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14 | March 26, 2020 | The wilmette beacon SOUND OFF wilmettebeacondaily.com A Word From The (Former) President Posted to WilmetteBeaconDaily.com 2 days ago Wilmette’s last farm family gives way to Centennial Park John Jacoby Contributing Columnist Modern-day Wilmette residents who enjoy swimming, ice skating, and/or tennis at Centennial Park probably give little thought to the Park’s name. If asked, they’d probably guess that the name honors the 100th anniversary of something, but what? Here’s the answer, along with the story of the Park’s creation. After World War II, Wilmette officials recognized that the village’s public facilities and infrastructure, including parks, needed to be improved to accommodate the rapidly growing community. A “Study of Wilmette”, prepared in 1946, observed that the “accepted minimum” amount of parkland for a community was ten acres per 1,000 residents, but with a population of about 17,000 and only 60 acres of parkland, Wilmette fell far short of this standard. The report concluded that “the acquisition of more acreage is the most pressing problem confronting the community.” Farmland west of Ridge Road was a prime target for developers as the village grew. To acquire land suitable for a park, Wilmette Park District had to compete with these developers. By 1968, only one farm remained, a twelve-acre truck farm between Wilmette Avenue and Old Glenview Road at Crawford Avenue. Since 1924, the farm belonged to Mike Loutsch. The son of an immigrant from Luxembourg, Mike was born in 1882 and raised on a farm in Niles Center (now Skokie). In 1905, he married Barbara Pettinger, the daughter of a Gross Point farmer of German Support your local businesses! origin. Mike and Barbara had four daughters: Alice, Clara, Kathleen, and Davida. They often spoke German in their sevenroom farmhouse at 2301 Wilmette Avenue. Mike loved his farm. It was a family business, with all family members working long hours. The oldest daughter, Alice, married and moved away in 1926, but the other daughters stayed on the farm. They grew all kinds of vegetables and flowers — tomatoes, green beans, cabbages, squash, pumpkins, sweet corn, celery, peppers, zinnias and gladiolas. They transported much of this produce to Chicago’s South Water Street market for sale. They also raised chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs; and they kept horses and a cow. In 1966, Mike was quoted as saying, “I’ve been a farmer all my life. I want to stay a farmer as long as I live.” He added, “I don’t have to work. I just like it. . . I’d rather sit on a tractor and cultivate than sit in a chair in the yard.” In the mid-1960s, WPD saw Mike’s farm as the last chance to acquire a large parcel of land at an affordable price. When Mike refused to sell, WPD threatened to exercise its power of eminent domain. Mike resisted, but he finally surrendered when his lawyer advised him that he’d lose the fight. In 1968, Mike and WPD finalized an agreement that allowed him, at the age of 86, to occupy the farmhouse with 1.1 acres of land for the rest of his life; his daughters could remain there for one year following his death. Meanwhile, WPD took possession of the remaining acreage. According to Mike’s daughter Davida, WPD “thought he’d die right away, but he lived nine more years.” WPD named the acquisition “Centennial Park” to recognize the upcoming centennial of the Village’s founding in 1872 and to generate enthusiasm for its plan to build a sports complex (six indoor tennis courts Mike Loutsch was the last of the farmers who populated the Gross Point area that’s now part of Wilmette. Photo courtesy of Wilmette Historical Museum. and an outdoor swimming pool) at the Park. In 1971, Wilmette voters approved a bond issue to pay for the $1.1 million complex. It opened in late 1972. Mike died on July 10, 1978, a date that marks the end of an era. His daughters remained at the old farmhouse for a year and then moved to a new house across Old Glenview Road. Davida Loutsch, 96, the only surviving member of Wilmette’s last farm family, still lives there. • Purchase gift cards • Schedule services • Order carryout and delivery from local restaurants We're all in this together - support your local businesses! THE LAKE FOREST LEADER Former Scouts football captain reveals COVID-19 diagnosis Gabe Funk wants to use his situation to educate people while he’s in selfquarantine. “Everyone is talking about it regardless,” Funk said. “I don’t care if people know I have it. I’d rather inform people than keep it a secret.” Funk, 21, tested positive for COVID-19, or coronavirus, on Saturday, March 14, and is currently in selfquarantine. The Lake Forest High School alumnus and former Scouts football captain originally discussed how he contracted coronavirus on a podcast with Jon Kerr of Scoutsfootball. com. Reporting by Nick Frazier, Contributing Sports Editor. Full story at LakeForestLeaderDaily.com THE NORTHBROOK TOWER D225 officials detail upcoming measures amid coronavirus shutdowns A rundown on what Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South will be doing when school is closed due to the coronavirus was presented to the District 225 Board of Education at its Monday, March 16 meeting. “We’re going word-for- Please see NFYN, 15
