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All right, this is August 7th 2023. Uh This is Lisa Mueller, uh, conducting an oral history. All right. Um What is your name? Barbara Scheffki, my friends call me Barbie or Barb. Uh, when did you live in Streamwood? And how long have you lived here? We

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moved here in 1968. So I think that's like 55 years in the same house. Uh Why did you decide to move here? Well, our family consisted of my husband and I Richard and, uh, we had four Children and our apartment was getting too small for us.

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So we decided to move someplace and the ad was in the paper about homes being built out this way. So we decided to come out and give it a try. And the first place we went was on Barrington Road just south. Uh, no, just north of

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Lake Street. And he wanted to talk to a realtor and I sat in the car and looked around and honestly said, I have no idea where I am or how we're going to manage out here. But we ended up talking to the Hillside Realty in Streamwood.

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They found us two homes to look at and we settled in the one we're in now. So it all worked out. We're in a good place. Did any of your family that- live in Streamwood before you? No, all our families were in Chicago. Um, no one

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we knew no one when we moved out here that lived in Streamwood. Um What were some of the challenges of living in Streamwood in its early days? Um because the village was incorporated in 1957...um such as streets or housing or schooling? Uh challenges were um that

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we were used to living in Chicago. Very busy buses, you know, half a street away and uh being close to all kinds of activities. Moving out here, there was a big change. There were no buses. The town was a lot smaller. When, when we moved here,

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we didn't know anybody. Uh in order to go shopping, there was one grocery store, Gromer was here on Bartlett Road. There were no bigger stores in order to get any clothing or things like that for our family. We had to catalog shop and go into Elgin

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to JC Penney's and pick up our orders. So that was a big change and the streets uh didn't go as far as they are now, Woodland Heights Boulevard ended at Sunnydale Boulevard, Park Boulevard ended at Streamwood Boulevard and only continued as a gravel road. The only

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traffic signal we recall was at the corner of Bartlett and Lake Street. What would you describe- um so I know you're talking about that, but would you describe Streamwood as mostly rural or suburban when you were living here? And do you remember some of the changes

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the village has gone through? I would say it was rural. Uh, only because suburban would, was not applying to us at the time. I didn't realize what a suburb actually was. Everything else was just Chicago or right on the outside of Chicago. So uh it would

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be suburban farms were very close by. You had to drive even on the roads to get here through a lot of farms. Uh There was a lot of those kind of businesses around and, and nothing much else. Uh Do you remember some of the changes the

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village has gone through? The changes were that as it grew, there were more people but it was a pleasant place to be. It seemed the government running the village was always good as I recall, there were opportunities to get involved with the park district. Uh Our

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children went to a school that was just up the street, Saint John the Evangelist and they went to kindergarten at the public school. There was no kindergarten over at the other one. So we were close to both of those that they could walk to. And the

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changes were...just a number of people kept getting more and more. The village hall moved, the library moved from where we were familiar with it. There was, um, activities. So for the kids and lots of, lots of playmates. We live on a street that only goes

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one block from the 800 to 822 and there were 100 children there. Wow, it was busy. They didn't have to go far for friendship. And what, what did your kids do for fun? For fun, fun, they would just, uh, we were, we were also close to

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Dolphin Pool so they would go there with their friends. They'd go in the morning, come home for lunch, go back in the afternoon. They'd hang around with their friends. Um, just trampled around the village. Um, play baseball, go to the park district that was only on

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Bartlett Road and use the gym for basketball. Uh, walk around some of the trails in Shady Oaks Park. Uh, when they got a little bit bigger, the roller rink they would go to. How did, how did you socialize with other people in the community? And what

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was the community life like here? Socializing in the community came, uh, mostly through our parish. Uh It was through that, that outlet that I got to join organizations and meet more people and get more involved. I have to admit that I didn't get involved in any

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of the community groups, uh, or the politics or things like that. It was busy enough keeping up with our family and I, it was not one for volunteering a whole lot. But I did serve a lot of people. Our first week here, a woman came over

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from St. John's and said, oh, I see. You're one gonna be going to St. John's. Would you like to be a catechist? Well, right, we jump right in and join and that's how I've been since then. But I've learned to adapt by stretching out past the

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parish into other organizations. Uh, do you know um some of the history of St. John's or do you know if it had been around, um...Saint John's was just, they had been out here since 1958 or 59 I think is when they started, the only building

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there was the school building and they would use the hall for mass. Then during the summer, they had a big tent, a circus tent that they put up in the lots. We were never there when that happened. When we moved. They were just dedicating the uh

