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player ready...The village of Franklin Park is in the early planning stages as it prepares to celebrate the 125th anniversary of its founding.
“There are a number of different events we can do. I know there were a large number of events at the 100th anniversary. I think the 125th may be slightly lower key,” said Village President Barrett Pedersen.
In the 1840s, German farmers came to settle the area, and about 30 years later, the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad had laid tracks and built a station on Elm Street, according to information from the Chicago Historical Society. By the 1890s, a man named Lesser Franklin, a real-estate broker, started buying farmland at the intersection of all these railroad lines, and once he had about 600 acres he christened the town Franklin Park and began trying to attract buyers to his town with parades along LaSalle Street in Chicago, according to the historical society.
According to the Chicago Historical Society, the village was incorporated in 1892.
“Back in 1992 we had quite the [100th anniversary] celebration. We had had a big event over at East Leyden. We actually did a re-enactment of early years, with people wearing costumes,” said Pedersen.
Village officials in 1992 also buried a time capsule next to the village hall at 9500 Belmont Ave. The stone plaque marking the spot it was buried reads, “Centennial Time Capsule. August 1992. To be opened in the year 2017 by village of Franklin Park Centennial Committee.”
Three names are also inscribed on the plaque: Jack B. Williams, a former village president; Steve S. Kopera, a former trustee; and Clyde H. Dawson, the general chairman of the committee.
“The time capsule in the village is one of the things I’m most looking forward to. I want to see what’s in there, and it’ll be interesting to see what we end putting in there now,” said Pedersen.
Since the anniversary isn’t going to happen until August, the village has yet to host its first planning meeting. However, Pedersen said the village has already started getting together photos from the 1992 event for reference.
“And we’re getting together to talk with some of the people who have been here for generations and figure out what kinds of these activities they’d like to see,” said Pedersen.
Alex V. Hernandez is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.