SVM_Sterling Rock Falls Living_Fall 2022

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Want a Bite to eat?

Straight from a Sterling kitchen comes a taste of Puerto Rico — and a Marvelous way for its owner to honor her late brother.

12 Big things come in mall packages

In 1972, local residents were introduced to an “exciting new experience”: 300,000 square feet of one-stop shopping and the promise of “perpetual spring” at a mall for all seasons; 50 years later, spring is still in the air and things are headed in the right direction for the shopping center: due north.

31 Family resources

B&D Supply and Home Services in Rock Falls knows the importance of good business relations — that’s what started it all for the family-owned shop nearly 50 years ago, and that’s what keeps it going today.

Plus ... Where Is It in Sterling/Rock Falls? A local man who helped make his field of dreams come true is honored with a

just a stone’s throw away from a project he helped get off

A dream takes flight

An occasional feature of Sterling-Rock Falls Living

local landmarks and locations off the beaten path. We’ll feature a photo and

up to you to guess where it was taken.

A local man who helped make his field of dreams come true is honored with this memorial, at left, just a stone’s throw away from a project that he helped get off the ground. Where is it?

Leo’s

By Cody Cutter Sauk Valley Media

elia Fernandez is playing the heroic role of Captain Marvel well, and her late brother, Le oner “Leo” Melendez, would be proud of her. Growing up in Chicago, she would never hear the end of Leo’s love for Marvel Comics superheroes — and if he ever needed a help ing hand from his sibling, Fernandez was happy to oblige.

Today, she’s helping keeping Leo’s memory and his passion for his heroic idols alive with a passion of her own: cooking the very treats they enjoyed growing up and bringing them to the Twin Cit ies.

Fernandez owns Leo’s Marvelous Bites, along with her brother, David Solis. It serves Puerto Rican dishes and meals from the Kitchen Incu bator of Northwest Illinois, across from Gartner Park in Sterling. Empanadas — which have meat, cheese and vegetables inside a crescentlike shell — along with potato balls and steak sandwiches are among the staples of many Puerto Rican restaurants and homes, and they now can be found locally.

After setting up at special events and advertising occasional carryout specials from the kitchen, Fernandez has found that many locals really enjoy a taste of Puerto Rico.

LEO’S cont’d to page 8

“It’s become big and it’s taken off,” Fernandez said. “I didn’t think Puerto Rican food would ever be a hit in these areas. It’s amazing how people are really loving it. It’s really, really nice.”

Fernandez has lived in Dixon for about 15 years, and her family would come over on occasion from the Chicago area to celebrate the holidays with her and her family. Cooking was, and still is, a big part of those get-togethers, and Leo would always make sure his sister made some food he could take back home to Hammond, Indiana, with him. Thanksgiving of 2020 was the last time Leo was part of a family gathering: He later contracted COVID-19 and died on Dec. 28, 2020, at his home.

Melendez knew his sister had a talent for food, and had hoped she would someday turn that talent into a business.

“My brother Leo was a big, giant guy, full of laughs and re ally funny,” Fernandez said. “He was like my dad, really. We spent a lot of time together. We would make these potato balls together, and the empanada, and he would always say, ‘I don’t know why you won’t open up your own place.’ He was a great man, and a hard, hard worker, too.”

Fernandez honored his brother’s wish by starting Leo’s Marvelous Bites in October 2021 out of the Kitchen Incubator, a joint project of the Greater Sterling Development Corp., Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Sterling — with help from private donations — designed to help budding food[based businesses a place to get off the ground. Further honoring her brother, the names of her empanadas are named

Save the Dates!

Upcoming Events at Deja Vu

October 20th: Adult Halloween Wine Walk 5pm-7pm

October 28th: Deja Vu / Downtown Trick or Treat 3pm-5pm

November 7th: Deja Vu Christmas Village is up

November 17th-20th: Deja Vu Holiday Open House

November 20th: Open 11am-4pm

November 23rd: Deja Vu CLOSES at 2pm

Thanksgiving: CLOSED

November 25th: Black Friday Hours 9am-6pm - Special guest to be announced

November 26th: Shop Small Hours 9am-5pm -Special guest to be announced

November 27th: Open 11am-4pm

Date to be Announced: Downtown Tree Lighting

December 4th: Open 11am-4pm

December 11th: Open 11am-4pm

December 15th-23rd: Desperate Dudes and Dudettes

December 18th: Open 11am-4pm

Christmas Eve: CLOSED Christmas Day: CLOSED

New Year’s Eve: Deja Vu CLOSES at 2pm

January 1st-2nd: CLOSED

Deja Vu Furniture & Accessories

101 Fifth Ave. S., Clinton, IA 52732 563-242-3356 www.dejavuclinton.com • Find us on

after Marvel and DC superheroes.

The Iron Man empanada is a pollo guisado with Puerto Rican chicken stew with green pepper, chicken, potatoes, car rots and olives. The Aquaman empanada has shrimp. The Hulk, true to its character, has some greens in it such as broccoli slaw and green peppers, as well as mushrooms and onions. The Thor is a steak taco empanada with cilantro, onion and chi huahua cheese; the Spider-Man has pepperoni, mozzarella and marinara; and the Batman has Philadelphia cheesesteak with green peppers, mushrooms, onions and cheddar cheese.

