The American dream of a successful and happy life was celebrated Nov. 21 when nearly 200 friends and family members of Riverside resident Bill Vogel gathered at the Drake Oak Brook Hotel to toast the entrepreneur on his retirement from his company, DeCardy Diecasting of Chicago.

A Riverside traveler who has just returned from a religious pilgrimage to the Holy Land is Marcia Radogna Capone, who traveled with a tour group of 40 led by the Rev. Charles Mangano and the Rev. Antony Stangenelli of Merrick, N.Y.

Palestine, a historic region on the East coast of the Mediterranean, is also known as the “Holy Land.” Three monotheistic religions vie for control of this area, especially since the year 1948 when the United Nations created the state of Israel. Much has changed since that time. This year, Israel is celebrating its 60th anniversary. The question of what is to be done with the Palestinians still rages.

Fresh flowers and patriotic placemats helped turn the Alumni Lounge of Riverside Brookfield High School into a posh dining room Nov. 11. The school was abuzz with anticipation of welcoming 85 veterans of various conflicts to breakfast with Superintendent Jack Balderman and members of the RB staff, who had the honor of serving the returning veterans.

With 71 percent of Earth’s surface covered by oceans, the study of oceanography has become one of the most important avenues of research, not only to our country but to the world. Although we have sent explorers to the moon, the ocean is now known as the “new frontier.”

This is a story about a lady and her dog. Or, more correctly, an exceptional lady and her dogs and the mutual benefits and rewards of the relationships.

Riverside Brookfield High School students long have been involved in service to others. On Oct. 18, the annual RB Day of Service was held when 450 students volunteered to spend the day working for local senior citizens.

He’s Riverside’s answer to Johnny Appleseed, but he’s interested in more than apples. Tom Sisulak — teacher, farmer, naturalist and environmentalist — is enlisting the aid of others to ensure that the “Village in a Forest” can survive the onslaught of invasions of fungus and foreign beetles such as the emerald ash borer, the Dutch elm disease and other environmental hazards killing our trees.

The village of North Riverside is celebrating 85 years since its incorporation in 1923. Like its older sister to the south, North Riverside shares its history in that both villages were once the home of Potawatomi Indians, who found the area good for hunting and easy transportation on the river. About a mile north of the village, an Indian burial mound attests to the fact that the river was great transportation not only for the original settlers, but later for the Rev. Jacques Marquette and fur trader Louis Jolliet, who explored the area in the 1600s.

Good friends gathered at the Scottish Home in North Riverside Sept. 13 to celebrate the 90th birthday of Riversider Marjorie Whitney Prass.

Librarian Janice Fisher watched in horror as the water from the DesPlaines River in Riverside rose higher and higher, up the steep banks that rise behind the library. The late summer weather had been beautiful in our villages. Down in Texas, Hurricane Ike was flooding the entire state. We felt empathy for those poor, faraway Texans. But, Sept. 12 to 14 was upon us, and our pity for the Texans waned. We learned to pity ourselves.

The great pumpkin patch is coming to Riverside! According to the Rev. Bromleigh McCleneghan, patrons can start picking up pumpkins Sunday, Oct. 18, at Riverside United Methodist Church, 82 Woodside Road. The pumpkin patch will be in operation daily until Friday, Oct. 31 (Halloween, or “All Hallows Eve”).

Two well-known people with Riverside connections took to the stage at Navy Pier during the seventh annual Catholic Charities Gala of the Arts Sept. 5. The benefit featured a premier performance of “Gala Goes Broadway.

Not since Paul Revere rode his horse through the countryside warning the Americans “To arms, to arms, the Redcoats are coming,” have we been so explicitly warned of an upcoming disaster facing our nation.

Since 2005, parishioners at St. Mary-Riverside have enjoyed the services of a prominent musician, William E. Coble.