Buffalo Grove loses a pioneer

Marianne Krug ~ 1931-2011

By Eileen O. Daday

Daily Herald correspondent

The Buffalo Grove Days Parade will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, but without one of the original committee members who helped to shape the Labor Day tradition.

Marianne Krug and her husband George were among the original 154 families to settle in Buffalo Grove when it incorporated in 1958. Three years later, both helped to launch the first parade, with Mrs. Krug serving as secretary of the committee.

She passed way on April 24, at the age of 80.

“They were both pioneers in Buffalo Grove,” says village trustee Jeff Braiman, “and very well known.”

The Krugs have lived in their same home on St. Mary’s Parkway for more than 50 years. Residents sat around their kitchen table to design the first Buffalo Grove Days festival, George Krug says.

“Our whole emphasis was to keep people in Buffalo Grove over Labor Day,” he says. “We didn’t want them driving away.”

In a profile written about the couple for the Buffalo Grove Days committee, George Krug recalled that their original monthly mortgage payment was $82.50, and that included principal, interest and taxes.

As early residents, they threw themselves into a variety of village activities. George Krug was the third person appointed to the planning commission, eventually serving 30 years.

Mrs. Krug was a homemaker, raising the couple’s six children and volunteering at their parish, St. Mary’s Church in Buffalo Grove.

Her husband said she would help with the annual harvest dinner the church held for area farmers. She sang in the choir and served in the Women’s Club for more than 50 years.

Mrs. Krug also remained involved with Buffalo Grove Days, helping to transform it into a communitywide event, while keeping her hand in the parade.

Buffalo Grove Trustee Deann Glover says the Krugs’ home is the place where village officials traditionally gather to watch the parade, after disembarking from their golf carts.

“Marianne would always be sitting out in her front yard,” Glover says. “She was like the queen of the party, and their house became sort of the unofficial reviewing stand.”

In 2007, village officials named George and Marianne Krug the grand marshals of the parade. The role recognized their pioneer status in the village and their many years of helping to shape it.

“They were originals,” Glover adds. “They raised their family here and grew with the village.”

Besides her husband, Mrs. Krug is survived by her children Joseph (Cecilia), George (Sue), Jerome (Tina), Phillip (Kim), Mary Beth (Frank) Wolverton and Patricia Krug; as well as five grandchildren.

Services have been held.