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Board of Directors

President
Sara Griffin
Sara is a Founding Member of the Waukegan Historical Society. She and her late husband Walter were designated "Volunteers of the Year, 2003" by the Waukegan Park District. She currently serves on the Waukegan Park District Recreation Advisory Board as well as the Board of Directors of the Waukegan Historical Society. Sara has three grown children and five grandchildren.

Immediate Past President
Harry Came
Harry has been a resident of Waukegan for 16 years and has loved three old houses in the Near North Historic District. After many years of getting up at 4:00 am and the last fifteen years in a family manufacturing business, he now commutes a few blocks to his antique shop on Grand Ave—unless something more important comes up. He loves antiques, old houses, and his friends at the Waukegan Historical Society.

Vice President
John Stein
John has lived in Waukegan for four and a half years, has a big interest in antiques, historical perspectives of Waukegan, and is constantly working on new projects on his home built in the 1920s. John also has an interest in music and records concerts for Chicago area chamber groups, symphony orchestras and vocalists.

Treasurer
Yvonne Sylvester
My husband and I have lived in Waukegan since 1986, and we really like Waukegan and love seeing the positive changes that are taking place in our city. We are collectors of railroad, mining, Victorian, primitive and other assorted eclectic period items. I am an avid reader (and probably have every book I've ever bought in my entire life), love to garden, and enjoy adding new and different items to my home. I've been an accountant since 1978 but am pretty much retired now.

Recording/Corresponding Secretary
Ellen Frew
Ellen has been a lifelong resident of Waukegan and finds history of the community to be compelling. She dabbles in genealogy and gets sidetracked reading history of a particular era. Her AB is in economics and her MA in elementary education. She serves on a number of boards.

Directors
Betsy Alleman
Betsy has lived in Waukegan since she was a child and her parents were active in the creation of the Waukegan Historical Society. She worked for Bevier Butts in the Recreation Department as craft director after college. In the past she has written the Society's newsletter and has served a lengthy term as treasurer.

Gretta Dieck
Gretta is a life resident of Waukegan and has three grown children with her husband, Jim. Her community involvement spans from past member of the school board to a variety of volunteer positions. She is committed to the preservation of our city's history.

Tim Hagan
Tim has been a resident of Waukegan for 6 years, having been drawn here by the great houses and beautiful lakefront—along with Waukegan’s history and diversity. When not working on his nice old home, Tim is the Electronic Resources Librarian at Northwestern University.  Previously he worked for the Chicago Historical Society for over 10 years as Assistant Registrar and a Librarian.

Jim Maguire
Jim and his wife June are life-long residents of Waukegan and North Chicago. They reside in the family home that his grandparents built in 1915. Jim has always had an interest in the history of Waukegan and the lakefront. His family was in the commercial fishing business in the Waukegan harbor for 1894 until 1960.

Dennis Moisio
Dennis has spent most of his adult life in Waukegan, is married with children and grandchildren in the area. He has been, and is, involved in a number of community organizations. Although Waukegan is considered a city, he likes its small town feel and its variety of fascinating individual as well as community stories. He see the Historical Society filling the important role of preserving and retelling these stories, and he is pleased to be a part of that effort.

Denyse Waters
Denyse has been involved in various Waukegan groups and charities throughout the years. Pride in Waukegan and promoting interest in its rich history is a very rewarding and personal interest; Denyse's family has lived in Waukegan area since the late 1800s.

updated September 2009