Lake Carroll couple’s business is a Smart place to find a ride A Lake Carroll mom is just Wild about baking Local stage shows know how to pull in a PACT house Next stop: A park where people can check out the train attraction PLUS ... Reader photos
AUGUST 2025
AUGUST 2025
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PUBLISHER Jennifer Heintzelman
EDITING & PAGE DESIGN Rusty Schrader
PUBLISHED BY Sauk Valley Media, 113 S. Peoria Ave. Dixon, IL 61021
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Thousands of cars travel to and from Freeport on U.S. Route 20 every day, cruising the local stretch of the nation’s longest highway, which wraps around the Pretzel City on a route that reaches from coast-to-coast — just over 3,300 miles from Massachusetts to Oregon.
Some are on their way to work and some are heading home — and then there are some who are taking their new ride for a spin after signing on the dotted line at a Lake Carroll couple’s auto dealership. How can you tell which ones are which? Well, the commuters are probably in a hurry, but the owners of a new set of wheels? Well, they’re probably enjoying a leisurely ride — and they’re probably in kind of car that people once drove when they were going from shore to shore to see the USA in their Chevrolet.
AutoSmart, owned by Brian and Donna Caldwell of Lake Carroll, opened in April in a former visitors center east of Freeport on the four-lane federal highway, having moved from its previous location in Oswego in Kendall County. It sells a variety of vehicles — cars, trucks and even the occasional motorcycle — with most of its inventory stocked with classic and vintage rides.
From a classy Continental to a cool Comet, whether you want to sit in the lap of luxury or flex your muscle car, the Caldwells will be happy to put you in the driver’s seat of a vehicle that’s a perfect fit for your personality.
Having a vintage vehicle is a point of pride for owners who love to get out the wax and wax nostalgic about Detroit’s heyday. Just look at car shows: When the weather’s nice, there’s not a weekend that goes by when there’s not one somewhere, with the owners of headturning hot rods and chromed cruisers showing off their rides.
Brian is familiar with teh feeling. He’s sold classics for 15 years and he knows how passionate people are about their horsepower hobby, and he strives to make the dealership a place where they feel welcome — “the AutoSmart culture,” as he likes to call it.
“We want this to be a place for people to come and gather,” Caldwell said. “Saturday mornings you can grab a cup of coffee and talk about old cars at the conference table — that’s part of our culture. Sit out on the bench, bring your car. When you’re in a rural community, people want a place to gather. This is a home for car people.”
It’s also a place where they can shine.
Car people like their rides to look their best, and AutoSmart helps there, too, with a line of Chicago Jax Wax car care products, also owned by the Caldwells as part of a national franchise out of Columbus, Ohio. Products include car waxes and polishes, wheel, glass and trim care, soaps and cleaners and care kits.
For Brian and Donna and Caldwell, their business is more than just a car lot. They’ve set out to create an “AutoSmart culture” for their customers — “This is a home for car people.” Brian said.
But don’t go pulling out that ratty old bath towel to put on the products. As any car enthusiast will tell you, it takes the right towel for the job, and AutoSmart has got you covered there, too. Towels and accessories are an important part of the car care ritual, Caldwell said, along with the proper way to apply the product, and he can help with both.
“This group of people wants to keep them looking as nice as they were when they came out of restorations,” Caldwell said. “What I always tell people is that there’s a bazillion products out there, and there’s a lot of great products out there. My thought process with this is that its process, towels and then product. It doesn’t matter how good the product is, if you don’t have a good process and don’t use good towels, the product’s not going to matter.”
AutoSmart largely deals with classic cars, which is anything 25 years or older, Caldwell said, but also sells newer vehicles on occasion. In most cases, a classic car isn’t likely to be someone’s primary ride, but rather something for pleasure — bringing it out on weekends or taking it to a car show or on a cruise.
Speaking of car cruises, that’s another part of the AutoSmart culture. The Caldwells also host cruise nights throughout the summer, with the next ones coming up Aug. 13 and Sept. 10. Caldwell has a goal to have as many as 75 classics on display by the time the season wraps up.
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As time rolls on, the inventory of what’s considered vintage just keeps on growing, with each decade becoming classics in their own right. Each generation has their own special memories behind the wheel. Maybe it was their first car, maybe they remember riding in Gramma and Grampa’s old Oldsmobile as grandkids, or tinkering under the hood with Dad’s Mustang growing up. There’s a powerful pull to nostalgia, and these days people like to hitch a ride to the past on anything from the 1930s all the way to the ‘90s.
“It’s funny to think that we had always thought it was the ‘50s and ‘60s, but it’s also now the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s.,” Caldwell said. “The new generation is looking more towards those cars that they grew up with back in high school. If you were in high school in the ‘80s, you might have had an ‘80s Mustang or you might have had an ‘80s IROC. With the squarebodied pickup trucks, I’ve had guys go, ‘I remember when I was in high school and had one of those.’”
“They’re going back and looking at these things now that they’ve got the income, or kids in college; they have that ‘let’s go buy something fun’ kind of thing.”
Classic cars weren’t always AutoSmart’s top priority when it first opened in 2010; the inventory back then was a little of everything, including campers. However, it took a friend of the Caldwells and a classic Corvette for them to find their niche in the auto market.
