Downtown Auroran fall/winter 2011

Downtown Auroran LOCAL CULTURE

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history

words comic recipe calendar

miss lee’s lounge

aurora cycle and hobby

art

tim burns fall/winter 2011

Downtown Auroran www.downtownauroran.com Marissa Amoni Publisher and Editor

W

Rob Oresteen

ith Aurora’s upcoming demisemiseptcentennial, or 175th anniversary, I’ve been thinking about how Downtown Auroran Magazine could highlight some of downtown Aurora’s great history.

Dave Sobotka at Kelmscott Communications Graphic Design Max Balding Proofreading

Artist Profile Jennifer Trudo

Interesting people and beloved businesses have come and gone throughout the years in downtown Aurora with manyDTA onlyprofile: surviving through Maureen Gasekphotographs, stories and, most recently, as Facebook posts.

Maureenbasket Gasek uses color- like it’s her When Vicki Moore, former owner of Just Because shop previously on Downer, She knows what makes rednext to a bicycle posted a black and white photo on Facebookbest of friend. a bearded man standing work, blue shine and with orange long light up. in downtown Aurora, I was intrigued. The older gentleman white hair stands And Gasek, 46, can become so intimate on the sidewalk in an overcoat and fedora, next to his Schwinn bicycle with metal baskets with color that a canvas might blush. on the front and back.

“Color is my thing,” she says. “You have to know color theory to

The photograph solicited know comments how colorfrom works.”old timers who remember the man named Chester Loomis. People reminisced about seeing Loomis downtown with books in hand So was orangeaisdowntown never just straight orange – it’s mixture of yellow or riding his bicycle. Loomis staple that isano longer.

He died in 1980. and red. “You get vibrancy when you mix colors,” said Gasek in

half-round house onon Aurora’s northeast side.

The photo of Loomis madeher meunique pause and reflect the life and energy that went into the downtown Aurora of yesteryear.

“I really want to get people to look at my art. Everybody looks

and nobody sees 15, anymore.

I want people Aurora to really look at things.

In this issue’s Historical Notes on pg.

I write about Cycle and Hobby Shop, It is such a hectic world. We are inundated with so much stuff. a popular bicycle and hobby store that operated on Broadway Avenue during the ‘60s People can relate to color, shape, movement – that is my goal – and ‘70s. to have them use their imagination,” she said.

Katie Coan Contributors

Advertising and Submissions: E-mail downtownauroran@gmail.com Winter/Spring issue deadline is January 6, 2012.

On the Cover: Photo collage. Miss Lee’s Lounge Sea Illuminations Photos

by Jennifer Trudo.

Downtown Auroran (DTA) is a local independent operation.

We are focused on the downtown and its success – especially the burgeoning arts and culture movement. Opinions are encouraged and expressed, but they are not necessarily those of DTA.

Our cover story is dedicated to Miss Lee’s Lounge, a downtown business that has spanned Gasek says she has always had her “hand in art.” She sold her 25 years in the same location 215– E. Galena Blvd. firstatpiece a collage of her hands – for a quarter when she was

Downtown Auroran is published three times a year, and 2,000 copies are distributed free ofCavernous charge throughout in first grade. When she was only 13 years old, Gasek taught Planetary Sunset Reef Fire Exploration In the Locust Report on pg.plaster 5, we note the closing of 7 West Studio at 7 W. Downer. The downtown and select locations in the classes to adults at the plaster studio that her brother and small art gallery and gift shop open for less than year, it willthem still be a side note unclewas owned in Wisconsin, where sheagrew up.but She taught Aurora area. One copy of DTA per in the history books of downtown Aurora. how to paint; stain and varnish the miniature plaster statues that person, please. Share it and recycle it. were popular at the time.

Will we be talking about Miss Lee’s Lounge, 7 West Studio and other frequented and worked with clay andAudio metals in past and100 nowplus years? Will beloved places like River’s Gasek Edgehas Café or Backthird inthe another focuses on mostly acrylics. teachesPatterson acrylic painting as well photos of downtown regulars Francis Laity andSheFrank show up on the Internet as a jewelry-making class at Water Street Studios in Batavia. in future decades?

She’s involved in the local art scene, is a member of the Aurora In order to understand downtown and to move forward, we should always be looking Art League and serves on the Cultural Creatives committee in back and revisiting historydowntown and the Aurora. people places once made Aurora Sheand assisted in thethat selection of artists fordowntown the tick. Those faces and placesAurora that were once so familiar should never completely fade away.

ArtWalk this fall.

With the assistance of former Beacon-News reporter Lyle Rolfe, John Gasek paints her stunning, expressive pieces in a converted back room of Society, the home Vicki she shares with and her handy husband – Jaros with the Aurora Historical Moore others, I hope carpenter and Robertson.

She dove into painting to celebrate 175 years by bringing yousculptor, more Scott stories of downtown Aurora’s full time about three years ago and still runs her graphic design thriving past in the next year. business, Epsilon Design and Consulting. She says that both to professions givesdowntown both the left andbusinesses, right side of As for your part, please balancing continue support her brain a workout. museums and attractions. Check out our new Museum Roll Call on pg. 13.

She paints her canvases on a spinning easel, a gift from her husband. And she signs each piece on the back so it can be the wall to suit the viewer.

Seeturned youon downtown!

Join us on Facebook! Winter/Spring issue is availabe in late January.

Please support the businesses that support us. Keep it local!

