18 S. Park Avenue, Hinsdale, Illinois

This historic Hinsdale home was the perfect size for a five-year-old who continued to live there during their grade school years. My childhood understanding was that it was a schoolhouse or some other structure that was moved onto this lot. The basement included a cellar room that had remnants of the coal chute and mounds of large chunks of coal that had never been removed. My favorite tree to this day was in the backyard. It was three giant elm trees twisted together, surrounded by a two-foot deep stone-lined well. A back and front yard without fences allowed games of kickball, baseball, and other childhood games for the neighborhood children. I loved watching the trains go by and flattening of an occasional penny on the tracks. My habit of reading the newspaper early in the morning came from The News Agency dropping a bundle of Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, and Wall Street Journal newspapers for me to fold and deliver on my neighborhood paper route. Being able to walk to the village stores, the library at Village Hall, or ride my bike to Oak School under the tree-tunneled streets allowed me the first experience of vibrancy and nature in a neighborhood. The number of rings coming from the bell tower of Village Hall for each hour would allow us to know what time it was. The half-hour would be identified by a single ring of the bell. This was a charming way for a child to mark the passage of time.

This historic Hinsdale home built in 1938 was the perfect size for a five-year-old who continued to live there during their grade school years. My childhood understanding was that it was a schoolhouse or some other structure that was moved onto this lot. The basement included a cellar room that had remnants of the coal chute and mounds of large chunks of coal that had never been removed. My favorite tree to this day was in the backyard. It was three giant elm trees twisted together, surrounded by a two-foot deep stone-lined well. A back and front yard without fences allowed games of kickball, baseball, and other childhood games for the neighborhood children. I loved watching the trains go by and flattening of an occasional penny on the tracks. My habit of reading the newspaper early in the morning came from The News Agency dropping a bundle of Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, and Wall Street Journal newspapers for me to fold and deliver on my neighborhood paper route. Being able to walk to the village stores, the library at Village Hall, or ride my bike to Oak School under the tree-tunneled streets allowed me the first experience of vibrancy and nature in a neighborhood. The number of rings coming from the bell tower of Village Hall for each hour would allow us to know what time it was. The half-hour would be identified by a single ring of the bell. This was a charming way for a child to mark the passage of time.

This historic Hinsdale home built in 1938 was the perfect size for a five-year-old who continued to live there during their grade school years. My childhood understanding was that it was a schoolhouse or some other structure that was moved onto this lot. The basement included a cellar room that had remnants of the coal chute and mounds of large chunks of coal that had never been removed. My favorite tree to this day was in the backyard. It was three giant elm trees twisted together, surrounded by a two-foot deep stone-lined well. A back and front yard without fences allowed games of kickball, baseball, and other childhood games for the neighborhood children. I loved watching the trains go by and flattening of an occasional penny on the tracks. My habit of reading the newspaper early in the morning came from The News Agency dropping a bundle of Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, and Wall Street Journal newspapers for me to fold and deliver on my neighborhood paper route. Being able to walk to the village stores, the library at Village Hall, or ride my bike to Oak School under the tree-tunneled streets allowed me the first experience of vibrancy and nature in a neighborhood. The number of rings coming from the bell tower of Village Hall for each hour would allow us to know what time it was. The half-hour would be identified by a single ring of the bell. This was a charming way for a child to mark the passage of time.