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original parish church, the real church right on the corner. So, uh from then on, we have been there, we've gone through the changes that's happened through different uh pastors and the building of the newest church. And uh as far as the school goes, we were part

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of the school board. Uh I helped with the Christmas social that the school had uh being a catechist, uh other things like that, but have watched the church grow. But again that, that has been our main thrust, helping out in the village and through the church

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extending out into the village. Uh, what, what did you do for, what other things did you do for fun in the area? Like dances or seeing live music or, um, going out with friends and hanging out with friends? Probably we would go and eat at Tri

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Village, which is on the near corner of Barrington and Irving. Home of the Lotaburger. Yeah, that was, uh, that was a good place to meet up with friends. Uh, take a family. There was a Pizza Inn that you could go to that, we met

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a lot with our families who would gather there, that was also on Irving Park Road. Um, there used to be on Bartlett Road, a Ben Franklin and so that was good for shopping, meeting up with people and Pete Fio Rito's pizza was there and that drew a

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lot of people, that was a good standard for meeting friends and having a nice time, social wise. Um, no, we didn't belong to any groups that met socially, so much, just hung around with all the people that had become our friends. Um, what celebrations or parades

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do you remember in Streamwood? Uh, the Fourth of July parade. Uh, at one time, they came right down Parkside Circle right by our house and I recall one time on a real hot day, we had our hose and it was sprinkling out towards the new crowd

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coming and at the same time, the fire truck was coming past sprinkling us with their water. I remember that they also came down, uh Oltendorf a couple of times which was a challenge because there's a big hill there. Uh The Fourth of July fireworks, um going

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to some of the celebrations later, this would be later. But the memorials that they would have at the Veterans uh Place next to the village hall, those were very special to go and take part in. And then, so do you remember Hoosier Grove Circle? Um Hoosier

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Grove schoolhouse, sorry. Was it always, it was always boarded up though? When we moved out here, it was in its original spot off of Barrington Road. And what is it now wise, uh Schaumburg Road, but it had a different name. Yeah, it was over there

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and where it was originally. So we were here when it was moved over to Parkside Circle. And when that happened, the park district dug up the property to level it and put big hills in there. Well, those hills became a real magnet for children because

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that's where we did the Easter egg hunts from the Streamwood Park District. And that's where that was the sled hills that was terribly missed. In fact, one of my children won't even go to the new park site center because they took away his sled hills. So,

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uh, I, I do remember that and then later after I had been there a few years, they decided to move it over on Irving Park Road to Hoosier Grove where it is now. And I remember a man and a woman dressed up as Abraham Lincoln and

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Mary Lincoln. And they led the structure as it was taken away. I remember doing that. Did, did kids ever try to hang out in the old, um, the abandoned schoolhouse? No, no, I don't recall kids hanging out there. But, uh our daughters when they were in

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Girl Scouts, they did recondition two desks. In fact, I was one of the leaders. We re- reconditioned two of the desks that are still in the schoolhouse. So it's got a personal touch for us. Did the Girl Scouts, do you remember if there was Girl Scout troops in

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the area when you came here? Uh, when we first came, my children were too small for Girl Scouts. So it wasn't until they grew. And I don't know that the Girl Scouts were there a whole long time before our girls joined in and the same with

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Cub Scouts or even the, you know, the sports for the boys that all came probably 10 years after we moved here. So another 10 years. Do you remember if they had activities in the area that, that the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts did? I remember that

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we would, we were part of Sybaquay Council with the Girl Scouts and I remember they did have activities, uh camping trips to places in Wisconsin, uh fairs in the Hemmens Auditorium in Elgin. Other than that, it was just staying close to home and doing the things

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Girl Scouts do to earn badges. How did, uh kind of fast forwarding here...How did the Streamwood community band together during the COVID-19 pandemic? And do you have any memories of um, supporting people during the pandemic or being supported in any way? I think we stayed

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pretty isolated. Uh, we contacted our own families trying to keep us safe as we could. Uh, there was no contact outside of our home with any groups. Uh, even church, we stayed home and watched uh mass on television. Uh but uh we'd had no contact. We

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tried to follow what was expected of us to stop the spread of this disease. So pretty much uh no, we didn't have any contact with anybody over except over the phone or, you know, with uh mail. Um, so you worked at Poplar Creek Public Library. Uh

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how long did you work here? Uh, what were some of your positions here? Uh, yeah, I worked here for 35 years. The last few years were just like one day a week, but it all began because um growing up, I was helping out at St. John's

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library and one day a sister came and she was talking to all the volunteers from the library there and she suggested, you know, if you want to go and learn more about helping with the library, go to COD and get the LTA degree. So I