Many customers have told Fernandez that her food lives up to the business’s name, and that’s when she gets to tell them the marvelous meaning behind the name.

“We named it that because he was a Marvel freak,” Fernan dez said. “We were trying to incorporate Marvel with marvel ous. That’s all he loved. Before he passed away, that’s kind of what our game plan was. He was like, ‘Why don’t you open up your own place?’ So it has a lot of meaning to it.”

The potato balls and steak sandwiches are also popular sell ers. The steak sandwiches come with thin strips of marinated steak between plantain bread. The potato balls — which were Leo’s favorite, his sister said — are made with meat stuffed inside mashed potatoes rolled into a ball, breaded and deep fried. They’re usually made with ground beef, but sometimes Fernan dez substitutes another meat or includes cheese in the mix.

LEO’S cont’d to pages 9 & 10

Open 9-6 Daily Till Halloween

Activity Hours:

Monday- Thursday (excluding Columbus Day)

2:00 pm - 6:00 pm

General Admission- $4.00

Saturday, Sunday and Columbus Day

am - 6:00 pm

Admission-

General Admission Activities Include:

Zoo

Harry Potter Corn Maze

Haunted House

Rides

Play Yard including:

Pillow, Tug-o-War, Rolling Donut Holes

and Sand Bins

Take a slide down our new Big Slide Mt Selmi

1206 Dixon Avenue, Rock Falls selmi.com

Leo’s Marvelous

Bites opens for carryout orders from the Kitchen

Incubator of Northwest Illinois, 1701 Industrial Drive in Sterling, on occasion. Catering services are also available. Call 815-486-5577, or find it on Facebook for carryout dates and times, or for more information.

Fernandez is always willing to try new recipes, and said she’s fortunate to have family members help her out with the business, which is espe cially helpful when she’s playing the roles of mom and grandma when she isn’t in the kitchen. Her mother, Aurora Lopez, helps out with the cooking from time to time.

For her occasional carryout specials, she will announce those dates in advance on the Leo’s Marvelous Bites Facebook page, with a deadline for orders and a date for customers to come to the Kitchen Incubator to pick them up “hot and fresh,” just how she likes it. Catering services also are available.

The Kitchen Incubator of N.W.

Illinois is a 3,000 square foot, commercially licensed, commercially equipped kitchen that can be rented by the hour by individuals with a dream of starting a foodbased business. The Incubator is also available for food-based fund raisers, teachers, cooking classes, and most other situations where a licensed food production facility is needed. Call 815-626-2665 or go to kitchenincofnwil.org for more information.

Special community events have been the largest means of exposure: Leo’s was a regular vendor at the Dixon City Market this summer, and also participated in the Taste of Fiesta in Rock Falls on Sept. 10, Walnut Fest on Sept. 17, the Woodhaven Fall Fest near Sublette on Oct. 8 and 9, and plans to set up at Dixon’s Scarecrow Fest on Oct. 22. When it was at the market in Dixon, many of her regulars who would come from Sterling and Rock Falls to try different things on the menu, Fernandez said.

Fernandez is glad to find that the area has been so welcoming and open try out new dishes.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s gratifying when you get all of the feedback,” Fernandez said.

Seeing others enjoy his sister’s cooking as much as he did would no doubt make Leo happy, and if he were here today, he would likely look at his sister’s success and proclaim — in a word used often by Marvel Com ics’ Stan Lee, who celebrated its message of moving onward and upward — “Excelsior!” n

How We Work For You!

Hydro Plant:

City of Rock Falls

approximately 5,062,144 KWH’s/month.

Rock Falls

Story Cody Cutter Sauk Valley Media

or nearly 70 years, they’ve been a big part of our collective consumer conscious ness. They’ve been celebrated in our movies and memories. We hung out there when we were kids and got our first job there when we grew up. We chased high scores while our parents looked for low prices. Jake and Elwood Blues fled from police in one and ‘80s teen sensation Tiffany rose to fame in others. For some, they’ve been part of their entire life, from the golden years of their youth when they’d tread the concrete concourse with friends to the golden years of their life when they returned there to get in some exercise with their steps.

The shopping mall.

While they’ve been around since the mid-1950s, it wasn’t until nearly 20 years later when one finally came to the Twin Cities, when Northland Mall in Sterling opened its doors. This year marks the mall’s 50th an niversary, when the biggest thing to come to town at the time had its soft opening — and when that first business in the mall opened its doors, it was an O-Joyous occasion. nnn

Running errands can be tedious. Stopping, starting, getting in and out of the car, dealing with the weather … but when there’s one place to do them — and do them all done under one roof — it’s not a chore anymore.

MALL

Northland Mall, circa 1980s (above), and more recently (below).

