A Trip to Platteville: Summer of 1985

It was the summer of 1985. As usual, my stepson Andy would be visiting for the month of July – he was 15 and I was always looking for interesting and new things to do when he came to town.




I read that the Chicago Bears were having their summer camp at Platteville, WI. That sounded like a fun thing to do. My son, Sam was 3 that summer and my brother, Rob was living at home with our folks – time for a road trip.



Rob was supposed to find out when practice started, if we could get in, where it was exactly – I picked him up early on a beautiful July day and he got in the car and said:



“Good news, bad news – the bad news is that practice starts tomorrow. The good news is it’s a good day for a drive.”



I figured he was right – once we got the trip in motion, might at well follow through. So, we hit the road.



And it was FAR to Platteville. I am thinking to myself, “I can’t believe people do this,” as I was barreling down the highway.



We arrived at last at University of Wisconsin, Platteville campus. It was pretty deserted, except for a couple of guys sweeping the grounds outside the stadium. About 17 years later, my son would play on this field for Augustana College.



“Hey, how you doing? Nothing much going on today – practice starts tomorrow. There are only a couple guys in there throwing the ball around.”



Despite the large orange signs that said “Authorized Bear Personnel Only” I was not deterred. I told the group that if anyone stopped us, we could just say Sam had to go to the bathroom.



We walked into the stadium and found that the custodians were right: there were only two lone guys throwing the ball around. Those two guys, however, were Jim McMahon and Kenny Margerum.



My brother played ball at Madison a few years before this, so he went out for a couple passes from McMahon. We talked a bit, laughed about the season coming up and I finally got up my nerve to ask if I could take a picture of them with my little guy.



Sam was not the friendliest of toddlers: if someone would say hello to him at the Jewel where we shopped regularly, he would get mad and demand “Who is that? Why is he saying hello to me? I don’t know him.” So, I was a little concerned about how he would take to Jim and Ken.



The two players were great with my son – talked to him asked him how he was doing, laughing – I took what I hoped was a great photo – who knew? This was 1985, no digital cameras.



As it turned out, the photo was great. I sent it to both McMahon and Margerum with a note saying “Here is a photo of the next Superbowl quarterback and wide receiver plus a future All-American.” I never heard anything in return, but didn’t really expect to.



Since we had been in Platteville, and Superbowl Sunday was to be on my son’s 4th birthday, I clipped every single article throughout the season, taped every game (I have to get those converted from VHS tape!) and kept every Royko, Bob Greene, anything from the year.



We all know what happened on January 26, 1986. The Monsters of the Midway had their way and took New England to task to the score of 46-10. It was a fabulous year, one that is still talked about as possibly the greatest championship ever.



The photo has been hanging in my laundry room/office since that summer. I had it in the back of my mind that I would have McMahon sign it one day. (I would love to have Margerum sign it too) I would read about his appearances, most were golf-related and I am not a golfer – others were charity events and I didn’t want to pay $250 for a place at a table among other people seeking his attention. I did read that he had his 50th birthday party at a club in Chicago recently and if you gave $50 for his charity, you could get in. I seriously thought about going downtown for that, but decided against it – again, the crowds would probably have been too great to catch a few moments of his time.



Then last week I read that Jim McMahon was to be at Binny’s in Highland Park and would autograph a photo or some other memorabilia for the first 250 people in line. Here’s my chance.



My husband drove to Highland Park – we arrived early. The session was to be from noon to 2 p.m. last Sunday, the 26th. We got there at 10:00 a.m. as the doors were opening and I was number 16.



Most of the people in line were autograph hounds – seekers – getting autographs for profit. I had the real thing – a real photo taken 25 years ago.



When it was my turn at the table, I showed him the photo and said, “I have been waiting 25 years for you to sign this.”



He took the picture in his hands, said, “Oh, my God – that takes me back.” I rambled on about how it was my son in the picture and that it was his fourth birthday when we won Super Bowl – Jim then asked what my son’s name is – I said, “Sammy” –



And now that photo is back hanging in my laundry room – a little more complete.

Fall Rummage Sale

It's time for The Village Church Fall rummage sale.


The Village Church of La Grange Park will hold its Fall Rummage Sale on Friday 10/1 and Saturday 10/2.The pre-sale will be Friday from 6:30-8:30pm and has an admission price of $5.00. The rummage sale on Saturday has no admission charge and will be open from 9:00-3:00pm. There will be a $4.00 "bag sale" at 2pm. Rummage donations of clean, usable items will be accepted at the September 27th through September 30th. The church is located at 1150 Meadowcrest Road. 708-354-0900.

