Naperville Parks -- The Riverwalk

The DuPage isn't a super impressive river. It's not deep enough for commercial transportation. When the Napers arrived, they had to dam it to make a pond to run lumber and grain mills. Today, of course, Naperville is well-known for its beautiful and bustling Riverwalk.

Eventually, the mill pond dam was removed and the city grew. Too shallow for commercial transportation, land near the river attracted businesses that didn’t mind the threat of floods
such as storage lots, junkyards and gas stations. Mayor Emeritus Pradel remembers guys from his youth driving their cars into the river to wash them, a story commemorated in one of the Century Walk murals.

As the Naperville’s 150th anniversary approached, civic leaders took a fresh look at the river running through downtown. Inspired by the riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, they wondered if building something like it here would bring shoppers back from the new mall that had opened on Route 59 in Aurora.

Fundraising started in 1980 and folks donated both money and in-kind materials. A timely slowdown in the economy prompted businesses to contribute skilled construction crews as well. Anniversary fervor provided even more hours of unskilled volunteer labor.

The banks of the river were cleaned of trash. The ground was cleared, graded and planted. Paths were marked out and bricks laid. Lighting, bridges and fountains were installed. The Free Speech Pavillion, right across from the library, was built on the foundation of an old gas station.

These first two blocks of the Riverwalk were officially presented to Naperville’s citizens during the 175th Anniversary celebrations in June of 1981. Since then, it has expanded west, east and south, giving folks 1.75 beautiful miles to stroll, run on and enjoy year round.

Naperville Parks - Recent Names

We are lucky to have a number of neighborhood parks and fields to enjoy. Park names refer to many aspects of the our city’s history. These four parks honor four figures from recent times.

A. George Pradel park was dedicated in 1999 on the south side of town. (The “A” stands for “Arthur,” as  he was named for his father.) Pradel served five terms as mayor, from 1995 until 2015, the longest service in our history.

In addition to mayor, Pradel also served as a Naperville police officer starting in 1966 and was Officer Friendly to many local kids when he became the first Safety Town teacher in 1977. Known now as “Mayor Emeritus,” Pradel is still active in our community.

Harris Fawell park is located near 75th Street and Route 59. It was also dedicated in 1999 to honor Fawell who served in the Illinois Senate from 1963 to 1977 and then in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1984 until 1999.

Fawell graduated from North Central College before pursuing his law degree and today his Congressional papers are held on campus. Now retired, Fawell still calls Naperville home.

The Bill Young athletic fields are on West Street near Central High School and are used for Park District and school athletic programs.

Young is an appropriate namesake since he served both as a Park District Commissioner and as Park District Police Chief. In addition, Young was also a dean and wrestling coach at the nearby high school. Young passed away in 2014 and the park honoring him was dedicated in 2016.

In the same area are the Ron Ory Community Garden Plots, renamed in 2015. After 21 years in the Army, Ory retired and started working for the Park District’s golf courses where he learned about the garden plots and got interested in gardening.

His interest was serious enough to earn an associate degree from College of DuPage and then get certified by the University of Illinois Master Gardener program. In 2013, he was also certified as a Master Naturalist.

In addition to his own personal gardening, for several years Ory led the group who work the Master Gardener plots. The Master Gardners provide Loaves & Fishes with fresh produce every year for their clients. You might run into Ory if you stop by this park during the growing season!

Notable Naperville Women -- Peg Price

Her place in history books and trivia quizzes is forever ensured:  Margaret “Peg” Price was Naperville’s first female mayor. So far, she is also Naperville’s only female mayor, but she probably counts on that record being broken.

Peg Price served two terms as mayor, from 1983 until 1991, which represents only a portion of her time in public office. Over a thirty year career, Price was also a City Council member for two terms, served as city plan commissioner and held positions on boards such as the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference and the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission. 

Rather than a born-and-bred Napervillian, Price arrived in 1967 with husband Charles and two sons as part of the great mid-sixties influx when subdivisions were popping up all around town. 

