Ann Marie Scheidler

A Legacy of Change

Allendale Shelter Club Board President Laura Torosian at Marian Farwell Chapel at Allendale

WHEN PETER ROTH’S grandfather, Herman Charles Roth, was 10 years old, his father and stepmother put him on a train from Wisconsin with a note pinned to his coat that read “Allendale.” When he arrived at the nearest train stop, the conductor pointed the little boy in the direction of Allendale Farm.

In those years, Allendale Farm was an orphanage for boys that was opened in 1897. Founder Edward “Cap” Bradley purchased a plot of land in Illinois near Cedar Lake from a farmer named Allen, ultimately creating a haven for urban homeless boys. The orphanage had a self-sustaining farm with fruits, vegetables, and livestock, which the boys tended.

It wasn’t long after Herman arrived at Allendale that Bradley put his arm around him and said, “Welcome home.”

Allendale was Herman’s home until he graduated from high school. He was so grateful to the home Allendale provided him that he stayed in touch with founder Bradley for many years. His grandson discovered a series of letters between Herman and Bradley after Herman passed away.

“My grandfather was an amazing man who lived to the ripe old age of 99,” says Peter. “He was the kindest, gentlest, God-fearing man who put others above himself. Cap Bradley meant so much to my grandfather that he gave my father the middle name Bradley, who gave me the middle name Bradley, and my wife and I carried on this tradition with our first born son, too.”

During the 1920s, the orphanage Allendale Farm became the Allendale School for Boys (girls didn’t attend until 1987) and evolved in the early 1960s into a treatment facility. Today, the Allendale Association is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to excellence and innovation in the care, treatment, education, and advocacy for families, children, and youth with serious emotional, mental, and behavioral health challenges. Through a variety of programs, they serve nearly 800 children from Lake, Cook, McHenry, and Kenosha Counties as well as the central and southern regions of Illinois.

“When families find their way to Allendale, they’re in need of the specialized treatment we can provide,” explains Jason Keeler, Allendale Association’s Executive Director. “Our responsibility is to provide stability and hope by leveraging our continuum of services and bringing families back together as quickly as we can.”

Allendale’s charge has become particularly stressful in this time of Covid-19, as much of their day programing has been largely shut down. However, their residential living facility has remained open and working with modifications in place to ensure the safety and health of all involved.

“Sheltering in place, we are fortunate and very grateful for the space and surroundings we have,” explains Keeler, noting the organization has fully taken advantage of its more than one hundred acres of outdoor space during this time. “Our grounds are truly spectacular and are one of the most appealing aspects of Allendale. It’s a beautiful environment in which to retreat and to heal.”

The Allendale Shelter Club is one of the primary fundraising bodies for the Allendale Association. Founded in 1906 by 16 women, the Shelter Club has grown to more than 60 women, contributing more than $13 million over the years.

“In addition to raising money, I really see our job as providing the ‘mother’s touch’ that is missing for many of these kids,” says Laura Torosian, the Allendale Shelter Club’s current board president. “In the past when we’ve been able to host our parties for the kids, I’m always so humbled by the stories that got these children (many ages 4-18) here. I was working at an arts and crafts table one year, when two older boys came over and sat down with me. They told me that if it wasn’t for Allendale, they would be dead or in jail. For them, it was a gift to know where they were waking up tomorrow morning. Allendale is allowing these kids to see a whole different side of the world—it’s giving them hope and showing them that there are people cheering them on, who want them to succeed.”

Torosian seated by Pier at Cedar Lake, Allendale Photography by Robin Subar / Styling by Theresa DeMaria / Hair & Makeup by Sara Saltanovitz / Dress by Catherine Prevost, neapolitan collection, Winnetka / Boots by Stuart Weitzman, Northbrook Court

Torosian cannot say enough about her dynamic board who, even in this time of canceled fundraisers and virtual meetings, is thinking outside of the box on ways they can support Allendale.

“If there was a year to flee a board, 2020 would be the year to do it,” says Torosian. “But almost on a daily basis, I have women calling me with new ideas of how we could be helping Allendale more. Last year, our main fundraiser’s theme was a ‘Night of Surprises.’ Our board has literally applied this theme to the entire year. I’ve never been more proud to be part of such an incredibly dynamic and hard-working group of women.”

