Local History Blog
Connect to Local History @ Palos Heights Public Library
Palos Heights Public Library’s very own Christine Sankey was born in 1949 in Chicago. Her father, Nick DeLeo, who grew up on Chicago’s Taylor Street, had operated a bakery in Chicago. By the time of Chris’ birth, the family had relocated to Palos Heights, and Nick DeLeo became one of the town’s first police officers, working his way up from volunteer to eventually become chief of police. Chris spent her childhood in Palos Heights: “It was great…my grandparents owned a paint store just three blocks away from us (on Harlem Avenue). So, we’d go over there all the time and visit them. It was wide open around here. We had fields to play in, and we used to play baseball in the streets.” You may recognize the name of her grandparents’ shop: Hillig House of Color on Harlem, which Chris’ brother still operates.
One-time Palos Heights Library Board member Leonard Fieroh was born in Chicago, with a twin sister, in 1920. The son of a machinist, he grew up in and around the Southwest Side’s Chicago Lawn neighborhood. Tragedy struck the small family when Leonard’s mother died of pneumonia, brought on by tuberculosis, when Leonard was about 7. The family moved around a lot, but Leonard graduated from Chicago’s Morrill School and Lindblom High School. He joined the US Navy following Pearl Harbor, spending time at the Aviation Machinists School on Navy Pier and also at the Norfolk, VA Assembly and Repair facility. Ultimately, he spent one year, eight months with the Navy’s Atlantic Fleet Air Force. After his marriage, Leonard and his wife, Lois, moved to Palos Heights in May of 1952.
Since 1968, many Palos Heights children have begun their academic endeavors in the “Sandbox,” an early education and pre-school facility located in Palos Heights and surrounding communities. In May, Sue Moustakas, founder of the Sandbox School, contributed an interview to the Palos Heights Public Library’s Oral History Collection.
For many years, the current site of Lake Katherine Nature Center was an eyesore to the residents of Palos Heights. Near the site of the Palos Gun Club, the undeveloped area became a fly-by-night dumping ground along the Cal-Sag Channel – but Mayor Eugene Simpson (1981-1993) had a vision to develop the area into a world-class amenity, a nature preserve for recreation and education.
One of Palos Heights’ best known amenities is the Lake Katherine Nature Center, and thanks to the Palos Heights Woman’s Club, visitors to the facility are now greeted with a beautiful Anniversary Garden near the entrance. The Anniversary Garden is only one of the latest projects for an organization that has been a steadfast supporter of education in the community through its contributions to civic and cultural endeavors, including the Library, which was started in 1944 as a club community project; the nameplate above is located near the Library’s Circulation Desk.More Articles...
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| Palos Heights Public Library 12501 South 71st Ave., Palos Heights, IL Ph (708) 448-1473 Fax (708) 448-8950 |
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