December 14, 2024 • 32 mins
In this live-to-tape episode, we take over the back room of the Farm Store during Night of Lights. We meet Chris Cunningham the logo design contest winner and Maryanne Natarajan, a member of the PCHOA 30th Anniversary Committee about the plans for the year and how the logo will be used.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome to the first ever, my first ever and for this podcast, the first ever live to tape
(00:15):
episode. It's auspicious, I guess today we are at the kickoff to the 30th anniversary celebration
of Prairie Crossing's founding and the night of lights, is that, did I say that right? Night of
lights, tree lighting and caroling and just a lovely chilly evening in the condo area of Prairie
(00:40):
Crossing. We're in the back room of the farm store, which before I leave don't let me forget to get
some of their lentil soup, it's fantastic. And with me today are, is the creator of the 30th
anniversary podcast logo, Chris Cummingsford? Cunningham. Cunningham, I'm sorry. That's right.
(01:03):
I was going to ask you for a lady, the Cummingsford, that's what it is. No. Cunningham,
Chris Cunningham and Marianne, I'm going to get your last name wrong, so why don't you tell us.
Right, Marianne, not a Rajan. That's what I was going to say. So Chris, so for folks who don't know,
there was a logo contest, a 30th anniversary logo contest sponsored by the 30th anniversary committee
(01:27):
for merch and for any purpose necessary for this year's celebration. And Chris won. Chris,
we're, might be on YouTube, but tell us what the design, can you describe the design for us?
Sure, yes. So the design, you know, when I started coming up with it, it was really about how do we
(01:51):
tie in, you know, the community, the environment, you know, the architecture, just the things that
really make Prairie Crossing great and the things I love about it. So I started out, you know, I
wanted to make sure that we were really focused on 30, like I thought 30 was a very important thing.
So making sure that 30 was really prominent. And then talking about, you know, I think I used some
(02:12):
of the bluegrass in the logo, I kind of made a nondescript icon of the houses, because, you know,
the variety of the houses here are so wonderful. I felt like if I picked my house, it'd be
oddly self-serving. So I wanted to make sure that I just picked something fairly generic.
But then, you know, put it together in kind of that very environmental setting. I, you know,
(02:32):
worked through the process. At one point, I added the sun behind it, because it felt a little bit
more fresh and really just wanted to make sure that, you know, it was capturing the environmental
pieces, the community pieces, and really the fact that we're rolling on 30. So.
And tell us your connection to Prairie Crossing. How long have you been here?
Yes, so I've lived in Prairie Crossing since 2012 or 2013 I moved in. So I moved in actually
(02:59):
right across the street and on Harris Road in this area. And then my wife and I got together in
2020. We were high school sweethearts. So we reconnected. I had, you know, three teenage kids
and the five of us in one tiny little Halsley house. It's not going to happen. So we ended up,
(03:21):
we relocated this summer. So we moved up to, is it the village up on like right on Portia and
by the school? Yeah, by the school. So the gazebo up there. So, you know, we bought that house from
Margaret. I think she had just passed away and we're kind of fixing it up and we love it here.
(03:43):
I think one of the things that I've always liked about the community is it's very
environmentally focused. It's very design sensitive. So as a trained industrial designer,
it's rare you find another industrial designer that you live by. When I was living over here,
there were three of us within like a, you know, two football field radius. So it's just very strange
(04:04):
to have, you know, so many like-minded folks in such a close proximity. So, you know, I really
fell in love with that. And, you know, when the kids were younger, the trails were amazing,
like having the park out the back was a huge, huge benefit. And just, you know, the relationships
and the friendships that they've built, the relationships I built with my neighbors and the
(04:25):
friendships they've built. I think three of the boys lived when we were over here within like 500
feet and they were playing for Central Baseball. They were all batting two, three, and four. So
it's like, you know, this really, you know, just really great community where everybody's super
close. And they, you know, we tend to really care about each other and we're fairly sensitive to the
(04:46):
environment.
Yeah. Where'd you come from before you moved here?
So I've always been in Chicago. So not necessarily by choice, but just a lot of good opportunities.
So I grew up in Mount Prospect. That's where I met my wife. And then I was in the city for a while
in the western suburbs, then moved up here into, I moved into Mundelein, like right, you know,
(05:14):
like right on the other side of the fairgrounds. And I didn't look in Grayslake when I was coming up here,
but you're just being around and driving around. And I stumbled on the neighborhood and I'm like,
this is pretty awesome. Like, how did I not know about this? And it just became kind of that,
like, just there's a certain magnetism. So, but yeah, I was, I was in Chicago. I grew up here,
(05:38):
ended up going to University of Illinois Chicago for design. So I studied four years there.
Originally I wanted to be an architect, but that was a hard pivot. And then I've worked throughout my,
my entire 20, 25 year career here. I worked with some video game manufacturers doing product,
product design for coin operated games. So I think like we probably remember that.
(06:00):
Yeah. But yeah, nobody like my kids age would, but you know, I worked on,
Hold on, what, tell us a game that you worked on.
So I worked on Apollo 13 pinball. Oh, so that, that had like a 13.
Was it tied to the movie? Yeah. Yeah. It was tied into the movie. It had like a 13 multi-ball,
which was pretty cool. I worked on, yeah. Golden T, we did the track ball for that. I did like,
(06:24):
I don't know, a ton of shooting games, like all sorts of fun stuff like that. And then, you know,
I worked in the housewares industry. So I'm doing, you know, tools and gadgets and cookware.
I got to work with Sam Farber who founded OXO. So had, I would go, we'd meet in New York.
We'd talk products and do a lot of that stuff. I did some celebrity chef work with, what was it?
(06:46):
The Food Network. So we designed a line of product for them. And I got to work with Rick Bayless here in Chicago.
We did a line of products for him, which was great. Cause in the early 2000s, like, you know,
I mean, if you think of Mexican cooking, like Rick is, Rick's the guy. Then I worked for a company that does
Happy Meal toys for McDonald's. So I got to work with Disney and Pixar. So I actually was able to go
(07:11):
and come up with these concepts and talk to John Laster and Andrew Stanton and say, like, this is what I'm thinking
that, you know, Dory would be doing. And this is what I think Sully would be doing and Mike and how they would
kind of do that. So we pitched a lot of that stuff. And then I worked for Wrigley Mars. So doing, this was like
the highlight of my career for my kids, because when we were over here, I would get like full size candy bars.
(07:33):
So everybody would hit the house like they'd be lined up and we would just be given like tons and tons of candy away.
But I did, I did all their innovation work. So I worked in Chicago and we had an innovation studio.
