Wenk

Meigs forever a memory

Even with all the challenges he still faces, I have not forgiven ex-Mayor Daley for his infamous midnight raid on Meigs Field a few years ago! The city certainly had more than enough “park space” along the lake, and nothing contributed more to the loss …Read More
Nothing like Lake Bluff Opening Day

I’m a sucker for Lake Bluff Baseball’s Opening Day! It’s tiny Lake Bluff at its best, as these wonderful volunteer dads and moms devote ridiculous amounts of time to the lucky kids who play in the Lake Bluff Youth Baseball Association. Most of the games …Read More
Bowling? Spare me

What has happened to bowling? When you walk into a modern “bowling center” now, it bears no resemblance to the sport we’ve enjoyed for generations! I can’t say I miss all the smoke that used to permeate those alleys, but it was heaviest in the …Read More

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Chuck Wenk’s column for April 12, 2012

I don’t remember everything about the Great Depression. Maybe that’s a good thing! I was only 4 when the stock market crashed in 1929, but by the time I was 8 or 9, in ’33 and ’34, I was certainly aware that almost everybody I …

Classy move

The political signs are gone … at least for a few months until the general election! Now we can enjoy the suddenly green grass and early-blooming flowers along Green Bay Road, Sheridan Road and throughout the North Shore without having to squint to read all …

My new friend in Highland Park settles in

Always take your own advice, I like to say. And I did. I always tell animal-lovers who lose a treasured pet to immediately go out and get another one. It doesn’t have to be the same kind, or have anything in common with the original …

Congratulations to an excellent Highland Park teacher

A wonderfully talented and dedicated Highland Park teacher has retired after 34 years! Kathy Weaver, who taught at Wayne Thomas and Oak Terrace schools, and was given the “Highland Park Mayor’s Award for the Arts” in 2003, plans to go out with a flourish. This …

The sweet taste of choice in Highland Park

In response to our recent fast-food breakfast tour, Bob Levi of Highland Park writes, “Regarding Chuck’s column in the Highland Park News – Has he tried the $4.95 design-your-own omelet at “Casa de Isaac & Moishe” just North of McDonald’s on First Street? Three ingredients …

Duke stole the show

I’ve rarely spoken about my long-time office mate, “Duke,” who has been sharing my office with me here in Highland Park for almost 30 years. Duke has always been a beautiful, green and yellow Blue Amazon parrot who loves me and my daughter, Wendy, spending …

Breakfast — so many choices

The breakfast wars are getting really fierce around here! I have always been a breakfast guy. I have a big, marginally heavy breakfast, maybe a light lunch, and little or no dinner, except on weekends after a martini. And I’ve talked about McDonald’s, and the …

It’s a small world

Just as World War II vets are vanishing into very few, so are the Munchkins! I see that Karl Slover, one of the last known actors in that group of over 100 “Munchkins” that appeared in “The Wizard of Oz” movie in 1939, just passed …

Dimaggio for an evening

There is no longer any sign of the old “Glickauf Auto Repair” shop on second street in Highland Park anymore, but every time I walk down that way a smile comes to my face as I think about Jerry, Rose, their son, Steve, and daughters …

Life in Highland Park, according to Noelle

It’s been awhile since I wrote a guest column for my boss and master, Chuck Wenk! While it’s a little tougher for him to get out and really walk me for miles and miles lately, I think he appreciates me even more these days because …

Dahl’s levity sorely needed

Steve Dahl is the answer … and here is the question: “What do the White Sox desperately need to do to spice up their radio broadcasts during this “rebuilding phase?” Having spent some time in the Sox booth myself during the “Go-Go White Sox years,” …

Bishov’s memory lives on

Jay Bishov, the cheerful, calm and likable star first baseman of all those tough Wenk softball teams, is gone, and I can’t believe it! What a good friend, attorney, golfer and eternally optimistic Cub fan this guy always was. And even with his own recent …

Santo finally made it

While it’s a shame Ron Santo couldn’t be here to make his Major League Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech this summer at Cooperstown, N.Y., I’m still glad he finally made it! Santo and Reds shortstop Barry Larkin will be inducted this year, and both …