Downtown district lacking in hosiery

You cannot buy a pair of socks in downtown St. Charles.

This is a sad but true fact. I tell people that we live at Carroll Tower and they say, "Oh, you're so lucky, you're right in the heart of things." And so we are.

"Things," like the Scarecrow Festival and the Pride of the Fox Riverfest are right out there within reach. A pair of socks is at Wal-Mart or Target, or the Geneva Commons or Charlestowne Mall, and for there you need a car or a friend to cart you around.

I thought of this as I attended both the Pride of the Fox and Swedish Days this year. The two festivals are similar, if a bit different in execution and features but similar enough to compare.

Swedish Days is the granddaddy of festivals, and one big difference is the food booths. In Geneva, they are run by service organizations to raise money for worthy causes. The food is good, and very fairly priced.

By contrast, I saw several people reel in shock at one food booth in Lincoln Park in St. Charles to be told that a hot dog was $9 and an order of fries $7, and they didn't even heat the bun!

But most of my thoughts went to retail because, for the first time in memory (and I've lived here most of my life) there are empty stores on State Street and empty shops on Third Street, Geneva's famous Third Street. Who would have thought these formerly sacrosanct retail spots would have empty stores?

St. Charles fares worse, as it appears Burger's Drugstore is now closing. Charlestowne Mall is empty and echoing and the downstairs is downright scary at night. I hope they have good security.

Even the Commons has a little attrition showing. In tough times, retail seems to suffer first.

Meanwhile, they have built an enormous parking garage smack in the heart of "downtown," which will be good, they say, for everybody. Some housing, some offices, some retail. Retail? Where? Are people lined up, ready to occupy these stores?

Will we, someday, be able to buy a pair of socks in downtown St. Charles? And the shoes to go with them? I miss Colson's, and oh, how much I miss Kaiser's.

Janet Rossi

St. Charles