Memories abound for St. Charles man

Will it be culture shock for Bob Henningson, now that he won't be heading over to the St. Charles Township office every other Monday night like he has the past 30 years?

“I spent a lot of time over there,” the 82-year-old Henningson said of the township office, a couple of weeks after he resigned from the trustee position he held since the late 1970s. “It was a big operation in some respects, and you had to have your nose right in it much of the time.”

Henningson knows he's not getting around like he did when he was a young man operating the Texaco gas station in St. Charles at the site of the former McCornack Oil station, currently the St. Charles Heritage Center.

“I'm going to spend my time with my wife (June) now,” said Henningson, who originally got involved with township government when Don Schieb talked him into joining the cemetery board and work on constructing a workshop building at Union Cemetery.

Most longtime St. Charles residents know Henningson as one of the guys who wore the Texaco star. But after graduating from St. Charles High School in 1946, he wanted to join the military service.

“But the war had ended, and that was winding down,” Henningson said.

It was suddenly hard for a 1946 high school graduate to find a job because all of the servicemen were returning from the war and landing available jobs. Eventually, Henningson and Len Askeland got a $20,000 loan from the State Bank of St. Charles and took over the gas station on Main Street.

A 1951 photo of Henningson in the famous Texaco gas station uniform was so popular in town that it now hangs in the Heritage Center and the Beehive tavern. In 1951, St. Charles philanthropist Lester J. Norris told Henningson he wanted to have a local photographer snap a photo of him in uniform so he could send it to the Texaco Star Theater television show and its host Milton Berle in New York.

“We were a little concerned about how we would do, because $20,000 was a lot of money back then,” Henningson recalled. “But it worked out great for us, and the station did very well.”

Lots of shouting

Linda Biesecker calls it “pure luck,” but this may go beyond even that.

Biesecker admits she loves watching the Oprah Winfrey episode in which she reveals her “Favorite Things” and showers audience members with gifts.

“I went on the website to find out when that show was on, so I would remember to record it,” Biesecker said. “There was a link about how to get on an Oprah's show (honoring local heroes), so I looked at it, and there was a request to send in information about a person you consider a hero.”

Biesecker said she immediately thought of Paul Ruby, who has been her neighbor in Mill Creek in Geneva for eight years.

“He is so giving and such a wonderful man,” Biesecker said of Ruby, who is well-known in the area for his Parkinson's research foundation that was created when he was diagnosed four years ago.

“I was surprised when a week later they sent an e-mail back and said we had a spot on the show about Chicago heroes,” Biesecker said.

They went to the show last week, and were stunned to find out the show producers had convinced them it was just a regular show when it turned out to be Oprah's “Ultimate Favorite Things.”

“We had zero expectations and were completely surprised,” Biesecker said. “I think people there were hoping it could be ‘the' show, because you could tell there was quite a bit of excitement in the room.”

For his part, Ruby said he was originally thinking maybe he would be asked to talk about his foundation on the show, but once he realized he was in the midst of the shouting and unbridled joy that is part of the “Favorite Things” episode, he said he was “pleasantly surprised.”

“Although I am very grateful for the wonderful prizes, I am even more thankful to have great friends like the Bieseckers,” Ruby added.

Not open yet

It was a case of not making sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. I incorrectly reported last week that the Tom and Eddie's burger joint in the Geneva Commons was already open.

I didn't have time to stop in, but saw some people coming out of the restaurant as I passed by. They apparently weren't diners. So I was too quick to say it was already open. It is slated for a Dec. 14 opening, and it sounds like it will be an interesting place operated by two retired McDonald's executives Tom Dentice and Ed Rensi.

Coming rapidly now

The holiday happenings come at a rapid pace now that Thanksgiving has been celebrated and St. Charles streets were lined last night with parade lovers for the annual Electric Christmas Parade. Next on tap is Batavia's Celebration of Lights from 5:30 to 7 tonight at the Riverwalk, and Geneva's Christmas Walk and House Tour on Friday and Saturday night. And don't forget the Holiday Lights display taking place on the Mooseheart campus from 6 to 10 p.m. daily until Jan. 1.

In the meantime, many of us will be untangling our outdoor Christmas lights and trying to remember exactly how they went up last year.

dheun@sbcglobal.net