That’s what malls are for, and for 50

Northland Mall has been a place where people can get a lot done in one place. Looking for new clothes? Craving a nutritious drink? Looking for some new decor for the house? All it takes is a trip to the mall.

In its long history, Northland Mall also has been a place to check out the newest music and the latest fashions, get your vision and hearing checked, your hair done, choose a wedding ring, get new shoes, and beat the high score at the arcade. It’s also been a place for people of all ages to hang out and have fun, sharing those coming-of-age moments that we’ll never forget.

Many businesses have come and gone from the mall in the last halfcentury, including the three original anchor stores: Bergner’s, JCPenney and Woolworth’s. Malls across America have evolved over time, and some have closed. But while some malls in a town Sterling’s size have faded into memory, Northland Mall recently has seen a spike in business and traffic.

Pre-history

Aside from early Native American settlers, the first White man to stake his claim on the future Northland Mall property was Samuel Albertson in 1841.

A look at stores at Northland Mall

the years, courtesy of city directories published at the time.

Feb. 27, 1973

Bowman Shoes, Bressler’s ice cream, Blackhawk Arcade, Britch es Etc., Chadband’s, Charles V. Weise Co., Claire’s, Cloud 9, Dick kens, Dutch Mill Candy, Endicott Johnson, General Nutrition, Heights Finance, Harvest House, JCPenney and its auto care shop, Kinney Shoe Store, Lincolnway State Bank, Mode O’Day, Orange Bowl, Pichiotti’s Fashionaire, Red Carpet Stereo, Rock River Realty and Insurance, Singer sewing machines, So-Fro Fabrics, Stuart’s, Waldenbooks, Walgreen’s, The Swiss Colony, Stay-In-Touch, Woolworth’s

Albertson is better known to local historians as one of the early developers of the Great Northwestern Fair Grounds at Mineral Springs, not far from his home. He could build things, too, such as the first iron bridge in Whiteside County, which carried Pennington Road over the Elkhorn Creek north of Sterling — but he couldn’t have imagined what would someday rise from his land more than a 100 years later.

Of all the tenants that have come and gone at Northland Mall, only one can boast that it’s been there since the beginning: Claire’s. These days, though, you won’t find any “chic shag” wigs there. The faux follicles were made of Kanekalon, the “finest modacrylic fiber.”

One of Albertson’s duties as a civil servant included serving as highway commissioner for Sterling Township, a role that put him in charge of making sure local roads were well-maintained. One of the busiest roads on his watch crossed through his property: a road connecting Sterling and Dixon that no doubt helped in the migration of people coming from the east and going west.

Specialty Magazines

These magazines are totally free and will be sent to you in the mail.

request your F FREE copy, simply call us at (815) 632-2566 or email your requests and address to: knull@saukvalley.com

CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SAUKVALLEY.COM

Some stores that opened at the mall briefly operated both at their old and new locations at the same time, like WeiseChesters (later Bergner's).

A look at stores at Northland Mall through the years, courtesy of city directories published at the time.

Need some pants? Britches had them at its grand opening — 30-inch bell bottoms for only $4.90. And the store’s mas cot, “Too Loose To Trek” (above) — a tongue-in-cheek nod to 19th century French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (left) — helped advertise them.

With 33 “ex otic flavors,” there was something for everyone at Bressler’s ice cream stand. The grand open ing special: a quart of ice cream, a jar of top pings and

a box of sugar cones — all for under two bucks!

1977 Blackhawk Arcade, Bowman’s Shoes, Bressler’s ice cream, Chadband’s, Claire’s, Cut and Curl, Dickkens, Dutch Mill Can dles, Endicott Johnson, General Nutrition Center, Harvest House, Heights Finance, Thomas Hogge optometry, Kinney Shoes, Kit and Caboodle arts and crafts, Mode O’Day, JCPenney, Jeans N Things, The Orange Bowl, Red Carpet Stereo, Rock River Realty and Insurance, Singer sewing machines, Stuart’s, So-Fro Fabrics, Tiffany’s Bakery, Waldenbooks, Walgreen’s, Bill Watkins Piano and Organ Co., Charles V. Weise Bridal Shop, Woolworth’s

Kinney Shoes was among the first tenants at North land Mall. When it opened, it promised “the end of ordi nary shoe shopping.” The “store of tomorrow” ran out of tomorrows at the mall by the early ‘90s.

Sterling’s Highland Park Subdivision — bounded by Freeport Road and Merrill Street — had long been considered the eastern end of town, but a few new places began to pop up along East Lincolnway by the middle of the 20th century Sterling’s downtown was thriving in the 1960s as well, but the “space age” influences of new design and innovation in architecture brought forth the concept of today’s mall: a building where customer could shop from store to store in climate-controlled comfort.

Jay Chananie, a retail developer from Stanford, Conn., saw that Sterling, backed by its strong industrial economy, had the kind of growth potential that could support a shopping mall. He established Northland Shopping Center Inc. in 1966 with a plan to build a mall just east of the intersection of Lincol nway and Merrill. As Dixon was also without a mall at the time, the location could attract shoppers from that city as well. Rock Falls had even flirted with an idea of a mall in the late 1960s: a “Study of Community Needs” report con ducted by Northern Illinois University in 1967 suggested that the then-empty section of town where the City Hall complex sits today would be a good loca tion for a new mall.

