Please join us to welcome Adria Bernardi as she reads from her oral history, Houses with Names: The Italian Immigrants of Highwood, Illinois (1990). She will also share excerpts from writings that grew out of Houses with Names, including her novel, Openwork (2007), and her recent novel, Benefit Street (2022). Like Houses with Names, these novels continue her investigation of emigration, the building of new lives in a new country, and how the generativeness of the elders allows one to find a way to make things that are broken whole again. She’ll discuss her journey as a writer and as a translator from Italian.  Please click on the link below to register.

All aboard. Special presentation on the North Shore Railway. Highwood was the administrative and work center for this railroad which operated from the early 1900’s and shut down in 1963. Joe Stupar and Norm Krentel from the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL will share photos and stories of this important railway which was a major transportation connection for all communities along the North Shore from Milwaukee to Chicago. Free program. Everyone welcome. Share your memories and share your stories.

Help us pay tribute to Mary Mazzetta, Highwood’s legendary Dance Instructor. Who could forget those Saturday morning classes . . . shuffle, shuffle, step, step? And the endless rehearsals for the spine-tingling, full-costume recitals at the Highwood Rec Center where our parents, grandparents, and friends sat in awe. Join us in celebrating with Mary the remarkable impact she had on a generation (or two or three) of Highwood children.

Please pass the word to your friends and families. Join the event on the Highwood Historical Society Facebook page, call 847-682-9039, or email highwoodhistory@gmail.com to R.S.V.P. Sunday, August 9th, 1:00 to 4:00 pm, St. James Parish Hall. Refreshments will be served.