Silver Creek

The home in which I grew up stood close to the intersection of Silver Creek and the Des Plaines River. When I was a little girl, this was a pristine area. Silver Creek froze in the winter, and we often walked down its banks to skate. The Des Plaines River, too, was clean, and on sunny days, we spent time enjoying the scenery in Thatcher Woods.

By the time I was a teenager, both Silver Creek and the Des Plaines River were badly polluted. Silver Creek ran through Melrose Park, "Corporate King of the Suburbs." The nearby industries likely contributed to the creek's dismal state in the 1970s. What once had been a place to ice skate became an oily waterway, slick with chemicals that would not freeze.

Thatcher Woods, Suburban Chicago, January 1964. The Des Plaines River froze in the winter.

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Thatcher Woods, Suburban Chicago, January 1963. My Mom and I enjoy the winter view along the bank of the Des Plaines River.

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Thatcher Woods, Suburban Chicago, January 1963. My Dad and I walk through the snow.

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Melrose Park, Silver Creek, January 1964. Dad pulls me, in a sled, up from Silver Creek.

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Thatcher Woods, Suburban Chicago, January 1964. Thank you for watching our snow show!