So we did global innovation for them. We did a couple of really good recyclable packs. So some of the more plastic
packs that have come out recently, we did that to cut down on waste with some of the other packs and also to cut down on
(07:59):
you know, just the stream that there was no stream to recycle. So did that for them. And then I worked for Pampered Chef,
which is another Chicago company.
Oh, I didn't know that.
Yeah, I headed up all their innovation and then recipe development. So we're doing food development and recipes for the
products we would make. So if we did an air fryer, we'd do a suite of recipes for that. So it was a lot of fun and a good time.
(08:23):
Wow. Yeah, interesting. I was going to ask you what an industrial designer is, but I think you just gave us some really
great examples of what that would do. But tell us, I guess, the difference from what it took to make a logo like this versus what you were doing.
Yeah, so I mean, as an industrial designer, it's all the same process you go through. So you start with an idea and then it's just a lot of
(08:47):
like, maybe it could look like this, maybe it could look like that. So you know, part of it was I started out with this sketchbook and I'm like,
okay, here's the first idea. Right. But then I'm like, yeah, I don't like this. I don't like that. And we end up going through, you know, 30s, 40s.
Oh my gosh, that's a whole notebook.
Yeah, just different ideas of like, you know, like, oh, I kind of like this one a little bit better. This one's not so good. This one's really bad. This one's not good.
(09:09):
So you have to kind of throw all those things out to say what's going to work, what's not going to work. And, you know, when it looks right, you're like, yeah, that looks right.
So I got to a point where I was happy with four of these. I kind of took them and refined them.
Wait, four notebooks? Four different designs.
Yeah, four different designs in here. So this was one of them that's kind of close, but not really. And I just, you know, I started to refine them.
(09:37):
And then a lot of what makes a design successful is not what I think. It's more about what the consumers think. So I finalized them and then I text like, put a text together.
So for a focus group, it was my family, the kids, which are completely and utterly not helpful. But they're like, they're fine. They're fine. They just go.
(10:01):
But then a bunch of my neighbors. So I sent out some stuff to Connie Barhorst, who helped us find our new house. And then the Molloys, the Cyrawicks, you know, Alan, Judy, Troutman.
And just like, hey, like, what do you guys think? Like out of these four, which one would you like? Which one would you wouldn't? And, you know, a lot of it was like, they're all great. Just pick them.
Like, okay, like, but, you know, that's what you get. So I got some pretty good guidance that led to this. And then from there, I just went through and did more refinement on top of that to say, all right, how do I make it closer aligned?
(10:33):
So that's similar to the to the industrial design process. But industrial design, it's all 3D. So it's like, how do I design this microphone, Stan? How do I design this microphone?
With graphic design, it's very much just in that 2D space and a lot of animation now and web and things like that. So the processes are very much the same.
And throughout my career, I've started to do more graphic design just as like I needed to. And it just kind of went in that way.
(11:03):
So you're a pen and ink dreamer, I guess you start that.
That's fair. Yeah. Lifelong doodler.
Yeah.
Is that, was that training or is that just something that you did, that you do? Because I grew up using Adobe Illustrator and other things to create design. So I can't sketch to save my life.
(11:25):
Sure. But I do do some logo development and others.
How was, how was your training?
Yeah, so I think I always like to draw. I had an uncle who married my grandma's sister. He drew Buck Rogers. He was one of the first guys to draw Superman.
Like he drew like all these comic and he was like an icon. I was like, wow, this guy's so cool. Like I want to draw just because he makes money drawing. Like how cool is that?
(11:51):
And I wasn't ever really like technically proficient, but I like doing it. And when I went away to school, they kind of like, no, not that this, like do it this way. And that's where I really kind of learned.
Like I've never been somebody who could sit down and like sketch a portrait of somebody or do that. But, you know, using the tools that are at hand, like I can say, okay, here's, you know, like when I did the grass for the logo, I went out and I took different pictures in the prairie of like, okay, like this is kind of what the top of the bluestem looks like.
(12:20):
This is what the leaf looks like. How can I kind of get that using Illustrator to get closer sketching this way? So it's like, you know, this is like a bunch of ruffy scratchy stuff where it's like, okay, there'll be some leaves here and there'll be this here just to help me get the composition.
But then I use the tools to kind of get a little closer. So to answer the question very long windedly, I always liked doing it, but I was kind of whipped into shape in school.
(12:44):
Got it. And then so being in the field you're in, you must have thought about how this logo could be used on products.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. So, you know, part of the part of the competition was like, okay, we want to use it on merch, we want to use it on, you know, sweatshirts or hats or whatever. And I'm like, okay, and I know getting pitched this kind of work.
(13:05):
When you see it applied, you know, it helps. And I've done work in the past, like I worked with GYBA, which is Grey's Lake baseball here. I redesigned their emblem.
And then I created the Sliders team name and the brand for their first travel team. So as a part of that, it's like, okay, what is it going to look like on a jersey? What is it going to look like on a helmet? What does it need to do for a sticker?
(13:29):
And then, you know, just all the production work that I've done getting products in, I know like, okay, you're going to need to have four color, you're going to need to have one color, you're going to need to have these things just because of the applications.
So when I did the logo, I always start out doing it black and white and then saying like, okay, how can we break this into a few more colors?
As opposed to I think sometimes in the design process people are like, yeah, I'm going to throw a bunch of colors in here. And it's like, whoa, that's crazy. Like, it's got to stand alone black and white.
(13:56):
And then once it stands that way, then you can start to, you know, add the sprinkles.
Sure. Yeah, I mean, I think I've said that I work at a school district on this podcast before, but I do and I am kind of the every man when it comes to design stuff.
But the people I talked to, yeah, you need a one color, you need a four color, you need just knowing how those products are created lends itself to the design.
(14:19):
Right. Totally. Yeah. And like the grass on the logo, it's like, you know, I tried to make sure that it wasn't too tight, that it couldn't be replicated from a screen print.
I don't think we'd be able to necessarily embroider them, but they could be screen printed.
But some of you know, a lot of a lot of the men, a lot of the folks that do merchant things like that, they're very good at taking the logos if they're created the right way and say, okay, I can simplify this this way and make it look like this and I can change it this way.
(14:44):
And usually that's, you know, it's it's all within the target of what you're trying to get after.
So, wow. And I guess why I get it was intrinsic that you wanted to work on the 30th anniversary logo or is it just for fun? What what what drew you to this project?
So, so I mean, I'll tell you a little story. When my when Patty and I were looking to move out of this house, I love the the house like like you're in, like the the Prairie style.
(15:14):
I think it's the I forget the name of it. It's the other one. I think there's six or seven of them in the neighborhood.
Right. Yeah, I'm in the smaller version, the Brooks. And I don't remember the larger.
Yeah, more frankly, right. Yeah. So I, you know, we love those houses and I did a sketch of one of them and I put together like like a little flyer and I left it in in their mailbox.
