and got a couple of paperbacks.”

The tales never get old when they are twice sold, and Krysiak, Koening and their fellow volunteers enjoy seeing books find a new friend. Like literary travel agents, they love helping customers book a trip through the pages of the titles and topics found on their shelves, and hearing about their customers’ journeys.

Krysiak herself has discovered books that she didn’t think would interest her at first, and has helped customers to do the same.

“As a former reading teacher, I really like being able to get the books off to the kids and young people,” Krysiak said. “I love talking about books with people who come in and share their thoughts and ideas. … It’s become pretty vibrant.”

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PHOTO COURTESY OF BARTLETT PARK DISTRICT

Luxx de TREATMENT THE

Olloman “Sonny” Dalipi long dreamed of owning a restaurant, like his parents, but with a different flavor — and a lot of flair. “My forté was always finer dining,” he said. “... I wanted to take what my family did and take it a step further.” In April that dream came true when he opened LUXX.

His dad, Mike Dalipi, helped create the menu, and his mom makes one of the dessert options, tiramisu — “homemade every morning,” says Sonny.

The menu, which changes seasonally, offers a selection of fine dining options overseen by executive chef Daniel Dickman. Seafood options include salmon, shrimp, scallops, lobster tails and lobster risotto — fresh and never frozen, Dalipi said — with beef choices sourced from a farm in McHenry County consisting of rib-eyes, New York strip steaks and filet mignons, as well as lamb and pork chops.

“Our beef comes from a local farm in Hampshire — certified Black Angus,” he said. “It’s packaged at the farm. … The filet mignons and cuts of beef … are exceptional.”

Pasta dishes include chicken Parmesan, piccata and marsala; shrimp linguini, rigatoni, fettuccine Alfredo. Gluten-free pasta options also are available. Threecourse options can also be arranged with smaller servings of meat, pastas and salads. Specials are announced regularly on its Facebook page.

One entree, the Pasta in Onore di Sonny, gives customers an opportunity to see it prepared at their table. The dish of buttered fettuccine, parmigiana and herbs serves two, and can be enhanced with one’s choice of chicken, shrimp or an 8-ounce lobster tail.

PHOTO: FRANK PHOTOS — FRANKPHOTOSLLC.COM

Dessert options include tiramisu, creme brûlée and Godiva cheesecake. Want to enjoy a drink? The bar seats seven, along with a pair of comfortable chairs nearby for a more cozy atmosphere. Handcrafted cocktails include a susina sangria of plum sangria, doladira, red wine and spice syrup, as well as a pera fica martini of pear and citrus vodka, lemon juice and fig syrup. A couple of flavors made with LUXX’s own house twist include a nocchiolato old fashioned of brown sugar pecan syrup, angostura bitters, black walnut bitters and old Forster bourbon, and the Luxxpresso of brown sugar pecan simple syrup, black coffee, espresso, coliform vanilla and Tito’s vodka.

Several wine options are available, with varieties coming from California, Italy and France, most by the bottle, with some offered by the glass — and if the evening is really special, you may decide to pop the cork on a bottle of the legendary Dom Pérignon champagne, which can run upwards of $600 a bottle.

Domestic, import and crafts beers also are available.

LUXX owner “Sonny” Dalipi and his staff strive to make every visit to his restaurant a memorable one.

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But before he could open his restaurant, he had to start with a clean slate — and some dishes and windows, too.

“I grew up washing dishes,” Dalipi said, recalling “humbling beginnings” in the business world. He said it was four years ago that he and his brother, Albert, with $80 to their name, went door to door with a bucket of soapy water and towels, pitching their window cleaning services. Their efforts bloomed into Sonny’s Professional Cleaning.

A few years later, he decided to take his first steps toward opening his own restaurant.

“The thing is — my forte was always finer dining,” Dalipi said. “My parents owned family-style restaurants, never something I wanted to replicate. I wanted to take what my family did and take it a step further.”

PHOTOS: LUXX THE RESTAURANT FACEBOOK PAGE

You can’t tell by looking at it now, but the sumptuous surroundings of Luxx used to be office space, before owner “Sonny” Dalapi transformed the building on the east end of Sterling into a dining destination. He also recently added an outdoor dining area, LUXX By The Garden, that customers will be able to enjoy when the weather warms up.

Not only did he take it a step further, he stepped it up, too.

LUXX found a home in a former office space that Dalipi completely transformed into an elegant dining destination. Walls were added, along with pillars and arches. Marble and granite were imported from Italy. He made space for a piano room, which provides entertainment on select nights, and it can be curtained off for private events.

“I really want to bring back the classical elegance of restaurants back in the day [offering] live music,” he said.

Outside, a recently built pergola, LUXX By The Garden, was added for those who want to enjoy dining outdoors.

PHOTO: FRANK PHOTOS — FRANKPHOTOSLLC.COM

It’s been quite a journey for “Sonny” Dalapi, from window washer to restaurant owner. A photo in LUXX’s lobby reads, in part, “Always dreaming of owning a restaurant like his father, Sonny started with nothing but a mop and a rag. While looking through the windows he cleaned, he imagined a place of his own. Each pane of glass was a promise to himself, a step closer to the warm glow of a beautiful restaurant he would one day call his own. His dreams were as clear as the windows he would leave behind.”

Dalipi said he and his staff have worked “very hard to have out-ofthis-world service” as part of the ambiance, and it’s been drawing compliments.

In LUXX’s lobby area, a lighted sign reads “The best memories are made at LUXX.” It’s become a favorite place for customers who want to grab a photo or snap a selfie, but that sign has also become a sentiment that sums up the story of Dalipi’s restaurant. For customers, many who were making reservations before LUXX had even opened, there’s been no shortage of memorable meals — and for Dalipi, having a restaurant to call his own has been unforgettable.

“I’m so inspired by my father, Michael; my brother, Albert; James Mertes, a dear friend [who’s] an attorney in Sterling and owns the building … how thankful I am to my lady Minka for supporting me when I had nothing.”

But perhaps more than anyone, Dalipi is thankful for the people who’ve helped him turn his dream into a reality: his customers.

“We would like to take a moment to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone,” read a post on LUXX’s Facebook page a few months after it opened. “ … Our establishment would not be possible without each and every one of you. We are deeply grateful for this wonderful community. Our goal was to make a long-lasting impact positively to our community, and your support has made that a reality.”

Shaw Media’s Renee Tomell contributed to this story. Cody Cutter can be reached at 815632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.

LUXX The Restaurant, 4001 E. Lincolnway in Sterling, is open 4-9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and 4 -10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Reservations are not required, but are encouraged for weekends. Find it on Facebook or Instagram (@luxxrestaurant), or call 779-297-7020 for reservations or more information.