As a retired newspaperman who covered high school sports for the Chicago Daily News and Chicago Sun-Times for 33 years, I always was fascinated buy the success of Hinsdale Central High School's sports programs, which produced some of the finest coaches and athletes in the United States. All the more impressive when you consider Hinsdale has a population of only 17,700, is 90 percent white, ranks in the top 1 percent of the wealthiest towns in Illinois and is filled with multimillion-dollar mansions and upscale shops. And it's dry, too. Not the kind of demographics you'd expect of a sports-minded community. Incorporated in 1873, Hinsdale is located 17 miles west of downtown Chicago. You can experience it all at the Hinsdale History Museum. Located at 15 South Clay Street, off Chicago Avenue, it is open from noon to 4 on Friday and Saturday. Depicting the life of a middle-class family living in Hinsdale between 1874 and 1900, this historic home includes seven authentically restored period settings filled with hundreds of objects and relics donated by local residents. Since 1975, it has been the home of Hinsdale's history. Its mission is to bridge the past, present and future by engaging the community with its history and architecture. It houses archives and collections covering a multitude of photographs, oral histories, documents and artifacts that tell the story of Hinsdale. The museum is operated by the Hinsdale History Society, a volunteer organization, which maintains three historic properties in the village--the Hinsdale History Museum, Immanuel Hall and the R. Harold Zook home and studio. Zook was a local architect who designed many structures in Hinsdale. It also operates the Roger and Ruth Anderson Architecture Center.