Transplanted Arlington Heights man waxes nostalgic on Facebook

A great idea doesn't necessarily have to be all that creative. In fact, sometimes the familiarity is what makes an idea great. Just ask Neal Greenberg.

In January, he was sitting around talking with a few friends about "first of all, how lucky we were to be born in this country, and then how lucky we were to be born healthy, and how lucky we were to have good parents," Greenberg recalled, on the phone from his business in Fremont, Calif. "If you're growing up in a nice, suburban setting where everything feels so safe, I said, 'Well, I acknowledge how lucky I am.'"

This rang especially true for a couple of his friends, who were, in fact, from Vietnam and the former Soviet Union. "I believe a lot of people take it for granted," he added, "and they agreed and said people have no idea."

The very next day, he went on his Facebook page and created the site "Growing up in Arlington Heights, IL." Certainly, there was nothing new in the idea. There are "Growing up in ... " sites for cities across the nation and, no doubt, around the world. Yet the surprise was no one had done one yet for his hometown.

"I invited 10 friends," Greenberg said, "and the thing just grew at an amazing rate I wish I could do in my business."

He launched it on Jan. 29, and four weeks later the site entered March with 5,635 fans and a steady flow of topics and comments ranging from the dear, departed 53 Drive-In to aerial views of the Weber Grill factory from the '50s.

"It's kind of an amazing thing," Greenberg said. "It's just an interesting dynamic."

Yet, while the topic resonates for anyone who did, indeed, grow up in Arlington Heights, it was perhaps especially dear for a transplant like Greenberg. He grew up in the suburb from the age of 6 in 1968, and went on to graduate from Buffalo Grove High School in 1980. In 1991, he transferred out to San Jose, Calif., after Hyundai Electronics shut the Bensenville regional office he'd been working at, and although he tries to return home a couple of times a year, he's never really looked back from Northern California. Five years ago, he co-founded SchmartBoard in Fremont. "We invented an easier way to hand-solder electronic components," Greenberg said.

Yet, through one thing and another, he now finds himself reliving those childhood days of riding bikes and playing football and baseball in the street and ending with games of Ghost in the Graveyard in the gloaming.

"We felt so safe," Greenberg said. "I think I was comparing it to the way things are today, because I mentor some high-school students, and things just don't seem very safe today."

While his experience is perhaps especially keen because he's so far removed from Arlington Heights, the site has become a hit with those who have remained close to home as well. "It's also kind of a neat feeling," he added, sharing impressions "with people who have the exact same memories. ... Somebody said, 'Nice job on the Web page,'" he added, "and I said, 'I didn't do anything except start it.'"

The site, in fact, soon linked him up with Tom Price's book "Last Hand: A Suburban Memoir of Cards and the Cold War Era," set in Arlington Heights. "So obviously it's not unique to me," Greenberg said. "But I ended up buying the book, and it's a really great book. It brought back a lot of memories." Like the site itself.

Now, having created such an Internet sensation, Greenberg is trying to see if it has a more practical application. "I started doing this on a whim, but I'm really trying to see the dynamics of how this works to use in my own business," he said. "I will tell you what I have learned, which is it's better to ask questions than to propose statements."

You can find SchmartBoard on YouTube and Twitter, but Greenberg keeps it separate from "Growing up in Arlington Heights, IL" - at least for now.

The suburbs as we remember them

Some recent comments on the Facebook page "Growing up in Arlington Heights, IL"

"I hate the fact I cannot say I went to "Arlington High School" in AH, IL. Because it is no longer listed."

"In the 1950s you could even own your own horse and keep him or her in town."

"AH McDonald's at NW Hwy and Wilke Road. I somehow got passes for two free meals from them in 1960. Hamburger, triple thick shake, one bag of fries. I carried these around for years just in case I was broke and did not have any money. Since there is no value or expiration date, I wonder if they are still good?"

"Cruising in AH in the early '60s was not limited to McDonalds by Wilke Road. There were the typical races toward Palatine but when things got quiet everybody would head East to Mount Prospect to the Golden Point Hamburger Drive-In on NW Highway East of town. If it was quiet there, we were off to Skip's on North Avenue."

"53 Drive-In...Wow, do I miss the days."