Copyrighted 2011

OUR SERVICES Design E-Business Data Management Print Targeted Mail Promotional Products

“I have a real organic style,” Gasek says of her paintings. Some people see planetary or landscape themes in her work; others see dragons, fish, monsters and faces. Whether the viewer feels they are in space or under water when staring at Gasek’s imaginative paintings, they are transported to a different reality.

Fall 2009

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Downtown Auroran

Downtown Auroran

Fall 2011

Photo by Jennifer Trudo

index

c over st ory

Miss Lee’s Lounge

By Marissa Amoni

page

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features Not Another Vampire Story Part I

By Amy Perry Splinter

By Michelle Slaughter Matt the Fishy

By Rosa Nevarez

A u ro r a n Wo rd s

page

4

DTA profile: Timothy C. Burns

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page

A r t i s t P ro f i l e

Aurora Cycle and Hobby Shop 1962 - 1975

Historical Notes

page

15

Table of Contents 4 auroran words 5 locust report 6 cover story 9 citizen voices 10 downtown voices

Fall 2011

Downtown Auroran

11 artist profile 12 recipe 13 culture shock 15 historical notes

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Auroran Words Not Another Vampire Story Part I

Splinter

“Where and when am I meeting Anna?” Jo asked her boss.

“Nice to see you too,” he replied.

“Jim, I don’t have time for this!” Jim had a habit of looking down on his desk when speaking to Jo. He was always searching for a piece of paper or a pen and slapping his chest pocket.

Not once had anyone ever seen a pen in there.

“I’m running late. I was supposed to be home an hour ago.” Jo was agitated. She needed to sleep.

Jim handed her a note. He had a habit of giving her notes. She had a habit of ignoring them. She rolled her eyes. “Jim! I refuse to open this. Just tell me.”

“Such is life,” Jim retorted. He never once looked up at her.

She folded the piece of paper, stuck it in her pocket and off she went. She pretended not to care but she was anxious. She got in her car and opened the note.

“Meet Anna at the Axe. 10 p.m.”

While cleaning yesterday, I thought of you.

The splinter in my finger Had your name written on it – The splinter of my soul.

It took a long while To dig that splinter Out.

I thought I could do it By myself.

I couldn’t.

I had to use a safety pin.

(How ironic: That which Holds me together.)

But you know what?

Even after I got rid Of that splinter

It still hurt.

It even hurts today.

But I have to remind myself.

What is a splinter?

Nothing, really.

But an unimportant, indescript, tiny piece Of wood.

By Amy Perry

Lots of Stakes The Axe. Dark. Dreary. Deadbeat drunks.

Anna. Blond hair. Blue eyes. Pale skin. Red lips.

Jo often daydreamed about her. She couldn’t have been any older than Jo, but she had an old soul. Jim was fond of Anna too, but he distanced himself. They all had to distance themselves.

It was in the contract.

“Jo!” exclaimed Anna. Anna was glad to see her. They’d been partners for some time.

Anna tossed her drink back, grabbed their gear, and off they went. For the first time, Jo panicked. She felt ill. She was shaking. Anna took one look at her. SLAP. “Get it together!” yelled Anna. The sting from her smack left Jo awake. She could feel her heart beating.

“I’m afraid,” she quivered.

“Don’t be. I’m with ya. We’ve got this one. I will not let anything happen to you.” Anna reassured Jo that everything would be okay. She opened their bag of tricks. Stakes. All stakes. Antique.

Packed tightly in an array of styles: gold, silver, wood, large, dull, sharp. They were kept tidy with easy access.

Anna held her hand up like a school crossing guard guiding the young. Jo would then receive another quick tutorial on how to stab a vampire in ten seconds or less. Cause that’s all they had.

Seconds.

Anna motioned and whispered, “Get it together.” Jo was feeling dizzy. She wanted Anna to hurry.

Anna walked closer to the room. The door was slightly open.

“Still afraid?” she asked.

By Michelle Slaughter

Michelle “Slaughterhouse” Slaughter is married to North Aurora, but Aurora is her mistress. When not being a slave to the grind, she dabbles in word-smithery and recently, in photography. Someday, she hopes to get paid for her hobby and make that elusive move from “writer” to “author.”

Matt the Fishy

By Rosa Nevarez

Amy Perry is a witty mom who lives on an idyllic street in Aurora with her husband, Derrick McCurdy, and their four young children.

Perry maintains the blog Eyes Cream for Vinyl and is an avid daytime Facebooker.

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Fall 2011

The L o c u st R ep o r t Reporting the News and Gossip in Downtown Aurora •G reat films are coming to Copley Theatre this fall. Copley Cinémathèque is a new film venue that will show critically acclaimed, mostly independent movies with the assistance of City Cineastes, a film society headed by Jeanne Norris.

Paramount Theatre under director Tim Rater is opening up Copley Theatre at North Island Center, 8 E. Galena, for the movies. Join City Cineastes on Facebook or e-mail citycineastes@gmail.com for more information. See Culture Shock on pg. 13 for dates and movie titles.

•K eep your eye out for Citizen in the Temple, a film that was shot locally and on location in the tunnel below River’s Edge Café.

The movie is the work of Aurora director Jason Huls. Find both on Facebook.

