Your Weekly Village News

April 20, 2022

Dear Village Resident,

Laura Frumet Retires

Dear Residents,

For 25 years, Laura Frumet has dedicated her time to serve our community as Deputy Village Clerk. If you ever visited the village hall or called, Laura was one of the the people to greet you and take care of any issues you may have inquired about.

Laura was instrumental in working with the village board on the development of Hatchery Park and its Visitor’s Center, Thelen Park, and bike path extensions by helping secure grants.

Laura is known for her green thumb and has assisted in the landscape designs and planting for Village projects, parks, and the Municipal Centre. She coordinated and assisted with the designs for numerous Village and volunteer projects, including the Village entrance signs. She has served as the Village’s Historian, was the editor of the Village’s Centennial book, wrote and produced reenactment plays, and organized cemetery tours.

Laura has also served as the editor of the village’s website and author of its weekly newsletter, and some people’s favorites, the Blast from the Past articles.

The list goes on, her dedication and contributions to the village will be missed.

Laura, has said she may still write some articles, and maybe you'll see her in a flower bed or two.

On behalf of the village board, we wish Laura Frumet nothing but the best in her future, and thank her for her 25 years of dedicated service to our community.

View Laura's resolution here.

Mark Eisenberg

Spring Grove Village President

Mobile Driver Services Unit Coming Soon!

State Representative Tom Weber is partnering with the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office to host a Mobile Driver Services Unit at the Spring Grove Municipal Centre at 7401 Meyer Rd, from 10am-2pm on Friday, April 22. Find more information here.

Farmers Market

The Community Engagement committee along with Repurposed Glitter Vintage Emporium are hard at work planning a Farmers Market at Main Street Park this year. There are a couple of spots still available for vendors, so please email Stephanie if you are interested. The Farmers Market is a Village-sponsored event.

Advertise your business!

Advertise your business at Thelen Park! Outfield advertising spaces at the two ball fields are now available for $300 for the 2022 season. Choose from a 4' x 8' or 4' x 16' banner or 4' x 8' metal sign. View more information here.

Summer Rec Brochure is Ready

The Summer Rec Brochure is now available for viewing. See new Snapology Camps and perennial favorites like Mighty Mites T-ball and Mini Kickers, horseback riding, golf, Junior Summer Camp and more! View the brochure.

Pet Titer Clinic

This Saturday, April 23rd from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Dr. Brand from Richmond Veterinary Clinic will be administering titer testing at Natures Feed, 2440 Westward Dr. Titering your pet prevents over-vaccinating. For more information visit their Facebook page.

Photo of the Week

Jan Hammersmith found this beautiful Mourning Dove nesting on her front porch in Nottingham Woods. If you have a photo of Spring Grove you would like to share, email it here.

Richardson's Tulip Festival

Everyone wants to know when the tulips will be blooming, and so do the Richardsons! The weather has been highly variable lately, to say the least. They have been walking the tulip fields and think that around 100,000 tulips have full leaf growth as seen in this picture of Ryan and Kristen Richardson’s girls, on Easter Sunday. Several hundred thousand more tulips are not far behind! Now, they are just waiting for more sunshine and some warmer temps. We will learn a lot at the end of this week when we get some 70 degree days, but 50 degrees and sunshine is great for growing tulips! Right now, the best guess is that they will open April 30, BUT, it might be May 7! Check their website, Facebook posts and newsletters for up to date information.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), and the McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH) are pleased to announce a free one-day Household Hazardous Waste Collection event in McHenry County.

The one-day event will take place on Saturday, June 25, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Prairie Ridge High School, 6000 Dvorak Drive, Crystal Lake. Pre-registration is required. Click here for their website for more information and to register.

Mediacom Affordable Connectivity Program

Mediacom is proud to be a participant in the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program that provides a discount on eligible customer's internet bill. There are multiple methods for qualification. Visit their website to register for the program. You may contact Mediacom's ACP department directly by calling (850) 934-2551 or email them at MediacomACP@mediacomcc.com.

Its Time to Order Prom Flowers

Birds of Paradise Flowers, located at 2404 Spring Ridge Drive, has beautiful blooms available for prom! Visit them or call to place your order today! Hours are Monday thru Friday 10:00a.m.-3:00p.m. and phone hours on Saturday from 8:30a.m.-12:00p.m. Visit their website here.

Yard Waste Collection

Yard waste collection started April 1 and ends December 1. Eight bags, bundles or cans are allowed each week - no stickers or subscription required. Food scraps can also be added to landscape waste. Cans can be no larger than 35 gal. and should have a tight-fitting lid (pick up "Yard Waste Only" stickers for your cans at the village free of charge). If you have more than eight items, Flood Brothers will bill you $2.20 for each one over. View more info on yard waste here. Burning of landscape waste is allowed on the weekends in April/May and Oct/Nov but you are encouraged to have it collected. View more here.

Blast from the Past - Louise Winn

1928 5th grade Class of Spring Grove School.jpg

Louise and students in 1927

1947 Louise and students SG Elementary.jpg

Louise and students in 1947

School with new school on right sepia.jpg

The new school can be seen at right before the 2-room school was torn down.

Louise is 1967 when the new library was dedicated to her.

Louise M. Winn was born in 1883. She was the first of eight children born to James Winn & Sarah Ann Thompson and the only girl! The family lived in Richmond Township.

After receiving her education, she taught school in Carpentersville, Greenwood, English Prairie, Solon Mills and Spring Grove. In 1909, when she was 26, she was teaching at English Prairie School and then taught in Greenwood for nine years before returning to Spring Grove Elementary in 1920. She was hired at a salary of $125 a month. The student enrollment was only 24.

Louise was described as an extraordinary teacher. She made learning fun and had a profound influence on many children. At one time she had 52 students in her charge.

She taught in Spring Grove for thirty years and retired in 1950 when she had 34 pupils and was earning a salary of $325 a month. She was 67. After retiring, she continued to tutor area students at the home she shared with one of her brothers on Clark Road.

In 1961 a new school was built on land purchased right next to the old schoolhouse. A large crowd attended a dedication ceremony. A welcome speech was given by Edward Winn, president of the school board, and nephew of Louise. Louise helped perform the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

In 1966 a library was instituted in the school and was dedicated as the Louise Winn Library with a plaque with her name over the doorway. She accepted the honor and gave a talk on her life as a teacher. At age 83, she still corresponded with many of her pupils who lived all over the country. Just a few years later she died at age 86 and was buried in the Hillside cemetery, Genoa City, Wisconsin with her parents and other family members.

[Author’ note: Louise kept doing what she loved when she retired: instructing children by tutoring. Going down the retirement path myself, I hope to keep doing I what I love: learning about and telling the stories of Spring Grovers of the past. So, keep watching these pages for intermittent stories and thanks for being a great audience! ~ Laura Frumet]

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