wilmettebeacondaily.com sound off the wilmette beacon | March 26, 2020 | 15 Social snapshot Top Web Stories From WilmetteBeacon.com as of March 23 1. Wilmette president signs local disaster declaration 2. Lake Bluff: Village’s first coronavirus diagnosis announced 3. NorthShore University HealthSystem treating patient with coronavirus 4. Parent of Kenilworth preschool student tests positive for COVID-19 5. Winnetka: Washburne student, family quarantined after suspected case of COVID-19 Become a member: wilmettebeacon.com/plus FROM THE EDITOR Dining Out feature renamed ‘Dining In’ for time being Eric DeGrechie eric@wilmettebeacon.com Every week in our publications, we feature a different restaurant for Dining Out. A group of editors will visit the establishment, interview the owner and chef, take photos of the various dishes being featured and write a story about the experience. The most important jobs on these trips from our perspective is one editor being a reporter and another editor taking photos. The primo job, though, is being a designated eater. Your only responsibility if you ‘volunteer’ for this challenging endeavor is eating the food and expressing your opinion on what you’ve tasted. Obviously, with the recent outbreak and self-quarantining due to COVID-19, our voyages are on pause. Hopefully, this is only temporary as we thoroughly enjoy these experiences. Not only is it a great exercise for teambonding in our editorial department, but it gives our local eateries an opportunity to talk and show off their cuisines. For the time being, we’re going to try and come up with creative ways to continue the feature. This week, we spotlight take-out dishes from across the North Shore and we’ve also included those specific to Wilmette. We thank the Wilmette- Kenilworth Chamber of Commerce for helping with the latter. You can find the feature on Page 24 and even more free information at Wilmette- BeaconDaily.com. In the meantime, we’ll dream about the days when we’re able to dine out again. I’m betting there will be even more eating “volunteers” than normal. Stay safe and eat local! Regina Dominican posted this photo on March 17 with the caption: “Today there were Panthers at the Polls — let’s hear it for our first-time voters!!” Like The Wilmette Beacon: facebook.com/wilmettebeacon “The @WilmettePolice and Fire Department urge residents to register for Smart911, the Village’s emergency notification system, to receive safety alerts and emergency notifications. Download the Smart911 App on the Apple Store or Google Play or at http:// Smart911.com.” @VofWilmette Village of Wilmette posted on March 15 Follow The Wilmette Beacon: @wilmettebeacon go figure $2.1M An intriguing number from this week’s edition Cost of approved Highcrest and health/life safety construction bids for summer 2020, Page 3 Letters to the editor Deeper coverage of Optima project was needed [I’m a] long-time reader and fan of The Beacon. I am just retired from a 40 year career in Chicago journalism and politics. My wife and I have lived in Wilmette since 1984. I don’t know what editorial freedom you enjoy. Nor do I know what pressures if any are put upon you to cover certain stories and not others in Wilmette. And I imagine you have to balance many plates at once in this new age of journalism. Yet...I am disappointed that The Beacon didn’t dig deeper into the Optima project. It seemed to spring on us two issues ago. And now it’s a done deal. I don’t see much in the project that helps anyone but Optima and the Cook County Treasurer. Reading the pathetic comments of some weakkneed “Trustee” named Peter Barrow made me wonder if he is on the Optima payroll. I cannot state more forcefully how this project is likely to negatively affect the entire community. The Village is rolling in property tax dough given the sprouting of new mansions in Wilmette and in particular on Michigan Avenue. The Optima building isn’t needed, wanted or warranted. And the obsequious way Village President Bielinski and “Trustee” Barrow treated the Optima firm is not only sickening but suspicious. In future I hope you and The Beacon will keep residents better informed of plans hatched by Village Hall in cahoots with greedy developers. It’s clear we can’t trust our “leaders” to do the same. Edward “Ted” Marshall Wilmette resident NFYN From Page 14 word from the governor’s guidelines,” Superintendent Dr. Charles Johns told the board. “We are assessing day-to-day. We will start electronic learning classes on March 31 if necessary.” Reporting by Neil Milbert, Freelance Reporter. Full story at NorthbrookTower- Daily.com. THE WINNETKA CURRENT Student, family quarantined for COVID-19 A seventh-grader from Carleton Washburne School in Winnetka has a “probable, presumptive case related to the coronavirus disease (CO- VID-19),” according to a letter from District 36. The community letter, signed by Superintendent Trisha Kocanda, says the Illinois Department of Public Health advised students and staff at Washburne should self-quarantine for 14 days from March 11, the last time the student was at school. Reporting by Megan Bernard, Contributing Editor. Full story at WinnetkaCurrentDaily.com. Sound Off Policy Editorials and columns are the opinions of the author. Pieces from 22nd Century Media are the thoughts of the company as a whole. The Wilmette Beacon encourages readers to write letters to Sound Off. All letters must be signed, and names and hometowns will be published. We also ask that writers include their address and phone number for verification, not publication. Letters should be limited to 400 words. The Wilmette Beacon reserves the right to edit letters. Letters become property of The Wilmette Beacon. Letters that are published do not reflect the thoughts and views of The Wilmette Beacon. Letters can be mailed to: The Wilmette Beacon, 60 Revere Drive ST 888, Northbrook, IL, 60062. Fax letters to (847) 272-4648 or email to eric@wilmettebeacon.com. www.wilmettebeacon.com
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