(15:37):
I'm like, hey, we love your house. Like if you're ever thinking about selling, could you just just let us know.
She was lovely. She sent me an email back. She's like, we're never moving.
But but you know, we thank you so much for the image and everything else. And I'm like, OK, well, there are five other ones. I didn't want to do a sketch for each.
So I just drew the window and I, you know, I wrote a letter to everybody individually and then we left those in the mailboxes and we didn't hear anything.
(16:00):
But I had the window drawn. So I'm like, well, I'm going to draw that house, you know, kind of close to it.
So I drew my house and then I drew my neighbor, Ellen Judy's house. And then I drew one of the Brad berries and then I drew that house.
So I started drawing all the houses and I've got like 10 or 11 of them done. I did a poster.
And this isn't I'm not trying to hock anything or anything, but you know, I was just I started doing it because I really loved it.
(16:25):
You know, I missed architecture because of the product. And when the 30th came up, I had, you know, I showed one of my neighbors.
I did their house because they're her husband did this beautiful wood door and I wanted to like capture his wood door.
So I drew it up and I'm like, hey, look at Dan's door. And she ended up, she's like, well, I'll take that poster.
And I'm like, well, I've got my house and her house and two others. So I'm like, I need to finish a few more.
(16:49):
So I ended up doing all those houses. And after I did all that, I felt really connected to the architecture.
I felt really connected to, you know, everything that's going on in the community.
So I'm like, it feels like it would be a mistake not to try to do something equally fun for the logo.
So, you know, it's it. And again, like the logo is not architectural focused.
(17:14):
It's very environmental. And, you know, I did peel back from the things that I really get excited about.
But like, that's how I ended up getting into it. It's just by these kind of side projects that I was drawing these houses all because we're looking to move.
And we ended up moving into a house. It's a it's a low end.
I can't remember the name of it, but Loudon. But it wasn't one of the ones I had drawn.
(17:36):
So then I quickly drew that one up and then Connie ended up helping us so much. I drew one.
I drew her house up. So it's just, you know, like kind of just a just one thing to do.
So I get asked at which house did you use for the logo or did you model?
So, yeah. So again, like I had I had like the Halsey done. I had kind of caught I had a bunch of the different models finished.
(17:58):
But I was like, it feels kind of like it's not selfish, but it doesn't feel as inclusive if it's modeled off of an actual home.
So what I did is I took a lot of the gable work that exists across the like consistently across the neighborhood.
I took I took the porch work that exists and I kind of said, all right, it's going to have a porch.
(18:20):
It's going to be, you know, roughly a little school housey, but not too school housey kind of a nod to the to the charter school.
And I just kind of created what I feel is a very generic icon of the architecture.
Mm hmm. Yeah. I mean, I don't know about other folks, but just seeing it for maybe the second time,
it's a prayer crossing house, even if it's not a certain model, it evokes everything that we would see when you're walking around the neighborhood,
(18:48):
particularly the porch. I mean, my house is actually one of the few that doesn't have a porch on it.
All the design, all the all the bells and whistles went into the back because we have a kind of oblique lake view.
So there's a porch and a covered porch and, you know, and stonework and everything.
But the front of the house, nothing. Right. And actually, when we were considered buying it,
(19:10):
that was the last one on the list because of that, the front and the way it looked and the paint was fading.
So it all blended in and looked almost like an apartment building. Oh, wow.
And now that we have a high contrast color, like it fits, it fits in the neighborhood still.
It kind of looks like it belongs there where it didn't vote for.
But I can see my house in your design a little bit, too. You know.
Well, that's a good pivot to talking about the this 30th anniversary celebration.
(19:37):
Marianne, I know there is it. It's kind of like progressing.
It's a work in progress as we go through the year. Right.
But can you tell us some of the highlights? What are what are we planning this year?
Right. It is a work in progress.
So this was to start it because the first house or at least a hole was dug for the first house 30 years ago.
(19:59):
So that's why this excuse me, in the logo.
And then the next big event will be March 15th.
So that will be in coordination with Liberty Prairie.
And that will be to honor George and Vicki Ranney, who developed this whole concept.
So we're still working on the details, but that will be the day.
(20:20):
And there'll be an event at the farm and an event at the barn of the charter school.
Yeah. Yeah. Type thing. So and tell us about the committee who's on it and what what if not?
You don't give me the whole list. The whole list.
So I did write down all the names. You know, as much as you feel.
I think all the names.
(20:41):
So what are you talking about?
Because it's a it's a pretty big project to talk about celebrating for a whole year. Right.
So one of it was actually a mission statement.
And I think you captured that in the logo and even said it there that, you know, it's community, it's the land and it's each other.
So that's a theme that we're trying to carry throughout here.
(21:06):
And Reese Mercadichian, I can't pronounce her last name.
But Reese is our chairperson. So she's keeping everything moving and going forward.
And then there's other people like myself and Kathy Fry and Katie Owens, Lisa Strong, Mary Pebble, Life, Steve Sennett,
(21:28):
Kristen Love, Chris Zimmerman and Kristen Zimmerman.
You know, he knew.
And then like some honorary people like Persephone, Nurgie, who's the board chair and is doing a lot.
And then Karen Coons and Linda Weins and Linda Weins has been here not from the very beginning, but close.
(21:50):
And so she actually showed up tonight and stayed in the car.
Kathy Fry and her husband brought her so she could see everything from the car because she's not well enough to get out and about.
But she said she really enjoyed it and brought the logo up to her.
And she enjoyed seeing that.
And then one other thing we're trying to capture in the 30th year is to do some type of fundraising that maybe goes towards affordable housing or something.
(22:18):
That's one of our guiding principles that we're a little weak on.
So we're saying maybe that's a way we can connect with others in Lake County with that.
So that's still being formulated.
And then how do you see using Chris's logo?
In the metal mix, like to replace the current logo there now that this would be here for the 30th year and then likely afterwards as well.
(22:46):
And it was actually was a great having the logo was a great connector connection for the community because we had over 10 submissions.
You know, at first we like throw this out there and we're like, well, is anybody going to send anything?
And then we got great submissions.
Chris's was the most extensive.
You know, when we saw that, I was like, wow, I'm like, this guy knows what he's doing because there was not your whole sketchbook, but there were multiple sketches there.
(23:10):
So once we saw that, we're like, there's a breather.
Like, we know we have at least one that's going to work.
And then, you know, more came in.
And then it was great participation.
Everyone in the community was asked to vote.
And people did, you know, like because sometimes when you send out surveys or different things, you're happy if you get 30 percent.
I don't know what percent we ended up with, but it was way more than that.
(23:33):
So again, it got people.
How many people vote?
I don't know the number.
I have to check with Reese.
Oh, definitely over 100.
