In September, more than a dozen residents of Park Ridge’s sister city — Kinver, in England — will be coming for a visit to the city.
“So about every two or three years, either we go there, or they come here. And every time we go, we bring some new people with us and some people who go back and forth all the time,” Park Ridge City Clerk Betty Henneman said. Henneman is the chair of the Park Ridge Sister Cities Commission.
Some of the highlights include a tour of the Pickwick Theatre and a visit to Ianelli studios, as well as a three-hour trolley ride through Park Ridge to see sites such as Hillary Clinton’s and Harrison Ford’s family home, the Park Ridge Park District, local schools and other landmarks and municipal buildings.
The group also plans to go to Ravinia for a viewing of the “Wizard of Oz,” accompanied by a live orchestra, and a White Sox game. They also will try out new beers at the Harp and Fiddle, visit Navy Pier and more.
Alicia Pawlowski is a retired secondary education business manager in Kinver. In an email message, she wrote that she is looking forward to the visit.
“I am also interested in local history, so hopefully I will find out how Park Ridge became Park Ridge and its relationship with Chicago … and [also] staying with a Park Ridge family, and finding out how American people live,” she wrote.
Pawlowski shared some history about Kinver, noting that “we are very close to the Black Country — black because of the color of the buildings in the area during the Industrial Revolution, so there was heavy industry in the area. Cradley Heath, which is close by, is famous for making chains and particularly the chain and anchor for the Titanic.”
The last trip between the cities was in 2014, when more than a dozen Park Ridge residents visited Kinver. This will be Pawlowski’s first trip to Park Ridge.
“People from Park Ridge should know that Kinver is in an area of outstanding natural beauty,” she wrote. “As well as Kinver Edge, we have a canal running alongside the village which joins up to the River Severn, which would have been a route for transporting goods to the docks in Gloucester.”
Kinver’s population is more than 7,000. The village is near Birmingham, England.
Dominic Toni, a former Park Ridge resident, is now a Kinver resident. He was born in Highland Park and raised in Park Ridge starting in 1956. He graduated from Maine South High School.
Kinver and Park Ridge became sister cities in 1998, according to Sister Cities International. Part of the group’s mission states, “Sister Cities International enables citizen diplomats in communities across the world to develop relationships with communities in other countries that are based on cultural understanding and mutual cooperation.” The organization targets four main areas of exchange — arts and culture, youth and education, community and technical development and, business and trade.
There are no funds to support travelers on either end. Participants pay for the trips themselves.
“We have all had wonderful experiences in the past, and that is why virtually everyone is making a second and third visit,” Toni wrote in an email. “A visitor sees Chicago in a way that they cannot purchase by traveling on their own.”
Local residents who would like to join in this September, can contact the Park Ridge City Clerk’s Office, to see where there is space available for reservations. Park Ridge City Hall can be reached at 847-318-5200.
Henneman said the concept has been a positive for Park Ridge.
“It depends on how open you are to do other things. … It’s a matter of broadening your horizons a little bit,” Henneman said. “It takes a little extra time. … [But] it has worked out nicely.”
Taryn Galbreath is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
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