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did, I was working at Jewel at the time. So I work at Jewel at night and go to during the day and go to COD at night and earn my degree, which I was very proud to get. And uh during that time I didn't, they needed

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an internship completed. So I came to Poplar Creek and I ended up working with the government documents department and others in the building. And I remember uh working in one of the lower levels, sorting out the maps. I was, they were on the floor, they had

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to be sorted out by state. So that was one of the things but learning to, to meet the people. I also did a uh interview, uh had to have an interview. So I went to Streamwood High School and interviewed the librarians there. Uh, so it both

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of those ended up getting me a job later. I, I worked in Streamwood High school library for 15 years and at the same time was- got a job over here at the library. I started out in circulation, which was fun except that you see all the

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books that come back and you want to read them all. So I had a stack of books I wanted to take home, finally had to change that. But then I started to work in uh government documents with Gary who was our head of the department and

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then later Paulette and stayed with that department until the library changed it over to the reference department. So, um, that was, that was my time here. Um I've only had good things to say about the people I've worked with and the friends I've made through the

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library and I made many good, good people. Um, hard working people, friendly people. I wouldn't be able to point out anyone, especially- except the people who have managed my departments. Uh, what were some of the biggest changes the library made while you're working here? Like getting

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bigger or technology...Getting bigger, definitely. Uh, but before that, when I was in the government documents and we had offices downstairs, that's when computers were just coming in. And, um, that was a big challenge. I remember sitting downstairs at a computer and having to go through

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so many different ways, just trying to get it open and started and different methods compared to what it is now, you know, turn it on and you're ready to go. Um, that was big when uh that time each department was expected to, if you were the

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night person going home last, you had to go and clean up the lunch room, we had to go and wipe it down, clean it up. That was, that was part of the closing up job, the staff lunchroom or the staff, the staff lunch that was part

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of the thing we had to do. Um, the biggest change of course, came when the library expanded to twice its size it is, as it is now. So that was a big change, the uh size of the building, the layout of the parking and everything that

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was a big change and had to be adapted to. So, um, it seemed like we lost some closeness through the departments that way, but not really. You still saw the people that you wanted to see and were able to discuss easily with the phone situations and

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everything with people that you worked with. Um, it's always been a good place to work. Challenges, of course. Uh, but it was, it's been a good place. Do you have a favorite memory of working at Poplar Creek Public Library? Uh, one of the favorite memories I

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have came um when they were doing some productions. So uh they decided to put on a murder mystery program and they had people from various departments volunteer to be part of the program and I volunteered to be one and that was um a fun experience, challenging

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experience, but I think it was very well received by the patrons. They seem to enjoy that program. Other than that, when I worked for government documents, the opportunity to go to Washington DC to attend a conference for um government documents employees that would not have occurred.

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Had I not been here and worked for that department going to any of the programs that I was sent to in Chicago or in Springfield, those gave me opportunities to learn and to do better at my position. I think I remember during the murder mystery, I

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think you played the victim? Yeah I was the one who got killed! So I think you had to lie there. Yeah. Yeah. That, that was, it was nice but that was a fun experience because it also got, got me to work with some of the other people that I didn't normally work with. So it

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was, it was fun. But some of the, um, once a year meetings when they close the library and just have employee meetings. Those were interesting again to see how many people actually worked in the library. And uh always good. I, I, you know, most of them

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were very, very productive as far as learning something new so that I appreciated that I, I think that was good on the part of this upper staff to do that for us. So, what is your favorite thing about living in Streamwood? What do you say? The

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diversity. That would be my answer right away. Uh, but it is a diverse population and, um, generally we seem to understand each other. Well, at least the people I've ever come in contact with. I thought the school systems were good for our children when they were

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growing up. Uh the change from the Catholic education to the public education worked well. Um, working in the high school, got to again know a lot of different kind of uh families and people, I would say, I really would say that the diversity of the, of

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the population and it seemed everybody was happy to join in for different things, that, it wasn't always easy. But even as far as our political things that there's people, not just one kind of person, other people join in. So I hope that feeling stays on. And

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um are there any other memories um that you want to discuss about Streamwood or the library? Uh It's just uh we felt it's been a good place to be it. I'm happy we moved out here. I'm a big city girl. I, I wouldn't have any objection

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to going back and living closer to the city, but I really have uh felt that this was a good place for a family to move at the time we did and to have our family grow up here and have a lot of good friendships and the

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library just to be here. Libraries are important for us being for me and this library has developed into a very good one. So that's another good thing. Well, thank you so much. You're welcome.