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14 | November 8, 2018 | The wilmette beacon NEWS
wilmettebeacon.com
The Great Pumpkin Contest
Winner carves out scary owl
by hand sans power tools
Eric DeGrechie, Editor
Recently, we announced
our annual The Great
Pumpkin Contest was underway.
We even added a
wrinkle in our newsroom
this time around as we
carved our own. The staff
is still bragging about how
good they came out.
With that, they didn’t
hold a candle to the many
that came in from readers.
Not surprisingly based on
past contests, residents
were got very creative and
the decision to pick a final
winner was difficult.
In the end, we chose the
entry of Lydia Vassallo, of
Wilmette. The Wilmette
Junior High School student
carved out an owl all
by hand, no power tools.
For the win, Vassallo will
receive a $25 gift certificate
from Nick’s Neighborhood
Bar & Grill, 1168
Wilmette Ave.
Shawneee
From Page 10
Wilmette’s Lydia Vassalo
won our annual The Great
Pumpkin Contest with
her entry of a scary owl.
Photos submitted
Thank you to Nick’s for
the prize and to all who
participated in The Great
Pumpkin Contest. Please
look out for The Beacon’s
next contest, The Holiday
Greeting Card Contest.
years.
“In the old days if your
car reached 30,000 (30K)
miles, you were lucky but
then they had only a radio
and a heater,” he said.
“Now cars easily reach
100,000 miles and have
five or six computers running
things inside it. Car
mechanics no longer service
newer cars like they
did in previous years—
taking a car apart and putting
it back together again.
Now auto technicians
must be trained to service
them.”
He continued most cars
made today are some version
of an SUV and do not
have distinctive designs
they once did.
“The designs are similar,”
Marvin said. “There
are a few convertibles,
smaller cars in the mix.
The improvements are
more sales-directed.”
There is one piece of
auto care advice he gives
to customers regardless of
advances in car technology.
Marvin still suggests car
owners change a vehicle’s
oil twice a year.
“We recommend changing
oil in spring and fall,”
he said. “It’s easy to remember
that way. Always
put safety first.”
Marvin is a family man.
He and his wife, Pat, are
Wilmette’s Kang Zhang
sent us this entry of
Tinkerbell.
Wilmette’s Laura Horwitz
sent us this entry of her
cat pumpkin.
the parents of seven children.
The couple recently celebrated
their 65th wedding
anniversary with their children,
18 grandchildren and
5 great-grandchildren.
Marvin’s son Phil Marvin
is following in his father’s
footsteps.
“Phil loves the business,”
he said.
Marvin attributes the
success of the Shawnee
Service Center to his customers.
“We always put our
customers first and take
care of them with absolute
honestly,” Marvin
said. “We say thank you to
our customers and mean
it!”
Curator Jeremy Murray stands in front of the Kenilworth Historical Society’s new
exhibit, “Distinctively His Own… The Life of George W. Maher.” Alexa Burnell/22nd
Century Media
New exhibit pays tribute to
famed Kenilworth architect
Alexa Burnell
Freelance Reporter
The Kenilworth Historical
Society’s new exhibit,
“Distinctively His Own…
The Life of George W.
Maher,” explores the life
of the famed architect and
how his work greatly impacted
the framework of
the village.
Maher moved to Kenilworth
in 1893, working
with fellow architect J.L.
Silsbee. He built his home
at 424 Warwick Road,
which still exists today.
In total, he constructed 40
buildings in Kenilworth,
mainly residential, but
also the former Rugby
School located at 320 Lester
St. and the historic Kenilworth
Club.
He was influential in the
development of the village,
proposing structural
improvement plans such as
widening Park Drive. Maher
was also responsible
for converting the grounds
of the North Shore Golf
Club to residential property
in the early 1920’s.
Maher’s overarching
goal was to make the Village
of Kenilworth attractive,
relying on limestone
for benches and bridges
that still exist throughout
the neighborhood. He also
constructed the Kenilworth
Pillars and was instrumental
in the development of
the fountain that lies east
of the tracks today.
Maher developed his
own theory known as Motif-Rhythm
— a style of
architecture that included
a motif that was used consistently
inside and outside
a home or building. For
example, he created the
“diamond-on-a-stem” motif
on the exterior of the
Kenilworth Club, and this
pattern is seen throughout
the building today. Other
notable motifs include the
thistle, selected for the Patten
house in Evanston and
the poppy for the Corbin
home in Kenilworth. He
was also known to blend a
mix of Prairie style architecture
with Arts & Craft
style.
Although Maher was
enormously talented and
made a positive impact on
the community, he struggled
with mental health issues,
primarily depression
and insomnia, ending his
own life in 1926.
Curator Jeremy Murray
hopes that the exhibit will
show how Maher’s spirit
lives on in Kenilworth, today.
“I hope that through this
exhibit, people learn more
about the history of the
community and the impact
that George Maher has on
the Village,” Murray said.
“What I really love about
this exhibit is that it offers
a little bit of something
for everyone. If there are
architect buffs out there, I
really encourage them to
come in; I think they will
be intrigued to learn more
about this lesser known
Prairie- style architect.”
The Kenilworth Historical
Society is open 9 a.m.-5
p.m. on Monday and Thursday
and by special appointment.
Email kenilworthhistory@sbcglobal.net
for
more information.