Cheryl Weiss : Inspired By Oak Park!
By Sara Teller
Cheryl Weiss has lived in Oak Park her whole life. “And, I will continue to live here for the rest of my life,” she said. “When I bought my house, I didn’t even consider looking anywhere else. I love the people here. We are diverse in every possible way, yet we enjoy sharing the community together.”
Her love for writing has also been lifelong. “I’ve been writing since I was old enough to hold a pencil,” she explained. Weiss wrote for her elementary school’s newsletter, middle-school newspaper, and took a high-school journalism class. “Then, I joined the newspaper staff, and became the features editor in my junior year; moving up to editor of the paper in my senior year,” she explained.
She knew she wanted to pursue writing post-graduation, but had a tough time deciding between that and another passion of hers — teaching. “When I graduated, I was torn between going into journalism and teaching and, ultimately, I chose to teach.”
Weiss loved it. “I was an elementary teacher for 22 years full-time, three years as a substitute teacher. I first taught at Pepper Elementary School in Oak Park, the same classroom , I attended as a child. It was exactly what I hoped for. Returning to my school as a teacher was the best. I then taught in Farmington for 13 years and I had some wonderful experiences there as well.”
Eventually, she learned a way to combine both teaching and writing. “One way I combined both passions during my teaching career was that I brought a school newspaper production club to schools in both districts where I taught — Oak Park, then Farmington — and had a blast with the kids.”
When she retired in 2014, Weiss finally had time to devote her energy to writing again. “Retirement was like a graduation for me; I ended one stage of my life, which was bittersweet, and moved forward to a new stage filled with opportunities I never had before.”
It was an Oak Park story that helped her get published. “My first time writing for publication was in January 2015, when Crystal Proxmire of the Oakland County Times asked me to cover a meeting regarding the possible closing of the Oak Park Jewish Community Center. I was very happy to say yes, and loved every minute of it. Seeing it published with my byline was incredible.”
One of Weiss’ favorite projects featured Ernie Hassan of Ernie’s Market. “I wanted to do more than other writers had done to find the stories he hasn’t shared before in the numerous other stories written about him, and I did that. I am proud of that story, and it’s my favorite so far,” she said.
Weiss has been involved in the Oak Park community in many ways. She started Oak Park Neighbors, a group page on Facebook, which has grown to over 2,600 members since its inception. She is also Vice President of the Oak Park Friends of the Library. “I also enjoy helping Denise DeSantis; I wrote a piece about how to save money on your water bill for the Winter edition of the Oak Park City Magazine,” she said.
Weiss enjoys interacting with other community members in any way she can, saying, “There is something special about Oak Parkers; there is a connection we share that lasts forever.”
