Happy Birthday La Grange Park!

2017 marks the quasquicentennial anniversary of La Grange Park. Our 125th birthday. A committee of residents, businesses and community groups have come together to organize festivities throughout the year to help our Village celebrate this occasion.
The Village will have:

• A historical exhibit, walking tour and interactive community map to honor the Village’s rich history.
• A community art installation at Village Hall representing the families of La Grange Park.
• A time capsule reflecting our community today to share with future generations.

The activities will culminate with a Village picnic and birthday party to be held July 15, 2017 at Memorial Park. The party will include live music, food and other activities planned throughout the day, including the dedication of the renovation of our crown jewel, Memorial Park.

On January 13, 2017 “La Grange Park Stories’ was held at the La Grange Park Public Library. There were 27 people in attendance. It was an evening filled with heartfelt stories from residents who have lived in the Village for a long time and also those who are relatively new to our town. There was pride, love and gratitude for landing in such a great place as La Grange Park.

Future events include “Brick by Brick: Tracing your Home’s History” on Thursday, April 13 at the Library. Tina Beaird will provide strategies for researching the history of your home by using government records, newspapers, phone directories and maps. What story will your home tell?
The Community Art Project is a tile wall that will be installed in Village Hall. Residents are encouraged to submit either photographs or hand drawings of their families, homes, or what they would like memorialized about their life in La Grange Park. Forms are available online at the village’s website: www.lagrangepark.org.

Residents have three choices regarding their tile sizes:

4-1/4 x 4-1/4 - $12.50; 6 x 6 - $17.50 and 6 x 8 - $22.50. There is a limit of two per household that can be used in the public display. However, residents can purchase additional tiles for their personal use. The submission deadline is April 30, 2017.

Happy Birthday, La Grange Park!

Reflections on stories about my town

I attended the “La Grange Park Stories” evening at the Library last month. It was a Friday night and I had had an unusually busy week, so I thought about just staying home.

But my son had come by the night before. He lives in the city, but works out this way occasionally. He likes to don his running clothes (Mom, do I have a sweatshirt around here?) and jog through the old neighborhood, his stomping grounds since birth. When he returned, he said, “You know what I love about this village? It’s the people. I was running by all of my old buddies’ houses and so many of their parents still live here. It’s the people that make La Grange Park what it is.”

I thought yup, he is exactly right. I decided to go to the gathering.
The evening was filled with pride, emotion, history, gratitude and love. People reminisced, laughed and some even shed a tear.

A retired doctor brought his ‘house call’ doctor kit. He made house calls for $5.00. Many of the folks in the audience were young patients of his. Dr. Loren Horton was one of the original doctors on staff at La Grange Memorial Hospital, now Amita. He and his wife have lived in the village for many years.

Another presenter was G. Thomas McAtee. As a young boy during World War II, he lived at St Joseph Academy, which was located where Nazareth is now. It was a military school, he also is a retired Marine and said that his experience as a young boy of 14 was much the same as the service. He showed us photos of his classmates, told of the nuns. It was a wonderful presentation of a time long forgotten in our neighborhood. Mr. McAtee presented his experiences with pride and love.

My neighbor Eric Boyd, shared a remembrance about a colorful character on our block: Allan Calhammer. Allan was a Harvard grad and was a mail carrier in La Grange Park for many years. He also was a ‘gamer’ – he invented the game “Diplomacy.” When he died a few years ago, the Chicago Tribune ran a tribute to him and his contribution to the board game industry.

Eric spoke of Allan’s professional accomplishments and had the copy of the Chicago magazine in which Allan was featured. But what Eric brought to the evening was the essence of the man, the neighbor that he was to all of us.

And yes, I think my son is right: the people make the village the great place it is, Happy Birthday to La Grange Park!

Groundbreaking at Memorial Park

If you have walked down Oak past the Library of late, you have seen lots of activity and fenced-in areas.
What is going on?

Over 8 years ago, the Community Park District distributed a survey to the community asking residents what they like about our parks and what they would like to see in our parks.

One of the residents described Memorial Park as the crown jewel of the community. Taking those sentiments, the Park District board began to plan renovations for the Park.

Over the course of the next several years, planning and funding began. The Community Park District was awarded the largest possible grant available: $400,000.

And that is what you see going on in Memorial Park. The official groundbreaking was Friday, March 3, 2017.
Planning Resources Inc is the project architect; Builders Land is the general contractor for the shelter and Kee Construction is the general contractor for the remainder of the project.

The Park District staff worked tirelessly helping to design the project with strict attention to the costs. A thank you from the community to Karen Boyd, Lucy Stastny, Tim Ogden, Jeff Kilrea, Bob Corte and the former President of the Board, Lou Ritten whose efforts were monumental.

When the work is completed, residents will enjoy a new shelter with a covered picnic area, bathrooms in the shelter and a small splash pad area for kids. There will also be a permanent bags setup and a permanent bocce ball area, a new gazebo, and improved walking trail and fitness stations along the trail. You can follow a visual timeline of construction on the Park District website: www.communityparkdistrict.org.

Construction is scheduled to be completed by June 30, 2017 and the grand unveiling will take place in conjunction with the Village’s 125th birthday party on July 15, 2017. Activities begin at noon that day and continue into the evening with bands, play equipment for the children, cake and a ribbon cutting ceremony at 5:00 p.m.
As Karen Boyd, president of the Board of Trustees for the Park District, stated in her welcome speech at the groundbreaking: “I hope that everyone will agree that our crown jewel has been polished and perhaps a few new precious jewels have been added to Memorial Park.”