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Friday, March 29, 2024

Greetings to PN / May 2015 / Volume 14 #9

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Find the most recent greeting  posted at the top of this selection as the page is updated throughout the month.

Occasionally, Greetings to PN also are linked to other online PN stories that are saved in our archive. Many greetings, edited for space for the printed publication, will appear in the next issue.

Thank you for keeping greetings as brief as possible. And thanks for sending your thoughts about this community with your signature, first and last name. We welcome them!

TO PN: Great shots and a great parade!  This is the first (Memorial Day) parade that I couldn’t march since 1945!  Thanks for all you do and especially PN. It is a very positive part of Naperville!

—Ron Keller, Conductor, Naperville Municipal Band

Editor’s Note: Naperville loves a parade, rain or shine! Click for Photo-Gallery-Naperville-Memorial-Day-Parade.

jack-and-diane

Catch someone reading Positively Naperville and make N.E.W.S.—north, east, west and south. And if there are youngsters in your house, let them know you’re reading for pleasure.

To PN: I live off of 111th street in the High Meadow neighborhood. We could sure use some attention down here in South Naperville (Will County). I know, I know, we are Plainfield in the eyes of many north of 87th street. The second downtown for we south residents, Naperville Crossings, is in desperate need of retail shops. You can eat, get coffee, get your hair done and other services, but there are no Gap’s, no Eddie Bauer’s, no Anderson’s Bookstore or even a Great Western Flooring.

There is not a lot going on in Naperville Crossings or across the street in the Old Dominick’s location that is “positive” for us. There are many new homes going in along 248th street but no new stores, retail or otherwise occurring here as there are in the DuPage County portion of Naperville.

Can you bring some attention here….Thanks!

—Jana M. O’Brien

Editor’s Note: Thanks for your observations, Jana. One of the reasons Positively Naperville was established in 2001 was to help promote the importance of shopping locally to support Naperville’s economy throughout the city. We took a big personal risk by launching a media business among many others at the time, aimed to unite residents as well as many of the challenges that hit this community faced with rapid growth. We’ve always encouraged small independent business development that will co-exist with larger corporate enterprises that keep this city thriving where the market will support it.

Of course, businesses cannot be forced to open at any location north, east, west or south. If there is a market, sophisticated data available will support it and businesses will follow. Plus, every retail business comes with a unique set of challenges and opportunities, no matter what the location. Meanwhile, we hope you’re patronizing the local businesses near you (It’s been our observation that other than the Y, Naperville Running Co., Keller’s Farmstand and AMC Showplace Naperville 16, few businesses south of 87th St. are highly visible citywide. Perhaps they don’t promote themselves.). Here’s hoping you’ll stay actively involved in the community, help create a special event that might attract folks citywide to the Will County portion of Naperville and demonstrate that destinations such as Naperville Crossings will support new business ventures, large and small.

We sent your comments to leaders at the City of Naperville who are well aware of the history and development of Naperville Crossings. Thanks again for sending your comments to PN.  —Stephanie Penick

FYI / South Naperville: Coincidentally, on May 21, PN received news that Orangetheory Fitness, a one-of-a-kind, group personal training workout broken into intervals of cardiovascular and strength training, will be opening nine new studios in the Chicagoland area:

I thought the news of the South Naperville opening would be of interest for your readers. … The South Naperville studio, owned by Amy Martin, will officially open to the public on May 29. I’d be happy to connect you with Brad Ehrlich, area developer of OTF in Illinois, who can speak further to the explosive growth in the market.  Erin Povlitz

To PN: THANK YOU to all who came out on Saturday for the 9th Kathryn Bender Dance Showcase! We could not put up such a fantastic night and raise such a great amount of funds without all the help from our family, friends and volunteers. Thank you to all who donated raffle and silent auction items. Everything went so smoothly this year. Thank you for paying it forward and saving lives. … Information on our 5K walk in August will be heading your way soon! —Katheryn Bender Memorial Foundation Officers, www.kbmf.net

To PN: I meant to tell you that I love the Daily Square Scoop. It really keeps me informed. And of course, we were thrilled to see Arielle’s story in there. Thanks… —Nancy Wiersum, Chief Advancement Officer, 360 Youth Services

To PN and Friends:  Thank you, All, very, very much!idea-gardens

Last night (Naperville Park District Board of Commissioners Meeting at City Hall on May 14, 2015) was very special because you helped make it a very rewarding experience:  the reception beforehand, where we had a chance to share our experiences and catch up with some of your latest activities; the video that reflects the professionalism of both NCTV and the park district staff, making me look better than I really am; and certainly your friendship and sharing.

idea-labyrinthIn the future, you may be able to catch me digging in the dirt out at the Idea Gardens where things are really beginning to take shape!