“When we first started out, we didn’t have the identity as classic cars; we were licensed to do cars, motorcycles and campers,” Caldwell said. “We started with a little bit of everything, but what really got us into classic cars was that one of our very, very good friends had a 1960s Corvette convertible and said, ‘Can you sell this?’ We said, ‘Yeah ...’ And literally, that was our first classic car that we sold. That one car launched us into where we are today.”
The Caldwells had lived at Lake Carroll on a part-time basis until recently becoming full-timers, and sought to bring their business closer to home. Moving AutoSmart was 3 years in the making until they finally found the right home for the business in the former Stephenson County Visitor Center. The new location’s soft opening was April 1, with a grand opening celebration on June 11, with a ribbon cutting, classic car show, flag raising ceremony, music from Lake Carroll DJ Ron Hennings, and food trucks from Copper Bee Coffee from Shannon and the Lanark VFW’s Mess Hall.
Though AutoSmart opened for business April 1, the Caldwells held off until June 11 for its grand opening celebration, which featured
and a car show.
Name that tune player. It’s Lake Carroll’s own Ron Hennings, who DJ’ed for the grand opening.
In just four months of being in business in northwest Illinois, Caldwell has enjoyed getting to know more people in the classic car community, and igniting others’ interests in it. Community leaders, too, have shown their appreciation by helping Caldwell make more connections around Freeport, he said.
“This community has open arms,” Caldwell said. “From the day we started with the process of purchasing the building to rezoning the property to what we needed it to be, to the county officials to the people in town, everybody’s been very welcoming to what we’re doing. The community didn’t have a business like this serving it. There are other great car dealers in the area who have their own niche, and I look at us as complimenting those other dealers.”
The business is also spreading the word online, with help from Christina Barron, AutoSmart’s marketing and communication director. Barron brings a wealth of social media experience to the business which has helped Caldwell connect with the local community on Facebook and Instagram, driving more traffic to the lot, and driving more cars off the lot.
Barron said she’s enjoyed learning about the classic car culture as well.
Waxing nostalgic ...
You’ve just bought a car that’s got you cruising down memory lane, and you want to keep it looking as good as new.
AutoSmart carries a
Water Damage & Mold
Leaks lead to rot, mildew, health risks, and costly interior repairs.
Higher Energy Bills
Poor insulation & ventilation let heat & AC escape, raising costs.
Structural & Safety Risks
Weak spots invite pests, cause collapses, and even fire hazards.
Decreased Home Value
A damaged roof scares buyers and tanks property value.
“I didn’t know anything about cars, and now I’m spouting off years and details about them,” she said. “I love the old classic cars and the difference between them and seeing them progress. It’s crazy to notice even the small differences, and then learning the nuances of them.”
Some of AutoSmart’s oldest cars go back to before World War II: One of its oldest on the lot at presstime was a 1936 Ford Roadster topless street rod. Some, like the Roadster, wait for a new owner inside the showroom, while others fill the lot outside drawing looks from passersby and driving traffic to the dealership, like a Ford Model T truck dressed in Sinclair Oil logos next to the building’s front door — a good parade vehicle, Caldwell said.
The cruise nights will continue every second Wednesday into September. The theme for the grand opening focused on General Motors, Fords were featured in July, Chrysler products are August’s theme and September’s will be themed around cars featured in movies, with plans to show a film that night, Caldwell said.
“The cruise nights are good for us because we have high traffic, high visibility, and we tried to find a night during the week that wouldn’t compete with another car show,” he said.
AutoSmart also sponsors car shows, both local and around the business’ former home in Kendall County, and sometimes sets up sales tents for Jax Wax products at them. The Kendall location also hosted blood drives, pet adoption events and fill-a-truck fundraisers for local food pantries — all of which the Caldwells intend to bring to the new location, while continuing to celebrate the classic car culture.
“We wanted to create a culture for people to buy cars that wasn’t the typical car buying experience,” Caldwell said. “We want people to have a hassle-free approach.”
Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
AutoSmart, 4596 E. U.S. Route 20 in Freeport, is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.Find it on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube; go to autosmartnetwork.com and chicagojaxwax. com or call 630554-2285 for more information.
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“I take pride that it’s all homemade.”
Amy Groezinger, Wildflour Baking Co.
hat do flowers and flour have in common? Amy Groezinger is wild about both of them. Come summer, every other Thursday and Friday are a busy time in Groezinger’s kitchen at her Lake Carroll home, and a treat for the senses too. A touch of this, a pinch of that. The sight of empty bowls and full cookie sheets. The sound of a whirring mixer. The smell of baking treats filling the house, a taste of things to come. Groezinger loves to bake: It was a passion of hers growing up, and one she shared with her three sons, Clayton, Zachariah and Jacob, as they grew up. Time, however, marches on, and so do children — but that doesn’t mean the recent empty-nester has a lot of time on her hands. Between her full-time job and her part-time kitchen gig, she keeps plenty busy.
Groezinger has baked more pies, cookies, breads and dessert bars in the past year than she ever did with her kids — but she’s cooking for more than three these days, sharing her culinary talents with customers who line up at the Lake Carroll farmers market to get a taste of what she’s been cooking at Wildflour Bakingm Co., her business with a name that combines her love of baking with her passion for petals.
Every other Saturday throughout the summer, Groezinger offers a line-up of homemade sweet treats made from with ingredients sourced no more than 100 miles from the Lake. Working full time as a bookkeeper at the Lena-Winslow school district, Groezinger squeezes her baking into the late-night hours of Thursday and all day Friday. It can be tiring, but she says the results are worth it, not only because of the goods she makes, but the people she meets.
