"Our Forest Preserves are a gift that we pass from one generation to the next. Let's enjoy what others have given to us and be careful to pass along something better than we received."
So maybe there is some truth behind GOP concerns that they would not get a fair shake from CNN. Josh Marshall, noted liberal blogger, asked about the GOP "if they can't face Youtube how can they defeat the terrorists?" The GOP showed up. What of the Democrats refusal to participate in a debate on Fox News?
If you did not make it to the Concert For The Cranes yesterday, you missed a wonderful event. The Grasslands Quintette, the Old Time Country and Blues Revue, Cooper and Nelson, and Patti Ecker were the main acts. They played two sets each. Between each act were the 'tweeners (called that for obvious reasons) that played a song, including Commissioner Roger Kotecki and Yours Truly. We played a version of Bye, Bye Love as our first contribution. Later we did 'I Am A Pilgrim', with Roger on harmonica. (Samples of these songs below.)
The Grasslands Quartet (but only 3 were there) played bluegrass, folk, acoustic rock, etc. The Old Time Country and Blues Revue consisted of Forest Preserve District employee Pete Norman and his friend Dave 'DK' Kolars (sp?) with many songs you might have heard in 1920's, 30's, 40's, and even a few more current numbers. Cooper and Nelson played primarily Celtic Folk songs. Patti Ecker did mostly folk songs that she had written. It would have been well worth the suggested donation of $10.00 to see just one of the artists, but to get all four in a 3+ hour concert with no intermission was a real treat.
The fundraiser raised over $4,000 to give us a good start for paying for the enclosure for the Sandhill Cranes. This included the auction of a quilt of two flying cranes. The bidding for the quilt was won by Carolyn Finzer, who coincidentally was my art teacher in Jr. High School.
It amazes me that when someone is trying to justify the allowance of any disparate notion, they will say "You can't legislate morality!" Well, if we can't legislate morality, that is, doing what is right, it should worry us all with what is left.
The Greene Farmstead Group met again last night. We briefly reviewed our tour of the house and barn. Some people were disappointed in that there were some holes in the roof and siding. On par with most old barns that I have been in. In any case, I have staff on line to make temporary patches on the holes where needed. It does not make sense to re-roof the barn and then a year later, tear off the roof so we can insulate the building. The District is in the process of roofing the house right away.
We then went through an exercise to hone down the uses of the barn. This was moderated by the District's Executive Director, Brent Manning. We started out with everyone giving their number one use of the barn. Then we went around the room again to make sure all the important ideas were out. As we honed down the list by combining like ideas, we also fleshed them out a bit. Now the moment of truth had arrived. We each received 3 stickers to vote for whichever ideas we liked. We are still evaluating the results, but it looks like the idea of leaving open the upstairs to experience the expanse of the barn for a multi-use facility is a winner. This was our first bite at the apple, but I think that it was a good and important step in our developing programming for the barn.
You are invited to a Pizza Party and Raffle in honour of Forest Preserve Commissioner Carl Schultz. New this year is that admission includes 5 Raffle tickets. Prizes include:$500.00 cash, $100.00 gift certificate, Tree & Shrub Fertilization, Jewelry, Restaurant gift certificates, Landscape Consultations, Gift Basket, and more. If you have any questions, call Carl at 630-851-1898.
Location: Braconi's 796 Royal St. George Drive (at Ogden Avenue) Naperville, IL 60563 Date: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 Time: 5:30 - 7:00 pm
Paid for by Citizens for Carl Schultz. A copy of our report filed with the county clerk is (or will be) available for purchase from the County Clerk's Office, Wheaton, Illinois.
