St. Charles’ Dr. Miller retiring
If you’ve lived in St. Charles for more than 40 years, it’s possible that Dr. Walter Miller cured what ailed you when you were a kid.
Or maybe you’ve had a sick kid fixed up by Miller some time in the past 42 years. It means you know he represents the last of a breed — the down-home, country doctor.
Parents who bring their kids to the popular pediatrician’s office, an older house at 215 S. Fourth Ave., were quick to alert me Miller is retiring at the end of the month.
It did not surprise me he didn’t want fanfare or recognition because, as he put it, “I really prefer a quiet fading away.”
But parents who have grown to admire him for what he has done for their kids would have none of it.
“He is very well thought of, and it is such a different practice,” said Joan Conrad, a nurse who has taken all three of her children to Dr. Miller. “He has no computer and no fax in his office, yet he is so completely hands-on that he’ll call you himself to see how your child is doing.”
Because of her background in medical care, Conrad appreciates something about Miller that not all doctors can claim.
“He is very quick and very accurate with his diagnosis,” Conrad said. “When he calls into the pharmacy and tells them to make ‘Miller’s mix’ for a sick child, the pharmacy knows what it is,” Conrad added.
Karen Jones of St. Charles mentioned that Miller has another love as close to him as caring for sick children,
“He has a love for dogs, and often his patients would be greeted by his dogs Zeke or Wyatt,” Jones said. “Both dogs have since passed away, but many of us see Dr. Miller walking the Brighton Gardens dogs (who are companions for Brighton residents) regularly.”
The Miller name also is well-known in St. Charles because of Miller’s daughter Marci, who was a standout soccer player at St. Charles East and currently coaches soccer at Baylor University.
“I’ve enjoyed it immensely,” Miller said of his career. “I really thank those who think my retirement is something important, but there really must be more worthy things out there to write about.”
Hundreds of Miller patients and their parents likely would disagree with the good doctor on that one.
‘Scaregrounds’ raise funds: Steel Beam Theatre board member Joe Billquist sent a note to remind me I could have heck scared out of me at the theater’s “Scaregrounds” Haunted House fundraiser at the Kane County Fairgrounds on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through October (except Oct. 22). R.J. Ogren, a former Disney artist and haunted house specialist who grew up in St. Charles, designed this project with some great 3-D effects, Billquist said.Cost is $13 and more information is available at kcscaregrounds.com. Earns his spot: It may not be the sort of Hall of Fame that gets a lot of attention in the public eye. But it has the word #147;fame#148; in it, which means that a person who gets inducted has done something special.You can say that about Joe White of Elburn, who earned a spot in the Illinois 4-H Hall of Fame during the Illinois State Fair.White is president of the Kane County Farm Bureau and a longtime 4-H volunteer and member.Anyone who isn#146;t sure of the value of 4-H these days needs to visit the exhibits during the Kane County Fair. The organization still knows how to stress youth development in the key areas of how to be a good citizen, how to master life#146;s essential skills, and how to be a leader whom people will follow.Stars were out: The Herrington Inn in Geneva turned into a Hollywood eatery of sorts last Tuesday night when Dennis Quaid, Heather Graham and others had dinner as part of a wrap-up celebration after finishing the filming of a movie in DeKalb that was being called #147;The Untitled Ramin Bahrani Project.#148;Folks at the Herrington tell us that about 15 people from the film had a pleasant evening along the Fox River and actually #147;had a hard time leaving.#148;Strikes that nerve: It#146;s been 36 years since we first heard the haunting musical score from #147;Jaws,#148; but that famous shark-in-the-water overture, if you can call it that, still causes people to gasp.At least that was the case during the Geneva High School band#146;s halftime show during the Vikings#146; homecoming last weekend.With a theme of #147;Vikings Conquer the Sea,#148; the band broke into the eerie #147;Jaws#148; music, and the crowd groaned in recognition of something that has scared them for decades.It#146;s incredible what the alternating of two chords, E and F, could create in terms of sheer suspense.Expanding food space: Some of the most sobering news I shared in the past few years came from data supplied by the Northern Illinois Food Bank regarding the numbers of families and individuals seeking help.At the end of 2010, the food bank was serving 61,600 people every week. For years before that, the number was 37,400. By any method of measurement, that#146;s a significant jump. Put another way, the food bank was providing food for a half million people a year, or 1 of every 8 people in a 13-county region.Knowing those numbers, it was even more pleasing to see the food bank recently open its new distribution center on Geneva#146;s east side. It now will have plenty more room to provide a much-needed service. The food bank, 273 Dearborn Court, will host an open house from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday for tours and presentation on how the food distribution process works.Still serving: Time flies by quickly when an organization is serving the community well #8212; and having fun doing it.When the Geneva United Methodist Church offers its Third Tuesday Community Supper on Tuesday, it will mark the beginning of the third year of service.Organizers say there is no intention to stop the monthly meals any time soon. In other words, if the recession is going to be stubborn, so are the free supper organizers.This well-organized and friendly event helps those with tight budgets but also brings people together who never see each other because of crazy schedules, or elderly people who eat alone on a regular basis.dheun@sbcglobal.net