“It’s been an eye-opener, seeing how much people appreciate fresh, local goods,” she said. “It’s been fun to get to know people out here who I haven’t met before. They’ll chat and buy something; it’s fun to sit back and talk about our experiences out here at the Lake and all of the things that go with it.”
It’s been fun to get to know people out here who I haven’t met before. ... it’s fun to sit back and talk about our experiences out here at the Lake and all of the things that go with it.
Groezinger started selling her goods last year during the final half of Lake Carroll’s farmers market season, which goes from May to September. Her kids encouraged her to take her talent to the market after Jacob, the youngest, left for college last year. Clayton also knew a thing or two about setting up at the Lake Carroll market, having been a regular vendor there with his clothing business, Driftless Quality Wear. “I kind of had an empty nest,” Groezinger said. “So what was I going to do with my time? My kids kind of convinced me to start doing some baking. My kids talked me into doing it and said, ‘Mom, you love to bake, go to the farmers market and it gives you something to do.’ I started it and I found out that I liked doing this.”
AMY GROEZINGER Wildflour Baking Co.
With no one else at home, the single mom turned her attention to baking with the same zeal that brought smiles to her kids’ faces when they’d dive into her treats. Her boys enjoyed her chocolate chip cookie bars, peanut butter balls, sugar cookies and raspberry pretzel salad — a pretzel base topped with cream cheese and cool whip, raspberries and raspberry Jello.
Judging by the demand, her customers are as big of fans of her cooking as her kids are. During some of her market appearances, her treats have sold out in just a few hours.
Currently, Lake Carroll’s is the only market she sells at, but she hasn’t ruled out setting up at other ones once she has more free time — retirement is only a few years away, she said.
Though cottage kitchen laws limit businesses like Groezinger’s to what they can offer, she’s eager to explore adding more items to her lineup. She’s already added chocolate peanut butter bars, granola bars, Rice Krispies treats, and banana, pumpkin and zucchini bread to her market menu.
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PHOTO PROVIDED BY AMY GROEZINGER
She often hears from customers about how much better homemade is than store-bought.
Groezinger’s blueberries and raspberries come from a produce store in Monticello, Wisconsin, an hour north of Lake Carroll, and the eggs she uses come fresh from the farm of a friend just a few miles away in Loran. The lard she uses for her pies comes from the Carroll County Locker in Lanark. Her rhubarb comes from a more familiar source: her sister DeAnne’s garden.
“I take pride that it’s all homemade,” Groezinger said. “There’s a lot of people who don’t bake anymore and don’t take the time to do it. I’m proud of being able to know how to do it and to take the time to do it, after spoiling my kids doing it.”
When it comes to her favorite thing to bake, there’s nothing like the challenge of making a perfect pie: “It can be quite an accomplishment to get that all put together, to get that crust rolled out just perfect and to make sure the filling sets and isn’t runny,” Groezinger said. “It’s a project.”
Groezinger grew up in Massbach in southeast Jo Daviess County, and her family had a summer home at Lake Carroll in the early 1980s, where she enjoyed baking pies, carrot cake and banana splitthemed desserts with her mother, Joyce. Most of her recipes come from her mother and grandmother, and she’s happy to carry on their baking traditions and share them with others.
“I grew up around baking with my mom all of the time. I use a lot of her recipes, and they’re something that I’ve stuck with and enjoy doing. I was six years old and spent a lot of time in the kitchen, and the thing to do on Saturday mornings was to clean house and bake. It’s kind of a cool way to honor them. They were great cooks in their day, so why not keep the tradition going?”
And keep it going she has, with her home-cooked treats ending up on family tables throughout her community, where other kids are eagerly scooping them up and wolfing them down, just like her own children did when they were growing up.
“It fills my time, and I can still bake for a crowd,” Groezinger said. “I’m still used to having five people at home, and then all of a sudden there’s no one, and it changes things. I had three boys and had friends at the house all of the time, and it just kind of continued. I’ve always liked to cook.”
Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
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Fresh from the oven
Amy Groezinger sets up at the Lake Carroll Farmers Market, located on the large grass field near the Clubhouse on Saturdays. Remaining dates for the season are from 8:30 a.m. to noon Aug. 16 & 30 and Sept. 13. Call 815-493-2552, ext. 123 for more information about the farmers market.
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nce upon a time, performing arts venues were a big part of smalltown America, but in many smaller communities, they’ve long since taken their final bow.
But not in Polo.
Performing arts there has stuck around for a second act — and with a place to finally call its own, it should be around for plenty of encores, too.
These days, there aren’t as many performance venues — outside of schools — let alone opera houses left in towns Polo’s size, a community of just under 2,300 in southwestern Ogle County. But in the days before films began flickering, the stage was the go-to place for entertainers. Families would fill the seats to see local actors, musicians, and traveling troupes tread the boards. It wasn’t just entertainment, it was an event.
Polo was no different back then, with an opera house that opened in 1888 and served patrons for years. But times and tastes changed. People found other ways to be entertained. Small-town plays were pushed aside by big-screen movies.
These days, though, Polo is different.
The city known as “The Gateway to the Pines” (a nod to the state park east of town) is once again a gateway to community theater, and has been for the past two decades, thanks to a performance organization that continues to utilize the stage where actors and musicians performed more than a century ago.
