THE COVER STORY

Five editors, 25 years, and the covers we can’t forget.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS MAKES for a lot of deadlines, a lot of issues, and a lot of covers. But ask any of the women who have sat in this chair, and they won’t tell you about the pressure of publishing a magazine every few weeks. They’ll tell you about The Cover Story—the one that brought them face-to-face with someone they’d long admired, the one that almost didn’t run at all, but now feels iconic, or the one that, years later, still makes them smile. For this anniversary issue, my four predecessors—Theresa DeMaria, Wendy Franzen, Sherry Thomas, and Ann Marie Scheidler—joined me in scrolling back through the archives to choose five covers from our respective tenures that we can’t quite let go.

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PRESCHOOL 101
Anna Braun, Harriet Pierce & Grace Donovan, (January 2012)
Photograph by Jim Prisching

This is still one of my all-time favorite covers. We typically pulled wardrobe for our cover subjects, but these three little girls arrived dressed exactly like this. They couldn’t have been more perfect if we’d planned it ourselves. I think we need to recreate this cover with these beautiful young women, who are now all college sophomores.

HAPPILY EVER AFTER
Joey & Katie Hartman, (February 2011)
Photograph by Pret a Poser

We built an entire February issue around couples who fell in love in Lake Forest, married, and raised their families here in the community. Joey and Katie’s wedding portrait on the steps of Lake Forest High School felt like the perfect image to tell that story. (A fun bit of trivia: Joey is my brother, and he and Katie first met in Señora Westrich’s Spanish class when he was a junior and she was a sophomore.)

CELEBRATING 150 ISSUES
Elizabeth Conatser, (January 2014)
Photograph by Jim Prisching

I was completely obsessed with this cover. Our publisher’s daughter Elizabeth wore the sweetest Florence Eiseman dress from Lillie Alexander while holding a beautiful anniversary cake created by Jolly Good Fellows. It was the perfect way to celebrate our 150th issue.

A NEW DAY FOR GORTON
Brenda Dick, (March 2011)
Photograph by Jim Prisching

Brenda had just been named executive director at Gorton Community Center and was leading the effort to revive it after it had closed because of financial challenges. The day of our interview, Lake Forest was buried under snow. Brenda snowshoed to her office just to take my call. That determination captured everything she brought to the organization.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION…
Nancy Hughes, (August 2015)
Photograph by Robin Subar

This cover served as a preview of the John & Nancy Hughes Theater at Gorton before its unveiling. Spending time with Nancy was a true privilege. She was gracious, thoughtful, and one of this community’s greatest champions, making this cover especially meaningful to me.

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LIVE LIKE GATSBY
Jeanette and Danny Hodgkinson, (March 2019)
Photo by Frank Ishman/Hair, Makeup & Styling by Constantine James

At first, it was all about Gatsby. Stepping into the childhood home of Ginevra King, the socialite who inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby, was a literary dream. But after meeting Jeanette and Danny Hodgkinson, the couple that saved the Howard Van Doren mansion from likely demolition, our story’s true heroes emerged. This cover shoot took place during a polar vortex with no electricity, but between the magic of photographer Frank Ishman and style genius Constantine James, we replicated true Gatsby glamour in the midst of a (re)construction zone.

ICONS IN OUR MIDST
Captain James Lovell, (July 2018)
Illustration by Robert Risko

We celebrated our 200th issue with a cover feature that showcased the icons in our midst, including the late Captain James Lovell, who was celebrating his 90th birthday. It was only the second time in the magazine’s history that the iconic astronaut (and Lake Forest resident) would be profiled, so we called on the talents of the great American caricature artist Robert Risko to honor the occasion.

TELLING STORIES
Rebecca Makkai, (December 2017)
Photo by Kerri Sherman

The afternoon Lake Forest photographer Kerri Sherman and I hung out with novelist Rebecca Makkai felt like a scene from an indie film. There was the usual swish of wardrobe changes and quick snaps at secret hideaways (Kerri has the eye) but the thing I that makes this one of my favorites were the conversations we had about the creative process and what it takes to get to the finish line.

