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January 25, 2023

Dear Village Resident,


Residents can reserve Horse Fair Park starting Wednesday, February 1st! Amenities include the indoor/outdoor pavilion with a refrigerator, freezer, oven, microwave, bar and picnic tables and an outdoor grill, port-a-potty, and volleyball & basketball courts with equipment. Non-residents can reserve the Park starting Monday, February 13. Rental fees are $250 for residents, businesses and organizations, and $430 for non-Spring Grove residents, businesses and organizations. View more info...

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Getting Around Illinois


Visit GettingAroundIllinois.com to view continually updated information on road conditions in Illinois. Optimized for smartphones, the site includes the ability to identify and zoom into a location, travel route or destination on the state map.

MCRide Dial a Ride


MCRide Dial-a- Ride is a great way to get around McHenry County. Whether you need transportation for work, school, shopping, medical appointments or just to visit a friend, MCRide provides an affordable and flexible way to travel! 

As a dial-a-ride program, MCRide service is a coordinated countywide paratransit service, and vehicles do not travel in a fixed route each day. Riders schedule their trips in advance and the vehicle provides curb-to-curb service from the rider's desired pick-up and drop-off destinations. MCRide is a shared-ride service, so vehicles may make stops for other passengers. For more information or to schedule a ride, visit their website, senior rates are available.


Spring Grove Horse Shows


If you love horses, mark your calendars for this year's Horse Show dates at Horse Fair Park. Spectators are welcome and volunteers are appreciated. View their website here. 


Sunday. May 14 - English/Western Pleasure Show

Saturday, May 27 - Peppers Legacy Show

Sunday, June 4 - Illinois Pinto Association Show

Saturday, July 8 - Lake County Mounted Posse Show

Sunday, September 10 - English/Western Pleasure Show

Sunday, September 24 - Fun & Action Show

Wedding Planning at Turtle Creek


Are you recently engaged and wondering where to start Wedding Planning? Come be a Wedding Crasher at Mock's Wedding at Turtle Creek on Saturday, January 28th at 5pm with a reception to follow.

Come and see what really goes on at a successful wedding in a sped-up version of the BIG DAY. We will take you through every step of a wedding day, sometimes it will be a view from the back of the house, sometimes a view as a guest and also through the eyes of the bride and groom.

ONE LUCKY COUPLE will WIN A $3,500 CERTIFICATE from The Shores of Turtle Creek to be applied towards the Venue Rental for any open date in June, July or August of 2023...and MORE GIVEAWAYS! Find more details on our Facebook Page https://fb.me/e/2uFqZ4pHw

Register at http://www.theweddingpartychicago.com

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Pets in our Parks


We have been made aware that individuals walking their dogs in our parks are not picking up after their pets. Please remember that many of these parks are used for children's sports and playgrounds. Village code 2006.2 regarding animals states pets should remain on a leash at all times and owners are responsible for cleaning up after their pets. This is also a McHenry County Ordinance.

PLEASE help keep our parks clean! Violators are subject to fines! If you see damage actively being done in any of our parks, please report it to the Village Hall at 815-675-2121 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. or the Spring Grove Police Department at 815-338-2145.

Photo of the Week

Another beautiful view of winter on Nippersink Creek, photo submitted by Emily Reda. If you have a photo you would like to share email it here.

Men's Basketball


Come enjoy a Sunday evening scrimmaging other local adults at the Spring Grove Elementary Gymnasium. Get a good workout in and have lots of fun. Attendance is not mandatory every Sunday. View the registration form here, you can pay online at this link or come into the Village Hall located at 7401 Meyer Road.

WAG Health Clinic for Dogs


WAG Agility Center, located at 2807 Route 12, is offering a Dog Health Clinic on March 5, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Registration and payment must be received by February 24, 2023. For more information visit their website.

Hatchery Park Passes


Yearly passes are available for purchase at the Village Hall weekdays between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Did you know funds for upkeep and repairs at Hatchery Park partly come from non-resident parking fees? Parking fees are $5 per day or a yearly pass is $25. Payment can be made online at our website, mailed, or dropped in the drop box at the Municipal Center and the parking pass will be mailed back. Daily passes can be purchased on site at the park.

