Hullabaloo about Huntley
The summer travel season is over, but the peak tourist season has just begun in Huntley and other McHenry County towns.
Autumn events are a big draw, and pumpkin farms and petting zoos bring in the public on fall weekends.
That's good news for towns like Huntley, where farming and manufacturing jobs are gone for good and a decent part of the economic future lies in tourism, retail, and service industries.
What make a good tourist destination?
Recreation, fine dining, history and architecture, theater, entertainment, and special events, says Huntley Travel owner Bernice Bakley. And these days, Huntley has them all.
Joan Berg of Sun City in Huntley likes to brag about Huntley's new St. Mary's Church, "a tourist destination because it is so beautiful," with its stained glass windows and attractive woodwork.
"Outside, it has a very lovely prayer garden," she says," (and a) wall with mosaic artwork."
Berg also thinks the town square gazebo, park district, and new public buildings -- the village hall, police department and the Huntley Public Library -- are something to be proud of.
Recreation? Huntley's got it.
The Stingray Bay water park draws thousands each summer. Deicke Park, with its ball fields, hiking trail, fishing pond and Boy Scout cabin, is the perfect place for a family picnic. Golfers can choose among the park district's Pinecrest Golf Club (huntleyparks.org), Sun City's 18-hole Whisper Creek (whispercreekgolf.com), or several challenging courses located nearby in Algonquin, Woodstock and Marengo.
The Huntley Park District's Cosman Cultural Arts Center also hosts frequent musical shows and theatrical productions, and Sun City's Drendel Hall is a popular site for concerts and forums.
With no hotels, Huntley can't accommodate overnight tourists, but it has become a popular choice for day trips, Bakley says.
Fall's the season
Seasonal attractions and local events draw visitors from many miles away and accommodations are plentiful along I-90.
"One thing that brings people to our area is the (Illinois) Railroad Museum," she said.
"That's not technically in Huntley, but it's certainly an attraction for those who live in the area."
Spread over hundreds of acres outside nearby Union, the Illinois Railroad Museum boasts a large collection of original train engines, rail cars, street cars and trolleys.
Devoted to restoring and preserving railroad history, the volunteer-run park welcomes thousands of visitors to ride the rails on special themed weekends during its April-October season.
Next month, the IRM will host "Pumkin" Days on Oct. 6-7, with train rides and a free pumpkin for every family (see www.irm.org).
And don't forget Donley's Wild West Town, located nearby at the corner of Marengo Road and Illinois Route 20 -- an old-style, low-tech theme park where the kids can have some fun while the grown-ups browse the antiques and enjoy their western buffet.
The Donley brothers are known throughout the area as antique appraisal experts, and their banquet hall often draws hundreds to their specialist antique shows, gun shows and other special events.
Huntley's Prime Outlets mall also draws tour busloads of bargain hunters looking for discount prices on name-brand designer goods.
Some groups travel from as far away as Iowa or Wisconsin to spend the day shopping, and many regular customers drive out from Chicago for the day (primeoutlets.com).
"That's a big thing for Huntley," Bakley says.
"Another is the Huntley Fall Fest -- that brings a lot of people into town."
Nearly 2,500 visitors attended this year's festival, held Sept. 15 at Deicke Park, despite near-record low temperatures that night. The one-day festival offers food, entertainment, crafts, antiques, vintage car and tractor shows, plus a large fireworks display that draws big crowds from miles around.
Planners say next year's event may be expanded to two days to add even more attractions and live entertainment (huntleyfallfest.org).
Other fall attractions are starting up now.
Beginning Saturday, Tom's Farm Market, the Halat family's nursery, produce, and pumpkin farm on Algonquin Road, will offer many attractions. This year's include a 4-acre corn maze, a petting zoo, a bunny village, a goat walk, and of course, lots of pumpkins.
Admission is $4 on weekends, a dollar less on weekdays, and those younger than 2 are admitted free. For a little more, you can ride a real pony, get your face painted, or sample Tom's hot soup and barbecue.
During the week, Tom's is also a popular destination for school groups and bus tours (tomsfarmmarket.com).
The apples are ripe for picking at Pine Apple Acres, the Knott family's apple orchard and Christmas tree farm off Powers Road, a quarter-mile east of Route 47 in Huntley.
For over 25 years, a visit to this local "U-Pick" farm has been an annual tradition for Huntley area families. School groups come from as far away as Chicago to enjoy the country air and pluck their fruit from the trees. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily; it's closed on Monday.
