Lawnmowing Neighbors and Female Bikers Rev Up for the Fourth

By Victoria Scott

At the call "Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines," a roar will go up from the machines of the Lawndale Lawnmowers. They are re-joining the parade for the second year after a long absence.Photo courtesy of Paul Greenerger

When they roll into place along the Central Street parade route on July 4, the Entyce (motorcycle) Ryders and the Lawndale Lawnmowers will be demonstrating the kind of "civic engagement" and "social connectedness" Robert Putnam called for in his 2000 treatise, "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community."

But mostly, they will be having fun.

The Lawndale Lawnmowers Precision Drill and Mulching Brigade is one group reviving the tradition of neighborhood participation in the parade, which began in 1922. Marching behind Playboy bunnies in the parade one year and a fleet of Miyatas another, they have an important function, says Paul Greenberger: "The parade needs court jesters."

Dr. Greenberger and his wife, Rosalie, count themselves among the "crazy ones" who harbor fond memories of their block's prize-winning entries of the 1980s. Last year, he says, the Greenbergers joined "a few hard core people who have [the parade] in their blood" and began agitating for a repeat performance.

Their persuasion took the form of flyers and pep talks. They expanded beyond the 2700 block of Lawndale to assemble a critical mass of marchers, and, says Dr. Greenberger, "People got hooked." He was especially pleased that a number of young families signed on.

After their organizational meeting last Monday, the brigade will be tuning up their machines. "We practice a very little bit," says Dr. Greenberger - "on the morning of the Fourth.

With lawnmower blades removed for safety's sake, they will be executing various maneuvers during the parade - inscribing figure eights, mowing in place and performing wheelies on a portable ramp.

They are expecting 25 to 30 participants, says Dr. Greenberger, but are still looking for a few good mowers, wagons and kids on bikes. "No prior experience is necessary," he says.

While the Lawnmowers reprise an old act in the parade, the Entyce Ryders, a female motorcycle group, will be making their first appearance. Not denying they enjoy their status as pioneers ("Once they find out we're women, it's different"), Lavicieia Sturdivant, president and spokesperson, says they have a serious purpose as well.

"We are ladies on a positive mission," she says. "Wherever you go, you conduct yourself as a lady."

The group got acquainted at a beauty shop in Chicago three years ago, says Ms. Sturdivant, and, seven strong, had their first outing - a party given by another female group - in February 2004.

They chose a name, established a board and a set of regulations, set dues and decided to hold mandatory monthly meetings in their homes. They also voted to participate in frequent community service projects. To date these include such things as a clothes drive for victims of Hurricane Katrina, a back-to-school girls' basketball tournament and a Toys for Tots collection.

The Entyce Ryders will rev their engines in Evanston's parade for the first time. The group includes three Evanston women and is intent on showing that biker chicks are ladies. Photo courtesy of Entyce Ryders

The Ryders now number a dozen, three of them from Evanston and the others from Chicago, and range in age from 21 to 35. By day they are postal workers, real estate agents, nursing assistants, college students. Ms. Sturdivant operates Heavenly Hands, a year-old massage therapy business.

After work, they like nothing more than riding. "Most of our significant others also ride, so they know the importance of it," Ms. Sturdivant says. She estimates the group spends 15 to 20 days a month together. Each has a bike name: Evanston's Latanya Knoble is Miss Tasty; Sienna Stanley is All Good; and Ms. Sturdivant is Hot Fudge.

All but one of the Ryders have sports bikes (also known as crotch rockets, says Ms. Sturdivant). Led by their road captain, they ride in formation all over the Chicago area. They are planning a second trip to Atlanta in July, trailing their bikes as they did last year.

Aware of the hazards of their sport ("My mother always reminds me," says Ms. Sturdivant), they ride with helmets and, she says, act on their belief that "it is never a bad habit to pray before we get on our bikes."

But on the Fourth of July the president says their main challenge will be their children. "Our kids want to be a part of the parade," she says. Ten of the Ryders have children, and nine of them are girls. Watch for them to walk in front or in back of Entyce Ryders, wearing t-shirts and smiles of pride.

Ask Eco Girl – I-Go Car Sharing

By Mayre Press

Even the most avid public transit user, biker or walker has an occasional need for a car. Other than a car rental agency, where can a person turn for four wheels? Simple – join hundreds of Chicagoland drivers who choose I-GO Car Sharing (www.igocars.org).

