๐๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ – ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ง
๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ถ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ฌ๐ช
The tale of the Tower, and indeed a great deal of Griffith Historical Societyโs history, reads like a storybook, hence the title.
Do you know what ๐จ๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐ฎ is? Beyond an amazing Griffith ice cream parlor? I use the world a lot when talking about how we developed and grew.
Serendipity in the dictionary is described as: ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฎ๐.
Serendipity in real life:
- The chance meeting of four people who went on to spearhead the saving of the last Griffithโs depot from demolition. (See our first โSociety Sagaโ in our spring newsletter or on our website for that story.)
- The time the land we hoped to expand on, that was $20,000 when we first asked to purchase it, dropping to $8,000 when we absolutely, positively, 100% had to purchase it.
- And we must mention how I was serendipitously connected to the General Superintendent of the Elgin Joliet & Eastern railroad when I called asking for key chains and paper engineer hat to give away to kids.
That man, Mel Turner, ended up giving us the Tower some five years later.
You know how you immediately click with someone? That was me and Mr T (though I never called him that to his face).
We talked for nearly an hour: about our getting the land and our future plans for it; about his railroadโs plans for tearing down our Tower, and could we have the equipment in the upper room, which was a yes.
From time to time, I would write him, filling him in on everything we were doing, and asking about the Tower. I found those old letters recently, and it was as though I was writing to a friend. I can only help wondering what he thought of my rambles.
In mid-December, 1999, Mr. Turner came out to the Park during our Santa event, with his beloved dog, Buddy. Our Tower, he told us, was being closed down at the end of the year. And, he said, he was giving us the Tower!
The whole building!! And $30,000, to help with the move!!!
And we had until July 30th to get the Tower off their land.
Tale to be continuedโฆ
Mr. Turner and Santa in the Caboose
Griffith History Museums 