Yeah.
So, you know, so that was nice to see people starting to get engaged.
Yeah.
And who submitted?
Not names, but like from the community, was it from like my five-year-old sketch or like who like the breadth of who submitted?
(24:00):
I don't know all the names.
Somebody actually, when I was showing them the board tonight, they're like, oh, that was my design.
So that was Gwen.
So I know she was one of the designers, but I actually don't know all any of the names of who submitted.
Yeah.
OK.
So I was looking at the sketchbook and I was wondering if he ever did if he did it because he had the idea.
(24:21):
Right.
And then I had considered, you know, but I didn't have the time to put it together.
So it's interesting to, you know, from an expert in the field, you know, down to I thought all of the logos looked pretty great.
When I was voting, I was thinking about what could go on a t-shirt just from my experience, like what could what could we use?
(24:42):
But any of them would have been great, so it's great that people participated and that they're involved in it.
Exactly.
And Chris's design actually reminds me of Liberty Prairie when they were Liberty Prairie Foundation and Liberty Prairie Conservancy.
The names were all familiar, similar.
People didn't know exactly who was what.
But there used to be a prairie pedal that Liberty Prairie ran.
(25:05):
And there was a guy in the neighborhood, Bob Stotz, and he was our resident artist then.
So and he would design the shirts for them, you know.
So your design actually really reminds me of that.
And I forgot to ask you, what tell us how long you've lived in the neighborhood?
It'll be 20 years next month.
(25:26):
Really?
Really.
Then you were here for the 20th anniversary.
How much how much does that informed what we're doing in the 30th anniversary?
Well, then I was actually working for Conserved Lake County, which is one of the Liberty Prairie Conservancy,
so more the environmental side of it.
So I was involved as an employee in a way from that side.
(25:51):
So I was very involved and it was very heavy architecture then.
The architects came back and they were each at their house that they did their model.
So that was really cool.
And then the guy from Chicago Tribune, the architect critic, I can picture his face,
but I can't think of his name at the moment.
He came in and there was something done at the charter school gymnasium where he did a talk.
(26:16):
And there was a documentary or was it a YouTube video?
I've watched it about the 20th.
I know because my neighbor Wally was in it.
Oh, OK.
He sent me the link.
Right, right.
So there was different stuff done and there were buses,
like little mini buses to get from one location to the other so you could do all the activities in one day.
It was one day, kind of like the March 15th that we're thinking,
(26:38):
but it'll be a different theme this time.
And that was nice weather, so I don't think it was March.
But there was a lot to do.
Nice.
And then the committee is certainly not set, right?
If people wanted to volunteer, they certainly could, right?
Yes, yeah.
We're always looking for volunteers.
And particularly even if you don't want to be on a committee,
(27:00):
because some people are committee people and then some people are event people.
So if there's an event that you have an idea for that you want to do,
come to us and we'll help you get it done.
Because that's what we, you know, we need those leaders to take on some of those events.
And then we'll make sure the logo gets in there and that there's always a highlight for the 30th.
And then for, you know, we want to do some new events.
(27:21):
And that might be just a one time or you never know, it might be picked up and it'll become an annual event.
And then those annual events, kind of like Night of Light,
we're going to tag onto that and say, bring some sort of 30th element into each one.
I brought up Wally.
He introduced me to cross country skiing.
And I have this idea to do a lap the lake one morning, right?
(27:45):
Where it's a chilly cook off slash ski around the lake.
And so if it ever actually snows again, now I know to contact you and try to work it into the 30th.
Yes.
It's kind of got to be just for the moment thing, right?
You've got to make good snow and then you have to pull it all together.
So, dream big, but maybe that'll be fun.
That's good. Do you have a snowmobile to grade the trails?
(28:07):
I do not, no.
Okay, so.
Hopefully we'll be able to break the snow early and just get some of the stronger people around.
Right, do it first.
Because in the early days when we did have more snow,
there were some neighbors who would actually groom the trails.
Really?
Yeah, so that you could do their cross country skiing and then do it again.
Yeah, that is so cool.
I think they need to.
It's turned into one of my favorite things to do.
(28:28):
And that's because of Prairie Crossing.
I can go right out my back door and get out on the lake or around the lake or, you know, any manner of paths.
I'll give him credit now. He doesn't listen to his podcast, but he's 81 and he can blow me away on skis.
Man is so fast. So fast.
What else do we need to know about the 30th anniversary?
(28:51):
What would you like people to know?
Make it what you want it to be, I guess.
You know, come to the committee with ideas so that we can get it there.
Read the medal mix.
Because each month we're putting in something that's related to Prairie Crossing's history.
So maybe you know it, maybe you don't.
Maybe you forgot you knew it, you know, type thing.
(29:12):
So.
Yeah, one thing.
The reason I ask people about I want to capture those little nuggets like someone grooming the trails that we may have forgotten.
Right. Or the idea that there are paths used to be farm roads.
I learned that last time from John Wasik because he built he didn't build his house or was almost done and they completed it something.
(29:33):
But there was still construction vehicles rolling on the trails back then like that long term memory of what Prairie Crossing was like when it was founded.
And I still want to get Sonny on here to talk about.
She has a rock. I want to see it.
I've never seen it, but from the bottom of the lake before it was filled in.
Right. So it's sitting somewhere in our house.
(29:56):
Yeah, I just want to hear those stories so that we can remember where we came from.
Right. And where we're going.
And that reminds me too, like somebody on the neighborhood list had indicated, hey, you should save those photos somewhere.
And then someone said, hey, there is a photo thing on the website.
And the other one is like hasn't been touched since 2008.
(30:18):
But it was released tonight here somewhere.
But we'll make sure it gets out.
We're going to set up someone on the committee has set up like a drop box.
It's not Dropbox, but something like that where anybody can add their photos and then at the end or at any point in time, you can make your own yearbook type thing.
So yeah, that photo booth is a neat idea.
That's great.
(30:40):
Well, Chris and Marianne, thank you so much for coming on the Around Lake Podcast.
I hope I hope this I hope we captured a little bit about this kickoff for the future and for people now so they can get involved in the next year.
Thank you. Thanks for having me. No, thanks. Thank you.
Well, that's the end of this episode.
(31:10):
Thanks again to Chris Cunningham and Marianne Naderajan for being on the podcast and for the 30th anniversary committee for inviting me and to Liberty Prairie for letting us use the back of the forum store for this live event.
It was a lot of fun.
If you didn't attend, I want to leave you on this. It's one of the one of the carols that I recorded live at the event.
(31:35):
Enjoy and we will see you again in the new year.
We're taking a little break during this hectic season, but we'll be back in January.
Deck the halls with boughs of holly.
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Tis the season to be jolly. Fa la la la la la la la.