The Polo Area Community Theatre brings popular plays, adaptations of novels, and musicals to the stage, treating audiences to live productions in an era of downloads and digital entertainment.
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Theater founder and artistic director Kristin DuBois leads a team of volunteer performers who’ve answered the casting call and whose experience runs from budding talent to seasoned performers. This past season they brought “James and the Giant Peach,” “Fruitcakes,” “The Tin Woman” and “The Somewhat True Story of Robin Hood” to the stage, and this season they’re bringing a murder, music, Mark Twain and a merry show to audiences — and Doctor Seuss was even in the house.
The current season also marks a milestone for the group: its 20th season. Like Hollywood’s classic ode to live entertainment says in song: “That’s entertainment!” — and a lot of it. And like the song also says: “The world is a stage; the stage is a world of entertainment.”
“Live theater is terribly important, both for performers and for audience members,” DuBois said. “For performers, it gives them an opportunity to express themselves in ways that they don’t get to as a person walking down the street, and they get to explore different emotions and characters. The literary value for both performers and audiences is phenomenal. In a world that is all digital, to come and see people perform live — not as many people do that as they used to — it’s a completely different thing. You get to meet the people, you get to watch it being performed in front of you.”
The theater’s first show of the 2025-26 season was “The Seussification of A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a Dr. Seuss twist on the famous William Shakespeare comedy. The free show was performed June 11 at the theater and June 12-13 at Louise Quick Park in downtown Polo.
The next five shows have been announced into June 2026: “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical” in late September (with auditions already conducted as of presstime); “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” in early December, with auditions from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 4 at the theater; “A Murder is Announced” in mid-February, with auditions on Dec. 20; “Clue: The Musical” in early May, with auditions on Feb. 28; and “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” in mid-June, with auditions on May 16. (See page 27 for more about each show). Further audition times are announced on the theater’s Facebook group and website.
“James and the Giant Peach: The Musical” September 2024
PHOTO
PROVIDED BY KRISTIN DUBOIS
One of the things that make the PACT troupe special is that its performances all are done by volunteers — sometimes even including DuBois herself — and include performers as young as pre-K through adults. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” will feature children 5 years and up, and DuBois said she hopes to see a lot of young performers try out. Some productions have been real family affairs, with whole families on stage. One production, “Seussification,” featured a family of four from Rockford, and another featured a couple who first met while performing for PACT, and two of their kids performed in recent plays with their parents.
“We just try to give kids an opportunity to do regular, full shows that have roles for kids,” DuBois said. “One of the nice things is that entire families get involved. We teach them and it gives them opportunities for learning big-kid stuff, giving them real world opportunities, and it looks good on a college resumé.”
DuBois had served as the chairperson of a children’s theater in Pennsylvania before moving to Polo in 2006 to be closer to her husband Hart’s family. Hart has also occasionally performed.
DuBois founded PACT to bring together performers of all ages and experience, and nearly all of its shows have done just that.
“At the time, I couldn’t find any theaters that had any focus on kids,” DuBois said. “I was looking for something more of the regular theaters that had roles for kids instead of the ‘Junior’ versions or all-kids stuff. We went from initially doing two shows a year and a Christmastime revue to five shows a year, including the one at the park.”
The first season had two shows: “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” and “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”
Further building on her goal to see the next generation of performers get bit by the acting bug, four spots on the theater’s 15-person board of directors are reserved for children, who serve one-year terms and bring their own perspective to the fold to create a well-rounded performance experience.
“The Tin Woman”
PHOTO
Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical”
Show times: 7 p.m. Sept. 19, 20 and 26; 2 p.m. Sept. 21 and 27
As the half-blood son of a Greek god, Percy Jackson has newly discovered powers he can’t control, a destiny he doesn’t want and a mythology textbook’s worth of monsters on his trail. When Zeus’s master lightning bolt is stolen and Percy becomes the prime suspect, he has to find and return the bolt to prove his innocence and prevent a war between the gods. To succeed on his quest, he must travel to the underworld and back, solve the riddle of the Oracle;,and come to terms with his father. This musical is based on the best selling book “The Lightning Thief,” by Rick Riordan, and features a thrilling original rock score.
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”
Auditions: Oct. 4
Show times: 7 p.m. Dec. 5, 6 and 12; 2 p.m. Dec. 7 and 13
the time and place when a murder is to occur in Miss Blacklock’s Victorian house. What follows is a classic Christie puzzle of mixed motives, concealed identities and a determined inspector grimly following the case’s twists and turns. Fortunately, Miss Marple is on hand to provide the solution – at some risk to herself – in a dramatic final confrontation.
“Clue: The Musical”
Auditions: Feb. 28, 2026
Show times: 7 p.m. May 1, 2 and 8; 2 p.m. May 3 and 9
AHEAD
OF THE PACT 2025/26 season
Polo Area Community Theatre’s
In this hilarious Christmas classic, Grace Bradley is struggling to put on a church Christmas pageant and is faced with casting the Herdman kids – the worst kids in the history of the world. The mayhem and the fun ensue as the Herdmans collide head-on with the story of Christmas. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is based on the young adult book of the same name and is a delightful crowd pleaser for all ages.