Keeler is quick to acknowledge the importance of the Shelter Club to Allendale. “It’s not lost on me for a minute that we couldn’t exist without the work the Shelter Club does for us,” he says. “Their fundraising efforts, their support for more than a century—I don’t think we’d be around without them.”

In addition to much-needed funding, Keeler says there is one more way the community could help Allendale and its mission.

“The biggest challenge we have is finding foster families for many of the youth in our care who are not able to return to their biological families,” he says. “It’s a key component to helping children transition back into the world—being able to match them with the right families. It’s a big ask and I realize this, but if you feel called to play such a role, we have the supports in place to help you do this.”

The impact of Allendale has proven to have a reach far beyond the students that pass through its programs.

“In the letters my grandfather left behind, he described his time at Allendale as ‘heaven on earth,’” recalls Peter. “I will be forever grateful to Allendale for the heritage they gave to my grandfather that made him the man that he was. His children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren all have been given a legacy through him because of Allendale and Cap Bradley. Being able to visit Allendale, the site where he grew up, meant so much to me and my family. My sister and I still speak about it and talk about returning again.”

To learn more about how you can support the Allendale Association or how to become a foster parent, visit allendale4kids.org.

Summer Harvest

Laura Calvert relaxes outside of her office at Elawa Farm Photography by Robin Subar / Styling by Theresa DeMaria / Hair & Makeup by Sara Saltanovitz

When Laura Calvert was growing up in a small farm community in Central Illinois, she never imagined she would have a career in agriculture. “I literally had a cornfield in my backyard,” Calvert says. “But sometimes it takes moving away to realize what you are called to do.”

Lake Forest’s Elawa Farm Foundation announced in January that Calvert was their new executive director. She succeeded Joanne Miller who had been with Elawa since 2008. She comes to Elawa Farm Foundation from Advocates for Urban Agriculture (AUA), where she served as executive director for three years. There, she led the organization through significant growth and innovative program development during her tenure. Before AUA, Calvert worked for the Chicago Botanic Garden for eight years. There, she managed business operations for Windy City Harvest, the Garden’s urban agricultural workforce development program. She oversaw the business development of more than 13 urban farms and trained hundreds of youth and adult participants.

Calvert appreciates that she’s joining Elawa at an unusual time in history.

“We were just starting to unfold some plans for spring when everything closed down because of the pandemic,” she shares. “But at the end of the day, what we do at Elawa deemed us as essential. We have such a great team here that is so adaptable, we’ve been able to keep moving forward. It’s been incredibly grounding to be at Elawa now, to be able to get my hands in the dirt, and to know that we’re making a difference.”

In quiet moments, not that there are many these days, Calvert wonders how the pandemic will shape the community’s relationship with Elawa. “People are wanting locally grown foods,” she says. “There has been such a renewed interest in people gardening from home. We’ve had the highest number of orders from our virtual market—our seedlings sold out.” Because Elawa was unable to open its Garden Market in the spring, they went online. Each week, people had the opportunity to order produce and products from the farm as well as other locally sourced producers where they could pick up curbside later in the week.

“It’s so important to me that Elawa Farm continues to be a good neighbor to the greater county area,” she explains. “Local farmers have really stepped up and met the need of providing food to those who need it. We want to do whatever we can to keep these connections strong.”

Calvert says that going forward, Elawa Farm plans to leverage its production to improve healthy food access to its neighbors. “This will go beyond just what we produce. There will also be an educational component to the culinary programs we offer that will be more public facing and more real time. If we happen to have chives from the garden, we’ll have some recipes ready to go to show you what you can do with them. The silver lining in all of this shutdown time is that there is a real interest in what’s happening on our farm.”

This summer, Calvert hopes that the community will participate in one of its many on-site workshops, camps, or even a yoga class. Additionally, Elawa Farm will be offering a free, 45-minute tour of its beautifully restored farm and garden every last Saturday of the month through September, beginning at 11 a.m.

