No matter where we choose to live – big city, suburb or small town – we soon become part of the public fabric with itsunbreakable threads that bind us to each other and to our community.
Sometimes we do not know much about others. That man across the street may be a mechanic, who helps feed the hungry. That woman ahead of you in a checkout line may be a teacher, who organizes clothing drives for children in need. They are the unsung ones who do the things we only think about doing.
For the last two decades, the Park Forest Historical Society has sung the praises of these citizen heroes through its annual Hall of Fame awards ceremony. The society has inducted 156 individuals and five local organizations into its select circle. The number includes seven who will be honored at 3 p.m. Sunday in Freedom Hall. They are leaders in the arts, teaching, conservation, government and volunteer service and include:
Joan Bogar Crabb, who combines a passion for nature with skills as a writer to promote conservation issues as newsletter editor of the Thorn Creek Audubon Society. She helped form the Park Forest Art Center, which continues today as the Tall Grass Arts Association.
Maureen Cribbs merges her devotion to the arts with her profession as a teacher. She taught at all levels, from kindergarten to university, and created a lasting bond with the Tall Grass Arts Association as an exhibitor and board member.
The late Jon Mendelson was a local teacher, field ecologist, land preservationist, a dedicated champion of open space and a writer who touched the lives of many through his classes, nature center programs, essays, and scientific papers.
Judy Dolan Mendelson oversees the daily operations of the Thorn Creek Nature Center, serving as a liaison between its management commission and the staff, while coordinating volunteers and training naturalists.
For more than three decades, Bruce Neel served the people of Park Forest in Park Forest Boys Baseball. He also worked on behalf of the homeless by collecting food, clothing and money for Respond Now and began a program that provides religious services to the residents of the Ludeman Developmental Center.
History professor Magne Olson joined the Park Forest Historical Society in 1985. As its president from 1987 to 2001, he helped develop its yearly programs and its Hall of Fame ceremony. He was a member of the Park Forest Library Board for eight years.
Former Village Manager John Perry led a successful effort to save both the Park Forest Aqua Center and the Racquet Club from closing. He performed a similar feat to keep the Marshall Fields store open in the village for another decade, and shaped an affirmative action strategy for fair housing in the south suburbs.
Formed in 1969 as Thorn Creek Preservation Association, the Friends of Thorn Creek Woods is a citizens’ activist group responsible for preserving the 985 acres of woodland landscape.
Take a bow
Park Forest trustees recently decided to honor retired Recreation and Parks Director John Joyce by naming the Central Park Wetlands observation deck in his honor. It is the least they could do for a man who spent more than four decades in a job he loved. He helped establish the 22-mile Old Plank Trail Path, managed the construction of Freedom Hall, and the plan for the entire Central Park Wetlands project. And yes, he is a member of the Park Forest Hall of Fame.
Jerry Shnay is a freelance columnist and can be emailed at [email protected].