Your say - Cary & Fox River Grove: Reader-submitted essays
We asked you what made your community special. Here's what readers had to way about Cary and Fox River Grove:
Norge's historic roots sky high
Fox River Grove is home to the oldest continuously active ski jump in North America, and the only jump in the state of Illinois.
Established in 1905, when a Norwegian immigrant and his roommate formed the club, the Norge Ski Club has hosted tournaments for 104 consecutive years.
Throughout its history, Norge also has sponsored ski jump events at Navy Pier, Soldier Field, and Wrigley Field. Norge currently has five jumps, ranging from as small as 5 meters, up to the 70-meter tower that can be seen from miles away.
Kids as young as 3 and adults all have trained at the Norge Ski Training Center, a non-for-profit organization which currently has 25 jumpers enrolled and is open to anyone interested in learning how to ski jump.
Norge has developed numerous Olympians and world class ski jumpers. This year, four local jumpers qualified for the Junior Olympics, to be held in March in Anchorage, Alaska.
Norge currently hosts three tournaments each year – in January, June, and September, with Olympic hopefuls competing from all over the globe.
One of the premier training facilities in the country, where jumps can be used year round, with and without snow, is right here in McHenry County's backyard!
For more information about ski jumping at Norge, please visit www.norgeskiclub.com.
Greg Schladt
Norge Ski Training Center Board of Directors
People strength of the chamber
The Cary Grove Area Chamber of Commerce recently held its annual dinner to celebrate accomplishments in 2008.
Over 150 business professionals, government leaders and community representatives attended. It was one of our most successful year-end celebrations. The theme that night was “Get into the Game in 2009.” We surrounded our guests with nostalgic family games. The evening was focused on the basics – family, community, and service.
Cary and Fox River Grove are hometowns based on the basics. Our biggest strength is our people, their energy, devotion and generosity. It is clearly evident through the chamber. Last year, we had over 150 chamber members volunteer for chamber and community events, and over 180 chamber members donate sponsorship dollars to fund events that are free to the community.
As a business professional in the community, it is the people that I most admire about our community. Our organization has nearly 500 members, and the common thread is their dedication to helping one another and the community. It’s the quality and generosity of our people that give us top-notch schools, businesses, government services, and local resources.
And as we move forward in challenging times, in Cary and Fox River Grove, we’ll move forward in a positive manner as a community.
Joe McVicker
President, Cary Grove Chamber
President, Cary Bank & Trust
Many reasons make Cary special
So what makes the village of Cary so special? Is it the high-achieving school system? A fiscally responsible government? A park district that supports an oasis of open space in and around the town? Or a community made up of family-driven individuals who cherish their "Norman Rockwell" way of life?
I think it is all of the above and so much more.
The village of Cary is special to so many of its residents because it personifies a lot of the ideologies that we were raised on, while striving to meet the realities of today.
Crime is relatively low in Cary compared to other communities. Downtown Cary still reminds us of a time of years gone by. Tree-lined streets create a canopy of the small-town atmosphere that is treasured by so many residents. When you factor in friendly neighborhoods and community-oriented events, center around its many churches, Cary is a town that feels like home.
Steve Lamal
Village President, Cary
A lot of history in FRG
The Ojibwa Indians enjoyed this area on the banks of the Fox River before the settlers arrived. After the Black Hawk war in 1832, the territory was opened, and McHenry Country was established in 1836.
A settler, Frank Opatrny, in 1869 bought 80 acres along the Fox River banks. Later, in 1900 his son, Eman, built cottages and a restaurant near the beach. Subsequently, in 1902, he added the Castle Pavilion hotel, which was noted for the beautiful windows salvaged from the 1898 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Shortly after that, he bought 100 more acres and opened a shooting gallery, photo gallery, six bars and a race track.
The famous Norge Ski Club came in 1905 and constructed what is now a 90-meter jump that attracts competitors from around the world. It was the site of the first international ski jump competition in 1950.
The village of Fox River Grove was incorporated in 1919.
Louis Cernocky, a Czech immigrant, in 1922 built a bohemian restaurant here and subsequently opened the luxurious Crystal Ballroom, which hosted bands like Glenn Miller and Louis Armstrong. It further attracted the mob during the prohibition era.
Bob Nunamaker
Fox River Grove
Cary offers a good mix
My daughter and her young family moved to Cimarron in its early stages of construction, and my wife and I followed in late 1993. We found a very nice ranch home in the Greenfields subdivision. At the time Cary was in a building boom of residential housing.
Along with a growing community, the village services were expanding to meet the needs of a mixed residential base of seniors and young families. Neighbors have blended together to form a good place to raise a family. In addition, a good mix of needed commercial services have settled here to serve our needs. The village has provided a good mix of schools, library and physical training programs and facilities that benefit all ages. I am looking forward to the building of our new park district facility.
We also are fortunate to have a Metra station in the heart of town. Within a very short time, we can get to a major city and all of its attractions. These are the reasons I like Cary, and when asked where I live I am proud to say Cary, Ill.
Bernard P. Cederlund
Cary
There are so many reasons Cary is special, but here are a few:
• Friendly neighbors;
• Block parties;
• Easter Bunny riding the fire truck before the Easter egg hunt at Lions Park;
• Santa riding the fire truck before the Merry Cary parade;
• Trick or treating in downtown Cary at Halloween;
• Sitting outside in the summer and watching hot air balloons fly by;
• Timber town;
• Boardwalk Bob’s;
• Starry skies;
• The Norman Rockwell feel of the Cary Youth Baseball Parade. There is so much candy on the streets from the kids throwing it that the kids watching the parade actually can be picky about what they pick up;
• Friday night football games at Cary-Grove in the fall. It seems like the whole town goes to these games, even if you don’t attend the school or have a child that attends the school;
• Your neighbor helping you shovel or snow blow your driveway;
• Cub Scouts decorating the trees in the park over by Walgreens for Christmas.
The thing I love about Cary the most, though, is the feeling of community. The motto “Character Counts” really seems to resonate everywhere. There is nowhere else I would rather live.
Phil Brennen
Cary