Cars are monitored for a village vehicle sticker or a parking pass and tickets will be issued for noncompliance.

Smoke Detectors in your Home


The Illinois General Assembly recently passed Public Act 100-200 relating to smoke detectors in existing homes. Any existing non-hardwired, battery-powered smoke alarm must be replaced with a 10-year sealed battery smoke alarm if any of the following is true:

  • The unit is 10 years older than the date of manufacture (or if there is no manufactured date on the device)
  • The unit is no longer operational or fails to respond to operability testing
  • A new device is being installed

View the updated smoke alarm law here.

Blast from the Past - The Andrews Family

Residence of George Andrews at 8518 Winn Road in 1872 looking south from the driveway.

The headstone of Charles and Emily Andrews in

Spring Grove Cemetery


The headstone of Eunice and Tyler Andrews back in Essex, Massachusetts

 

There is an old farmhouse set a little way back off Winn Road that has been there for over 150 years and is still in the family today. Pioneer George Andrews was born in Essex, MA on January 23, 1813, the eldest of ten children born to Tyler and Eunice Andrews. When he was nine years old, he left home and made his way in the world. In the spring of 1838, he came west and landed in Chicago. He settled on 40 acres on Winn Road in 1843 when he was 30 years old and was awarded a land grant from President James Polk in 1845. George was first married to Cordelia M. Allen in 1840. They had three children from 1841-1845, but in 1847 she died, along with a new baby, leaving George with three boys: Henry, John, and Allen ages 6, 4, and 2.

 

In 1850, George married Mariam Coon (who had a six-year-old daughter, Helen) and they had one child together – Charles G., who was born in 1853. Charles grew up on the farm but it seems he had other aspirations. In March 1876, when he was 23, the newspaper said he was going to leave and, “go to the Black Hills [South Dakota] if fish don’t run soon. Be sure and give one of those yelps and make the red skins clear out, so they won’t scalp you and your friends”. Apparently, the fish ran, because on July 2, 1876 he married Emily Thompson in Spring Grove. In 1880 they lived with George on the farm who was now a widower again as Mariam died in 1878.

 

They had eleven children together, but only three survived: Lydia, born in 1880, Frank, born in 1886, and Marion, born in 1895. The year 1900 was quite momentous for the family. Daughter Lydia married John Waspi on April 25, George died in September leaving the farm to Charles and Emily, and in November Charles suffered a frightful accident.

 

First, in November 1899, the newspaper reported Joseph James was a “second victim” in Charles’ corn shredding machine but luckily only lost the tip of his middle finger. But one year later, in November 1900, Charles was at work feeding the corn shredder at Edwin Halderman’s, when his left hand and arm to the elbow was mangled in the machine. The newspaper reported, “With his usual grit he walked home at once and as Dr. Fegers was passing through the village, medical help was quickly obtained, and the injured member was amputated just below the elbow. As Mr. Andrews some years ago lost part of the thumb of his right hand and has lately used his left hand, the accident is a doubly hard one. He is as comfortable as can be expected at present.”

 

In 1905, Charles and Emily sold the farm to daughter Lydia and her husband, John Waspi, and left with a carful of household goods and farming implements for Cotter, Arkansas, where they had purchased a home. Emily had health issues that improved in the warmer climate.

 

Five years later, in 1910, Charles finally achieved his dream of going west, for the census finds them in Central Point, Oregon where Charles worked as a gold miner! By 1914 they moved back to Cotter, Arkansas - but were back in Spring Grove in 1916 when Charles died at age 63. Emily then made her home with her daughter and son-in-law until her death in 1929 at age 74.

 

Charles and Emily are buried together in Spring Grove Cemetery located just east of 1813 Main Street. George and Mariam are also buried there but no headstones exist, and no records were ever kept, so there is no way of knowing exactly where they are. It is also possible that George’s first wife, Cordelia, and the baby, is buried there as she died in 1847 and the first occupant of Spring Grove Cemetery is thought to be Joseph Bliven, who died in 1846, only one year earlier.  


Story by Laura Frumet

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