November 24, 2009
This is my first attempt at writing a weekly newsletter for our Kiwanis Club. I thought it would be a good idea to include the list of upcoming speakers, who's on for lunch duty, events that we are participating in, schedule of bingo, etc. At todays' meeting I was able to get information on some things that are coming up for our Club but I would appreciate it if you could forward me information you would like included so that I can get in the next newsletter. If there is other information you would like included, please let me know.
Barbara Ryan
Bingo
There is no Bingo scheduled for December.
Happy Moments
Keith Christman was happy that Eldon Burk brought him into to Kiwanis a long time ago because he has made many good friends through the club.
John Burke was happy that his daughter and granddaughter (mostly granddaughter) were on their way to spend Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa!
Jim Grady was happy his daughter was home from college and even happier that when she returns there only be 17 days until they are both finished with college!
Holly was happy to be seeing family this Thanksgiving.
Michelle from first Midwest Bank was happy her mom has been cancer free for 10 years.
And Joel was happy (he thinks) to be going to Thanksgiving dinner at his sons house. I guess we will hear next week whether he was really happy or not!
Birthday's and Anniversaries
Just another reason to sing!
Jim Blue has managed to dodge the birthday song since October 12 but we did get to sing to him today!
Guests
Jay, Annetta, Terry and John from the Streamwood Club (which they claim is the best club around) joined us for lunch along with potential new member Heather Wallace.
Program
Securing Your Identity
presented by
First Midwest Bank
Our thanks to Christen Osowski, Branch Manager, for her very informative talk on identity theft.
Other News
Joel announced that we have received the gavel and need to pass it on in the next few weeks. Any one who has completed "Gavel Passing 101" and would like to share their ideas with Joel should please do so!
~ Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. ~
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Rainbow Animal Assisted Therapy - Aug 4, 2009
Susan Burrows of 
Rainbow Animal Assisted Therapy brought Ridley (one of her service dogs) to demonstrate some of the ways trained service dogs assist patients at hospitals. These service dogs work mainly with children and can sense when a child may need additional comforting. They are able to get kids to do things ( like moving injured parts of their body) when the child will not do the task when requested to do so by an adult.
Rainbow Animal Assisted Therapy brought Ridley (one of her service dogs) to demonstrate some of the ways trained service dogs assist patients at hospitals. These service dogs work mainly with children and can sense when a child may need additional comforting. They are able to get kids to do things ( like moving injured parts of their body) when the child will not do the task when requested to do so by an adult.In the demonstration Ridley picked out a specific colored cup, went through a hoop and even played the piano.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
29 July Pass the Gavel Interclub
John Burke, Joel Bloom, Betty Wurster and Jim Grady attended the Park Ridge AM meeting on July 29th. 
At the meeting John presented Park Ridge president Larry Ryles with an appropriately decorated cake which contained "The Gavel". Here you see John presenting the cake to Larry and Larry expertly cutting the cake. After the presentation and retrieval of the gavel, the cake was enjoyed by all.
At the meeting John presented Park Ridge president Larry Ryles with an appropriately decorated cake which contained "The Gavel". Here you see John presenting the cake to Larry and Larry expertly cutting the cake. After the presentation and retrieval of the gavel, the cake was enjoyed by all.Tuesday, July 28, 2009
July 28 VITA
Cathy Niemet of VITA (Volunteers In Teaching Adults) spoke of the joy and need for teaching English as a second language. The program teaches English to both youths and adults.
The4 program is run by Oakton Community College and if anyone is interested in teaching ESL they can call 847-635-1426.
Fluency in a foreign language is NOT required.
Our own Dr Mike Bagby has been involved in this program for the past few months.
Todd Wessel presentation 21 July 2009
Todd Wessel’s speech about the state of the local newspaper industry. Presented before the Des Plaines Kiwanis 21 July 2009
The Chicago Tribune is in bankruptcy.
So is the Chicago Reader, one of the nation's premier alternative weeklies.
The San Francisco Chronicle and Atlanta Journal Constitution are each losing $1 million per day.
Pioneer Press, owned by the Chicago Sun Times Media Group, closed 12 of its weeklies earlier this year including the 124 year old Des Plaines Times.