Prospects of a new shopping mall also attracted other developers to build nearby. Holiday Inn opened off of Merrill Street in 1967 (the building would eventually be razed about 40 years later), Lincoln Way State Bank opened in 1973 in a building now occupied by Fifth-Third Bank, and a 9-acre tract of land was set aside for a future housing project that would become Sterling Tow ers when completed in 1979. On the other side of East Lincolnway, the Kmart plaza opened in 1973, necessitating a stop light intersection on the service road connecting the two.

Arcade,

Chadband’s, Claire’s, Cut and Curl, Dickkens, Endicott Johnson shoe store, General Nutrition Center, Harvest House, Thomas Hogge optometry, Holiday Pot Pouri, JCPenney, Kinney Shoes, Leslie’s Shoes, Marco Sports, Maurice’s, Mode O’Day, The Orange Bowl, Outdoor Wear Shoe Store, P.J. Bakery, Red Carpet Stereo, Rock River Realty and Insurance, SherwinWilliams, Stuart’s, So-Fro Fabrics, Stay N’ Touch, The Swiss Colony, Waldenbooks, Walgreen’s, Bill Watkins Piano and Organ Co., Woolworth’s

1987

Bergner’s, Blackhawk Arcade, Camelot Music, Chadband’s, Circus World, Clothes Quarters, Claire’s, Diamond Dave’s, Endicott Johnson, Eye Boutique, Fannie May candies, General Nutrition Center, Hair Crafters, Harvest House, Thomas Hogge optometry, JCPenney, Ken Nelson Nis san, Kinney Shoes, Lecour’s Ladies Fashions, Leslie’s, Maurice’s, McMillin Real Estate, Mode O’Day, The Orange Bowl, Prescott’s Video TV and Appliance, SherwinWilliams, Snack Shack ice cream, So-Fro Fabrics, Stay N Touch, Sterling Hearing-Aid Center, Stuart’s, Waldenbooks, Walgreen’s, Woolworth’s

Today, Walgreen's is known for being a drug store, but did you know it also served food? Like many drug stores back in the day, it also had a lunch counter/restaurant. The one at Walgreen's in Northland Mall closed in the mid-1980s. Woolworth’s also had a restaurant, Harvest House, which lasted a little longer than Walgreen’s eatery. JC Penny and Bergners also had small cafes.

You couldn’t get a steak at Woolworth’s Harvest House, but you could get a Steak-Umm sandwich.

Hungry for a liver sausage club sandwich?

You could get one at Walgreen’s diner.

The Orange Bowl found suc cess in the ‘70s setting up in shopping malls, including Northland Mall. In fact, the snack shop was the first business to open its doors during the mall’s soft opening in 1972. The photo at right, though not from the Northland Mall, shows a typical Orange Bowl from the early 1970s, along with its menu (left). Many locals who ate there still fondly remember their pizza, which, according to a food industry magazine article at the time, used eight different Wisconsin cheeses made especially for the chain.

WESTWOOD WELLNESS COMING SOON

Westwood Wellness is a 3,500 square foot “addition” to building #1 at Westwood Fitness & Sports Center. The addition of Wellness enhances Westwood’s already comprehensive health & fitness opportunities.

A Total Fitness Pass membership or Wellness drop-in fee will include free use of the saunas, hydro massage loungers, stand-up tanning booths and the compression/recovery lounge. A nominal fee will be assessed for spray tan, red light therapy, halo (salt) therapy and the cryotherapy chamber.

Compression/Recovery Lounge (with zero gravity chairs)

Infrared Suanas (with red light & halo/salt therapies)

Hydro Massage Loungers

Spray Tan Booth

Stand-Up Tanning Booths

Chamber

Northland Mall as it appeared in the early 1980s (left) and today. Woolworth’s was the mall’s central anchor in the photo at left. Today, Dunham’s Sports (right) occupies the former department store’s location.

Getting the mall up and running took some time, as busi nesses were being rounded up for the new shopping center. The first pile of dirt was turned during a groundbreaking cer emony on April 14, 1971, by Mayor Jerome Sleeper. EllingtonMiller Co. of Chicago and Shevlin-Manning Inc. of Williams ville, New York, were the joint general contractors, and Joe Allen and Associates of Williamsville and Interplex Association of Boulder, Colo., were its architects and engineers.

Open for business

The contractors also had a few local companies help out with the construction. Weaver Sheet Metal of Sterling installed

HVAC and sheet metal, M&M Electric Co. of Rock Falls did the electrical work, Bob Propheter Construction Co. of Sterling worked on the concrete foundation, floors, site grading and parking areas; T.D. Kurtz Glass Co. of Rock Falls provided glass and worked on the front entrance; and Engineered Roofing Co. of Sterling installed the roof.

