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Fun for All
The Henkle family moved to Downers Grove in 1998. Our son, Justin at the time was only 1. In 1999 Justin won second place in the Heritage Fest photo contest, and was on the front page of the Downers Grove Reporter. Justin and father Mike were in the local Parent Magazine for Father’s Day in June. In 2000 my daughter Ashley was born. Justin was the Snow Prince in the Downers Grove Hospitality Day parade at age 6. In the spring my son tried out the Downers Grove Roadrunners Soccer Club, and is still on the team. Justin rode on the Roadrunners float in the July 4th parade.
My son and daughter both have taken swimming lessons at the Downers Grove South High School. In the summer we also participate in the wonderful summer reading program that the library offers. My children love going to the library to check out books. I was second place women’s runner-up in the Downers Grove Fitness Challenge that was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. Every October my children participate in the downtown window painting, and we enjoy breakfast at Ballydoyle. Recently in September of 2006 my husband and I celebrated out 10th Anniversary, and our picture was in the Downers Grove Reporter.
Ashley Henkle was a runner up in the Snow Prince/Princess 2006 contest, and rode on the float with Mrs. Claus. My children also participate in activities at the Downers Grove Park District Recreation Center. We sure have a lot of memories, and many more to come.
The Henkle Family
What Changes, What Stays the Same
I think very few Downers Grove residents now know that we once watched the Fourth of July fireworks at Doerhoefer Park. It was very crowded, which is why I’m sure the fireworks moved to 75th Street. We lived a few blocks from the park so we always walked, but the streets were full of cars and people. My parents would pull me in my wagon so as not to lose me in the crowd. Now kids play all kinds of sports on the new artificial turf there, including lacrosse!
My first job was at K-Mart on Ogden Avenue. I must apologize to my managers there because I was at best a half-hearted worker who was really more interested in hanging out with my fellow co-workers than in scanning customers’ paper towels and shampoo. But we had a great time, if that’s of any consolation to those who did not get their correct change back!
These former DG businesses all played a part in my formative years: Mr. Value Foods, Rose Records, E-G Hardware and Lumber, the Branding Iron, Honey Girl, Yellow Submarine, Just Games, Hi-Lo Foods, Someplace Else, Anana’s, C.C. Cromwell’s, Edwardo’s, Sage’s West, Grove Premium.
But here’s what hasn’t changed: sledding at Gilbert Park, painting the windows downtown on Halloween and drinking hot chocolate to keep warm, marching in the July 4th parade (with the band or with your church or political group), Heritage Fest, the Tivoli, catching the train into Chicago, Omega, signing up for programs at the park district (although my mother used to have to wait in line to do so – now parents can just sign up online!)
Belmont Prairie and Lyman Woods offer two windows to the past for me. Lyman Woods was once a subdivision but has been largely returned to its native state. And in the summer I go to Belmont Prairie and stand among the compass plants, the prairie docks, and the rattlesnake masters, and try to imagine what Downers Grove was like before anyone was here.
Carol Kania Morency
Through the Generations
Downtown Downers Grove was like our amusement park and we spent most of our time there when our kids were in school. We would buy blankets from the old Army surplus store on Main Street. Little did we know that my son, Frank, would one day own Tribeca Cigar Company in that same store. Frank still lives in Downers Grove with his wife and children, and I remember when he would go sledding on the hills around town. Now, his children play at McCollum Park. Frank remembers watching the trains at Grove Premium. Today, his children can see them at the library.
I now live in a townhome on the south end of town that used to be a cornfield. We used to walk to the cornfields -- now we walk to the stores there!
Dorothy Gadzala
Through the Generations
I have so many happy memories of Downers Grove. My parents moved to Downers Grove after they were married so that they could start a family. As a toddler, I remember those winters in Downers Grove. In the blizzard of 1967 I came out of my house on 3rd Street having fun in the snow as my mom and dad had the work of shoveling that much snow. Wintertime was beautiful and wonderful in Downers Grove.
As a kid, I remember going to the old Walgreen's store downtown in the mid-1970s and having a soda and ice cream with my mom and sister to take a break from Christmas shopping. I loved to go to the Tivoli Theatre to see good movies that only cost $1.75. Those were the good old days that I remembered all the way into my teenage years. Childhood memories that I had in Downers Grove were the ones that I treasure the most. Happy Birthday to Downers Grove and best wishes. Thank you for the beautiful memories!
Ellen J. Foss
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