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By Emily Clott, Docent Class of 2012

Aside from the green jacket awarded the winner of the Master’s Golf Tournament, perhaps no jacket is as meaningful to its recipients as the CAC red jacket marking a docent’s ten years of service. This year, the Class of 2012 celebrates our 10th anniversary. Of the 35 who completed training, about 15 remain active. Life happens, people move away, get new jobs, lose interest. Yet for the still-active 2012s, giving our time and talents to the Chicago Architecture Center has been life-changing.

We surmounted many challenges to prove ourselves worthy candidates. Jen Masengarb, our principal teacher, introduced us to architectural terms and concepts, the history of the city, and the evolution of its built environment. Hallie Rosen managed the schedule, and many docents served as our readers, sponsors, and certifiers. After 10 years, several classmates responded to my inquiry about their tenure at CAC.

Deb Garber: No question it’s been fun, rewarding, and educational. I worked as an attorney in the Loop for 32 years and wanted to know more about the buildings I’ve always loved and wondered about. When my husband John Tielsch retired, he saw how much I was enjoying docenting and signed up for the 2015 class.

Craig Kaiser: Being a docent is one of the most fun things I do. I especially enjoy meeting folks from all over the world and making a connection between their home and mine. I love it when I point out something hidden right before our eyes and people get wide-eyed and say, “I’ve walked these streets most of my life and never saw that!”

Patte Biedar: I love being a docent. It is the most gratifying thing I have ever accomplished.  It changed my life.  Telling others about our great city makes me feel so proud to be part of CAC.

Joann Sondy: The pandemic has created so much confusion, boredom, and defeat for me that I’ve considered retiring from the docent ranks, but something compelled me to log into VM to sign up for open tours, so hope remains.

Joan Winstein: I’ve enjoyed being a CAC docent so much that I have continued my certification despite relocating to Denver in 2018. I have even become a docent for Historic Denver. Docent training reinvigorated a love of looking at buildings and learning about architecture, the most public art there is!

Patrick Miner: Being a docent has been wonderful. I especially enjoy getting to know other docents and CAC volunteers. Many have become close friends! It’s also a pleasure to welcome visitors to Chicago from all over the world.

Barbara Breakstone: It’s been lots of fun being a docent. It’s great giving tours, continuing to learn new things and have some structure to my days.

Alina Dichoso McMahon: I love being able to showcase our city and break any preconceived notion’s people had in their minds before arriving here.

Emily Clott:  I worked my entire adult life, so being a docent gives me a similar structure and purpose in retirement. I love the mental challenge, writing for The Bridge, meeting people from here and abroad, and especially the powerhouse peer group that have become colleagues and friends.

Margaret Newman: I ask you: Can an introvert be a docent? After ten years, I still am. Johan Goethe said that ‘architecture is frozen music.’ I have a song in my heart when I look at architecture and urban design. I love being a docent!

Joan, Barbara, Deb, Alina and Emily love giving the River Cruise. Says Alina: “Because I’m busy with both work and two small kids at home, being a River Cruise docent is my own personal  outlet and my way to unwind and reset. I love meeting new people , seeing their faces in awe of the city when the tour is done. Being on the water and enjoying the views is also so stress-relieving.”

Joan loves the River Cruise. She heads a team that updates the manual every season and travels back from Denver to give her required tours. But her favorite tour is Elevated Architecture. “Guests just love looking at buildings ‘close up’ from the El platforms, 20′ above the streets. And they enjoy riding the trains too.”

 Emily relishes meeting people from all over the world on the river and seeing their faces light up as they encounter the city’s beauty. She misses Neighborhoods by Bus, such a great tour to showcase Chicago’s diversity.

Deb and her husband John enjoy swapping tales of their River Cruises. But she is especially fond of the Neighborhoods by Bus tour, since their South Loop condo looks out on steeples of Pilsen and Little Italy as well as the Loop skyline.

Patrick: “ One of my favorite docent experiences has been working on the Old Post Office tour. That building has undergone a startling transformation that makes me hopeful for other building reuse projects in Chicago. The tour that I’ve given most often is probably Must-See Chicago, though I can’t pick a favorite tour.”

Patte’s faves are Chicago Icons and Magnificent Mile tours.

The tours most vividly remembered involve bad weather and tourees behaving very well or very badly.

Craig: “I’ll never forget a February day, it was minus 5 . Dutifully I dressed for a tour, and presented myself at the desk, fully expecting no guests. In fact there was one couple, they were from Duluth, dressed for anything. We had such a great time, they invited me to visit so they could show me their hometown.”

Joann: “I had just finished doing a Historic tour and learned that no docent had shown up to lead a tour for a student group from Michigan that had spent 3 hours on the road early Saturday morning to come on a CAF tour. I volunteered to lead the group although I didn’t have my notes with me. The students were so curious and knowledgeable that it turned out to be one of my best tours ever.”

Barbara: “The toughest are River Cruises in the rain, especially when it’s chilly. But even in the worst weather, someone has always stayed up on deck so that I have someone to talk to.” She added: ”Ages ago, I had a walking tour for high school kids not paying attention at all. When I asked a question about what we’d seen, I was surprised when one of the most disruptive kids came up with an incredibly insightful answer!”

The pandemic and the passage of time brought change to the lives of the Class of 2012. Some of us have gone gray since the pandemic closed hair salons, and we weren’t getting out much anyway.

All the 2012s regret that they weren’t able to participate fully at CAC during the Covid-19 pandemic, but look forward to getting back out in full force this year, as tourism returns to our city. We are united in our gratitude for the opportunity to be ambassadors for Chicago, wearing our well-earned CAC red jackets with pride.

HERE IS THE LINK the link to a song parody I wrote; we sang it to the class of 2013 at a lunch we gave them. And below is a photo of our last day of training in 2012. Do you recognize us?

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