Elgin News Digest: Elgin library holding programs for Historic Preservation Month; open house planned for May 18 at Elgin Public Works Department; churches in Elgin’s Holy Hill area open for tours next weekend

Mike Danahey, Courier-News (Elgin, Ill.)
·4 min read

Elgin library holding programs for Historic Preservation Month

The Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin is holding several programs in May in recognition of Historic Preservation Month. They include:

Gail Borden Public Library and Elgin History Trivia Night: Local historian Jerry Turnquist will host the trivia game from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 23, in the Meadows Community Rooms at the main library, 270 N. Grove Ave., Elgin.

Lecture on Laura Davidson Sears Art Gallery at Elgin Academy: Ann Chipman will discuss the history and significance of Elgin Academy’s 100-year-old Laura Davidson Sears Art Gallery from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 28, in the Elgin Room at the main library.

Presentation on O’Connor Funeral Home: Elgin native Kevin O’Connor will discuss his book, “Two Floors Above Grief,” from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30, in the Elgin Room at the main library. His family owned the O’Connor Funeral Home in Elgin from 1930 to 1984.

For more information or to register for the programs, go to gailborden.info/register or call 847-429-4597.

Open house planned for May 18 at Elgin Public Works Department

An open house at the Elgin Public Works Department will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at the Public Services Building, 1900 Holmes Road.

The free public event offers an opportunity to “learn more about the public works systems and services that are vital to the community’s health, safety and well-being,” a city news release said.

Self-guided tour of the facility and a close-up look at specialized equipment, including vehicles, sewer cameras, engineering displays and water distribution equipment will be available. Children will be given ridees in the snow plow trucks, street sweepers and a small train and there will be free food and giveaways, the release said.

The event is planned as part of National Public Works Week, which is from May 19 to 25. For more information, call 311 (or 847-931-6001 if outside of Elgin) or go to elginil.gov.

Churches in Elgin’s Holy Hill area open for tours next weekend

The Elgin Heritage Commission will mark Historic Preservation Month with a free tour of churches in the Holy Hill area from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18.

Among the churches that will be open for tours are First Congregational Church of Elgin, 256 E. Chicago St.; First United Methodist Church, 216 E. Chicago St.; Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 357 Division St.; St. John’s Lutheran Church, 115 N. Spring St.; Primera Iglesia Bautista, 12 S. Chapel St.; Vineyard Church of Elgin, 220 Division St.; and St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 400 Fulton St.

For more information, go to historicelgin.com/coming-events/2024/5/18/open-doors-on-holy-hill.

Choral concert to be held at East Dundee’s Immanuel Lutheran Church

The Voices Unlimited Chorus, led by founder and director David Barth, will present a spring concert from 3 to 4 p.m Sunday, May 19, in the sanctuary at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 310 E. Main St., East Dundee.

Among the musical selections will be “How Great Thou Art,” “Over the Rainbow,” “What a Wonderful World” and a full medley of songs from “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” according to a news release.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. To purchase tickets, email davidabarth@comcast.net or call 630-­707-1221. Tickets also will be available at the door.

History’s the focus of Discover Batavia walk being held May 19

Batavia history will take center stage during the Discover Historic Batavia Walk set for 2 p.m. Sunday, May 19.

Open to the public and being led by Batavia Mayor Jeffery Schielke, the free walk will begin at the Batavia Public Library, 10 S. Batavia Ave. It will proceed through the downtown Batavia historic district and end at the Batavia Jeffery D. Schielke Government Center, 100 N. Island Ave., where refreshments will be served.

The Batavia Historical Society, in collaboration with the Batavia Park District’s Depot Museum, Batavia Public Library and the city of Batavia, erected the 10 Discover Historic Batavia plaques in the district. Each highlights significant events in the village’s 189-year Batavia.

For more information, go to bataviahistoricalsociety.org/discoverhistoricbatavia, email lbotterm@bataviail.gov or call 630-454-2051.