Bloomingdale has a new celebrity resident. Retired Assistant Fire Chief Bill Wolff is now the 2008-09 Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Junior Vice Commander of Illinois. In 2009-10, he’ll advance to Senior Vice Commander and then Commander in 2010-11. In VFW circles, this is really big.

To place this achievement in perspective, Illinois has 351 VFW posts with 79,818 members. On June 26, 1,576 members cast their ballots. The result of that statewide election is that Wolff’s name rose to victory.

“We’re extremely proud of Bill,” said Bill Bahr, who lives in Bloomingdale, where he is a member of VFW Post 7539. “This is the first time that a Bloomingdale VFW member has become state commander. We’re honored to be with Bill in the Illinois VFW spotlight.”

Wolff is among the 38 veterans who founded Bloomingdale’s VFW Post in 1992. Since then, he has served as post commander three times. He has accepted positions at the VFW district level, yet remained active in the town.

Today, Bloomingdale’s VFW Post has 138 members. They’re dedicated to the VFW motto: Honoring the dead by helping the living. They have sent thousands of care packages overseas to their adopted A Company, 1-64 Armor Batallion. To see the VFW members packing the supply boxes, go to YouTube at http://youtube.com/watch?v=tSoGIyAnQcc.

But that’s not all. Post members visit veterans at Hines Hospital, make presentations to Lake Park High School students and sponsor patriotic scholarship contests. Wolff has been a major player in all these events.

“I’m honored to receive the support of my fellow VFW members,” Wolff said. “As state officer for the next three years, I plan to work hard for my post, for all vets in Illinois and for my town of Bloomingdale.”

Congratulations, Bill.
 
‘Women Packing Irons’

No, this has nothing to do with firepower. The new quilt exhibit in Gallery 1 of the Bloomingdale Park District Museum, 108 S. Bloomingdale Road, is “Women Packing Irons — Quilt Arts from the Chicago School of Fusing.” The women use irons to fuse fabrics and create artistic quilts.

In Gallery 2, the museum features the “B” collection from the Dairy Barn Southeastern Ohio Cultural Arts Center’s Quilt National 2007. The 25 handmade quilts mix traditional patterns with contemporary flair. For information, call (630) 539-3096.
 
Used books, good cause

Recycle that book! From now through October, the four Glenbard high schools and their feeder elementary schools will be collecting new or gently used pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade books. For information, call (630) 942-7573.