I once met a person who didn't know where Illinois was. She said that she knew it was one of those middle states somewhere East.
I suppose I could understand that but at the time, it struck me as comical. I suppose if I was hard pressed to point to Delaware, NJ and or MD if it weren't labeled on a map.
But Illinois is one of the Midwest states. it is flanked by Iowa on the North/West and Indiana on the East, Wisconsin on the North and Missouri on the South West and even the southern most tip of IL borders Kentucky.
It honors President Abraham Lincoln with the state slogan "Land of Lincoln."
I suppose I could understand that but at the time, it struck me as comical. I suppose if I was hard pressed to point to Delaware, NJ and or MD if it weren't labeled on a map.
But Illinois is one of the Midwest states. it is flanked by Iowa on the North/West and Indiana on the East, Wisconsin on the North and Missouri on the South West and even the southern most tip of IL borders Kentucky.
It honors President Abraham Lincoln with the state slogan "Land of Lincoln."
Chicago is where I was born and it sits on the edge of Lake Michigan. I lived on the "south side" which means that we lived south of downtown, but still within Chicago. There was hardly any place in my youth, you could travel without seeing this beautiful signature skyline. Even if you traveled miles away, South, West, or North, chances were you'd be able to see the Sears tower. If you're look at this picture, that would be the tallest building on the left side. The building was completed in 1973 and at the time was the tallest building in the world at 104 stories high. It is now the tallest building in the United States. It has always been a pride of Chicago and for me, will always be. Whenever I drive back home and see the skyline in the distance, I automatically think "home". The picture above is the Chicago White Sox park that resides on the South side. My family are huge White Sox Fans. Chicago holds another Baseball team too, but I forget the name of that one. It's not really well known. Oh, okay, they are called the Chicago Cubs. Most people haven't heard of them though (wink wink). The Cubbies are on the North side.
Of all the places I loved living and being apart of it was Glen Ellyn, IL. This town is in the Western Suburbs of Chicago. On a clear day if if high enough inside of a building, you could see The Sears Tower, the tallest building Downtown Chicago.
Glen Ellyn is one of those places that you had to see in my youthful days to believe it. It was a place of magic and wonder and for me it was like always looking at living Norman Rockwell pictures. There was such an old time charm filled with Traditions that most of have only read about. It was a place where people didn't feel the need to lock doors and the town itself was....gosh, so may wonderful words could be used. I went to a high school called Glenbard West. This school was part of Downtown Glen Ellyn, rich in youth sports and team spirit. It sat right on the lake (Lake Ellyn) and every home football game had the back drop of the lake in the fall with changing colors of the leaves and it was breath taking. Our school was open campus and at lunch, a class mate or two and I would walk into town and eat at this small mexican restaurant called Santa Fe and order one burritto. The burrito cost $1.35 but it came on a nice plate, with melt cheese and becasue we ate inside, we'd get the chips and salsa. It was amazing. it was safe to walk anywhere in Glen Ellyn. I also ran track in high school and as a daily warm up, we would run around the lake. In the summer and winter, you could access the lake through the boat house, where you could use the paddle boats or ice skate then come inside for hot cocoa. I did both. This picture is of the back of the school and the football bleachers. Our school was known as the castle on the hill because up close it looked like a castle and to get inside, you had to drive up this long driveway (uphill). I lived in this area until I became engaged.
Glen Ellyn is one of those places that you had to see in my youthful days to believe it. It was a place of magic and wonder and for me it was like always looking at living Norman Rockwell pictures. There was such an old time charm filled with Traditions that most of have only read about. It was a place where people didn't feel the need to lock doors and the town itself was....gosh, so may wonderful words could be used. I went to a high school called Glenbard West. This school was part of Downtown Glen Ellyn, rich in youth sports and team spirit. It sat right on the lake (Lake Ellyn) and every home football game had the back drop of the lake in the fall with changing colors of the leaves and it was breath taking. Our school was open campus and at lunch, a class mate or two and I would walk into town and eat at this small mexican restaurant called Santa Fe and order one burritto. The burrito cost $1.35 but it came on a nice plate, with melt cheese and becasue we ate inside, we'd get the chips and salsa. It was amazing. it was safe to walk anywhere in Glen Ellyn. I also ran track in high school and as a daily warm up, we would run around the lake. In the summer and winter, you could access the lake through the boat house, where you could use the paddle boats or ice skate then come inside for hot cocoa. I did both. This picture is of the back of the school and the football bleachers. Our school was known as the castle on the hill because up close it looked like a castle and to get inside, you had to drive up this long driveway (uphill). I lived in this area until I became engaged.
My husband and I then moved further west to Elgin, IL. Elgin resided on the Fox River and was once famous for making watches. Back in the day, it was a shopping hub for people living in Chicago and famous for shows. When we moved there, Elgin was in the beginning stages of rapidly growing. By the time we left, it had become the 8th largest city in the state of IL.
This picture is of the downtown area and as you can see it sits on the Fox River which begins way south in Illiniois from the Illinois river and travels North way into Wisconsin. It's about 202 miles long.
One of the things I really enjoyed about living in Elgin was it's diversity.
This picture is of the downtown area and as you can see it sits on the Fox River which begins way south in Illiniois from the Illinois river and travels North way into Wisconsin. It's about 202 miles long.
One of the things I really enjoyed about living in Elgin was it's diversity.