By Dee Longfellow
For The Elmhurst Independent
It was a year ago on Sept. 27, 2018, when a group of citizens gathered in the prairie space behind the main branch of Community Bank of Elmhurst on Butterfield Road to dedicate the Darrell Whistler Memorial Prairie Garden. Whistler served not only on the bank’s Board of Directors but also on the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital’s Board of Governors and as Chair of the City’s Zoning & Planning Commission (ZPC).
Whistler passed away on July 14, 2017 at the age of 83. After his death, then-Board Chairman Bill Gooch announced that the Board of Directors had elected to name Darrell Director Emeritus, which he shall remain in perpetuity.
On Thursday, Sept. 19, Community Bank of Elmhurst once again invited the community to the site for another dedication ceremony with Whistler in mind.
The cupola, that sat high atop the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital building located on Berteau for almost a century, was salvaged by a group of residents who saved it from the wrecking ball and vowed to find it a home in the community. After several attempts, including a fruitless endeavor to have it placed at the new hospital campus, Community Bank of Elmhurst agreed to have the restored structure installed on the grounds of the Darrell Whistler Memorial Prairie Garden as a tribute to Whistler’s dedication to Elmhurst Memorial Hospital and as recognition to the icons of Elmhurst, which both Whistler and the cupola clearly are.
In keeping with the theme of icons of the community, Community Bank of Elmhurst offered a nod to Lee A. Daniels and Thomas D. Marcucci, two icons of Elmhurst who spearheaded the effort to save and find a site for the cupola. Daniels was a long-time State Representative who served as House Minority Leader as well as Speaker of the Illinois House. Marcucci was Elmhurst’s longest-serving mayor, completing four terms over a period of 16 years. Both spoke at the ceremony.
“This icon stands for the history of Elmhurst,” Daniels said in his remarks. “It came about because of Elmhurst’s respect for its history.”
Marcucci began his comments noting how much he had learned about zoning from Whistler when he first took office as mayor.
“Darrell Whistler was a full spectrum contributor in our community,” he said, “measured not in years, but in decades.”
Also speaking at the ceremony was George F. Hammersmith Jr., Chairman of the Board of Community Bank of Elmhurst, who was introduced by CBE President Richard Reichert. The program also included Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry president & CEO John R. Quigley, who led the Pledge of Allegiance and organized the ribbon-cutting, which followed the program.