•A ndrea Dawn, our favorite downtown musician, has been working hard on her new full-length album. Dawn recorded all the basic tracks at Backthird Audio in downtown Aurora and tracked the vocals at Gallery of Carpet Recording Studio in Villa Park. She is now in the overdubbing process: laying down keyboards, guitars, strings, horns and other random instruments at her apartment studio in downtown Aurora.

Dawn hopes to release the record independently early in the New Year. Happily, Dawn has decided to stick around town, for the time being, and says, “My heart belongs to Aurora.”

Find Andrea Dawn on Facebook.

•P arking meters update: The city did not remove the parking meters.

•B roadway is now at Paramount Theatre. It’s really there.

“My Fair Lady” knocked the socks off the town when it ran in September. “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” kicks off on Nov. 2. If you want to see amazing, energetic, topnotch shows with stellar casts, go catch the remaining three Broadway musicals at the Paramount.

•L ocal realist artist Lisa Gloria closed 7 West Studio, her quaint artsy boutique at 7 W. Downer, in July on the heels of her announcement that she would grow the studio into the vacated insurance shop two doors west. Gloria cited financial reasons for the closure, noting on the 7 West Studio website that “the financial support for an arts studio isn’t yet here in downtown Aurora, even though the intellectual support is strong.” Gloria is keeping busy with art (she’s having a solo show in November at Chef Amaury’s) and her recent singer/ songwriter ventures. Look for KharmaDoll on Facebook.

•H ave you seen small, bare clay figures peeking out from hidden corners and alcoves in downtown Aurora? In late July, four local artists strategically placed more than 30 of the unbaked clay sculptures around downtown. The anonymous Clay Figures Project grew out of the artists’ shared frustration that there is no artist enclave in Aurora, like the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha or Water Street Studios in Batavia. They hope to create dialog and raise public awareness of art by creating art and putting it out there for others to see; Fall 2011

they’d like other local artists to follow their lead and break out of traditional arenas of showing art, such as galleries and fairs. The clay pieces will slowly decay from wind, rain and changing temperatures, leaving no trace of their existence.

•P arking meters update revisited: The city intended to remove the downtown meters this summer; it didn’t happen. Instead, the city got tied up in the financial feasibility of removing the meters, which currently cost the city nearly $200,000 annually. That amount is purported to double An unfired clay sculpture if the meters are removed. The sits on a ledge outside of Chef Amaury at 33 Aurora Downtown organization West on New York Street recommended the removal of the in downtown Aurora. meters and is still working with A group of anonymous the city on various meter-free artists placed more than proposals (see Shirley Flaherty’s 30 clay figures around letter on pg. 10). It is rumored that downtown that have their the city will not replace the meters eyes, ears or mouths covon Downer Place after the bridges ered. They don’t see, hear are rebuilt, yet others will stay put or speak. Become aware of them, so you don’t become and could go up to 50 cents an hour. one of them.

Are we all just pawns in the game www.artmindzone.us of downtown parking?

•M ade in Aurora Volume II: City of Lights – the Christmas Album is in production at Backthird Audio in downtown Aurora. Producers Benjie Hughes and Steve Warrenfeltz brought the crew plus some extras (Funktional Family, Peter Hix, Lisa Gloria and Mary Lou Fischer O’Brien) to the studio in September to record their second offering.

After the success of the first Made in Aurora project, we’ll be eagerly awaiting the release of the seasonal album featuring locals Jeremy Keen, Ben Thomas, Empty Can Band, Greg Boerner and others on Nov. 25 (“Black Vinyl Friday”) at Kiss the Sky Records in Geneva. As with the first compilation, the second volume will be released on vinyl with an accompanying compact disc. Visit Made in Aurora on Facebook for holiday concert announcements.

•R ejoice! River’s Edge Café is now open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Thanks Dianne and Dean!

•D owner Place is not only getting new bridges soon, but also a new look. A spiffed up Downer courtesy of a $90,000 grant will include pedestrian-friendly curb bump-outs at Stolp and Downer. The intersection might also get a twoway stop instead of a stoplight at Stolp and do away with one of its dedicated left turn lanes.

Downtown Auroran

5

Miss Lee’s

T

here is an oft-overlooked treasure up the hill on the east side of Broadway Avenue in downtown Aurora; it is full of friendly people and has a back door opening to a lush oasis that is a welcoming beer garden.

Miss Lee’s Lounge at 215 E. Galena Blvd. has been quietly serving blue-collar workers for 25 years. As thousands of cars drive by daily without much notice of the neighborhood bar shaded by a long red awning, years of work have gone into making what Miss Lee’s is today: a clean bar with a good crowd.

The downtown bar is aptly named after its hard working and no nonsense owner, Lee Goblet, who lives upstairs from the bar in the circa 1907 building. In 1986, Goblet took her retirement from Aurora Steel Products, where she worked as a machine operator, and bought the building.

“Everything I made, I put back in here,” said Goblet, who knocked down walls and changed the bar’s layout. She said that the place was a horrible mess when she bought it. “It was just a run down building.”

In the late ‘60s and ‘70s, the building was known as the Labor Temple with a bar downstairs where labor unions would meet.

“It was just a little rinky dink place,” Goblet said. The man who owned it was an ironworker. At the time, Goblet was married to an ironworker and she acted as a union representative for steel workers, so she knew the establishment well.

When she went to former Mayor David Pierce for a liquor license, he kindly frowned upon it since the Labor Temple had such a bad reputation. “It was a rough place,” she recalls.

