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2023
Belmont Prairie
Wildflower Walk
Join naturalist
Lance Herning for a
wildflower walk in the
Belmont Prairie Nature
Preserve on Tuesday
morning, June 27.
Registration opens on
June 6. Please
click for details and
to register for this
popular outing.
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Memorials For
Betty Cheever
& Nan
Newlon
Pierce
Downer's
Heritage
Alliance has
created
memorials to
honor former
Village of
Downers Grove
Mayor Betty
Cheever and
the Village's
former Public
Works Director
Nan Newlon.
Betty Cheever
is being
honored for
her lifetime
of civic
leadership.
Betty was
active in the
League of
Women Voters,
serving as
President of the
Downers-Grove-Woodridge-Lisle
Chapter during
1969-1973, as
well as
serving as a
judge of
elections for
many
years.
Betty chaired
the Downers
Grove Plan
Commission
before being
elected as
Downers
Grove's Mayor,
1983-1999. As
Mayor, Betty
Cheever played
a
key role in
achieving
public
ownership of
the Lyman
Woods
Preserve.
Dedication of
Betty
Cheever's
memorial
Buttonbush and
plaque at the
Downers Grove
Public Library
took place on
Saturday,
September
10th, which
would have
been Betty's
94th birthday.
Nan
Newlon, Public
Works Director
from 2009 to
2019,
emphasized
environmental
sustainability
in the
Village's
public works,
pioneering
many green
initiatives
such as solar
panels in
village
facilities, a
green fleet of
hybrid and
Compressed-Natural-Gas
vehicles, rain
gardens and
pollinator
gardens,
recycling
events, and
sale events
for rain
barrels and
native trees.
Through her
efforts, the
Village
received
numerous
awards for
good planning
and
environmentally
friendly
practices.
A dedication ceremony
was held on
May 22nd for
Nan Newlon's
Shingle Oak
tree along
with her
memorial
plaque in the
parkway
adjoining the
playground
&
naturalized
stormwater
management
area in the
multipurpose
park at 2nd
Street &
Cumnor
Avenue.
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Downers
Grove's Latest
Landmark
Congratulations
to
Nancy and
Gordon
Goodman!
On February
1st the
Downers Grove
Village
Council
unanimously
approved local
landmark
recognition
for their 1954
ranch home
located at
5834 Middaugh
Avenue. Gordon
is a founder
and longtime
director of
PDHA.
Both
the
house itself
and the role
played by
homes like
this one in
the Village’s
post-war
expansion are
extensively
documented in
their landmark
application
where an
original
architectural
drawing for
their home is
compared to a
Polaroid of
the house when
it was first
built and to
the home as it
looks today.
The
home
is a classic
Mid-century
Modern Ranch,
with Prairie
style elements
such as ribbon
windows and a
wide chimney.
It also
exemplifies a
period of
rapid growth
for Downers
Grove in the
1950s, a
decade in
which the
population of
Downers Grove
increased by
78%. Downers
Grove's
residential
developments
during the
1950s
significantly
transformed
what had been
a small,
historically
rural village
into a
substantially
larger and
more diverse
community.
The
Goodmans
purchased
their home
from John and
Doris Mochel
in 1965 and
have requested
that this new
local landmark
be known as
the
Mochel-Goodman
Home.
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Gelwicks
Park Plans
Include Area
Around Belmont
Prairie
The
Downers Grove
Park District
is in the
planning phase
for
development of
Gelwicks Park
along Walnut
Street between
Burlington and
Ogden Avenue
(an area
previously
called Walnut
Park).
The
District is
looking at a
combination of
active
recreation
facilities in
the northern
portion of the
park, and
enhancements
to the
buffer zone
for the
Illinois
Nature
Preserve
Belmont
Prairie in the
southern
portion, with
a nature
center
facility to
provide a
location for
educational
programs. The
buffer zone
improvements
and associated
plans offer a
real
opportunity to
improve
management of
this natural
area and
highlight
Belmont
Prairie as an
outstanding
quality
natural
resource for
Downers Grove.
PDHA is
following this
planning
process and we
look forward
to the next
steps.
One
of the next
steps is
expanded
public
communications
about this
planning
effort. The
Park District
has posted
information
about the
Gelwicks Park
plans and is
seeking public
input through
their website.
Information
about the Park
District's
planning
process is
available at
https://www.dgparks.org/Gelwicks-Park-master-plan
where there is
also a
feedback form
for your
comments.
Click here for a good conceptual overview in Bill
McAdam's
presentation
to the
Park Board at
its meeting on
September 16,
along with
comments
by Ken Lerner
on behalf of
PDHA.
Morton Arboretum Updates Chicagoland
Tree
Census
In
2020,
The Morton
Arboretum
partnered with
Davey Resource
Group Inc. and
the Student
Conservation
Association to
conduct its
second tree
census,
remeasuring
1,576 plots in
the city of
Chicago and
the seven
surrounding
counties of
Cook, DuPage,
Kane, Kendall,
Lake, McHenry,
and Will to
gain a
comparative
snapshot of
the regional
forest and the
benefits it
provides.
The first
census was in
2010. For the
whole
seven-county
area, the
number of
trees and
shrubs
increased from
157,142,000 in
2010 to
172,297,000 in
2020,
representing
more than 194
species. In
2020, the
regional
forest tree
and shrub
canopy cover
was assessed
to be 23%, an
increase from
21% in 2010.
In DuPage
County, the
canopy cover
increased from
26% in 2010 to
31% in 2020.
Although the
number of
trees and
shrubs and the
canopy
coverage did
increase, the
study notes
that a large
percentage of
the canopy is
composed of
species
considered
invasive, such
as European
buckthorn and
tree of
heaven.
Detailed
discussion of
the tree
census
findings may
be found
at:
https://mortonarb.org/science/tree-census/
In
addition,
based on
earlier data,
the Chicago
Region Trees
Initiative
(CRTI) has
developed
community-specific
tree canopy
summaries,
including
Downers Grove
and many other
Chicago area
towns.

The above
images and
corresponding
ones for other
communities
may be found
at:
http://chicagorti.org/CanopySummaries/
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Historic Preservation Activities
The
Village's
historic
preservation
program was
revised in
2015,
contributing
to an
increased
interest in
landmarking
homes and
other
structures.
Since then
twenty-eight
historic
features have
been granted
local landmark
status in
Downers Grove
–– nine
structures in
2016, another
nine in 2017,
four more in
2018, four
historic
features in
2019, one in
2021 and one
in 2022.
Landmark
status was
approved
unanimously
for 5834
Middaugh
Avenue, the
Mochel-Goodman
Home, on
February 1,
2022 at the
request of
Nancy and
Gordon
Goodman. Please click here to learn about this Mid-Century
Modern Ranch
home built in
1954.
Pierce
Downer's
Heritage
Alliance is
committed to
sound and
sustainable
environmental
practices;
protection and
appreciation
of our
community's
outstanding
natural
features, such
as Lyman Woods
and Belmont
Prairie; and
preservation
of significant
cultural
traditions,
including the
rich
architectural
heritage of
Downers Grove.
The Alliance
works to
promote
appreciation,
protection and
enhancement of
our
community's
natural and
cultural
heritage
through
education,
advocacy,
stewardship
and community
outreach.
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Last
updated
6/1/2023
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