Above / Vistas along the Riverwalk change with the seasons as well as the decades since the winding brick path was begun back in 1981. This photo of the Jaycees Marina in the paddleboat quarry and Moser Tower in the distance dates back to 2012. (PN File Photo)
Below / What a difference a decade makes in the springtime view of Moser Tower from the Farmers Plaza along the Riverwalk near Eagle Street. (PN Photo, April 26, 2023)
We regret errors in this publication, especially the ones that begin with us!
For instance, in the April PN, written in late March, we reported that the inauguration of the newly-elected Naperville Mayor was scheduled for the first Sunday in May, the way we had observed it every four years since Mayor A. George Pradel was first sworn in by Judge Don Hennessy in 1995.
As was habit, PN promoted that the newly-elected nonpartisan mayor and council would take the oath of office on that first Sunday in May without noticing that the City Council meeting scheduled on the first Tuesday in May (May 2) was without a first Sunday before it.
We hope you didn’t miss the inauguration. If you did, the one-hour ceremony and plenty of photos are available at www.positivelynaperville.com via a search for “Inauguration.” Or simply by a scroll down PN’s homepage to “Photo Galleries” where you’ll see a picture of the 9-member City Council.
Enjoy the great outdoors
Since childhood, watching peaceful clouds transform into animated images against a bright blue sky always has been a wonderful way to while away time in the great outdoors and to keep looking up, whatever the season.
Finding letters of the alphabet in the crowns of bare trees also has been a fun way to appreciate the twists and turns of nature.
As PN publisher, we’ve found ourselves in local parks searching for letters of the alphabet high in the treetops to photograph for times when we want to spell with natural images for this publication.
Certainly the best time to find those twisted branches is before they’re covered with spring foliage. For instance, on a late April day while trekking along the winding Riverwalk, we again found a big “S” at the west end of Centennial Beach, a memorable shape that we’d cropped to help us spell “T-R-U-S-T” back in 2021.
Looking toward the inauguration of Naperville Mayor-Elect Scott Wehrli and the new Naperville City Council on April 30, as well as swearing ins for Naperville Park District Board of Commissioners, School District 203 and District 204 Boards of Education in May, trust in locally-elected officials has been top of mind.
And a flash back to that January 2022 editorial revealed much of its sentiment applies all these months later. Finding the letters for “trust” in the structure of trees was an attempt to send a message of strength, safety and stability that is our determined desire for all the years to follow.
We’re also reminded that more than a decade ago, our front cover was dedicated to P-E-A-C-E, five letters of the alphabet at first hidden in the high branches of mature trees from the Riverwalk to May Watts Park to Knoch Knolls.
Back then promoting “peace” was aimed to enhance our community spirit and the challenges that unite us. Respecting peace with freedom directs us to support and accept one another with all our differences and imperfections to the fullest extent possible. Same applies now. Through kindness, trust, generosity, fairness and peace, it’s likely our community will provide a basis for attaining a sustainable, meaningful, vibrant and fulfilling life for its citizens.
Meanwhile, don’t forget to stop and smell the sweet fragrance of the bluebells before leafy trees block out the sunlight and the bloomin’ beauties fade away. “S” starts and ends many words. Be safe and enjoy outdoors every step of the way in this well-known Tree City.
And wouldn’t you know? Just as we were wrapping up this commentary, we received news that the City’s brush and branch collection begins on May 8. That information also is featured on PN’s website!
Thanks for reading!
–Stephanie Penick, PN Publisher
