History and Community

What a weekend! The Elgin Housewalk tour was Saturday. The Elgin Housewalk is a wonderful, volunteer event that involves people who enjoy history, appreciate old houses, and love the people of the local neighborhood. Annually, more than a thousand people walk through the houses on tour.

I helped as a house co-captain, and earlier had assisted housewalk veteran Bill Briska with some writing for the booklet. As a writer, I researched four of the homes and talked with their current owners, learning more of the history of Elgin and its inhabitants. As house captain, I worked with thirty volunteer docents and talked with many of the visitors. I loved hearing their stories.

The homes on this year's tour were mostly built between 1870 and 1910. Just walking down the streets of Elgin, you can see the tremendous variety of architecture. This year's tour featured an elegant Romanesque revival brick mansion, a cute little second Empire style house with Mansard roof, a traditional American foursquare, some Queen Anne's and a bungalow.

Inside the homes, you can feel the sense of history, and also see how our lifestyles and attitudes have changed. Kitchens and bathrooms have become more important. Smoking rooms and parlors have gone out of use, replaced by family rooms and dens. Servants, with their own quarters and own stairs, are no longer common for middle or even upper middle class families.

But, the families who lived in these houses experienced the same pain of loss when babies or husbands or family members died, when houses were lost to bankruptcy or when the local economy suffered. They also celebrated life milestones, loved decorating their houses and serving the community in their own unique fashion.

Certain aspects of life change, but the fundamentals do not. How quickly we all come and go from life's stage. What lasts seem to be the things that people do with love and care for others - both in the short term and the long term.

Jeremiah 29:11 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'

Luke 12:16-21
Then Jesus told this story: "There was a rich man who had some land, which grew a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What will I do? I have no place to keep all my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and other goods. Then I can say to myself, "I have enough good things stored to last for many years. Rest, eat, drink, and enjoy life!"'

"But God said to him, 'Foolish man! Tonight your life will be taken from you. So who will get those things you have prepared for yourself?'

"This is how it will be for those who store up things for themselves and are not rich toward God."

Weekend Rejuvenation

What a lovely weekend we had – full of weather variety, fascinating new people, exotic travel and wonderful cuisine. Okay so maybe it was a garage sale, a concert and fireworks show six blocks from our house and rural Indiana, where we ate fried chicken and potato salad and saw a community theatre production of “The Music Man.”

It is my husband’s fault (time for finger pointing here). He got me involved with a neighbor’s garage sale. Generally, I dislike that kind of thing, but the women running it were great fun, and I really appreciated getting to know them a little better. Even though the weather was unseasonably cool and rainy, I didn’t mind wearing a jacket and meeting the people who braved the weather to go garage sailing - especially the man who bought the collectible Matchbox cars, and then came back with his daughter to purchase the 50's dinette for her first apartment; or the older gentleman who was totally out of breath from walking up the hill who came to buy the bike; or the lovely young woman with big brown eyes and gorgeous short-cut jet black hair who bought a designer sweater.

I didn’t sell much, but the whole experience required little work on our part and I had fun. I really did! I definitely would not do a garage sale on my own. It’s only fun if you have other people around to talk with. And, other people’s stuff makes for a more interesting inventory.

Creedence Clearwater Revived provided the music for the outdoor concert on Elgin’s riverfront. The drummer and bass player from the original Creedence Clearwater Revival play with this band. The lead singer had a real John Fogerty-type voice, and the band was really tight. They were very good and I enjoyed it, although I was glad to have my Blackberry with me because, after all, they only played old hit songs and after an hour I got a little restless.

However, the fireworks had me on my feet. It was absolutely thrilling. I had never seen a laser light show outdoors, or those fire columns. Paired with the traditional fireworks, it was a spectacular show.

Spending Sunday in Indiana opened my eyes to a whole new side of that state. Just like Iowa, Indiana can be very maligned by some Chicagoans who prefer Wisconsin or Michigan. Bass Lake was lovely with a beautiful breeze and gorgeous sunshine. And, there is nothing like attending a well-directed community theatre show. The full-house audience absolutely adored the actors – many of whom were friends and family. The chorus was hardy and strong, the leads were graceful with pleasant voices, and the set was a veritable work of art. And, I have always loved “Iowa Stubborn.” Since I’m from Iowa, I can say that. And, I must say it brought a tear to me eye.

Very refreshing – like cold sweet watermelon on a hot day.

"For I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes." Jeremiah 31:25 (NASB)

My New Favorite Place

Christian books in the public library? I never would have guessed.

Since the economy has forced me to change my habits, I began going to the library instead of the bookstore. And, to my utter surprise, the library had most of the authors I wanted to read on their shelves. I found titles by Thomas Nelson, Zondervan and Tyndale House – three big Christian fiction publishers. I had no idea that a public library would offer Christian literature – because I never bothered to look. This has caused me to really re-think my attitude towards libraries. With so much anti-Christian sentiment in media and government, I never dreamed the library would be so fair and broadminded in their offerings.

The Gail Borden Library in Elgin, Illinois is spectacular. Built in 2003, the library’s designers created so many pleasant places to curl up and read – unlike my old haunts, the upscale bookstores. The Gail Borden Library boasts a spectacular round reading room, called the River Room. This light-filled room overlooks the Fox River and has a fireplace! If you want to sip and munch while you read, the La Tazza coffee shop on the first floor brews a great cup of coffee. The staff is pleasant and knowledgeable. And, small meeting rooms are available for small groups.

Having lived in a town without a library for seven years, I had no idea what libraries had become. What a wonderful discovery! So, if your budget is curtailing your reading, check out the public library!

Living in the Past

Making history come alive is fun! And, researching history almost transports me to the past. As a child, I secretly wished I had been born one hundred years earlier – just so I could wear “real” long dresses and petticoats every day! Now, I wouldn’t willingly exchange my blue jeans and clogs for corsets and uncomfortable shoes, but I do long for the days when communities were smaller and more close-knit; when the chief entertainment was a local sporting event or theatrical group or a great book.

Tonight, I am meeting with some writing members of the Gifford Park Association (a.k.a. GPA), a local group dedicated to the preservation and safety of our neighborhood here in Elgin. GPA’s big money-making project is a house tour every year in late summer. Homes selected for the tour represent various types of architecture and interesting approaches that their owners have taken in preserving and decorating them. GPA puts together a well-researched brochure that accompanies the tour and details the history of each house.

The writing portion of the project begins tonight as the GPA writers gather at the Elgin Historical Society, which is appropriate. We’ll be assigned our houses so we can begin the research phase, which includes visiting with the current owners and getting a tour of their houses – a special bonus of this task. I am already looking forward to my trip in the way-back machine through local history!

I'll post some of the interesting tidbits I come across, as a sneak preview.