Groundhog Day became a major holiday here in Woodstock in 1993. That year marked the release of the film Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray, that was filmed largely in our town. But if you were paying close attention this year, there were hints that something bigger than usual might be happening. First, there were calendar-related clues. Take another look at the title of this post. Today’s date is a palindrome; it is the same whether read […]
My post below, which I titled Afternoon Treat, has been well received. It has been viewed 95 times here on the blog itself and many more times on Facebook. I can’t keep track of the number of views on FB because the post has been shared by many people, some of whom I don’t even know. A few minutes ago, I heard from Jenn, one of the riders in the picture. I thought you might […]
So this happened a few days ago. I love living in a place like Woodstock, where country still comes to town occasionally. It doesn’t happen as often now that our population is nearly 25,000. Yes, we are a stop on the commuter train line. But no, we are not a suburb. I hope the riders offered their horses a DQ. Maybe a hay and oats Blizzard?
Part 1 — in which hopes are dashed and hearts are broken I was scrolling down my Facebook page last week when a headline and photo grabbed my eye. Here’s the article, by The McKenzie Post, that went viral with Woodstock Facebook users the day after the Oscars: Leonardo DiCaprio is Moving to Woodstock, Illinois Located about 50 miles outside of Chicago, Woodstock, Illinois is a peaceful town filled with people who have almost no […]
You can be sure that I will be glued to the TV during the Super Bowl tomorrow evening. I hope the Broncos win, but it’s not the football game that I’m most interested in. So you read that and thought, ah ha, she’s going to say she’ll be watching the commercials, right? But no, that’s not it either. The big attraction for me will be the halftime show. And not because I’m a Cold Play […]
“Honey, why did they do it?” I was having lunch with my 95-year-old mother on Nov. 14. Because of her dementia and poor hearing, she misses a lot of what is going on around her. But that day she caught a bit of conversation from the booth behind her as a couple talked about the Paris attacks. When she asked what they were talking about, I gave her the shortest, least threatening explanation I could. […]
Hey, didn’t you used to be Miss Dierksen? Yes, I reply. Yes, I was…. In fact, I still am! I occasionally hear that question—and give that reply—when I’m out and about in Woodstock, though not as often as I did a few years ago. Now in my 14th happy year of retirement, encounters with my former students have become less frequent. But that makes them all the more fun when they do occur. Before I […]
The first time I drove into Woodstock, Illinois, my car found its way to the town square all by itself. Or at least, that’s how it seems looking back. I wasn’t searching for the center of town, or for a place of beauty, history, culture, and shopping. I was looking for a phone booth. It was early June of 1970, and I was on a mission. I was hoping to land my first teaching job, […]
Note: This post is the second in a series about the Woodstock Square. If you like to begin things at the beginning—and if you missed Part 1 of the series—you can find that here. The Woodstock Square is THE place to be on Saturday. After all, it’s Farmers Market day. People spill out of the shops and restaurants, and the park in the center of the Square is a joyful, colorful mix of people of […]
The Woodstock town square is the most recognizable location in our city, as well as a gathering place and cultural center. For residents and visitors alike, when we hear Woodstock, it is the Square, with its Victorian buildings and brick streets, that we picture in our minds. On this Throwback Thursday, let’s take a quick look at the history of the Square. In a future post, we’re going to take a field trip to check […]
Groundhog Day greetings from snowy Woodstock! Yes, that’s right. I’m in Woodstock, not Columbus. After receiving a foot and a half of wind-driven snow yesterday, I shouldn’t have been surprised to get a text this morning informing me that my flight was canceled. Disappointed, yes, but surprised, no. But do not worry. This post will have a happy ending. Before we get to that, let me show you just how snowy it is here. A […]
Christmas is a truly magical time in Woodstock, IL. And the magic is centered in the heart of our town, the historic Woodstock Square. During the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, workers string thousands of lights in the trees on the Square and on the buildings surrounding it. Then, on the night after Thanksgiving, Miss Woodstock flips the switch. This year more than 2,000 people were there to ooh and ahh at the beauty. Rather […]
This is arguably the busiest weekend that Woodstock will see all year. Orson Welles, who began his career here, is being honored in the 80th anniversary of the Todd Theater Festival at the Woodstock Opera House. Both of our local high schools held their graduation ceremonies. Girls on the Run sponsored a race. There was a motorcycle rally this morning. That would be more than enough for one weekend. But none of these is the […]
Yes, I know I’ve written two similar posts, but I can’t help adding another. Suddenly, Woodstock seems to be on everyone’s radar. I can’t say it often enough: this is a great place to live. Here’s the latest honor to come our way. In its April 2014 issue, Chicago magazine published the results of their intensive search for the 12 best places to live in the Chicago area. Woodstock was selected as one of those […]
I moved to Woodstock, IL, in 1970, at age 23, for a good reason. I had landed my first adult job, as an English teacher at Woodstock High School. Woodstock was, at the time, a town of 10,000 people. Located 10 miles south of the Wisconsin border, it was — and I guess to some degree still is — more rural than suburban. We are the second to the last stop on the northwestern commuter […]
By now, you may have seen this morning’s ugly numbers in Woodstock, IL: temperature -18 wind chill -43 Today we have no school, no public library, no garbage pickup, no shopping in my favorite stores. And at Maples at the Sonatas: no Wilcox staff, no construction workers, no potential buyers. Almost no people or vehicles to be seen outside. I’ve lost track of how much snow we have on the ground because it has fallen […]
I still remember the woman who wouldn’t get out of the car. She and her husband were driving around on a Sunday afternoon, looking at model homes. But he walked into our sales office alone. “My wife won’t come in,” he said a little sheepishly. “She refuses to live this far out.” I never found out if she considered Woodstock too far from Chicago, too far from its suburbs, or too far from wherever else […]
Home Sweet Abbey 