Memories of Life in Downers Grove

Friends and Neighbors

Welcoming Places and Faces

When we moved to Downers Grove in 1962, one of the first places we visited was the library. It looked so nice and welcoming that I expressed my delight to the first person I saw behind the desk. She happened to be Carol Steckmesser, who smiled broadly and said, "Well, thank you. My husband, George, designed this building." That was the beginning of a long and happy relationship with the Downers Grove Library. I ended up working there, in Circulation, for 14 years.

When we moved to our home on Middaugh Ave. I was delighted to learn that Carol and George lived up the street, as well as Betty and Art Johnson (Betty was another long-time librarian). Both homes were designed by George in a distinctive and modern style. The Steckmesser house still stands, but the Johnson house is being replaced.

My neighbors in the Middaugh and 59th St. area were (and are) the best! When all our children were growing up and they gravitated to one or another of our houses or yards, they were that neighbor's children for as long as they visited. We all seemed to subscribe to that idea without even talking about it much at the time.

We had neighborhood potluck parties sometimes on holidays like the Fourth of July. We even had a Fifth of July party once to eat up all the leftovers!

Nancy Goodman