New Historical Society President Takes Reins of the Same Board Grandfather Ray Served on Thirty Years Ago
At our October 2022 meeting, Chris Janota was nominated and voted in by his fellow board members to become our ninth President since the Society's inception in 1985. He was a resident of Park Forest early in life. His grandparents came to Park Forest in 1952 and remained here their whole lives, making many contributions to the village.
Chris is the grandson of Ray and Deloris Janota. Ray was the first faculty member hired at Rich Township High and chose the school colors. Deloris established the speech pathology program for District 163. He is the son of Bill and Lorraine Janota.
Chris reached out to volunteer for the board back in 2017 as a tribute to his grandparents’ love for Park Forest and was surprised to learn Ray had been an early and longtime member of the board and had designed the Hall of Fame logo.
Chris is our first descendant of a former board member to serve. He received an economics degree from Northern Illinois University and is the founder and President of Envoy Wealth Management in Crown Point, Indiana. He and his wife, Megan, reside in Northwest Indiana.
In June 2022, his accomplishments were recognized by InvestmentNews, which nominated Chris into their "40 Under 40" Class of 2022.
The board appreciates Chris for his business acumen, his experience handling all things financial, and his willingness to take on any task he has been asked to do. He has inherited the kindness and sense of humor we knew with Ray and Deloris, who were longtime active members and volunteers for the Society.
Chris has been the one who has taken PFHS into the YouTube realm and has labored long and hard to get our programs launched. With a President who is the same age as the Society, we are excited to see what the future holds.
President Archivist's Report as presented at the Annual Meeting September 2022, with an added note on the new President Chris Janota.
“Remembering Rich East” DVD for Sale
The Park Forest Historical Society is now selling “Remembering Rich East,” a DVD full of images, along with some versions of the school songs. It is not a documentary but a video and photo tour of the school, along with scans of brochures and photographs from the early days of the school. The DVD is available for $20 at the 1950s Park Forest House Museum during open hours, Wednesday and Saturday, 1-3:30 p.m., or by appointment at other times. If you come during open hours, your museum tour is free with the purchase of the DVD. You may contact us via email on the website or via Facebook message on our page, “1950s Park Forest House Museum,” to request that we hold a DVD for you to purchase in person.
“Remembering Rich East” can also be purchased via PayPal through the Society website, www.parkforesthistory.org, by using the “Donate” button and including the message “Rich East DVD”. With shipping and handling, the DVD is $24.83.
It can also be purchased by mailing a check to Park Forest Historical Society for $24.83 to Park Forest Historical Society, 227 Monee Road, Park Forest, IL 60466. Be sure to include a note saying it is for a DVD and send your address and email or phone number.
Since May 2020, the PFHS Board has been invested, including financially, in documenting Rich East High School. We hired a photographer/videographer to go into the school with us at that time to preserve images of the interior and exterior. More than 900 photographs and some videos were taken. Jane Nicoll scanned early photographs and brochures from the collection, and scans from the scrapbooks of Arnold DeLuca were included showing Prom Train articles, photos, and more.
We then pursued recordings and sheet music for the Rich East Loyalty Song and “Hail to the Green and Gold.” Peter Pisello, the former band instructor, supplied a fully orchestrated version. A Facebook appeal found people with sheet music in various states, some quite nice. Jane’s son ended up having the melody to the fight song in his trumpet case. Two Rich East records in our collection, both a little rough for digitizing, were digitized by Chris Janota and Jane. With COVID-19 restrictions, people were not willing to get together and sing. Finally, we found the Class of 1967 had sung both songs beautifully at their 50th and put them on YouTube. One recording had been remastered by Ken Kortge, who was willing for us to use the music. David Peryam would let us use his YouTube recording of the fight song. We then hired Jared Amani to compile the video for us. Funds raised will go toward our considerable expenses of hiring the photographer/videographer and video artist and getting it copied.
Did you remember to sign up to be a member or to renew your membership?
Forms were in September 2022 “The Spirit.” Can’t find your form? Pick one up at the Museum Archive, or copy it from our website, parkforesthistory.org.
You can also opt to join via PayPal on the website with the message, “Membership.” Just Join!
Visit our online store to purchase our vibrant print-11" x 14" of Anabelle Gould's original watercolor of The Park Forest Plaza and Holiday Theatre. Buy yours now, while they last! Prints are $15 each; shipping and handling $6. Stop by the museum to purchase a copy during open hours, Wednesday and Saturday 1:00 to 3:30, or visit our online store and use PayPal.
How we got the print.
Sue Gould, daughter of Annabelle, donated her mother's watercolor to the Village of Park Forest. From the moment we saw it hanging in the Village Manager's outer office, we knew we had to sell prints of it. Jane Nicoll, helped the Village and Sue make the donation a little more legal on paper, which cleared the way for the Village to grant the Society permission to make a print and sell it to benefit the Society.
We are grateful Sue decided to share the print with the Village and posterity. Thanks to Village Manager Tom Mick for granting us permission to make the prints.
Now it is up to YOU to buy some copies, so we make a wonderful profit to help further our missions!!
