The COVID-19 pandemic put things on hold for many, including Larry Hewitt of Arlington Heights, retired superintendent of Northbrook School District 28.
Hewitt was pivotal in launching an organic garden at Northbrook Junior High School in 2013, hoping to then create an outdoor classroom next to it.
But then came the pandemic, and then Hewitt retired last June.
“There was no time for me to devote to completing this project,” Hewitt said. “As I entered my final year in the district, I was a tad bit regretful not finishing it.”
But Hewitt’s dream blossomed.
On Thursday, Oct. 20, Hewitt returned to the junior high school for an outdoor celebration on a sunny afternoon after school.
Hewitt, superintendent from 2007 to 2022, was recognized during a commemoration of the new outdoor classroom with a ribbon cutting.
“It’s a beautiful way to honor Larry’s tenure here,” said Tracy Katz Muhl of Northbrook, president of the Northbrook School District 28 Board of Education.
“Dr. Hewitt is amazing, and what a tremendous tribute to him for this to be here as a lasting legacy,” said Jason Pearson, current superintendent.
More Top Picks Best Alkaline Water Machines For Home
Hewitt said, “I feel overjoyed. It’s just amazing that this has now come to fruition.”
The outdoor classroom includes a teacher’s desk made of cut rock, pebble walkways, native shrubs and perennials, as well as stones for students to sit on, according to the district. Dominating the gathering space is the Terezin tree, a silver maple that is a direct descendent of a tree planted in the World War II Terezin concentration camp and nurtured by children during the Holocaust. Terezin was located north of Prague in the present-day Czech Republic.
The Terezin tree at NBJH was planted in 2017 as a sapling, donated by Northbrook residents Sam and Dede Harris. Sam Harris attended District 28 schools from kindergarten through eighth grade. Members of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and local officials participated with students in a June 1, 2017 tree dedication ceremony in the same area where the outdoor classroom space was unveiled on Oct. 20 this year.
The outdoor classroom was completed that Thursday morning with the installation of a tabletop piece of the stone desk. The project took about one month to install.
The total project cost was $27,205, with $4,000 in contributions from parent teacher organizations at the district’s four schools, $2,000 in individual contributions and more than $20,000 from the district’s taxpayer-supported building and grounds budget.
In front of the stone desk are numerous large stones as seating.
The stones came from a quarry in Eden, Wisconsin with each rock weighing about 1,200 pounds, arriving by flatbed truck, said J.D. Mathein of Northbrook and founder of Green City Gardens of Northbrook.
Being part of a District 28 family, Mathein offered to donate design services but also provided a quote to have Green City Gardens install the plantings.
“It was not an inexpensive project but so happy to do it,” Mathein said. “It took some doing, there were a lot of design constraints.”
Speaking of the Terezin tree, Hewitt said, “That tree was originally given to Sam (and Dede Harris) by the Illinois Holocaust Museum and it was for his home.
“And he approached us— he said, ‘Nobody’s going to know what this tree is in my home, I want it to go to the school.’
“And we said, ‘What a gift,'” Hewitt said with a smile.
Those attending the outdoor ribbon cutting classroom event included Sandy Frum of Northbrook, former Northbrook village president, who acknowledged a recent wave of retirements and transitions by local community leaders, including Hewitt.
“We’ve passed the baton, and Larry has done the same thing,” Frum said. “He’s left a wonderful legacy.”