Michael Musgrave and Shawn Harms, partners on and off for the past 12 years, live together in a rural area far northwest of Chicago, in a beautiful, picturesque home, with more than 120 sprawling acres of land that they own. Their finely detailed, family-owned home includes a fully stocked wine cellar, an indoor pool and Jacuzzi, a stand-alone video game, and weight room.
They also have a barn, pond and 100-year-old farmhouse.
And the animals. Ah, yes, their loving animals. Harms helps in their care a bit more than Musgrave, but they both have obvious affection for those in their heard. There are the five dogs—different sizes, breeds and colors, and all are friendly.
They also own three horses, seven exotic, egg-laying chickens, four goats, three cats and four ducks.
And next year they plan to add turkeys and possibly steers.
Musgrave's favorites are the dogs; he's a dog-person.
Harms said it's too hard to pick his favorite. "I love them all."
Musgrave, 46, moved into the home with his parents in 1972 from suburban Glenview. "I never thought I'd want to move back here, but it's really nice not having neighbors and the city life," he said.
Harms was Musgraves' first boyfriend.
"This is a relatively gay-friendly area. Everyone around here is super friendly and no one really cares [ about our sexuality ] ," said Musgrave, who graduated from Huntley High School.
Musgrave is the Chairman of the family's business: WPM - Western Printing Machinery Co., a Schiller Park-based international company with about 50 employees locally that manufactures and services inline and offline finishing and converting systems for the printing and related industries. He came out at work about five years ago, "and no one really cared," he said, "and that was one of my biggest fears".
"This is a very blue-collar industry, and I really wasn't sure what to expect when I came out." Musgrave said. "I knew that I couldn't afford to alienate a customer. Losing one customer could cost people's jobs."
Harms, 30, who grew up in Oklahoma, was in the U.S. Army until 2005. "Being closeted in the Army was rough," he said. Harms actually was asked his sexual orientation during his Military Entrance Processing Station ( MEPS ) , when he was asked if he was gay. He still signed the form, "because I needed the Army."
During his Army run in the mid-2000s, he was stationed in Korea—and drove M1A1 Abrahams tanks until being promoted to a Command Sergeant Major's personal driver and security.
Harms received an honorable discharge.
The couple now have made a fantastic home for themselves in an area just outside Huntley, Ill., and they are happily part of both the fledgling gay community, and the overall society of this area.
This is the first of a series of articles about gays living in the Far Northwest suburbs of Chicago.
