Ernest Hemingway Foundation in Oak Park awards two $1,500 scholarships
Sofia Fitzgerald, of Oak Park, a rising senior at Oak Park and River Forest High School, won the 2025 Hemingway Foundation Student Scholarship Essay Contest, which is for juniors in high school.
Luke Voegtle of Westchester, who graduated this spring from Proviso Mathematics & Science Academy in Forest Park, won the 2025 Allan O. Baldwin Memorial Student Scholarship, which is for seniors in high school.
'The foundation has been around since '83,' said Executive Director Keith Strom. 'From the get-go, the foundation's mission was around preserving, educating, and storing the creative life and writing of Ernest Hemingway. It was an easy segway to try to support younger writers as well. There's been an essay contest the majority of the years.'
Competitors have to submit a 300-600-word essay, which is reviewed by a panel.
Each of the two winners receive a $1,500 scholarship. The Hemingway Foundation Student Scholarship Essay Contest winner is also given a mentorship with the Hemingway's writer-in-residence, who from 2024-26 is Kate Sjostrom.
In addition, both winners will have their essays published in the tenth annual edition of 'Hemingway Shorts.'
Sofia Fitzgerald's essay is called, 'My Journey Through the Biblioglass.'
'I wrote about the libraries in Oak Park and how much they mean to me, and my journey with them, and how it's evolved since I was a baby going there,' Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald said she has been writing 'since I was a little kid, but this is the first time that I've published anything that I've written.'
She decided to enter the Hemingway competition because, 'It seemed like a good opportunity to share my talent and love of writing.'
She also entered the competition because she appreciated the writing prompt, which was to write about what your hometown means to you.
When Fitzgerald learned that she had won the competition, 'I was genuinely so shocked. It was nice to see my work recognized.'
Fitzgerald has already worked with mentor Sjostrom. 'Being able to have such an amazing mentor has definitely made me more willing and more excited to try and publish more of my work in my senior year,' she said.
In terms of her career goal, although she loves writing, Fitzgerald said, 'I'm hoping to pursue something in international relations with the government.'
Luke Voegtle's essay is called 'A Life of Adventure and Ikigai.'
'My essay was about discovering a Japanese concept called ikigai,' Voegtle said. 'It's focused around enjoying the smallest moments of life, like a small coffee chat with grandma or a nice conversation, rather than focusing on grand purpose. I went on a backpacking hike to Washington to explore this and search within myself and even though the journey was extremely tough, we met a woman there who helped us get through it and it was a life changing experience.'
Voegtle is continuing that exploration, most recently backpacking through Europe with his brothers.
He reported that writing has always been a passion of his. When he learned he had won the contest, Voegtle said, 'I was really excited. I was really honored because I've always enjoyed writing.'
Voegtle will be attending the University of Michigan in the fall to study statistics.
Hemingway Executive Director Strom reported that the two winners will also be recognized at an event in July.
'That's probably one of the most rewarding things of the various programming that we do,' Strom said. 'I get a kick out of seeing people being acknowledged for the talents that they have.'
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Hamilton Spectator
28-07-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Ridgetown swimmer participates in Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial
Jane Baldwin-Marvell was just a young girl in Toronto when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a fierce storm on Lake Superior that fateful night of November 10, 1975. Fifty years later, Baldwin-Marvell is taking part in a historic memorial swim to honour the former Queen of the Lakes and its 29-man crew who perished. The Ridgetown resident is one of 68 swimmers participating in the Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim, a 411-mile journey that began Saturday in the eastern edge of Lake Superior and is scheduled to end on August 27 at the Detroit Yacht Club on Belle Isle. The swimmers are symbolically completing the route the Fitzgerald took on its last journey, as the 729-foot ship was carrying 26,000 tons of taconite ore pellets from Superior, Wisc., to the steel mills on Zug Island in Detroit. 'I vaguely remember it as a child, hearing about it on the news,' Baldwin-Marvell said of her memory of the Fitzgerald's sinking. She remembers seeing freighters unloading cargo in silos and terminals along the Toronto waterfront. 'Back in those days, Toronto was a working port, not like today, where you have Queen's Quay and all of the nice shops and restaurants,' she said. 'I remember seeing those massive ships and I've seen storms on the lake ... I can visualize what it must have been like and how terrifying it was.' Baldwin-Marvell also recalls one year later, when Gordon Lightfoot released his hit song 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,' which further magnified the legacy of the ship and its sinking. 