Geneva on the lookout for a few good chefs

The bad news is that I won’t be able to wow the crowds with the Heun family’s killer fudge at this year’s “60 Men Who Cook” fundraiser May 6 at the Kane County Fairgrounds because of a previous commitment.

The good news is that the hunt is still on for chefs who want to participate in this food fest that sold more than 1,000 tickets last year and raised funds for the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, Geneva History Center and Geneva Lions and Rotary clubs.

As the event title suggests, 60 local “celebrity chefs” each cook about 200 bite-sized portions of their specialty — and those in attendance vote for favorites with $1 votes in various categories from appetizers, to main dishes to desserts.

This was a lot of fun, and it was amazing how many people stopped by the booth to chat and try our killer fudge. Hopefully, I can return to a future event, but more importantly, the organizers need to fill those openings with chefs.

Early last week, there was still a need for about 20 chefs. Don’t let the word “celebrity” scare you off. If you have lived in Geneva for some time and know a few people in the community, you probably qualify.

Other than cooking something yummy, the only commitment is a short meeting with the county heath department in early March, and having your photo taken for the publicity posters.

If you want to be a chef, contact Terry Emma at (630) 244-8896 or Dawn Vogelsberg at (630) 913-9139.

Going strong at 90

If Melvin Peterson is a “walking St. Charles history book,” as so many refer to him, then he’s been slowed down only slightly by recent hip surgery.

But he’ll be ready to celebrate his 90th birthday Sunday with anyone who wants to stop in with well wishes at an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Peterson, a 1939 graduate of St. Charles High School, is probably best known for operating Wasco Blacksmith shop for more than 40 years.

No beefs there

The sign outside Mr. Beef and Gyros on the west side of St. Charles remains tempting — “Charbroiled hamburgers, broiled chicken, hot dogs and Italian beef.”

But the place is dark and empty. I wasn’t a regular at Mr. Beef, but I hate to see any Vienna beef joint go dark.

It also made me wish that Pop’s Place, on the east side of St. Charles hadn’t bolted to Carol Stream a year ago. Might Pop’s Place have found the Mr. Beef site on the west side appealing?

Eat pasta to aid flowers

The flowers that adorn the planting beds throughout downtown Geneva are nice to look at during our warm-weather months, but someone has to pay for that pleasure.

You can do your part by eating some spaghetti from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the fifth annual “Pasta for Posies” fundraiser that helps the Geneva Beautification Committee. The spaghetti dinner will be held at Riverview Banquets on Route 25 in Batavia.

A 6:30 p.m. seminar about recycling in your garden will also be held.

Tickets, which are $10 for adults and $5 for children if purchased in advance, are available at various Geneva stores, or by calling Sherri Weitl at (630) 232-7494.

Still smacking softballs

I saw Helen Biddle of Elburn recently and it did not surprise me in the least that she said she was still playing softball.

Biddle was a star player on the Fox Valley Lassies world championship slowpitch softball team back in the late 1970s, and I considered her a talented “old veteran” back on those teams in the early 1980s.

So here we are more than 30 years later, and she’s still pounding away at the softball on two or three teams — at the age of 60.

For those who never saw the Lassies play softball, let me describe it for you: It was like watching the 1929 Yankees play a Cubs team from the early 1960s on a regular basis. They were that much better than nearly every team they played.

Still spinning music

He falls into the “hard to believe” category, simply because he’s still spinning music nearly 50 years after I first heard his voice on my transistor radio.

And the Rosary Alumnae and Marmion Alumni Associations are banking on others having the same fond memories when they welcome alumni, parents and friends (age 21 and older) to “Dancing the Night Away with Dick Biondi” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Alumni Hall at Marmion Academy.

This is the old sock hop that some Marmion grads may remember during their high school days, and they’re likely to hear plenty of music they recall as well. Having the top disc jockey from the 1960s doesn’t hurt the nostalgia.

Tickets in advance are $12.50 per person, available at Marmion’s alumni office at (630) 897-6936, ext. 228, or Rosary’s at (630) 896-0831, ext. 19.

A marathon cause

Aubree Hoepper, a 2007 graduate of St. Charles East, was mentioned in this column a few years ago because she was supporting a charity while running in the Boston Marathon.

She’s at it again, as she prepares to graduate from Boston University in May with a double major in human physiology and psychology.

While planning on doing future research in the field of child psychological disorders, Hoepper is more focused at the moment on the April 18 Boston Marathon, where she will again be running for the charity “Team Hole in the Wall,” which helps children afflicted with cancer and sickle cell anemia.

Donations for this cause can be made to http://teamholeinthewall.kintera.org/boston2011/aubree.

dheun@sbcglobal.net