Hot Off the Press

"The Sidewalks of Elburn" by Marilyn Robinson has just arrived from the publisher. Marilyn is planning to attend our committee of the whole meeting Monday night, March 14th at Village Hall. We expect she will be available that night to sign copies for the village board and anyone else who would like to attend.

I anticipate that we will ask for a $20 donation for each book. They will be made available at Elburn Village Hall, and hopefully across the street at the Elburn Town and Country Library. We will also try to schedule additional book signings shortly for those who would like to acquire autographed copies for their friends and families.

The book itself is a wonderfully written collection of historical facts and anecdotes. There is a very interesting and eclectic collection of photographs contained within the book that are simply a joy to browse. There is even an detailed index at the end of "Sidewalks" so everyone can look up their family names and locate their references quickly.

Marilyn's book concludes with an anonymous poem taken from a 1934 edition of the Elburn Herald:

"We must go on and build today

On what was builded yesterday.

We may want much to tear some out,

To fix anew, and change about.

But what is builded, that must stay.

We must go on from yesterday.

So build you stout and build you strong,

And build to last a whole life long.

Place every stone, lay each line true

That it may be a joy to you.

For what you've builded, it must stay.

Today will soon be yesterday."

That sentiment fits nicely with all the construction that is going on in Elburn today. We must build for the future with a firm commitment to remember and honor our past. Thank you Marilyn for all of your hard work compiling Elburn's first historical tome. And, I offer an extra special thanks to the trustees of the Elburn Village Board for recognizing how important this project was, and having the interest and vision to fund it through to completion.