“A Murder is Announced”
Auditions: Dec. 20
Show times: 7 p.m. Feb. 13, 14 and 20; 2 p.m. Feb. 15 and 21
In this Agatha Christie favorite, an announcement in the local paper states
in 1893
The popular board game is brought to life in a fun-filled musical. The world’s best-known suspects invite the audience to help solve the mystery. Audience members select the cards secretly revealing who killed Mr. Boddy, in what room, and with what weapon. One hard-nosed detective attempts to unravel the merry mayhem. Comic antics, witty lyrics and a beguiling score carry the investigation from room to room to catch the culprit. With 216 possible endings, and the audience playing along, this is a delightful and colorful crowd pleaser.
“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”
Auditions: May 16, 2026
Show times: July 10-12, times TBD
Based on the classic and beloved American novel by Mark Twain, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” tells the story of young Tom, and his uproarious adventures. Travel back to the late 1800s and join Tom and his friends for the famous painting the fence, the discovery of hidden treasure, the rescue of Becky Thatcher, and the sad demise of Ol’ Joe. This is a charming piece of history and literature for all ages.
– Source: Polo Area Community Theatre
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Casting is open to anyone. Potential performers fill out an audition form, are put into groups, introduce themselves to the board, read scripts with each other, and sing a song if it’s an audition for a musical. Some performers have gotten their start at PACT before graduating to larger theaters such as Timber Lake Playhouse in Mount Carroll. Regardless of whether someone thinks they can act or not, Dubois encourages them to give it a tryout: “You could have someone come in who’s never been on stage before and they do an excellent job.”
Don’t be shy, she says — but if you are, maybe taking the stage is just what you need. DuBois has seen younger performers come out of their shell, or use the theater to find the confidence to cope with difficult life situations.
“It’s a safe place for kids in Polo who don’t have a lot of things to do; it’s something that they can come to do,” DuBois said. “Sometimes there are kids who come here who may not have great family lives, and here’s a place where they have people they can talk to and have things that they can do.”
“Harvey” May 2024
“One in a Million” September 2023
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY KRISTIN DUBOIS
“FrUiTCaKeS”
The former opera house PACT performs at has undergone many changes since it was built in 1888. It used to have an upper seating level, now closed off and a new front entrance was built in the 1950s, and up until recently had served as a Buffalo Township Hall and offices — all while its stage remained in use for the theater. A new town hall was recently built across the street and the township voted in May to donate the building to the theater, which assumed full ownership in July.
Had the township gone another route with the building, perhaps selling it or tearing it down, the effect on the theater “would have been devastating,” DuBois said — but with the benefit having a stage to call their own comes the responsibility of ownership.
Already the board has a to-do list and wish list: improvements where needed, putting a little make-up on the building with cosmetic changes, modernizing it, making it handicapped accessible, adding restrooms — it’s a long list, but members are looking forward to the building’s next stage of development. With the non-profit 501c3 organization supported by money from ticket sales, donations, fundraisers and sponsorships, PACT operates on lean budget, but the group is committed to doing what it can with what it has, as well as finding other avenues of support.
DuBois has sought grants, but there’s not a lot coming — in fact, a recent proposal to the National Endowment of the Arts was thwarted by federal budget cuts to the endowment. Donations are also welcome, be it cash, time or talent. Monetary donations can be made on PACT’s website or during performances, and the group can always use an extra set of hands — and not just for clapping.
PROVIDED BY KRISTIN DUBOIS
PHOTO
Support the performing arts
The Polo Area Community Theatre is located at 117 N. Franklin Ave. in Polo. Find it on Facebook and Instagram or go to polotheatre.com for upcoming show information and to purchase tickets. Monetary donations to support the theater can be mailed to P.O. Box 36, Polo IL 61064.
“If we had someone with skills, such as electrical, who would donate their time and skills, that kind of thing would be big,” DuBois said. “Those are the big things. We really have to drum up bigger fundraisers than selling candy bars.”
Even though PACT has been around for 20 years, DuBois still hears from people, both locally and outside the area, who didn’t even know that there was a performing arts presence in Polo — but once they take a seat in front of the stage, they’re in for a treat, she said.
“We hear over and over about how people are impressed, for a town of this size, about the quality of theater we put on,” DuBois said. “We have people from all over who perform, and have people who come from all over to see the shows. We encourage people to come on out, give it a try and audition; we’re not picky. Come and sit and enjoy a show.”
Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
elieve it or not, there used to be a time when kids who wanted to have fun didn’t tie up a cell phone doing it. They’d tie up a pair of skates instead.
Well, what goes around comes around — and around and around and around.
For more than 75 years, people of all ages looking for fun have found it at a roller rink in rural Ogle County, just across the road from White Pines Forest State Park. With its original terrazzo floor and disco balls glimmering overhead, one might be tempted to say it’s like time stood still at The Rink at Pine Creek — though it’s pretty hard for anything to stand still there.
Though the name has changed a few times over the years since the rink first opened in 1948, much remains the same. The rink still welcomes folks to stop by for family fun, retaining the charm of a place that opened in the post-war years while the echoes of the baby boom could still be heard and Americans looked for ways to leave a
world war behind them and explore a world of possibilities ahead of them. Though roller skating has been around since the late 1800s, its popularity picked up steam during the pre- and postwar years, from the 1930s through the 1950s.
Formerly known as White Pines Skating Rink, the business has seen only a handful of owners over its nearly eight-decades, and in 2019 Rebecca and Aaron Wilson became the latest to run the rink. The couple with deep roots in the area have put their own spin on the rink while honoring its place in local history, ushering in a new generation of skaters, buoyed by an increase in skating’s popularity thanks in part to its presence in movies and children’s TV.