(31:57):
Down we now are gay apparel. Fa la la la la la la la la.
Troll the ancient, dual-tied carols. Fa la la la la la la la la.
Welcome to the first ever, my first ever and for this podcast, the first ever live to tape
(00:15):
episode. It's auspicious, I guess today we are at the kickoff to the 30th anniversary celebration
of Prairie Crossing's founding and the night of lights, is that, did I say that right? Night of
lights, tree lighting and caroling and just a lovely chilly evening in the condo area of Prairie
(00:40):
Crossing. We're in the back room of the farm store, which before I leave don't let me forget to get
some of their lentil soup, it's fantastic. And with me today are, is the creator of the 30th
anniversary podcast logo, Chris Cummingsford? Cunningham. Cunningham, I'm sorry. That's right.
(01:03):
I was going to ask you for a lady, the Cummingsford, that's what it is. No. Cunningham,
Chris Cunningham and Marianne, I'm going to get your last name wrong, so why don't you tell us.
Right, Marianne, not a Rajan. That's what I was going to say. So Chris, so for folks who don't know,
there was a logo contest, a 30th anniversary logo contest sponsored by the 30th anniversary committee
(01:27):
for merch and for any purpose necessary for this year's celebration. And Chris won. Chris,
we're, might be on YouTube, but tell us what the design, can you describe the design for us?
Sure, yes. So the design, you know, when I started coming up with it, it was really about how do we
(01:51):
tie in, you know, the community, the environment, you know, the architecture, just the things that
really make Prairie Crossing great and the things I love about it. So I started out, you know, I
wanted to make sure that we were really focused on 30, like I thought 30 was a very important thing.
So making sure that 30 was really prominent. And then talking about, you know, I think I used some
(02:12):
of the bluegrass in the logo, I kind of made a nondescript icon of the houses, because, you know,
the variety of the houses here are so wonderful. I felt like if I picked my house, it'd be
oddly self-serving. So I wanted to make sure that I just picked something fairly generic.
But then, you know, put it together in kind of that very environmental setting. I, you know,
(02:32):
worked through the process. At one point, I added the sun behind it, because it felt a little bit
more fresh and really just wanted to make sure that, you know, it was capturing the environmental
pieces, the community pieces, and really the fact that we're rolling on 30. So.
And tell us your connection to Prairie Crossing. How long have you been here?
Yes, so I've lived in Prairie Crossing since 2012 or 2013 I moved in. So I moved in actually
(02:59):
right across the street and on Harris Road in this area. And then my wife and I got together in
2020. We were high school sweethearts. So we reconnected. I had, you know, three teenage kids
and the five of us in one tiny little Halsley house. It's not going to happen. So we ended up,
(03:21):
we relocated this summer. So we moved up to, is it the village up on like right on Portia and
by the school? Yeah, by the school. So the gazebo up there. So, you know, we bought that house from
Margaret. I think she had just passed away and we're kind of fixing it up and we love it here.
(03:43):
I think one of the things that I've always liked about the community is it's very
environmentally focused. It's very design sensitive. So as a trained industrial designer,
it's rare you find another industrial designer that you live by. When I was living over here,
there were three of us within like a, you know, two football field radius. So it's just very strange
(04:04):
to have, you know, so many like-minded folks in such a close proximity. So, you know, I really
fell in love with that. And, you know, when the kids were younger, the trails were amazing,
like having the park out the back was a huge, huge benefit. And just, you know, the relationships
and the friendships that they've built, the relationships I built with my neighbors and the
(04:25):
friendships they've built. I think three of the boys lived when we were over here within like 500
feet and they were playing for Central Baseball. They were all batting two, three, and four. So
it's like, you know, this really, you know, just really great community where everybody's super
close. And they, you know, we tend to really care about each other and we're fairly sensitive to the
(04:46):
environment.
Yeah. Where'd you come from before you moved here?
So I've always been in Chicago. So not necessarily by choice, but just a lot of good opportunities.
So I grew up in Mount Prospect. That's where I met my wife. And then I was in the city for a while
in the western suburbs, then moved up here into, I moved into Mundelein, like right, you know,
(05:14):
like right on the other side of the fairgrounds. And I didn't look in Grayslake when I was coming up here,
but you're just being around and driving around. And I stumbled on the neighborhood and I'm like,
this is pretty awesome. Like, how did I not know about this? And it just became kind of that,
like, just there's a certain magnetism. So, but yeah, I was, I was in Chicago. I grew up here,
(05:38):
ended up going to University of Illinois Chicago for design. So I studied four years there.
Originally I wanted to be an architect, but that was a hard pivot. And then I've worked throughout my,
my entire 20, 25 year career here. I worked with some video game manufacturers doing product,
product design for coin operated games. So I think like we probably remember that.
(06:00):
Yeah. But yeah, nobody like my kids age would, but you know, I worked on,
Hold on, what, tell us a game that you worked on.
So I worked on Apollo 13 pinball. Oh, so that, that had like a 13.
Was it tied to the movie? Yeah. Yeah. It was tied into the movie. It had like a 13 multi-ball,
which was pretty cool. I worked on, yeah. Golden T, we did the track ball for that. I did like,
(06:24):
I don't know, a ton of shooting games, like all sorts of fun stuff like that. And then, you know,
I worked in the housewares industry. So I'm doing, you know, tools and gadgets and cookware.
I got to work with Sam Farber who founded OXO. So had, I would go, we'd meet in New York.
We'd talk products and do a lot of that stuff. I did some celebrity chef work with, what was it?
(06:46):
The Food Network. So we designed a line of product for them. And I got to work with Rick Bayless here in Chicago.
We did a line of products for him, which was great. Cause in the early 2000s, like, you know,
I mean, if you think of Mexican cooking, like Rick is, Rick's the guy. Then I worked for a company that does
Happy Meal toys for McDonald's. So I got to work with Disney and Pixar. So I actually was able to go
(07:11):
and come up with these concepts and talk to John Laster and Andrew Stanton and say, like, this is what I'm thinking
that, you know, Dory would be doing. And this is what I think Sully would be doing and Mike and how they would
kind of do that. So we pitched a lot of that stuff. And then I worked for Wrigley Mars. So doing, this was like
the highlight of my career for my kids, because when we were over here, I would get like full size candy bars.
(07:33):
So everybody would hit the house like they'd be lined up and we would just be given like tons and tons of candy away.
But I did, I did all their innovation work. So I worked in Chicago and we had an innovation studio.
So we did global innovation for them. We did a couple of really good recyclable packs. So some of the more plastic
packs that have come out recently, we did that to cut down on waste with some of the other packs and also to cut down on
(07:59):
you know, just the stream that there was no stream to recycle. So did that for them. And then I worked for Pampered Chef,
which is another Chicago company.
