Round 2: Lockport, IL vs. Middleton, WI
Welcome to the second round of the sixth annual Strongest Town Competition! This contest is our annual celebration of the towns and cities across North America who are building stronger communities, even in times of uncertainty and change.
We’re down to our top eight contestants, and for this round, we asked them to cut back on the text and instead send us five photos, with a caption for each explaining how it illustrates the strength of their city.
Check out the photo submissions from two of our elite eight contenders below, and cast your vote at the bottom of the page!
Voting closes at 12pm CDT on Thursday, March 25th.
LOCKPORT, IL
Entry submitted by: Ben Benson, Lance Thies, Lisa Heglund, Brent Cann, Brittni Calderon
Support Our Small Businesses
“The Lockport community has consistently found interesting and unique ways to support our small businesses, especially as we navigated the pandemic. Whether through the COVID-19 Small Business Grant/Loan program, the outdoor seating the City put in public places or always planning events that surround business with customers, our leaders are committed to caring for each of us. The pandemic has hit my catering and dining restaurant hard and the City stepped up with the ‘Keep our Small Businesses Afloat’ arts program where large businesses that were successful in 2020 sponsored ducks decorated by artists curated by the Illinois State Museum Lockport location. These ducks and an associated passport program with stamps for each location, will then be displayed at small businesses to drive customers into our stores and restaurants. I could not be more proud to be a part of a Lockport community that proactively finds ways to tie events and activities to business success and cannot wait to get my duck after the ribbon cutting this May!”
- Marguerite Ruminski, Owner, The Vegan Café
Photo Credit: Steve Streit
State Street Parade
“Lockport, in partnership with the communities of Crest Hill and Homer Glen that make up our district, are at the heart of the success our 3,900-student high school enjoys. With Central Campus nestled in the middle of Lockport’s historic neighborhoods and East Campus in an adjacent neighborhood, Lockport Township High School knits together the fabric of the community. Our student volunteers put countless hours into local organizations, participate in local events and connect with local businesses, even using our Career, Community Connections Program to plant the seedlings being used by a local hydroponic farm downtown. We appreciate the support of our families and community. The feeder schools each serve their unique communities; some small, some large, some walkable, and others in more rural areas, each representing diverse demographics. Lockport is a great community and we are privileged to provide a quality education and a range of opportunities for each of the students of our district.”
- Dr. Robert McBride, Superintendent, District 205 Lockport Township High School
Photo Credit: Robert Morris
Lockport Love
“This may not be the prettiest photo of Lockport but to me, it's beautiful. Lockport Love is an organization of our Police and Firefighters that helps local families in need. In 2019 my husband was diagnosed with cancer and had to stop working. Things got tough for us without his income that year. It was difficult to get the bills paid and Christmas was looking bleak. A friend contacted Lockport Love. I'd lived in Lockport over 30 years and had never heard of this organization. From the first phone call our lives changed. They paid our December mortgage, gave us gift cards for food and essentials. We were saved.
“In December, they told us to invite our grandchildren to see a parade that travels to the recipients’ homes. Fire and police vehicles as far as the eyes can see! They stop and sing Christmas carols and all give their best wishes and holiday cheer. Santa was there with gifts for our grandchildren. We cried with relief, joy and the pure outpouring of love from our community. This photo shows that December day and in the center is my family stunned and speechless on the driveway. My husband is recovering now and we are back on our feet. Lockport Love got us through a very tough time in our lives. Lockport is an amazing town for so many reasons but this organization that few people know about is my best reason of all. Lockport has a big heart and truly cares about its citizens!”
- Barbara and Bruce Little, Lockport residents
Photo Credit: Barbara Little
New Investments in Downtown
“We’re lifelong Lockport residents who started a construction business in town and have seen it grow ever since. About four years ago, we were inspired by our Mayor’s vision for an active, people-filled downtown with restored buildings, comfortable places to walk, and small, incremental improvements that, over time, end up creating big changes. The City offered a Façade and Fire/Sprinkler grant program that matched investments on a 50/50 basis to fund projects that wouldn’t otherwise happen. That made us start to think about how we could be a part of the solution. Our first investment was in four buildings that were in a serious state of decline after sitting vacant for over 10 years. Through collaborative efforts between the City, the Heritage and Architecture Commission, and my business, we renovated each of those buildings, finding historical photos of their past lives and doing our best to reconstruct the life that each had enjoyed. From that investment and the success of the restaurant we started, the match was lit and other developers, many local, started investing in downtown, resulting in the single largest approval in 2020 of Façade grants by a factor of four since its origination. These grants come straight from the video gaming funds the City collects from users and does not impact property taxes for our residents, making the reinvestment in the downtown a cost effective solution to adding life to our heart.”
- Joe and Sherie Gallas, owners, Gallas Construction and Stagecoach restaurant
Photo Credit: Steve Streit
A Resurgence of Community
“Once one of the most bustling cargo ‘landings’ in the state, the Illinois and Michigan (I & M) canal in Lockport is now a tranquil representation of what started our City over 190 years ago. Much has changed since this place attracted goods from all over the County. We now use the area for festivals and events, weddings, concerts and even historical-themed carriage rides during our annual Canal Days festival. New activities have been added to attract interest in our community, including a Summer Art Series that includes large scale exhibits like the one in the picture, a Steampunk Festival (the Great Midwestern Ballyhoo), a local artist show in our branch of the Illinois State Museum, the Monday night Cruise Nights and Concert, and a Great Midwestern Film Festival in the recently restored Roxy Theatre. These activities make a difference and, in my time as Mayor, I have had countless people approach me to talk about the resurgence of our community. One of the first people who came to me after the inaugural Ballyhoo, David Mede, said that the success of our events are what led him and his partners to invest millions of dollars to convert an old three-story building that had burned out in a five-alarm fire leaving only the four walls standing, into a restaurant and event center. A few years later, David is still running the successful restaurant that, together with the investment of the Gallas’ and the nationally recognized Tallgrass restaurant, began another renaissance of downtown. I am happy to have played a small role in making change happen along with countless volunteers, leaders, business owners, residents and organizations that make this City what it is today…one of the best places to live in Illinois or even the country, but I may be a bit biased.”