By 1969 Price was deep into local politics and part of the referendum campaign that brought about our current Council-Manager form of government. Originally with four councilors, in 1984 then-Mayor Price oversaw the number of councilors grow from four to six. 

Other changes during Price’s watch included the planning and building of today’s Municipal Center. City Hall used to be in the stone building on Jefferson Street that now houses La Sorella di Francesca. Although she was instrumental in keeping the Municipal Center downtown, by the time it opened in 1992, Price's term as mayor had ended. 

Another innovation under her leadership is the annual State of the City address. Price gave the first “state” speech in 1991 in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce to associate the objectives of government with those of the business community. Price continues to attend the annual address and you may have seen her with Mayor Chirico and Mayor Emeritus Pradel last spring. 

Another place to see her is on the Community Concert Center door in Central Park. The First National Bank purchased space to depict four mayors in the art on the door:  Chester Rybicki, Price, Sam Macrane and George Pradel. The painting is called The Great Concerto and features a number of  notable Napervillians. You can see it just before the door raises and the Naperville Municipal Band begins a summer concert.

Happy Anniversary, Joe!

On or around July 15, 1831, Joseph Naper and a bunch of other folks started a little community on the banks of the DuPage River. I always take a moment to stand outside and imagine what it might have been like.

Was it hot, especially with long dresses and woolen trousers? What if there were thunderstorms like we had the other day? From what we can tell, there was one log house here, but most folks must have slept under their wagons or simply under the stars.

I look at the restored prairies, like the one at the College of DuPage, to get an idea of what it must have looked like when they arrived. What flowers were blooming? How tall were the wild grasses? Were there any fruits ripe enough to enjoy?

Joe's group always intended to build a community. They brought their families, their livestock and the iron works to build proper houses -- not log cabins -- from the very beginning. And this land wasn't exactly wilderness. There were several homesteaders in the general vicinity as well as the native people who regularly moved through the area.

They were probably excited and a little nervous. Happy to be on land after nearly a month of sailing on the Great Lakes. Apprehensive to be so far from the comparative civilization of Chicago. Sentimental, perhaps, over the homes they left behind in Ohio and New York. Worried about being ready for the coming winter.

But they pulled together and made it happen. And Naperville folks have been doing the same every since. I believe Joe was more of a whiskey kind of guy, but we're toasting with a cold beer because the Naperville Ale Fest happens to be this weekend. Happy Anniversary, Joe! Here's to many more!

Mormon Beginnings in DuPage and Will Counties

On the twenty-sixth day of November in 1829 Pierce Hawley claimed a portion of Section 30 in Kendall County, Illinois. Since it included a large stand of trees, locals called it Hawley's Grove for a while until Pierce sold his property and it took on the new name of Holderman's Grove. Originally from Vermont, Pierce had a hard time staying put anywhere.

Early Illinois history is peppered with Hawley references. Juliette Kinzie from Chicago tells of staying the night in Hawley's home during a particularly grueling journey. Aaron Hawley, Pierce's brother, was one of the few casualties of the Black Hawk War. Several Hawleys are buried in Naperville, including Pierce's daughter and Joseph Naper's mother.

Stephen Scott was also an early Illinois settler, living on the DuPage River. His son Willard often traveled to Peoria and broke his journey at the Hawley's just as Juliette Kinzie did. While there, he took a shine to Pierce's daughter Caroline and asked to marry her. Father Pierce agreed, but Caroline thought a few hours' courtship was rushing things, so Willard continued on his way.

A couple of weeks later on the return trip, Willard stopped by the Hawley House again and Caroline agreed this time to marry him. They spent their wedding night, as Willard loved to relate, with "the sky for our ceiling -- the stars for our light," under a tree in Plainfield.

Willard and Caroline are both buried in Naperville, the town which they helped grow from its earliest beginnings.