Work on the 302,680 square-foot complex and its parking lot was complete by the time summer rolled into fall in 1972. The building’s three anchors, having committed by 1970, were JCPenney, Woolworth’s and Weise’s (which later became Bergner’s).

Remember the Talking Christmas Tree at the Weise’s?

If you do, you’re not alone. Countless kids lined up to tell the festive fir what they wanted for Christmas, and the tree would talk back, courtesy of an employee hidden inside. The circa 1978 news article below told how the merry magic was made at the Weise store in Rockford’s Colonial Village Mall.

Both Walgreen’s, which also moved into the mall, and Woolworth’s were two of the largest stores downtown at the time. With many downtown buildings ranging from 50 to 100 years old when the mall opened, the new shopping cen ter was looked at as improved quarters to conduct business. Several other stores also moved to the mall, and that led to a period of decline for the downtown. Some stores briefly operated both at the old and new locations at the same time during a transitional phase.

In business, there are two kinds of openings: a soft open ing, when stores first open with out much fanfare, and a grand opening which is a large-scale event to show off the business after initial tweaks have been worked out. The first business to have a soft opening at the mall was The Orange Bowl, a restaurant that served pizza, hot dogs, ice cream and its signa ture O-Joy orange freeze drinks — serving its first customers at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 31, 1972.

More stores, including JCPenney and its auto care center, Waldenbooks, Singer sewing machines, So-Fro Fab rics and Kinney Shoes opened up in the first couple of days of November. Several more stores and businesses opened up in the next 4 months before a 4-day grand opening celebra tion was held, starting on Feb. 28, 1973. To celebrate the grand opening, the American Inter national Circus, which was on a nationwide tour at the time, performed in the parking lot; its popular attraction was a 7-foot-6 clown. When the mall opened, its hours were 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Shoppers flocked to the mall in 2012 to scoop up Black Friday deals.

The Daily Gazette covered the mall’s opening in its Feb. 27, 1973, issue, with articles and nine pages of ads for the new stores. In it the newspaper wrote: “… the climate-controlled Northland Mall offers the con venience and comfort of “per petual spring” in an unclosed [sic], heated and air-conditioned atmosphere. No matter how cold, rainy and stormy it is out side, the casual shopper or busy housewife will find it a delight to shop inside the Northland Mall where it is always warm and dry.”

Northland Mall’s charter roster of stores when it opened were: Bowman Shoes, Bressler’s ice cream, Blackhawk Arcade, Britches Etc., Chad band’s jeweler, Charles V. Weise Co., Claire’s, Cloud 9, Dickkens, Dutch Mill Candy, Endicott Johnson, General Nutrition, Heights Finance, Harvest House, JCPenney and its auto care shop, Kinney Shoe Store, Lincolnway State Bank, Mode O’Day, Orange Bowl, Picchiotti’s Fashionaire, Red Carpet Stereo, Rock River Realty and Insurance, Singer sewing machines, So-Fro Fabrics, Stuart’s, Waldenbooks, Walgreen’s, The Swiss Colony, Stay-In-Touch and Woolworth’s.

MALL cont’d to page 26

Redefine Comfort as You Know it

A look at stores at Northland Mall through the years, courtesy of city directories published at the time.

2002

Bath and Body Works, Bergner’s, Christopher and Banks, Claire’s, Fannie May, Finish Line, Gen eral Nutrition Center, JCPenney, Kirlin’s Hallmark, Leslie’s, Maurice’s, Mexicali Blues, Mi Tierra Imports, Record Town, Rex television, Sterling Hearing-Aid Center, Urban Outlet, Waldenbooks, Youngstown Express restaurant

2007

Accents, Bath and Body Works, Bergner’s, Christopher and Banks, Claire’s, Cost Cutters hair care, Finish Line, FYE music, General Nutrition Center, Hibbett Sports, JCPenney, Kirlin’s Hallmark, Maurice’s, Nails U Love, Partners for Employment, Rex TV, RSVP Party and Gifts, Shoe Sensa tion, The Spot restaurant, Start Your Engines, Urban Outlet, Waldenbooks

2012

Accents, Bath and Body Works, Bergner’s, Book World, Christopher and Banks, Claire’s, Cost Cutters, Finish Line, General Nutrition Center, Hibbett Sports, JCPenney, Kirlin’s Hallmark, Maurice’s, Nails U Love, One Stop Shop, Pet Supplies Plus, Shoe Sensation, Sports Zone, The Spot restaurant, US Telecom Group, Urban Outlet

2017

Bath and Body Works, Bergner’s, Book World, Bushel Basket Candle Co., Christopher and Banks, Claire’s, Cost Cutters, Didough’s Twisted Pretzels, Dunham’s Sports, Finish Line, General Nutrition Center, Glik’s, JCPenney, Mau rice’s, Nails U Love, One Stop Shop, Onion Grill, Rue21, Shoe Sensation, Sports Zone, Temco, US Telecom Group

2022 (as of September)

The Ballpark, Bath and Body Works, Bugsy’s Arcade and Gaming, Bushel Basket Candle Co., C/S Tattoo, Caro Litza’s, Claire’s (last remaining charter store at the mall), Elevated Beauty Supply, Emmie B’s Boutique, Hobby Lobby (announced), Illinois Furniture and More, Janet & June Boutique, Maurice’s, Out of the Box, Planet Fitness, Reason No. 9 (announced), Schnappin Deals store and outlet, Serenity’s (announced), Sotelo Media, State of Mind, Style Savers, Warrior Nutrition, Your CBD Store

MALL cont’d from page 24

While there’s no record of the countless people who’ve walked through Northland Mall’s doors, it’s certain that one of the most famous to stroll across its concert concourse was the platinum-platter purveyor of parody, Weird Al Yankovic.

