The November Student of the Month is Grace Majerus. She grew up in Sycamore and went to Southeast Elementary School. She is president of the National Honor Society and a winning player on the high school tennis team. She volunteers in the community, including help with the Feed My Starving Children food packing and the local Trick or Treat for UNICEF fund drive. Majerus comes from a long line of family members involved in education, including her parents, and says this has inspired her interest in learning. When asked what subject she might like to teach, she said it would be English. Majerus hopes to attend the University of Wisconsin, Madison; University of Illinois; or Carthage College next fall majoring in political science or education. Majerus said she will be donating her $100 Rotary check to the Spartan Food Pantry.
Entrepreneur Kellie Erwin has opened a children’s boutique in downtown Sycamore to fill a void in shopping choices. Erwin grew up in Sycamore but spent time in Iowa and North Carolina after earning a degree in merchandising from Northern Illinois University. She said her family made the choice to come back to Sycamore and she found space available at the former Confectionary building to open her store stocked with apparel and gifts for newborns and young children.
A desire to return to Midwest roots brought Kellie Erwin and her family back to Sycamore where she has opened a children’s boutique in the former Confectionary store downtown. Adventure Sprouts carries apparel and accessories from newborn to youth. Erwin explained that she buys through wholesalers and also directly from manufacturers. This means she finds things like exceptionally soft bamboo cloth made sleepers for children, unique clothing items using magnets instead of buttons to make opening and closing faster and easier, as well as school spirit wear for the very youngest fans. Her accessory collections include books, toys, and specialty gifts.
Erwin explained that she grew up in Sycamore but after graduating with a merchandising degree from NIU she found work in Iowa and then North Carolina. A desire to get back to her Midwest roots led her to relocate with her family back to Sycamore and the decision to open a children’s boutique clothing store. Hoping to emulate the “adventures of youth,” the store “Adventure Sprouts” was created. She says she found the perfect downtown location when shown the empty storefront that used to house the Sycamore Confectionery.
Erwin says her current store hours are Wednesday-Friday 10 AM - 6 PM, Saturday 10 AM – 4 PM, and Sunday Noon – 4 PM (closed Monday and Tuesday). You can follow the store’s happenings through social media “@shopadventuresprouts”.
November 3, 1908 – Bronko Nagurski, Canadian-American college and pro-football hall of fame fullback who played for the Chicago Bears, is born in Rainy River, Ontario.
November 4, 1916 – United Press International wire service correspondent and later CBS-TV news anchor Walter Cronkite is born in St. Joseph, Missouri. During his lifetime, he is widely ranked as America’s most trusted journalist.
November 6, 1861 – James Naismith, the inventor of the sport of basketball, is born in Almonte, Ontario, Canada. He wrote the basketball rulebook in 1891, founded the University of Kansas basketball program, and lived to see basketball adopted as an Olympic sport in 1936 and creation of the NCAA tournament in 1939.
November 7, 1867 – Marie Curie, the scientist who discovered radium and the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, is born in Warsaw, Poland.
November 3, 1948 – "Dewey Defeats Truman" is the banner headline on the front page of the Chicago Tribune newspaper. Printed before polls closed, their polling projections were infamously wrong because Harry Truman defeated Thomas Dewey in the 1948 election.
November 4, 1922 – King Tut’s tomb is discovered at Luxor, Egypt by British archeologist Howard Carter.
November 8, 1895 – X-rays are discovered by William Roentgen at the University of Würzburg in Germany.
November 9, 1965 – At 5:16 PM, the Great Blackout of the Northeast began due to a circuit breaker malfunction at a power plant on the Niagara River. The blackout affects more than 30 million people living along the East Coast and Canada.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 2024-2025
President – Steve Wilder
President Elect – Jonelle Bailey
Director (President Nominee) – Becky Springer
Director (President Designee) - Matt Nelson
Past President – Brandon Diviak
Treasurer – Dr. Michele Jurkovic
Secretary – Pat Shafer
Sergeant at Arms – Paulette Renault
Monthly Committees
July: Board of Directors
August: Brandon Diviak, Jeff Keicher, Pat Shafer
September: Dave Hamilton, Jeff Jacobson, Jim Stoddard
October: Paul Callighan, Matt Nelson, Paul Stromborg
November: Sue Emberson, Jeff Frank, Phil Meyer
December: Larry Berke, Ray Dembinski, Riley Oncken
Fellowship: Paulette Renault, Larry Berke, Sue Emberson, Dave Hamilton, Pat Shafer
Foundations:Paul Stromborg, Jim Buck, Sue Emberson, Matt Nelson, Jim Stoddard
Membership: Jonelle Bailey, Ray Dembinski, Brandon Diviak, Bob Hammon, Jeff Jacobson, Steve Kuhn, Phil Meyer, Matt Nelson, Riley Oncken, Jeff Petersen, Bob Wildendradt
New Generations: Chip Houdek, Julie Sgarlata, Becky Springer, Steve Wilder
Public Image: Bob Brown, Paul Callighan, Jeff Keicher, Joyce Klein, Tasha Sims
Scholarships:Tim Neubert, Don Clayberg, Ray Dembinski, Michele Jurkovic, Steve Kuhn, Julie Sgarlata
Service: Brandon Diviak, Alicia Cosky, Jeff Frank, Michele Jurkovic, Rob Mondi, Tim Neubert, Brendan Wilson
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