Make sure and stop by to check out great bargains!  Friday and Saturday October 1 and 2.

Bears vs. Cowboys 9-19-2010

Bears beat Cowboys 27-20. We traveled to Dallas last weekend for the game. When we left home on Friday morning, the temperature was a fall-like 46 degrees – lovely, crisp.




We arrived in Dallas to hot, very hot sun and temps – 95 degrees. We got into our rental car and went to the condo that we had rented for the weekend through vrbo.com – vacation rental by owner. The owner met us there; it was a great spot only a few (hot) blocks from the stadium. We settled in and decided to get the lay of the land.



We walked over to Cowboys Stadium. From the outside, it looks like a giant space ship landed right in the middle of the concrete city of Arlington TX. In the evening, from the rooftop deck of the condo, we could see the top of the space ship – eerily emitting lights from the underside.

The condo was well-located, as we were able to walk to dinner. It was still hot.



On Saturday, family arrived from Austin – my husband’s son, his wife and our two grandkids. When we went out to dinner that night at a local barbeque place, and it was still 94 at 8:00 p.m. I kept wondering how in the world we were going to sit through a 3-1/2 hour football game in that heat – Bears fan or no fan, I am a heat wimp.



Sunday dawned sunny and – you guessed it – hot. We donned our Bears shirts and headed over to the venue. We go there at 10:45 for a noon kick-off and the place was already swarming with people – lots of Bear fans tailgating in the parking lot.

We stood outside in awe for a few minutes, and then ventured inside. It’s the first time I have been to an indoor football game – doesn’t seem like real football to me, a died-in-the-wool, football should be played in cold weather fan – but it was AIR CONDITIONED.



Originally estimated to cost $650 million, the actual construction cost was $1.3 billion. To help Jerry Jones cover the cost of the stadium, Arlington voters approved the increase of the city’s sales tax by 0.5 percent, the hotel occupancy tax by 2 percent and the car rental tax by 5 percent. The City of Arlington provided over $325 million in bonds as funding and Jones covered all cost overruns. Also, the National Football League provided the Cowboys with an additional $150 million, per the policy of giving teams a lump sum of money for stadium financing. (source: Wikipedia).



The stadium has yet to sell naming rights, so it is referred to as ‘Jerryworld’ among other nicknames. To ensure you don’t miss a play, there are over 3,000 Sony LCD displays throughout the stadium – it really does defy description. Suffice it to say that you have to force yourself to watch the field, as this gigantic screen (about 60 yards long!) is right in front of you, huge Cowboy faces taunting the other team with such things as “Hey, no one beats us in our house.” And noisy – there is a constant din and resembles the atmosphere of a casino.



I was wondering if the players spit indoors – they do.




We found our seats, at the 50-yard line in the 400 section – quite a ways up – and the seats were padded. Two hot dogs, two beers and a small bag of chips was $38.

The national anthem was performed by Jay ‘the voice’ Perez. We all agreed that it was one of the best renditions we had ever heard. When he returned home, my stepson emailed Mr. Perez and much to his delight, he received an answer thanking him for his email. Perez is a huge tejano music star.

…and it was a great game. A really good game – no interceptions for our side. There was a lot of action – and no mistakes. There were quite a few Bears fans in the crowd – and you could often hear the familiar chant of ‘GO BEARS.’ Interestingly, at the start of the game, every time the Cowboys made a first down, the announcer very emphatically stated, “and that’s a Dallas FIRST-T-T DOWN.” As the game went on into the fourth quarter and looked like things were going our way, he wasn’t quite so enthusiastic and was rather stating that Dallas had made a first down in a rather bored monotone.



Knowing that even with one minute and a few seconds to go with the good guys ahead by 7, a seasoned Bears fan knows we don’t celebrate till the fat lady sings. The on-side kick went our way, we hung onto the ball and we are now 2-0 and oh, yeah, the Cowboys are 0-2. Lots of Cowboy fans left the venue, not many Bears fans left early. We won – and it was a glorious win.



We have gone to away games for the past four years – this is the first time I was able to wear my Bears shirt home on the plane.  And is that shirt cool or what - a silk screen of da coach.  Now onto Monday night against Green Bay. Go Bears Go!