- Steve Streit, Mayor, City of Lockport
Photo Credit: Bob Morris
MIDDLETON, WI
Entry submitted: Abby Attoun, Jocelyne Sansing, Tammy Derrickson, Julie Peterman, Daphne Xu, Rebecca Price, Gabrielle Hinahara, Mike Davis
The Good Neighbor City
Since 1964, the Good Neighbor Fest (GNF) is the Good Neighbor City’s pinnacle community event hosted by a nonprofit collaborative of most of the City’s service clubs. Held the last weekend of August each year, GNF brings the community together before school restarts. Our streets are filled to capacity with revelers from the Kids’ Parade (the top half of the picture), the GNF Fun Run/Walk (the bottom half of the picture), and culminate with the GNF Parade with over 100 floats and entries on the primary arterial street of the community, with upwards of 5,000 residents and guests in attendance. This event is a means by which our residents support the vital work of the service clubs through their largest annual fundraiser. In 2020, due to the pandemic, the event continued virtually and connected people with health and safety precautions and still cleared $25,000 for the community’s service clubs.
Photo Credit: Jeff Martin’s Fotowerks
Keeping the Community Pool Open Despite the Pandemic
The Walter Bauman Aquatic Center (WBAC) opened for the 2020 season on June 7th thanks to the support of the Middleton Common Council and the community. This past season was unlike any other season that staff and participants have known. Rebecca Price, Assistant Director, was highly active within in the state and nation, to help promote the safe return to aquatic operations. The re-opening plan for the Aquatic Center was a tool that many other Wisconsin communities used to help formulate their re-opening. Various guests visited to view operations at the WBAC as it was considered an ideal model for re-opening. A video was recorded to demonstrate the process for accessing the pool and highlighted the one-way traffic in some areas. Each day, two sessions of open swim were offered. Capacity was limited, yet almost every open swim session sold out. We offered modified swim lessons and two modified special events including our annual Middle School Night at the Pool (pictured). Rebecca was honored as the 2020 Outstanding Aquatic Professional of the Year in part for her efforts in opening the pool safely despite the odds.
Photo Credit: Middleton Recreation
Celebrating the Nation’s Favorite Condiment
Since 2009, the first Saturday in August we celebrate National Mustard Day at the National Mustard Museum, filling the streets in the heart of Downtown Middleton with retail and recreational activity. Many folks and their families venture down the street to the Capital Brewery Bier Garten to top off their day with friends.
It’s no easy venture to fund and operate the nonprofit museum with which the for-profit mustard shop shares space, but each year over 6,000 residents and their guests celebrate the nation’s favorite condiment with free hot dogs, games, music, general fun/revelry and, of course, mustard of all varieties from virtually every U.S. state and nation in the world. The proceeds from the day’s event are split evenly between the museum and another charity in the community. The Duchess of Mustard (pictured) is a mainstay of the event each year. Although the event was virtual in 2020, the fun continued, and we look forward to being together in person for this celebration in 2021.
Photo Credit: Jeff Martin’s Fotowerks
Supporting Local Businesses
Our City has a robust business community featuring about 70 restaurants from all ethnic varieties, eight hotels, several strong retail focal points, numerous commercial offices, a strong manufacturing presence and several national corporate headquarters (https://businessviewmagazine.com/middleton-wisconsin-good-neighbor-city/). The pandemic hit our restaurants, retail and hotels particularly hard, but the community responded. Residents persevered in patronizing by curbside pickup and outdoor dining, despite the sometimes cold weather in Wisconsin. In addition, the Community Development Authority, Middleton Tourism and the Downtown Business Association partnered to promote “Pick Your Picnic” (pictured) in the heart of the Middleton Center retail and apartment area (a $55 million mixed-use development) at the future site of Stone Horse Green where residents could gather safely under health protocols.
Moreover, the City and Middleton Area Development Corporation partnered to provide low-interest loans through the Middleton Economic Relief Loan (MERL) program, and the Middleton Area Chamber of Commerce promoted the program to its over 700 member organization. Nearly $600,000 has been loaned to local businesses to date through MERL. To encourage even more business and fun the Library featured “Story Walks” at Halloween and during the winter, and the Recreation Department sponsored a Candy Cane Hunt in Downtown Middleton to promote family and community cheer as well as sustained activity at difficult times of the pandemic.
Photo Credit: City of Middleton
Holiday Tree Lighting/Santa Parade
Each year, the community ventures to Hubbard Avenue between the Library and City Hall for the annual Holiday Tree Lighting prior to Thanksgiving. Families fill the street in anticipation of the arrival of Santa who arrives on a firetruck with police escort, magically lights the tree, and then meets with children of all ages. The Senior Center, Library and Recreation departments team up to provide arts and crafts, games, and festive singing and dancing activities. This year the event continued virtually, but Santa was not satisfied with that. He and the Police, Fire and Emergency Medical Services teamed up with the Recreation department to parade Santa throughout the entire community of 21,000. (The picture shows past event and this year’s spectacle.) Families gathered along the streets in the middle of December to enjoy the celebration and each other. Local businesses enjoyed the extra activity too!
Photo Credit: Jeff Martin’s Fotowerks
