Q: Which former Elgin church is in the shape of a pocket watch when observed from an aerial view?

A: The former First Universalist Church at the corner of Villa and DuPage streets. The 1892 structure is made up of a round vestibule that is representative of the stem winder ring and a 16-sided auditorium that makes up the face or dial of the watch. Plans for the church were drawn under the leadership of George Hunter, then superintendent of the Elgin National Watch Company.

Q: The name of what longtime tavern in South Elgin has changed over the years to include the names of three people?

A: The tavern at 304 Mills St. in South Elgin was named Pete and Sod's Corner Tap and also has been called John Ball Corner Tap. Established in 1906, Mary Van Winkle bought it more than a decade ago and changed the name to Mary's Corner Tap.

Q: This former West Dundee business is a good example of how commerce can grow and change with a community. The family started growing fruit trees in 1855 and later switched to evergreens. When most of the land was sold to create Spring Hill Mall, the family members went into the retail garden business. Who are they?

A: The Hill Nursery has adapted to the needs of Fox Valley residents for 145 years. The most recent incarnation is the Platt Hill Nursery, on Randall Road in Carpentersville.

Q: Which East Dundee company has captured everything from Keebler cookie jars to a Harley-Davidson piggy bank in ceramics?

A: Haeger Potteries Inc. was established in 1871, when D.H. Haeger opened a brick yard on the banks of the Fox River. Its ceramics are sold internationally.

Q: Which West Dundee restaurant famous for its home-cooked meals boasts celebrities and high-powered businessmen, including Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Vincent Price, Marshall Field Jr. and Carson Pirie Scott, among its clientele?

A: Waitresses at the Milk Pail Restaurant remember serving "the best food in the Midwest" to such famous people. The restaurant, opened in 1939 by Max McGraw, drew families from near and far for simple meals and extravagant parties. Many would wait for hours just to get a table for Sunday brunch.

Q: Which Fox Valley cemetery is also one of the finest tree sanctuaries in the area and is used by students and other groups as an educational tool?

A: The Bluff City Cemetery in Elgin, dedicated in 1889, is known as a resource for local history and its natural areas. On a stroll through the cemetery, extraordinary markers of the community's founding fathers can be seen, as well as white oak, Norway maple, horse chestnut and many other varieties of trees. The area is an Audubon cooperative sanctuary that offers a butterfly garden and bluebird houses. The adjacent Bluff Spring Fen is an Illinois nature preserve.

Q: Which Elgin landmark once housed Elgin Academy, was scheduled for demolition in 1969 and is now home to the Elgin Area Historical Society?

A: Old Main is one of the city's best-known landmarks. Built in 1856, it was the original home of Elgin Academy. Partially destroyed by fire after it was struck by lightning in 1911, the structure was restored in the 1980s to its original beauty.

Q: Orson Welles, Paul Newman and Tom Bosley were part of theater companies based from this McHenry County landmark.

A: The Woodstock Opera House was home to the Chicago area's first summer-stock theater in 1934. Welles starred there in Shakespeare plays. In 1947, a group of residents formed and supported the Woodstock Players, where future stars such as Newman and Bosley honed their acting skills.

Q: What is the name of the statue that greets visitors to Harvard?

A: Harmilda the cow has been greeting visitors to the downtown area since 1966. The icon, which serves as a tribute to the town's rich dairy history, got its name from the town's annual festival, (Har)vard (Mil)k (Da)ys.

Q: In which McHenry County municipality is a house with rounded corners?

A: The George Stickney House, built in 1860 on Cherry Valley Road in Woodstock, has rounded corners. The spiritual Stickneys believed spirits could not hide in a house without corners. There are no square corners anywhere in the house, inside or out.

Q: People from which McHenry County town were personally affected by the 1985 TWA hostage crisis?

A: Twenty-two Algonquin and Lake in the Hills residents were passengers on Flight 847 from Athens, Greece, to Rome, Italy, and on to Boston on June 13, 1985. On a return trip from a Holy Land pilgrimage sponsored by Algonquin's St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, all were released safely by the time the ordeal was over nearly three weeks later.

Q: What is the village of Sleepy Hollow named after?

A: Although residents relive the legend of the headless horseman each Halloween, Sleepy Hollow was not named after the New York town made famous by author Washington Irving in his short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." It was named after a farm by village founder Floyd Falese in 1958.

Q: In which village does Spring Hill Mall lie?

A: Most of the shopping hub is located in West Dundee - about 85 percent. The remaining 15 percent of the structure lies in Carpentersville.

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