By Janet Dovidio This week, we celebrate the uniquely American holiday of Thanksgiving, a day whose centerpiece is the gathering of family and friends to share a special meal. I am a writer for The Woodstock Independent, but it is as a board member of the Woodstock Food Pantry that I write to express our […]
‘If you build it, they will come!’ Bill Dean blessed athletes, sports fans, and Woodstock Independent readers from June 1987 to March 1992. He was Woodstock Independent’s first sports editor. Bill was 92 when he died Nov. 2 in Clearwater, Fla., just six days shy of his 93rd birthday. As if it were yesterday, I […]
We applaud the decision of the Woodstock Area Chamber of Commerce & Industry to make the annual “State of the City” address available for public viewing online this year for the first time since the event started, around the early 2000s. The luncheon event, now held in the second-floor banquet room of the Old Courthouse […]
Like everyone else, we were saddened and dismayed that financial troubles at Hearthstone Communities, Woodstock’s largest senior housing complex, will soon cause the scheduled closures of Hearthstone Manor and Hearthstone Village. But our emotions pale next to the stress of about 100 families that have just weeks to find new housing for their displaced loved […]
“I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let’s face it, friends make life a lot more fun.” -Pastor Charles Swindoll Pastor Swindoll is right. When you have true friends who care about you, your life […]
Peter Anderson would admonish me for writing about him instead of focusing this column on the start of the 2025 –’26 school year. But I will accept Peter’s scolding from on high and continue about him and his gifts to our community. Peter was Northwood Middle School principal from 1990 to 2000. He died July […]
We recall, just a few years ago, driving south through Huntley when the Illinois Department of Transportation had Route 47 torn up to widen and improve the highway, causing delays and disruption as we tried to make it to Interstate 90. Despite the inconvenience, we would remind ourselves, “This is going to be nice when […]
Late last month, my family and I attended the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture airshow event in Oshkosh, Wis. Twenty-three years ago, I never would have dreamed I’d still be going – every summer! I used to think it would be the same every year, but, much like the McHenry County Fair, it’s the people you […]
Motorists entering Woodstock from the east on U.S. 14 have probably noticed that the farm field on the northwest corner at the intersection with Lily Pond Road, where corn and soybeans are usually growing at this time of year, is now sprouting a bumper crop of solar panels. (See photo at right) What a long, […]
a place to go, and a place to grow Summer in Woodstock brings people together to create the best kind of memories – and the McHenry County Fair is no exception. The annual county fair allows Woodstock to share its allure with the broader community, providing entertainment, carnival rides and games, contests, and all the […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.
