BG Days grand marshal has toiled for years behind the scenes

If you enjoy the annual Buffalo Grove Days Parade, you can thank Joe Tenerelli.

This is the 26th year he has been in charge of organizing the Buffalo Grove Days Parade, carefully tending virtually every detail, from finding the talent to making sure the paraders are properly spaced.

This year, his last at the helm, he is stepping out from behind the scenes, leading the parade as grand marshal.

He will be riding in a horse and carriage with his two great-grandchildren.

Viewers of Buffalo Grove's Channel 6 are probably familiar with Tenerelli, the village treasurer. Shortly after the beginning of the meeting, he reads the "warrant," detailing the village's revenue and expenses.

As Paulette Greenberg, co-chair of the Buffalo Grove Days committee, said, Tenerelli, 88, can act gruff, especially when someone suggests how to line up the floats. "He'll let you know it's his job."

But Greenberg said underneath he is a softy.

"He wants us to think he is tough, but he's not," she said.

This gruff exterior was no doubt cultivated during his childhood on Chicago's tough Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side.

"It's a good place to be from," he said. "I have never been back."

Tenerelli attended St. Agatha's grammar school in Chicago, where his basketball coach was the legendary Ray Meyer. "I used to admire him because he would shoot from half the floor and put them in. He was a tough guy."

He also attended Manley High School.

Following school, he pursued a career as a research and development engineer for a business machine firm. He started out making models for prototypes and eventually worked on the design engineering team for such projects as a mail sorting system that is still in use today by post offices.

His penchant for model building is amply displayed in his collection of vintage model cars. And his woodworking expertise is shown in birdhouses created out of scrap wood.

Tenerelli has been married and widowed twice. His second marriage led to his involvement with the village of Buffalo Grove.

He met his second wife, then-Deputy Village Clerk Carol Hennenfent, at a post-Buffalo Grove Days party in 1983.

"I was not about to become a commuter, so I just retired early," he said.

His new wife asked him if he wanted to get involved with the village, suggesting the Buffalo Grove Days Committee. He joined and was immediately plugged into parade duty.

"I went in there cold. I never ran a parade in my life and I was kind of overwhelmed. But it got done."

When he first joined the committee of 15 people, there were only around 44 units in the parade. Since then, the number of units has climbed to as many as 110, while there are more than 50 people on the parade committee today.

Of course, some things have remained constant. The parade route still passes through the Cook County side of Buffalo Grove.

About 10 years ago, some suggested moving the parade to the Lake County side. "I said, 'There is not a street wide enough to accept the bands.' And then I started getting mail from Lake County. 'We don't want the parade on our property.' And the people from Cook County were saying, 'It's an institution. We want to keep it here.'"

While Tenerelli's association with Buffalo Grove has proved long lasting, his marriage would be short-lived. Carol Hennenfent Tenerelli died of cancer 21 years ago at age 52.

Greenberg said Tenerelli has done a good job making sure it is not the same parade every year. She said he will make sure that different Shriners groups are rotated each year. One year the group might be riding flying carpets, while another year they might be dressed as clowns. For last year's 50th anniversary, she said, he brought in the lawn mower precision team.

Tenerelli said he's also added a lot more music. An aficionado of the music of the Swing Era, he plays piano and organ. "To me, without a lot of music, a parade is a big nothing," he said.

Tenerelli, who was on the board and chair of a credit union for 28 years, is extremely organized, keeping careful track of his lineups in a notebook.

He does have his pet peeves - literally. "I don't like pets in the parade, because it could be dangerous," he said.

He also for years has been fighting "a losing battle" against candy tossing, out of fear of children running in front of vehicles.

For anyone who might be interested in taking over for Tenerelli, he offered the following advice. "Not everybody comes to you. I spend a lot of hours soliciting funds to run this parade.

"I can do this because I'm retired. Whoever takes my place, if they're not retired, they're going to have their hands full."

Even though the torch is being passed, Greenberg knows Tenerelli will still be involved behind the scenes.

"We're sorry to see him go," Greenberg said. "But the basics that Joe put in aren't going to change."