by Madelyn Fogarty madelynfogarty@yahoo.com

It is sometimes strange how life moves for- ward but the recesses of our minds hold all the fond memories of the past – memories of things seemingly forgotten only to come spilling out when triggered by maybe just the right smell, song, picture or conversation. The floodgates open, and we are instantly transported back in time. This phenomenon is happening now for several hundred people currently taking a trip down memory lane through an internet Facebook group titled “You might be from or lived in Dwight if...”.

The idea for the group came from retired DGS Science teacher, Bill King. Mr. King grew up in a small rural Missouri
community, and after moving around a bit and spending 24 years teaching in Gibson City, King, and his wife Connie, landed in Dwight where he taught for ten years before retiring. The Kings currently live in Lake Summerset, IL.

With the help of King’s daughter Julie, the Facebook page was formed in August 2011.

“I happened to see some of my friends on Facebook who belonged to pages similar to the one Dwight page. I noticed that Dwight and Gibson City did not have those types of pages, so my daughter Julie King Lyons decided to start one for Dwight,” King told The Paper. “I began to organize the site and invited around 30 of my Dwight Facebook friends to join. Those “friends” began to invite others and it started to mushroom very rapidly.”

And grow it did. The popularity of the page was “overwhelming” for King at first as more and more requests for membership poured in. Within just a few months, the group has reached 734 members. “At first, it was overwhelming due to the fact that lots of requests came in and wound up on my email account...That problem caused me to have to work a lot just to take care of the requests to join and then delete the email from my inbox. Luckily, I discovered that I could add some more administrators and this took a lot of work off of my shoulders...two women volunteered to help me...I really, really appreciate their help in taking requests to join the page. I also put a message out on Facebook to my connections in Gibson City for someone to start a site for Gibson City. One of my ex students took up the challenge and they now have 600 members.”

Members to Dwight’s page share memories of Dwight and pictures - lots of historic or just nostalgic pictures - that whisk other members back in time and strike up virtual conversations. For example, do you remember going to Harry’s Meat Market? The wooden floors in Andrew’s Grocery Store? Buying candy at Kaiser’s “Dime” store? Do you recall getting your foot measured at Stitzer’s Shoe Store? Do you have memories of buying white gym suits at Van Eman’s and how that store wrapped packages in brown paper and string? Did you buy presents at Roeder's Gift shop? How about shopping at LeDon’s Clothing Store? Or, did you shop at Faith’s for women’s clothing?

Did you waitress at the Triangle Cafe, the N&J Cafe, or Beyer’s Restaurant? Or perhaps you were a car hop at the Dog ‘N Suds? Do you recall stopping at the News Stand for ice cream and a real cherry coke? Do you remember skating on flooded parking lots in downtown Dwight? Did you go to downtown street dances or to movies at the Blackstone Theater? (which by the way, one member confirmed that the last movie to play there was "Airport 79" on Dec. 13, 1979.) Did you take your worn out shoes to Riccolo’s Shoe Repair? Or are you a Keeley Institute history buff?

Maybe your childhood memories take you back to the East Side and West Side schools? Perhaps you just fondly remember the rocket slide in Renfrew Park? Or stopping at Ohlendorf’s bakery on your way to school for a fried cinnamon roll? Speaking of Ohlendorf’s bakery, comments and pictures about these locally famous, unduplicated baked goods generate a lot of good memories – one posted picture of similar looking fried cinnamon rolls and a single smiling picture of a pumpkin cookie received dozens of happy comments....Bob Ohlendorf, as an Ohlendorf bakery fan myself, PLEASE take notice.... Anyway, whatever your memories, you can be sure that others probably have some of the same.

“I have enjoyed the web-site because it lets me stay in touch with people from Dwight that I knew or were in my classes,” said King. “I also enjoy reading the comments from some of the older residents and finding out information about things before our time in Dwight.” Like many members, Rob Carlson who grew up in Dwight, moved away years ago. Carlson, who currently lives in Pasadena, CA, has strong ties to Dwight with his parents, family and lots of memories still here. Carlson loves Dwight’s history and has shared several interesting pictures on the site.

“The memories shared may be from many different eras, based on the person's age, but the overall theme is of gratitude for having been so lucky to have grown up in Dwight,” Carlson told The Paper regarding the popularity of the site. “Some posts are very funny, some sad because so many of the characters are no longer with us, and sometimes you learn a piece of Dwight history that you never knew."

So, if you are looking to take a trip this winter, but don’t want to leave the house, consider joining this nostalgic Facebook page - the trip down memory lane is very inexpensive...and worth a tour.