25 Ways To Tell You're From Lake County, Illinois-- Part 6: Shoveling and Lamb's Farm

21.  You miss the albino crocodile in Gurnee Mills (a huge outlet mall), but know that you can get your reptile fix at the Wildlife Discovery Center.

22.  You complain about taxes.  A LOT!!  But, you would never, ever, dream of living in Cook County, McHenry County (Hey, that's where I now live), or, heaven forbid, Kenosha County, Wisconsin.  (Too many Cheeseheads and Packer fans.)

23.  You understand that no one is growing crops over at Lamb's Farm, but they are nurturing human dignity.  They also, in fact, do have lambs along with a sizable herd of goats and other lovable creatures.

24.  You help shovel your neighbor's driveway during a blizzard, but you don't stick a chair or ironing board on the space shoveled afterwards like they do in Chicago.

25.  If you're a parent, you follow Little Lake County to be in-the-know on where-to-go to  have fun with your kids.  (This is where I got the 25 things from.)

A Crock You Wouldn't Want to Wear.  --RoadDog

25 Ways To Know You're From Lake County-- Part 5: General Mitchell All the Way

17.  You have an annual subscription to the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire.

18.  You know at least four different ways to avoid driving on Routes 120 and 176.

19.  You try to fly out of General Mitchell Field in Milwaukee because it is easier than it is to fly out of O'Hare.  Much cheaper daily parking and flights that actually leave on time.

20.  You can always find a seat on the Metra trains into Chicago (as you get on earlier).

--RoadDog

25 Ways to Know You're From Lake County-- Part 4: Get Your Season Pass

Lake County, Illinois

13.  You have a season pass to Great America.

14.  When you are out of town and visit that area's Forest Preserve and think they are lame.

15.  40 degrees = short pants

16.  Sometimes, you visit Long Grove just because, even when there isn't a festival.

Tee Shirts Also at 40 Degrees.  --RoadDog

25 Ways to Know You're From Lake County-- Part 2: A Polish Connection

4.  You can correctly pronounce "paczki" and you know who Casimir Pulaski is... sort of.  (Well, I don't know for sure how to pronounce it, but they sure are good.)

5.  You understand that Route 83 isn't always Route 83 because sometimes it is Route 60 or sometimes it is Route 45, but it never is actually Route 137.

6.  People from Chicago think you live in Wisconsin.

7.  You know how to spell "Mundelein." ( "i" before "e", except when it is Mundelein).  Mundelein is one of our towns, or is it a village.

Not In Wisconsin!!  --RoadDog

25 Ways to Know You're From Lake County-- Part 3: Always, Chicago Suburbs

8.  You understand that North Chicago is not actually in Chicago, nor is it anywhere near Chicago.  The North part is right, though.

9.  You may be geographically closer to Milwaukee, but still say you're from a "suburb of Chicago."  (I'm looking at you, Antioch.)

10.  You have a relative who works for Abbott, CDW, Baxter or Walgreen's.  (Or, you work at one of them.)

11.  At least once a week you are late for work, school, practice or an appointment because of a freight train.

12.  You say "Great America" instead of "Six Flags."  (We had Marriott's Great America before it became Six Flags.)

--RoadDog

25 Ways to Know You're From Lake County-- Part 1: You Own a Boat and Probably Have Packer Friends

From the Little Lake County site.

Lake County, Illinois, on the northeastern corner of the state.  We lived there for 20 years in Vernon Hills and Round Lake Beach.  After that we moved to McHenry County, next door, but are only a few miles from Lake County.

This list is quite funny if you are from Lake County.

1.  You own a boat, but it spends more time in your driveway than in the water.  (The Chain of Lakes is in the northwestern section.)

2.  You are never more than twenty minutes from a corn field.  (Lots of farms, but fewer every year.  Now, many fields grow houses.)

3.  You have almost as many Packer fans on your block as there are Bear fans.  (Lake County's northern border is Wisconsin.)

Ah Yes.  Packer-Bear Rivalry.  --RoadDog

The Funeral Procession for Lt. Joe Gliniewicz

Yesterday we had the funeral, procession and burial of Lt. Joe Gliniewicz here in western Lake County.  Liz and I saw the procession go by the American Legion Post 703 in Fox Lake, Illinois, where he was a member.