According to an article in the Sept. 27, 1985, issue of the Sterling High School newspaper, Script, Yankovic stopped by the mall Aug. 10, on his way to a performance at the Dixon Theater. Yankovic’s star was flying high at the time: He won a Grammy that year for his 1984 song, “Eat It,” a parody of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It,” and the video of the song was in regular rotation on MTV. The song also earned Yankovic the first of five Grammys he would win in a career that’s spanned decades and still going strong, racking up several platinum and gold albums along the way.

Yankovic stopped by the mall’s music store, Camelot Music, to hawk his latest album, “Weird Al Yankovic in 3-D,” and sign autographs — and his marker got quite a workout. Hundreds of fans, autograph seekers, and the just plain curious turned out for a chance to see the curly-haired accordion player in person.

The mall’s 15 minutes of fame lasted about an hour as the crowd swelled and Yankovic signed records and tapes, along with other sundry items thrust at him by the throng. It was a big mo ment in the mall’s history, and one no doubt remembered by those who were there — especially fans of both Weird Al and the mall’s heyday, who probably look back on that hour in front of the Camelot Music and say: “Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining mo ment, that was known as Camelot.” — Rusty Schrader, Sauk Valley Media

The mall was not only a place where people could shop, but also take a break and have a bite to eat as well. The big department stores — Bergner’s, JCPenney, Walgreen’s and Woolworth’s — also operated sit down diners/counters. Among those, only Woolworth’s Harvest House survived into the 1990s.

Some businesses stayed open for many years at the mall, while others were gone after only a few. Claire’s jewelry and accessories is the only charter store re maining after 50 years of the mall’s history. Maurice’s clothing store also has been at the mall for more than 40 years, having opened in 1976. Throughout the 1970s, and even today, Northland Mall has a blend of local and national businesses.

Shopping convenience made the mall a hit: There were no streets to cross or cars to contend with, no weather to worry about. The mall’s spacious walk ways and large parking lot also provided space for oc casional community events, on top of being a place to shop. Boy Scout soap box derbies, carnivals (such as the annual Newmanfest), the Festival of Trees, base ball card shows, antique shows, car shows, circuses, home builders shows, senior showcases, art displays and the Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament all held court on the mall grounds.

The Franklin Street Pub team competes against the Ballin’ Blasters at the 2017 Gus Macker tournament at Northland Mall.

SVM

Being a popular place for locals also made the mall a prime spot for appear ances by famous figures such as musi cian Weird Al Yankovic, Sterling author Terry Brooks, musician Tiny Tim, magi cian Doc Morrissy, Gov. Jim Thompson, professional wrestler Bill Goldberg, and even “Fred,” the pet cockatoo from the television series “Baretta.”

Shopping, shows and visits weren’t the only kinds of memories made at the mall: Holiday events such as visits from Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny gave young children — and their parents or grandparents — memories they would cherish for years to come.

Evolution

While the mall was rising in popularity into the 1980s, Sterling’s economy was going the other direction with the decline of industry. Sterling’s popula tion stagnated and businesses slowly began to close up — both downtown and at the mall. The first major blow to the mall was when Woolworth’s and Harvest House left in late 1991. This left one of the mall’s three anchors vacant, and led to more of a revolving door of businesses — both local and national — coming in and out of the mall into the 2000s.

This drone photo shows the damage at Dunham's Sports at Northland Mall after a violent storm pummeled the shopping center in June 2015. It would be over a year before the store could reopen.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SONNY RUSSELL

Still, the mall continued to host community events and special shows inside and in its parking lot — The Festival of Trees, bridal expos, home and garden shows, senior showcases, and others. It also become a place where those looking for some exercise stopped by to get their steps in and get in shape: Walking three complete trips along the edges of the mall’s walkways totals 1.175 miles, and a guide is posted on the mall office’s bulletin board displaying shorter distances as well.

As the 21st century dawned, Bergner’s, Blackhawk Arcade, Claire’s, GNC, JCPenney, and Waldenbooks remained as the only members of the mall’s charter club. The arcade, long a haunt for many young locals, closed in mid-2001 — by then the last of a group of businesses catering to children such as the Kid Zone arcade, which was open for a few years in the mid-1990s, and KayBee Toys (which originally opened as Circus World).