The Sun-Times, their stock has plummeted to 8 cents a share.
The Daily Herald has had at least three rounds of layoffs.
The Tucson, AZ Citizen closed up shop in March as did The Seattle Post Intelligence.
The Rocky Mountain News, a great tabloid product that's been serving Denver also closed a few months ago. It wasn't able to find a buyer having been saddled with millions in debt as ad lineage plummeted.
Not since the Great Depression have SOME newspapers been in such dire straits. I want to emphasize the word SOME. Despite what you may have heard or read, the newspaper industry as a whole isn't about to fade away into oblivion.
The most frequently asked question I get from friends besides "How ya doin'" is "How you guys holding up at the Journal & Topics?" Take it a step further. What that question really means is, with the turmoil newspapers are experiencing all over, with many on the brink of collapse being victims of internet-mania, how can you hold on?"
I answer, "we're doing just fine" prompting a look of puzzlement and that "Oh yeah, right" look.
There is absolutely no question that throughout America, large daily newspapers are hurting and hurting bad. The horrors stories of bankruptcies, closings, downsizing, juggling, zigging, zagging, laying off staff, cutting pages and news and in the case of the Tribune, redesigning their entire look including going from broadsheet to tabloid size on the newsstands, are clearly indicative that a great upheaval is taking place. But that upheaval is not universal. Not all newspapers are on the brink of disaster. In fact, many are doing quite well, prospering, growing and gobbling up more and more of the market share as their larger brothers hang on for their dear lives. I'm glad to say, "we're doing just fine" at the Journal & Topics Newspapers. Knock on wood.
As with the nation's economy, the ups and downs of newspapers travel in cycles. Overall, however, newspapers in America have been a pretty stable industry. It’s where people across the country, from big cities to small villages get there news---the kind of information they can get in their mail box of front door step---on a regular basis. More importantly, it is the kind of information people can rely on.
We’re told that one of the main reasons large daily newspapers are in such a predicament is because of the emergence of the Internet. People are relying more and more on the World Wide Web for their information and thus newspapers are falling victim to this kind of electronic competition. I believe there’s some truth to that, especially when it comes to daily newspapers. Think about it; The society we now live in demands things instantly in their diet of news. When Barak Obama is sworn in as president, people would like to not only know about it right away, but also see it in real time from the home or office computer. An airplane makes a perfect landing on the Hudson River. People want to know about it within seconds and to Google the You Tube video to actually see the plane come in for a gentle landing. That’s the age we’re in. Speed and quickness. On a national or international level, the web can satisfy that insatiable appetite.
On a local level, things are much different.
In our newspapers recently, we published a story about Barak Obama. The story was about his visit here in 2004. To residents of Des Plaines and the Northwest suburbs, his visit here was big news. Reminding residents of his visit here was well received. Do you know that John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and George Bush, Sr. also visited Des Plaines? If you read the Journal & Topics you would. If you read the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, you probably would never have known that. And, who cares? Well, the people of Des Plaines and the region care and that's something they're proud of. That type of news is very important and relevant to them. And for us at the newspaper, it's exclusive, which brings us to something that's very vital to our survival, profitability and acceptance. As long as we publish LOCAL news---information that people cannot get anywhere else, the future will remain bright. If the information we print is obtainable elsewhere, such as on the Internet, well, our fate may mirror that of the nation's large dailies. In short, if people---most of whom are so busy that they find it hard just to
think--- want news about Moscow or the Gaza strip, they don't want to wait until the next day when the daily paper comes out. They want it now. And to get it now, they go to the Internet or cable TV. If those same people want to know when their street will be resurfaced, who's starring in the high school play, or when the youth baseball season starts, they won't go to the daily newspaper. It won't nor can it publish that information. The people will go to the LOCAL newspaper. It's the only solid, believable, comprehensive source of LOCAL information that provides information for the community as a whole.
