Funeral for Laird Funeral Home founder set for Friday
Services will be held this week for Donald Laird, founder of Laird Funeral Home in Elgin, who died Monday, Dec. 23, at his Elgin home, according to his family.
Visitation is scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 2, followed by a funeral at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 3. Both will be at the Laird Funeral Home, 310 S. State St.
A resident of Elgin since 1954, Laird worked at Stout Funeral Home in Elgin from 1956 to 1979 before he and his wife opened Laird Funeral home in January 1980. The business has been run by the Lairds’ sons, Steve and Rob, since April 1998.
Laird was a member and past president of the Jaycees, Elks Lodge 737, the Kiwanis and the Elgin Shriners and a member of Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, Elgin VFW Post Post 1307 and American Legion Post 57. He served on the board of directors for the Oak Crest Residence, the St. Joseph Hospital Foundation, the Fox Valley Boy Scouts and the American Heart Association.
He was a member and past president of the Illinois Funeral Directors Association and the National Funeral Directors Association.
Laird will be entombed at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Elgin. Memorials may be given in his honor to the charity of the donor’s choice.
Fox River’s Winter Reading Challenge starts Wednesday
The Fox River Valley Public Library Winter Reading Challenge, open to all ages, begins Wednesday, Jan. 1, and runs through Friday, Jan. 31.
Participants complete the program by reading or completing activities to receive at least four out of six available badges, according to a news release.
Children who complete the challenge will receive a teddy bear and adults will receive a winter hat. For signing up to take part, kids will be given a snowflake candy bracelet and adults will get a box of Sno Caps candy.
To register, go to frvpld.beanstack.org and download the Beanstack app to a mobile device or visit a library branch to pick up a printed reading log.
Fox River Valley Public Library branches are located at 555 Barrington Ave. in East Dundee and 500 N. Randall Road in West Dundee.
Members of the Sand Ridge Audubon Society participate in a bird count on the last day of 2022. Volunteers will be doing the same thing Saturday at Hawthorne Hill Nature Center. (Chicago Tribune file photo)
Hawthorne Hill Nature Center joining in annual bird count
Hawthorne Hill Nature Center will be taking part in the National Audubon Society’s 125th annual holiday bird count from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4.
Veteran and novice bird watchers are welcome, according to a social media post. Binoculars will be available for those who don’t have their own and cameras are welcome at the free event.
The Christmas season bird count occurs from Dec. 14 to Jan. 5 every year, according to the Audubon website. To learn more, go to audubon.org/community-science/christmas-bird-count.
Hawthorne Hill Nature Center is at 28 Brookside Drive in Elgin. For more information about the local bird count, call 847-531-7055.
Dundee Township mulching Christmas trees through Jan. 15
Dundee Township residents can drop off their used, natural Christmas trees for mulching outside the Dundee Township Road District building, 1900 Sleepy Hollow Road, Sleepy Hollow, anytime through Wednesday, Jan. 15.
The service is free, according to the Kane County website, but all stands, lights and decorations must be removed prior to dropping it off.
For more information about the drop-off, call 847-426-0898.
For tips on preparing real and artificial trees for disposal, using real trees as backyard wildlife habitats and a list of other places in Kane County that take natural trees, go to www.kanecountyil.gov/Recycling/Pages/christmastreerecycling.aspx.