April 24, 2014

My Town

A vintage postcard is showing the start of the business district in my hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The photo below is what it looks like today.
Part of the brick street is still being used, the marquee from the movie theater now welcomes customers to the ice cream parlor and toy store.  

The circle garden is in memory for one Kenosha's noteworthy residents, Florence Parry Heide, who was/is a best selling children's author.

In 1967 Francis Parry Heide's first children's book, Maximilian was published. She went on to write over 100 picture books to adolescent novels. 
Her best known work is her Treehorn series.

Kenosha's school children were fortunate to have Florence Parry Heide visit them often and read her fabulous story books to them.

Florence Parry Heide organized a Fourth of July bike parade for the children for many years. Hundreds of children with their bikes decorated would gather outside her home and ride twice around her block to the beat of a drum. Florence Parry Heide died on October 23, 2011, to honor her the parade is still held each year.

Kenosha has been the hometown to many notable citizen. Who is famous from you hometown?

2 comments:

  1. I don't think that there are famous people in every town. The infamous person in my town was Porter Rockwell.

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  2. Hmmm, famous people...well, Eli Lilly of pharmaceutical company fame established his business in Greencastle, and John Dillinger's biggest 'haul' was from a Greencastle bank (which actually still operates in the very same building!). There are many famous folks who went to the local university, (DePauw) such as Bill and Scott Rasmussen...founders of ESPN...John Jakes, author...Sutemi Chinda...Anna Elizabeth Dickinson...and so on.
    Kenosha is a lovely place!

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