September 18

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Casey is first and foremost a curious student of the human experience. Some of his favorite teachers are (in no particular order) his 8 children, 2 grandchildren, his wife of 27 years and JRR Tolkien. Although much of his time is spent delivering mail for the postal service, he dreams of traveling the US and becoming a full time writer/storyteller. Casey has been with Stories R Us for 2 years and this is his 4th time sharing.

Barbara Eberhard is the producer and host of STORIES R Us. She taught photography at the University of St. Francis and was staff photographer at the Philip Lynch Theatre for over 30 years She was the director of the children’s theatre Eberhard and Friends. Barbara is a member of artitude and Chicago 

Society of Artists.You can view her work at barbaraeberhard.com

Bob Kahle developed a love for storytelling at a later age. Has participated in acting, music and drawing over the years. “Nothing like a good story to be engaged with others.” Constantly perfecting my craft to get better and better at this. Basically I tell real stories, but I do like to spin a story and see where it can go. I feel I like to inspire, educate, and entertain. Currently I create content on YouTube. I am a resident of Willow Springs, and I just love to hear other stories about life in general. 

Barbara Kirby is a wife (married to the same man for 48 years), a mother of 2, and grandmother of 4. She, her husband, and her children’s families all live in the greater Chicagoland area. She was the third child of 6 children—5 girls and 1 boy— and the only one born in Illinois. Her father was transferred with his job quite often. So she grew up in Illinois, Oregon, and California. As a result of all these moves, she went to 5 different grade schools and 2 different high schools—both public and private schools. Growing up, she loved to have books read to her and loved reading books to herself and others. Barbara graduated from the University of Illinois with a teaching degree and spent several years as an elementary school teacher. Eventually, she transferred her teaching skills to become an editor. For over 30 years, she was a senior editor for textbook publishing companies, such as McGraw-Hill and Pearson. Part of her job included writing short stories. A couple of years ago, her children bought her a subscription to Storyworth. They asked her questions about her life, and she loved writing the answers. Eventually, a book was published with her short stories. Now she enjoys telling these stories to the Stories R Us audience. She wishes to thank Barbara Eberhard for mentoring her through storytelling workshops.

Karen Scott moved to Lockport in March 2023 after having lived in Maryland for almost 30 years, where she worked in Washington DC for the US Environmental Protection Agency as an environmental education specialist. Karen has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in adult education. She worked in education her whole career, starting in elementary education in public schools and the US Peace Corps, and then transitioning to adult education for the US Army, and in evening schools, community colleges, and workplace literacy programs. She is now retired and lives with 3 cats near her son and daughter-in-law and 3 grandchildren, which has been delightful, but she misses her daughter in Baltimore. Karen loves to travel and got to see much of the Pacific and SE Asia in the 1970s during and after her two years in the Peace Corps. She also had the privilege of traveling throughout a great deal of the United States while working for the EPA and the Army. She hopes to do more traveling now that she’s settled in her new home.