On Tap

I walked into the dining room the other night and spied my husband with the bike path map spread out on the table, gazing intently at the trails.  “Uh, oh,” I thought to myself, “He must be planning some big trip.” 

“I have a good trip planned out for us,” he said cheerfully.

I, recently indoctrinated into the biking routine, was skeptical.

“We could drive to Wheaton and park the car and go to Warrenville.”

To me, Warrenville sounds like it is on the other side of the earth.  I had never been there, was only slightly familiar with the town because my son played high school football at Lyons Township in La Grange and we played Wheaton-Warrenville High School.  I know where Wheaton is, how far can Warrenville be?

As it turned out, it was pretty far.  But we had a destination in mind:  Two Brothers Brewery located in none other than Warrenville.

We like to drink indigenous beers.  When in Wisconsin, we look for micro-breweries in that state and go to liquor stores that stock those special brews.  In Illinois, the choice is smaller, but interesting nonetheless.  We also like the stories behind these breweries and if we can bike, eat and drink some beer, it’s a perfect day.

We loaded the bikes onto the car and headed out west.  We hopped on the Illinois Prairie Path in Wheaton.  It is well-maintained and easy to navigate.  It was a nice, cool sunny day and we were looking forward to our adventure to Two Brothers.

I have an odometer on my bike and though my husband figured “round trip about 20 miles,” we were not even AT our destination and we had already clocked 14 miles.  I fiddled with the controls on the Cat thinking that maybe I had a different setting – it read 140 – I thought maybe it was the time….but it was the mileage.

Great, I thought – I often yell from behind him – “Where ARE we?”

We were in the Blackwell County Forest Preserve, admittedly very pretty with lakes, quiet trails and lovely vegetation – but definitely on the wrong path.  We had mistakenly taken a branch of the DuPage River Trail.  We backtracked and got onto the original charted course:  The Fermi Lab Trail. 

We crossed Route 59, went about 4 blocks and then headed south on some residential streets through a schoolyard and a park to the edge of a light industrial park.  We had the address of Two Brothers Brewery, but it didn’t appear that there would be a brewery on this street.  Pedaling further down the road, we came upon a truck that indeed said “Two Brothers” – we arrived.

I had read that Chef Tommy at the Tap House was fantastic and I have to say, the fare does not resemble what we think of as bar food in any way. We both had fish tacos that were out of this world.  Draft beers are $4 and $5 and we each enjoyed two beers, different brews.  In addition to their own brews, they carry a very impressive array of other beers and also have a guest draft beer.  We sat outside at an umbrella table in very quiet surroundings.   The beer was cold, the food was yummy, and the breeze was warm…it was so relaxing…

…until we had to climb onto our bikes again.  We chatted with a couple who had also just finished eating – they were driving a red van – and I was hoping they would take pity upon us and drive us back to Wheaton.  No such luck – we began our return journey. 

We made it back to downtown Wheaton.  It was a Friday, and there was a classic car show in town.  We looked around a little, I thought I was going to drop right there in the street, but somehow made it back to the car.  Our 20-miler turned into a little longer than expected – should have had another beer!

Check hours and directions at the website www.twobrotherstaphouse.com/ 

Two Brothers Tap House
30W315 Calumet Ave.
Warrenville, IL  60555
630-393-BEER

The Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup made a trip to La Grange Park - ! It was a blast. Pawel Prylinski, the massage therapist for the Chicago Blackhawks, walked into Village Hall on Tuesday evening and told Jim Discipio, Village President, that it was his day to have the cup on Friday, September 10 and did the village want to do something about it?

Jim quickly corralled his resources - and Julia Cedillo quickly put together a flyer and posted it on the e-community briefs. The staff also hung flyers at the Jewel, the library and some other spots in town. Though short notice, the word spread fast and there were more than 600 people in line - some as early as 11:00 am for the 4:00 p.m. showing. The line wound all the way around the front of Village Hall on Catherine to Ashland and down about 2-3 blocks.

Pawel proudly carrying in the Stanley Cup

The Cup, its Hall of Fame handler, Mike and our resident Pawel arrived by limo about 5:10 after getting stuck in traffic. The Cup was carried in by Pawel with police officers forming a lane for him to come in. All fans had a chance to walk by the cup, some got their pictures taken with Stanley, others touched and kissed the trophy. An historic day in La Grange Park.