The Elawa Farm Group was built in 1917 for A. Watson Armour, a member of one of Chicago’s oldest and most distinguished families, and is considered architecturally significant as a rare example of a Lake Forest gentleman’s farm. It is also noteworthy for its fine design and for its association with two very significant architects: David Adler and Alfred Hopkins. The farm’s name Elawa comes from a composite of two of its previous owners Elsa and A. Watson Armour and Lelia and Wallace Carroll, who purchased the property in 1954. The buildings forming the main farm group have been restored and adapted for today’s use to preserve Elawa Farm as a stunning example of estate farm architecture and a unique gem of Lake Forest.

Elawa Farm is a public-private partnership dedicated to the preservation and stewardship of a unique combination of natural setting, designed landscapes, and buildings of architectural and historic significance. In 1998, the City of Lake Forest acquired a 16-acre parcel of land, including the original farm buildings. This purchase created an opportunity for a unique partnership of public and private organizations to collaborate in the preservation and use of this property.

“I’m so honored to join the Elawa Farm community and lead the organization in its next chapter, alongside its dedicated board of directors and staff. Elawa is a truly unique and beautiful place. There is nothing else like this in the Midwest and I look forward to expanding its programs and presence in Lake Forest and beyond.”

To learn more, visit elawafarm.org. Vintage wooden bowl seen in above image available through ThePolohouse shop on Etsy; a Lake Forest based online shop. Wardrobe from Valentina, Winnetka, 847-446-5480.

A New Chapter

Jason Rosenthal Photography by Brooke Hummer

Some say timing is everything and author Jason Rosenthal may now agree. His memoir, My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me, a book primarily about losing his wife Amy Krouse Rosenthal to cancer, was released April 21 as the world was home sheltering in place.

“I’m not sure I’d call this perfect timing,” says Rosenthal whose promotional book tour had been canceled, as well all of the celebratory events surrounding it. “But it is interesting that my book came out at a time when so many people are experiencing some type of a loss—whether it be the loss of a loved one or the loss of a job, whatever it may be—loss is loss. And that’s much of what my book talks about.”

Rosenthal was catapulted into the spotlight by his wife—famous children’s author and former Lake Forester Amy Krouse Rosenthal—when three years ago she wrote a love letter to her husband as she battled through her final days with ovarian cancer. It ran as a New York Times “Modern Love” column, under the headline, “You May Want to Marry My Husband.” It was a personal ad, of sorts, for a potential suitor for her husband.

“I have been married to the most extraordinary man for 26 years,” she wrote. “I was planning on another 26 together … If he sounds like a prince and our relationship seems like fairy tale, it’s not too far off, except for the all of the regular stuff that comes from two and a half decades or playing house together. And the part about me getting cancer. Blech … I am wrapping this up on Valentine’s Day, and the most genuine, non-vase-oriented gift I can hope for is that the right person reads this, finds Jason, and another love story begins.”

To no one’s surprise, this selfless love story went viral. More than five million people from around the world read it. Yet Amy never knew of all of the lives she touched as she passed away at home in hospice care, 10 days after it was published, on March 13, 2017.

“Those days and weeks after Amy died were all a bit of a fog,” Rosenthal says. “She died so soon after the story came out that there wasn’t much time to absorb what was happening.” Instead, Rosenthal turned his attentions inward and focused on his three children with Amy—Justin, Miles, and Paris—and their healing in the aftermath. He also remained very close to Amy’s parents who still lived in Lake Forest at the time. “We spent many Sundays with the kids traveling the 26 miles between our house and the Krouses where we would spend the day with Amy’s siblings, spouses, and children,” he remembers. “Family was everything and is everything. We have an incredible network of family and friends—mine included—that got us through those dark first days.”

But Amy’s New York Times piece elevated Rosenthal to a very public stage and to being “that husband,” he says. “I went from being an attorney living a quiet life to someone the world could turn to for advice on grief.”

A year after Amy’s death, Rosenthal delivered his first TED Talk on loss. “I think I was surprised at how much my story connected with people,” he explains. “That’s when I realized that it doesn’t matter what kind of loss it is to feel grief, loss is loss. I was able to tell people that you can be in the worst depths of grief, in a serious period of loss, and still come out on the other side. It will pass.”

