Geneva's Herrington Inn to celebrate 25 years

The Herrington Inn figures to put its best face on for its 25th anniversary gala on Aug. 23, and those in attendance can certainly be happy with what the Shodeen development has meant to the west bank of the Fox River on the east side of Geneva.

Without it, the city might have been left with only an 1874 structure called The Creamery, which served as a place to keep cream and milk in cold storage to sell or convert into butter or cheese.

It was an important historic site for many Genevans, but not so much for others who understood how Shodeen wanted to change the face of that side of the river.

There was plenty of contentious debate about whether The Creamery should be knocked down or saved in some fashion. In fact, then-Mayor Dick Lewis wanted to see the Herrington Inn become a reality quite badly. At one point, Lewis was saying even though The Creamery had a relevant story behind it, if saving it meant Shodeen would walk, the deteriorating structure would come to represent a failure by the city.

Eventually, Shodeen figured out a way to incorporate the building into his development and everyone was happy.

You could understand the historians' concerns. That site became the Rock Springs Creamery around 1882, under the management of Henry Warford and John B. Moore.

Geneva earned its connection with Hershey Chocolate not long after that when Milton S. Hershey, president of the Lancaster Caramel Company and a unit of Hershey Chocolate, purchased the Creamery.

After a change of hands, the site settled in as a place that produced candy - and a lot of it.

The Geneva History Museum says newspaper accounts around 1915 reported that the place was making 5,000 pounds of candy a day. It was fitting then, that it was called the C.H. Kleinbeck Creamery and Candy Factory.

All of this history and more about the Herrington Inn, and the old city Pump House also on that site, will surely be topics of some discussion among the 200 invited guests at the gala to benefit the Geneva History Museum.

The museum will have artifacts and photos on display at the gala, as well as a watercolor painting it commissioned as an auction item.

"The museum is honored that the Shodeen Family chose us as the recipient of their 25th anniversary gala," history museum Executive Director Terry Emma said. "It is an especially good partnership since we are celebrating our 75th anniversary.

"Together, we represent 100 years of Geneva history," she added.

Shooting your age:

Bill Warner of St. Charles is certainly well-known in the education and local government circles, after a long career at St. Charles High School and as a trustee on the Campton Township Board.

But those who participated in the St. Charles City Golf Tournament at Pottawatomie Park for years also know Warner always played a solid round of golf. He has almost always been in the mix to win a trophy in whatever flight he competes.

Obviously, he can still play. Maybe even more so in his retired years.

Thus, it was not surprising to hear from his friends that Warner shot his age on his birthday during a recent round at Mill Creek Golf Course in Geneva. That would be 83 for those keeping score.

Pockets of building:

The construction gear is out in small neighborhoods of the Tri-Cities and pockets of land where you'd least expect it.

Havlicek Builders have some interesting homes going up along Dunstan Road at Cheever Avenue in Geneva, replacing some older homes and using some open space still available in that region.

A little farther south, you can see construction of Riverbank Crossing taking place at Batavia Avenue and Riverbank Drive.

These townhouses are set right behind Riverbank Labs and near the Houghton Mifflin business. In fact, unless you work there, you probably haven't seen the back of Riverbank Labs too often, if ever.

But you can enter Riverbank Crossing and the rear of the labs from connections to Riverbank Drive off of Marion Avenue or Meadows Road.

I'm not sure what demographic Riverbank Crossing is targeting, but plenty of retirees looking to downsize are always keeping their eyes open for these types of developments.

Recognizing great treat:

You can always count on the National Day Calendar to come up with some interesting celebrations, essentially based on submissions they get from people who would like to see certain products get national recognition.

So, we have a good one today. Friday, Aug. 10 is National S'mores Day. It's not a stretch to think this sweet treat deserves its own day annually. A count of those who have eaten this graham cracker, chocolate and melted marshmallow treat has to be up in the millions, right?

Freeze those meals:

It might just be the secret weapon of meal planning these days.

What busy family or retired folks couldn't benefit from learning how to prepare good, healthy meals that can be frozen to use at a later date?

The community kitchen at Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital is offering a free Freezer Meal Prep Basics class for adults from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14.

Those interested in learning these skills can register at (630) 933-4234.

dheun@sbcglobal.net