'The song really solidified how everybody felt,' she said. 'I think Gordon Lightfoot absolutely touched the whole heart, the haunting words and the instrumental pieces, the guitar that sounded like the whining of the wind.' Baldwin-Marvell, a Grade 6-7 French Immersion teacher at McNaughton Ave. School in Chatham, first heard about the memorial swim when Jim Dreyer, the event organizer, was interviewed on Windsor Morning CBC Radio in May. When registration opened in June, Baldwin-Marvell was one of the first to sign up. She quickly raised the minimum $2,500 – thanks to family and friends – as the swim is also a fundraiser for the preservation of Whitefish Point Lighthouse, located near Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The memorial swim consists of 17 stages, each approximately 30 miles in length. The stages will be held on alternating days, in case of any weather-related delays. There will be four swimmers per stage, who will take turns spending approximately 30 minutes in the water until they reach their destination. Baldwin-Marvell is taking part in the 15th stage, which starts at Lexington, Mich. and ends at the Bluewater Bridge. The Lexington to Port Huron stage is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, August 23, starting at 7 a.m., but the date is subject to change pending any delays. The 411-mile odyssey began Saturday at the site of the Fitzgerald's sinking, about 17 miles from Whitefish Bay, with the permission of families of the 29 crew members. The swimmers will be accompanied by a support boat, which will have a licensed captain and first mate, a paramedic, a doctor, a rescue swimmer, and a film crew, as the event will be featured in 'The Legend Lives On,' a documentary commemorating the Fitzgerald's 50th anniversary. Swimmers will ride on the support boat until it's their turn to return to the water. When she applied, Baldwin-Marvell had to answer a questionnaire about her swimming experience, including how far she could swim in 30 minutes and whether she was comfortable swimming in the dark, as the days would be shorter toward the end of August. Baldwin-Marvell said she was a competitive swimmer in clubs in Etobicoke and high school, as she qualified for provincial championship meets. Since moving to Ridgetown 20 years ago, she has swum regularly at the Chatham-Kent YMCA. She has also swum long distances with local triathletes in training, including a 2.5-kilometre swim in Lake Erie on Canada Day. Baldwin-Marvell has recently been preparing for her journey by swimming a minimum of one kilometre daily at the Gable Rees Rotary Pool in Blenheim while the YMCA pool was undergoing maintenance. 'I know in a pool, I can do a mile in 35 minutes,' she said. 'In a lake, if it's calm and clear conditions, I can probably do close to that. But some other factors could come into play, like waves, currents and wind.' The 16th stage runs the length of the St. Clair River to Algonac, with the final 30-mile leg crossing Lake St. Clair to the Detroit Yacht Club, tentatively set for Wednesday, August 27. A memorial service will be held at the Mariners' Church of Detroit (corner of Jefferson Ave. at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel) on Thursday, August 28, at 12:10 p.m. The names of the sailors who perished will be read, followed by the church bell ringing 29 times 'for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald,' as depicted in Lightfoot's song. The Edmund Fitzgerald was only in service for 17 years when it sank. At 729-feet, it was the largest ship on the Great Lakes when it was launched on June 7, 1958, at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, just south of Detroit, next to Zug Island, the Fitzgerald's destination on its final voyage. The Fitzgerald made 784 round-trips from Wisconsin to steel mills in Detroit, Cleveland and Toledo during its 17 years on the lakes. The Fitzgerald left Superior, Wis., on the afternoon of November 9, 1975, and it ran into a fierce winter storm on November 10 with hurricane-force winds and 35-foot waves. The ship, being followed by the Arthur A. Anderson, disappeared from radar just after 7 p.m. and was only 17 miles from Whitefish Bay. Three days later, searchers found the Fitzgerald, broken into three pieces, 530 feet down on the Canadian side of Lake Superior. The ages of the 29-man crew ranged from 22 to 63 years. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Yahoo
From competition to couple: 'Destination X' stars come out, announce they're dating
Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald knew they were in for the adventure of a lifetime when they joined the NBC reality competition show Destination X. But they didn't know they'd also find love, the pair tells Out in an exclusive interview. Destination X, hosted by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, features a group of contestants who are transported around Europe while blindfolded. They have to use clues to guess where they are, and the person whose guess is farthest from the correct answer is eliminated. Even though the game was every person for themself, Bross and Fitzgerald teamed up on the show's first challenge after bonding over both living in Texas. However, when Fitzgerald won an advantage and almost saved fellow contestant Biggy instead of Bross, the two lost trust in each other. By the time Fitzgerald was eliminated last week and Bross this week, they were back in an alliance, but were nothing more than friends. Destination X stars Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald smiling at each other on the Krosny/NBC In her intro on the show, Bross says she came into the game hoping to find Mr. Right. She was always looking for a husband, but she never got past a certain point when dating men. She had gone on dates with two girls she "kind of had crushes on," but when they weren't compatible, she assumed she must be straight. "But then I had so many relationships with guys where I just didn't feel that we could relate on an intellectual or emotional level. It almost was like, something's off here," she says. "And I only ever really wanted to be in relationships with men who I constantly needed to get approval from. It was like I was constantly working to be their idea of what a good girlfriend should be." "And yeah, every guy I met I did think was my husband," she says. "And maybe it was so easy to let go of all my husbands because I was going to have a wife." For a while, Ally did think she might've found Mr. Right when she began a showmance with contestant Shayne Cureton, and the two even continued dating for a short time after the show. Destination X stars Ally Bross and Shayne Pattaro/NBC After being on Destination X, Bross and Fitzgerald started hanging out simply because they lived eight minutes from each other in Austin, Texas. "I had found her Destination X water bottle on the bus, and I nabbed it. And I was like, 'I'm going to bring it back to her.' So I brought it back to her, and then we started hanging out a lot," Bross says. That first hangout included spending time eating crab rangoon and watching lesbian singer Chappell Roan's performances. Fitzgerald jokes that the sapphic pop "kind of put the seeds in" for their blossoming romance. Bross didn't fully realize her feelings for Fitzgerald until the two went on a trip together for a YouTube series they started together called Where the F Are We?. The series, like Destination X, features the pair taking each other on blindfolded journeys where they must guess their location. Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald on Bross and Mack Fitzgerald (PROVIDED) On a trip to Finland, Bross says, her feelings for Fitzgerald solidified. "While we were in Finland, we were staying in this tiny little cabin that had just these two little twin beds. And I don't know if it's in the Finnish air or something, but I just suddenly had such a big crush on Mack," she says. "I was feeling like, 'Wait, this is way bigger than what it was before.' Before I knew I really wanted Mack to like me, I really wanted her around all the time. I was sad when she would leave my house. But it was really in Finland where I realized I had feelings for her." Bross reveals that it was a drunk airplane ride where those feelings were revealed. The two were separately filming content for their YouTube videos when she filmed herself "basically admitting my feelings for her" on camera. Bross had planned not to say anything, but when the pair started going through their videos together, her confession came up."I was so exposed," Bross says. "She watched it, and I was like, 'Oh my God, it's so embarrassing." Before dating Bross, Fitzgerald always identified as asexual and didn't believe in love. It wasn't until she thought about her feelings for Bross that she changed her mind. Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald kissing and at a state fair.[Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald] (PROVIDED) "Once that was put on my radar, then I kind of had to ask myself what all of those little butterfly feelings were and kind of confront that," Fitzgerald says. "Then it was like, 'Oh, this is what people are talking about, this is the butterflies.'" "And then it was all of a sudden all I could think about was Ally and all I wanted to do was talk to Ally," she says. However, before they did anything, Bross had to break up with Cureton. She flew to Indiana to break up with him, then went to her grandparents' for Thanksgiving before returning to Austin and Fitzgerald. As soon as she did, Fitzgerald kissed her ("it was very smooth, I'll say," she brags). "And then I felt like everything inside of me exploded in a way that had never happened when I'd ever kissed anybody," Fitzgerald says. "And so then I was just like, 'Holy shit, this is what people are talking about. Fireworks and butterflies and... I don't know.' I still can't stop thinking about it even though we're together." Fitzgerald says that for most of her life, she thought everybody was "making up being in love." She even said that "coming home and having somebody be there" was her "absolute worst nightmare." "And then it's just like after even just one kiss, really, I was like, 'Oh, I was wrong.' Love is real. It's really good. It feels amazing. I don't want her to ever leave." Once they started dating, they immersed themselves in sapphic culture, watching things like The L Word, Blue is the Warmest Color, and The Ultimatum: Queer Love. They bought carabiners in every color and love to share clothes. They also took part in another long-held lesbian tradition: Uhauling. "I kissed her and never left her apartment," Fitzgerald jokes. "Yes, she never left. And now I live in her house," Bross adds. Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald kissing and hugging in front of a forest.[Amanda Kioko] (PROVIDED) Bross says that coming out to her family and friends was "emotional," but happened quickly for her. She has a gay great uncle who has been with his husband since before she was born, so Bross knew her extended family would be accepting, but she was still nervous. "I'm the only granddaughter, and I didn't really know what everyone was going to say," she reveals. "My family has met a plethora of boyfriends that I said were going to be my husband. And they would always be so shocked when I would break up with a really nice one." Bross came out to her family over a long text. Her father said he knew how open-minded she is, and he wasn't surprised. Her mother was more surprised, but "not in a negative way," Bross says. "All of my friends were like, 'This makes sense. Duh, you're bi or queer or pan or whatever. We've all known this about you.' I was like, 'Really? Because I didn't know that. This is news to me!" "Coming out in general, no matter how you think people are going to react to it, it's scary. It feels so personal," Bross says. "And I was still coming to terms with the reality of it myself and facing a lot of comphet and things that I didn't really know how to explain until I did a bunch of research. Like, why am I feeling like this, you know? So it was even scary just internally. Once I say this to my family, this is real, right? And the whole world tells you to be one way. And yeah, it's scary to think that maybe you're a different way. But now it's the most beautiful thing in the world." Fitzgerald says that before this relationship, she never felt like she "was really attracted to anybody else." She'd get crushes on guys, but when they started dating, she'd just want to be best friends. "And then girls, I never felt attracted to, which is why I landed on asexual, somewhere around that spectrum," she says. "But then this is obviously not asexual, and so I understand that there's a spectrum." "I don't really care to figure it out because I know how I feel currently," she adds. "And hopefully this is forever, so it's not like I'm going to need to figure that out. But yeah, I'm happy with just being in love with Ally and that being the whole story." While Bross and Fitzgerald haven't publicly discussed their relationship before, some fans online have begun to suspect they might be more than just friends. Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald looking lovingly at each other.[Ally Bross and Mack Fitzgerald] (PROVIDED) Fitzgerald says it feels "cool" to see people rooting for them, even if it's just "12 people on Reddit." It encourages her to see that the fans "are already accepting and supportive and excited about this." Bross understands where the fans are coming from. As soon as she realized her feelings for Fitzgerald, she was starving for sapphic representation, including "real-life examples of people who have maybe experienced what I feel like I'm experiencing." "So when we have young girls who are in high school DMing us on Instagram like, 'Is it true? Are you a girl kisser? Are you and Mack together?' It does make me really happy. Because even just the last eight months, anytime there's any mention of a queer couple, we're like, 'We got to watch that. We're watching that. I'm tuned in." Bross says that being part of the queer community has "been really liberating." Next up, the couple is going on a trip to Europe. When they get back, they're looking forward to attending Austin Pride and visiting some of their Destination X friends. They also have trips to Canada, Tokyo, and all around Asia planned. They'd love to go on another reality show, this time as a couple. "I have this fantasy pipe dream in my head that we could both go on Traitors at the same time," Bross says. "There was a couple (Marcus Jordan and Larsa Pippen on Season 2), so come on, NBC, I know you're listening!" This article originally appeared on Out: From competition to couple: 'Destination X' stars come out, announce they're dating RELATED Top 10 LGBTQ+ beach towns perfect for Pride and summer fun This LGBTQ+ Family Went Swimming with Whale Sharks Solve the daily Crossword
Chicago Tribune
14-07-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Children's ‘running of the bulls' highlights Hemingway Birthday Weekend in Oak Park