The death of newspapers---even local newspapers---has been trumpeted for decades. In the 1920s, radio was going to put newspapers out of business. In the 1950s, TV was the dagger that would slash the life out of newspapers. I remember like it was yesterday when a Des Plaines alderman---an intelligent, nice guy, looked me square in the eye and proclaimed that local newspapers---including mine-- would be out of business within a couple of years because of the emergence of cable television. Before 1981, there was
no cable TV in Des Plaines or the Northwest suburbs. This new technology with the help of their new partners --- city government--- was going to minds and time of local residents thirsty for all kinds of information and entertainment. We were doomed, they said. Well, after half a dozen sales of local cable TV companies, and an increasing emphasis on movies, sports, and national TV yellfests, there's more reason to understand now more than ever before why Newton Minnow, the former chairman of the FCC-and a
well-respected Chicagoan--- labeled TV as that vast wasteland.
Again, the conversations I have with friends and acquaintances about the future of newspapers always comes back to my firm belief that despite everything you hear from some in the media, our future is bright. Fads and misguided beliefs and talk about certain media going by the way of dinosaurs will continue. As long as newspapers stay true to their calling~they'll be fine. There's a reason why the Founding Fathers bestowed on the
.press Constitutional protections no other business enjoys. It's because we play a major, well-defined role in how this American society functions. If we deviate from that calling, we're all in trouble. If we stay true to the calling, everyone wins. Good journalism and good service breeds success that even the Internet or cable TV can't destroy or replace.
On a related subject, I'd like to add a few comments about the closing of 12 weekly newspapers in the Northwest suburbs earlier this year. Pioneer Press, made the decision to shutter those newspapers due to declining circulation and advertising. It wasn't necessarily that the local products failed. The Sun Times Media Group, which owns Pioneer, has been gripped in a terrible situation fueled by the reckless spending of its former owner Conrad Black who is now filling out a prison sentence. Black's conviction along with many other complex factors, prompted the shutdowns.
I'm sure many of you in this room remember years ago when the Fulle and Herzog families published what was referred to as the "green sheet". In those days it was a strong LOCAL newspaper. The Journal & Topics and Times locked horns all the time trying to dig up stories and ads. Des Plaines was one of the few towns that not only had two weekly newspapers, but where two paper printing and newsgathering operations were located. Over time, the Times' ability to prosper and survive faded and around 1973, it was sold to a wealthy heir to the Time Magazine fortune. That new owner, James Linen, was an absentee owner. While he owned the Times papers for many years, I never met the man. He had many other business interests. Eventually, the newspapers were sold to Pioneer, which totally changed the appearance of the publications to conform with its tabloid look. Readers and the community became confused and over time, employees moved and the personality of the product changed as well.
The closing of a newspaper is a sad thing. It's not good for the community because it reduces the number of independent voices and perspectives. What does that mean for me? Contrary to some belief that now I can sit back and enjoy myself because the competition is much less, my belief that the pressure to do more and do better is more intense. Sit back and relax? Are you kidding? The people of Des Plaines and surrounding suburbs that we serve where Pioneer had newspapers now depend on us more than ever. If we rise to the occasion and continue to provide thorough, local coverage and service to our communities and readers, we'll be fine. If we attempt to / redefine ourselves to conform with the fads or false impressions, the day of the dinosaur may not be that far behind.
Todd Wessel’s talk about the book he wrote about his great uncle.
On another note, I would also like to tell you that after 16 years of research and writing, I've finally am happy to report that a new book on one of America's greatest yet least known athletes has been completed.
The book, named The One And Only, is about Charles W. Chic Harley, who was my great uncle, born in Chicago, spent much of his time in Des Plaines and was Ohio States' first, first time All American, first four sport letterman, and first three-time football All American 1916, 17 and 19.
The life of Chic Harley is a most remarkable story that stretches from the family's arrival from Ireland in the 18th century to his death in 1974.
Chic Harley was born in 1894 in Chicago after which his family moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1907 as his father, a Linotype operator, found a job to support his family of eight children.
In High School, Chic became a remarkable football player scoring 269 points form scrimmage, did most of the team's passing and all of its kicking at times kicking 8 extra points in a game.
From high school in Columbus he enrolled at Ohio State after being recruited by most of the big schools in the country.