Oh, I didn't know that.
Yeah, I headed up all their innovation and then recipe development. So we're doing food development and recipes for the
products we would make. So if we did an air fryer, we'd do a suite of recipes for that. So it was a lot of fun and a good time.
(08:23):
Wow. Yeah, interesting. I was going to ask you what an industrial designer is, but I think you just gave us some really
great examples of what that would do. But tell us, I guess, the difference from what it took to make a logo like this versus what you were doing.
Yeah, so I mean, as an industrial designer, it's all the same process you go through. So you start with an idea and then it's just a lot of
(08:47):
like, maybe it could look like this, maybe it could look like that. So you know, part of it was I started out with this sketchbook and I'm like,
okay, here's the first idea. Right. But then I'm like, yeah, I don't like this. I don't like that. And we end up going through, you know, 30s, 40s.
Oh my gosh, that's a whole notebook.
Yeah, just different ideas of like, you know, like, oh, I kind of like this one a little bit better. This one's not so good. This one's really bad. This one's not good.
(09:09):
So you have to kind of throw all those things out to say what's going to work, what's not going to work. And, you know, when it looks right, you're like, yeah, that looks right.
So I got to a point where I was happy with four of these. I kind of took them and refined them.
Wait, four notebooks? Four different designs.
Yeah, four different designs in here. So this was one of them that's kind of close, but not really. And I just, you know, I started to refine them.
(09:37):
And then a lot of what makes a design successful is not what I think. It's more about what the consumers think. So I finalized them and then I text like, put a text together.
So for a focus group, it was my family, the kids, which are completely and utterly not helpful. But they're like, they're fine. They're fine. They just go.
(10:01):
But then a bunch of my neighbors. So I sent out some stuff to Connie Barhorst, who helped us find our new house. And then the Molloys, the Cyrawicks, you know, Alan, Judy, Troutman.
And just like, hey, like, what do you guys think? Like out of these four, which one would you like? Which one would you wouldn't? And, you know, a lot of it was like, they're all great. Just pick them.
Like, okay, like, but, you know, that's what you get. So I got some pretty good guidance that led to this. And then from there, I just went through and did more refinement on top of that to say, all right, how do I make it closer aligned?
(10:33):
So that's similar to the to the industrial design process. But industrial design, it's all 3D. So it's like, how do I design this microphone, Stan? How do I design this microphone?
With graphic design, it's very much just in that 2D space and a lot of animation now and web and things like that. So the processes are very much the same.
And throughout my career, I've started to do more graphic design just as like I needed to. And it just kind of went in that way.
(11:03):
So you're a pen and ink dreamer, I guess you start that.
That's fair. Yeah. Lifelong doodler.
Yeah.
Is that, was that training or is that just something that you did, that you do? Because I grew up using Adobe Illustrator and other things to create design. So I can't sketch to save my life.
(11:25):
Sure. But I do do some logo development and others.
How was, how was your training?
Yeah, so I think I always like to draw. I had an uncle who married my grandma's sister. He drew Buck Rogers. He was one of the first guys to draw Superman.
Like he drew like all these comic and he was like an icon. I was like, wow, this guy's so cool. Like I want to draw just because he makes money drawing. Like how cool is that?
(11:51):
And I wasn't ever really like technically proficient, but I like doing it. And when I went away to school, they kind of like, no, not that this, like do it this way. And that's where I really kind of learned.
Like I've never been somebody who could sit down and like sketch a portrait of somebody or do that. But, you know, using the tools that are at hand, like I can say, okay, here's, you know, like when I did the grass for the logo, I went out and I took different pictures in the prairie of like, okay, like this is kind of what the top of the bluestem looks like.
(12:20):
This is what the leaf looks like. How can I kind of get that using Illustrator to get closer sketching this way? So it's like, you know, this is like a bunch of ruffy scratchy stuff where it's like, okay, there'll be some leaves here and there'll be this here just to help me get the composition.
But then I use the tools to kind of get a little closer. So to answer the question very long windedly, I always liked doing it, but I was kind of whipped into shape in school.
(12:44):
Got it. And then so being in the field you're in, you must have thought about how this logo could be used on products.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. So, you know, part of the part of the competition was like, okay, we want to use it on merch, we want to use it on, you know, sweatshirts or hats or whatever. And I'm like, okay, and I know getting pitched this kind of work.
(13:05):
When you see it applied, you know, it helps. And I've done work in the past, like I worked with GYBA, which is Grey's Lake baseball here. I redesigned their emblem.
And then I created the Sliders team name and the brand for their first travel team. So as a part of that, it's like, okay, what is it going to look like on a jersey? What is it going to look like on a helmet? What does it need to do for a sticker?
(13:29):
And then, you know, just all the production work that I've done getting products in, I know like, okay, you're going to need to have four color, you're going to need to have one color, you're going to need to have these things just because of the applications.
So when I did the logo, I always start out doing it black and white and then saying like, okay, how can we break this into a few more colors?
As opposed to I think sometimes in the design process people are like, yeah, I'm going to throw a bunch of colors in here. And it's like, whoa, that's crazy. Like, it's got to stand alone black and white.
(13:56):
And then once it stands that way, then you can start to, you know, add the sprinkles.
Sure. Yeah, I mean, I think I've said that I work at a school district on this podcast before, but I do and I am kind of the every man when it comes to design stuff.
But the people I talked to, yeah, you need a one color, you need a four color, you need just knowing how those products are created lends itself to the design.
(14:19):
Right. Totally. Yeah. And like the grass on the logo, it's like, you know, I tried to make sure that it wasn't too tight, that it couldn't be replicated from a screen print.
I don't think we'd be able to necessarily embroider them, but they could be screen printed.
But some of you know, a lot of a lot of the men, a lot of the folks that do merchant things like that, they're very good at taking the logos if they're created the right way and say, okay, I can simplify this this way and make it look like this and I can change it this way.
(14:44):
And usually that's, you know, it's it's all within the target of what you're trying to get after.
So, wow. And I guess why I get it was intrinsic that you wanted to work on the 30th anniversary logo or is it just for fun? What what what drew you to this project?
So, so I mean, I'll tell you a little story. When my when Patty and I were looking to move out of this house, I love the the house like like you're in, like the the Prairie style.
(15:14):
I think it's the I forget the name of it. It's the other one. I think there's six or seven of them in the neighborhood.
Right. Yeah, I'm in the smaller version, the Brooks. And I don't remember the larger.
Yeah, more frankly, right. Yeah. So I, you know, we love those houses and I did a sketch of one of them and I put together like like a little flyer and I left it in in their mailbox.
(15:37):
I'm like, hey, we love your house. Like if you're ever thinking about selling, could you just just let us know.
She was lovely. She sent me an email back. She's like, we're never moving.
