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2 The Courier-News Section 1 Tuesday, July 14, 2015 Elgin marks historian's 90th birthday i t8SFV'' ult IWV I. I HBBnC MJWIlMIMflwM Afoul IH I ll council and library district board, taught part-time at Elgin Community College for 20 years, hosted a WRMN radio show and was among the founders of the historical society, the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame, the Elgin Historic District and Citizens for Council-Manager Government. "The magnitude of what he has done for the community is so big, it's hard to get your hands around it," said Rich Renner, a member of the Elgin Area Historical Society board who said Alft had taught one of his classes at Elgin High. Renner said Alft "was not overstating the subtitle" of his general history of the city when he called it "Elgin: An American History." Renner said Alft explained the evolution of Elgin, a typical mid-American city, in terms that reflect how America also had grown and changed since 1835. Alft told the crowd he came to Elgin "really needing" a hometown because while growing up as the son of a salesman during the Great Depression, he had moved frequently.

"I attended 10 different schools," he said. "I was always the new student in class who didn't have any friends, which is why I became such a reader." Historical society treasurer Bill Briska said Fran Alft once told him, "I want to thank you (Elginites) for giving Mike a hometown." "But it's really the other way around," Briska said to Fran's husband. "If it wasn't for your work, our history would be just an assortment of recollections and Alft moved to Fox Valley in search of a hometown By Dave Gathman The Courier-News When Milwaukee native E.C. "Mike" Alft moved to the Fox Valley to take a teaching job in 1950 less than a week after he married his wife Elgin was only his second choice of a town in which to live. He and new bride Fran wanted to find a home in the Dundees.

But they couldn't find a suitable house there, so they located instead in what later would become known as "The City in the Suburbs." By the time he turned 90 on Monday, Alft would go on to write some 22 books and 1,200 Courier-News columns about Elgin's history, to serve as the city's mayor for four years (1967-71) and to teach economics and government at Elgin High School for 41 years. After decades of filing away microfilmed newspaper articles into something close to a photographic memory, he has become by wide acclaim the foremost expert on Elgin's past. And on Sunday about 100 friends crowded into the Elgin History Museum to celebrate his 90th birthday with salutes, anecdotes and memories. Historical museum staffer David Siegenthaler recalled how Alft first asked his future wife for a date while both were attending Grinnell College in Iowa during the 1940s. Siegenthaler said Mike's eye had been caught by a student library employee whose badge identified her as DAVE GATH MANTHE COURIER-NEWS Bill Briska of the Elgin Area Historical Society, left, and historian E.C.

"Mike" Alft prepare to cut Alft's 90th birthday cake. Alft has lived in Elgin since 1950 and written 22 books and 1,200 Courier-News columns about the city's history. "Frances Clark." So Mike filled out a book-request form, filling in "Frances Clark" as the name of the item he wanted to take out and "your parents" as the name of the item's author. Later, Siegenthaler said, Mike revealed to Fran that he had kept careful written records of everything they did on each of their dates and how much money each had cost. In a similar way, Alft at age 15 began keeping a running list of all the books he has read.

Alft said Sunday that list has grown to just over 3,000 books, though he does not include any book with less than 250 pages or any fiction books that he does not consider "serious literature." He said his favorite topics are history, government, economics and 19th-century British novelists such as Hardy, Dickens and Trollope. "At one time, I had a kind of photographic memory," Alft said earlier this year. "Every year I would get 100 new students and by the end of the first day I would know all their names." In an obituary he prew-rote himself for The Courier-News some 15 years ago, Alft also notes that he rode a bicycle for 100 miles on his 65th birthday; "downed three of the locally famous (and thick) Burns malts in 51 minutes on Feb. 28, 1979" and "probably spent more hours in the (Gail Borden Public) library, other than employees, than anyone in the district." Those at Sunday's party recalled seeing Alft in the library almost every day, usually reading old newspapers on a microfilm reader. A table at the open house displayed 18 books Alft has written.

They include 1984's "Elgin: An American History," which Siegenthaler called "the definitive history of Elgin," plus a collection of his 24 years of Courier-News columns called "Elgin: Days Gone By." Alft also wrote histories of Elgin High School, African Americans in Elgin, women in Elgin, Sherman Hospital, Elgin National Watch Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, Elgin Area Historical Society, Elgin Mental Health Center, the Village of South Elgin, Hanover Township and First National Bank of Elgin. Alft served on the city dgathmantribpub.com THE Company growing medical pot Courier-News Bob Fleck, Publisher and General Manager Anne Halston, Editor 630-978-8027; ahalstonchicagotribune.com Jill McDermott, Vice President of Advertising 224-500-2419; jmcdermotttribpub.com facility is currently in use. "It's like a big warehouse and the first room they have ready to start is a big white, bright room with lights in it," said Albion Mayor Steve McMahel, who said he has visited the facility three or four times. "It's a clean environment. Everyone will wear white gloves and coveralls because they don't want any infection in the plants." Ataraxia has hired 10 workers, including security staff.

It won't be the largest employer in the area; that's an auto filter plant that has about 1,000 employees, the mayor said. Still, the jobs are welcome, he said, as will be the property taxes. The state has authorized one other facility to start cultivating marijuana Illinois Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Rebecca Clark would not say Monday which companies have received the go-ahead. At least nine marijuana cultivation facilities have been approved to receive official ID cards for their workers, Clark said. That's half of the 18 grow centers that have received preliminary licenses from the state.

Security is tight in the industry and the state hasn't allowed news organizations inside growing facilities. The Illinois State Police has a real-time view into Ataraxia through its 24-hour video surveillance system, Archos said. Illinois requires cultivation centers to have alarm systems and closed-circuit television surveillance of all entrances and exits, parking lots, alleys and the entire inside of the facility, except for restrooms and the executive office. Time-stamped recorded video must be kept for 90 days on site and another 90 days off site. Each center must have a printer capable of immediately producing a clear still photo from video.

Albion's mayor said he has no concerns about security. "The state has got pretty stringent rules on that. I don't think it's a really big problem," McMahel said. By Carla K. Johnson AP Medical Writer CHICAGO Illinois' medical marijuana program reached an important milestone Monday with the announcement that at least one of the authorized companies has started growing plants.

Officials at Ataraxia in southeastern Illinois said the facility received state authorization July 10 and has started cultivating the genetic strains that will be the basis of their products. "We'll have a range of products available in October," Ataraxia CEO George Archos said. The company plans to produce oils, edibles and creams in addition to marijuana for smoking and vaporizing. When Ataraxia reaches full-scale production, it will grow cannabis year-round at its facility in the Edwards County city of Albion. But with only 2,600 patients signed up for the state's pilot program, about one-third of the EDITORIAL Robert Oswald, Metro Editor 630-978-8141; roswaldtribpub.com Bill Scheibe, Suburban Sports Editor 312-222-3915; bscheibetribpub.com NEWSROOM General: 630-978-8141 ADVERTISING Mark Doherty, Ad Director 630-780-7391 mdohertytribpub.com Display: 312-283-7056 Classified: 866-399-0537 Email: suburban.classtribpub.com Legals: suburban.legaltribpub.com Obituaries: 866-399-0537 or suburban.obittribpub.com SERVICE NEW SUBSCRIBERS Email: ecnservicetribpub.com The Courier-News is published by Chicago Tribune Media Group.

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