“Being able to carry on the legacy that it has — my grandmother skated here, her sister met her husband here — there’s a lot of history,” Rebecca said. “That’s great looking back, but a challenge we’re working on is how to become relevant today. Skating is coming back and it’s making its rounds, which is awesome. There’s a lot going on with roller skating and we’re excited to be a part of that, and it’s reminding the local community that we’re here, having the hours that suit everybody and trying to have that balance.”
Balance is important for skaters, too, but regardless of how they roll, The Rink welcomes skaters of all ages and skill levels during most of its hours — though Saturday evenings are reserved for teens and adults who’ve honed their skating skills, allowing them to zip around the floor without having to worry about watching out for beginners. The vibe also changes that night: While its DJs play contemporary hits at other times, they mix things up on Saturdays, with oldies and other genres getting skaters in the mood. Requests can also be made.
The Wilson family strives to make
The Rink at Pine Creek a place where friends and families can have a good time. Owners Aaron and Rebecca Wilson, pictured with their daughter Harper, maintain the vintage-1948 rink in rural Mount Morris while making the skating culture appealing for new generations.
“It gives them a little more flexibility on the skate floor and not having to have a bunch of young kids around,” Rebecca said. “It’s been nice to give adult skaters and jam skaters more room to do their thing.”
“Our main goal is to be a community spot for kids to have a safe environment where they’re not on their phones or computers,” Rebecca said.
While the novelty of nostalgia is a part of skating’s draw, the Wilsons are also quick to point out the other benefits of lacing up the skates. It’s a fun social activity. It helps get people up and moving without overexerting themselves, burning off calories and improving balance. During the winter it can be a cure for cabin fever.
“Roller skating is a great physical activity, and I think it’s attractive to parents who want their kids to be active,” Rebecca said. “Maybe they’re not an athlete and playing sports, but it gives them an opportunity to still be involved in a physical activity and exert some energy in a fun and engaging environment. With the music and lights, this place can get quite stimulating when everything’s going.”
There’s rarely a day that goes by when the Wilsons and their staff don’t see someone pulling off a neat move on the floor — moving to the music, spinning around and skating backwards, moving their feet like a Michael Jackson moonwalk.
While most skating rinks have wood floors, The Rink at Pine Creek is one of the few left where skaters can zip around on a terrazzo floor, which has been there since 1948. The durable flooring is typically make with chips of marble or glass embedded in tinted cement, which is then ground smooth and polished.
“It’s a skill that you can develop endlessly,” Aaron said. “If you put me in a pair of skates, I can skate around and go backwards a little bit, but there are people who have developed their skills to such a degree where they can do all kinds of wild stunts and stuff. That’s an appeal for some people.”
Skating is a family affair for the Wilsons and their three kids. Even their one-year old son is learning how to glide. One of the rink’s popular offerings is its Beginner Skate Camp, held monthly for kids ages 4 through 12. Focused on both first-timers and experienced skaters looking to add tricks or improve balance, the camp has built a loyal following. Skate Mate braces are available to help with balance.
A starring roll ... It was “Lights, camera, skate!” in October, when film-makers shot scenes for their independent movie at The Rink at Pine Creek. Nearly 3 dozen cast and crew members spent some time at The Rink filming scenes for “Be Right Back,” an independent, feature-length movie about two sisters who take a cross-country road-trip to check out their sister’s boyfriend, who she met in the early days of the internet. The crew spent a few weeks filming scenes for the comedy in Ogle and Lee counties, also shooting in Dixon, Oregon and Grand Detour. Director Kate Cobb said area residents welcomed the actors and 35-member crew. “Everyone has been so sweet and kind,” she said. Read more about the filming at ShawLocal, at tinyurl.com/4r8xvpw.
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When you want to cool your wheels for a little while, you can head over to The Rink’s arcade, where you’ll find nearly two dozen games.
“The earlier we can get them skating, the better,” Rebecca said. “They’re not as scared when they’re young.”
Their mission is clear: keep the rink a welcoming, safe and fun place for all ages.
“Our main goal is to be a community spot for kids to have a safe environment where they’re not on their phones or computers,” Rebecca said. “They’re exercising, spending time with friends, being in a controlled environment and still having fun.”
The rink is one of the largest in Illinois, at 11,000 square feet, and one of the few remaining ones with a terrazzo floor. Its size owes to the building once being an airplane hangar that was built in Minnesota before being disassembled and rebuilt in 1948 by original rink owner Clyde Wishard, who gave it the name White Pines Roller Palace. The Wilsons have paid homage to the place’s history with large logos from the rink’s history adorning one of its walls.
• Landscaping Design
• Installation
• Maintenance
• Retaining Walls
• Custom Patios
• Licensed Pesticide Applicators
• Snow Removal
• Rip-Rap and Sea Walls
• Water features
• Horticulture Degree Staff
• Outdoor Kitchens and Fireplaces Serving the Lake Carroll Community
PHOTO PROVIDED BY REBECCA WILSON
The rink also has an arcade with about 20 games, in space that was expanded this past fall to double its fun. Games include the classics as well as interactive movement games, bowling, skeeball, air hockey and basketball. The new additions also came with a new redemption format: no more tokens and tickets, but a card system instead. “It gives kids another option to do something when they’re here,” Rebecca said.
