Ron Leban

Meet Ron Leban

“Travel when you can. There is so much to say about traveling and going places.”

Watch the Conversation Here

Biography

Ron Leban is a triplet who was born in 1946 in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Leban always wanted to be a teacher. He graduated from J Sterling Morton West High School in 1964 and then went to Southern Illinois University to earn his bachelor's degree in 1968. In 1976, he earned a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University.

For his student teaching, Mr. Leban was assigned to teach social studies at McClure Junior High. Mr. Leban was then hired to stay on full time to teach 6th grade ancient history, but then the 8th grade social studies teacher retired, so he had the opportunity to teach about his favorite topics in American history: Teddy Roosevelt, World War I, and World War II.

Mr. Leban earned an administration degree, but he loved teaching so much that he never wanted to leave the classroom to become a principal or other administrator. He also coached track and cross country at McClure, where he introduced the girls teams. He also coached the Lyons Township High School boys and girls tennis teams which is how he met his wife.

Mr. Leban was the LT tennis coach when one of his players, Jake Elliott, took a break from watching the girls tennis practice and went over to kick with the football team. Jake went on to become a professional football placekicker and Jake proposed to his future wife in the place where he first saw her: the McClure gym!

Mr. Leban asked our class, “Do you know anyone who has ever been married at a school?” Mr. Leban then told us that he married his wife, Caroline Ogg, at the Lyons Township High School Reber Center. Mr. Leban created and sponsors the Caroline & Marie Leban Kindness Scholarship at Lyons Township High School. The scholarship is awarded to “the student who shows strength of character, and who goes above and beyond to demonstrate generosity, and kindness to others."

Mr. Leban retired after 43 years of teaching 8th grade social studies in 2011. He went on to explore the world on cruises with Caroline. Mr. Leban stated that, “It's really important to get out and see the world and learn about new places.” Along with cruises, Mr. Leban really enjoys seeing professional tennis players in action. Mr. Leban has two West Highland Terriers named Willy and Mac 2.

Conversation Topics

Education - Mr. Leban taught at McClure Junior High from 1968 to 2011. He was the 8th grade social studies teacher for 43 years. He was also the Lyons Township High School boys and girls tennis coach for 33 years.
Family - Mr. Leban was married to his wife, Caroline, for 30 years before she passed away in 2023. The two were married at the Lyon Township High School Reber Center when Mr. Leban was 47 years old. Mr. Leban told us how nice and kind Caroline was and how much she loved writing cards to people. Mr. Leban also has two dogs named Willy and Mac 2.
World War II - Mr. Leban’s father was a veteran of WWII. Mr. Leban purchased a photo signed by Joe Rosenthal and printed from the original negative of the flag raising at Iwo Jima. Mr. Leban then donated the signed photo to the World War II Museum in New Orleans to honor his father.
Sports - Mr. Leban coached tennis at LT for over 30 years. While coaching, Mr. Leban saw Jake Elliott walk over to the football field and start his career as a placekicker. Nowadays Mr. Leban still plays tennis but not games; instead he meets friends to hit. While traveling, Mr. Leban also sees many tennis matches at events like the Cincinnati Open.
Travel - Mr. Leban has been traveling all over the world. He has been on hundreds of cruises from Lisbon to Miami to France. One story that we really enjoyed was about Mr. Leban’s trip to Alaska when he met sled dogs. Some of the other places Mr. Leban has been are Quebec City in Canada, Switzerland, Montreal, Belgium, France, and even Miami.

Honoring Our History

This is a picture of the Americans raising a flag after winning the Battle of Iwo Jima. Joe Rosenthal, a staff photographer for the Associated Press, took this photo on February 23, 1945. Mr. Leban purchased this photo, which was printed from Mr. Rosenthal's original negative. Mr. Leban then donated the photo, signed by Mr. Rosenthal, to the World War II Museum in New Orleans in honor of his father, a veteran of World War II.

When the photo signed by Mr. Rosenthal was first displayed at the World War II Museum, Mr. Leban sat, watching people when they looked at the photograph in the display case. Every time someone would look at the photo, he would talk about the story behind it and greet everyone with joy. From this story, we learn that Mr. Leban is very kind and cares very much about history.

Savoring Local Delicacies

Mr. Leban told us that Kirschbaum’s Bakery is the one store that he could think of that is still open and has been in Western Springs since he started teaching at McClure in 1968.

Kirschbaum’s Bakery first opened in 1954. In 2019 Kirschbaum’s was recognized as the “Sweetest Bakery in illinois” by Dawn Food Products. Kirschbaum’s Bakery has lasted this long because people from all over love their baked goods, especially the smiley face sugar cookies. Customers arrive early and stand in line to buy Kirschbaum’s treats. People like the atmosphere of this shop that is currently run by the third generation of the Kirschbaum Family.

