It was a truly golden day when the Village of Riverwoods celebrated the 50th anniversary of its formation as a Village. Village residents gathered at the Village Hall on Sunday, October 4th, 2009 to commemorate the founding of the Village. There were hot dogs, brats and hamburgers provided by the Village and Bruce Schlesinger donated some very delicious ribs. Our police and fire departments were present and youngsters had a chance to climb inside of a police car or a fire truck. Those who attended had a chance to see the photo boards and displays showing people and places of a Riverwoods 50 years in the past. Some of us live in the same homes that were built 50 years ago.

There was also a recently uncovered foundation of the original cabin that had been built on the current Village Hall property. We are hoping to eventually restore the cabin and fill it with artifacts from the Riverwoods of long ago.

Special thanks go to Marilynne Dorfman, chairman of the event who organized the party and prepared and donated all of the historical picture boards with the help of our retired clerk Eileen Stanger. Her efforts made it a great success. Also our thanks go to Pat Walsh and his entire family and Russ and Connie Kraly who did the cooking, prepared the popcorn and fed everyone. Thanks also to guitarist David Kaufman and the "Big Band" for providing great music. Al and Chad Solomon set up the entire event and Chad built one of the best bonfires ever. Our police chief and his lovely wife Mary, handed out goodies to the children and helped feed everyone. A special thanks goes to Helen Brodsky for baking her delicious cookies. Finally, the entire Village of Riverwoods staff helped by setting up and notifying everyone. Thank you to Cheryl Hadley, Helen Brodsky, Joyce Fromm, Kim Powitz, Susie Crohn.

Everyone who attended said that our beautiful Village was blessed with a beautiful day for our celebration and that they had a wonderful time.

Some of the children who were present may even be here to celebrate 50 years from now for the 100th Anniversary of the Village.

Very truly yours,

William S. Kaplan, Mayor