Lake Forest Sailing Going to New Orleans in Pursuit of National Trophy
By David A. F. Sweet With a victory in the Midwest Scholastic Sailing Nationals Qualifier for the Cressy Trophy that it hosted Sept....
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Lake Forest Love
Telling the Stories About the Community We Love
Lake Forest, Illinois
Welcome to lakeforestlove.com, a blog destination where we curate the amazing stories of our community, shine a light on them and share them back with you.
We believe there are so many ways to fall in love with Lake Forest—the open spaces, schools, extraordinary organizations, community spirit, lakefront, retail and dining offerings, and its kind and generous heart.
We also feel there are stories about people who live and work here that you might like to know. There is so much to love and we’re just getting started. So welcome. You’re going to love it here!
- 4 days ago
A Different Kind of Homecoming: The Dedication of Veterans Park
By Sydney Kirages This weekend is Homecoming Weekend at Lake Forest High School. The weekend kicks off with the Homecoming football game...
- Sep 18
Community Development Department Embraces LF Tradition of Careful Planning, Quality Construction
By David A. F. Sweet As a former mayor is fond of saying, “Lake Forest didn’t happen by accident.” Even in the 19th century, planning was...
- Sep 14
Lake Forest Children Sell Lemonade to Raise Funds for Maui
By Ashley Love Children’s lemonade stands are a staple of Lake Forest summers, but one family embraced a unique approach to the idea...
- Sep 11
Why Lake Forest’s Stirling Hall Is an Artist’s Delight
By David A. F. Sweet Tucked away on Old Mill Road sits Stirling Hall, far removed from the stir of downtown Lake Forest. While the...
- Sep 7
History Center Receives Large Grant for 2024 Exhibition
By David A. F. Sweet The History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff received the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Inspire!...
- Sep 5
The ‘Face of Lake Forest’ Makes City Hall a Welcome Place to Visit
By David A. F. Sweet Joyce Reda, the Deputy City Clerk for the City of Lake Forest, became the “Face of Lake Forest” when she was hired...
- Aug 31
Rethink Recycling Interns Dive into Bins to Help Residents Understand Guidelines
By Lia Fiffles Each day, recycling guidelines and practices seem to become more and more confusing. The City of Lake Forest’s Rethink...
- Aug 28
Lake Forester Honors Agreement with Friend with Mount Kilimanjaro Climb
By Kim Piekos The scene from 1998 was memorable: standing at a national park overlook in Zimbabwe, Lake Forester Kim Pfahl’s close...
- Aug 24
Wheelchair Football Tourney Draws Teams from Across the Country
By David A. F. Sweet Wheelchair football athletes from across the country competed in the home tournament of the Lake Forest-based Great...
- Aug 21
Lake Forest Obtains Millions of Dollars in Grants to Help Invest in Infrastructure
By Dana Olson The City of Lake Forest has received $17.5 million in grants in the last five years to improve infrastructure and to bring...
- Aug 17
Picture Perfect: Selfie Day Draws a Crowd
By David A. F. Sweet Residents and City of Lake Forest employees took plenty of photos to celebrate #CityHallSelfieDay on Tuesday,...
- Aug 14
Local Entrepreneur Makes Business-Building a Family Affair
By Kim Piekos Carol Digman’s business acumen antennae are always up. Her knack for tuning in to potential local business opportunities...
- Aug 10
Legion Members Share Thoughts on New Memorial at Veterans Park
By Rebecca Foster-Goodman The American Legion is the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization, with more than two million...
- Aug 4
A Good Run on Lake Forest Day
Pictures By: Thais O'Malley The Lake Forest Day 5K and Fun Run on Wednesday drew a crowd to South Park. Runners of all ages competed on...
- Jul 31
Sailing Away
By a Lake Forest Love Writer Lake Forest Sailing has enjoyed a busy summer on Lake Michigan. Kids and teenagers have learned a lot while...
- Jul 27
Lotharius Branches Out at Twigs Camp
By David A. F. Sweet Kathryn Lotharius is the Camp Director at Twigs. She has spent the last 17 summers at Twigs as a camper, counselor...
- Jul 24
When Lake Forest Hosted the World Series of Polo
By The History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff In August 1933, the Onwentsia Club hosted an event that pitted the top polo players of...
- Jul 20
Retired Lake Forest Entrepreneur Shares Passion for Helping Businesses Expand
By Kim Piekos When Bob Crawford Jr. retired from a successful career at 76, he couldn’t picture himself living a quiet life parked at a...
- Jul 13
Coffee Talk: Hometown Shop Draws Many With Fare Beyond Beverages
By Adrienne Fawcett Hometown Coffee & Juice opened in Lake Forest in May -- and it only took three hours for the place to seem like it...
- Jul 10
New Mayor Reveals Top Priority for Term, Favorite Activities in Lake Forest
By David A. F. Sweet Lake Forest Mayor Dr. Randy Tack was born in Chicago. After high school, he attended the University of Illinois,...
- Jul 6
Situated in a Black Neighborhood, Lake Forest’s Second Church Was a Pillar of the Community
By the History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff In the 1860s, the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church was the second religious...
- Jul 3
A Teen with Type 1 Diabetes to Head to D.C. to Advocate for a Cure
By David A. F. Sweet Edgar Kelley’s life is far from that of a typical teenager. Attached to his lower back is an insulin pump complete...
- Jun 29
Write On: First-Time Lake Forest Author Conveys Value of Montessori Education
By David A. F. Sweet Growing up, Paula Lillard Preschlack loved to write stories. But she was often uninspired in a conventional...
