Life in Our Town.

Every second of every hour of every day of every month of every year a child is born. One of the surprises to my children was learning there were people with their same birthdays. I didn't want to let them know there are approximately 2 million people who have the same birthday---if you really want to be the novel one, it would have been best to have been born on 2/29.

Since becoming a village, we have seen dramatic growth in the population; but nothing brings up the vitality of our growth than what you experience when the snow and cold weather decide to take a breather and move one.  Head into town and you see parents with their kids---you'll see them in strollers, on shoulders and bundled to the chest or backs of their parents. With many families you see the older kids following on bikes, foot, or in wagons---how cool is that?

Imagine if we could take a time machine 50 or 100 years back in time to see what life was like before Starbucks, Einstein's and Caribou Coffee came to town. In researching Glen Ellyn over the past 100 years you will find for a town that was in development, it did just that---it grew and it grew fast. In 1914, Our Town was one of the fastest growing communities as more and more people moved from Chicago to live in an area that was accessible to the city.  Funny, nothing has changed.

What you would find if you went back in time were many of the same buildings that line the streets of the village; sure many of them have different tenants and businesses, but the original names and owners of the buildings are very much a part of the history. All you have to do is look above to the roof line or on one of the sides of the building to see who the early occupants were; probably one of my favorite things about Our Town is they have not changed the architecture of the downtown all that greatly.

Moving back to 2011, I am going to make a request I have yet to make in the blog. If you have gotten this far, please bare with me. If you have noticed on the "Our Town" blog, there is a photo that usually is on the top. As a photographer, I am looking to expand my experience; in addition to shooting sports and practically any other subject under the sun, I would like to explore photographing families that are expanding. In other words, I would like to begin photographing women who are expecting or have recently given birth. If you know of someone who is expecting, or has become a Mom, would you please let them know I am looking to gain experience?  In other words, if they let me take their picture, and live in and around the Western Suburbs of Chicago, it's on me. Free. No Charge. Nada. Again, it's experience for me, and it's a photo for them.

Glen Ellyn will continue to grow in population, and with every child or adult who moves into Our Town, it means a richer, more robust place to raise our families. That's what has not changed since the early days and will continue long after we have moved on.

Thanks for stopping by.