What I love about Elmhurst is its community spirit that spills over into every neighborhood. What is it about the Midwest that fosters this kind of people-helping-people attitude?

Is it due to our harsh climate that historically has made us rely on symbiotic relationships for survival, its flat topography that enables us to actually see one another, or is it just in our bones? I don’t know, but I’m proud to be a Midwesterner.

One example of our community spirit could be found at the Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare Board of Governors’ 58th annual Fall Benefit Dinner Nov. 19. This year, it was sponsored by Superior Ambulance and Suburban Bank and Trust, with proceeds going to support the new Elmhurst Memorial Addison Health Care Center.

The ballroom at Drury Lane was jammed with people supporting the hospital. This event was originally attended by males only. This was the first year I attended and, yes, my party shoes are being worn to the nubs this season. I learned that the Board of Governors was formed in 1934 and today consists of more than 80 people who serve as ambassadors for EMHC.

This a traditional dinner and program beginning with a bagpiper and posting of colors and ending this year with a presentation by Andrew McKenna, who, among other things, is chairman of McDonald’s Corp. and co-chair of the Chicago 2016 Olympic initiative. He showed us a video with stunning aerial views of Chicago and spoke of the ongoing effort to bring the Olympic games there.

During the pre-dinner reception, I had a chance to greet Alice Doyle, there with Valarie Cahill and Maureen McCarthy of the Elmhurst YMCA, as well as Dr. George Chipain with his wife, Joyce. I also spoke to Scott Ahlgrim, on the Board of Governors, who was very excited about his upcoming marriage to Elmhurst City Treasurer Charity Pigoni on Dec. 28.

It was in this same community tradition that Trish Cassidy and Andrew Wycislak opened up their craftsman style home to friends, co-workers and the neighbors who supported them during the nearly six-month ordeal that enlarged their already beautiful home on Addison Avenue. I explored their home with neighbors I knew, such as Elizabeth and Jon Dierksheide with two of their children, Linnea and Christian; Lisa and Mark Marsan; Sheila and Frank O’Hara; Denise Hynes and husband Richard Van Bremen; Barb and Chris Deane; Cassie and Jim Quick; Carol and Larry Frank; Carol and Brian Bergheger; and Linda and Paul Fabrizius, who last year performed a similar miracle on their own vintage home.

Also there enjoying the groaning buffet table were Mindy and Tim Cassidy, Mary and Tom Nanak, Christine and Chris Cockman, Jill and John McDonough and Vince Provenzano.

Another example of a classic symbiotic relationship came in the form of the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra concert at Hammerschmidt Chapel, when the orchestra performed Felix Mendelssohn’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” with actors, singers and orchestral performers from Elmhurst College. It was a magical experience to both watch key parts of Shakespeare’s play while hearing Mendelssohn’s music, and it wouldn’t have been possible without that old Midwestern and Elmhurst style of “people working with people” attitude. Among those in the audience were Alderman John Gow with wife, Olivia, Janet and Fred Hodge, Melva Walker, Carol and Tim Rounds, Cathy and Bob Pine, Marlene Tegmeyer and Rose Wilkes.

Perhaps no one stands for this Midwestern ideal of the importance of community more than my friend Jane Ahrens, who is also a member of Faith Evangelical Church, that old red brick church at the corner of York and North. She told me that the church sponsored an afternoon of fun and service on Nov. 22 called “Kids at the Korner.” All children were invited to enjoy pizza, games and crafts, and they also assembled more than 50 school bags filled with school supplies for children in Haiti.

Newly appointed pastor Bob Butler said, “The event proved what we’ve known all along. The opportunity to serve both the community and the world in Christ’s name can be rewarding for all ages. It was truly a blessing to watch children and leaders get excited about the opportunity to help someone less fortunate.”

In this same Midwestern tradition, I would like to wish two special people a happy birthday this month: Brian Barrett, who runs the office at Bethel United Church of Christ, celebrated on Dec. 3 and Katie Selvaggio of York High School celebrates her 18th birthday on Tuesday, Dec. 9.

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