00:00:00.009 - 00:00:15.909

This is Lisa Mueller here with Betty Pellikan on April 14th, 2025. And what is your name? Betty or Elizabeth Pellikan. When did you live in Streamwood and how long did you live there? OK, I still live in Streamwood and we moved in when my daughter was

00:00:16.360 - 00:00:35.169

6 and she's 58 now, so 52 years. Why did you move to Streamwood? Because it was affordable and uh we wanted to get out of the city we lived in the city it was just too much getting went her to school and everything uh you know, we

00:00:35.169 - 00:00:52.709

were renting we wanted to buy something. How did Streamwood change over the years you lived here? Oh, it's unbelievable. The changes. It's everywhere though. I mean, it was all open area here, and there was a stop sign at Barrington and Irving Park, and the library was

00:00:52.709 - 00:01:10.150

out of this little shopping center there on Streamwood Boulevard, very tiny, and uh. My daughter had to go to Elgin for first grade, and then they go there to school, and then she continued there. And then she went to Eastview, and then she went

00:01:10.150 - 00:01:28.180

to Saint Edward's High School, and my sons went to Tefft. They went to Heritage, or they went to Heritage for a while, and then we moved again into a bigger house, and then my youngest son went to the elementary school right there and then they went

00:01:28.180 - 00:01:51.480

to the Canton- not Canton, Tefft. Uh, from junior high, and then my older son went to Streamwood High School, and my younger son went to Saint Ed's again and it was all their choices, but at the time my daughter, I didn't want her going to Elgin High School

00:01:51.480 - 00:02:08.050

at that time, and so, uh, that's why we made sure she went to Saint Edward's, you know, and my son, they had built the Streamwood High, and my other son, he wanted to go to Saint Ed's, he didn't wanna.... So, and then, and uh, so they got

00:02:08.050 - 00:02:22.580

good educations, they all graduated from college and working good. My places to go here. The hardest thing was finding clothes and that we had to go into Elgin to do all the shopping. I can't remember if there was a Jewel, but we just had to go

00:02:22.580 - 00:02:45.960

to Dominick's in Hanover Park. And there was a Walgreens right there at the har-... There was something there. Was a good Chinese restaurant in their strip mall. Let's see, and then, uh, the big thing, the kids all played Little League baseball. And basketball. That was all

00:02:45.960 - 00:03:04.259

they had at that time-my one son played football for one year, but he didn't like it and then uh. They were all good in high school, they did good. My son made some boyfriends he still sees, and my other son did too, in

00:03:04.259 - 00:03:23.130

fact, the one was my uh son's uh best man when he got married. And uh, they see each other, not as much, but, you know, occasionally my daughter still keeps in touch with one girl, but the rest she keeps in touch from college. Let's see, the

00:03:23.130 - 00:03:39.789

restaurants we enjoyed were Fio Rito's, and there used to be a restaurant with like a bar at 59 and Irving, and there was like a restaurant right across from it, and I can't remember the name of it. Um, there's Meller's Tavern... Yup, that was on one side

00:03:39.789 - 00:03:58.929

of the street. And then it was more of a restaurant than- my son said he thought it was a pizza place, but I don't know. Let's see what else. But the hardest thing was the shopping and that and uh... driving into Chicago was hard because they didn't have the

00:03:59.899 - 00:04:22.820

Kennedy, I think, the tollway 50 years ago and so we had to take Irving Park right in and whatever. Uh, no hospital nearby. The closest one was in Elgin at Saint Joe's. And then they had the bowling alley here, but at that time we didn't

00:04:22.820 - 00:04:40.359

have a bowling, we used to bowl in Elgin. And then OK. And then my favorite part to me for Streamwood, as the kids were growing up, we loved going to the 4th of July parade that they had. They loved uh the carnival that they had then

00:04:40.359 - 00:05:00.350

too and the fireworks- And this is through Streamwood- Streamwood, yeah, and then the youth baseball and basketball. They graduated from high school. They graduated at the old Poplar Creek, and that was, you know, a place where stars would come in and we saw Neil Diamond there and