Three days of readings, a lecture, musical performances and even a children's version of the running of the bulls are planned for the Hemingway Birthday Weekend, July 18-20 in Oak Park. 'Part of our mission is his legacy,' said Keith Strom, executive director of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park, which runs the annual event. 'Him being born in Oak Park in 1899 is part of our institutional programming.' Strom said in addition to commemorating Hemingway's local connections, the weekend 'also allows us to give voice to the foundation and our mission of not only his legacy but also our work towards supporting artists of today and tomorrow.' The events also help support the Hemingway Business District financially by bringing in visitors. This year's Hemingway Birthday Weekend will also celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1925 publication of 'In Our Time,' a collection of short stories and vignettes which became Hemingway's American debut. 'It was the seminal start of his career,' Strom said. To introduce people to that work, there will be a tour of the Hemingway Business District on July 18 with stops at three locations for readings from the book. Reading 1, at 6 p.m. at Yoga Loft, 115 N. Oak Park Ave., will be an interpretive discussion of 'Indian Camp' by Hemingway Foundation volunteer Renee Malknecht, who is a former literature teacher. Reading 2, at 7 p.m. at Dandelion Bookstore, 139 S. Oak Park Ave. will feature 'Soldier's Home,' with Nancy W. Sindelar, vice chair of the Hemingway Foundation, doing an interpretive discussion. The series concludes with Reading 3 at 8 p.m. at Scoville Building, 137 N. Oak Park Ave., with an interpretive discussion of 'Big Two-Hearted River' by Hemingway scholar J. Gerald Kennedy. All three readings are offered free of charge. The weekend celebration continues from 10 a.m.-noon on July 19 with the 2025 Kids Running of the Bulls, another free event. Children will decorate their own cardboard bull and parade them around Scoville Park at 800 Lake St. The event is produced in collaboration with the Hemingway Business District and the Collaboration for Early Childhood. 'It's been a remarkable success over the years,' Strom reported. 'It's a lot of fun.' From 3-4:30 p.m. on July 19, educator J. Gerald Kennedy will present the Hemingway Birthday Lecture at Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St. in the Veterans Room. 'Professor Kennedy is probably the main scholar around 'In Our Time,' because he was the editor of the Norton Critical Edition of 'In Our Time,'' Strom said. Kennedy is also the author of books about Hemingway called 'Imagining Paris' and 'French Connections,' the latter coedited with Jackson Bryer. 'I was vice president of the Hemingway Foundation for nine years and I have taught Hemingway for my entire academic career,' Kennedy said. Kennedy praised 'In Our Time' as 'Hemingway's first important work. It was really a huge breakthrough for Hemingway. It was the start of his career. It marked Hemingway as a significant author.' Kennedy is calling his lecture, 'The Rough Edges of In Our Time.' 'This is a collection of pieces that Hemingway composed over approximately two-and-a-half years,' Kennedy said. 'When he began the process, he had no idea where he was going. He started writing short pieces that appealed to him that in some way represented his own experience or his sense of the modern world after the Great War.' The process of creating the book was hampered by a series of mishaps, including the traumatizing loss of manuscripts, Kennedy said. In terms of the 'Rough Edges,' Kennedy explained, 'Even in the final work there are still many elements that you scratch your head at.' The only weekend event with a charge is the Hemingway Birthday Porch Concert with Local Memory and Lydia Cash, 7-9 p.m. July 19 at the Hemingway Birthplace Museum, 339 N. Oak Park Ave. Admission is $15. Strom said they chose these newer local groups because, 'It works with what we're trying to do in terms of supporting new artists. The Chicago-based group Local Memory, which started about a year-and-a-half ago, consists of Amy Myers (songwriter, rhythm guitarist, lead vocalist); Lucas Chamberlain (electric guitar); Matt Ciani (bass guitar); Nico Ciani (drummer); Nicole Murray (keyboards); and Lydia Cash (backup vocalist, viola). 'I feel like we're kind of country-adjacent indie-rock. The alternative is the best I've been able to come up with at this time,' Myers said. They have performed at Chicago venues including The Empty Bottle, The Hideout and Judson & Moore. 'We perform original music,' said Myers, who writes all of the band's songs. 'Occasionally, we'll throw in a cover or two.' She has been writing songs for a decade. At the Hemingway Birthday Porch Concert, Myers said, 'We're going to split the bill with our friend Lydia Cash. She's going to perform her original music as well. She's releasing a new record. We split band members.' The gig means a lot to Local Memory, Myers said. 'We love the opportunity to play outside, especially in such a historic town on such a big day for celebration.' The weekend celebration concludes with a concert of American roots and country music by Reverie Stone, 6-7:30 p.m. July 20 at Scoville Park, 800 Lake St. Strom praised the Hemingway Birthday Weekend for 'providing an opportunity for educators to show their talents and their knowledge.' In addition, Strom indicated that he enjoys acknowledging student scholarship winners at the Porch Concert. 'I get a kick out of that kind of stuff,' he declared. More information is at