—Ron Ory, Naperville Park District Commissioner, Retired after 20 Years

Photos of Idea Gardens courtesy of Ron Ory

idea-ron-garden

Editor’s Note:  Thanks to the energies of Ron Ory and other dedicated gardeners, the Idea Gardens are a new feature in the Naperville Garden Plots, located at 811 S. West Street, across from Knoch Park.

To PN Columnist Bryan Ogg:  Nice presentation, Bryan. I’m kind of surprised there was no mention of the Stevens home on North West Street. —Dennis Frantzen

Editor’s Note: Bryan Ogg’s monthly column, “The Curious Curator,” in Positively Naperville is limited in word count. PN is confident Bryan can provide much more information about teardowns and all things in Naperville’s rich history! Thanks for reading the PN archive of Bryan’s columns or contacting him at oggb@naperville.il.us.

To PN: So teardowns are happening all over the country. Very interesting… Enjoyed reading the article (By Columnist Bryan Ogg, Curator of Research at Naper Settlement). —Diane Conlan, Chatham, New Jersey

Editor’s Note: Here’s “Why that Little House Matters,” the version online that appeared in the May print issue, too.

To PN: The good news first.  Two days ago I went to the Jewel to buy some groceries.  As I was checking out, I looked in my purse and realized I had left my credit card holder on my desk at home.  So I said to the checker, Gosh, my credit cards are at home. And also I guess I am driving without my driver’s license too.

So as she finished ringing up my purchases I asked her if I could write a check.  She said yes as long as I had my drivers license to identify me.  Since that was not possible, she called the manager who said they would put my groceries in the cooler until I came back with my credit card.

The gentleman behind me, said no, I’ll pay for them.  I was so surprised.  The total was nearly $60.  I said he didn’t need to do that, but he said that was OK that he wanted to.  I asked him his name and all he said was Ray.  I said could I mail you a check, and he said, “No.”  He seemed in a hurry and gave the checker the money in cash.  I told him how nice that was of him.  Then I asked if I could give him a hug, which he accepted.  So that was such a wonderful treat.  Now I must find an occasion to do something as nice as that for someone else.

The bad news is:  my friend, Robin, and I went out to dinner last eve and then to hear the New Orleans Preservation Hall Band.  Coming home, about 10PM we noticed the street light on Hobson was out.  It was very dark to even see our road.  We forked to the left and as we came near my house, there was a car pulling out of my driveway.  He stopped beside us and put his window down and said you can’t get through as a tree is down across the road and no one has power.  Sure enough, it was MY tree right by my driveway.

Bev-Tree-Across-Road

Robin and I used our cell phone light to get into the house.  I noticed Rosemary had called my cell phone and left the message that the power was out and since they have a generator, I could come over to their house.  I couldn’t of course use my land line and my cell phone was nearly out of power.  But I managed to get one call into Rosemary to say that the reason there was no power was because my tree in front had fallen across the road and knocked the power lines down.

Robin turned on her car and let it run nearly 30 minutes to charge my cell phone. I had a flashlight and we made ourselves a vodka drink and were sitting in the office in the dark when Dennis, Rosemary, and Princess came over.  Dennis brought a battery powered lamp.  So I made them a drink and we sat in the office.  We could see lots of trucks that came and were out in front.  We  enjoyed our drink and conversation with the little lantern light.  It was cozy.   When Robin left she called to say police and more vehicles were entering Donwood as she pulled onto Hobson.  I went to bed about 2AM.

This morning there were about 6 trucks and 2 snorkels in front.  We got power about noon.  But the tree is still across the road and they said they would be back Monday to get it out of the road.  Another neighbor across the road came over this afternoon to say he had equipment if needed and he would get the tree out of the road, but I told him they were coming Monday.  Great to have such nice neighbors.  —Bev Patterson Frier

 

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PN Editor
PN Editor
An editor is someone who prepares content for publishing. It entered English, the American Language, via French. Its modern sense for newspapers has been around since about 1800.

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