Story by Marissa Amoni Photography by Jennifer Trudo

Mayor Pierce asked if Goblet would rename the bar. He suggested “Miss Lee’s,” Goblet said.

Miss Lee’s Rules When Lee Goblet moved in to the downtown neighborhood, it was admittedly sketchy and there were problems with both prostitution and drugs. With the help of the police, Goblet says she worked hard to clean up the area.

Goblet would stand outside with a cordless phone and threaten to call the police on any suspicious activity – much supplied by the prostitutes and drug addicts living in the building next door.

She quickly came up with her own set of rules for her business that she still enforces. “If you swing a fist, you are done,” she said. She added that she is also very hard on drugs and will testify against

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Downtown Auroran

Fall 2011

drug felons in a court of law. “I always support the police department,” she said.

“The neighborhood is getting better,” she noted. The presence of bicycle officers helps, said Goblet, who has also hired her own security to patrol the bar entrance when needed.

A neighborhood bar Miss Lee’s Lounge has always been a neighborhood bar for laborers, roofers, electricians, construction workers and the like, Goblet said.

The Ironworkers’ Hall used to be next door to the lounge and Goblet would have coffee for them every morning. The bar was always packed back then and Goblet was busy working, cleaning and stocking the shelves.

She’s still known to have soup and food out for patrons and sometimes barbecue on Sundays. “I love to cook also,” she said.

Lately, Miss Lee’s has been enjoying a little bit of a revival since she started welcoming local blues musicians on Sunday nights for an open mic jam. It turned into a party one Sunday evening in July when members of Jefferson Starship showed up to jam with Blue Smoke Funk and Carrie Lyn “that Violynist.”

Miss Lee’s has karaoke on Friday and Saturday nights and free pool on Tuesdays. She recently started having DJs on Monday nights.

Miss Lee Lee Goblet moved to Illinois from Mississippi with her parents when she was 15 years old. They came to the area so her dad could manage Exposition Hotel at Exposition Park in North Aurora. Her mother got a job working at Clairestat and Campbells, a resistor company in town.

Goblet started attending West Aurora High School, but didn’t last long. “I quit and went to night school,” she said. To Goblet, the high school experience was very different here than in the south where she was able to play basketball on a school team. “Up here, they didn’t have that,” she said. Her new school also wanted to move her down a grade, which Goblet wasn’t having.

Goblet quickly got a job at her father’s behest and started working with her mom at Clairestat and Campbells.

Her work ethic hasn’t stopped and at age 70, Goblet is out of retirement and working again running the bar. Her eldest son, J.C., ran Miss Lee’s Lounge for 17 years until he died in 2005.

Goblet lives with Ron Tinsley, a friend of 22 years, and her grown daughter.

Over the years, Tinsley has helped Goblet in various ways with the bar to make it what it is today. In the late ‘80s, Tinsley’s brother cleared out the rear of the building with a Bobcat tractor in order to convert it into a multi-tiered beer garden alive with greenery.

With a lot of work and help from others, the bar has become Goblet’s paradise and a welcoming second home for many others, as photo collages hanging on the wall show.

“I really love the business. I’m getting a little tired,” she said. “I’d like to see some of the country. I haven’t been hardly anywhere.”

Goblet has had the building up for sale for over a year, but hasn’t had any serious offers.

“I love Aurora. I’ve seen the good times and the bad times. I think it’s coming back, but I see a lot of empty buildings and it scares me,” Goblet said. “I hope I live long enough to see Aurora come back.” n Fall 2011

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Downtown Auroran

Fall 2011

C i t i zen V o ic es What vacant building in downtown Aurora would you like to see revitalized?

By Katie Coan, downtown Aurora Erica Potter, Chicago “The storefront (at the northeast corner) of Stolp and Downer.

It used to be a steel manufacturer. I actually want to revitalize it though and open a coffee shop there for local artists. Instead of commercial art being sold, local artists could have a place for their art to turnover quickly. Also on the second floor a music venue and on the third would hopefully be my apartment,” said Potter, who grew up in Aurora and recently graduated from Aurora University, about her dream starring downtown Aurora.

Madelyn Medina, 9 “I think they should fix the bridge because there are too many spider webs, and then people can come see the beautiful water.”

Chris Hodge, North Aurora Artist at Water Street Studios in Batavia “I would love to see the Fox Valley Blueprint turned into another art store. We used to always go there and get our art supplies when I was attending West Aurora High school and college. The place sort of disappeared. So, not only just a place to show art but have a place to buy supplies,” Hodge said while displaying his intricate ink drawings at Alley Art Festival in August.

Jeff Paetzold, Aurora Tattoo artist at Insight Studios in Chicago “The Hobbs building. I would like to see that building turned into lofts. Maybe a gallery downstairs, that would be awesome.”

Nate Miller, Oswego Triple Threat Mentoring Art Director “I think the old train station on Broadway just south of the train tracks, it would be a great community center if it was restored. It has a great outside and spacious inside environment as well.”

Daniel Dominguez, Aurora “The building I would like to see revitalized is the old Fox Theater. It’s actually on East Galena Boulevard in Aurora. I know now it is used as a print shop, but I think it would be much better used as a movie theater. I know movie theaters don’t make money, but I saw pictures of what it used to look like back in the ‘30s and it looks freakin’ awesome.”

Mike Mancuso, Aurora Artist and cocreator of The Yetee, a web business that sells artist-designed t-shirts for $11 for one week.

