Roundtable discussion offered on July 4 in Batavia

For 20 years, a small group of local citizens has gathered at Batavia City Hall on the morning of July Fourth to discuss the community's and country's hopes, dreams and challenges.

The idea for this type of interaction in the community came from a group of Batavians, some of who were involved with the city's fireworks committee and other aspects of the Fourth of July celebration. It was presented as the American Dialogue session, and this year's gathering marks the 21st being offered.

Roger Breisch, a former chairman of that fireworks committee, has been at the forefront of American Dialogue from the start. He's still promoting the roundtable discussion, to be held from 8:30 to 10 a.m. July 4 at city hall, as a concept that can set aside any differences citizens might have politically and result in a meaningful engagement.

That's saying a lot in the current national and state political landscape, which has always been volatile, but has pushed even more buttons lately.

Most Americans, especially young ones, are experiencing wide divides in belief and morals that are made even more pronounced in an era of constant social media platforms for all voices.

Even with a clearly divided country and conflicting rhetoric out of the White House and among each party's leaders, Breisch doesn't foresee anything unpleasant taking place at the American Dialogue talks in Batavia.

"It's generally a small group of people, and President Trump was in office for about six months prior to last year's talk," Breisch said.

"So I think people understand that we want to discuss the large issues that are important to all of us, and in the past, we have stayed on the topics."

Breisch said he is "working a little harder with the publicity" for the event than he has the past few years. That could, at least in part, be his attempt to bring people together for a better understanding of how different sides view things.

As much as anything, Breisch is hoping younger residents attend and share feelings about the future. When they do that with older residents, both sides gain knowledge about what the other wants America to look like moving forward.

Possibly the best part of American Dialogue is that it also can focus on local challenges and exchange ideas on solutions. It doesn't have to be about the shifting sands of national policies - though there are many interesting things to discuss in that regard.

For Breisch, his vision of American Dialogue hasn't changed much from past years.

"It remains my dream that, for this one morning, we can put aside the day-to-day issues and talk with one another about what is truly important to us and our future generations," he said.

Culver's goes west:

Considering my fondness for food and custard at this place, this might qualify as some of the best news of the year.

The new Culver's on the west side of St. Charles opened last week on Randall Road, and the official ribbon cutting takes place Tuesday morning. Co-founder Craig Culver is supposed to be on hand to greet folks.

Jim DiVerde of South Elgin, the owner and operator of the new site, invited me to the event, but it's tricky for me to get out to morning events during the week because of other job commitments.

But I'll be getting my Culver's fix at the west side location often enough, as that one is much closer to me and will cut down on the trips we took to the east side spot across Main Street from Pheasant Run.

Plus, what goes around, comes around.

My favorite custard joint in the past, Gilles, operated in the same general area that Culver's will now call its home near the Costco Warehouse and Harley-Davidson businesses.

The 1940s homes:

While it is true that folks who lived along Stevens and Richards streets in Geneva may have worked at the nearby Burgess Norton plants in the 1940s, many were in homes that had been there since the 1920s.

My previous column citing some of the interesting history of the factories in neighborhood settings mentioned that Burgess Norton gave out loans for people to build homes in the area and come back to work in the factories after World War II ended.

Geneva historian Ron Rawson sent a note saying he had researched the homes in that part of Geneva in the past - and that many of those built through Burgess Norton loans for veterans in the 1940s were more often in the McKinley Avenue area and nearby lots.

In fact, Burgess Norton purchased some nearby homes in the 1930s and leveled them to make room for more parking.

And there are homes, built in the early 2000s, now sitting near the factories - on the land that was formerly the parking area Burgess Norton needed leading up to and during the war years.

Roll it up:

Those who have been to Fanny's Thai Roll Ice Cream in Elgin know what I am talking about when saying it's a dessert place in which the ice cream is made right before your eyes and rolled up in a delightful creation.

Owner Fanny Ng has opened another spot in St. Charles at 615 Randall Road in the shopping strip on the west side of Randall at Prairie Street.

In Thailand, they call this stuff stir-fried ice cream. Based on comments about the site in Elgin, in addition to the ice cream tasting great, part of the fun apparently is watching the Fanny's employees build the creation you ordered from scratch.

This place is on my must-try list.

All in the parade:

If you love a parade and haven't been to one in some time, then the Swedish Days parade in Geneva should be right up your alley.

It fills the streets of Geneva on Sunday, June 24, from Anderson Boulevard, down State Street and Third Street, all the way to the Metra station.

There aren't many to match it, so go enjoy this summer rite of passage in the Tri-Cities.

It all starts at 1 p.m., but you have to find your viewing spot well before that.

dheun@sbcglobal.net