Always LT

What luck! Mrs. Leban won a Porsche when she bought a raffle ticket for the Asheville Symphony’s annual fundraiser. The color of the car she won was red, but she didn’t want a red car because that’s Hinsdale Central’s color. She asked the people in Asheville if she could instead get a blue version of this same car because blue is LT’s school color. This is Mr. and Mrs. Leban in front of Mrs. Leban’s new BLUE Porsche!

Since Mr. Leban retired in 2011, he told us that he has spent more than 300 days on boat cruises. This indicates that he loves traveling and he wants to continue to do this. Mr. Leban’s favorite place to visit is Quebec City and his favorite cruise was a 36-day, 10,000 nautical mile cruise around Australia and the South Island of New Zealand. Mr. Leban has cruises planned for the next two years.

Western Springs Story

Mr. Leban did his student teaching at McClure Junior High and then taught full-time at McClure from 1968 to 2011. Mr. Leban told us: “I graduated on Saturday and on Monday at 9:00 I was in Mr. Clark's office, ready to sign the contract.” Mr. Clark was the D101 Superintendent at the time.

The district originally hired Mr. Leban to teach ancient history as the 6th grade social studies teacher. When the 8th grade teacher decided to retire, Mr. Leban jumped at the opportunity to teach his favorite topics: Teddy Roosevelt, World War I, and World War II. Mr. Leban taught 8th grade social studies at McClure for 43 years because he really enjoyed getting to teach kids about history and topics he loved.

Mr. Leban told us that the secret to teaching social studies is to “tell a story and your students will learn a whole lot more.” One of his favorite stories from World War II is about an inflatable tank used as part of the Allies’ D-Day deception plan. The Allies replaced real tanks with inflatable tanks like the one he showed us in a picture where a few soldiers are shown balancing the inflatable tank in their hands. These inflatable tanks made the Germans think there were more tanks than there were.

Mr. Leban saw many changes during his 43 years in D101. He told us about how in 1974 the District changed the name of one of its elementary schools from Franklin Avenue School to Maurice P. Clark School. In 1982, the District closed Grand Avenue School and one year later they closed Clark School. In 2017, Mr. Leban told us about how the Board of Education moved its office to a brand new building next to McClure. Mr. Leban was also President of the teacher’s union one year during contract negotiations with the district. As Co-Chairman of the Social Studies Committee he also helped choose new social studies textbooks for K-8.

While teaching at McClure, Mr. Leban also coached boys and girls tennis at Lyons Township High School. While coaching tennis, Mr. Leban met a woman who worked in the LT Athletic Department named Caroline Ogg who he ended up marrying at the LT Reber Center. Mr. Leban also coached a tennis player named Jake Elliott, who is now better known as a professional football placekicker currently playing for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Changes Seen in Western Springs

When he first started teaching at McClure in 1968, Mr. Leban said that Western Springs was a quiet little town that didn't have close to as many people as it does now. The population of Western Springs in 1990 was 11,984 and the population in 2025 is now 13,557, an increase of 1573 more people. Mr. Leban noted that when he taught in the 1960s and 1970s, it was pretty easy “to find a parking place.

Speaking of parking lots, Mr. Leban told us a great story about how license plates on cars have changed. Over the years he worked here, he found WS license plates everywhere he went but he didn't have one. So when a police officer pulled him over for his license plate, he had to explain that he was just going to work.

When he first starting teaching here, there were multiple businesses in downtown Western Springs including Pete’s Meat Market, Foot Locker, and Kirschbaum's. Of those businesses, the only remaining business is Kirschbaum's Bakery.

Present and Future

Mr. Leban overall thinks a D101 education is really good and that Western Springs is a nice and vibrant place to live. Mr. Leban thinks the biggest challenge for both the school district and the village is to maintain the good education in the schools by keeping good teachers who are passionate about their jobs. This indicates he was committed to McClure and loved it so much.

Describe Western Springs in 3 Words

Unique - “There are so many good things here in Western Springs.” This makes our village unique because each of us has a special connection to our community.
Nice Place to Live - Mr. Leban said “So many people come back here.” This shows that when people leave for somewhere else to live, many come back to this thriving community.
Positive - “I learned more teaching than in college.” Mr. Leban said this because it shows how the classroom was their own community and were good to each other.

Artists' Sketches

Sketch by Madison - I've been doing art since I was two (stick figures of course), I started working on human/bone structure five years ago and still enjoy doing that to this day. I wanted to be an animator since 3rd grade. I'm a 7th Grader at McClure, and my dream is to intern at Disney for an animation career.

Sketch by Kayla - I’ve drawn for 10 years, and enjoy art because I can express what can’t be put into words. I love animating, making plushies, and drawing in my sketchbook. I am currently a 12 year old 7th Grader at McClure Junior High. My goal is to be an animator when I am of age.

Citation

Leban, Ron. Personal Interview. 21 Feb. 2025.

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