2013: The year in photos

  Arcada Theatre organist Jim Shaffer, of Aurora, plays a short set before local band 8-Track opens the show for Scottish heavy-metal band Nazareth at the St. Charles theater in April. Shaffer, who died in November at the age of 78, had been volunteering at the theater as an usher and organ repairman for over 30 years at the Arcada through all its changes in management. It wasn't until a few years ago that he learned how to play the organ and became the theater's one and only organist. “There'll always be a void,” Arcada President and CEO Ron Onesti said of Shaffer. “There isn't one person who has been more of a part of the Arcada Theater than that man. It's like losing a piece of the foundation. The music just won't be the same. The music will never be the same.” Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com

  Jim Turner watches as Frank Engel, right on the windmill, and Bill Chidester work on installing a windmill in July at the top of a 25-foot tower at TurnerÂ’s farm in Garden Prairie. Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com

  Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns checks results in his re-election bid at his office in Geneva during elections last spring. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com

  A thunderstorm rolls over the McHenry County Fair last summer. The rain stopped the midway rides and the McHenry County Queen pageant for a short time. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com

  Jim Erboe, a part-time employee at River Valley Memorial Gardens in West Dundee, places Christmas wreaths on the graves of veterans buried at the picturesque cemetery. Christopher Hankins/chankins@dailyherald.com

  Dr. Edward Cho tries to get a nervous Nayomi Baumeister, 4, of Elgin to open up to him a little bit by making a balloon glove Friday as volunteers from the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation provided free dental care to underserved Illinois children age 5 and younger during the first Dentist By 1 Community Service Event at Elgin Community College. Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com

  Runners start at sunrise on First Street at the Fox Valley Marathon, which took place in September in St. Charles. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com