Officers and Directors

The Grayslake Historical Society Board meets the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM in the Heritage Center Community Room.

Chuck Clow

President

Chuck grew up in Grayslake, attended Lakeview School and Grayslake High School, class of 1966. He is currently a resident of Libertyville since 1979. He is married to Karen and they have three adult children.

Both his parents were active with the Society with his dad having served as president for many years. They lived in the same Grayslake house for over sixty-five years. Chuck’s dad was in the insurance business in Grayslake from 1946 to 1985. Chuck currently owns and operates an insurance agency in Grayslake.

Chuck is an active Rotarian for thirty-five years and served as charter president on the formation of the Rotary Club of Grayslake.

Chuck believes that as we embrace the future, it is important to remember the past.

Adrijana Bisevac

Vice President

Adrijana has lived in Grayslake since 1991. She attended Woodview, Lakeview, Grayslake Middle School and Grayslake Community High School. After completing her degree at Marquette University, Adrijana returned to Grayslake to work as a Social Studies teacher at Grayslake Central, and she has been working in District 127 every since. She presently serves as the Social Studies Department Chair at Grayslake North High School and teaches AP US History. Adrijana became involved with the Grayslake Historical Society while working on the WWI Exhibit committee and loved it! Adrijana sincerely believes that local history is a vital facet to a strong history class curriculum and would like her students to build a tangible, meaningful, and lasting connection to their community.

Jane Trump

Secretary

Jane has lived in Grayslake since 2010. She began volunteering for the Historical Society in 2016 after retiring from 23 years as a reference librarian at Cook Memorial Public Library. Since joining the Board in 2019, she continues to work on research projects and has begun helping with exhibits and archives. She doesn't have a favorite artifact yet, but trusts that will come with time.

Sally Behrensmeier Kelly

Treasurer

Both of Sally’s parents were born and raised in Grayslake. Once married, they moved to Wadsworth, having moved back to Grayslake in 1968. Sally went to Lakeview and was part of the first class to graduate from the new Grayslake Junior High in 1970, and graduated from Grayslake High School in 1974. After graduation from high school, Sally lived in Grayslake. Sally moved to Lake Villa in 1987 with two children who also went on to graduate from Grayslake High School. Sally earned both an accounting and nursing degree from CLC and then a BS degree in business.

Charlotte K. Renehan

Board Member, Class of 2023

Charlotte brings many experiences to the Board. She is a charter member of the Grayslake Historical Society and has held every Society office, plus editing the Society's newsletter.

She was born in Grayslake and taught elementary school in Grayslake for forty years. She has researched and written books about Grayslake and continues to give programs and tours about her hometown. These experiences help her fulfill the role of archivist/curator of the museum. Charlotte has a Master's Degree in Education.

Many of the Society's initiatives are due to her passion for local history; Grayslake Cemetery Walk, Reminisce discussion program, Search & Share Genealogy group, and the Story of this Land Plaques. In addition to involvement in our local Society, she is a member of other area historical societies, a charter member of the Lake County Genealogical Society, a member of the Lake County Historical Alliance, and a past director of the Illinois State Historical Society. Charlotte enjoys doing genealogy, researching local history, exploring antique shops, and visiting museums and historic sites throughout the world.

Charlotte's two daughters, also members of the Society, help the Society behind the scenes. Her favorite artifact in the museum is the one-room school which is now the permanent gallery because, as she says, "It educated children over 130 years ago and is still educating people today." When asked why she is involved in the Grayslake Historical Society, she answered, "I grew up in Grayslake as did my father, and cherish it's history. I enjoy researching genealogy, even other people's. Combining these two interests, the Grayslake Historical Society is a perfect fit".

Karen Lenzen

Board Member, Class of 2026

Karen was born and raised in Libertyville. She moved to Grayslake with her husband, Ken, in 1985. Karen attended CLC in the 70s developing her secretarial and financial skills. Ken and Karen raised their two daughters in Grayslake.

Karen worked at Baxter Healthcare from 1981. Moved to their credit union in 1983. Karen started and ran their Round Lake Branch for 14 years and moved to corporate and managed the back office operation until retirement in 2010. However, Karen returned in 2011 for another 6 years as a consultant

Karen became involved with the Historical Society through her husband, Ken. He was on the board and the caretaker of Wilbur. Karen has been a greeter and has been involved in many events. Karen believes that history is important and we don't want to lose it.

Laurie Poska Frank

Board Member, Class of 2024

Laurie grew up in Grayslake. Her parents migrated to the suburbs from Chicago in the years following WWII. With fond memories of summer excursions to “Pete’s Park” during her own childhood, Laurie’s mother lured her soldier (and his fishing gear) up to Grayslake to raise their family. They purchased a home where they resided for over 55 years, raised 5 children, and enjoyed frequent visits from numerous grandchildren. Laurie’s mother was an active member of the Historical Society while her father was active in Boy Scout Troop #73 for many years.

Laurie attended Woodview, Lakeview, and Grayslake High School. After graduating in 1970, she headed off to college, earning a BA in Psychology from Western Illinois University and a MS in Educational Psychology from the University of Tennessee. Her 3 adult children also graduated from the Grayslake school system. Two grandsons will soon be the third generation to run the halls of Woodview School!

The glass case in the lobby from The Old Dime Store is Laurie’s favorite artifact in the museum. Along with many of her peers, picking out penny candy from the case is a core childhood memory of growing up in Grayslake.

After serving children and adolescents in the behavioral/mental health field for 30+ years, retirement has offered Laurie the opportunity to serve the Historical Society. Throughout her career, she increasingly observed the importance of a sense of place, a sense of belonging, and the social connections to health and well-being. She hopes to support the Society’s efforts to preserve and promote Grayslake’s history for the benefit of village residents and visitors alike.

Karen Kunz

Board Member, Class of 2026

Karen brings her love of history and of Grayslake to the Board. She recently joined the Museum Exhibit Committee.

Karen holds a BS in Mathematics and has worked in the insurance industry and in computer software design. She has volunteered with the Lake County Genealogical Society since 2013 and is currently the 1st Vice-President and Society Librarian. She works part-time for a Grayslake non-profit working farm, where she began as a volunteer. She is also a member of the Prairie Crossing history group.

Larry Lenzen

Board Member, Class of

Larry grew up in Grayslake attending St Gilberts and graduated from Grayslake High Class of 1970. His family migrated from Germany to Johnsburg in 1854, went to McHenry, then to Volo and finally to Grayslake. Larry’s family had many businesses in Grayslake such as a hardware and plumbing business, a grocery store, a candy store, and a leather shop. Larry wanted to leave this one-horse town until he realized that there were a lot of leaders and business owners that he met growing up. In particular, Larry delivered newspapers and worked at Parkway Foods (learned a lot from Ed and Bill Hall), and Burgess Vibrocrafters is where he credits learning his business sense. Larry has been an Exchange Club of Grayslake member since 1985. He has four children and many, many grandkids. Larry’s favorite artifact is his mind. Fantastic memories. Larry believes that you need history to try to avoid making the same mistakes over and over.

Officers & Directors