Nancy Uznanski remembers driving through Lemont with her family as a little girl and seeing the sun glint off the numerous church steeples and homes that dotted the landscape.
Those memories are still as fresh and vivid today as they were more than 60 years ago.
So when the village was preparing last year to celebrate its 150th anniversary, it commissioned three organizations that are seen as keepers and passers of stories in any society: local artists and writers guilds and the public library.
The Lemont Writers and Lemont Artists guilds agreed to collaborate on a publication, a compendium of fiction and non-fiction stories about the village. Uznanski, who is the liaison for the Writers Guild and former newspaper worker, was thrilled to assist in the project.
The result was “Stories of Lemont: 150th Anniversary Zine,” a magazine combining the efforts of the village’s writers and artists put together in partnership with Lemont Downtown. Last week, the Writers and Artists groups got together at the Lemont Public Library to share their works with their friends and neighbors.
Uznanski shared her piece called: “A Glimpse of Historic Charm,” in which she recalled a childhood trip through the village in the family station wagon on a late September outing.
She was in the Chevy with her parents, brother and sister and remembers traveling south on Lemont Road.
“Dad wanted us to stay alert because we would soon see some remnant of a once-famous (I&M) canal,” she related.
So enchanted by the village’s charm as a child, she and husband, Bill Uznanski, made Lemont their home years later.
In another piece of writing called “The Paper Boat,” Josh Kratovil intoned a trip to t
The I&M Canal takes center stage in another essay in the publication, “The Paper Boat” by Josh Kratovil.
“I was crouched among the crushed limestone and goose muck lining the I&M’s shore when the blood-orange beams of the rising son crept over my sneakers,” he wrote. “A soft breeze rustled the wildflowers on either side of me, stirring the canal to life. Gnats and dragonflies played along the water’s surface, casting furtive ripples in every direction while robins flitted between the tree tops.”
There was always something mysterious about that canal,” Kratovil told the assembled audience. “I feel really honored to write this story and to be part of this 150-year anniversary.”
Liz Connelly, president of the Lemont Artists Guild, said she and the group were “thrilled to participate in the project and to share their artists’ work.”
“This was a really big and important undertaking and it took everyone working together,” she said. “I’m really proud of the effort everyone gave to this project.
“Lemont is such a picturesque village. There are so many amazing places in the village that lend themselves to writing about and illustrating.”
Justin Williams, Lemont Public Library’s adult services manager, called the publication an “awesome piece of local culture.”
“These are some great stories that feature a hint of history or mystery,” he said.
Jim Hook is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.