Each spring and fall about 10 teams of four people each roam through Logan Square planting trees and flowers.
They wrestle 300- to 400-pound saplings into pre-dug holes, shovel in some dirt, tamp and water them, and then shovel some more dirt.
They are ever-mindful of keeping the trees, which are about 10 feet tall, pointed toward the sky. They stake and wire the trunks to prevent them from being blown about.
When they are finished with one tree, they unload another one from the truck and drag it to another hole. By the end of the day they have planted about 50 trees and 20 flower beds.
Jane Harrison, 64, works on one of the teams. ”You go home very grubby and very tired,” she says. ”But there is something about planting a tree that is alive and growing and is always going to be there.”
The teams work under the direction of Logan Square Preservation, a group whose purpose is to beautify the neighborhood, preserve the local architecture and improve the community`s image, says its president, Lewis Coulson.
The neighborhood plantings inspire residents to put flowers and foliage in their own yards, says Coulson, 46.
Another common sight is residents weeding and watering the public beds, Coulson and Harrison say. ”This summer I (often) watched a small kid, about 8 years old, struggling to haul buckets of water to a (particular) bed,”
Harrison says. ”He would water it and then go back for more. Then he would be back the next day.”
”We put in about $5,000 worth of trees, shrubs and flowers twice a year,” Coulson says. ”The City of Chicago doesn`t have the funds to do this, but they help plan where to plant and they dig the holes for us. The fire department helps with the watering.”
The membership roster includes more than 100 homeowners, tenants and businesses. The organization was founded by a group of concerned architects and photographers in 1980.
One project-and the major fundraising event-is a house walk, usually held the first Saturday after Labor Day. Seven homes, two churches and 10 gardens were on display in the ninth annual house walk, held last month.
”We have people come who grew up here and have been gone for 40 or 50 years,” Coulson says. ”They share their stories and send us pictures.”
Large mansions and well-maintained modest homes are included on the tour. One of its purposes is to showcase dramatic architecture; another is to present decorating ideas, Coulson says.
”We want to encourage homeowners to take an interest in beautifying their own homes,” Coulson says. ”If people learn to appreciate architecture, they will preserve it.”
Coulson`s 1908 two-flat, which is lavished with ornamental mouldings and stained glass windows, was one of the homes on the house walk.
”This entire area is not pure anything” architecturally, he says. ”It was settled by immigrants, some very wealthy, who had eclectic tastes. Many are two- and three-flats, not for rentals but for their children`s families to live.”
Harrison served as chairwoman for the recent house walk-a job that took almost a year of planning. She had to find homeowners willing to open their doors to strangers and find replacements when some of the participants had to back out because remodeling projects were not completed in time.
She researched the histories of the homes, then recruited and trained docents to guide visitors through each one. On the day of the event Harrison fretted that she didn`t have anything to do, until a ticket seller became ill and she took her place.
”I care deeply about this neighborhood and I love these wonderful old houses,” she says. ”We`re seeing more and more people feeling a pride in this neighborhood and working to make it a home for all of us.”
Harrison, who has lived in Logan Square for 11 years, has been a member of the organization since 1981. She owned and operated a community newspaper in Logan Square for 8 1/2 years until she closed it two years ago. She works as an office manager for a law firm and has three grown children.
Her involvement with the organization includes helping with the monthly newsletter and working on design plans for the plantings.
”Jane is one of the people who actually does a lot of the work,”
Coulson says. ”She has a deep caring for this community and is selfless in the work she has done.”
The organization, which meets monthly, also hosts competitions for the most beautiful gardens and most attractive outdoor Christmas decorations. Once or twice a year dinner meetings are held at which guest speakers lecture on topics of historical, architectural or horticultural interest.
In 1985 member efforts resulted in getting a 2 1/2-mile stretch of boulevards, including Logan Boulevard, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Doing so involved researching the architects and original owners of every home along the way, a project which took about a year to complete.
”The area has historic importance because of the boulevard system,”
Coulson says. After the fire of 1871 city planners designed a 26-mile arc of parks and tree-lined boulevards to encourage population growth west of the lakefront, he says.
Much of the system has been destroyed over the years, but part of it remains in Logan Square. Even here, hundreds of trees have been lost to disease.
”We want to restore Logan Square to its original beauty,” Coulson says. ———-
For more information on the Logan Square Preservation, call Lewis Coulson at 252-4859.
