Your say - Algonquin & Lake in the Hills: Reader-submitted essays

We asked you what made your community special. Here's what readers had to way about Algonquin and Lake in the Hills:

Parks make for great place, fun

We love living in Lake in the Hills because of the small-town feeling. We still have some open fields, pretty parks and pathways to walk or ride bikes on.

Our favorite thing is that a lot of people that we grew up with in Streamwood also have moved out to Lake in the Hills, and now our kids are growing up together.

There are so many options for sporting activities with Huntley and Algonquin teams. We also have all the shopping and stores you may need just a short drive up the street.

Christy Ulrich
Lake in the Hills

History, nature among highlights

Since coming to the village of Lake in the Hills, the things that have inspired me the most have been the diverse natural areas that exist and the history found in many areas of the village.

From the Lake in the Hills Fen Nature Preserve on the eastern side to the Farmstead property out west, each has its own story.

I admire those who volunteer to preserve the history of the village as well as the historic areas such as the LaBahn-Hain House on the shoreline of Woods Creek Lake, or the Brooder Hut located out on the aforementioned Farmstead property, west of Haligus Road.

Additionally, the Village Board has made conservation an item of primary importance. Actions such as constructing the new Village Hall in a different location to preserve the Fen, and taking proactive measures to protect endangered species, such as the Blandings turtle, when approving new developments, serve as excellent examples.     

It is the many and diverse recreational areas, the amenities, plus the hardworking, friendly, and cooperative people we have that make up what I love about living in the village of Lake in the Hills and serving the community.

Ed Plaza
Village President, Lake in the Hills
 

Fond words for summer festival

When I read you were looking for “What makes my community special,” I knew right away that I had to submit the Algonquin Founders Days Festival.

As a transplanted resident, I was looking for something in the area to take my school-age children to in the long, hot summer months here. I came across the Algonquin Founders Day Festival located in Towne Park in Algonquin in the last weekend in July. This three-day festival includes so many great things to do: a parade, amusement rides, pet show, bake-off, bazaar, fish fry, and live bands, just to name a few of the highlights. The event is then topped off with a fireworks display over the Fox River that rivals the Fourth of July.

Needless to say, we had so many choices to keep us busy and entertained. That was 12 years ago, and we still go and now participate in this fun event.

I would recommend anyone who is new to the area or just wanting to make some new friends to come check out the Algonquin Founders Day Festival this summer and join in the fun!

Kathy Tomasino
Algonquin
 

Secure feelings at home

Growing up in Algonquin has been a wonderful experience.

When I first moved in, cornfields and farms thrived where the Algonquin Commons now stands. As in any suburban town, industry and commercial business found refuge in our forests and prairies, but there were always secret spots in forests near streams where the neighborhood children hid and played.

I never felt threatened in Algonquin – especially in the winter. The white blanket of snow gave me a feeling of protection whenever I had to wander the night. As I prepare to leave this town for DePaul University in the big city of Chicago, I know I will miss the safety and convenience I feel. I know I will visit home often.

Allison Barinholtz
Algonquin
 

Longtime resident looks back

It seems like so long ago that my wife and I fell in love with our home; an afterthought was the neighborhood or village.

It only took us a few months to become aware that my neighbor to the north was always running to the fire station on Harrison Street every time an alarm went off. Then a few months later, the two “kids” next door were doing the same thing – well what is going on? It just so happens that they were Jack Lampe and Chuck and Joe Teson. Some neighbors! I was very fortunate to be involved with the charter chapter of the Jaycees, and for about 10 years, there was a common core of great leadership and volunteerism. This core provided four or five trustees and one village president. To this day, I still see these individuals  providing for the greater good of this village. There is a fabric that winds through this village of great character, which is a component that no other village matches.

We are very fortunate to live very close to the Fox River downtown, and my wife and I visit these two parks regularly in the summer. Riverview Park was nothing but weeds and somebody’s imagination. Cornish Park was nothing but a closed Amoco station. What a pleasant change and a hidden treasure. Free concerts are provided weekly in the summer for everyone’s enjoyment. Sitting on a bench, catching the southern breeze through one’s hair on a hot August night is a treat that is hard to duplicate.

Glenn Schilke
Algonquin
 

Growing, but like a small-town feel

In response to “Why I love living in Algonquin,” I can think of a number of reasons. Even though it’s grown quite a bit in the five years that I have been here, it still offers a small-town feel within its growing environment.

I’ve been associated with the Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Chamber of Commerce for the past several years and enjoy the relationships cultivated within the business community. Many of the homeowners and business owners that I have gotten to know are here from surrounding larger communities looking for a connection. Wanting to get away from the “lost in the crowd” feeling.

The area itself may be experiencing some typical growing pains. However, I believe that the people coming here to live and do business are committed to growing with it. In addition, my black Labs, Bailee and Buddy, love the open fields, parks, ponds and trails that are so available in this area. 

(And, I love it when people who have never heard of Algonquin, try to pronounce it.)

Hope Wallace
Algonquin
 

Learning sports one way LITH sets itself apart

Lake in the Hills is a wonderful community in every aspect.

Education, organized sports, and the wonderful citizens of LITH are a few ways that it is the greatest place to live.

I used to live in Streamwood, an area where everything is low budget, crime rates are high, and the people just aren’t as wonderful as in LITH. In LITH, people give up their time and money to help others in the community. This great act of kindness gives everyone more respect and happiness, two things needed to love your community.

I get a wonderful learning experience, with great teachers, schools, and references. I played baseball for four years, and enjoyed it a lot. The coaches were all volunteers, who took the time to coach and have fun with kids. People like this are what makes the Lake in the Hills community a community to be proud of, and I would not want to live anywhere else more than Lake in the Hills.

Kollin Rott
Lake in the Hills
 

Sense of community, everything’s close by

I love living in Algonquin because it has a great small-town feel.

Even though there are a lot of people who live here, it isn’t uncommon to run into someone I know when I’m out. I can walk to almost anyplace I need to go, and anywhere else is a short drive away. I really enjoy living here.

Katie Siegel
Algonquin
 

Algonquin on way to being even better

I love Algonquin for its simplicity, tightly knit community, and yet its ever-growing excitement.

Some “Algonquinese” see the Algonquin Commons and the Algonquin Galleria as an unwelcome cluster of stores in their once farmland town. I see them as a combined 1,600,000 square feet of excitement instead of what it was 14 years ago: open fields, a gas station, and an Eagle food store.

I think Algonquin is becoming even better than it once was with the new additions to the town and I am looking forward to Algonquin’s future.

Bryan Baker
Algonquin

Collective power of community shines through

My community is special … as all of our communities are, for one simple reason.

Each and every member of these communities imparts a unique and genuine aspect of themselves to the whole. One person and one act, multiplied by many, provide a comfortable inhabitance for our children to grow and learn, our parents to retire and reflect, and each of us a society whereby we nurture and protect.

Efforts of time, energy and even monies offer those around us an opportunity to flourish. A small donation to the better of the whole is all it takes, and for most of us, that donation is miniscule to our overall schedule. It is a plain and simple offering, and from it, neighborhoods blossom, communities thrive.

I am humbled and comforted by the collective power of each of us; the strength of our populous lies in our own hands. That is the most special of our abilities, which every community possesses. We simply have to open our eyes to it.

Camille A. Ziemann
Algonquin