Batavia church top of its class

It caught my eye for no other reason than it was able to do so from a distance.

That has to be the tallest church steeple in the Tri-Cities area, I thought, when glancing at the Congregational Church of Batavia at 21 S. Batavia Ave.

It got me curious about which church steeple could really lay claim to being the tallest in the area.

I posed the question to St. Charles architect Mike Dixon and he said Batavia Congregational without hesitation.

If we were to measure such things, it's possible we would find that a steeple like that at the new First Baptist on Keslinger Road in Geneva was the tallest. Even so, it certainly doesn't have the interesting history that Congregational Church of Batavia can boast about its steeple.

This church, with roots dating back to 1835, has been at its current location since 1856. But a storm blew the steeple off in 1877 - and it wouldn't be replaced until 1974.

I was fortunate to talk to Batavia historian Marilyn Robinson on Tuesday morning to confirm a story that residents tell about the landing spot of the steeple. I was shocked and saddened to learn she passed away later that day, and felt so grateful to have touched base with my former colleague whose passion was her city's history.

In what was likely the last bit of advice and insight she gave on the history of her city, Robinson said of the church steeple: "It's not just Batavia legend, it's a true story. The steeple fell on the home of James Rockwell, one of Batavia's pioneer citizens, and his daughter was in the home playing the piano at the time."

Pastor David Foxgrover, in his 22nd year at Congregational Church of Batavia, shared the story he heard about the steeple crash.

"The Rockwell girl was blind and was playing the piano during this storm, but she got up for some reason and moved away from the piano, and at that moment the steeple came crashing down," Foxgrover said. "If she had stayed at the piano, she would have been killed.

"Now, you know how stories can change as they get passed on," Foxgrover admitted. "But it's a good story with a good ending anyway."

The Rockwell home was located just to the south of the church, where the congregation's new wing now stands.

"In those days everything was just called a wind storm," Robinson said. "So it's hard to say if it was a tornado or just a strong wind."

In either case, it took some time to replace it - but it continues to tower over the city like no other steeple.

His food legacy: With his passing last Monday, I thought a lot about Chuck Lencioni. But not about the buildings in Geneva he inspected as the city's building commissioner for more than 20 years. I thought about food. And not just the food he made when he owned the Firehouse No. 5 restaurant on State Street, or the food festival he helped create that eventually became Festival of the Vine.

I thought about the food he made or brought to the press box at Geneva football games the past six years when he worked with public address announcer Kurt Wehrmeister. When covering those games for the Daily Herald, I ate plenty of Chuck's Crock-Pot specials.

Wehrmeister's son was his "spotter" for many years, relaying the uniform numbers of players making tackles. When his son understandably wanted to be in the stands with friends at the games, Wehrmeister turned to Lencioni for last-minute help.

Chuck made that task even more enjoyable by bringing food each Friday night.

"As you recall," Wehrmeister said, "he was very welcome after that!"

If you don't remember this fine man for his connection to food, you should at least know he loved his work at the city.

Mayor Kevin Burns said Lencioni worked right up to just a few days before his death from lung cancer, adding, "Some might wonder why a dying man would spend his last days at work, but the City Hall was a second home to Lencioni."

On to Nashville?: The voices had that country twang one might expect at the Grand Ole Opry, but this stage was much smaller. Kane County Fair talent contest participants Carly and Jackie Hoban entertained fair board members and guests after the opening day ribbon-cutting ceremony with a few songs during the lunch hour.

Their wonderful voices reminded me what an excellent showcase the pre-fair talent show has been for the past 27 years under the leadership of music instructor Larry Rossi and support of area sponsors, most notably Valley Community Bank.

The runners will love it: Having walked what seems like every square mile of every path in the Tri-Cities area in the past 30 years, I can let the marathon runners from other states coming in for the Fox Valley Marathon in September know they are going to enjoy it.

In case you haven't heard, Dick Pond Athletics is hosting the first Fox Valley Marathon on Sept. 19 and runners are signing up for a full marathon, half marathon or a 20-miler in what is being advertised as a nice tuneup for the Chicago Marathon later in the fall.

The events start and end in downtown St. Charles and will cruise through Geneva and Batavia as well.

Dick Pond Athletics was a sponsor of the one-mile race in downtown St. Charles on Memorial Day, and has plenty of experience in staging these marathon events.

The cyclists loved it: The Mill Race Cyclery Classic last week in Geneva showed that this area also is a nice setting for staging a bicycle race. So it appears that the vision of fellows like Phil Elfstrom and many others at the county and city levels had it right when they said the bike paths and running/walking trails up and down the valley should be connected so this area becomes a destination for recreation enthusiasts.

dheun@sbcglobal.net