Rosenthal’s TED Talk set the foundation for his memoir, My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me.

“I think subconsciously I had been thinking about taking a step back from my law and real estate career for a while,” he says. “Writing this book really became a full-time job and gave me a good excuse to evaluate what I was doing with my life and where I was spending my time.” In addition to writing, Rosenthal set up a foundation in Amy’s name, funding ovarian cancer research and children’s literacy, an organization he oversees from the dream home he built with his wife in Chicago, close to Wrigley Field.

A story with Rosenthal would be incomplete without knowing if his wife’s plea for a love match for her husband had been made. And while he provides no details, he confirms that he is indeed in a relationship.

When asked if writing his memoir is the end of one chapter or the beginning of another, it’s the only time Rosenthal hesitates to answer. “Amy gave me permission very publicly, in a way only she could, to find happiness again. So, I don’t know. It’s definitely a new chapter and one where I’m open to see what comes.”

Jason Rosenthal’s My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me: A Memoir is available at the Lake Forest Book Store, lakeforestbookstore.com.

Hitting the Right Notes

Beautiful landscaping and a sweeping verandah provide a fantastic space for outdoor entertaining. PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAURA BENNETT, VHT STUDIOS

When a historic home is infused with modern conventions in the heart of Kenilworth, there are no words to describe it. But there may be music.

Known by its neighbors as the “wedding cake house” because of the beautiful plaster details on its dormers, this lovely home in one of the North Shore’s poshest suburbs was built in 1889 for a founding member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. And today, it’s been lovingly restored for modern family life.

“This home is truly remarkable,” says Dave Chung, the Compass listing agent for 337 Melrose that went on the market earlier this year. “This is a historical house where you really don’t know what’s old or what’s new. Even at 8,000-square-feet, this is an incredibly comfortable and livable space. It’s very warm and homey— you know that a family actually lives here. It’s hard to find an older home in this pristine condition where the next family could just move in and not have to do anything to feel at home.” This particular house is rumored to have been one of the first 10 homes built in Kenilworth and the current owners are only the sixth family to have lived here in 130 years.

The grand staircase features beautiful leaded glass windows and gorgeous original paneling.

The minute you walk through the front door, you know you’re somewhere special. With a gracious foyer and soaring ceilings, a gorgeous paneled fireplace greets you.

The front hall welcomes guests with a beautiful paneled fireplace.

“They don’t build homes like this anymore,” explains Chung. “Even in new construction, you won’t see this much space dedicated to a front hall. It was clearly designed for a family that did entertaining on a grand scale.”

337 Melrose Avenue in Kenilworth combines vintage details with a modern and comfortable floor plan.

The foyer opens to an expansive floor plan that is perfect for the family who loves to host. The current family mindfully separated the formal living spaces from where they spend their time day to day. Once three separate rooms, the kitchen is now a wide-open space outfitted with a tin ceiling, custom cabinetry, marble countertops, and a generous eat-in area. A relaxed family room is immediately adjacent.

“This is one of the family’s favorite parts of the house,” says Chung. “When it’s warm outside, the doors from the family room open to the veranda and provide additional space for entertaining or just another way to enjoy this home with views of their beautiful landscape.”

The living and dining rooms are flooded with natural light and maintained their coved ceilings even after the first floor was significantly renovated.

The living room is of museum quality with coved ceilings, gorgeous details, and is flooded with natural light.

“The coved ceilings were intentionally designed for the first homeowners to create perfect acoustics for the musicians they hosted,” Chung says. “The current homeowners were interested in preserving some of the home’s history by maintaining elements like this. Another example is when it came time to replace the hardware on the doors, they discovered that some of the hinges were original to the home. With some research and a talented craftsman, they were able to replicate them and have them installed throughout.”

The second-floor master suite has a lovely five-piece marble bath and walk-in closet with custom cabinetry. Three additional large bedrooms each with their own en-suite bath complete the second floor. The third floor has two additional bedrooms, a fantastic full bath, laundry room, and a gym or seventh bedroom.

