Memorial Day Should Be Memorable!

Memorial Day should be quite memorable in Elburn this year. About 20 members of the 8th Illinois Cavalry re-enactors will be our special guests at this year's ceremony. They are coming to Elburn to pay their respects to 11 veterans from their original Civil War regiment who are buried in Blackberry Cemetery.

The 8th Illinois will be bringing a color guard, a sabre squad, and a rifle squad to our event. The rifle squad equipped with breech loading Sharp's carbines are scheduled to fire a unique volley to salute their honored comrades.

The 8th Illinois Cavalry while under the command of General John Buford used a Sharp's carbine to fire the first shot at the Battle of Gettysburg. Many historians credit General Buford with first identifying and defending the high ground that the Union tenaciously held to win the battle.

The Kaneland High School band will also be attending this year's event. And our local Boy Scouts from Troop 7 will fire a miniature cannon volley of their own.

Bruce Conley and I will once again dust off our rusty trumpets to play "Taps" and "echo" at the end of the service. "Taps" is a simple bugle call to play, but the challenge is to pick up what seems like an ice cold horn and hit all 24 notes of the call without a miss. It gets a little bit harder to do each year. But, the honor of playing that song one more time is worth it.

So, come join us for a very special Memorial Day ceremony this year at Elburn's Blackberry Cemetery. The short parade steps off from Lions Park at the corner of Filmore and Stetzer by 9:15 am, and our ceremony should begin by 9:30 am near the cemetery flagpole. I'm definitely bringing my camera. You should too!

Leadership Lessons From Shiloh

Recently, I had an opportunity to visit the Shiloh National Battlefield. The battlefield is located at Pittsburg Landing on the west side of the Tennessee River just 22 miles north of Corinth, Mississippi. The Battle of Shiloh was fought on April 6 and 7, 1862 between the Union and Confederate armies. Each side was attempting to gain and maintain control of the critical railroads located nearby. Of the combined total of approximately 100,000 soldiers engaged in the 2-day battle, almost 1 in 4 were either killed, wounded, or missing by the end of the second day.

The Battle of Shiloh has been called the "Pearl Harbor" of the Civil War. The Confederates completely surprised General Grant and his Federal camps at Shiloh. Consequently, the Rebels dominated the first day of the conflict. Union General W. T. Sherman referred to the first day at Shiloh as the "devil's own day." The second day was a different story. After the Confederate Commander, Albert S. Johnston, was tragically killed in the afternoon of the first day, fresh Union reinforcements started to arrive late in the evening of April 6th, and all night long into the second day. By first light on April 7th, the refreshed and reinforced Federals were ready to retake their lost ground, and force the Confederates to withdraw all the way back to Corinth.

Historians have argued at length about many of the critical decisions made at the Battle of Shiloh. Here are a few of my own observations about what went right and what went wrong during those two days of desperation near the Pittsburg Landing.

Crossing to the same side of the river as the enemy without preparing to defend yourself. BIG MISTAKE: Grant, USA.

Designing a battle plan that doesn't consider the difficult terrain or the weather. BIG MISTAKE: Johnston, CSA.

Using cunning and stealth to surprise the enemy when and where they least expect it. SMART MOVE: Johnston, CSA.

Being responsible for controlling your own perimeter, and when in doubt, having the initiative to check it out. SMART MOVE: Peabody, USA.

When your brigades are spread out in long thin lines, overlapping command and control becomes a problem. BIG MISTAKE: Beauregard, CSA.

Sometimes making a heroic stand against incredible odds is exactly the right thing to do. SMART MOVE: Prentiss, USA.

It is futile to order repeated frontal assaults against rifled guns and artillery loaded with double canisters. BIG MISTAKE: Bragg, CSA.

That tournequet in your pocket is supposed to be used to stop bleeding, BIG MISTAKE: Johnston, CSA.

Rounding up 62 cannons to break a stalemate and flank a strong fixed position. SMART MOVE: Ruggles, CSA.

