Sally Ryan

Essays: Oswego, Illinois

The town of Oswego, Illinois and it's smaller neighbor, Montgomery, were once beyond the reach of suburban Chicago, but by the late 1990s subdivisions and strip malls were bridging that gap. Originally published as a photo column, these images reflect the dwindling days of small-town life.

Linda Pasetti takes the stage of the Montgomery, Illinois VFW to teach country line dancing during a Ladies of Harley monthly meeting.
   
Mrs. Rachel, a psychic in Oswego, Illinois runs the business from her home on Route 34. Once a rural area on the outskirts of suburban Chicago, Oswego's roads are more congested with traffic from new subdivisions and strip malls.
   
Bill Dunn cleans up after a funeral service at McKeown-Dunn Funeral Home in Oswego, Illinois, where he and his wife reside on the second floor. Located 46 miles west of Chicago, Oswego's small-town atmosphere is harder to find as the suburbs encroach on this rural community.
     
  
Austin Collins, 2, of Oswego, Tim Collins, 10, of Yorkville and Makenzie Ervin, 3, of Plano play in the wading pool at Austin's home in NaAuSay township just outside of Oswego, Illinois.
   
The tall seats in the school bus conceal misbehaving students from bus driver Peggy, who is in charge of transportation for the Oswego Community Unit School District 308.
   
Lynn, Peggy and Katie Buckley (l to r) attend the Arrowhead Hills subdivision block party after recently moving to Oswego, Illinois. The Buckleys were the latest newcomers to the neighborhood and wanted to make new friends.
     
  
Jim Mayer, proprietor of Art's Barber Shop on Main Street in Oswego, Illinois. Mayers's shop reflects his love of trains and small-town life.
   
Adam Lippold of Oswego, far right, hangs out by two square dancing couples at a church in Batavia, Illinois. Lippold, whose father calls the rounds, decided to wear his Halloween gorilla mask to keep himself entertained throughout the three-hour dance.
   
Sisters Lacey, left, and Jessica Tunovsky rely on each other for companionship in their rural neighborhood in Yorkville, Illinois.
     
  
More than 90 years of recollections thrive within Ida Kaminski, a life-long resident of Lemont, Illinois. Though she never had children and her husband passed away several years ago, Ida manages to keep up with her neighbors and reminisce about the past. "When you get older you forget things so easily. I do appreciate it when people come up and tell me who they are," she says.