Today marks the anniversary of an event that has played a significant part of my life: It was 25 years ago this day, November 28, 1992, that my family moved to the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, IL, and ever since, I have called this place home.
I am so blessed that I have lived here for a quarter-century, and have become intimately familiar with this place, and have been shaped so greatly by it. More than being just a house, my family home where I grew up on Clarence Avenue has been the place to share what Pope Francis describes as the love and joy of family life, which has enriched me so greatly, and having that love ever present to me throughout my childhood has helped me grow up strong into the person I am today. In this home I got to enjoy many things that made childhood delightful. I take great comfort in having such a place that I still hold near and dear to my heart, and can point to as the place where I encountered such love.
This occasion also makes me think again about what Oak Park means to me, just as I did after Dan and Ann Ruggaber came to visit me here in the summer following my graduation from Valparaiso University.
I have a confession to make on this joyful occasion, though. When I was at Irving Elementary School, I couldn't help but notice that so many of my friends lived in southeast Oak Park, closer to Austin Boulevard, but I lived much further west, and that bothered me. I was practically jealous of people who lived further east, because I thought the east was somehow superior to the west. Of course, it makes sense that so many of my school friends lived to the east, because the majority of the Irving School district lies in southeast Oak Park, with just a small section between East and Euclid Avenues, which was transferred over from Lincoln School a few years before I started. Alas, though, as a child, I just didn't have the full understanding of things that I have now to see all this. There were even times where it seemed like Irving School had an unfavorable reputation, and I lived in the lone Irving household on the block. I'm glad to say that whatever reputation Irving had back then no longer exists, and Irving School has become quite sophisticated. Indeed, I was quite heartened to read an opinion piece in The Wednesday Journal a couple of years ago written by a mom of two Irving alumni I knew, and her opinion, along with those who posted comments below it in the online version, speaks to the sense of pride I feel having been part of the Irving community affixed to southeast Oak Park, with such wonderful neighbors and friends.
Plus, I eventually came to appreciate the area of Oak Park where I grew up, which got underway when I went to Julian. I was able to see my part of Oak Park as a special piece of the patchwork that comprises Oak Park, offering its own unique contribution to the diversity that Oak Park prides itself in, and which I was able to sense more deeply upon starting at Julian, where I interacted with so many people from all parts of the village. And in some ways, this continued into high school.
Growing up, I would go to other places, like on vacation, and simply remark, "I'm from Chicago" when asked where I live. But my view of being an Oak Parker really changed when I left for college and I realized there was a distinct gap between what I considered home and where I was spending much of my time, which made me view Oak Park in the special lens of being home. So when people started asking me where I live, I would distinctly say "Oak Park". Eventually, I started saying, "The Chicago suburb of Oak Park", to give people a better sense of where exactly I live, though, frankly, any person who's engaged in enough of a conversation with me to ask where I live is already interested in knowing enough about me so that asking where Oak Park is wouldn't be that much of an added burden. Besides, it's interesting to think of where people think Oak Park is located in Illinois if they've never heard of it.
While this entire region is dominated by Chicago, I still think that Oak Park has its own unique spot in the metro area, offering particular contributions that make Chicagoland the great patchwork quilt of communities that it has, which is why I saw I'm from "Oak Park" and not strictly "Chicago".
And what a strong sense of community we have here in Oak Park. While this is a village with a large population, there are so many ways we connect with one another. As was the case with me as part of the Irving community, all the elementary schools foster a sense of close-knit communities in eight different areas of Oak Park, as even the private schools do, too. The schools' close-knit community speaks to how we live close to our neighbors, as I know it's the case for me on my block, and also those on the other side of the alley from us.
The vast network of sidewalks makes it easy to walk places, including the schools I attended in Oak Park. It's great that I'm able to walk to Church, as many people find driving a more viable option. Biking is also a feasible option, and I take advantage of it to go to places that are further from home, like the Oak Park main library and downtown Oak Park businesses, where I used to work before starting at the Oak Park Public Library. We have a nice scene of businesses in Oak Park, including many intriguing restaurant options. Some have not been able to make it, like Arepa's, which was truly one of my favorites. But there are other good places around, like Jerusalem Cafe, Grape Leaves, Q BBQ, and Boss Burrito. Downtown Oak Park is one of many business districts that seeks to offer a distinct flair, just like the Harrison Arts District, with the Buzz Cafe and the Happy Apple Pie Shop.
Being an employee of the Oak Park Public Library has helped me engage with my community on a deeper level. My work in the sorting and shelving room has allowed me to see the kinds of materials people are checking out through what's returned, and through the holds that come through to be processed for Oak Park patrons. Being on the other side of things as a staff person has given me a window into the efforts the library has undergone to better serve the community, through projects like the space changes and the more recent implementation of the fine-free policy.
Being hired to work at the Oak Park Public Library was kind of like a dream come true. I didn't necessarily imagine myself working there as I grew up, but being hired was a fitting thing to have happen to me because of how much of an impact the library had on me. I went to the Maze Branch of the Library on a field trip in Kindergarten, which is when I got my first library card, and the world opened up to me. During the summers, I eagerly participated in the children's summer reading program. I visited the Maze Branch each week during the summer to check in my progress, and then check out books. I was so eager to mark off as many minutes as I could that as soon as I walked out the door of Maze, my head was in a book, and I read all the way home, removing my shoes with my head still in a book, as I made my way to a seat. When I got older, I gave back to the community by volunteering to help run the summer reading program. Truly I have seen the positive impact libraries can have on a community.
So besides just working, I've also been part of discussions about the community. To facilitate continual staff participate in learning, the library offers Learn While You Earn sessions, which are meetings that cover a variety of topics. One of these sessions that's held regularly, and which I have attended consistently, are the Story Hours. They are kitchen-table style conversations to talk about what library staff are learning about the community through work and through being out in the community.
The most recent Story Hour I attended was actually a field trip to the newly-opened Oak Park-River Forest History Museum. We had the chance to look around the space and hear from Frank Lipo, the Executive Director, who shared about how the space is arranged, how the museum was refurbished from the space that used to be a firehouse and then the office building of the village's public works department, and what their hopes are for the future. He shared a few stories about some of the artifacts on display: There was about a piece of art done by a commercial artist who lived in Oak Park for a time. Years later, some people gave the painting to the Oak Park River Forest Historical Society after finding it under their porch. Frank strongly grabbed my attention when he said the address of where it was found, across the street a few doors north of where I live.
It's amazing to get a glimpse into what life was like in Oak Park in years gone by, and to see what contributions people made to this village. I then think about what I've contributed to Oak Park during the quarter-century I've lived here. The one thing that comes to my mind was the development of the current middle schools in Oak Park. And by the circumstance of going through District 97 grade by grade in the way I did, I just happened to be in place at the right time to be handed the opportunity to be in the first group of 6th graders to attend the new Oak Park middle schools. And the middle school I attended was named for an Oak Park resident, Dr. Percy Julian, who was a pioneer himself in science and racial justice. I'm delighted to have been part of carrying on his legacy of shaping Oak Park for the better.
So yes, I delight in the love of home and family I've had, and the sense of community to which I've belonged. In great joy this day, I declare myself proudly to be a resident of Oak Park for a quarter century.
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