Nationally, the department store industry was on the decline in the 2000s, with companies such as Sears, Marshall Field and Younkers closing sev eral mall and free-standing locations. Bergner’s and JCPenney also felt the pinch in the 2010s, and this put Northland Mall’s remaining two original anchors at risk. The former Woolworth’s space was vacant for about a decade before Hibbett Sports moved in, but the two east-west anchors’ days were numbered. JCPenney closed in 2017 and Bergner’s followed a year later. The decline of the department stores also coincided with the decline of the shopping mall, and for a while, there was a revolving door of mall owners.

In 2015, the mall couldn’t even get a break from Mother Nature. That early promise of shopping where it was always “warm and dry” “no matter how cold, rainy and stormy” it was didn’t quite live up to the its hype when a vio lent thunderstorm destroyed part of Dunham’s Sports, ripping off part of the mall’s roof and tearing down a wall. It took 13 months for the store to reopen, and several other businesses were impacted by the storm, with some closing for several weeks while repairs were made.

Despite all those challenges, though, there were enough smaller stores attracting traffic to keep the mall open.

A new lease on life

As the mall approached its golden anniversary, there were signs that better days were ahead.

Nashville, Tennessee-based Brookwood Capital Advisors pur chased the mall from New York-based Namdar Realty Group in late January for $1.7 million. In February, Brookwood offered the mall’s suites to new businesses with an offer that was hard to pass up: 6 months of free rent to help them build up their business for what would hopefully be an extended stay. It’s a formula Brookwood has used at other malls for about 12 years, Lydia Chernitscky-Hamd, Brookwood’s director of leasing, told Sauk Valley Media in February.

The mall’s makeup has evolved through the years, from mostly chain stores with some local businesses to a makeup of more locally owned busi nesses and fewer chain stores. Among the current tenants are (from top): Caro Litza’s clothing store; Schnappin Deals discount outlet store; Bushel Basket Candle Co. home decor and gifts; and Bugsy’s Ar cade and Gaming.

Brookwood immediately lined up a commitment to fill the former JCPenney space with a full-time tenant: Illinois Furniture and More, which recently opened. Namdar previously had the seasonal Spirit Hal loween store there on a temporary basis. In April, Hobby Lobby an nounced it would move into the former Bergner’s space, with an expected opening date of January 2023.

Boutiques, beauty supplies, and even toys and arcade games have come back to the mall with the new leasing deal, to compliment the exist ing businesses. The mall’s occupancy increased from 30 to 100 percent in 6 months, with businesses having opened or planning to be open in the coming months. Brookwood installed new HVAC units and repaved much of the parking lot.

Brookwood’s time at the mall was short-lived, however, as it accom plished its mission to breath new life into the mall. The mall was sold to Sterling Investments LLC in late August for just less than $10.1 million. Oct. 31 will mark 50 years since The Orange Bowl kicked off North land Mall’s business, and Feb. 28, 2023, will be the 50th anniversary of the mall’s grand opening. Next year also will mark the centennial of the birthdate of the mall’s owner at the time of its opening, Jay Chananie.

While it’s still too early to tell how the mall will continue to evolve under the auspices of its new owners, the fact that it’s become a place where both local and national businesses want to set up shop continues to make it an important part of the Twin Cities’s business landscape. The mall’s rebound has also put a spring in many locals’ steps, who are happy to see things picking up there again — and if the recent past is any indication of the mall’s future, all signs of success will continue to point north. n

More info

Northland Mall, 2900 E. Lincolnway in Sterling, is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Visit Northland Mall in Sterling, IL on Facebook for up-to-date announce ments and information on its stores, sales and events. Call 815-6265390 for more information.

B&D Supply and Home Services has served the Twin Cities since 1976. Owner Tim Lilly (center) has a staff of seven, with sons Adam (left) and Jason (right) working alongside him. Adam and Ja son represent the third generation to work at the family business, one that their grandfather, Bill, and uncle, Dave, began.

By Cody Cutter | Sauk Valley Media

very day on the job is different for the team at B&D Supply and Home Services in Rock Falls, but there’s one thing that doesn’t change: Family.

That family dynamic has been a constant at the heating, cooling, plumbing and sheet metal shop since it was founded in 1976 by Bill and Dave Lilly. Nearly 50 years later, B&D is still a family business, but these days the B&D could stand for more than just “Bill & Dave” like “Boys & Dad.”

Today, Tim Lilly and his two sons, Adam and Jason, are keeping the business in the family, sharing their knowledge, skills and teamwork with customers as they tackle all things plumbing, heating and air conditioning.

B&D cont’d to page 32

CODY CUTTER/ CCUTTER@ SAUKVALLEY.COM

While they take their job seriously, that doesn’t mean they can’t have fun doing it. In fact, working with family helps keep things cool if they ever start to heat up.

“You know what’s going to make them mad, so you prepare for it,” Tim said before his sons burst out laughing.

The fun part of that family dynamic also makes for a more well-oiled machine.

“You can read each other and know each other’s personalities because you’ve been around them so long,” Time said.

“We all get along real well,” Adam said. “Everything runs and operates smooth ly. Every day is different. You always have a different problem. When you have customers and you solve their problem and they’re appreciative of that, there’s that sense of accomplishment.”