The program was started in 2002 by the Center for Neighborhood Technology with support from the City of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Sharon Feigon, CEO, said, "I-GO was the first car-sharing organization in the Chicago market and remains the only program with 100 percent low-emission vehicles."

With more than 90 locations in 22 Chicago neighborhoods and two suburbs (Evanston and Oak Park), I-GO is accessible to students, commuters and others who pay a one-time $75 membership fee. Members can reserve a car online by entering their member ID and PIN numbers or by calling 773-278-4446. Unlike those who rent cars, I-GO members reserve cars by the hour, and no daily fees are incurred.

One local I-GO spot is convenient to Northwestern University faculty, employees and students. Ethan, a member for six months said, "The system is fast and easy, from registering a car, picking it up and dropping it off. They started electronic statements, so I don't have to get things in the mail."

In addition to the location at Sheridan and Foster Avenues near NU, there are cars at the Maple Avenue Garage, Main Street and Hinman Avenue and, Evanston's newest I-GO location, the Sherman Plaza garage.

Single-mom Raquel lives near the CTA because she cannot afford a car. She joined I-GO nearly two years ago to have a car for some errands. "It's been hard not owning a vehicle while having a preschooler," Raquel said, "but I do spend more time interacting with my child when we walk or take the train. I'm pleased with the convenience and availability of their vehicles. It's also nice to know we are improving the quality of the environment by not putting another car on the road to add congestion and pollution."

Steve joined recently, in part because, as he said, "We've got an old car that's at the end of its life cycle. I like having access to a car for occasional use. Many car owners who commute via public transit have cars that sit idle for 100-150 hours per week."
•Doing its own research, the I-GO team has found the following:
• Each I-GO car replaces 15 cars on the road
• Members increased these green habits-walking, 25 percent; biking, 14.5 percent; public transit use, 17.6 percent; and 45.9 percent gave up or deferred purchase of a vehicle
• Members drove only 9.6 miles per week or 500 miles per year, while typical car owners drove 10,000 miles per year.

The future of the I-GO car-sharing program looks bright. Sharon Feigon said, "We're in discussion with Pace and RTA to find ways to expand while complementing their services. Presently, I-GO has a 155-car fleet used by 5,300 members."

I-GO selects new locations based on their convenience for members. "We choose dense areas that are close to where people live and work," Ms. Feigon said. "The cars need to be in visible places so members feel safe 24/7. We get lots of requests, with some clustered in a particular neighborhood, so we'll look for space there."

A supporter since I-GO's creation, the City of Chicago continues to promote the group. Ms. Feigon noted, "City employees are asked to use I-GO to avoid the need for new cars in its fleet. We've had great support from businesses, organizations and government entities. The I-GO fleet is self-sustaining now." But she added, "We will need to seek additional funding for growth."

Contact Eco Gal at info@evanstonroundtable.com or ecogal247@yahoo.com.

FILM REVIEW

"Hostel: Part II"

A Film Review By Brian Murphy

Writer/Director Eli Roth has carved out a career making relatively low-budget shock-horror films. "Cabin Fever" and the original "Hostel" hooked audiences with twisted humor, fairly original concepts and sensationalistic gore.

"Hostel: Part II," all shock, no substance, is devoid of these aspects. It is like the demon-seed batch of the worst of Roger Corman's films.
Shriek!-As you witness the same film twice. "Hostel: Part II" is a virtual replica of the original, only this time three nubile, disposable women replace the first film's three despicable, disposable men as the protagonists.
Gasp!-While trying to stay awake through dialogue that is both inane and redundant. I paraphrase, but barely:
Beth: I should really stay and wait for my friend.
Axelle: No. You can go. I'll wait for your friend.
Beth: Are you sure?
Axelle: Yeah. Go ahead.
Beth: Really?
Axelle: Uh huh. Really.
Beth: You're the best. You're sure you're sure?

There are no surprises in this sullen retread. Our colorless heroines take a trip to Europe, bypassing Prague for hedonistic Slovakia as described by some new, mysterious "friends." Our damsels in duress eventually find themselves kidnapped and about to be tortured by neo-Masonic, masochistic men bidding big bucks to torture and kill others (naturally, American women bring in the most money).

Nothing here should come as a surprise to anyone who saw the first film. Even bit players from the original film reprise their roles, including the creepy hostel clerk and the marauding gang of juveniles.