“I don’t have a particular building, but I would like to see more art studios down here. I know a lot of people have been trying to do it but it would be great if we could have a whole art community.

Where local artists could have a place to work, be together, show their art and have a first Friday - where everyone could come. There is plenty of room and plenty of buildings.

The people are here. Someone just needs to step up and do it,” said Mancuso, who participated in both the last Aurora ArtWalk and Alley Art Festival in downtown Aurora.

Mancuso curated Molded Heroes, an art print show, in a rented space on LaSalle Street last spring.

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Fall 2011

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D ow n t o w n V o ic es The Meter Game Guest column by Shirley Flaherty

Once again the parking committee of the Aurora Downtown Board is having discussions with the city of Aurora about the removal of the downtown parking meters. I say “once again” because as a board member, committee member, past co-chair and presently chairman of the committee, I have been meeting over this issue for at least 10 years.

Our very first recommendation was to remove the meters and increase the fines to make up for loss of revenue. We have made the same recommendation every year since. We thought we had the city convinced but they now have decided to incrementally remove some meters and increase fees on others.

If meters are removed in one area (as the city is proposing), and not in another, that would act as a magnet and cause confusion and abuse. It would be destined to fail and therefore have the city say they tried but it didn’t work. The Aurora Downtown Board of business and property owners are against that approach and voted to remove all the meters.

The meters have been imposed on us as a control issue, a way to keep employees, merchants, students, casino patrons and commuters from taking up all the spaces that should be for the use of customers and clients. When we studied other towns such a Elgin, Batavia, Joliet, North Aurora, etc., we found that they have been successful in getting rid of meters and allowing free parking in garages, lots and streets. The way to control the parking is with time zone signs and fines for violations.

10

We presently have a fine structure that takes in less money than the cost to operate it. First ticket is free.

(That was a recommendation of our committee as a way to be “friendly” and also as an educational tool.) The ticket would have the fine schedule printed on it as a gentle reminder.

The second through fifth ticket is now $5. And six or more tickets are at $20. For some, that is not enough to keep them from abusing the system - it is the cost of doing business.

The city tells us that we cannot afford to remove the meters, as the expenditures are about $300,000 more than the revenue. We are no longer talking about meters as a “control.” We are now finding that the new obstacle is loss of money.

What the Aurora Downtown parking committee has proposed is to remove the meters, install signage and increase violation fines in a way that would still be friendly to the occasional violator but hit the abusers hard. We are now considering the following fine schedule: First violation is free, second is $5, third is $10, fourth is $15, fifth is $20 and six and up are $50. The schedule would be on an annual basis and roll back each January.

If someone has six tickets in a year, they need an “incentive” to change their behavior.

The business community has spoken. We now need to hear from the community and encourage e-mails to the mayor and the aldermen on the city council.

Downtown Auroran

Fall 2011

A rt is t P r o file DTA profile: Timothy C. Burns The end result is a heavy duty, archival quality piece of art. Burns typically frames his works without glass. He leaves a border of sanded aluminum around the image to act as a border.

Timothy Burns is not

landscapes and still lifes – he’s not even paper. Burns, of Aurora, is mixed media art on aluminum.

Art on aluminum is synonymous with Burns locally and even in some parts of Europe where Burns shows his work and is well received.

Burns, a printmaker, has been running sheets of aluminum through a printer and then painting on them for the past seven years – ever since he took an alternative printmaking class in New Mexico.

“I started rethinking what I was doing,” said Burns, who worked in photography and cinematography before getting his Master of Fine Arts and then falling in love with printmaking.

It was in New Mexico that Burns learned to rethink how printmaking could be done. Traditional printmaking using paper and acid is a toxic process and after many years of practicing the art, Burns was concerned about its affect on his health. After taking the class, he decided to spend a year figuring out the process of making art on aluminum – a nontoxic alternative to paper printmaking.

His recent works depict people who are floating or swimming with titles like “Skinny Dipping,” “She Floats” and “From From the Bottom - in progress detail the Bottom.” Burns uses titles to clue in the viewer to the meaning of his surreal and abstract works, but he’s not beyond creating a guessing game for the viewer, he says.

During the last year, Burns has been creating work out of his new studio at the southeast corner of River Street and Downer Place. He said the wonderful light flooding through the windows inspired the bright, primary colors of his latest series.

“I finally found the perfect studio,” Burns said. Burns has lived B u r n s in Aurora for about 15 years, but is uncertain of his future here; concluded he’d like to eventually return to New Mexico. his year in Burns is certain about his art. It’s what he does now. He said a transition with lot of it is about breaking down the barriers of traditional art a gallery show and exposing the public to other forms of expression. at Northern I l l i n o i s “It’s not paper. It’s not canvas. It’s not photography,” he said.

University “It’s contemporary art.” and has never Burns currently has more than a dozen works on aluminum hanging at looked back. It the Paramount Theatre’s second floor Grand Gallery; some will travel can be tough to Sweden next for a show. He lives with his wife, Susan Buchanan to work with across from the Riddle Highlands neighborhood in Aurora. Visit his aluminum website at www.timburns-art.com. since it is thin She Floats and bends; it is less forgiving than paper. However the ease of cleanup, Guest column

by Charlie Zine traditional framing are all nontoxicity and freedom from benefits oftthe hasmaterial. been almost three years since a group of HIPP LAW OFFICE Burns’ process starts with handformer sanding the opposite, local kayakers brought Olympic kayakeror ball grained, side the aluminum before painting it with layers of Attorney at Law ScottofShipley to Aurora to seek his help in reGesso, a surface primer. runs the aluminum through designing the He Aurora canoe chute so that ita large printer toactually lay down one of digital images, he then adds layers Phone 630-844-1234 works as his intended. of acrylic andtosometimes ink.

