‘It’s about how it started’: Former women athletes from St. Charles high schools sought for Legacy Night

Rita Payleitner simply wanted to take her grandson to see a digital photo of her 1974 girls’ basketball team on display at St. Charles East High School so she could prove she was a three-sport athlete during her prep years.

She had no idea it would turn into a “Case of the Missing Photo” — and lead to the creation of an event recognizing 50 years of IHSA-sanctioned girls sports.

“I was a three-sport athlete at the high school, and my three-sport year was the ’73-74 school year,” said Payleitner, a 1976 graduate of then-St. Charles High School.

The funny thing was that she couldn’t find her team photo from that year. It was the only year on the digital display board in which team photos were missing.

“I looked at the Class of 1974 Halo yearbook for St. Charles and found a small paragraph from Halo staff stating they decided to not use team photos that year, that a more complete view of the activities and life at the high school could be better illustrated through candid photos,” Payleitner noted.

Such an odd setback left Payleitner wondering how such a thing could happen, but it also led her to something she hadn’t entirely focused on: 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of girls sports unfolding through the IHSA. Title IX would take hold in the coming years, giving the girls equal footing on schedules, practice facilities and equipment.

She told the story of her failed attempt to satisfy her grandson’s curiosity to her daughter, Rae Anne Payleitner, a 2011 St. Charles East graduate and standout athlete. Rae Anne was all in on the idea for girls’ sports recognition and helped her mother seek information about teams from 1974 through old newspaper clips, museum and library archives.

It hasn’t been easy, but it led to plans for the Legacy Night celebration at the girls’ basketball game on Jan. 31, 2025, when St. Charles North plays at St. Charles East. For that night, Rita and Rae Anne are hoping to draw as many female athletes who wore St. Charles, St. Charles East or St. Charles North uniforms on teams over the past five decades as possible.

That is proving to be the most difficult task, especially from that first year—because a yearbook editor’s, let’s face it, the odd decision not to use team photos has made it hard to recall who was on various teams.

Social media channels and word-of-mouth help the search, but finding the ladies who should be part of this celebration might be like asking those original girls in 1974 if they wanted to be the first to play on teams.

Rita remembers it like it was yesterday. “We were all in gym class, and the instructor picked about 20 girls to stay after class,” she said. “She said we are starting official teams to play other schools and she needed players on these teams. Each gym class got a sell job on this, and we put our hands in the air if we wanted to do it.”

When speaking about Legacy Night to some of their former teammates who are still in the area, Rita and Rae Anne said the first reaction was, “Why? We stunk.”

“The point is that it was those groups from 40 or more years ago who chose to put their hand up in the air when the IHSA came calling,” Rae Anne said. It is that raising of the hand that we are celebrating — not only for those original women but all of them in 50 years since who put up their hands and said they wanted to represent St. Charles.”

The Legacy Night would make note of state championships and individual accomplishments, but Rita points out that the early years of girls’ sports were about “participation over achievement.”

However, it is no small achievement that so many girls were ready to do what the boys had done for decades.

“That is why we are calling it Legacy Night,” Rae Anne said. “It’s about how it started. The girls who put their hands up started something. What if no one had put their hand up? That could have put us behind by a decade or more.”

The St. Charles East Athletic Boosters, East principal James Richter, athletic director Darren Howard and girls’ basketball coaches Katie Claussner and Sam Munroe strongly support the celebration at East.

Rita said Booster Clint Hull has been especially helpful because he organized a similar celebration for past soccer players.

Anyone interested in helping a committee plan the event or finding former athletes can contact Rae Anne at raepayleitner@gmail.com or by visiting the St. Charles East Athletic Boosters website.

The late January date helps the ladies tie in the event with National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which is acknowledged annually in the first week of February.

Still staying home

I wrote an editorial in the Kane County Chronicle on Jan. 20, 2000, titled “A young man who stayed home.”

It was about Clint Hull, who was starting his legal career at a local firm and was an important member of the St. Charles Park District Board at that time.

The opinion piece primarily focused on his goal of staying in his hometown, something not all young people desired or could afford. It mentioned our first encounter with a young Clint Hull and his friends in the neighborhood Wiffle Ball Classic, which carried its own legacy after first unfolding in the late 1970s as a fun time for all when the newspaper team faced teams of local youngsters. Hull was on that first neighborhood team.

It is interesting to reflect on that editorial from 24 years ago, now that Hull plans to retire as chief judge of Kane County’s 16th Judicial Circuit on Friday, Aug. 16, after 30-plus years in the courts as a prosecutor and then judge.

He told me he is anxious to start his next adventure after he retires. Of course, it is a local adventure, as it is almost certain he will run for mayor of St. Charles.

Because I live in Geneva, I don’t have a vote in city politics in any other town. But I would say this about Clint Hull: It’s easy to see that his life’s journey, fueled by a keen appreciation of his hometown, would lead him to seek an important public service role for the city. A trait that will help him along the way is that he’s not afraid to admit it when he has a shaky idea in the past. Many elected officials refrain from such self-awareness.

He recently shared one such incident when, as a member of the park board, he pushed for Mount St. Mary Park to become an area for soccer fields when the board discussed various options. He was right to propose it, based on the sport’s growing popularity for kids. But the idea did lack a fuller vision.

Board member Gloria Klimek was quick to shoot down Hull’s idea, partly because much of Hull’s sports life centered on soccer, which may have tainted his view, but mostly because, as she put it, not all open land had to become soccer fields—especially a beautiful patch close to the Fox River.

Ultimately, her view took hold that the park could become a year-round place for public art and activities for young and old alike.

“Fast-forward 20-plus years, and I am just in awe of what Mount St. Mary has become,” Hull said. I love all of the artwork and love to see people strolling around the paths, sitting at the benches, taking it all in.

“Gloria is 88 now, and from time to time, I’ll call her,” Hull added. “We say our hellos, and then I say, ‘Gloria, you were right,’ and she laughs and agrees with me.”

Time to cut your own

Employees at Countryside Flower Shop, Nursery and Garden Center in Elburn have been busy preparing flowers for their customers to cut and take home.

Countryside was targeting next week to launch its annual “cut your own flowers” sale in which customers can cut their own flowers in what amounts to a small handful for $15.

It’s another reason to stop by Countryside, the former Shady Hill location at 42W075 on Route 38 in Elburn.

Owners John and Melissa Pieterse opened Countryside two years ago, essentially expanding upon their successful Countryside operation in Crystal Lake.

Continuing mission to feed

As part of its ministry for feeding Fox Valley people in need, the St. Charles Episcopal Church will host a fundraiser at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15, at the Wine Exchange in St. Charles.

The wine tasting, appetizers, desserts, raffle and silent auction will help the church continue to support its free spaghetti dinners, the Sandwich Board for Trinity Church in Aurora, Hesed House and Lazarus House. The church estimates it provides more than 700 meals each month.

Tickets for the fundraiser are available on The Wine Exchange or St. Charles Episcopal Church websites.

dheun@sbcglobal.net