Pierce lived for a time in Naperville as well, becoming a valued member of the Methodist community that Rev. Jesse Walker was developing in his mission to the Potawatomi. But somehow, Pierce heard of Joseph Smith's preaching. As his son later wrote: "Mother at this time felt as though Father had almost committed the unpardonable sin in leaving the Methodist Church and joining the Mormon Church as they was both good Methodist members, but Mother soon got over hurt bad feelings and united with the same church and was one with her husband in faith and doctrine."

Along with other Mormons, the Hawleys (minus Caroline and husband Willard) moved to Missouri, then Iowa and Wisconsin. In the aftermath of religious persecution in Nauvoo and Joseph Smith's subsequent death, many Mormons moved out of Illinois under varying leaders. Brigham Young of course took a group to Utah, but the Hawleys went with Lyman Wight to Texas.

The Texas community flourished for a while. Pierce was chosen to be an elder and his daughter Mary Hawley became one of Wight's plural wives. Eventually Pierce soured on Wight's Mormon Church and along with his wife and married children, he moved to Indian territory in Kansas and then Arkansas, finally coming to rest on August 16, 1858 in Cherokee Nation, Arkansas, where he is buried.

Writing Your Own Family's History

Some day, some descendant may want to know about the people in your family. They shouldn't have to guess like Kate had to about Ruth Murray! You should write your own family's history so it will be preserved for future generations.

There are lots of ways to go about it from simple records to free-form tale-telling. To get inspired, the Helen Plum Memorial Library in Lombard, Illinois is offering a free seminar called "Creating a Memoir: The Basics of Writing Your Life Story."

Memoirist Rosanne Gulisano will lead the seminar on Saturday, February 6, starting at 2:00 pm. While the event is free, the library would like you to register. See their web site at www.plum.lib.il.us for more information.

This seminar is one of several that is offered by the DuPage County Library System as part of their Writing and Publishing series. Kate attended all but one of last year's offerings and found them very interesting. She's already registered for all of this year's, so if you attend any, be sure to say "hello!"

A Seventy Year Old Surprise

Recently the city of Naperville refurbished a park monument that commemorated the centennial celebration of DuPage County in 1939. When they removed the brass plaque from a large granite boulder, they discovered a compartment hollowed into the stone. Inside the hollow was a sealed metal box. 

Mayor A. George Pradel, assisted by curators from the Naper Settlement, opened the box in the council chambers in front of a gathering of citizens. Kate was among those who eagerly watched as Mayor Pradel lifted out one historical tidbit after another. While the mayor joked that maybe there might be something in there worth enough to balance next year's city budget, the items were of historical rather than monetary value. 

Included were newspaper from several DuPage Towns, letters from residents and a couple of coins from the 1830's. The contents are on display at the Naper Settlement Museum until the end of the year but you can also see a list of the items as well as some photos from the opening event at the city's website. 

The Centennial Committee apparently intended to have the time capsule opened in 2039 for DuPage County's Bicentennial, but it was a good thing the workmen stumbled across it early. The box had some water damage and a couple of photos inside were completely destroyed. Who knows if anything would have been left to see in another thirty years? 

DuPage County was carved out of Cook County in 1838 principally through the political activities of Joseph Naper who founded Naperville in 1831. Tradition has it that Naper and Abraham Lincoln, who was also serving in the Illinois General Assembly at that time, swapped support to help pass their pet proposals. Naper wanted the new county and Lincoln wanted to move the state capital from Vandalia to Springfield. Both men were successful.

Update: The city webpage is no longer active, but you can read more here.

Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Historian!

When Kate was writing her first book on local history, she contacted long-time DuPage County historian Leone Schmidt for direction. Leone has written six books, the latest of which was released for Warrenville's 175th anniversary last year.

A curator of the Warrenville Historical Museum and officially named Warrenville's historian in 1977, Leone knows more about DuPage Country than nearly anyone.She was very gracious in looking through her notes when newcomer Kate had questions about DuPage in the 1830's.

Just a couple of weeks ago Leone received the Lifetime Professional Achievement Award from the Illinois Association of Museums. It certainly was an apt award for a truly deserving individual.

Congratulations, Leone!