Alpine Country Club- Round Lake Park, Illinois

Yesterday, I deejayed a wedding for a friend's daughter at a historical place in Round Lake Park, the Alpine Country Club.

On the way, I was able to see the sad progress of destruction at my old school. About half the fine arts wing is down. Humans are doing what the tornado couldn't. Looked a lot like that poor town of Greenburg, Ks.,that was so devastated yesterday.

The Alpine CC overlooks Round Lake on a huge parcel of wooded land. Don't you just know that some developer has his eye on it and is just salivating. Let's hope we get to keep this place.

It has a big veranda overlooking the beach as well as a wrap around porch. The banquet room opens out onto this veranda. Of interest, this place originally served workers of an old ice company during the winter months. In the days before refrigeration, the good folks in Chicago got their summer ice from Round Lake and the nearby Chain of Lakes. Ice was cut off the lake and hauled to huge storage sheds where it was kept until use during the summer. Legend has it that a small locomotive used to pull the heavy blocks of ice was left on the lake after operations ceased in the early 1900s, and, with the arrival of the spring thaw, sank to the bottom of the lake. Word has it that it still rests on the there.

The wedding was originally to take place outside, but it was fairly cool and threatening rain so it was held inside. Great food. The only problem with the place from a deejay standpoint was that the bar area is separate from the banquet room. Generally, the people most likely to dance and party, hang out at the bar. Fortunately, this group spent their time between the two.

--RoadDog