Most recent greeting is posted at top. Occasionally, Greetings to PN also are linked to online stories. Many of these greetings, edited for space, will appear in the next issue of PN. Thank you for keeping greetings brief. And thanks for sending your thoughts with your signature. We welcome them!
To PN Editor: …What a wonderful idea!! (Charity Golf Outing Lisitng) I do have 2014 updates for the Naperville Education Foundation Founders Classic golf outing.
We will be holding the event on Monday, July 7, at Springbrook Golf Course. We plan to have registration/lunch beginning at 11:30AM, with a shotgun start at 1 PM. Dinner will immediately follow the golf, beginning at 6 PM. All of the other details concerning the event are basically the same as last year.
We haven’t finalized this, but I anticipate that the cost per golfer will be $175. —Bill Mitchell
To PN Editor: (Michael Wohead is a World War II Veteran who served in the Army before Pearl Harbor until many months after VE Day. He turned 96 on March 21.) It was so nice to run into you last night and so very kind of you to take and post the picture of my Father. I wanted to tell you the story my Father meant to tell, he got derailed and I apologize for the gruesome story, although it is true, not dinner conversation.
He mentioned the movie “The Longest Day” about D-Day. What he probably wanted to tell your husband is that in the movie there is a concrete wall with all sorts of debris preventing the Allies from getting behind enemy lines. It was my Father’s combat engineering unit that destroyed the wall so a road could be built to carry supplies to the Allies who could then penetrate enemy lines. In the movie it was shown on the first day, in reality it was a few days later.
Also, in the Battle of the Bulge, when the German’s were heading to Antwerp to seize the ports, supplies and divide the Allie’s line, it was a small company of combat engineers that kept the Germans from succeeding. Piper, the German Commander, was stopped when the engineers blew up a bridge on the River Muese, one bridge down from that bridge, seven miles away, my father’s company had prepared the next bridge to blow up if necessary. Thankfully it was not necessary.
My Father has so many stories, many that I am only hearing in the last few years. When “The Longest Day” came out my Father took all of us kids (6) to see the movie. We were never allowed to talk during a movie, cardinal sin, and Dad made sure to take us to a showing in the old theatre on Jefferson that did not have many people. We sat away from everyone and he talked the whole way through describing what really happened. I don’t know what shocked me more, the story or that he talked through the movie.
I praise God for my parents and that He watched over and protected my father so he could come back home. His brother, John, loaded bombs onto planes. He made a promise with God that if he made it out of there alive he would devote his life to serving God. He was a Maryknoll Missionary serving in Tanzania for over 65 years.
Thanks for letting me tell the rest of the story. —Veronica Porter
To PN: Happy Birthday our dear Roger Hodgson!! (March 21, 2014) I think that one of the best ways to celebrate the birthday of Roger, is to attend one of their gigs at the Breakfast Around the World 2014, and again enjoy the live music, a luxury today. Thanks Roger for your music, your voice and your talent, you have the magic!
Enjoy this video in HD by clicking on this direct link. * http://youtu.be/05YmDTYWWYg?hd=1 * —Cándido Pérez Márquez
To DuPage Community via PN Editor: As I am sure you all know, yesterday was the Primary Election. I would like to begin by saying thank you to each of you that voted. We are privileged to live in one of the greatest democracies on earth and your participation in the process is crucial.
I would also like to take a moment to thank everyone who ran for office or worked on a campaign during this primary season. Participation is necessary across all levels for our democracy to function. It takes courage to step up, voice one’s opinion on the issues and run for office. The dedication shown by those who donate their free time to working a campaign is invaluable to help those running spread their message.
My sincerest congratulations to yesterday’s winners and again my thanks to all who participated. —Dan Cronin, DuPage County Board Chairman
Editor’s Note: PN’s Election & Voter’s Guide has been updated to reflect the candidates who won in 2014 Primary Election. Thanks for paying attention in preparation for the Gubernatorial Election on Tues., Nov. 4.
To PN Editor: I have been browsing online more than 2 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me. In my view, if all website owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be much more useful than ever before. —Collin Wood
To Illinois Voters via PN Editor: We were able to run a strong campaign, despite the coldest winter on record, because we had an amazing surge of dedicated and hardworking grassroots volunteers. They bundled up and reached over 13,000 households. I am so thankful for the outpouring of support that we received from every corner of the district. —Chris Balkema, Candidate for U.S. Congress (R-11th District)
To Illinois Voters via PN Editor: I am grateful for all the new friends I have made. I am humbled by the time, effort and passion people put in supporting me. And I am awestruck by the number of people who I never met that honored me with their vote. I will never be able to comprehend nor adequately return the bounty that I have enjoyed. I hope you all will understand as I take some time off the grid. Thank you. —Bob Grogan, Candidate for State Treasurer
To Illinois Voters via PN Editor: Even though last night’s election didn’t go as we’d hoped, I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to get to know so many wonderful people.
The support of volunteers across our great state created a debt that I’ll never be able to repay. I’m eternally grateful to everyone that knocked on doors, made phone calls, put out signs, attended events, donated funds and resources, and engaged with me through Twitter and Facebook.
It’s my sincere hope that you’ll join me in congratulating and supporting Bruce Rauner as the Republican nominee for Governor. Illinois still needs to rid itself of the leadership mess that is Pat Quinn, and I’ll do whatever I can to help Bruce take back Illinois.
Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. Your support means more to me than you’ll ever know. God Bless. —Bill Brady, Illinois State Senator
To Illinois Voters via PN Editor: Thank you for your unwavering support! Jil and I are grateful for the thousands of Illinoisans who were a part of our wholehearted endeavor. Although we came up short tonight, we will never stop fighting for you, Illinois, and our shared vision to make Illinois work again.
Our thanks goes out to all of our supporters and volunteers statewide, and to all of the people who voted for us…all of the families, seniors, young people, farmers, business owners, hard-working teachers, and the state and local employees.
You believed in our plan to make our state the Capital of the Midwest once again.
It has been an unbelievable 8 months for Jil and me, traveling the state, telling voters that Illinois is broken…and isn’t working. We offered solutions.
We’re proud of our endorsements, from a wide variety of groups. In fact, the support we received from cross-over voters is unprecedented in a Republican Primary. They know we need fresh ideas and new leadership. And they know we need to end one-party control in Springfield!
Unfortunately, our campaign ends here tonight, but both Jil and I will continue to fight for Republican ideals and principles to help make Illinois work again.
Again, Jil and I thank you all for your support. —Kirk Dillard, Illinois State Senator
To PN: Today puts us one step closer to restoring responsible, accountable leadership for the families of the 11th District. I want to thank my opponents for the good debate and discussion during this election season and I want to thank the voters for the trust and faith they put in me today. —Darlene Senger, Candidate for U.S. Congress
To PN: What a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day present! Thanks to the poet and publisher for reminding us of sacrifice making our celebration possible. —W. Brand Bobosky, President, Century Walk Corporation
To Scott “Dr. Music” Itter from many readers: This PN editor notes that feedback has been posted at the bottom of Scott Itter’s March column, Pulse of Naperville Music Scene, promoting the 2014 Ribfest Concert on July 5 with Roger Hodgson. From all the rave reviews, by all means, save the date!
To PN & the Naperville Community regarding April 25: I hope that Naperville residents will mark their calendars for the weekend of April 25. Friday, April 25 is the 68th anniversary of the 1946 Naperville Train Wreck that took the lives of 45 people. That evening, at 7PM, I will give a talk and be signing copies of my book, The Tragedy at the Loomis Street Crossing at the Nichols Library. On Saturday, April 26, at 10AM I will be giving a power point presentation about the crash at Saints Peter and Paul Parish Hall. Again copies of the book will be available. Also, a number of the friends and families of the victims will be in attendance. Then, at 1PM the dedication of the Tragedy to Triumph memorial will take place at the Naperville Train Station. The awesome memorial was sculptured by Paul Kuhn under the auspecies of the Century Walk.
In the beginning stages of my research on the Naperville train wreck I turned to the readers of Positively Naperville for some direction. A number of years later, my research was complete and the book was published. I was honored to unveil the book in Naperville on June 12, 2012, at Anderson’s Bookshop. From Naperville, my wife Patrice and I traveled to some towns in Illinois and Iowa where we met a number of friends and families of the crash victims.
When I first started my research I was hopeful that, when this event was raised to the level of consciousness in the minds of more and more people, perhaps there might one day be a memorial placed at the crash site.
While I signed a book for Mayor Pradel at the start of my book tour, the Mayor told me that now was the time to plan for such a memorial! And, some months later, Councilman Paul Hinterlong organized a committee to put such a plan into action. Century Walk president, Brand Bobosky, was a key member of the committee. Besides Hinterlong and Bobosky, the committee included Jim Christen, Ron Keller, Mike Krol, Ray McGury, Mayor George Pradel, Myron Sawyer, Bob Schrader, Jack Schiffler, Marty Walker, Chuck Wehrli, Mary Lou Wehrli, Jon Ripsky, and Liz Spencer. I was honored that the committee included me as an in absentia member since my wife and I live in New York.
The sculpture features the figures of a Kroehler factory worker and a sailor forming a human crutch to assist an injured woman passenger. The awesome aspect of the memorial is that each of the figures are formed by hundreds of railroad spikes! Actual train wheels will border the sculpture and there will be two plaques. One plaque will list the names of the deceased. The second plaque will have a short description of the crash and the purpose of the memorial which is to honor both the victims but also those heroic rescue workers who spent long hours at the crash site. Finally, there are also plans to include an audio description that future visitors to the site can listen to. You will not want to miss the unveiling of this unique memorial at 1PM on Saturday April 26, 2014!
I’d like to thank all of those who helped me in my research. The book and ultimately the memorial had its early beginnings with a letter to Positively Naperville!
—Chuck Spinner
Editor’s Note: PN always enjoys making connections! Chuck Spinner introduced his book to Naperville back in 2012 at Anderson’s Bookshop. Previous stories/photos are saved in the PN archive.
To PN / Tim Penick: Thank you so much for the beautiful ad in this month’s PN. It is absolutely fabulous. … Again, thank you so much for all your time and support of St. Patrick’s. —Madelene Bernar, Director of Development, St. Patrick’s Residence Nursing and Rehabilitation
Editor’s Note: St. Patrick’s Residence was among PN’s earliest advertisers 12 years ago. We are pleased to help St. Patrick’s celebrate their first 50 years, 25 of which have been in Naperville. Congratulations to all the fun-loving, bed-racing sisters who share their hugs and smiles. We appreciate the opportunity to promote news about the care they provide for their residents and the community.