The film's bookends make for mildly interesting viewing. Jay Hernandez, whose character survived the first film, makes a cameo after the opening credits. Here,
Mr. Roth borrows from "Friday the 13th Part 2," where surviving heroine Ginny Field (Amy Steel) reprises her role from the original. She is alive and well, until Jason Voorhees enacts revenge upon her ten minutes in.

Mr. Roth's screenwriting limitations are on full display here. Used to writing Tarantinoesque dialogue for college-
age slackers, he fails miserably when trying to get his professional, middle-aged "hunters" to speak their age. Todd (Richard Burgi) and Stuart (Roger Bart
of "Desperate Housewives"), two aspiring businessmen, cannot make it through a full sentence without referring to each other as "bro" or "dude."

This time around, most regrettably, Mr. Roth fails to come up with snappy dialogue for his younger characters.
Past efforts have birthed morally questionable characters with canny quips, but Beth (Lauren German), Lorna (Heather Matarazzo-Dawn Wiener from "Welcome to the Dollhouse") and Whitney (Bijou Phillips-"Havoc," "Bully") lack charisma, chemistry and character.

By the time the geeky girl and the slut have been dispatched in a typically gruesome fashion, our heroine enacts just desserts upon the guilty, and those in charge have escaped in order to set up yet another sequel, does anybody care?

Not a moment of this film is scary. Not a plot twist here is surprising. Not a performance here is noteworthy (maybe Lauren German's, but only for not being awful) and, except for some inventive execution scenes, not a slice of originality is evident.

Rated R for sadistic scenes of torture and bloody violence, terror, nudity, sexual content, language and some drug content.

To Every Change A Season

By Victoria Scott

Clothed in intense color, Pam Howell's garden will be dressed in its Sunday best for the KEB Garden Walk this coming Sunday.

A small meadow rue, some bridal wreath and an English dogwood are about the only remnants of the garden Morgan Simmons inherited from the Northwestern University professor who sold him and his wife their Hartzell Street home nearly 40 years ago.

Those who visit it on the Keep Evanston Beautiful Garden Walk on July 1 will find it further changed from the other two times it has appeared on the walk.

Having gardened from the age of 4 ("That's 74 years," he says), Mr. Simmons understands that "the garden is an evolving process," he says. It is not one for the faint of heart. A photo of Mr. Simmons and his garden appears on page 1.

Both his mother and his paternal grandmother gardened in his native Alabama; he worked at their knees and as a teenager, learned to graft camellias. "I have had dirt under my nails" for decades, he says.

He shakes his head "no" when asked whether gardening was a liability for a man whose hands coaxed music from the organ at the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago for 28 years.

Mr. Simmons says he gardens because he loves beauty and because it affords him the opportunity "to be like a co-creator, transforming something that isn't into something that is." Besides, he says, "I find it very therapeutic. My mother said her garden was her wailing wall."

Change, bidden and unbidden, means there is always work in the garden, and Mr. Simmons does most of the work himself.

After retiring 11 years ago, he transformed his west lawn into an inviting brick walk bordered by a white garden - violas, peonies, dianthus, bleeding hearts, dogwood, star magnolias, epimedium and lilies - that won the Chicago Tribune's Glorious Garden 2003 award for the best shade garden.

He dug a pond in the east border of his back yard and imported rocks himself. Then he added what he calls his "alley garden," a patch on the far side of his back fence where he grows petunias, marigolds and roses, along with some vegetables, in his only full sun.

But even the yards and alley were not enough. Mr. Simmons' garden revolves as well as evolves. Potted plants, including the azaleas and camellias of his childhood, nestle in his garden beds for the summer but find refuge in winter on a porch-turned-greenhouse. Other plants escape the cold in his basement - also home to his prize-winning African violets - and come out again in warm weather.

Change also characterizes the garden of Pam Howell, which is appearing on the walk for the second time. Only a row of peonies remain from the straight, narrow garden bed that defined the back yard of her Payne Street bungalow when she bought it.

Soon after moving in, she built a patio and established an herb garden on the periphery. The patio took her all summer, and she says she "hated everything about that - it was such hard work. Each paver weighed 16 ½ pounds."

While her herb garden lasted nearly 10 years, the rest of her landscaping did not. A nasty storm wrecked the honeysuckles by the garage and felled a tall pine in front.

It was then that Ms. Howell called in the team of Victoria Douglas and Richard Soprano. The pair designed the first and each successive transformation of her yard.

