Sculpture exhibit now year-round at Mount St. Mary Park in St. Charles
The format for the display of sculptures at Mount St. Mary Park in St. Charles has changed only in that it is now a year-round exhibit, rather than just during the warm weather months.
For the past several years, I have taken photos of my favorite piece or pieces at the Sculpture in the Park exhibit, mostly to encourage people to take a walk around Mount St. Mary if they hadn’t already.
The change in format doesn’t change my approach, though I don’t necessarily have to pick a sculpture that is new only to this year. The park district acquires some of the sculptures to make them permanent fixtures, and others can stay for a few years. But new ones, always available for purchase, turn up each year.
During a recent walk, I spotted a few that stuck out this year.
Anyone who knows me would not be surprised that I found a new Seward Johnson sculpture titled “Time for Fun” to be my favorite. It is another lifelike sculpture in the Johnson mold, featuring a couple dancing in what appears to be a Spanish dance. This sculpture, or variations of it, have been mounted in Key West, Florida, as well as Paris, France.
Johnson passed away in Florida five years ago. His sculptures have graced this St. Charles Park District gallery for years, almost always astonishing visitors with their realistic appearance and everyday takes on life.
The Seward Johnson Atelier continues to make his art available for charitable and educational purposes, as well as for viewing in public displays, like Sculpture in the Park in St. Charles.
Another sculpture that caught my eye might pass, at first glance, for a huge wasp’s nest. Upon closer review, it’s a fabricated, recycled steel piece from Howard Russo of St. Charles called “3 Toed Potato Flower.”
Russo is known for his steel-sphere sculptures, having had some in the park in past years. His sculptures sometimes have a feature others may not, with solar lighting that illuminates the base of his creations at night.
Finally, one that might qualify as the most interesting this year is at the south end of the park. The best way to describe it, with an untrained eye, is that it illustrates the changing of all humans over time. Thus, its name of “Time Passes.”
It shows a man with half of his body breaking up and moving toward his left side. It’s quite unique, as most sculptures are. David Zahn of Moline created this bronze figure.
On his website, dzahnsculpture.com, Zahn explains his art much better than I could. Acknowledging that a level of mystery is important in his art, he noted: “The human form has always been a major element in my work. Integrating images of people and blending them with abstract forms has been a long-lasting direction in my art.”
And it makes you stop for a look-see when you walk by.
Rec Haus and rock roots
I wonder if Erik Gilly, who is opening Rec Haus arcade/bar in downtown St. Charles, knows the building his business will occupy was the site of one of the most famous concert appearances ever in the city.
With a targeted opening of October, the Rec Haus will offer craft beer, arcade games and other entertainment at 12 N. Third St., which most recently housed the Alibi nightclub.
But on Aug. 10, 1968, that building was the home of The Jaguar, which scored a historic booking when a hot new band from London called The Who made an appearance for local rock fans.
You can search The Who and that date online to see photos of Roger Daltrey, Peter Townshend, Keith Moon and John Entwistle playing at this St. Charles rock music hall. All so young and talented, yet with no idea of how quickly their meteor would rise — as in playing a memorable set at the Woodstock music festival the following summer and eventually becoming one of the top rock bands in history.
We suspect Gilly, a resident of St. Charles and a veteran of the arcade business, is going to be busy for the next four months getting the inside and outside (some new facade features) of the building ready to unveil Rec Haus.
Give that pup a blanket
When visitors come to the Fox Valley area and decide to stay at the Herrington Inn in Geneva along the Fox River, they may want to consider bringing along their pet.
The Herrington recently touted its new Enhanced Dog Friendly Program, a collaboration with the Pug and Hound pet supplies store in Geneva.
The inn has welcomed pets in the past, providing a waste station at the south end of the building. Now, a blanket and bowl for the pet is available to borrow, or purchase if interested.
There is a fee for a pet to stay in a guest room or a suite, but a treat from Pug & Hound is part of the process.
So, you’ll know right away which part of the stay the pet is going to like best. That, and those sniffs along the river walking trails.
Filling the Graham’s spot
A few weeks ago, we noticed the red marks and flags on the grounds of the former Graham’s 318 Coffee House site on Third Street in Geneva, indicating someone had closed a deal on obtaining that building for future use.
At the time, a building permit application hadn’t been submitted to the city, but the Untiedt family, owners of Graham’s, posted on social media that a deal was completed with new owners to bring The Kate at 318 into the Geneva dining scene.
Owners of the Bread & Vine in Galena are bringing that type of concept to The Kate in the former coffee house location at 318 S. Third St.
Business will continue as normal at the popular Graham’s Fine Chocolates & Ice Cream at 302 S. Third St., but this does end a chapter of operating two businesses in the busy Geneva district for the Untiedt family.
It’s a win-win for everyone, as the 318 setting is such a prime location along Third Street and has the appeal you’d expect from a vintage 1918 building.
Other businesses along Third Street will again benefit from more foot traffic. The Kate is expected to be busier during afternoon and early evening business hours. Graham’s 318 seemed busiest early in the morning when other shops hadn’t opened yet.
This Quartet still rolling
With so many excellent theater productions and venues in the Fox Valley region, you hear a lot of local rave reviews about this great form of American entertainment.
For just more than a year now, the “Million Dollar Quartet” production at the Paramount Theatre’s smaller venue, Stolp Island Theatre, has consistently been a hit with audiences.
So much so that the show, about the night legends Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins jammed together in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, has been extended through the end of the year. It’s the third time the show has been given the green light to keep staging past an initial closing date.
After recently watching an Elvis Presley documentary on Netflix, I think the time is more suitable than ever to stage something that brings back the days when Elvis and these other fellows were young and, likely, at their very best.
Paramount reports it has sold more than 35,670 tickets to “Million Dollar Quartet” at Stolp’s 98-seat theater. It’s quite a draw, too, as the Paramount marketing team points out Stolp Island Theatre in the past year has drawn audiences from 32 states and 574 different ZIP codes.
Did you know?
Kermit Swaby had a fascinating claim to fame in the history of St. Charles. Not everyone can say they were the first person to fly in a plane taking off out of St. Charles. And he was only 14 at the time.
Swaby was 86 when he told us that story in 1990, about nine years before his passing.
Swaby took to the sky when a barnstorming pilot landed in a pasture, about where St. John Neumann Church now sits on the east side of town, during St. Charles Day in 1919.
Popular during World War I, barnstorming pilots were making rounds throughout the country, offering young kids a short flight with them. Swaby and his friend Don McCormack were among those hoping to be picked for the pilot’s offer of a ride for $10.
Swaby and his friend each had $5, so they combined their money. If the pilot chose either one, that lucky kid would have the $10 needed. Swaby was chosen to go on the flight.
Swaby’s brother Ralph got the same opportunity in 1921, taking a flight with a barnstormer in an area that was located behind what is now the Warwick Publishing building on the east side.
Kermit stuck with the family business — Swaby Greenhouse (still in business as Swaby’s Flower Shop after 96 years) — but did take up flying for sport.
Ralph got the flying bug and ended up doing it his entire life, part of it as a captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
• dheun@sbcglobal.net