The Bells & Whistles Building and the Lake Ellyn Boathouse Replicas for Safety Village at Maryknoll Park marked their debut at the Fourth of July Parade and were a crowd pleasing hit.
Both buildings were sponsored by the Glen Ellyn Parks Foundation; the Kiwanis Club of Glen Ellyn and the Make a Memory Foundation. Tracey Kreiling also sponsored the Bells & Whistles Building. The construction of both buildings was done by T C D – Technology Center of DuPage. T C D is a Career and Technical Education campus (formerly known as DAVEA) in Addison that serves DuPage area high school juniors and seniors under the direction of the DuPage Area Occupational Education System. The Bells & Whistles brick work was completed by the Illinois Masonry Institute.
Safety Village has been a goal for the Site Plan at Maryknoll Park for 10 years. This is a project of the Glen Ellyn Parks Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization, the Kiwanis Club of Glen Ellyn and the Glen Ellyn Park District.
“After 10 years, it is exciting to see Safety Village come to fruition”, remarked Park District Commissioner Ed Hess. “It was a thrill to present these replicas of two of Glen Ellyn’s favorite landmarks to the community on this Fourth of July Holiday”, he further commented.
Safety Village will incorporate a replica of Glen Ellyn landmarks to teach children various safety techniques. The children will learn bicycle safety and how to properly navigate intersections and crosswalks. The Smoke House will be large enough to teach a child how to exit a burning building; train cars, tracks and signals will teach proper railway safety. There will be a pond to replicate Lake Ellyn. Water safety will be a part of the curriculum. A room at Safety Village will be dedicated for classroom activities associated with this program.
Glen Ellyn Park District President Sandra Minogue remarked “The Glen Ellyn Park District has always had an important role in educating the youth in the community with the existing program. We are looking to expand this program and reach out to more children with this extremely important educational opportunity.”
Park Board Commissioner Ron Aubrey added: “I've been following this project from my start on the Board in 2003 and simply attended a Safety Village meeting to encourage them to begin. Tracey Kreiling owner of Bells & Whistles Snackery agreed to sponsor the first miniature replica building and I agreed to fund the building of the Boathouse through my family's Make a Memory Foundation”.
The Bells & Whistles Building as well as the Lake Ellyn Boathouse are the first buildings to mark their debut to the community. Sponsorships are currently being sought for: the Civic Center, Fire Station (either north side or south side), train station, decorative fountain, benches, landscaping, etc.
