November 18

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Barbara Guschwan is widowed and is the mother of 3 , the stepmother of 6 , and the grandmother of 15. She spent her career listening to people’s stories by working in mental health as a psychiatric nurse and later as a psychotherapist. She created and facilitated several Community Groups; including ‘Empowering Women’ and ‘Nightwriters’ , a writing group for the mentally ill.

Judy Hogfeldt is a retired high school English teacher. A former figure skater, she now trains, performs, and competes in ballroom dance events. She has performed in several Limestone Stage productions and is the co-author of 6 One Act Plays for Community Theaters. Judy recently moved to Lemont where her African violets and her imagination bloom relentlessly.  

My formative years were spent discovering life in the neighborhoods of Downers Grove and Arlington Heights.  I studied long and hard at Harper, Northern and Illinois State.Joliet became my own nest site in 1993. With the help from mama bird, provided for 3 nestlings, who have since fledged, more or less.  Main source of nest lining was derived from 30 years teaching biology at good old Joliet Junior College.  Now, semi-retired, when not busy minding my own business, I write poetry, ambulate, and yearn for fresh morning coffee and chatting with old and younger friends.  I volunteer for the local food bank, monitor the status of tall-grass prairies and facilitate better moods with Action For Happiness.  I can be found performing acts of strength and endurance at Planet Fitness too.

Mike Speller is always “Going Places” (he’s visited 49 of our 50 states) and he’s shared stories at quite a few events as well. He’s been featured at the Sterling, LaCrosse, Fox Valley, and Ray Bradbury Festivals. In Chicagoland, Mike’s performed for Show & Tell, This Much is True, Back Room Stories, and Homewood Stories. His collection of gothic horror tales, “Fear Itself,” has frightened hundreds of fans at fringe festivals across the country.  And if you’ve got a free ticket to Hawaii….

Kimberly Vanbiesbrouck is an actor, dancer, singer, writer and most importantly, a Mom. She’s a Belgian girl raised in Detroit, but thanks to her highly useful Bachelors degree in Theatre and Dance, she has appeared in numerous productions across this great land of ours; from A Chorus Line, Forbidden Broadway, Always, Patsy Cline, Forbidden Hollywood, Motherhood, the Musical, to the long running, highly successful and all too relatable show, Menopause, theMusical. Kimberly has been fortunate enough to be apart of story telling events all around the Chicagoland area; such as, Filet of Solo, Chicago Story Sessions, Voicebox, Homewood Stories, Miss Spoken and Louder Than A Mom.