A Peach - well, a Pear - of a Story

In 1891, Philo and Louisa Halsey Darrow moved to Western Springs and built a home at 825 Elm. The house is still there, just a half block south of the post office. Their two boys, George and Halsey, attended Grand Avenue School and, on snowy winter days, the boys would hitch up a pony and plow a path to school.

A budding 8-year-old entrepreneur, the younger Darrow boy, George, decided to make the most of his summer vacation. So, before the temperature topped out each day, he would pick a basket of fresh pears from the trees in his back yard. He would then sell them to the hot construction workers who were installing curbs along his street. In those days, the streets were just dirt-covered. But, the new curbs were a promise of better things to come.

George became a life-long resident of Western Springs, serving in both World War I and II. In fact, George continued to live in the family home until his death in 1985.

While there is no record of exactly how much George realized from his pear sales in 1906, he must have felt that he had over-charged the workers. Why, you ask?

In September 1966, George (by then 68 years of age) noticed that construction workers were again installing new curbing in front of his home, i.e., on Elm between Wolf Road and Central. While the pear trees in the back yard were long gone, George decided to go to the supermarket and buy some fresh pears. He then distributed them to the workers (see photo), just as he had 60 years earlier. Except, this time they were free of charge.

Each week, the Western Springs Historical Society presents a “Blast from the Past”. To view prior stories, visit us at www.westernspringshistory.org or just click on the author’s name shown above.