00:05:00.519 - 00:05:20.420

different stars, you know. And then I personally, I joined the Streamwood Women's Club, and I joined the Knights of Columbus from um Saint John's Evangelist Church, and then um I was a Girl Scout leader, and um one of the things when my kids were growing up,

00:05:20.799 - 00:05:42.059

except for my daughter, because she had already started school here, and... with my one son, he was only 4 when we moved here, and we lived in Robinwoods at that time. It was a townhouse place, right on Lake Street and Bartlett Road. And we had a mother's teaching

00:05:42.059 - 00:05:56.220

group, and the mothers would teach, you had to teach once or twice a month, and I can't remember if it was 2 or 3 days ago, but we would get together and we would make all these projects up for the kids to do. We would meet in a room in a

00:05:56.220 - 00:06:12.019

clubhouse and we- they learned how to tie their shoes. It's, it's like a, a preschool nursery school that they didn't have at the time and we couldn't afford to send our kids to it. Then, so, and so my two sons went there and I think they

00:06:12.019 - 00:06:26.350

brought them ahead more when they started school here too, and they, when they met- And you know, the mothers doing it sometimes, we have problems with the kids, but you know, being 3 or 4 years old, you expect that. And uh so that was one of

00:06:26.350 - 00:06:40.850

the favorite things and then the, the swimming pool at the Robinwoods, that's where they all learned how to swim. It was great during the summer because I wasn't working and and could just go down in the pool for the day. And they had a clubhouse

00:06:40.850 - 00:06:55.089

when my daughter made her first holy communion and things, we had a big party there, and then we had the clubhouse too. We used it for our family for Thanksgiving and bring out food and that because it was a big family, there'd be about 30

00:06:55.089 - 00:07:17.260

of us. They loved trick or treating too, it's uh I don't know it's because it was real close. You didn't have to go up and down the steps, you know. Yeah. Did everybody give out candy? Yeah, yeah, yeah, at that time that's all they did. And my feeling

00:07:17.309 - 00:07:41.390

is that they, all my kids uh. They were raised in a family area that helped them be independent, only because they had to get on the bus, and that to go to school or else they walk by themselves and that was my, my big thing about

00:07:41.390 - 00:08:01.820

it. Where, where did they go for fun? Besides the park, besides the park district. You know, they hung out together with friends, my, my older son. When we moved we lived on Vine Street. And there were 4 other boys on that block that lived there, so they called

00:08:01.820 - 00:08:19.720

themselves the Vine Street gang, but they, I mean, they were good kids, they didn't have any problems smoking or anything like that. They played basketball. My son and his friend would deliver the papers in the morning, and uh, they, you know. They didn't, uh, they, and

00:08:19.720 - 00:08:35.039

then it was just, you know, the sports because the baseball took up most of the summer. And the basketball and that and then we went on a lot of family vacations. My daughter wasn't involved with anything really, and I'm sorry, but girls didn't really get

00:08:35.039 - 00:08:53.419

involved that much at that time. I went to the park district and made uh the crafts. They had this Hobby Lobby, little 3D pictures that we cut out, and then we made them. I forget what you call them, but you cut out 3 at the same

00:08:53.419 - 00:09:06.349

time and you glue them up so they come out at you and we put them in frames. My daughter still has them. She kept them for me. And you know, like I said with the Streamwood Women's Club, I was very active. I was, uh, vice

00:09:06.349 - 00:09:31.530

president one year and that. And we had, you know, the meetings and. You had to be on a committee and run the committee and our communities are uh... it was social, there was fundraising, there was that membership, and then they're still active trying to get membership. Do,

00:09:31.530 - 00:09:53.320

do you remember what kind of events you did or fundraising? Oh yeah fundraising we did, uh, Dine for Dollars. And fundraising we did at the uh well, they still have the Park District for the summer or in summer, they, they have a, a booth there. But we always, you know, raised

00:09:53.320 - 00:10:14.400

enough money, and then we had tea parties for the kids too. At the barn there. No, we had, uh, usually around Easter, so we had an Easter bunny come and the kids enjoyed that. Do you remember using the Poplar Creek Public Library? Oh yeah, yeah, used to go there,