The lower level bar is beyond compare with a custom leather banquette, integrated refrigeration, and designer touches throughout.

As if the rest of the home isn’t enough to have you swoon, the lower level will win you over for sure. With a large playroom with endless built-ins, a bar that would make Ralph Lauren or the Deer Path Inn envious, and an incredible media room—this is truly where the family lives.

“The lower level is totally unexpected because the same attention to detail that was paid upstairs was carried through down here, as well,” Chung says. “Even the media room, which is typically an uninspired space in a house, was designed to be inviting and comfortable for all members of the family.”

For more information, visit 337melrose.com.

Fashionista

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF *STYLECHARADE.COM*

North Shore native Jennifer Lake is flying high these days. As a Senior Vice President at Zapwater Communications, she somehow finds time to infuse color and style into her blog, “Style Charade.” With a clothing line collaboration launching in June, lake shares her favorites from around the shore and in the city.

What’s on the horizon? I’m launching a capsule dress collection with Sail to Sable, an amazing female-owned and operated brand based in Greenwich, Connecticut. The styles are colorful yet refined, classic, and feminine. Best of all—this is the first time the brand is offering styles from XXS–3X. I’m beyond excited to unveil the collection, and it’ll be sold at SailtoSable.com Personal mantra? Work smarter, not harder Best grooming tip? Invest in a clean skincare routine Guilty pleasure? Carbs Favorite foods? Anything Italian Music you love? I embrace a mix of genres—pop, rap, hip-hop, classical, country Best advice ever given to you? It’s PR, not ER. After 17 years of agency life, I can attest to the fact that PR can be stressful and tough. At the same time, we’re not curing cancer, and it’s important to keep a level head about strategies and situations Best advice you’ve given? Think of your career like chess, not checkers. Always be looking five moves ahead Earliest memory? Sailing with my family When you wake up, you? Drink coffee immediately Before bed, you? I do a pretty intensive skincare routine—it’s like a 12- step regimen every night (I wish I was kidding) What’s on your bookshelf? The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates along with Jessica Simpson’s Open Book, an astonishingly honest deep dive into her life You can’t live without? My husband. He’s 100 percent the better half of our relationship equation Love to escape to? Anywhere warm Advice you would give to your younger self? Travel as much as you can, especially to faraway places. These trips will widen your world, stretch your imagination, and add incredible dimension to your life

ON THE SHORE

Your style is? Preppy, colorful, and feminine Can’t leave the house without? Fenty Beauty’s Gloss Bomb in Fussy Transportation? Drive Driving music? Billie Eilish Place to eat? Renga Tei (in Lincolnwood) Shop? neapolitan collection Best thing about the Shore? Independent boutiques and restaurants Worst thing about the Shore? Property taxes The perfect day is? Spending time with my family and going to our favorite spots around the North Shore—Walker Bros. Pancake House for breakfast, shopping in Highland Park

IN THE CITY

Your style is? Colorful, feminine, and classic Can’t leave the house without? My phone Transportation? Drive Driving music? Brandi Carlile Place to eat? Summer House Shop? Ikram Best thing about the City? Diversity Worst thing about the City? Traffic The perfect day is? Nesting at home. We’re redesigning our entire space in the city, and I love being at home with my husband, making decisions with our interior designer, and just watching movies

A Natural Wonder

Kitchen PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL ALAN KASKEL

For Lenore Weiss, her recent collaboration on an east Highland Park residence was a dream project. “As an architect who also does interior design, a project like this has been gratifying on so many levels,” says Weiss.

Weiss’s claims validate how she was able to channel each of the pillars of her architectural studio into this recent project. She fundamentally believes that architecture “should be inspirational, eminently functional, and delightful to all of the senses.”

Hallway and threshold of the master suite

Weiss was commissioned by a North Shore family who fell in love with the location of their new house built in 1993. With lake, ravine, and natural views, Weiss was challenged to leverage the setting in the rebirth of this contemporary structure. Lenore Weiss Studios collaborated with the first architect, Stuart Shayman, to transform the original iteration into a house that better met the lifestyle needs of the current family, including a full sports court on the lower level. The house was modernized and refreshed through a play of natural textures, patterns, and forms.

