Resale working in St. Charles

Barbara Butorac's friends convinced her she was an excellent bargain hunter for clothes and it would serve her well if she pursued her dream of opening a resale shop in downtown St. Charles.

"I was always a thrift shopper - the hunt and the find - and I always loved fashion, so I was encouraged to open a shop," Butorac said. "In this economy resale is really big, so I figured it was a good time to try this, because it is something I have always wanted to do."

Butorac opened Anna-Johanna's Ladies Resale Shoppe at 217 W. Main St. in February and she is hoping people will start to notice she's in business.

"I have a real nice awning coming soon and that should help," Butorac added. "And as soon as I have some money coming in, I will be able to advertise some."

Butorac named the shop after her mother, Anna, and her granddaughter Johanna.

"This is thrift with a touch of class," Butorac said. "I want to offer a little bit of everything, and it's not high-end designer stuff, but things that the middle class would be looking for when needing a dress for an event."

Butorac's shop is strictly resale, and she does not take garments on consignment.

"If someone brings something in here, and it is something I know I can sell, I will pay them outright for it," she said.

In what might be described as a bit of a trend, a similar shop called the Sassy Fox also opened in February at the corner of Walnut and Fourth Street.

But everything in this shop, owned by Marge DeLand and Pat Bailey, is on consignment with a 50-50 split setup for the assortment of clothes and home décor items.

"Our background was in promotions, buying for mass audiences," DeLand said. "We liked this store when it was LeGrande Trunk, and it is a good location."

DeLand said her shop offers "fashionable clothing with nice labels and in great condition, targeting a 30 and older crowd."

While Butorac's shop runs on the same principle of providing quality clothes at low prices, her shop could be described as a "black and white" shop with dresses for special occasions and events being in the forefront.

Photos of a young Audrey Hepburn in her role in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" adorn the walls at Anna-Johanna's because Butorac sees her as the perfect marketing symbol.

"She was all about glitz and glamour, yet not over the top."

Continuing friendship: Friends and family of Marty Jordan have no intention of forgetting about this hero who lost his life last year while saving family members from a similar fate in choppy waters near South Haven, Mich.

The Marty Jordan Family Benefit will be held at 6 p.m. May 15 at his alma mater, St. Patrick High School, 5900 W. Belmont, Chicago.

Those who would like to donate auction items, purchase event tickets or raffle tickets, or get more information can do so at friendsofMJ@hotmail.com.

Meeting a hero: When talking to Sarah Giachino a couple of weeks ago about her efforts in creating the Fox Valley Troop Support group, she mentioned how much she enjoyed the recent Daily Herald story by reporter Josh Stockinger about World War II veteran William Faulkner, who told the story of his experiences during the battle of Iwo Jima.

She wanted to stop by Delnor Glen in St. Charles and visit Faulkner to express her appreciation and gratitude. She was thrilled to find this war hero standing in the lobby when she went, and they had a wonderful meeting. She later learned Faulkner also was in action at Guadalcanal and many other Pacific islands.

"We were watching the HBO series 'The Pacific' and I have felt a deeper connection with Mr. Faulkner because his 5th Marine Division is mentioned many times in that series," said Giachino, who plans to introduce Faulkner to some young local Marines.

Stockinger also had another visit with Faulkner, going to lunch with him at Portillo's, where an impromptu birthday party was held for the 87-year-old veteran.

Stockinger tells me Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez is getting some police memorabilia together for Faulkner, who would like to have some items for his son, who is a police officer and collector of such items.

This is how a great newspaper story can trigger strong emotions in a community.

Know your astronauts: OK, so I had been watching too much "Dancing with the Stars" and had Buzz Aldrin stuck in my head. That's my excuse for blowing a question last weekend during the TriCity Family Services Trivia Night contest - and getting a dose of grief from my wife.

The question: "Who was the last man to walk on the moon?"

No one on my team was sure, but my wife did say that maybe it was Gene Cernan.

It didn't jump out at any of us as the correct answer, so we went with Buzz Aldrin, since he had so much recent hoopla on the dance show.

The answer? Gene Cernan, of course, during the Apollo 17 mission in December of 1972.

This fighter pilot who was also part of the Gemini 9 and Apollo 10 missions was born in Chicago. So, on top of missing the question, we overlooked one of our own. He earned his status as the last man because he was the last to climb back aboard the lunar model.

If he gets his chance on "Dancing with the Stars" a lot more people will know the answer to that question.

dheun@sbcglobal.net