MM_110917

16 | November 9, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger news
mokenamessenger.com
FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT
Schmuhl School open house
provides a blast from the
past
New Lenox is not that
far removed from a time
when students would walk
2 miles in the morning to
a one-room schoolhouse.
But roughly 70 years has
made a world of difference,
both in terms of building
construction and the geography.
Those enamored by history
and the way things used
to be can still experience life
circa World War II by visiting
Schmuhl School.
The next Schmuhl School
open house is 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 11, at its current
location at 20733 S.
Schoolhouse Road in New
Lenox. Open houses typically
are held the second Saturday
of each month.
“There are people from
the historical society that are
there to answer questions
and talk a little bit about the
school,” said Carla Koepke,
a member of the New Lenox
Area Historical Society
Board of Directors.
The field trips include
books and recess toys from
the 1930s, as well as history
lessons on the schoolhouse.
“At the end of our history
lesson, we do some compare
and contrasting of how this
is like schools [now] and
how it is different,” Koepke
said. “Our goal is for kids to
enjoy history and to embrace
the school.”
She also said the current
stewards of the area’s history
will not be around forever,
so it is important to share the
enjoyment of the local landmarks
so that others can take
care of it in the future.
“And I always think it is
good to know where you
came from,” she said.
Reporting by Jon DePaolis,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit NewLenoxPatriot.com.
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
Halloween spirit abound at
annual Kiddie Boo Bash
Families took to the
streets of Tinley Park for an
early chance to get into the
Halloween spirit during the
Village’s annual Downtown
Tinley Kiddie Boo Bash
Oct. 29.
With games, crafts and
animals, plenty of activities
were available.
“All the events in the
downtown are for the
community,” said Donna
Framke, marketing director
for the Village of Tinley
Park. “[I] love the idea of all
the families coming out and
enjoying [them].”
Many area businesses ran
booths, which they used to
pass out candy to trick-ortreaters.
Framke said it always
has been a family-focused
event.
“Interestingly, it almost
reminds me a little of how
you were little and you had
the fun fairs at school,”
Framke said. “It’s a blend
of that and trick-or-treating,
and then entertainment, too,
but all in our really cool,
downtown setting.”
A DJ was on hand to entertain
the crowds with music.
Concessions and beverages
also were available
throughout the event for
people to purchase.
Grace Hernandez said her
children had been prepared
for Boo Bash to roll around
again.
“They’ve been asking me
every day to go,” she said.
“They don’t want to leave.”
The event featured a costume
contest, with entrants
signed up to compete in one
of five categories. Prizes
were awarded to participants
for having the scariest,
cutest, best homemade, best
baby and best family/group
costumes.
“What I think is that
people have that creativity,”
Framke said. “It really
is [huge] for this type of
thing.”
Reporting by Megann Horstead,
Freelance Reporter. For
more, visit TinleyJunction.com.
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
Police say senior citizen
robbed Orland bank on
Halloween morning
A man described as in his
late 60s to early 70s allegedly
demanded, received
and left an Orland Park bank
with an undisclosed amount
of money the morning of
Oct. 31.
Officers responded at
10:31 a.m. to a holdup alarm
at the Fifth Third Bank at
15330 Harlem Ave., according
to a press release issued
the same day by the Orland
Park Police Department.
The man reportedly entered
the bank, handed a
teller a note demanding
money, received cash from
the teller and exited. He
never displayed a weapon,
and no one was injured, police
said.
He was described as
white, with gray hair, and
between 5-foot-10 and
6-foot-2.
Orland Park police reportedly
are investigating the
bank robbery in conjunction
with the FBI.
Anyone with information
about the alleged offender is
asked to contact Orland Park
police at (708) 349-4111.
Security cameras captured
images of the man who allegedly
robbed the bank.
The photos can be seen at OP
Prairie.com.
Reporting by Bill Jones, Editor.
For more, visit OPPrairie.
com.
FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND
Lockport track and field star
to take his talents to Ann
Arbor
John Meyer still remembers
the day his father, who
is also named John, suggested
to him in sixth grade to
try out for the track and field
team at Richland Jr. High
School in Crest Hill.
“My dad said, ‘Why don’t
you go out for track and try
shot and discus?’” Meyer
recalled. “I did, but I didn’t
expect anything out of it.”
Well, Meyer has certainly
gotten something out of it.
The Lockport Township senior,
who is the Class 3A
two-time defending champion
in shot put, announced
on his Twitter page Oct. 31
he will be continuing his
track and field career at the
University of Michigan.
Meyer has gone from not
knowing anything about the
sport to winning national
championships in it. Now,
he plans to continue at one
of the most prestigious
universities in the United
States.
“When I was in eighth
grade, I thought maybe I
could get a small D-I scholarship
or something,” Meyer
said. “But then I started
working with [Lockport
throwing] coach [Wally]
Shields; I thought, Maybe I
can go a little farther with
this.’”
The biggest thing that
Meyer has improved on is
his strength.
“At first, it was a little
rough at the beginning,”
Meyer said of starting with
the shot and discus. “But you
usually don’t lift weights in
middle school. I’m probably
not the strongest guy, but
I’ve lifted a lot now and see
a lot of improvement. But I
have a lot more to go.”
Reporting by Randy Whalen,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit LockportLegend.com.
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
Hadley students lead
donation drive for troops
It’s peanut butter jelly
time at Hadley Middle
School.
Approximately 120 students,
part of six homerooms
designated as the
Blue Team, are spearheading
a donation drive with the
goal of collecting 1,000 jars
of peanut butter and jelly to
send to troops via Operation
Care Package.
“That’s the two things
they can’t get is peanut butter
and jelly,” sixth-grader
Trinity Muszynski said of
the troops stationed overseas.
“[The Blue Team] is
sponsoring it, and then the
whole school is bringing in
jars of peanut butter and jelly,
because our goal is 1,000
jars.”
The donation drive began
Nov. 6 and is to run
through Nov. 17. All the
members of the Blue Team
were placed in different
committees, each with its
own set of tasks to help
the donation efforts, according
to Blue Team teacher
Jennifer Donahue. Muszynski
and fellow sixth-grader
Bre Schultz decided on
a unique way to spread
the word of the donation
drive beyond the walls of
Hadley.
“We’ve decided to get it
in the newspaper and try to
put it out there to reach our
goal,” Muszynski said.
But contacting The Homer
Horizon is not the only
way the Blue Team is promoting
its peanut butter
and jelly collection. Some
students have been mentioning
the drive during the
morning announcements at
school; some have decorated
the collection boxes;
others have made up flyers
to be sent home to parents,
and a group designed posters
to hang in the hallways.
There also may be some
students making appearances
in peanut butter and
jelly costumes throughout
the school.
Reporting by Max Lapthorne,
Contributing Editor. For more,
visit HomerHorizon.com.
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