Cold weather is no friend to golfers

Pottawatomie Golf Course in St. Charles recently won an Illinois Parks and Recreation award for its recent river shoreline renovations and irrigation and bunker upgrades. That makes residents proud of their beautiful little 9-hole course along the Fox River, though they tend to be more interested in one thing -- when will the weather finally be consistently warm enough and the grounds dry enough to play?

In his 29 years as the Pottawatomie pro, Jim Wheeler hasn't seen too many winters extend into spring break week like this year.

"There have been very few years that we haven't been able to do something by spring break," Wheeler said.

"Lately, though, April always seems colder and wetter than normal."

Wheeler considers that maybe he is dealing with a "new normal," but he's quick to point out that things can even out when the golf season somehow extends into unusually warm Decembers. This past year was not one of those, however, when cold weather shut things down in late October.

"It is getting harder and harder on both ends," Wheeler said. "Unless, of course, you are a year-round golf course that plays through it and around it, and can generate enough revenue to pay for the damage it does to the course."

A day with Abe: Visitors in Springfield might gaze upon the State Capitol building with a bit of frustration and disgust these days, considering the financial mess the state finds itself in and the general inability or lack of desire by elected state officials to do much about it.

But the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is a site to behold and one worth the time for a day ride and visit. This was a perfect choice for my family during this past spring break, mainly because it didn't break the bank.

Anyone who has not seen the museum in the past four years should try it again. The new exhibits and upgrades provide an entertaining journey through Abe Lincoln's life and the nation's most troubling times.

If you think today's politics are rugged, go through the hallway of the museum displaying editorial cartoons and newspapers lampooning Lincoln. In the background, voices of discontent and anger about this first Republican president fill the room.

There's a lot more, as this museum has become a mini Disney World with its multi-media theater presentations and interactive displays.

The best part, however, is watching parents talking to their young children about Abraham Lincoln as they go through the museum.

The most sobering exhibit? The display that tallies the number of men killed in the Civil War through a time sequence displaying the major battles. I won't give away the numbers, but they are absolutely mind-boggling.

Looking for salt?: I would hope that city road crews won't need it until next December or later, but if they had been looking for some extra salt prior to the rains last week that washed everything away, we had tons of it on our neighborhood streets.

In what must have been some kind of mistake, we had enough salt dumped on our cul-de-sac last weekend to start a mine. So some crews in Geneva, at least, weren't using the stuff sparingly that particular day.

A big project: I often mention building projects in this column, even though they might have been mentioned in the news many times. It's a bit difficult to see the shell of a building going up as you are traveling through the area, and then trying to remember exactly what it is.

One such monstrous project might catch the eyes of Tri-Cities residents who have to travel Randall Road north to I-90 on occasion.

The huge building going up just north of Big Timber Road is the new Sherman Hospital project in Elgin.

Just walk to work: It was fun to meet the families last week that were willing to open their homes up to Kane County Cougars ballplayers who need an inexpensive place to live during the season.

Some have done it since the Cougars first burst on the scene here in the early 1990s. I did get a kick out of Sally Nelson of Geneva, who figured she had a good selling point. She had a big smile on her face when saying her home on the east side of Geneva was so close to Elfstrom Stadium that the Cougars players who stayed there could "walk or ride a bicycle" to the ballpark.

dheun@sbcglobal.net