Ohio State at that time was the baby of the Big Ten Conference having joined in 1913. In his three years, Harley was the undisputed star of team, scoring a total of 201 points in his 3 years and almost single handedly taking the team and school form obscurity to the very pinnacle of American college football. In his 3 years, OSU lost only one game, Harleys' last to Illinois when a field goal was kicked with just 8 seconds left. Harley, who stood only 5-ft. 8 inches tall and weighed 158 pounds. He blamed himself for the loss. But form those 3 seasons, the frenzy for football became so strong and people became so excited that the campaign to raise $1.3 million to build a new stadium was launched. That stadium, nicknamed the Horseshoe and The House That Harley Built now stands in Columbus and seats 101,000 having replaced an arena that seated 18,000 fans.
After college, Harley---the biggest name in football---was recruited by George Halas to play for a new team he just took over called the Decatur Staleys. Chic and his brother Bill were given one half ownership of the team. A year later in 1922, the Staleys changed their name to the Bears and with that came a legal battle over ownership of the team that contributed to Chic becoming mentally ill eventually being diagnosed a schizophrenic. It was an illness that stayed with him for the rest of his life robbing him of a life of happiness, fame and fortune and his desire to marry his high school and college sweetheart.
A few years later, Red Grange became a household name with the Bears while Chic Harley languished in a veterans administration hospital. In 1950, the AP conducted a poll of the top sportswriters and college coaches and named Chic and Thorpe to the first team, Grange to the second team. This alone exemplifies Chic Harleys' life of tragedy. I wrote the book as a promise to my father whose dream it was to make sure the story of his uncle would never be forgotten. I did not want to write another book about another great sports star. I wanted to write a human interest story about a very wonderful individual who led a most remarkable life of many ups and many downs.
Efforts to properly honor Chic are underway in Columbus with the end result hopefully being the building of a statue in front of the Horseshoe. A statue honoring Red Grange is scheduled to go up on front of Memorial Stadium this fall.
The Chicago Tribune is in bankruptcy.
So is the Chicago Reader, one of the nation's premier alternative weeklies.
The San Francisco Chronicle and Atlanta Journal Constitution are each losing $1 million per day.
Pioneer Press, owned by the Chicago Sun Times Media Group, closed 12 of its weeklies earlier this year including the 124 year old Des Plaines Times.
The Sun-Times, their stock has plummeted to 8 cents a share.
The Daily Herald has had at least three rounds of layoffs.
The Tucson, AZ Citizen closed up shop in March as did The Seattle Post Intelligence.
The Rocky Mountain News, a great tabloid product that's been serving Denver also closed a few months ago. It wasn't able to find a buyer having been saddled with millions in debt as ad lineage plummeted.
Not since the Great Depression have SOME newspapers been in such dire straits. I want to emphasize the word SOME. Despite what you may have heard or read, the newspaper industry as a whole isn't about to fade away into oblivion.
The most frequently asked question I get from friends besides "How ya doin'" is "How you guys holding up at the Journal & Topics?" Take it a step further. What that question really means is, with the turmoil newspapers are experiencing all over, with many on the brink of collapse being victims of internet-mania, how can you hold on?"
I answer, "we're doing just fine" prompting a look of puzzlement and that "Oh yeah, right" look.
There is absolutely no question that throughout America, large daily newspapers are hurting and hurting bad. The horrors stories of bankruptcies, closings, downsizing, juggling, zigging, zagging, laying off staff, cutting pages and news and in the case of the Tribune, redesigning their entire look including going from broadsheet to tabloid size on the newsstands, are clearly indicative that a great upheaval is taking place. But that upheaval is not universal. Not all newspapers are on the brink of disaster. In fact, many are doing quite well, prospering, growing and gobbling up more and more of the market share as their larger brothers hang on for their dear lives. I'm glad to say, "we're doing just fine" at the Journal & Topics Newspapers. Knock on wood.
As with the nation's economy, the ups and downs of newspapers travel in cycles. Overall, however, newspapers in America have been a pretty stable industry. It’s where people across the country, from big cities to small villages get there news---the kind of information they can get in their mail box of front door step---on a regular basis. More importantly, it is the kind of information people can rely on.
