Kendall County Record from Yorksville, Illinois • Page 18

SeptemberOctober 2015 THE SENIOR VOICE- PAGE 18 E. C. "Mike" Alft Celebrates his 90th Birthday A Moment in History He is a senior citizen and known by virtually every other senior citizen in Elgin. In fact he is known by just about everyone in town. He is Mike Alft and he just celebrated his 90th birthday with a huge celebration at the Elgin History Museum on Park Street, A ho ni iDci-c ao ro jui J- I i i iui i i i i v.

uj i vvi ij lurmtjr ividyur cu ouiulk, mr. diiu rc lo Rarn a rrH- 1 a rr i-ii i 1 1 i uu ui UL ji i Council and served as Elgin's mayor from 1967 through 1971. He was an original member of the Gail Borden Public Library District. A staunch supporter of the Freedom to Read and the Library Bill of Rights, he led board discussions when community members voiced complaints about materials. Who better to defend intellectual freedom than one who has logged the more than 3,000 books he has read since the age of fifteen, chiefly works on history, economics, government and classic literature.

Not included in the list are the "light" reading titles he has consumed, only "serious literature" with over 250 pages. Mike maintains a loose leaf notebook containing all the titles he has read. In 2010 he became an Illinois Library Luminary Honoree and has published 22 books on the history of Elgin and one of the oldest libraries in Illinois, the Gail Borden Library. Recently Mike Alft told me a story; in 1941 his family moved into the Chicago land area and at the age of 16 Mike took a summer job in Elgin with a company called Inland Supply, located at 60 Ann Street. Mr.

Alft said he was just a gofer that summer; washing windows, sweeping and "what have After nearly 30 years the then Mayor Alft passed by the building when his old boss at Inland stopped him and said "Mayor, you have to see what we just got and his old boss proudly showed him the first automatic flushing toilet in the City of Elgin. Another moment in history for Elgin's great historian, the one and only Mike Alft; Happy Birthday Mike and a Happy 65th Wedding Anniversary to Mike and Fran! (Turnquist, Bill Briska and Jack and Marlene Shales, to name just a few. Alft graduated from Grinnell College and completed a graduate degree from Syracuse U. then relocated from Milwaukee in 1950, teaching in the Dundee School District. Mike and his wife Fran were not able to find a home in Dundee but did, when a friend recommended, find a home in Elgin, there the story begins.

This would lead Mike to a 65 year love affair with his new hometown, Elgin. He would in the early 1950's, begin a 40 year teaching career at Elgin High School. He has total recall and even years later would know and remember all his former students that he encountered through the years. In 1963 Alft became a member of the Elgin City June Ekman Advisory Council Member i was X) UUI II uL WHY. 7 I 'J ufl home on -l a farm in i i McHenry County, IL north of lldU fed- Marengo to the needs Senior Services was providing in more so after I had experience being the caregiver for my parents for years.

After having worked a few years with Activity Director Jennifer doing all sorts of work she took care of she had a stroke in 2007. As activity assistant I was to run the job in her shoes while she was trying to recover. After several months that didn't happen so got a replacement for Activity Director which is our Minnie Vasques and I continued my work as I had done with Jennifer. I have been a Senior Services Associates Member, a member of the Advisory Council and Member of the Elgin Township Triad for several years. I have certificates of classes taken at Senior Services and for Appreciation of different volunteer services also have one from the Governor of 2004 and the President's Volunteer Service USA Freedom Corp of Washington DC with a lapel pin 2004.

I got the Elgin Senior Provider Network "Friends to Seniors" Plaque Award in 2009, the Illinois Triad Senior Citizen "Time of Service" volunteer Trophy Award in 2010. I am very grateful and honored to have received these. I've been papering my wall at home with them! I have been in the same home for about 68 years. It's a blessing we have our organization as Senior Services for seniors. And may I add, that in the years of being part of this I see so many very intelligent different ages of staff, members, and others, that are giving it their all that do really realize and fully understand the needs of these serivices! during World War II being a farmer to help run the tractor preparing the fields for early planting of farm crops for food and that for our Armed Forces Fighting the War.

Hard War Ration Stamps for almost everything and lots of things went without. After moving to Elgin I got employment at Majestic Radio TV Record Company walking or riding a bike every day to work. Almost 2 years there and the company went bankrupt. But I did get my first car while working there. Over the years I drove there and lived in the states of Arizona California twice and Texas.

Having worked at different employment through out my life my last before retirement took me through several depts. jobs plus extra hours there after 8 hour shifts at Forman over a Twilight shift and into incoming receiving at Simpson Electric Co in Elgin for over 32 years. I was both my parents caregiver for several years around the clock and keeping them home! I did all the yard work and any repairing, painting outside of the house and buildings, and inside work for them. I hadn't heard anything about Senior Services Associate till after a few years of being by myself. A lady happened to mention about Senior Services being at the downtown location.

I came to Bingo off and on then happened to read about Senior Services opening up at the Elgin Township. So I came that first day early and was helping Jennifer Almanza get set-up for that first day at the Township and Jennifer asked me to come back and the rest is history. I was coming there and downtown 8 hours a day 5 days a week ever since! I could really relate during the depression days. At around the age of 3 we moved to a farm in Boone County southeast of Belvidere. We did dairy and crop farming until my parents sold out in 1947 and bought a house in Elgin, IL.

We thought is was a good size city with several employment opportunities at the time. We didn't have electricity on that farm because no poles carrying it down the gravel road for a few years. Did not have any indoor plumbing either and or the 3 mile walk to the one room country grade school house. Farm work was long hard hours everyday with no time off year round. Besides that one summer off from High School I decided to take my first pay check job working nights (to help out on farm days) at the Rock Valley Canning Company running machines at age 15 in Belvidere.

I drove a Model T-Ford over 10 miles to Belvidere High School with winter shoveling snow drifts along those county gravel road to get there and then the same getting home! The top speed on that Model T-Ford was 63 miles per hour (pedal to the metal) if you could find a road to do it on! I have a certificate of early dismissal of High School Year.