Burns no reservations 630-631-5192 The initial goal paint was just fix the canoe chute, buthas Shipley was about using to a Sharpie lines,Aurora’s or layering on paint Fax 630-859-0205 1026 Prairie the opportunity modify pen bothtoofdarken downtown dams with a palette knife.

Email bjhippx2@aol.com Aurora, IL 60506 d-class whitewater parks. During the same visit, Shipley saw ss channels around the North Aurora and Montgomery dams be created. These projects, plus the state of the art by-pass urrently being constructed in Yorkville, could create the world’s Fall 2011 Downtown Auroran 11 ewater Park Water Trail!‛

Downtown Voices

A Whitewater Park in Downtown Aurora I

Any whitewater park is a regional attraction. But these four

BRIAN J. HIPP

Fried Green Tomato Tots with Cilantro-Tomatillo Sauce Contributed by Kate Purl – west of downtown

Small, sweet tomatoes give rise to these tiny bites of deliciousness. I used an heirloom green grape tomato for this recipe, but any grape or cherry tomato should work nicely.

Tomato ingredients: • 16-20 tiny green tomatoes (grape or cherry) cut in 1/4 inch slices.

• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper • 3/4 c. flour, mixed with 1 tbsp. garlic powder • 2 eggs, lightly beaten with 2 tbsp. milk • 1 1/2 c. Panko breadcrumbs mixed with 2 tsp. chili powder • Canola oil Method: Heat about 1/2 inch of canola oil in a large pan. Sprinkle tomato slices with salt and pepper; allow to set for 10 minutes. Dredge in flour mixture, coat in egg mixture and then press in panko mixture. When the oil gently sizzles when something is dropped in it, fry the tomatoes in batches until golden brown (about three minutes per side). Remove to a platter lined with paper towels and keep warm. Serve with tomatillo sauce below.

Plumbing Specialist 630-313-9109

Sauce: In a food processor, puree half-pound tomatillos (cleaned and roughly chopped), 3-5 jalapeno pepper slices, 1 green onion (chopped) and 1/2 tsp. fresh lime juice. Melt 1/2 tbsp. of butter in a medium saucepan. Add tomatillo puree. Cook over medium heat until the puree stops foaming, about 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine 1/3 c. vegetable broth with 1/2 tsp. cornstarch, a pinch of kosher salt, a pinch of freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of garlic powder. Add to the tomatillo mix, bring to a boil, and then simmer over low heat until the sauce thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in 1 tbsp. sour cream and serve. Plate the tomatillos and draw a design with the sauce using a squeeze bottle.

bulldogplumbing10@gmail.com

Servicing the Fox River Valley & More

Get dazzled!

Receive $30 off any service call

expires January 30, 2012

The 5th Annual Aurora Festival of Lights is Nov. 26 - Dec. 26 at Phillips Park in Aurora Drive through one of the largest outdoor holiday light displays in Chicagoland!

Sunday - Thursday: 5-9 p.m.

Friday & Saturday: 5-10 p.m.

Admission to the event is free.

Donations accepted at the exit to benefit local youth charities.

Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Aurora and the City of Aurora.

12

Downtown Auroran

Fall 2011

C u l tu r e S h o c k OCTOBER

COPLEY CINEMATHEQUE Tue Oct 11 Doors open at 6:30 Local film society City Cineastes with the support of Paramount Theatre screens Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey. $5/ members, $8/non-members. Copley Theatre in North Island Center, 8 E. Galena Blvd. citycineastes@gmail.com.

ARTWALK: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TRACKS Fri Oct 14 from 7 to 11 The fall ArtWalk is here and it will highlight historic LaSalle Street “Auto Row” between Downer and Benton. Free. www.auroraartwalk.com.

STORYTIME AT THE CAFE Mon Oct 17 at 11 The Aurora Public Library hosts an off-site storytime for children with books, dancing and fun, plus a free treat. Free. River’s Edge Cafe, 18 W. Downer. No reg. needed. www. aurorapubliclibrary.org.

CIVIL WAR STORYTIME Tue Oct 25 at 4 The Aurora Public Library hosts an off-site storytime for school aged children in conjunction with Fox Valley Reads. Free. David L. Pierce Art & History Center, 20 E.Downer. (630) 264-4123. www. aurorapubliclibrary.org.

NOVEMBER

COPLEY CINEMATHEQUE Tue Nov 8 at 6:30 Local film society City Cineastes with the support of Paramount Theatre screens Murderball, a 2005 movie about quadriplegic rugby athletes. $5/ members, $8/non-members. Copley Theatre in North Island Center, 8 E. Galena Blvd. citycineastes@gmail.com.

VETERAN’S DAY PARADE Fri Nov 11 at 10:15 Step off at Benton and Water streets. Ceremony at 10:30.

GAR Building, 23 E. Downer Place. www. aurora-il.org.

CITY TREE LIGHTING Wed Nov 23 from 6-7 Get your holiday spirit on in downtown Aurora! Submit homemade ornaments for the tree.