We’re told that one of the main reasons large daily newspapers are in such a predicament is because of the emergence of the Internet. People are relying more and more on the World Wide Web for their information and thus newspapers are falling victim to this kind of electronic competition. I believe there’s some truth to that, especially when it comes to daily newspapers. Think about it; The society we now live in demands things instantly in their diet of news. When Barak Obama is sworn in as president, people would like to not only know about it right away, but also see it in real time from the home or office computer. An airplane makes a perfect landing on the Hudson River. People want to know about it within seconds and to Google the You Tube video to actually see the plane come in for a gentle landing. That’s the age we’re in. Speed and quickness. On a national or international level, the web can satisfy that insatiable appetite.
On a local level, things are much different.
In our newspapers recently, we published a story about Barak Obama. The story was about his visit here in 2004. To residents of Des Plaines and the Northwest suburbs, his visit here was big news. Reminding residents of his visit here was well received. Do you know that John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and George Bush, Sr. also visited Des Plaines? If you read the Journal & Topics you would. If you read the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, you probably would never have known that. And, who cares? Well, the people of Des Plaines and the region care and that's something they're proud of. That type of news is very important and relevant to them. And for us at the newspaper, it's exclusive, which brings us to something that's very vital to our survival, profitability and acceptance. As long as we publish LOCAL news---information that people cannot get anywhere else, the future will remain bright. If the information we print is obtainable elsewhere, such as on the Internet, well, our fate may mirror that of the nation's large dailies. In short, if people---most of whom are so busy that they find it hard just to
think--- want news about Moscow or the Gaza strip, they don't want to wait until the next day when the daily paper comes out. They want it now. And to get it now, they go to the Internet or cable TV. If those same people want to know when their street will be resurfaced, who's starring in the high school play, or when the youth baseball season starts, they won't go to the daily newspaper. It won't nor can it publish that information. The people will go to the LOCAL newspaper. It's the only solid, believable, comprehensive source of LOCAL information that provides information for the community as a whole.
The death of newspapers---even local newspapers---has been trumpeted for decades. In the 1920s, radio was going to put newspapers out of business. In the 1950s, TV was the dagger that would slash the life out of newspapers. I remember like it was yesterday when a Des Plaines alderman---an intelligent, nice guy, looked me square in the eye and proclaimed that local newspapers---including mine-- would be out of business within a couple of years because of the emergence of cable television. Before 1981, there was
no cable TV in Des Plaines or the Northwest suburbs. This new technology with the help of their new partners --- city government--- was going to minds and time of local residents thirsty for all kinds of information and entertainment. We were doomed, they said. Well, after half a dozen sales of local cable TV companies, and an increasing emphasis on movies, sports, and national TV yellfests, there's more reason to understand now more than ever before why Newton Minnow, the former chairman of the FCC-and a
well-respected Chicagoan--- labeled TV as that vast wasteland.
Again, the conversations I have with friends and acquaintances about the future of newspapers always comes back to my firm belief that despite everything you hear from some in the media, our future is bright. Fads and misguided beliefs and talk about certain media going by the way of dinosaurs will continue. As long as newspapers stay true to their calling~they'll be fine. There's a reason why the Founding Fathers bestowed on the
.press Constitutional protections no other business enjoys. It's because we play a major, well-defined role in how this American society functions. If we deviate from that calling, we're all in trouble. If we stay true to the calling, everyone wins. Good journalism and good service breeds success that even the Internet or cable TV can't destroy or replace.
On a related subject, I'd like to add a few comments about the closing of 12 weekly newspapers in the Northwest suburbs earlier this year. Pioneer Press, made the decision to shutter those newspapers due to declining circulation and advertising. It wasn't necessarily that the local products failed. The Sun Times Media Group, which owns Pioneer, has been gripped in a terrible situation fueled by the reckless spending of its former owner Conrad Black who is now filling out a prison sentence. Black's conviction along with many other complex factors, prompted the shutdowns.
I'm sure many of you in this room remember years ago when the Fulle and Herzog families published what was referred to as the "green sheet". In those days it was a strong LOCAL newspaper. The Journal & Topics and Times locked horns all the time trying to dig up stories and ads. Des Plaines was one of the few towns that not only had two weekly newspapers, but where two paper printing and newsgathering operations were located. Over time, the Times' ability to prosper and survive faded and around 1973, it was sold to a wealthy heir to the Time Magazine fortune. That new owner, James Linen, was an absentee owner. While he owned the Times papers for many years, I never met the man. He had many other business interests. Eventually, the newspapers were sold to Pioneer, which totally changed the appearance of the publications to conform with its tabloid look. Readers and the community became confused and over time, employees moved and the personality of the product changed as well.