TO A “T”
Mr. T, (May 2017)
Stock image

Our publisher always wanted us to write a story about actor Laurence Turaud—aka Mr. T. Old timers know this Hollywood star briefly called Lake Forest home, famously chopping down more than 100 trees on an estate known as Two Gables. When the property came on the market, we couldn’t resist the oppor-tunity to revisit an era in Lake For-est history that no one can forget. 

MONSOON MUSE
Robert Redford, (June 2018)
Stock image

Late Hollywood icon Robert Redford made his directorial debut with Ordinary People, a 1980 film that was shot in Lake Forest. When Redford returned 38 years later for a performance of The Way of the Rain as part of the Smith Nature Symposium, we had to get the story. Working with a long-time friend of Redford’s who served on the Brushwood Center board, this unforgettable cover feature came to life.

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20 YEARS!
Twentieth Anniversary Issue, (July 2021)
Illustration by Tom Bachtell

Working with famed illustrator Tom Bachtell during my time at the magazine was a pleasure and a privilege. Tom is as gracious and as talented as they come! For our 20th anniversary issue, it was impossible to choose a single person to represent our communities. Lake Forest and Lake Bluff had to be the stars! We commissioned Bachtell to create a whimsical illustration of local beach goers reveling in the summer sun. This cover captures what I loved most about the job—collaborating with gifted artists, writers, and community members, and seeing their work take center stage.

BRIGHT, BEAUTIFUL FALL
Fall Fashion, (September 2020)
Photograph by David Leslie Anthony

Fashion has been a lifelong passion for me, so having the opportunity to create a fall fashion issue was a dream come true! Here, I wanted the models to embody the fresh-faced, healthy exuberance found on ‘80’s magazine covers. Remember when cover models were models—not celebrities—and they were shot with beautiful smiles? It was such a joy working on this idea with seasoned fashion photographer David Leslie Anthony.

WE ARE ALL STUDENTS
Margo Thornberry, (August 2020)
Photograph by Caroline Zeeman

Growing up, I was an avid magazine reader and nothing was more exciting than a back-to-school issue! Here I wanted the image to marry the excitement of a bright young mind entering college with the last moments of a sun-kissed summer. Cover star Margo Thornberry was heading off to Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, and she was photographed by Caroline Zeeman. Both women had just graduated from Lake Forest High School.

THE RETURN OF SPRING
Stephanie Klein, (May 2020)
Photograph by Monica Kass Rogers

This was my first issue for the magazine. Lifelong Lake Forest resident Stephanie Klein was an easy decision for the cover story: an inspiring, wise, and beautiful woman forging a new path with her business Happinest Organizing. Photographer Monica Kass Rogers captured her essence perfectly, setting the tone for the kind of storytelling I hoped to bring to every issue that followed.

ART INTERRUPTED
Susan Lawson Bouma, (June 2021)
Photograph by Katrina Wittkamp

Abstract artist Susan Lawson Bouma paints bold, confident canvases with a palpable energy and quiet strength—not unlike Bouma herself. For this cover, photographer Katrina Wittkamp captured these qualities and Bouma’s innate beauty in a compositionally stunning photo.

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HORSE & GLORY
Model Katelyn Smith, (September 2022)
Photograph by David Leslie Anthony

We traveled to a stable in the Lake Forest–Lake Bluff area for a fall fashion story featuring Katelyn Smith. The rustic setting provided the perfect backdrop for the season’s rich textures, colors, and silhouettes. The editorial showcased Gucci, Balmain, Valentino, and Saint Laurent, blending each house’s distinctive perspective into a sophisticated, timeless autumn story. Katelyn brought beauty and confidence to the shoot, while David Leslie Anthony captured the atmosphere and strength of the fashion. As stylist and Editor-in-Chief, I loved bringing the location, designers, and creative team together for this memorable cover.

