Sarah Nader - snader@shawmedia.com Laurie Selpien poses for a portrait next to her winter garden at the Algonquin Wastewater Treatment Facility in Algonquin. Selpien volunteers her time year-round to maintain the Algonquin-LITH Food Pantry's gardens. The two gardens produced nearly 4,000 pounds of food in 2012, their first year.
Sarah Nader - snader@shawmedia.com Crystal Gray flips through an old scrap book that show her transition from male to female while at the home she shares with her partner, Shari, in Wonder Lake. Gray was born a man and transitioned into a women after her wife died in 2006. She is a transgender advocate who worked her way up through the advocacy ranks in Colorado where she worked for a state office. Now she's back in McHenry County and is in the midst of setting up an advocacy group here.
Sarah Nader - snader@shawmedia.com Volunteer Jane Hagenow of Woodstock plays the piano for residents at Hearthstone Manor while they enjoy lunch in Woodstock.