But but you know, we thank you so much for the image and everything else. And I'm like, OK, well, there are five other ones. I didn't want to do a sketch for each.
So I just drew the window and I, you know, I wrote a letter to everybody individually and then we left those in the mailboxes and we didn't hear anything.
(16:00):
But I had the window drawn. So I'm like, well, I'm going to draw that house, you know, kind of close to it.
So I drew my house and then I drew my neighbor, Ellen Judy's house. And then I drew one of the Brad berries and then I drew that house.
So I started drawing all the houses and I've got like 10 or 11 of them done. I did a poster.
And this isn't I'm not trying to hock anything or anything, but you know, I was just I started doing it because I really loved it.
(16:25):
You know, I missed architecture because of the product. And when the 30th came up, I had, you know, I showed one of my neighbors.
I did their house because they're her husband did this beautiful wood door and I wanted to like capture his wood door.
So I drew it up and I'm like, hey, look at Dan's door. And she ended up, she's like, well, I'll take that poster.
And I'm like, well, I've got my house and her house and two others. So I'm like, I need to finish a few more.
(16:49):
So I ended up doing all those houses. And after I did all that, I felt really connected to the architecture.
I felt really connected to, you know, everything that's going on in the community.
So I'm like, it feels like it would be a mistake not to try to do something equally fun for the logo.
So, you know, it's it. And again, like the logo is not architectural focused.
(17:14):
It's very environmental. And, you know, I did peel back from the things that I really get excited about.
But like, that's how I ended up getting into it. It's just by these kind of side projects that I was drawing these houses all because we're looking to move.
And we ended up moving into a house. It's a it's a low end.
I can't remember the name of it, but Loudon. But it wasn't one of the ones I had drawn.
(17:36):
So then I quickly drew that one up and then Connie ended up helping us so much. I drew one.
I drew her house up. So it's just, you know, like kind of just a just one thing to do.
So I get asked at which house did you use for the logo or did you model?
So, yeah. So again, like I had I had like the Halsey done. I had kind of caught I had a bunch of the different models finished.
(17:58):
But I was like, it feels kind of like it's not selfish, but it doesn't feel as inclusive if it's modeled off of an actual home.
So what I did is I took a lot of the gable work that exists across the like consistently across the neighborhood.
I took I took the porch work that exists and I kind of said, all right, it's going to have a porch.
(18:20):
It's going to be, you know, roughly a little school housey, but not too school housey kind of a nod to the to the charter school.
And I just kind of created what I feel is a very generic icon of the architecture.
Mm hmm. Yeah. I mean, I don't know about other folks, but just seeing it for maybe the second time,
it's a prayer crossing house, even if it's not a certain model, it evokes everything that we would see when you're walking around the neighborhood,
(18:48):
particularly the porch. I mean, my house is actually one of the few that doesn't have a porch on it.
All the design, all the all the bells and whistles went into the back because we have a kind of oblique lake view.
So there's a porch and a covered porch and, you know, and stonework and everything.
But the front of the house, nothing. Right. And actually, when we were considered buying it,
(19:10):
that was the last one on the list because of that, the front and the way it looked and the paint was fading.
So it all blended in and looked almost like an apartment building. Oh, wow.
And now that we have a high contrast color, like it fits, it fits in the neighborhood still.
It kind of looks like it belongs there where it didn't vote for.
But I can see my house in your design a little bit, too. You know.
Well, that's a good pivot to talking about the this 30th anniversary celebration.
(19:37):
Marianne, I know there is it. It's kind of like progressing.
It's a work in progress as we go through the year. Right.
But can you tell us some of the highlights? What are what are we planning this year?
Right. It is a work in progress.
So this was to start it because the first house or at least a hole was dug for the first house 30 years ago.
(19:59):
So that's why this excuse me, in the logo.
And then the next big event will be March 15th.
So that will be in coordination with Liberty Prairie.
And that will be to honor George and Vicki Ranney, who developed this whole concept.
So we're still working on the details, but that will be the day.
(20:20):
And there'll be an event at the farm and an event at the barn of the charter school.
Yeah. Yeah. Type thing. So and tell us about the committee who's on it and what what if not?
You don't give me the whole list. The whole list.
So I did write down all the names. You know, as much as you feel.
I think all the names.
(20:41):
So what are you talking about?
Because it's a it's a pretty big project to talk about celebrating for a whole year. Right.
So one of it was actually a mission statement.
And I think you captured that in the logo and even said it there that, you know, it's community, it's the land and it's each other.
So that's a theme that we're trying to carry throughout here.
(21:06):
And Reese Mercadichian, I can't pronounce her last name.
But Reese is our chairperson. So she's keeping everything moving and going forward.
And then there's other people like myself and Kathy Fry and Katie Owens, Lisa Strong, Mary Pebble, Life, Steve Sennett,
(21:28):
Kristen Love, Chris Zimmerman and Kristen Zimmerman.
You know, he knew.
And then like some honorary people like Persephone, Nurgie, who's the board chair and is doing a lot.
And then Karen Coons and Linda Weins and Linda Weins has been here not from the very beginning, but close.
(21:50):
And so she actually showed up tonight and stayed in the car.
Kathy Fry and her husband brought her so she could see everything from the car because she's not well enough to get out and about.
But she said she really enjoyed it and brought the logo up to her.
And she enjoyed seeing that.
And then one other thing we're trying to capture in the 30th year is to do some type of fundraising that maybe goes towards affordable housing or something.
(22:18):
That's one of our guiding principles that we're a little weak on.
So we're saying maybe that's a way we can connect with others in Lake County with that.
So that's still being formulated.
And then how do you see using Chris's logo?
In the metal mix, like to replace the current logo there now that this would be here for the 30th year and then likely afterwards as well.
(22:46):
And it was actually was a great having the logo was a great connector connection for the community because we had over 10 submissions.
You know, at first we like throw this out there and we're like, well, is anybody going to send anything?
And then we got great submissions.
Chris's was the most extensive.
You know, when we saw that, I was like, wow, I'm like, this guy knows what he's doing because there was not your whole sketchbook, but there were multiple sketches there.
(23:10):
So once we saw that, we're like, there's a breather.
Like, we know we have at least one that's going to work.
And then, you know, more came in.
And then it was great participation.
Everyone in the community was asked to vote.
And people did, you know, like because sometimes when you send out surveys or different things, you're happy if you get 30 percent.
I don't know what percent we ended up with, but it was way more than that.
(23:33):
So again, it got people.
How many people vote?
I don't know the number.
I have to check with Reese.
Oh, definitely over 100.
Yeah.
So, you know, so that was nice to see people starting to get engaged.
Yeah.
And who submitted?
Not names, but like from the community, was it from like my five-year-old sketch or like who like the breadth of who submitted?