MOLLY CURLEY, A HIDDEN GEM
Molly Curley, (November 2021)
Photograph by Razzaq Lodhia

This cover will always hold a special place for me because it was my very first cover as Editor-in-Chief. There was something incredibly exciting about seeing all of the different pieces of my career and creative experience come together in one image.

LET’S CELEBRATE
Model Carrie Brown, (January 2022)
Photograph by Joshua Haines

This cover was especially exciting because it felt like all my professional worlds finally intersected—my years as a stylist and Style Director coming together with my role as Editor-in Chief, letting me shape not just the fashion, but the entire visual story. The New Year felt like the perfect moment to celebrate that evolution: more than a beautiful image, it was a reflection of where I was creatively and the direction I wanted the magazine to go.

THE STORY OF THE SEASON
Spring Fashion with Model Story Vreeland, (April 2022)
Photograph by David Leslie Anthony

This spring fashion cover was a true full-circle moment. Traveling to New Orleans to style Story Vreeland, Diana Vreeland’s niece, felt deeply meaningful, given Vreeland’s lasting influence on fashion and editorial storytelling. After years of building my career in fashion, I was now shaping the story as Editor-in Chief. Creating this feature felt like a beautiful connection between my past and present. 

CELEBRATE!
A Celebration of Light and Independence, (July 2022)
Photograph by David Leslie Anthony

For the July 2022 cover, we featured Marie, a beautiful model photographed by David Leslie Anthony. I styled her in a luminous red, and blue dress to celebrate the Fourth of July. The vibrant colors and radiant fabric created a joyful, celebratory feeling while honoring the spirit of Independence Day. Marie brought strength, beauty, and presence to the cover, and David’s photography captured her luminosity beautifully.

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REIMAGINING HISTORY
Wendy Franzen, (April 2025)
Photograph by Maria Ponce

Three talented women at play created this gorgeous cover. Wendy Franzen, chair of the 2025 Lake Forest Show House, brought a bolt of Schumacher fabric to her photoshoot with an idea: turn it into a dress. Stylist Theresa DeMaria was up for the challenge. Five minutes later, she had draped the gown shown here. Photographer Maria Ponce captured both the joy of the process and the beauty of the finished creation—teamwork at its finest.

A TRUE ORIGINAL
Mark McMahon, (July 2026)
Photograph by Maria Ponce

“Peaceful and full of purpose.” “at’s the mantra on a slip of paper that’s sat on my desk for years. Looking at this photo, I think Mark McMahon has mastered it. Surrounded by art and artifacts collected over a life-time of travel, he’s still creating and still giving back. I was at this pho-toshoot, so I can attest, it isn’t just a great photo—he’s a great person. Peaceful and full of purpose. 

NATIVE BEAUTY
Jen Fiocco, (August 2024)
Photograph by Monica Kass Rogers

Jen Fiocco’s first email to me was about the Junior Garden Club and its work on Belvedere Garden. It was the first of many story ideas she’d share with me over my three years at the magazine. Back then, I knew Jen only as a name in my inbox. Now she’s someone I connect with regularly. I am so grateful for Jen and the small circle of people who help keep this magazine relevant and on track.

IN WITH THE OLD
Hector Hernandez, (November 2023)
Photograph by Katrina Wittkamp

My first week at the helm of the magazine was an unforgettable one. I had coffee with Adrian and Nancy Smith, talked art with master painter Hector Hernandez, shown here on my first cover, and interviewed retired Navy SEAL Corben Cornelison. I’ll always love this cover because it takes me back to that extraordinary beginning and reminds me how lucky I am be a part of Forest & Bluff’s legacy.

LAKE BLUFF’S OWN “IT” GIRL
Maggie Getz, (December 2024)
Photograph by Maria Ponce

This photograph of designer Maggie Getz stopped me in my tracks. I loved the calm of it, the warmth of the light, and Maggie’s beautiful face in profile. It came just after a whirlwind stretch for Maggie, including being named to Frederic magazine’s prestigious “It List.” Her moment of stillness felt like pause at the end of a busy year—a perfect December moment and a reminder to slow down and take a breath.