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the glencoe anchor | February 16, 2017 | 13
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from GlencoeAnchor.com as of Feb. 13
1. How We Met Contest: Shifrins take home
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2. Glencoe sister duo Carly and Martina hits
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3. 10 Questions with Kalani Rennoe, New
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5. Dining Out: Gerhard’s provides elegant
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New Trier High School posted this photo,
writing: Some fun birthday celebrations
and a Trevian sighting! Pep Club gave out
freebies today at the Winnetka Campus in
honor of Founders Day #hbdnt
One year ago today, Writers Theatre held
our official building opening—Happy first
anniversary
Writers Theatre, @WritersTheatre,
tweeted this Feb. 8
40
Years
An intriguing number from this week’s edition
retiring Executive
Vice President and
Director Kris Jarantoski
has worked at the
Chicago Botanic Garden
(read the story on Page 3)
Good Day Glencoe
Oh to be back home
Jennifer Bennett
Contributing Columnist
Glencoe resident
Sometimes, you don’t
realize what you
have until it’s gone.
I remember in detail
how I felt when we moved
from Glencoe back to
North Carolina. I spent my
college years in Chapel
Hill and thought moving
back would just be the
most wonderful thing.
Raising my kids there,
showing them where I
went to school, revisiting
my favorite restaurants and
picture-perfect weather almost
year-round ... the best
move ever, right? Wrong!
Within days of arriving
in North Carolina, I was
longing to be back in Glencoe.
I tried to have an open
mind while I familiarized
myself as a mom in my
new but old surroundings.
However, as hard as I tried,
I could not stop thinking
about Glencoe.
And while the North
Carolina skies were sunfilled,
the people were
lovely and the town cute
and quaint, I still longed
to be back in Glencoe. We
moved to North Carolina
in the beginning of summer
and while we visited the
pools daily I could not get
over the fact that at this
time last year my kids and
I were walking to Glencoe
Beach, building sand castles
and cooling off in refreshing
Lake Michigan. Still, I
realized I needed to make
the most of this move for
both my family and myself
and stop living in the past.
So, we immersed ourselves
in all things North Carolina
and got involved at the
library, played at the parks,
visited town often and regularly
dined at old favorites.
I tried, believe me, I tried to
get that warm happy feeling
about North Carolina again,
but unfortunately it was
nowhere to be found.
I couldn’t stop thinking
about our days back in
Glencoe and how I loved
being able to walk or bike
everywhere. An easy walk
up to Foodstuffs for a delicious
sandwich topped off
by a scrumptious monster
bar. Or, how comfortable
and secure I felt sending
my oldest son up to the
Grand for some forgotten
tomato sauce. Or, how
easy it was to get over to
my kid’s schools for concerts,
class parties, or the
occasional sick pick-up.
And, although I can’t believe
I’m writing this, I do
love the change of seasons
(and yes, that does include
the winters). I absolutely
love that my kids get to go
ice skating for PE class.
That is just unheard of in
many places. Now, don’t
get me wrong, as North
Carolina is absolutely
beautiful and I spent many
years loving life there.
But at this moment in
my life I am so very happy
here in our wonderful little
town. Needless to say, our
move lasted a total of eight
months and we were back
in good ole Glencoe.
Jennifer Bennett is a Glencoe
mom who lives with her four
sweet boys and her loving
husband. She enjoys walking,
writing, biking, baking and
spending time with her family.
From the Editor
Hard work beats flash
Fouad Egbaria
fouad@glencoeanchor.com
Four decades is a
long time.
Last week I sat
down to talk to Kris
Jarantoski, who worked
at the Chicago Botanic
Garden for 40 years, most
recently as its executive
vice president and director.
He joined the garden
as an assistant horticulturist
in 1977, five years after
it opened.
He jokingly said that
upon visiting the garden
for the first time, it was
kind of a “dump.”
Weeds bigger than the
plants that are supposed
to be there? Soil so rough
horticulturists were breaking
it up with pick axes?
Does that sound like the
Chicago Botanic Garden
you’ve strolled about
today? Probably not.
Jarantoski’s story is
a one of dedication to a
vision. He told me even
though his first impression
of the garden’s aesthetics
wasn’t great, he was
attracted to the idea of
the place: the goals of the
people there and what
they thought it could
be. That type is forward
thinking is valuable — if
people only wanted to join
established ventures, then
the process of innovation
and creation takes a major
hit.
In his time at the
garden, numerous garden
spaces were added, taking
it from the relatively small
operation it was when it
started to an attraction that
has brought in more than
1 million visitors each of
the last four years. That,
doesn’t happen overnight.
You might read about
the big price tags on some
of the garden’s projects,
but the truth is that any
big operation, like the
Chicago Botanic Garden,
starts with simple, honest,
hard work, guided by a
vision.
Jarantoski’s response,
then, when I asked him
about his favorite plant —
arborvitae, or the “tree of
life” — made sense.
“It’s great year-round,”
he said. “It’s serviceable.
It’s not flashy, it’s not
showy. It’s great.”
Hard work often isn’t
flashy — but it usually
leads to greatness.
The Glencoe
Anchor
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