(24:00):
I don't know all the names.
Somebody actually, when I was showing them the board tonight, they're like, oh, that was my design.
So that was Gwen.
So I know she was one of the designers, but I actually don't know all any of the names of who submitted.
Yeah.
OK.
So I was looking at the sketchbook and I was wondering if he ever did if he did it because he had the idea.
(24:21):
Right.
And then I had considered, you know, but I didn't have the time to put it together.
So it's interesting to, you know, from an expert in the field, you know, down to I thought all of the logos looked pretty great.
When I was voting, I was thinking about what could go on a t-shirt just from my experience, like what could what could we use?
(24:42):
But any of them would have been great, so it's great that people participated and that they're involved in it.
Exactly.
And Chris's design actually reminds me of Liberty Prairie when they were Liberty Prairie Foundation and Liberty Prairie Conservancy.
The names were all familiar, similar.
People didn't know exactly who was what.
But there used to be a prairie pedal that Liberty Prairie ran.
(25:05):
And there was a guy in the neighborhood, Bob Stotz, and he was our resident artist then.
So and he would design the shirts for them, you know.
So your design actually really reminds me of that.
And I forgot to ask you, what tell us how long you've lived in the neighborhood?
It'll be 20 years next month.
(25:26):
Really?
Really.
Then you were here for the 20th anniversary.
How much how much does that informed what we're doing in the 30th anniversary?
Well, then I was actually working for Conserved Lake County, which is one of the Liberty Prairie Conservancy,
so more the environmental side of it.
So I was involved as an employee in a way from that side.
(25:51):
So I was very involved and it was very heavy architecture then.
The architects came back and they were each at their house that they did their model.
So that was really cool.
And then the guy from Chicago Tribune, the architect critic, I can picture his face,
but I can't think of his name at the moment.
He came in and there was something done at the charter school gymnasium where he did a talk.
(26:16):
And there was a documentary or was it a YouTube video?
I've watched it about the 20th.
I know because my neighbor Wally was in it.
Oh, OK.
He sent me the link.
Right, right.
So there was different stuff done and there were buses,
like little mini buses to get from one location to the other so you could do all the activities in one day.
It was one day, kind of like the March 15th that we're thinking,
(26:38):
but it'll be a different theme this time.
And that was nice weather, so I don't think it was March.
But there was a lot to do.
Nice.
And then the committee is certainly not set, right?
If people wanted to volunteer, they certainly could, right?
Yes, yeah.
We're always looking for volunteers.
And particularly even if you don't want to be on a committee,
(27:00):
because some people are committee people and then some people are event people.
So if there's an event that you have an idea for that you want to do,
come to us and we'll help you get it done.
Because that's what we, you know, we need those leaders to take on some of those events.
And then we'll make sure the logo gets in there and that there's always a highlight for the 30th.
And then for, you know, we want to do some new events.
(27:21):
And that might be just a one time or you never know, it might be picked up and it'll become an annual event.
And then those annual events, kind of like Night of Light,
we're going to tag onto that and say, bring some sort of 30th element into each one.
I brought up Wally.
He introduced me to cross country skiing.
And I have this idea to do a lap the lake one morning, right?
(27:45):
Where it's a chilly cook off slash ski around the lake.
And so if it ever actually snows again, now I know to contact you and try to work it into the 30th.
Yes.
It's kind of got to be just for the moment thing, right?
You've got to make good snow and then you have to pull it all together.
So, dream big, but maybe that'll be fun.
That's good. Do you have a snowmobile to grade the trails?
(28:07):
I do not, no.
Okay, so.
Hopefully we'll be able to break the snow early and just get some of the stronger people around.
Right, do it first.
Because in the early days when we did have more snow,
there were some neighbors who would actually groom the trails.
Really?
Yeah, so that you could do their cross country skiing and then do it again.
Yeah, that is so cool.
I think they need to.
It's turned into one of my favorite things to do.
(28:28):
And that's because of Prairie Crossing.
I can go right out my back door and get out on the lake or around the lake or, you know, any manner of paths.
I'll give him credit now. He doesn't listen to his podcast, but he's 81 and he can blow me away on skis.
Man is so fast. So fast.
What else do we need to know about the 30th anniversary?
(28:51):
What would you like people to know?
Make it what you want it to be, I guess.
You know, come to the committee with ideas so that we can get it there.
Read the medal mix.
Because each month we're putting in something that's related to Prairie Crossing's history.
So maybe you know it, maybe you don't.
Maybe you forgot you knew it, you know, type thing.
(29:12):
So.
Yeah, one thing.
The reason I ask people about I want to capture those little nuggets like someone grooming the trails that we may have forgotten.
Right. Or the idea that there are paths used to be farm roads.
I learned that last time from John Wasik because he built he didn't build his house or was almost done and they completed it something.
(29:33):
But there was still construction vehicles rolling on the trails back then like that long term memory of what Prairie Crossing was like when it was founded.
And I still want to get Sonny on here to talk about.
She has a rock. I want to see it.
I've never seen it, but from the bottom of the lake before it was filled in.
Right. So it's sitting somewhere in our house.
(29:56):
Yeah, I just want to hear those stories so that we can remember where we came from.
Right. And where we're going.
And that reminds me too, like somebody on the neighborhood list had indicated, hey, you should save those photos somewhere.
And then someone said, hey, there is a photo thing on the website.
And the other one is like hasn't been touched since 2008.
(30:18):
But it was released tonight here somewhere.
But we'll make sure it gets out.
We're going to set up someone on the committee has set up like a drop box.
It's not Dropbox, but something like that where anybody can add their photos and then at the end or at any point in time, you can make your own yearbook type thing.
So yeah, that photo booth is a neat idea.
That's great.
(30:40):
Well, Chris and Marianne, thank you so much for coming on the Around Lake Podcast.
I hope I hope this I hope we captured a little bit about this kickoff for the future and for people now so they can get involved in the next year.
Thank you. Thanks for having me. No, thanks. Thank you.
Well, that's the end of this episode.
(31:10):
Thanks again to Chris Cunningham and Marianne Naderajan for being on the podcast and for the 30th anniversary committee for inviting me and to Liberty Prairie for letting us use the back of the forum store for this live event.
It was a lot of fun.
If you didn't attend, I want to leave you on this. It's one of the one of the carols that I recorded live at the event.
(31:35):
Enjoy and we will see you again in the new year.
We're taking a little break during this hectic season, but we'll be back in January.
Deck the halls with boughs of holly.
Fa la la la la la la la la.
Tis the season to be jolly. Fa la la la la la la la.
(31:57):
Down we now are gay apparel. Fa la la la la la la la la.
Troll the ancient, dual-tied carols. Fa la la la la la la la la.
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