A civic volunteer for many years in Highland, Louise Graham Weder is honored for her significant contributions to historic preservation in her community. Mrs. Weder and her late husband bought and restored the Giger School, an old country schoolhouse near Highland. For more than 40 years, she has dressed in period attire of a schoolteacher from the late 1800s and shared the schoolhouse with area residents, schoolchildren, and visitors. A long-time member of the Highland Historical Society, Mrs. Weder is also active in the restoration of the Highland Brewery Building and the Erwin H. Weder Museum.
Select Illinois Humanities Council programs are now available for listening or download at Chicago Public Media (WBEZ) as a part of Chicago Amplified, a web-based audio library of diverse public events recorded throughout the Chicago region.