When is the last day to pick apples? When they're all gone, Graham Knott says (pineapple-acres.com).
A unique festival
No article about local tourism would be complete without the Turkey Testicle Festival, Huntley's dubious claim to world fame, which is held each year on the day before Thanksgiving at the downtown Parkside Pub.
Last year, over 4,000 people showed up to sample the "delicacy du jour," listen to the live bands and party down, said Parkside owner Mark McDonald. He expects the same this year, along with the usual media frenzy from reporters throughout the United States, and around the world (turkeytesticlefestival.com).
And, of course … any Huntley travelogue must include the Dairy Mart, a 1950s-style drive-in diner that's become local landmark on Route 47.
Generations of Huntley teens got their first job at the Dairy Mart, where the help is always friendly, the ice cream cones are huge, and the cheeseburgers are greasy but good.
What else is there to see here in Huntley?
"I am drawn to the history," Bakley says. "I feel very dear to this town, and very much a part of it."
She has good reason: her family built a large part of "old-town" Huntley, and the family presence lives on in the street names: Bernice Avenue, Philip Drive, Kenneth Avenue, Cindy Jo Avenue, and of course, Ol' Timer's Park (named after her dad, "Timer" Bakley).
Huntley's original neighborhoods hold the most tourist potential, says lifelong resident Tom Conley, a founding member of the Huntley Historic Preservation Commission.
He and his wife, Barb, have restored and now live in the Thomas Stillwell Huntley House on Woodstock Street, the 1860s-era home of the town's founder.
Located just one block off Route 47, Woodstock Street is a brick-paved step back in time, with its towering old trees and lovely Victorian homes.
On her large corner lawn, Barb Conley has created a lovely 19th-century garden that can be seen from the street. Next spring, the couple plans to add a 7-foot-tall antique fountain, which is sure to become a local landmark.
Down the street, Jim and Deb Waters' white gingerbread-trimmed house once belonged to another Huntley celebrity. In the early 1900s, T.R. Ferris was known throughout the horticultural world.
Ferris developed his own prized gladiolus hybrids, spreading Huntley's fame for the "world's finest" bulbs throughout the globe. Each spring, brilliant flowerbeds blossomed in Ferris' fields -- on the corner of Algonquin Road, where the Harris Bank now stands. His old barn and white frame house have been lovingly maintained at 11800 North St.
On the south end of Woodstock Street, the Huntley town square boasts more beautiful gardens, a rebuilt Victorian gazebo and a curious monument -- a World War I mortar set in concrete and stone.
"Nobody knows how it got there or when," Tom Conley says. "Whoever put it there is not around anymore."
A walk around the square is an architecture tour in itself, from the pre-Civil War Coral Street home of John G. Kelley, site of the town's first blacksmith shop, to the old Art Deco-style city hall that sits next door. Businesses now occupy the restored 1880 Hawley Store, where high school classes were held for several years; and the old Fenwick Hardware and Pabst-Schlupp Tavern are now a cozy restaurant that overlooks the square.
"Historic Downtown Huntley" walking tour maps are offered at the Huntley Area Public Library and the village hall on Ruth Road, or may be requested at (847) 669-0600.
Other attractions, both from the mid-1860s, include Huntley's First Congregational Church, and the old Huntley School a two-story brick structure that now houses apartments.
What else does Huntley need to attract tourism? A hotel and convention center would help, says Chamber of Commerce President Jim Henley.
"We've been working this year with the folks at McHenry County College to bring business training seminars to the Huntley area," he explained. "A facility that could handle large groups like that would be a big asset."
That's a good start, but maybe what this town could really use is a symbol -- something to make people stop and take a look.
Even if the dairy cows are long-gone, it's still all about branding. Chicago has its 'Bean,' St. Louis has its 'Arch,' so what about Huntley?
One source suggests Huntley should look into acquiring the "Car Kebab" as a potential tourist draw. After all, if the short-sighted town of Berwyn wants to dispose of its famous "Spindle," why not snag that modern art icon, stick it up next to our own outlet mall, and watch the tourists pour in off the tollway?
For now, though, car enthusiasts can enjoy monthly Culver's Cruise Nights, held at that nearby restaurant on Route 47.
And in time, we could attract more unusual art to our little outdoor sculpture park. Just think of the potential for tourism grants, and don't forget that four-way I-90 interchange ...
"Would that attract people or deter people? I don't know," says travel agent Bernice Bakley. "But it might be worth a try."