I want to hear about your celebrities

I've always been a history buff. And a trivia buff. Really kind of a frustrated "Jeopardy!" contestant with a very competitive streak? (ask all the people who won't play Trivial Pursuit with me, I guess)

Over the past few months, I've been getting acquainted with Glenview and Northbrook. Part of that (besides a lot of Glenview Grind Fran-Go Mint coffee) is learning about each town's history.

In fact, two of the first people I spoke to when we were first getting these papers started were Beverly Dawson and Judy Hughes, of the Glenview and Northbrook historical societies, respectively.

And, sure, we could talk here about things like the Northbrook Library's architecture (it's very cool - be sure to check out Joe Lewnard's drone photo on page 30) or the Glen, former site of Naval Air Station Glenview. But, frankly, the historical societies have wonderful information and write columns here monthly. (That's what I'm telling you, but I don't actually know how to find the REI to get my fancy running socks without using GPS, so I'm still learning.)

So that brings me to a topic with which I am familiar: People. You can't really know a town without knowing what makes it tick, right? And a big part of what makes it tick is its residents, past and present.

I've been thinking about this all week after stumbling down a rabbit hole while watching "The Goldbergs." If you've ever caught an episode, you'll surely agree it's got one of the best theme songs: "Rewind" by local chiptune rockers I Fight Dragons.

I bet you know what's coming here: Follow me across the bridge.

Whenever I stumble across any celebrity or interesting person who lists themselves as being from "Chicago," I always check the Google Machine to see where they're really from. (Because nobody wants to explain which "Lake" town they're from in Lake County, amirite?)

And now, if they're from Glenview or Northbrook, instant story! It's how we came up with our Lollapalooza story about headliner and EDM legend Kaskade, also known as Ryan Raddon, Glenbrook North Class of 1989. We've also had a fair number of stories about the Cubs' Jason Kipnis, and we've got a pair of stories coming up that I'm so excited about ... you'll just have to wait. There will be a long, fangirling column when these finally get to run, I'm sure. I mean, one of the subjects? I've been a fan since EIGHTH GRADE. (no, it is not a Backstreet Boy, stahp.)

But, back to I Fight Dragons: "Hey, they're from Chicago," I think. But I wonder where they're really from? So I start Googling. (the easier path would've been to ask my husband, who is a local music writer for the Daily Herald and Chicago Sound Check and has actually talked to them at some point. He was probably grocery shopping. I send him out for a lot of snacks.)

As it turns out, I had a good hunch: Brian Mazzaferri, the singer from I Fight Dragons, went to Glenbrook South. YAY! So that's a story I'm hoping we'll get to do at some point. Partly because it'll be interesting, but also because IFD is special to us: One of their songs was our wedding song!

So I've talked about obvious celebrities here, plus I'm sure you know about others. But Hollywood and musicians aren't the only celebrities in a town; I only brought this up to start the discussion. The celebrities in our towns are the people we run into every day who do amazing things big and small. Acts of service? A kind word at a welcome time? The police officer who helped you change your tire? A great teacher? Kids in your neighborhood cleaning up after that weird storm, just because? Those are just examples. There are all sorts of things that are worth talking about that make people special - celebrities in their own way. I'd love for you to tell me about them, because we could all use good news sometimes, and they are what make your towns tick. Email me at glenbrooknews@dailyherald.com, mfindlay@dailyherald.com or visit our Facebook groups: Facebook.com/EverythingGlenview and Facebook.com/EverythingNorthbrook. I look forward to hearing about your celebrities!

• Melynda has worked at the Daily Herald for more than 20 years. She really does want to know what makes you tick.