The team takes that familial feeling with them when they go on calls, too, treating customers like an extended family. They aren’t ones to simply just walk in, install a water heater or a AC unit and leave; they take the time to get to know their customers.

“We like being out with the customers and talking with them,” Jason said. “You can go to [someone] who doesn’t have anyone, and a 10-minute job may take you an hour because they just want someone to talk to. They enjoy that.”

No project is too big or small for B&D’s staff of seven. The offer free estimates and the shop is fully licensed, insured and bonded.

Bill had worked for Mott Brothers heating and plumbing supply in Rock Falls before deciding one day it was time to do something on his own, Tim said.

“He took a risk and started this,” Tim said. “My uncle and him both invested together and started out as wholesale only, then evolved to wholesale and retail, and moved along to become a plumbing and HVAC contractor also.”

B&D cont’d to page 33

Frary

Everything that Bill taught Tim is being passed on to Adam and Jason, and the pair have been like a sponge, soaking up the knowledge. There’s not much the younger duo doesn’t know about their line of work.

“He’s taught me everything from beginning to now, especially customer service,” Tim said of his father. “Take care of your customers, because that’s where your paycheck comes from.”

Today, about 80 percent of the work B&D does is service and inhome repair; it also works with new construction projects and remodels and rehabs. Among the products it uses are the Tempstar line of heat ing and cooling equipment, which includes brands such as Comfort-Aire, Carrier, Bryant and Heil; A.O. Smith water heaters; Flint and Walling well pumps; Weil-McLain boilers; Delta faucets; Mansfield and Kohler toilets and Capital Water Treatment filtration systems and water softeners.

B&D cont’d to page 34

Through the years, B&D’s crew has salvaged some interesting pieces from the old houses they’ve worked on, like the old cross over pipe above, and toilet paper holder below. The pieces are among the ones displayed along a wall at the shop.

CODY

B&D owner Tim Lilly waits on a customer at the shop in Rock Falls. Lilly has worked with both his father, Bill, who opened the shop in 1976, and his sons, Adam and Jason.

“We try to find the best prod ucts available because when you have

with products, that’s problems for us,” Tim said. “The least amount of problems that we have, the better we can take care of our customers.”

They service all makes and models of furnaces and air con ditioning systems — home and commercial — and emergency service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Everything they do is warranted, and they’ll travel anywhere within about 40 miles from Rock Falls.

When it comes to HVAC, they work on pumps, fan coils, gas and oil furnaces, standby genera tors, geothermal services, boiler services, and garage heaters. On the plumbing side, B&D’s services

softener in

garbage dispos

installation.

addition to their service, B&D offers supplies, too —plumb ing, heating, AC, heating. The shop stocks products for proj ects big and small. Not sure what you’re looking for?

staff

be happy to help you find it. And if they can’t find it, they

special order it. The business also has an in-house sheet metal shop, which allows service techs to cut, bend, and shape sheet metal for custom projects.

With three generations of know-how, B&D aims to be a one-stop shop.

“Most customers who come in to buy things, many say they’ll come in three times and say it takes three trips to get what they need to repair a faucet or whatever,” Adam said. “With our experi ence, it can take one or sometimes two trips.”

Having been with the shop for 46 years, thoughts of retirement have crossed Tim’s mind, but he’s not worried about leaving the shop in good hands. Adam and Jason are willing and able to take over — but he wants to make sure his sons have a team as good as he has to work with.

CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SAUKVALLEY.COM

More info

B&D Supply and Home Services, 201 W. 14th St. in Rock Falls, is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Emergency services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Find B & D Supply, Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, Sales and Service on Facebook, email bdsupply@ comcast.net, go to banddsupply.com or call 815-626-0897 to schedule services or for more information.

“We’re always in need of HVAC tech and plumbers” who have experience, Tim said, and those have been hard to come by in recent years, with more students pursuing a traditional college career education as opposed to a tradebased education.

But whatever challenges it faces, B&D will be ready. With nearly 50 years behind it, Tim and his sons are confident that the business will have a long future

it, and it’ll

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This marker is near the entrance to the terminal at the Whiteside County Airport, also known as Joseph H. Bittorf Field, named after the aviation enthusiast and executive at National Manufacturing. It com memorates Bittorf (left), who, according to the marker, gave his “selfless devotion, dedication to, and timeless effort on behalf of this facility,” and “made the dream of an airport to adequately to serve this area, a reality.” The marker was dedicated Aug. 19, 1973. Bittorf was one of the first three directors of an Airport Authority commissioned in 1946 by a public vote. The airport opened in 1955. For his efforts, Bittorf was inducted into the Whiteside County Airport Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame in 1985. Bittorf also was a cofounder of the Illinois Public Airports Association.

Sauk Valley Media is proud to bring you local stories about the people you know and the places you go in our line of Living magazines. Published throughout the year and mailed directly to residents, our Living magazines feature the faces and places that make up the landscape of the Sauk Valley — friends and neighbors, businesses and industries, hometown history, and more.