We joined around 100 people in our little section along US-12 (Rand Road).  Thousands lined the 19-mile route from Antioch High School where the funeral took place to Fox Lake where he was a police officer and back to Antioch for his burial.

This was surely one of those things that don't happen very often, thankfully.  All along Grasslake Road and US-12 were heavily decorated with black and blue ribbons and lots of U.S. flags.  I carried a flag.  Plus, there were lots of homemade signs.

We went to the Legion to await the procession and watched the funeral.  The place was packed.  I was surprised to see a friend of mine, the Reverend Lisle Kauffman, get up and speak.  And, the speech Joe's brother gave was one of the saddest I've ever heard.

Saying Goodbye to Lt. Joe Gliniewicz

In a short time we will be leaving to take a drive along Grasslake Road in Lake County, Illinois.  Right now, visitation is taking place in Antioch and there will be a funeral, all taking place at the Antioch High School to handle the huge crowds expected.

After that, they estimate there will be around 1000 cars in a funeral procession to take place over 19 miles along ILL-Hwy 59, Grasslake Road, US-12 and Rollins Road before returning to Antioch for the burial.

They'll be coming to Fox Lake.  Yesterday, we were on Grasslake Road and the whole way is covered with black and blue ribbons, signs, half mast flags and other things to say goodbye to "GI Joe."

This has been a very sad week for everyone around this area.

A Fitting Goodbye.

Back to Our Old Stomping Grounds-- Part 3: Hawthorne Mall (Now Westfield)

Back when we lived at the apartment in Vernon Hills (1974-1975), a new indoor shopping mall was opened by Milwaukee Avenue (Il-19) and Il-60 named Hawthorne. It became an immediate hit for us, especially with a Greek restaurant called the Athens. Absolutely loved their gyros, which was a new thing for us back then. One of the first places to have it in the area.

We continued to go back even after we moved to Round Lake Beach. At the time, Hawthorne Mall sat essentially by itself. Now, there is more shopping in the area around it than in the mall. It is regular strip mall/big box America.

Definitely a safer place for me to go and not spend money as there is not a single book store or record/CD store in the whole place.

 Saving My Money. --RoadDog

Back to Our Old Stomping Grounds-- Part 2: Bill's Pub

July 16th, we drove to Libertyville for a concert in Independence Grove. Much of the way, was the route I used to take going to my teaching job in Round Lake for two years back from 1973 to 1975 from Des Plaines and then Vernon Hills. Quite a few changes since then.

We decided to go to our old favorite place to eat, Bill's Pizza in Mundelein, and I have to say, other than the sign warning about peanuts (in this age of people who will die or get really sick or die if they come into contact with peanuts, something I had never heard of before until the last decade or so) and, of course, prices, this place hasn't changed a bit.

Right away, the waitress brings you a basket of peanuts which you munch and throw the shells on the floor (something I am not allowed to do at home). We ordered the classic Bill's Special pizza which is essentially a garbage pizza with a whole lot of great toppings. And, it tastes just the same. Some of the best-ever pizza. 

Then, there is the North Woods decor with all the stuffed animals, fish and heads.

Great Fun and Eating. --RoadDog

Lake County, Ilinois, Ranks High

Farmer's Insurance just listed their top US metropolitan areas in regards to most secure.

The areas were divided into three categories: Large Metro with over 500,000, Midsize 150,000 to 500,000, and Small Towns under 150,000.

Lake County, Il/Kenosha County, Wi ranked #9 in the large metro. We lived in Vernon Hills and Round Lake Beach in Lake County from 1974 to 1992.

Criteria such as crime rate, extreme weather, risk of natural disaster, environmental hazards, terrorism threats, air quality, life expectancy, and job loss are taken into account.

#1 Large metro: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Ca.
#1 Mid-size: Olympia, Wa.
#1 Small Town: Corvalis, Or.

Don't We Feel Special. --RoadDog

Dadburn Big Oil and Speculators

They're doing this to us again and arbitrarily raising the price of oil. It should be $100 soon, I know they won't stop until they get it. Unfortunately, there is nothing else to stop it either.

Something is definitely rotten. This should not be happening. There is no excuse whatsoever for it.

Gas here in Lake and McHenry counties in Illinois is anywhere from $3.05 to $3.15. Isn't this when we should be getting some relief from their, well it used to be summer, but now is spring "in anticipation" of the summer driving season, feeding frenzy?