Customers can book private parties, and The Rink at Pine Creek also offers school break specials, and hosts holiday events such as the New Year’s Eve skate and a 1,000-egg Easter egg hunt. Come October, the rink will celebrate National Skating Month with giveaways, games and more.
Beyond just the fun that it offers, the rink holds a deeper significance for many locals and visitors to the area. It’s a cherished landmark woven into the fabric of northwest Illinois.
“It’s been in the community for an extremely long time,” Aaron said. “We constantly hear from people in the community, especially from older people, who tell us, ‘I went here when I was a kid, ‘That was the spot when I was in high school.’ It’s cool, and it feels like we’re taking care of something that’s a lot bigger than us.”
PHOTO PROVIDED BY REBECCA WILSON
The Rink has also proven to be a good fit with the Wilsons’ goal of attracting visitors to the area. They also own Pine Creek Escape, a getaway that offers vacation cabins nestled in the forest and a wedding venue set against a canyon backdrop. The businesses are complimented by the area’s chief attraction, the nearby 385-acre White Pines Forest State Park, which features trails, picnicking and a lodge.
Combining nostalgia and fresh energy, the Wilsons are happy to help guide The Rink at Pine Creek on its 75-year journey — caretakers of its legacy who are keenly aware of their roll in local history, while working to make sure The Rink plays a roll in the region’s future.
“Roller skating is definitely on the rise,” Rebecca said. “We’re looking forward to being part of that.”
Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@ shawmedia.com.
Go for a spin
The Rink at Pine Creek, 6929 W. Pines Road in rural Mount Morris, is open from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 1 to 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Special event hours and dates are announced on skatingfun.com and on Facebook and Instagram. Find it on online or call 815-946-9988 for more information.
America has long had a love affair with trains.
Iron horses united a young nation on its quest to reach from sea to shining sea. They’ve been immortalized in song all their live long days. Spine-like tracks that carry countless tons of cargo have long been the backbone of America’s economic engine. Train sets zip around plywood playgrounds in basements everywhere, and a little engine showed us what we could do with optimism and hard work.
Let’s face it: There aren’t many things more powerful than a locomotive — well, except Superman.
These days though, most people take them for granted. We spot them off in the distance as we travel byways and highways, or we cross paths with
them when we have to sit in our cars and wait by yellow and black signs where X marks the spot.
But for some people, the love affair with trains never ended, and this dedicated lot has found a place to share their passion in Rochelle, where they come from near and far to see trains up close, snap a picture or two, and swap stories with fellow fans of the mighty machines.
About 80 miles from downtown Chicago, Rochelle is home to an intersection of two major railroad lines going from the Windy City toward the West Coast, along with a place where rail fans and railroads intersect: The Ken Wise Rochelle Railroad Park.
Rochelle has been the location of a diamond intersection with the Union Pacific’s Overland Route and Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s Northern Transcon since the early 1870s, but it wasn’t until 1998 when the wedge-shaped park between crossings on Ninth Street opened and the spot became a place to safely watch trains, attracting both rail enthusiasts and curious onlookers alike who come to watch nearly 85 trains a day haul millions of tons of merchandise through Rochelle on two rail lines going from Chicago to the West Coast.
A Union Pacific engine rolls through the diamond crossing at the Ken Wise Rochelle Railroad Park.
But if you visit the park, don’t look for any passengers waving as they pass by; passenger service ended on both lines in 1971.
The park, the first of its kind in the United States, attracts railroad enthusiasts from all over the world, gathering to see engines, railcars and payloads — and with two busy rail lines, there’s always a lot to see.
For lifelong Rochelle residents like Jenny Thompson, trains are something they’re used to seeing. Thompson, Rochelle’s director of community engagement, grew up a couple of blocks from the park and remembers collecting rocks and flattening pennies on the rails, “dangerous things that we should not have been doing back in the day,” she said. Now she’s promoting the park as a prime tourist attraction — and it’s paying off. An estimated 3,000 people turned out to see the 4014 Union Pacific steam engine when it stopped at the Rochelle Railroad Park in July 2019.
“For someone like me who’s grown up here, the trains are part of everyday life,” Thompson said. “You live and ignore them, and kind of don’t realize how many people are so intrigued by them. People come from all over, and it’s amazing to me to see people come to little Rochelle just for the trains.”
On one occasion, “little Rochelle” became big Rochelle, when a rail event attracted nearly 60,000 people to this town of nearly 10,000 people.
Special historic steam engines make nationwide tours, such as Union Pacific’s “Big Boy” steam engine, which made appearances in Rochelle in 2019 and 2024, the most recent of which ballooned the city’s population nearly six times its size, which was a boon for the city’s businesses. “That’s so huge because we are a small community, and to keep
our small business community alive, we need visitors from outside to come here, and we’re so grateful for that,” Thompson said.
The park, named for former Rochelle economic development director Ken Wise in 2016, has a large picnic shelter, gazebo, benches dedicated to past rail fan visitors, replica hobo shelter, small outdoor grill, and two smaller engines on display that once were part of Rochelle’s thriving industrial scene.
The park’s gift shop offers railroad items and apparel for people of all ages, handicapped accessible restrooms and a small viewing area toward the BNSF line; it’s open year-round from Wednesday to Saturday. The picnic shelter contains displays of hobo symbols, once used by transient train “passengers” to identify such things as safe camping spots and where to get alcohol. Union Pacific’s radio communications also are heard within the shelter. Mementos from Rochelle’s railroad history are also on display inside the gift shop. Rochelle Township High School’s nickname of the “Hubs” was inspired by the railroad and the industry it brought to town. Union Pacific has an intermodal facility nearby, and the town once was home to a Nippon Sharyo plant that made rail cars.
A Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) engine rolls through the diamond crossing at the Ken Wise Rochelle Railroad Park. The park attracts tourists from all over the globe who come to see trains criss-cross the tracks where BNSF’s Northern Transcon and Union Pacific’s Overland routes intersect.
CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM
Left: The park’s gift shop carries railroad-related items and apparel for all ages, and also has handicapped-accessible restrooms and a small viewing area facing toward the BNSF line. Right: The park’s picnic shelter and gazebo gives visitors places to relax and watch trains pass by.
Outside, the trains offer a lot to see, too, as they transport tons of cargo. While some is inside railcars, some can be seen passing by, like a mile’s worth of John Deere tractors in full view. Railcars have also become canvasses for covert artists whose colorful graffiti attracts attention as the trains pass by. And if they’re lucky, train fans will see a rare sighting: the occasional caboose, nearly 40 years after they were taken off the rails in everyday use.
More than just a place to see trains though, the park is also a place where people make connections.
“People have made friendships here that have spanned decades,” Thompson said. “We have a group that comes here every Saturday, we call them our regulars, and they’re from all over the place — the Chicago suburbs and southern Wisconsin — and they all met here. They’ve kept in touch with each other and have become good friends.”
Those friends have an impressive resumé of railroad knowledge and a keen appreciation of trains, from their history to their color schemes, and they’re always on the lookout to learn more.
Railroad companies have their usual engine color and design schemes — Union Pacific’s is red and gold, and BNSF’s is green and orange, for example — but sometimes they’ll roll out special paint and design schemes for promotional purposes or historical tributes, such as Union Pacific’s No. 1995 Chicago and North Western design scheme (Union Pacific acquired Chicago and Northwestern in 1995). Union Pacific also has tribute engines for other companies that have since merged into it, such as Southern Pacific. Most BNSF engines on the rails these days display the current design, but one never knows when they’ll see an old black-and-yellow or silver-and-red Santa Fe engine, or a green-and-white Burlington Northern engine behind the lead. Moments like that have train enthusiasts eagerly waiting for the next train to roll through.
During the late 1800s, when it was more common for hobos to hitch a ride on a train, the unauthorized rail riders developed their own “sign” language,
hobo signs
Chicago and North Western built its line through town in 1854, and the Chicago and Iowa (later Chicago, Burlington and Quincy; and then Burlington Northern) came to town in 1871, and the sounds of clanks and clunks have been heard on the diamond crossing for more than 150 years.
Railroad enthusiasts love to look at locomotives, taking notes, snapping photos and comparing notes with their fellow trainspotters — and they’re especially chuffed when one chugs by that they don’t get to see often, like some that were seen recently at the Rochelle Railroad Park ... Left: A Norfolk Southern engine leads a group of train cars on the Union Pacific’s Overland Route line. Right: A Burlington Northern caboose brings up the rear. Below: A six-engine lead group hauls intermodal freight west from Chicago.
One lesser-known story about railroading in Rochelle is that the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul (the “Milwaukee Road”) also went through town on a shared concurrence with the CB&Q from Steward to Flagg Center for a few decades. This Milwaukee Road line went south from Racine, Wisconsin, to a coal mine in Cherry — the same mine where a major disaster that killed more than 200 men and children working in the mine in 1909. Coal from Cherry made its way through Rochelle at that time. The Steward to Cherry (later ending in Ladd) stretch was abandoned in the early 1980s; the line from Flagg Center going north is semi-abandoned with rails remaining but rarely seeing any service. There is a Milwaukee Road caboose that sits on private property near the park.
There’s a certain magic that comes with the distant sound of a train whistle, a thrill that transcends age and time. It’s not just about the engines itself, but the anticipation, the shared joy and the sudden rush of energy it brings. For many, it’s a moment that sparks childhood memories or awakens a deep, nostalgic wonder.
“You see so much excitement on people’s faces when they start to hear the whistle in the distance, or they start seeing the gates come down,” Thompson said. “They’ll be inside the gift shop looking around, and will just take off and run outside. Everyone from little kids to grown adults gets excited, and it’s fun to see that.”
Next stop: Rochelle
The Ken Wise Rochelle Railroad Park, 124 N. Ninth St. in Rochelle, is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.. The gift shop is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday from April to October, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on other months. Find it on Facebook, go to rochelle- railroadpark.org or call 815-562-7031 for more information. Go to photos/webcam/bnsf-and-union-trains.com/trn/videospacific-in-rochelle-il for a live webcam of activity at the park.
Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
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Birds of a feather ...
Bird-watchers at Lake Carroll saw a curious sight during Independence Day: a couple of life-sized flamingos coming in for a landing. Maryann Buettner (25-77) decided to bring a little bit of Florida to her lakeside community for the Fourth, donning some festive flamingo wear for a stroll around the lake. Maryann has been a regular contributor to our “Life on the Lake” feature, contributing photos of family fun on the Fourth since Lake Lifestyle’s early days, appearing in each August’s issue. Thanks, Maryann, for sharing your photos of life on the lake!
A Guide To Lake Carroll Real Estate
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