00:10:14.479 - 00:10:30.179

mhm, yeah, for children's things too when they had that little, I don't know if they still that little room downstairs that was just devoted to kids. I'd take the kids there. And then their concerts were great there. But then I started working you know and part

00:10:30.179 - 00:10:45.190

time and then I went full time, so I didn't get out that much except for the Woman's Club and auxiliary. And right now I moved here. Because I have a son who lives in Crystal Lake, and I have a son and daughter who live in

00:10:45.190 - 00:11:03.359

Chicago, so I'm still right in the middle of them, and so they're easily accessed through this whole... And so it's about 40 minutes for each to get here, and then I'm still close to friends around here, they come and visit me. And after 50 years,

00:11:03.400 - 00:11:21.140

I better be close and still have some friends, but you know, they're all getting old too, so. And then I, I moved in here because I, I felt when I was driving. I felt I had some near misses, and I said, all right, Betty, so

00:11:21.140 - 00:11:39.989

it's time to...give it up, so I sold my car to my granddaughter. And I told the kids, all right, I want to move. And then we- I came here. Yeah, there's, there's a lot of fun stuff to do here. Yeah, yeah, I just, I love to sit outside

00:11:39.989 - 00:11:57.510

during the summer and read by the fountain out here in the back. What, what do you like to read? I like to read mysteries and romance. And biographies, you know, and I... from them because I used to go to the library and try and find,

00:11:57.830 - 00:12:16.799

you know, they had Johnson, Adams and a lot of presidential ones, Madison. Are there any other Streamwood memories you'd like to discuss or any other topics you'd like to discuss? No, I can't think of anything right now. Do you have anything you want to ask

00:12:16.799 - 00:12:37.960

me? Would you describe Streamwood as more rural or suburban when you moved here? Rural, definitely, yeah, yeah, you know, all these homes around here weren't here, it was just the homes on Bartlett Road and the homes just off of, uh, Park Boulevard. Lots of farms,

00:12:38.349 - 00:12:57.599

yeah, yeah. Well, there would all- you got a horse farm there, we used to go horseback riding and hayrides off Streamwood Boulevard- Schaumburg Road, yeah. And I don't know if the farm's still there or not. And uh, then it got to be a big thing when we

00:12:57.599 - 00:13:15.900

would go to Woodfield, when we'd go to Woodfield, yeah. We'd go there at least once a year and take the kids and. And then the shopping really started. The stores went up and I worked at uh Stratford Square for uh part-time in Montgomery Wards for a

00:13:15.900 - 00:13:35.729

few years while my kids were still in grade school, and then when my daughter got to high school, then I, I went to work full time. And used to be that the Home Federal, Home Federal Savings. Then it was State Financial, and now it's Associated Bank, and

00:13:35.729 - 00:13:54.049

there is a branch in Bartlett in that, and uh I worked there for 26 years before I retired. What did you do? I started off as uh working with people paying the real estate taxes and doing credit reports and some underwriting. And then they, when they

00:13:54.049 - 00:14:11.549

sold it, that was all moved out to another plant, Wisconsin, so then they uh. I was still there for a while and then they, I went to South Elgin and I was the head teller there and that was the hardest job because you had to make

00:14:11.549 - 00:14:31.700

up, you know, days off vacation, make up the schedule and. No one likes to schedule it. [laughter] You know, we did it and uh my kids survived with uh everything with me working. The main reason I went to work was so that my husband had his own

00:14:31.700 - 00:14:50.409

company. So we were paying insurance and that, so when I started working in the bank, then they had a family plan, and I worked in...one of the reasons, so. But I got my kids all through college and they're, you know, like I said, they're all working, doing

00:14:50.409 - 00:15:09.080

good. I don't think they wanna come back to live in Streamwood because uh. You know, my two, they love living in Chicago, and my son's a teacher up in Crystal Lakes, so- They're close enough to visit, so that's good. Right, yeah. All right, yeah, that's it. Thank

00:15:09.080 - 00:15:11.799

you so much for your... You're welcome, I hope it works out for you.