Readers share joy in community

Some e-mails about finding joy in our community came in and I thought that I would share a few:

From Linda Akers:

I was taken by your article (Feb. 19) on the joys of living in Batavia. I grew up in St. Charles in the 1960s and lived most of my 20s in the Tri-Cities.

When I got married we lived in Villa Park (for work reasons) for 18 years. My dream came true about four years ago when we moved back here and moved to Batavia. I love living here.

This may sound odd, but one of the first things that struck me when I came back and started going to the Batavia Jewel was the friendliness and charm of the teenagers that work there. My husband and I shopped in Villa Park for 18 years and never had an employee (much less a teenager) acknowledge our presence.

After not having eye contact or conversation with a teenage cashier for all that time, imagine my surprise when the teen cashiers in Batavia would say Hi! and often comment on my purchases, saying, "Oh my mom makes that. I really like it!" or "What are you going to do with all those?" or "Are those good? I haven't tried them," or "Oh I love these!" I know this sounds like a small thing, but I find it so valuable, and charming.

I think the teenagers at the Batavia Jewel are really special. Every one of them has always been friendly and nice. You know, sometimes, you're just not in the mood to go to the store, so you go in just to get what you need and get out. But when you encounter a friendly teen with a smile and a word, it can make a difference in your day.

From Batavia High School:

This February, Key Club has been holding its annual coin drive for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, "Pennies for Patients."

We set our goal at $3,000, and we are almost there. Our students have been donating during their fourth block class, and so far they have raised $2,537.19.

From a proud grandparent:

My granddaughter, Meggan Hagemann, has been very active in Special Olympics and working with special children. This is her sixth year participating in the Polar Plunge in Chicago the first of March.

The first two years she didn't go in the icy water but this will be her fourth time being brave enough to do it. She has raised so much money for the Olympics and as a family they go to the State in Bloomington every year to help with the kids. And she's only in eighth grade!

From appreciative moms and dads:

I thought I would share this great joy with you in the hope that our Batavia High School swimmers could get some much deserved recognition.

To give you a brief overview of what happened, last year we had four swimmers ready to represent BHS at the IHSA Sectional Meet in St. Charles. Due to an unfortunate circumstance our swimmers were not registered.

This year however, we were more organized and had the great fortune of a wonderful teacher volunteer who stepped up to be sure our boys would be represented at the sectional meet. Howard Miller of BHS was the teacher rep who took time out of his personal life to register our three swimmers, went to the seed meeting last Wednesday and was with our swimmers (Feb. 23) at St. Charles North all day watching, representing, coaching, supporting and cheering right along with all of us parents.

Albert Roth, junior at Batavia, is going to state! Albert, sick with the flu, managed to win the 200-yard IM -- his winning time was 1:59.40. Albert also placed second in the 100-yard butterfly. Jake Cronin and Chris Mortenson, both sophomores at BHS, had personal bests in their events. Jake swam 200-yard IM and 100-yard breast, Chris swam in the 50-yard freestyle and back stroke.

Without a pool at the school these young men managed to do something pretty awesome … These are fine young athletes who deserve some recognition and a fine teacher who made sure they got their chance!

And from my own personal file,

It brought tears to my eyes when Coach Tim Debruycker, coach of the BHS girls basketball team, put Joanna Wagner in the game that honored the seniors. Joanna had been sidelined with a knee injury. The coach honored her by putting her under the basket and setting up a play that enabled Joanna to make a basket in her final game. How cool that is.

And finally, one reader wrote that just reading this column brought her joy. That certainly made my day. You've got to love this town and the people who make it the special place that it is.