Meet Your Neighbor Chlora Beiner of Stronghurst. Her and her husband moved here about three years ago from Waterloo, Iowa.
The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Misty Huston, The Quill
Meet Your Neighbor Chlora Beiner of Stronghurst. Her and her husband moved here about three years ago from Waterloo, Iowa.
She says she misses the bigger city and the conveniences it offers but loves the community and the peace and quiet.
She was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas and raised in Waterloo, Iowa.
Chlora earned her GED in 1983. She since has earned her Business Management Diploma from the American Institute of Commerce in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
She is currently self-employed, the owner of Dangles & Jangles and Chlora's Fused and Stained Glass Studio. She has a studio in her home where she makes things such as beaded jewelry, fused glass items, stained glass items and glass bird feeders to sell at craft shows, county fairs, and farmers markets.
When asked how she got into these kinds of crafts she said, "My sister, Dixie, showed me how to make beaded book markers and it just evolved from there. I started looking at books for making jewelry and the basics were the same as the book markers so I started experimenting and have progressed forward." "As for the stained glass, I've always wanted to learn to do it but the classes were expensive and I just never did go through with it. Then about a year ago I saw a class offered for a reasonable price and was so excited I went and signed up immediately, but then the class got canceled. I was so disappointed but the instructor told me she had open studio one day a week and if I came she would work with me and teach me how to do it, so I did."
She was previously employed as a Para Educator at East High School in Waterloo, Iowa.
Chlora and hubby, Tim, have been married for 16 years. He is a machinist for Fusion Tech. They have one son, Lee (Samantha) Beiner of Texas and one daughter, Cherie (Ben) Hovey of Des Moines, Iowa. They currently have two grandchildren, Haley, who is 14 and Ryan who is 13 and a new grandbaby on the way.
Her parents are Joy and Darryl of Waterloo, Iowa and David of California.
She has several siblings, one brother, David, one half sister, Susan, four stepbrothers, Dean, Don, Peter and Johnny and six stepsisters, Dixie, Darla, Lisa, Dawn, Carrie and Sharon.
She is of the Lutheran faith.
She has a lot of hobbies, some of them are crafting, gardening, ponding, fishing, camping, woodworking, radio controlled airplanes, working on cars, and collecting hostas.
She said, "I would like to have one of each kind of hosta." Then she chuckled and said, there are about 6,000 different species. Being a University of Illinois Master Gardner she is very knowledgeable about gardening and plants of all kinds.
Some of her favorite memories are of camping with her family and their family traditions of always getting together and celebrating each family members birthday. She also fondly recalls their Christmas tradition of always having chili and oyster stew for Christmas.
She simply states, "Family simply getting together is the best family tradition there is. I am a very family oriented person."