North Island Center, 8 E. Galena Blvd. www.aurora-il.org.

GINGERBREAD FIREHOUSE CONTEST AND EXHIBIT Sat Nov 26 from 1 to 4 thru Dec 22 Grab the sugar, grab the spice and stop, drop and roll for the annual fire-themed gingerbread building contest. Aurora Regional Fire Museum, 53 N. Broadway Ave. www.auroraregionalfiremuseum.org.

DECEMBER

100 YEARS OF GIRL SCOUTING Opens Fri Dec 9 from 5 to 8 Girl Scout memorabilia and local stories; curated

by Aurora Historical Society and the Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois. Open Wed-Fri, noon to 4. Free. David L. Pierce Art & History Center, 20 E.Downer. (630) 906-0650. www. aurorahistory.net.

COPLEY CINEMATHEQUE Tue Dec 13 at 6:30 Local film society City Cineastes with the support of Paramount Theatre screens With a Friend Like Harry, a 2000 French thriller ala Hitchcock. $5/ members, $8/non-members. Copley Theatre in North Island Center, 8 E. Galena Blvd. citycineastes@gmail.com.

WINTER GARDEN OF YOUTH Opens Fri Dec 16 from 5 to 7 An annual exhibit of works of art by Aurora students in grades K through 12. Open Wed-Sun, noon to 4. Free. Aurora Public Art Commission at the David L. Pierce Art & History Center, 20 E. Downer Place. 630-906-0654. www. aurora-il.org.

STORYTIME AT THE CAFE Mon Nov 14 at 11 The Aurora Public Library hosts an off-site storytime for children with books, dancing and fun, plus a free treat. Free. River’s Edge Cafe, 18 W. Downer. No reg. needed. www. aurorapubliclibrary.org.

FAMILY READING NIGHT Thur Nov 17 at 6:30 Celebrate family reading night for an hour at the Aurora Regional Fire Museum hosted by Aurora Public Library. Free. 53 N. Broadway Ave. (630) 264-4123. www.aurorapubliclibrary.org.

Fall 2011

LIMITED RUNS & SHOWINGS

“THREE ARTISTS ENTWINED” ART EXHIBIT Thru Nov 18 Anton Witek, Priscilla Humay and Helen Balun Humay on display. Free. Aurora Public Art Commission at the David L. Pierce Center, 20 E. Downer Place. (630) 256-3340. aurora-il.org CREATING MEXICAN AMERICAN IDENTITIES: MULTIPLE VOICES, SHARED DREAMS Thru Oct 14 The Aurora Historical Society hosts the exhibit courtesy of the West Chicago City Museum with many Aurora images and stories. Open Wed-Fri, noon to 4. Free. David L. Pierce Art & History Center, 20 E.Downer. (630) 906-0650. www. aurorahistory.net.

ART AT CITY HALL: THE COMMON THREAD Thru Feb 3 2-D works from a group of suburban artists hung on all five floors of city hall. Open Mon-Fri, 8-5. City Hall, 44 E. Downer Place. www.aurora-il.org RIVERFRONT PLAYHOUSE Oct 21 to Dec 3 Fat Bill’s Roadside Café, Dec 9 to 18 A Christmas Carol. Call for times. Riverfront Playhouse, 11-13 Water Street Mall, is a 90 seat, not-forprofit theatre located next to City Hall on the Water Street Mall in downtown Aurora. $12-$15. 630-897-9496. www. riverfrontplayhouse.com.

Reservations recommended for most shows.

MONTHLY EVENTS

DAAM! First Thursday evenings at 7:30 Join artists of all kinds at informal Downtown Aurora Arts Mixers. Chef Amaury at 33 West, 33 W. New York St. Everyone is welcome. Find Downtown Auroran on Facebook for more information.

MUSEUM ROLL CALL

Triceratops by Ashley Bonner, downtown Aurora Downtown Auroran

David L. Pierce Art & History Center 20 E. Downer Place Aurora Regional Fire Museum 53 N. Broadway Avenue SciTech Hands On Museum 18 W. Benton Street Grand Army of the Republic Museum 23 E. Downer Place

13

#45

By Gideon Haynes IV, Aurora

3OTH ANNIVERSARY

THANKSGIVING

Saturday, november 5, 2011

Steering Committee

$75 Per PerSon; $750 for table of ten

Katie Arko Margie Isaacson Beth Sullivan

5:30 - 11:00 Pm PiPerS banquetS, aurora

To purchase Tickets, Sponsorships, and Program Book Ads, or to download and print Event Sponsorship, Auction Item Donation, and Program Book Ad Order forms, visit our website at:

www.aurorafoodpantry.org or call the Pantry at 630-897-2127

Co-ChairS

Hilary Brennan Joanne Diederich Lynn Flores Mary Ann Gee Kathi Limoges Deborah Pawlak Therese Reynolds Andrea Siracusano Marilyn Weisner Executive Director

This ad is compliments of . . .

Downtown Auroran Magazine, Orchard Community Church, Samantha Oulavong, Jo Fredell Higgins, and Rebecca Walker and family.

Thank you from the Pantry!

Celebrating 30 years of service . . . 1981-2011

Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting individuals and families in need in a humanitarian and compassionate manner with emergency food and nutritional assistance.

t o h 9 9 .