“I really focused on the details, both macro and micro,” adds Weiss, who says her early undergraduate studies in psychology helps her know the hearts and minds of her clients. “Inviting nature indoors— making it symbiotic with its context—was very important to achieving our design goals for this project.”

As you enter the main foyer, you’re immediately taken with how the natural stone used on the home’s exterior walls and garden path is continued indoors. “The textural quality of these outdoor materials truly becomes warm and elegant once extended inside.”

One of Weiss’s opportunities and challenges was to ensure that the design optimized the floor-to-ceiling windows in each of the main gathering spaces. Playing off the shapes formed by the faceted window walls, she and her team used a vocabulary of rectangles as they worked their way through the home thinking of storage requirements within the interior. “I have a sailor mentality,” she explains. “Whether it’s a project this size or a small space, I think about the storage capabilities a sailboat has—all of the tucked away spaces you don’t see that store everything you need.”

The coat closet in the front entry is a perfect example of Weiss’s eye for detail at work. The wooden panels that warmly frame the entrance conceal the closet seamlessly. “It’s designed to be an unexpected surprise when you discover that two of the panels within the grid are actually doors to a closet. It’s beautifully integrated into the paneled wall, but functionally provides ample closet space. Cisneros Brothers Construction and Pegasus Millwork were incredible to work with in bringing these designs to life.”

Just off the entry way is the master suite, kept private with sliding doors hung with specialty concealed hardware giving the illusion that the doors are suspended in air. When you cross the threshold into the suite, you’re welcomed by his and her framed art that directs you to her office in one direction—where her space is centered around a gold-toned desk with a pink leather blotter—and the master bedroom in the other. “This was artwork the couple acquired during construction,” Weiss says. “It shows what a great eye they have as collectors and how they were able to integrate their collection into the home with a sense of humor.”

Several rooms throughout the project exemplify how Weiss’s design married the homeowners’ art collection serendipitously.

Weiss was shopping for stone for a bathroom project with the couple and came across a piece of bluestone quartzite they saw and loved. “It looks like a painting,” she recalls them saying. After a quick brainstorming session with Shayman, they decided to include the tile in the first floor powder room by recessing it in the wall and treating it like a painting.

Daylight plays such a role in bringing out the natural elements of a room that it was important for nothing to stand in its way.

“You’ll notice how the kitchen opens into the dining room,” Weiss points out. “The chandelier over the dining room table is made of handblown glass pendants, very light and airy and it doesn’t take away from the view. At nighttime, they’re like stars twinkling. It’s an anchor for the room, but in a very light and playful way.”

The same is true in the kitchen where the walnut cabinetry by Valcucine is offset by the dark textured granite on the new center island. “The dropped ceiling and pendants visually anchor the island yet hover like a cloud. The softness of this lighting balances the more rugged surface of the island.”

When pushed to claim her proudest accomplishment in the home, it was hard for Weiss to pick just one. But when pressed, she recalls that “each design challenge became an opportunity for a creative solution.” As an example, she cited the central staircase. “The couple had competing objectives for this more focal point. One wanted a light, floating aesthetic, and the other wanted a more solid feel while navigating the steps,” she explains. “So, we devised a detail with solid elements that creates the illusion of lightness. The steps do seem to appear as if they’re floating. The solution to that problem really worked.”

Weiss’s work didn’t end with the interior architectural design, she procured nearly all of the furnishings as well. “The couple and I worked through the palette of materials to support the overall design vocabulary,” she says. “There are so many custom pieces that were designed specifically for those homeowners, from the custom colors for some of the rugs to the wood and leather finishes on the furniture. I sourced much of the furniture from Holly Hunt. It was so much fun to be able to finish and furnish the home to be so aligned with the design intent.”

But probably the greatest joy to Weiss is knowing that her clients are living in this home in the way they had dreamed they might. “They are such special people and this was an incredibly special collaboration. I feel lucky to be privy to the fact that they’re enjoying their new home very much.”

For more information about Lenore Weiss Studios, visit lenoreweissstudios.com.