Bill Hinchcliff's Presentation

Bill Hinchcliff returned for a second visit to present his program, "Travel through Chicago and See The World: Celebrating Chicago's Amazing Ethnic Diversity." Bill is well known for his architectural tours and presentations in and about Chicago and has given many architectural tours for the Art Institute, as well as numerous other well known institutions and educational groups.


The first part of the title is a quotation from Mayor Daley, reminding us that Chicago is one of the world's most diverse cities, right up there with New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, and Paris.

With slides and engaging commentary, Bill took us on a journey through the city, highlighting along the way a dozen or so of Chicago's 77 neighborhoods, stretching from the Far North Side to the South Side, including Ukrainian, Polish, Swedish, Bohemian, German, Irish, Mexican, Chinese, Lithuanian, and Orthodox (Russian) Jewish Chicago. He touched on topics such as history, culture, religion, and food, and took us on slideshow journeys through Chinatown, Bridgeport, Pilsen, Rogers Park, Noble Square, Back of the Yards, Lawndale, Lincoln Square, and Andersonville.


Thanks, Bill, for another stirring and educational presentation!

Bill Hinchcliff presents again on August 14, 2010

The meeting will be at the State Bank of the Lakes in Grayslake, Illinois, at 10:00 AM
to 12:00 on Saturday, August 14, 2010. Please let Pete Clark know if you are coming. peterobertclark@aol.com . Also you can refer to the map on this site for directions. There is no charge for the presentation.

Pete's telephone number is 847-970-8700

Bill Hinchcliff will present an hour program on "Travel through Chicago and See The World: Celebrating Chicago's Amazing Ethnic Diversity."

That's a quotation from Mayor Daley (first part of the title), reminding us that Chicago is one of the world's most diverse cities, right up there with New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, and Paris.

In the photo below, Pete is on the left and Bill on the right...



With slides accompanied by commentary, Bill will take us on a journey through the city, highlighting along the way some 10 different neighborhoods, stretching from the Far North Side to the South Side. Included in the list are Ukrainian, Polish, Swedish, German, Irish, Mexican, Chinese, and Orthodox (Russian) Jewish Chicago.

Bill is well known for his architectural tours and presentations in and about Chicago. He has given many architectural tours for the Art Institute, among many will known institutes and educational groups. He gave a presentation for NICE and the Lake Forest Senior Center several years ago. He has just returned to Chicago and we are lucky that he was available for our next meeting.

Bring as many guests as you want, but please reserve places by sending their names to Pete. peterobertclark@aol.com

Name Change

Beginning now, as we celebrate our 35th anniversary year, Elderhostel has extended the Road Scholar name to all of our learning adventures across the globe. We will no longer use the Exploritas name.

A number of you have written to ask why this is happening so soon after the first change.

Here’s what happened …

Not long after the first Exploritas publications were mailed last fall, Elderhostel was sued for trademark infringement by a commercial tour company that thought the name Exploritas was similar to theirs. Elderhostel scrupulously followed federal law in registering the Exploritas trademark and was legally granted ownership of it by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and we were shocked by the complaint. We were further surprised when it was decided in court that use of the name Exploritas created “confusion."

We believe the impact we have in people’s lives is far more critical than the name we call our learning adventures, and the pursuit of our mission is much more important than the pursuit of an appeal. As a result, we have closed our brief Exploritas chapter and we have extended the Road Scholar name to all of Elderhostel’s educational experiences.

I have dedicated my professional life to Elderhostel since 1979 and I am proud to say that Elderhostel today is the same organization that has earned your trust and respect throughout the years. As we celebrate our 35th anniversary year, we remain dedicated to you and to our educational mission. You can count on that.

We believe Road Scholar best captures the vitality and excitement of our educational experiences and we know that all of our participants are energized by the Road Scholar program name, from the new generation of 50-year-olds to our seasoned lifelong learners in their 80s.

“Road” connotes a journey and real-world experience, and “Scholar” reflects a deep appreciation for learning. Together the words capture the heart of our program experience: learning from expert instructors, enhanced by direct discovery of an idea, issue, subject or place. Our educational experiences range from snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef with a marine biologist to immersion in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with a noted professor.

Elderhostel’s co-founder, David Bianco, and I think Road Scholar is a great name and we are excited to extend its embrace to all Elderhostel programs. Elderhostel will, of course, proudly continue to be the name of our organization, and we will continue to offer a great variety of programs and activity levels across North America and around the world.

All of us at Elderhostel are dedicated to you and to our not-for-profit mission — creating innovative educational adventures. Caring staff members are eager to assist you, expert instructors have a world of knowledge to share, and the warmth and camaraderie of fellow lifelong learners await you!

We look forward to welcoming you on a Road Scholar learning adventure very soon.

Sincerely yours,

James Moses
Elderhostel President

NICE Meeting

I led off the meeting with a brief movie of our active, outdoor Exploritas program, Florida's Fragile Coastal Treasure: Snorkel the Coral Reefs




I was followed by Joe who showed photos and described their experiences on Art History in Belgium and Holland...


Next Les showed photos and talked of their program in Albuquerque New Mexico’s Conversos and Crypto-Jews detailing the Jews who fled to New Spain in the New World and secretly practiced their religion after being driven out of Spain in 1492...



The meeting ended with Bob's movie showing his adventures in Arizona Hiking the Slick Rock, Slot Canyons and Red Rocks of Lake Powell, as well as his beautiful photos of his independent guided hike of Upper Antelope Canyon's magnificent slot canyon...




As usual, the group then adjourned to nearby Hillside Family Restaurant for lunch and more conversation...

Our next meeting will be Saturday, August 14th at 10am. If you have an Exploritas program you'd like to share with the group, call Pete at 847-549-1659.

April 10th meeting cancelled

The April 10 meeting has been called off due to sickness. Our next meeting is June 12.

If you have n Exploritas program trip or something else to share, please e-mail peterobertclark@aol.com.

The next meeting will be June 12th at 10am.

Next Meeting is Saturday, April 10, 2010...

...at the State Bank of the Lakes in Grayslake, 50 Commerce Drive, from 10am to Noon.

The meeting is in the Community Room in the basement (there is an elevator).

(Click on map to enlarge)