There are those whose service to the community where they live merit commendations and awards. What they do provide the financial, political and social bricks that mold a stable society.
There are, as well, individuals who freely donate both time and effort in uncounted ways. Their efforts are the mortar that hold society’s bricks in place. Too often these citizens cast no indelible mark except that their work enhances the life of others.
Each year the Park Forest Historical Society honors citizens of the community for their deeds, and this year, seven inductees will be installed in an online ceremony on You Tube this Sunday, April 3. The seven selections bring to 200 those honored.
The event is led by Jane Nicoll, the historical society’s president, archivist and life force.
The honorees are Ed Czupryn, the owner of the 72-year-old Park Forest Currency Exchange, the oldest business in the village; Homer and Charlotte Wolf as well as Bob and Peggy Annett, couples who came to the village in its first decade and helped guide the new community; and Allen and Cheryl Warshaw, whose work behind the scenes for the Park Forest Lions Club made it an easy nomination by the society and recognizes the work of all the Lions Club members.
At age 7, Ed Czupryn began his business career by manning the cash register Saturdays in one of the village’s first businesses, the barber shop owned by his grandfather, Peter Fedele. It was Fedele who purchased a small 200-square-foot currency exchange for $3,000 for son-in-law Ed Czupryn. Business improved and soon it was moved to a 400-square-foot location, then in 1984 to the Orchard West Plaza, where it remains to this day, with Ed Jr. in charge.
The Czupryn family is actively involved with the Back2School Illinois program, making school kits which are distributed to schools and military families throughout the state.
Homer and Charlotte Wolf, along with their two young daughters, arrived in the still unformed community in November 1948, around the time village developer Philip Klutznick urged the pioneer residents to begin governing themselves. So it was that with Homer’s eye for detail and design and Charlotte’s teaching degree they put their personal stamp on Park Forest’s early history.
With a degree in commercial arts and graphic design from Chicago’s Art Institute, Homer drew the first official map of the village. His keen eye for detail is evident when one compares the accuracy of his map with current representations. Over the years he designed, by hand, logos for Maytag, Sealy mattresses and Culligan water. Charlotte helped organize educational facilities in both Park Forest and later in Homewood and was an active member in the League of Women Voters chapter.
Native New York City residents Bob and Margaret “Peggy” Annett both served in World War II, Bob in the U.S. Navy, and Peggy in the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps. Married in 1951, they moved to Park Forest in 1955 after reading William H. Whyte’s description of the village in his influential book “The Organization Man.”
Soon the Annett family became immersed in the growing community and were of vital importance in the building and growth of Church of the Holy Family. With his degree in accounting, Bob was often transferred to and from Chicago and New York, yet the Annetts and their four children always considered Park Forest their home away from home.
For more than a generation, Allen and Cheryl Warshaw were always there when the Park Forest Lions Club held an event. Allen, a club member in 1971, was deeply involved in the club’s annual July Fourth carnival, first as a worker and later as its chairperson. He was responsible for hiring amusement companies and overseeing electrical setups, the food tent, hiring bands and setting off fireworks.
He was also instrumental acquiring Leader Dogs for the Blind, learning devices students with low vision, candy sales and aiding those seeking college scholarships. At Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, Allen and others purchased groceries for those in need. For all those events in all those years, Cheryl was at his side, struggling to keep the club alive and preserving the club’s historical record.
Jerry Shnay is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.
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