5 h s e r f d an ! a z z i p large

River Breeze

LEASE THE BEST IN DOWNTOWN AURORA Residential | Commercial Dan Hites | (630) 624-7369 danhites@hotmail.com

Chef Amaury at 33 West

$

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On the corner of New York and Lake Street in downtown Aurora

Live Right. Eat Well. in Downtown Aurora

33 W. New York St.

630.375.0426 www.chefamaury.com

More than a cup of coffee...a place for minds to meet!

River’s Edge Café

Homemade soups, sandwiches and baked goods 18 W. Downer Pl. between River and Stolp

630.897.3343 • theriversedgecafe.com

14

Downtown Auroran

Fall 2011

H i s t o r ic a l N o t es Aurora Cycle and Hobby Shop 68 S. Broadway Ave. (1962 – 1975)

When Fred Bell and Bob Buckley opened their bicycle and hobby shop in the early 1960s, they created a hangout in downtown Aurora – a place to meet people and have a good time.

The old Benbro Hotel

In the fall of 1962, friends and coworkers Fred Bell and Bob Buckley opened up a bicycle and hobby shop in downtown Aurora. Their multifaceted shop, called Aurora Cycle and Hobby Shop, was located at 86 S. Broadway in the old Benbro Hotel building.

A real good atmosphere

Aurora Cycle and Hobby quickly became a home away from home for many locals. With its 55-footlong drag strip for slot cars, they would hold races on Friday nights.

They held the National races there in the mid-1960s.

Fred Bell works behind the counter on a busy day at Aurora Cycle and Hobby at 68 S. Broadway in downtown Aurora.

“We had people come from all over,” said Bell, who remembers having between 50 and 60 race entrants on a typical Friday night to race the 1:24 scale slot cars.

Local guys with their flattop haircuts, wearing t-shirts and blue jeans with white socks and loafers would hang out at the shop drinking Pepsi and seeing what new models they could build.

It could get pretty competitive, Bell said. A lot of talented machinists spent time at the shop. John Richmond was one of them. “It was astounding the kinds of cars they can build,” Bell said.

Bell and Buckley sold and repaired Schwinn bicycles along with model airplanes and other hobby craft kits and models. The big attraction of the shop in the ‘60s became the smallmotorized slot cars; small models of actual automobiles regulated by hand controllers, which ran on a car track in the basement.

When they first started out, they primarily worked as locksmiths and made keys for many of the private clubs in town, like the Italian American Club. They sold about 30 bicycles their first year in business, which later increased to about 500 during what Bell calls the “bike boom” of the early 1970s.

The shop was located across the street from a savings and loan and a Chinese restaurant, Bell remembers. He said that hotel rooms were up above and various other stores were adjacent.

“Everything was downtown. Every building was full.

Everything was booming,” Bell recalls.

Fred Bell, in winter coat, stands in the middle of the gang outside of Aurora Cycle and Hobby. His son, Jeff, is on his left in a black coat.

John Richmond stand three left from Bell in the back.

A lot of dads brought their sons down and many got involved with the racing. Some kids would stop by after school and stay until the shop closed at 9 p.m.

“At the time, if you didn’t know about us, there was something wrong with you,” said Bell, who originally moved to Aurora in order to attend Aurora College (now Aurora University), but started working instead.

“It was a once in a lifetime deal. We had a collection of the best people you could meet,” said Bell, whose wife, Judy, and young son, Jeff, were also part of the gang.

“It was just a hangout place. It was a real good atmosphere,” he said.

The four-story Benbro Hotel building, once the Milner Hotel, at 66-74 S. Broadway was demolished in 2000 after more than a decade of vacancy.

Bell and his wife now run an auto parts store in Walterboro, S.C.

Fred and Bob

“It was just good old fun.

When you think about it, you just have to smile,” Bell said.

Fred Bell and Bob Buckley clicked as partners, said Bell, who is now 70. The two started the business in their early twenties while working at the streets department for the city of Aurora.

They would snowplow in the wintertime and clean up tree branches in the summer, Bell said.

Fred Bell, second from left, poses with a group at Aurora Cycle and Hobby.

“Bob is really a good fellow,” said Bell of Buckley, who lives in Big Rock. Bell returned to his home state of South Carolina after they shuttered the shop in 1975.

Bell said he met Buckley while working together for the city.

“We hit it off,” he said. “We were young and had a lot of energy and interests.”

Fall 2011

Editor’s note: In the next several issues of Downtown Auroran Magazine, Historical Notes will be dedicated to remembering notable people and businesses that once spent time in downtown Aurora.

Downtown Auroran

15

If you’re reading this magazine, you know as well as we do that a lot is happening in downtown Aurora. Founded in 1975, Aurora Downtown is an association of approximately 250 property owners within the neighborhood.

We are a Special Service Area governed by a 24-member board of directors.

Aurora Downtown contributes to the success of the neighborhood through numerous initiatives such as: • Advocacy for the downtown community • Street planters, hanging baskets, trees and landscaping • Sponsorship of events, including Blues on the Fox, Downtown Alive!, Aurora ArtWalk and many others • Holiday street decorations

• Lobbying to remove downtown parking meters • Homeless assistance • Award-winning cell phone tour detailing the history of our neighborhood • Sharing all of the exciting news about our downtown

Contact Bob Reuland for more information at (630) 336-1310 or info@auroradowntown.org.

Check us out online at www.auroradowntown.org.

Come join us! Meetings are open to the public and take place the third Thursday of every month at 8 a.m. in the fifth floor conference room of City Hall.