Something Smells in Denmark. --RoadDog

So, You Think You're an Oldies Fan?

Taken from the August Wassup magazine. This tells you what is going on at the bars and towns around the Lake County (there is also one for McHenry County) area. Lots of advertisements, jokes, and columns.

They have a quiz every week with ten questions on a particular topic. Last month's was on a subject dear to my heart, OLDIES.

See how well you do. I only missed the first question, but always have problems remembering words. There are two reasons I could never have been a band's singer. The first is that I can't sing. The second is that I couldn't remember the words. Even if I had written the song, I know I wouldn't remember the words. I'd have to have a karaoke setup onstage.

1. When did 'Little Suzie" finally wake up? a) The movie's over, it's 2 o'clock, b) The movie's over, it's 3 o'clock, c) The movie's over, it's 4 o'clock.

2. "Rock Around the Clock" was used in what movie? a) Rebel Without a Cause, b) Blackboard Jungle, c) The Wild Ones.

3. What's missing? _____ Baby, Earth ______, a) Angel, b) Head, c) Pretty.


4. "I found my thrill..." Where? a) Kansas City, b) Heartbreak Hotel, c) Blueberry Hill.


5. "Please turn on your magic beam, ____ ______ bring me a dream" a) Mr. Sandman, b) Earth Angel, c) Dream Lover


6. For which label did Elvis Presley first record? a) Chancellor, b) RCA, c) Sun

7. He asked, "Why's everybody always pickin' on me?" Who was he? a) Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, b) Charlie Brown, c) Buster Brown.


8. Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife", the one with the knife, was named: a) MacHeath, b) MacCloud, c) MacNamara.


9. Name the song with "A-wop bop a-loo bop a-lop bam boom"? a) Good Golly Miss Molly, b) Be-Bop-A-Lula, c) Tutti Fruiti.


10. Who is generally given credit for the term "Rock and Roll"? a) Dick Clark, b) Wolfman Jack, c) Alan Freed.




Answers


1. c. The movie's, it's 4 o'clock, 2. b Blackboard Jungle, 3. a) Angel, 4. c) Blueberry Hill,
5. a) Mr. Sandman, 6. c) Sun, 7. b) Charlie Brown, 8. a) MacHeath, 9. c) Tutti Fruiti,
10. c) Alan Freed

Not Many Farms Left in Lake County, IL-- Now One Less

You always hear about the fact that there are fewer and fewer farmers in the Chicagoland Metropolitan area. In the 1950s, there were 13,000 farms in the Chicago suburbs, By 2000, that number had dropped to less than 3000. Every year, some of the best agricultural land in the whole world, sprouts subdivision after subdivision.

Papers and media try to paint a sad picture and make us feel sorry for these farmers. However, I find it hard to feel sorry for these new millionaires. Had they been forced to sell their farms because of unfortunate events beyond their control, I'd feel sorry for them. But, NOT when the sale is their choice.

In an article by Mike Zawislak titled "The end of an era" in today's Daily Herald, I read about the Titus family selling their 160 acre farm for an undisclosed amount of money. However, back in 2004, the farm was on the market with the asking price of $17.5 million. I'm sure it is considerably higher today.

Tony Titus is the great-grandson of Lorenz Titus who started a dairy farm on the site with 100 acres in 1877. Production has since switched to grain and vegetables. For years, you could buy fresh produce at their farmstand and they also sold at various area farmer markets.

The developer who purchased it will do a land swap with the Lake County Fair Association. This will be the new site of the fair, after 50 years at its current site in Grayslake. The developer will get the old site and will also sweeten the deal with $12.5 million. A 769,000 square foot shopping center will be built.

This Sunday, all the farm machinery will be auctioned off.

I must admit that I am part of the problem when it comes to the loss of farmsteads in the area. We bought our lot and built our house in 1992 out in Orchard Bluff Subdivision in Spring Grove. The the year before, they had been growing corn on out lot and there was an apple orchard on part of the subdivision. If people like me weren't buying the lots, the developers wouldn't be buying the farms.

Plus, you have to remember, this is some of the best land for growing crops anywhere in the world. Now, all it is growing are houses and several million rotten Japanese beetles.

Again, I DON'T Feel Too Sorry for the Titus Family. --RoadDog