Take a walk through history at Berry's, Little Owl
If you got your haircut at Berry's Barbershop in St. Charles and then stopped for lunch at Little Owl in Geneva recently, you'd possibly be doing the same thing residents of this area did 90 years ago. Or, put another way, you'd be walking through a combined 190 years of history.
By today's standards and national trends, it is surprising to see a business last more than five years. It makes the centennial milestone for Berry's Barbershop and owner Ron Saltzgiver, and the 90th anniversary for the Little Owl restaurant and owner Bob Arbizanni, unbelievable by comparison. The barbershop was opened by Clarence "Buck" Berry in 1910, while Tony Lencioni established the Little Owl in 1920. In short, these places were here well before most of the more noticeable landmarks in the area.
Arbizanni says that in the 1950s, the Little Owl was just one of a half dozen restaurants in Geneva. Today, there are 50 places that serve food within the city limits.
Saltzgiver was originally hired as a barber at Berry's in the late 1960s after returning from the Vietnam War.
Stop in and congratulate these wonderful local businessmen. Get a haircut from Ron and a burger from Bob - and a good dose of local history.
My time for Bingo? There's a lot going on Saturday with the Corvette show parade through the area and the final night for music at Swedish Days, but I hope to get over to the Baker Community Center in St. Charles for the Bingo and Ice Cream Social fundraiser for the St. Charles Heritage Center.
I've never been able to yell "Bingo!" in my life, so maybe there is a first time for everything.
It's for a good cause and anyone who enjoys a game of Bingo should stop in between 6:30 and 9 p.m.
Are you still here? St. Charles architect Mike Dixon gets a little ribbing, especially from his fellow St. Charles Kiwanis Club members.
"They keep asking me, 'Are you still here?' " Dixon joked.
The question arises because about nine months ago, as reported in this column, Dixon committed to join the Peace Corps. It takes a long time to get trained and prepped for an assignment, and Dixon has been learning to read and speak Russian in preparation for an assignment in September to a country in the former Soviet Union.
He'll be involved in business and community development in that region for two years.
Don't let them bite: Badbedbugs.com reports that bed bug infestations are up 5,000 percent from past years. And the debate rages as to what sort of chemical killer is the safest.
Still, bed bugs can meet their match - if one knows about firms that battle infestations.
As pest control companies step up efforts to combat bed bugs, Ed DeMask of Batavia wants his marketing firm on the front lines with the "Bed Bug Marketing Kit."
Marketing for pest control companies has been a focus of DeMask Marketing since 2006. The new kit includes news releases for print, web and other digital media.
Questions about the kit can be directed to ed@demaskmarketing.com.
dheun@sbcglobal.net