Heun: Time marches on - even for old buildings

Throughout history, old schools have been knocked down to make way for something modern. In some cases, city or school officials deciding what to do with an old site are convinced the buildings could still serve the community in some fashion.

Other times, it just seems like a twinge of nostalgia is clouding reality when someone comes forward in the name of history to ask that a building be saved.

We've seen it happen often in the Tri-Cities over the years, and each time I sided with those saying it was time to let the wrecking ball fly.

The one time I felt city officials got somewhat duped early on was in the late 1990s when St. Charles let the ViewPointe subdivision come in and allowed the demolition of the former Mount St. Mary and, later, Valley Lutheran High School site. The nearby Col. John Farnsworth house also went down in the process. Mount St. Mary first opened in 1907 in what was previously Col. Farnsworth's mansion.

Maybe my viewpoint was somewhat biased because my wife graduated from Mount St. Mary. But mostly I agreed with those who felt there was some value to these unique limestone structures that had some Civil War relevance.

Plus, ViewPointe struggled terribly out of the gate, and it seemed like a bad choice to replace such interesting pieces of our history. But time has passed, and ViewPointe now seems like a nice fit in that part of St. Charles atop a hill overlooking Mount St. Mary Park and the Fox River.

Batavia went through similar hand wringing when some in town had a place in their hearts for the old junior high building on Wilson Street. But it had to come down to make way for the new library, and can anyone really complain about that decision now?

Geneva had its concerns about the old Coultrap school building, but there was no more need or use for it. The same can be said for the current debate over the Sixth Street School building that city officials have voted to raze.

It's the only way library officials, who have agreed to chip in even more money to have the building demolished while also upping their offer for the building to $1.8 million, can consider building a new library on that site. It all gives Kane County, current owners of the building, a reasonable option to sell it.

Former school buildings carry a lot of memories and, in most cases, keep a community feeling close to its roots.

But time always marches on, no matter how much we'd like to slow it down. And old school buildings often find themselves in the way of that march.

Baby sitters chat

Local ladies on Facebook were in a recent tizzy over the fact that apparently a few of them were baby-sitters for a fellow named Clint Arlis when he lived in Batavia.

Arlis is reportedly a contestant on ABC's next season of "The Bachelorette," which is currently filming, thus the excitement for the baby-sitters from yesteryear.

Sorry, folks; I've never watched a show remotely related to men or women competing for the heart of another single person. So I certainly can't weigh in on this Arlis fellow's chances of making a bachelorette swoon.

Pajama donors

A friend passed along a note saying when he was recently donating blood, he was told at the center that donations were down overall but a lot of younger people are donating.

They get pajama bottoms from the blood center for donating - and teens and young adults apparently like this piece of clothing. I've seen "Give Blood" T-shirts and pajama bottoms for sale online.

It's safe to say that pajama bottoms have been popular for some time when used for sleeping. What worries me a bit is that it is not uncommon to see more kids around in public in pajama bottoms. But, hey, if it's in style, you do as the Romans do.

A pool makeover

At some point we'll actually have weather in which some people - especially kids - will enjoy going into a pool.

Sunset Pool in Geneva is undergoing a makeover for the first time in 12 years, and swimmers will have a climbing wall in the deep end of the pool in addition to a more modern "aquatic playground" with new features that include slides and tipping coconuts, whatever those are.

Best of all, park district officials say all of these new features will be in place when the poll opens for the season May 23.

A 'Les Miz' local

My son and his girlfriend were raving this week about the Paramount Theater production of "Les Miserables."

It was exciting for another reason because Chelsea Morgan, a Geneva High graduate, was part of the ensemble for the production. Because Morgan lived near my son's girlfriend years ago, they were able to catch her after the show and chat a bit.

Morgan was getting all sorts of kudos on Facebook from people who were familiar with her days in Geneva High School plays. She was making her debut on the Paramount stage with this show, which got four-star reviews from Daily Herald critics last week.

Remember to vote

It may not be as motivating as electing our next president or governor, but the elections Tuesday for school board, city and village positions, and referendum questions, are more important locally. Be sure to get out and vote.

dheun@sbcglobal.net