The closing of a newspaper is a sad thing. It's not good for the community because it reduces the number of independent voices and perspectives. What does that mean for me? Contrary to some belief that now I can sit back and enjoy myself because the competition is much less, my belief that the pressure to do more and do better is more intense. Sit back and relax? Are you kidding? The people of Des Plaines and surrounding suburbs that we serve where Pioneer had newspapers now depend on us more than ever. If we rise to the occasion and continue to provide thorough, local coverage and service to our communities and readers, we'll be fine. If we attempt to / redefine ourselves to conform with the fads or false impressions, the day of the dinosaur may not be that far behind.
Todd Wessel’s talk about the book he wrote about his great uncle.
On another note, I would also like to tell you that after 16 years of research and writing, I've finally am happy to report that a new book on one of America's greatest yet least known athletes has been completed.
The book, named The One And Only, is about Charles W. Chic Harley, who was my great uncle, born in Chicago, spent much of his time in Des Plaines and was Ohio States' first, first time All American, first four sport letterman, and first three-time football All American 1916, 17 and 19.
The life of Chic Harley is a most remarkable story that stretches from the family's arrival from Ireland in the 18th century to his death in 1974.
Chic Harley was born in 1894 in Chicago after which his family moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1907 as his father, a Linotype operator, found a job to support his family of eight children.
In High School, Chic became a remarkable football player scoring 269 points form scrimmage, did most of the team's passing and all of its kicking at times kicking 8 extra points in a game.
From high school in Columbus he enrolled at Ohio State after being recruited by most of the big schools in the country.
Ohio State at that time was the baby of the Big Ten Conference having joined in 1913. In his three years, Harley was the undisputed star of team, scoring a total of 201 points in his 3 years and almost single handedly taking the team and school form obscurity to the very pinnacle of American college football. In his 3 years, OSU lost only one game, Harleys' last to Illinois when a field goal was kicked with just 8 seconds left. Harley, who stood only 5-ft. 8 inches tall and weighed 158 pounds. He blamed himself for the loss. But form those 3 seasons, the frenzy for football became so strong and people became so excited that the campaign to raise $1.3 million to build a new stadium was launched. That stadium, nicknamed the Horseshoe and The House That Harley Built now stands in Columbus and seats 101,000 having replaced an arena that seated 18,000 fans.
After college, Harley---the biggest name in football---was recruited by George Halas to play for a new team he just took over called the Decatur Staleys. Chic and his brother Bill were given one half ownership of the team. A year later in 1922, the Staleys changed their name to the Bears and with that came a legal battle over ownership of the team that contributed to Chic becoming mentally ill eventually being diagnosed a schizophrenic. It was an illness that stayed with him for the rest of his life robbing him of a life of happiness, fame and fortune and his desire to marry his high school and college sweetheart.
A few years later, Red Grange became a household name with the Bears while Chic Harley languished in a veterans administration hospital. In 1950, the AP conducted a poll of the top sportswriters and college coaches and named Chic and Thorpe to the first team, Grange to the second team. This alone exemplifies Chic Harleys' life of tragedy. I wrote the book as a promise to my father whose dream it was to make sure the story of his uncle would never be forgotten. I did not want to write another book about another great sports star. I wanted to write a human interest story about a very wonderful individual who led a most remarkable life of many ups and many downs.
Efforts to properly honor Chic are underway in Columbus with the end result hopefully being the building of a statue in front of the Horseshoe. A statue honoring Red Grange is scheduled to go up on front of Memorial Stadium this fall.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
21 July 2009
Todd Wessel of the Des Plaines Journal spoke about the state of local newspapers. He also spoke about a book he has written about his great uncle Chick Harley who was a star halfback at Ohio State before Red Grange even went to the University of Illinois.
Todd's full speech regarding the newspaper bushiness will be published here later in the week.
Todd's full speech regarding the newspaper bushiness will be published here later in the week.
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