Ms. Howell wanted rocks ("I always collected them," she says. "Now I make jewelry."), but she disagreed with Ms. Douglas over whether to have faux or real ones. In the end they incorporated both natural and so-called "zoo rocks"; she often asks guests to guess which are which.

With Ms. Douglas, Ms. Howell began to haunt plant nurseries. They located several varieties of chamaecyparis (conifers of the cypress family) trees for the front yard, among them the airy chado-udori and the hanoki false cypress. Glossy, dark-leaved "black scallop" ajuga, Elijah blue grass and rocks called "old mossy" add further interest.

When Ms. Howell's garden with its new front yard was on the KEB walk in 2000, she says she considered it "finished."

Then a neighbor's tree limb took out her garage, fence and junipers, and she and the designers decided to redesign the back yard as a low-maintenance garden. Though Ms. Howell, who tends the garden herself, scoffs at the notion of any garden's being low maintenance, she does offer some advice: Do a little work every day to keep the job from becoming overwhelming; mulch, mulch, mulch to keep plant roots cool, moist and happy; and water trees (more important than feeding them, she says. The short-term cost pays off in the long run).

Ms. Howell's garden will be dressed in its Sunday best for the walk.

Clothed in intense color, it sports a sash of magenta impatiens on a backyard berm; a ruffle of lime-green lysimachia atop a pot; boutonnieres of deep blue hosta and golden sedge along a trim border.

But the garden has a stunning winter wardrobe as well. The textures of its ever-green plants (including a number of unusual cypresses) and hardscape are remarkable long after foliage and flowers disappear.

Tracing her love of nature to "climbing trees and picking violets" in the woods of her native Pennsylvania, she says gardening is "wonderful therapy, very Zen." It confers "a sense of tranquility," she continues, "to clear the weeds and have the bones of the garden revealed. It's very satisfying. You can get immediate gratification when you pull weeds or prune a tree."

"The Double Bind"

A Book Review By Sue Brooke

"The Double Bind" by Chris Bohjalian is a fast-paced, well written novel with good characters and a plot that will keep readers guessing. The author came across some wonderful black-and-white photographs in the possession of a homeless man, and with his imagination flaming, he created a work of fiction based solely on them.

Laurel is the victim of an attempted rape that occurred seven years before, when she was college. But now she is working for a homeless shelter in Vermont, still living with her old college roommate and dating an older man with two daughters.

One day Katherine, her boss, shows her photographs taken by Bobbie, one of their residents who has just died. They are both amazed at the quality of the work. Kathryn asks Laurel to look into the history of these photos. Maybe they can have a retrospective for the photographer, Bobbie, and raise some money for the shelter in the process.

As Laurel flips through the photos, she finds two of a girl on a bike in Underhill. The photo was taken in the exact location Laurel had been riding on the day she was attacked. As she looks into Bobbie's past, she finds he grew up in a neighborhood on Long Island very close to where she lived. And when she interviews a neighbor and shows her some of the photos, Laurel gets the distinct impression that Bobbie had a great secret hidden among the photos. He never let them out of his sight, never talked about them, never even showed them to anyone. When this elderly woman sees the photos, she says she has to have - will do anything to get - them.

As Laurel develops more photos and digs deeper, she becomes sure someone is after these photos. Her boss, boyfriend and roommate all think she is overreacting. They want to sell the photos to the elderly neighbor. So Laurel has to act quickly and get to the bottom of who Bobbie was, why he took all the photos and what secret he was guarding.

The surprise ending should give readers many reasons to stop and re-think the story, and book groups should find in "The Double Bind" plenty of fuel for discussion.

Laurel is the victim of an attempted rape that occurred seven years before, when she was college. But now she is working for a homeless shelter in Vermont, still living with her old college roommate and dating an older man with two daughters.

One day Katherine, her boss, shows her photographs taken by Bobbie, one of their residents who has just died. They are both amazed at the quality of the work. Kathryn asks Laurel to look into the history of these photos. Maybe they can have a retrospective for the photographer, Bobbie, and raise some money for the shelter in the process.

As Laurel flips through the photos, she finds two of a girl on a bike in Underhill. The photo was taken in the exact location Laurel had been riding on the day she was attacked. As she looks into Bobbie's past, she finds he grew up in a neighborhood on Long Island very close to where she lived. And when she interviews a neighbor and shows her some of the photos, Laurel gets the distinct impression that Bobbie had a great secret hidden among the photos. He never let them out of his sight, never talked about them, never even showed them to anyone. When this elderly woman sees the photos, she says she has to have - will do anything to get - them.