- Jun 26
Annie Swift: 'I Would Not Be the Person I Am Today Without CROYA'
Annie Swift of Lake Forest won the Spirit of CROYA Margot Martino essay contest. She read her speech (posted below) at a meeting of the...
- Jun 22
Hundreds Hop Onto City Trucks, Equipment
By Thais O'Malley The City of Lake Forest hosted its annual Meet the Fleet event on June 16! More than 640 people stopped by to climb...
- Jun 19
How an Italian Villa Became a Humanities Center for Lake Forest College Students
By David A. F. Sweet When opening the hand-carved front door of the Krebs Center for the Humanities, one realizes the newest addition to...
- Jun 15
Powerful Stories Shared at Local Church Show Impact of Faith in Lives
By Kim Piekos For 15 years, a trio of parishioners at The Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest has been mining the spiritual wisdom...
- Jun 12
Speaker Lets LFHS Seniors Give Advice to Graduating Eighth Graders
By Annie Helms Annie Helms is the District 67 Board of Education President. She gave these remarks at the Deer Path Middle School...
- Jun 8
All-Terrain Wheelchair Finds Fans at Lake Forest Open Lands
By Mariana Vaca Not only does being outdoors promote physical well-being, but it can also offer us a space to reflect and cleanse our...
- Jun 5
IT Crew Is Behind-the-Scenes Force That Enables City to Work Efficiently
By David A. F. Sweet The Innovation and Technology (IT) Department is crucial to the smooth operation of other City departments in Lake...
- Jun 1
Walker Sales Played Key Role in Lake Forest at Dawn of 20th Century
By the History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Walker Sales was one of the earliest members of the Lake Forest police force. His work is...
- May 30
Beautiful, Fun, Important: Simply Put, Lake Forest's Ravines Are Extraordinary
By David A. F. Sweet Steve Bent grew up on Lake Road next to a ravine. He spent his youth roaming its slopes and exploring other nearby...
- May 25
New Deerpath Golf General Manager Impressed by Customers, Community
By David A. F. Sweet John Westly started playing golf at age 4 in Asheville, N.C. He was taught by his grandfather; his parents didn’t...
- May 22
Former Parks & Rec Director Fred Jackson Stays Engaged with Successful Golf Fundraiser
By David A. F. Sweet Fred Jackson worked for the Lake Forest Parks & Recreation Department for 48 years. At the start, he was a teenager...
- May 18
Join the Tour of Historic Architecture Plaques in Lake Forest on May 21
By a Lake Forest Love Writer The Lake Forest Preservation Foundation has mounted 18 plaques -- provided through donations to the LFPF...
- May 15
Reading, Writing and a Lifelong Friendship for LFHS Teachers
By Kim Piekos Some people’s lives are woven together in ways they could have never predicted. That is certainly true for Lake Forest High...
- May 11
Scotty Searle Recalls Life in the Lake Forest Showhouse
By David A. F. Sweet Scotty Searle moved into this year’s Lake Forest Showhouse & Gardens house when she was 15. Her parents, Bill and...
- May 8
LFHS Senior Possesses Passion for Sailing
By Caroline Gerber Lake Forest High School's Henry Scholz was first introduced to sailing when at age 8 his father signed him up for the...
- May 4
Lake Forest Showhouse & Gardens to Feature Nine-Acre Estate
By a Lake Forest Love Writer The Lake Forest Chapter of the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago is transforming a red brick Georgian-style...
- Apr 27
Venerable Lake Forest Foundation Has Served Underprivileged Youth for 25 Years
By Emma Stadolnik Twenty-five years ago, Barbara Monsor sat around her kitchen table in Lake Forest surrounded by family and friends to...
- Apr 25
Fish Stories: Latest LFHS Play Guaranteed to Entertain
By Mariana Vaca Storytellers come as artists and writers, but many of the stories we carry in our families today are shared through oral...
- Apr 19
Alumnus Shares Impact of LFHS on His Life
By Kim Piekos Opened in 1935, Lake Forest High School has produced numerous alumni who have impacted the world in their areas of...
- Apr 17
LFHS Students Perform in Europe for First Time Since Pandemic
By Kenna McBean This past spring break, the Lake Forest High School band, orchestra, and choir flew to Germany, Austria, and the Czech...
- Apr 13
Renowned Lake Forest Golfer Was Also Portrayed in The Great Gatsby
By The History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff One of the premier women’s golfers of the 1920s, Edith Cummings grew up around golf...
- Apr 10
Groundbreaking Ceremony Launches Future of Better Fields, New Courts at Deerpath Park
By Thais Souza Better athletic fields, new pickleball courts, renovated tennis courts, a walking path and more amenities are coming to...
- Apr 7
Food for Thought: Chef Z Serves Up Great Dishes at Deerpath Golf Course
By Mariana Vaca Our favorite recipes are passed down and enrooted in our family members, who use them during summer cookouts or during...
- Apr 4
An Eggs-eptional Time
By a Lake Forest Love Writer Many residents and their children enjoyed a wonderful opportunity for family fun and entertainment at the...
- Mar 27
Athenson Continues to Lead in All Aspects of Life
By Mariana Vaca From high-school football to the U.S. Army, seventh-generation Lake Forester Nick Athenson has been a leader. Athenson...
- Mar 23
Former Investment Executive Embraces New Role: Writing Murder Mysteries
By David A. F. Sweet Longtime Lake Forester Steve Timbers enjoyed a successful career in the financial industry, working as president...
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