Me with the Cup!

the limo driver having a ball

Rocktoberfest

You have probably seen the sign on the corner of La Grange Road and Ogden - Rocktoberfest - and may have also received an invitation mailing. Rocktoberfest will be held Saturday, September 18 at Gordon Park located at La Grange Rd and Ogden Ave.  The event runs from 5:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. 

Rocktoberfest is a great way to celebrate fall with the family and also benefit our community.  For a general admission price of only $10, you can enjoy an evening of brats, beer, bands and bags.  A local band rockin' classic covers, The Bad Dads will perform from 5-6:30 pm and Infinity, the ultimate 80's rock and Journey tribute band will play from 7:30 - 10:30 p.m.

The VIP Package, selling for $50, includes VIP tent; general admission; plated dinner by Events by Tommy R's; 2 drink tickets; exclusive bartenders; private potties and rock star parking.  There are only 500 VIP packages available.  There will also be an Edward Jones Bags Tournament in which there will be 24 teams of 2 competing to win a $100 cash prize.  Entrance fee is $25 per team.  Raffle tickets also will be sold for $5 each or 5/$20. 


Partnering with the Women's Auxiliary of Community Nurse is the Park District of La Grange.  Various other sponsors include Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital; Community Bank of Western Springs; Township of Lyons; First National Bank of La Grange; Brookfield Financial Plans, Inc.; La Grange Business Association; Prime Property Partners; Allan E Power Plumbing; Chariot Automotive; Katrina Ladyga, Prime Property Partners Real Estate; Horizon Wealth Management, LLC; ais; AlphaGraphics; Bannerville USA; Big Top Tents; Chicago Communications LLC; and the Doings.

Rocktoberfest benefits Community Nurse Health Association. Since 1921, Community Nurse has provided comprehensive, quality health care and supportive services to lower income and uninsured residents of the western suburbs of Chicago. The organization benefits individuals who have difficulty accessing health care due a myriad of reasons. Staff consists of  RNs, NPs and volunteers MDs. The vision of the Community Nurse is ahealthy and productive community where all residents have access to quality healthcare.

The service area encompasses the 14 western suburbs of: Brookfield, Burr Ridge, Countryside, Hinsdale, Hodgkins, Indian Head Park, LaGrange, LaGrange Highlands, LaGrange Park, Lyons, McCook, Westchester, Willow Springs and Western Springs.


There was at one time a "community nurse."  She was situated in an office on the second floor of a building in downtown La Grange.  Residents would visit her when they could not see the doctor.  In 1921, the Community Nurse Health Association was founded.  Today, the organization provides an invaluable service to our communities.

So, c'mon out to a neighborhood fest and benefit a neighborhood association as well!

therocktoberfest.com

Patch.com

Patch.com is an on-line newspaper dedicated to local news.  Here in La Grange/La Grange Park, we have an edition of Patch - La Grange Patch. 

Patch is a community newspaper - it is run by a group of professional local journalists who report on stories, events and people with the village.  The local management staff is supported by the team in New York City.

You will see Patch around town, and if you take a look at their home page, you will see that all of the up-to-the minute news are right at your fingertips.  You will find me on their pages bringing human interest stories to La Grange Patch.  Patch also is very interested in having people report on stories, give opinions, post photos and announcements, and add events to the community calendar. 

See you on Patch!
http://lagrangepatch.com/

Fall is in the air

I opened the windows last night to let that wonderful Canadian air breeze into the bedroom. 

My brother tells me that I am the only person he knows that actually likes cold weather - I know this can't be true, there are many of us who prefer to be able to put another piece of clothing on to get warm, rather than shedding everything we have on to the barest minimum and still be hot.

My cute summer jackets and my soft, comfy sweatshirts never  made it off their hangers this summer.  My husband continually says to me, "You are a bit clammy."  NO KIDDING.  I feel like I have been in a seaweed wrap in a sauna all summer  - I even googled 'excessive sweating' because I thought I had contracted a new, rare sweating disease.  I don't need a weather page to tell me that the temperature in the 80's matches the temperature humidity index - my pores give me away.

But this morning.....my ring was slipping around on my finger, unlike the past couple of months when my fingers felt like sausages; I felt like I could breathe - everyone seems to be in a better mood. Great sleeping weather.    I did put on one of my (lightweight) hoodies and it was perfect. 

Snow will be here before we know it!