As Laurel develops more photos and digs deeper, she becomes sure someone is after these photos. Her boss, boyfriend and roommate all think she is overreacting. They want to sell the photos to the elderly neighbor. So Laurel has to act quickly and get to the bottom of who Bobbie was, why he took all the photos and what secret he was guarding.

The surprise ending should give readers many reasons to stop and re-think the story, and book groups should find in "The Double Bind" plenty of fuel for discussion.

Hooked on Fishing

Fish the Forest Preserves with the Family

By Richard Peach

Lovelace Park, mentioned in last issue's column, is a great jewel in Evanston. Supported by the City, it has beauty, serenity and great fishing - right in Evanston, too.

Here are some other terrific fishing spots that are close by. They require no boats to access the fish and provide excellent fishing opportunities.

The Cook County Forest Preserves provide some of the best fishing in the region and are a great place for the whole family to enjoy a picnic and a day's outing.

First alphabetically is Beck Lake, located in Des Plaines off Central Road, just west of the Tri-State Tollway. A wonderful location, the lake has bass, bluegill and walleye for the catching.

Busse Lake, located at Higgins Road and Arlington Heights Road, has boat rental. This lake, composed of three pools for fishing, with fishing walls built for access, is one of the best bass lakes in the state. It also has bluegill, northern pike and walleye.

The Skokie Lagoons, located just east of the expressway between Willow and Lake-Cook roads, are a perennial favorite. There is a launch area at Tower Road for canoes and other non-motorized craft. Although many people fish the lagoons south of Tower Road, I would recommend fishing north of Tower, in the upper three pools. This body of water was restored some years ago and is now a great walleye, bass and panfish fishery.

Lake maps and other information on these and 25 other lakes are available on the Cook County Forest Preserve website www.fpdcc.com.

Enjoy the fishing, and keep a tight line.

Dick Peach may be reached at www.hookedonfishing.com

Cut Electric Bills and Help the Environment

By Eleanor Revelle

Electric bills have been climbing – and the increase is not over yet. Much of the increase is related to the end of a ten-year freeze on electric rates in Illinois. The new rates reflect the higher costs to the utility company – ComEd in Evanston – in purchasing electricity and delivering it to our homes. With the dog days of summer just ahead, electric bills are set to jump still higher as energy-intensive air conditioners are switched on.

Two programs offered by ComEd can help consumers reduce those bills – and can yield important environmental benefits as well. Both programs promote lower electrical consumption during times of peak demand on the system. This helps reduce the demand for electricity from "peaker plants" – natural-gas-fired generators that provide power during peak periods when base load nuclear power plants cannot meet demand. Not only are natural-gas-burning plants more expensive sources of electricity, they also generate more greenhouse gases and require substantial water resources to operate.

Real-Time pricing
All ComEd residential customers now have the option to participate in the Residential Real-Time Pricing (RRTP) Program. Ordinarily, consumers pay a fixed price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity, no matter what time of day they use the power. But in fact electricity prices fluctuate widely throughout the day. With real-time pricing, the rate the consumer pays varies from hour to hour according to the actual price of electricity on the wholesale market at the time the power is used.

Most of the time, the hourly prices are lower than the standard, fixed-price residential rate (roughly seven cents/kWh). But during summer months, especially on steamy weekday afternoons, prices can soar. RRTP participants can save money by changing their usage habits. During peak periods when the price is high, they can shift the use of high-demand appliances (e.g., dishwasher, laundry machines) to times when prices are low and cut back on other high-energy appliances like air conditioners. By shifting and curtailing their electrical consumption, consumers help reduce demand during peak periods so less electricity has to be generated.

Customers enrolling in the program receive a new meter, which records usage in 30-minute intervals. A $2.25 monthly fee is assessed for the more sophisticated meter. Program participants are notified in advance when prices are expected to be higher than a pre-determined threshold level (e.g., 13 cents/kWh). They can also check the current real-time price and get day-ahead projections online anytime at www.theWattSpot.com.

Nature first
Homeowners who have central air conditioning can earn credits on their summer electrical bills by joining Nature First. This program allows ComEd to cycle air conditioning compressors on and off during heavy-demand summer days – an estimated 10 to 15 weekdays/year. The air conditioner fan will stay on to circulate already cooled air and help keep the home comfortable.

There are two program options, both of which can take effect weekdays from noon to 8 p.m.