When confused by orders, and knowing your troops are critical reserves, don't march away from the sound of the guns. BIG MISTAKE: Lew Wallace, USA.

When retreating and fighting a rear guard action, charging your pursuers can have a stunning effect. SMART MOVE: Forrest, CSA.

Always assume that the enemy is every bit as tired and confused as you are. SMART MOVE: Grant, USA.

Always seize and control the high ground and make the enemy fight their way up the hill. SMART MOVE: Grant, USA.

It is really pretty easy to translate many of the leadership lessons from Shiloh, both military and political, into lessons that can be applied to modern times.

Follow the links I've highlighted if you'd like to learn more about the battle itself. And if you'd like to play the part of General Grant in an interesting broadband simulation of the Battle of Shiloh, check out the American Experience website by PBS.

For me, Shiloh was every bit as interesting and moving a place to visit as Gettysburg. Before Shiloh, many in the north naively thought that one big Union victory would end the war. After Shiloh, it has been written that the "south never smiled again." In two bloody days in April, 1862, both sides learned that a protracted war between the states would not be very civil.

Good Fishing in Elburn, eh!!

This may surprise some of you, but you don't have to go to Canada or Florida to catch a big fish. There's good fishing right here in Elburn. Several years ago, our village board stocked both of the ponds in Prairie Highlands with bass fingerlings, and those little "babies" are getting pretty chunky now. There are also plenty of bluegills and sunfish to catch while you are waiting to land "Mr. Bigmouth."

A combination that has always worked well for me is using a light spinning reel and light action rod rigged with a small white fly popper threaded several feet downline from a clear bubble float. The entire rig floats on top of the water, and when the water warms up those fiesty panfish will come up and smack that popper on almost every cast. This is a super set-up for kids to use, because you're staying out of the weeds and snags, and you don't have to rebait after every strike.

The largemouth bass go for all kinds of weedless jigs. They especially like YUM and Gulp worms rigged wacky style. If your line moves laterally after a wacky worm cast, set the hook. There's a big old bass at the other end of your line waiting to meet you.

I always catch and release the bass I retrieve, and I hope you do too. It takes several years to grow one of these mouthy bass beauties, and I want everyone, especially our children, to be able to enjoy fishing in Elburn for years to come.

Hey, if you land one of these lovable lunkers in Elburn, take a digital photo, and e-mail it in to me. I'll post it on the mayor's blog, and you'll be famous. Well, not really that famous, but it will still be fun. Enjoy the good fishing in Elburn, eh!

The Way to Really Fly!

People ask me two questions about Elburn's Metra station over and over again. Where is it located? And, will I be able to get a parking spot there?

Elburn's Metra station is being built this summer approximately one half mile east of Route 47 on the south side of the UP West Line railroad tracks.

We have made a final decision on temporary traffic access to the station. That road will be constructed entering off of Keslinger Road turning north on what will become our future Anderson Road. The location of the access road entrance itself will be just east of our Blackberry Creek water tower on the opposite side of Keslinger. In the beginning the access road will be configured as a simple two-lane rural profile asphalt road.

Metra will build an initial 300-space parking lot in conjuction with Elburn's Metra station. Based on their ridership studies, Metra anticipates that the Elburn parking lot will open with approximately 150 parking spots being utilized. Metra expects that it will take 18-36 months to completely fill this original lot with riders. There will be no permit parking at this original lot. Rather, Metra intends to work with Elburn to establish either a numbered drop box or smart card system to pay for parking at the site. A drop-off or "kiss and ride" lane will be constructed for those riders being dropped off or picked up at the station.

Also, in the beginning, there will be no bathrooms or commercial opportunities at the Elburn station. Riders intent on eliminating their first round of morning coffee will need to use the on board facilities. We anticipate commercial opportunities will develop around the station as Elburn continues to plan for transit-oriented development in the future.