Fishel Band Shell Will Honor Veterans

Those who fought and died so we can can gather freely—even as a community enjoying a  free summer concert in the park—will forever be honored when the new Fishel Park bandshell opens this summer.

The Park Board decided May 5 to name the bandshell the Veterans Memorial Pavilion at Fishel Park. The choice comes after the Park District conducted an online poll and after members of of the American Legion requested the facility be named in honor of the village's veterans.

Post Commander RichGreenwald reminded the board that 63 men from Downers Grove, including the post's namesake, have died in armed conflicts, and that nothing in the village was as yet dedicated to veterans.

The poll garnered no groundswell of support for another name. Of the names offered by the park district, 58 percent of voters liked “Fishel Park Bandshell,” 26 percent liked “Pavilion at the Grove,”10 percent liked “Downers Grove Park District Performing Arts Center” and 6 percent liked “The Bandshell on Grove.”

Other write-in names included the “Edna E. Hurwitz Memorial Bandshell,” and the “Betty Cheever Pavilion.”

Board members asked who was honored at Memorial Park on Maple Avenue. Administrator Dan Cermak said a plaque at that site was dedicated to the veterans of World War II.

“I don't think we can honor veterans enough,” said Commissioner Matt Cushing.

Commissioner Cathy Mahoney summarized information she found in a history of the Noon Lions Club. The club purchased the land that is now Fishel Park in 1944 as a memorial to veterans and deeded it to the village before the park district existed. The original bandshell was dedicated in 1953 by the Noon Lions Club.

The park district's naming policy states there is a two-month wait before the name change takes effect after first board approval. A two-thirds vote of the board is then needed to make the change final.

Cermak said the Lions also will be remembered at the new pavilion, but playfully challenged the community to find this remembrance.