• With the 50-percent option, the compressor unit will cycle off a maximum of 15 minutes every half hour over no more than a six-hour period. In return, the homeowner earns a guaranteed credit of $5/month from June 1 through Sept. 30, for a total annual credit of $20.

• With the 100-percent option, the unit will cycle off for one continuous three-hour period on any weekday afternoon. The homeowner earns a credit of $10/month from June 1 through Sept. 30, for a total annual credit of $40.

For more information about both Nature First and the RRTP Program – and for links to sign up for either program, visit www.theWattSpot.com

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More Ways to Cut Electric Bills

The single most effective method for reducing electric bills all year round is to use less electricity. Here are several ways to realize significant savings.

Lighting. Heed the many articles touting the benefits of switching to compact fluorescent lights (CFL). A typical CFL uses about one-quarter of the electricity used by an incandescent bulb. And, since incandescent bulbs waste 90 percent of their energy as heat, switching to CFLs will help keep the house cooler, too.

Cooling. Raise the A/C thermostat setting a few degrees and use fans to increase comfort. Turn off the fan when no one is in the room. Close window shades during the day. Open windows when it cools off at night. Use a programmable thermostat to adjust the setting when no one is home during the day.

Vampires. Use a power strip to shut off electrical devices with "instant on" features, such as TVs, VCRs and DVD players that consume electricity even when not actively being used.

Insulation. Seal leaks and add insulation to keep hot, humid air from seeping into the house.

Appliances. Replace (do not just move to the basement) any pre-1993 refrigerator. Use a microwave or toaster oven when cooking small amounts

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN BY THE CITY OF EVANSTON, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, to all Evanston property owners regarding Ordinance 51-O-07 which amends Section 5-1-3 of the Evanston City Code and states that: (i) the growth of grass and/or weeds on any premises, in excess of eight inches (8"), is a violation of City Code; (ii) that the owner or agent having charge of the property shall be subject to prosecution and fines in accordance with section 106 of the International Property Maintenance Code 2003 as amended; (iii) that the City may cut the grass and/or weeds on any vacant lot or any premises with a vacant structure located in the City, no less than four (4) days after the issuance of a Notice of Violation and posting of such a Notice on any vacant structure; and (iv) that the owner of any such vacant lot or premises with a vacant structure shall be liable to the City for the costs of cutting the grass and/or weeds and associated costs, in addition to any fine assessed by a court of competent jurisdiction or administrative hearing officer.

If the City cuts any weeds on any vacant lot or premises with a vacant structure as authorized by Ordinance 51-O-07, the City may impose a lien on the property in violation. Upon being recorded in the manner required by Article XII of the Code of Civil Procedure, as amended, or by the Uniform Commercial Code, as amended, the lien shall be imposed on said property as a debt due and owing the City in an amount including, but not limited to: any City costs or contractor's fees for cutting the weeds; inspections; correspondence; title searches; preparation of lien; and recording fees.

Sundial Marks Summer Solstice

Sundials took note of summer's official commencement on June 21, casting the year's shortest noontime shadows during the year's longest day. Evanston's Eggleston Park plays host to an analemmatic sundial, in which a person acts as the shifting vertical pointer, or gnomon, to delineate the sun's position. By standing at the proper month of the year marked along a North-South axis on an elliptical base, a person can cast a shadow on the right hour as labeled on the ellipse's circumference.

In Eggleston Park the dial was born when the City of Evanston's Parks, Forestry, and Recreation Department looked to the adjacent Ecology Center and Ladd Arboretum for theme and inspiration. "When we renovated the park, we were trying to do something whimsical and educational," says Stefani Levine, the City's landscape architect.

Julie Odower of Site Design Group, who oversaw the project's proposal and blueprints, adds that the incorporation of ecological themes and natural elements, particularly the sun, was central to the park's reconstruction.

To create the dial, the longitude and latitude of the park were sent to the Needham Science Center in Massachusetts, which performed the calculations for the sundial's design. These were then used in the enlarged template that allowed the park's builders simply to paint the dial on the park's pavement. Because the nature of the analemmatic sundial requires a large size and a person or shiftable inanimate gnomon, it is among the rarest forms of sundial.

But on a sunny day Evanstonians can literally become a part of the action at Eggleston Park, north of McCormick Boulevard between Bridge Street and Hartrey Avenue. In photo above, a young woman stands on the June marker with her back to the sun, which casts a 1 p.m. shadow on the first day of summer.
Story by Elizabeth Foydel; photo by Dan Edelstein