Showing Skokie 2007

  The Summer Place

Showing Skokie

SKOKIE IS BY FAR AND LARGE THE BEST SUBURBAN IDEAL VILLAGE IN ILLINOIS.  Rising from the muddy waters in 1888, it became a bordering neighbor north of the boundary line of Chicago.  Skokie is an Indian word meaning "swamp."

The original Skokie log cabin was built around 1847 by the Meyer Family.  They lived in the teeny-weeny cabin with their 8 children for several years.  Just imagine their living conditions and how they managed to move around and about.  It was moved to the above location, just next to the Skokie Heritage Museum, in 1982 near the Skokie Village City Hall in Oakton Avenue. 

SIGN ON THE WALL OF SKOKIE VILLAGE HALL

I believe that a man should be proud of the city in which he lives and that he should so live that his city will be proud that he lives in it.

 - Abraham Lincoln

Residents of Skokie are very much impressed and pleased with the excellent functionality of Skokie officials and employees of its police, fire department - retaining the prestigious Insurance Service Office (ISO) Class I, public works, citizens assistance, health and human services, and animal control.  To hapless residents with squirrel problem - animal control employees are at your house with their traps.  If you have a complaint about the taste of fresh chickens that you bought at a Skokie store - the Skokie Health Department inspectors are at the store immediately.  Garbage collections are done every Monday and Thursday!!  There's one problem though - the cover of the 20-gallon garbage containers are damaged after some use, unhinged.  Before recycling programs became the cause of environmentalists, Skokie had been doing it - collecting and recycling salvageable materials for many, many years.  The Skokie Public Library is computerized, fully modernized with well-stacked books from all over the world, videos, and popular magazines. Parking is no problem and it's free!  Residents have no complain or have few complains that nobody knows of.

Primarily,very much and well populated by Jews in the 1960s until the late 1970s and beyond, it became a great magnet for relocation and better place for many upwardly mobile immigrants from many parts of the world - mostly Indians, Assyrians, Iraqis, Iranians, Greeks, Japanese, Filipinos, Koreans, Thais and Afghans.  The current population is 63,348 with projected growth of 66,659.  

Skokians enjoy the many nature preserves and parks, including the world famous Northshore Sculpture Park, where joggers get a glimpse of as they run early in the morning or in the twilight time.  Even Gandhi claimed a part of the park.

 

Little kids can go fly a kite.  For the first time this summer of 2008, a deer got lost in the park, that's most unsual to a lot of residents.  Usually, you see dogs, ducks and turtles.

The favorite picnic areas of Filipino-Americans and other local community are Lorel and Laramie Parks.  There are about 3,380 Pinoys living in Skokie, 25 percent of its total population.

The faithful of St. Joan of Arc Filipino Community

The Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Mall is a big spree for young and old shopaholics.  Tired shoppers make a brief stop and seat to rest and cool off at the beautiful gazebo.

The NorthShore Art festivals are held every year for the delight of everyone.  It's a great place to be.  Along the way, art lovers get to see Thomas Legault of Michigan starting to paint his new nature canvas and was done in less than an hour.

 

Entertainers Cirrus Falcon sung popular hit songs by the Eagles and other groups, and on the northern end, a listener commented on the wonderful voice of  Michelet Innocent and Harpist played for the listening crowd. 

Kids had fun with the metal 3-dimentional, non-functional humpty-dumpty  by Kimber Fiebiger of Minnesota.

   

Some can't help but stop and look at some of Gigi's Playhouse photos - in awareness of kids with Down Syndrome.

 Quenching your thirst with a mango smoothie or your favorite drink at Maui Wow is tasty good!

The NorthShore Performing Centre is favorite venue for the Miss & Miss Teen International Contest.  It was held for three days with the final beauty winners chosen last Saturday, July 26, 2008.  Jan Murphy, Miss California, was a big favorite and was voted first runner-up by the judges who were former Miss Teen themselves.

      

Skokie is a neat place to be!

08132008