My mom had many wonderful qualities. She was kind, giving, positive and enthusiastic. However, she thought she also had the quality of finding the perfect gift for someone. She thought Christmas lists were not meant to be followed. Most often, the perfect gift was not so perfect. I could go on and on about the “interesting” gifts we received over the years from mom, but the Kane County Chronicle does not allow me that much space.

Many years ago, she decided to do her Christmas shopping in Geneva. Back then, the closest mall was west of Geneva, on Route 38 in St. Charles, appropriately called The St. Charles Mall. Clothes, shoes, toys – a one-stop shop for sure. If I recall, there even was gift wrapping around the holidays. As most malls do, it had the latest fads that any teenager would love. The point is it would have been so much easier to go into one giant building, where she was protected from the elements and knew she would get it right with the gifts (the ones we put on our list). But mom chose to stay a bit closer to home and shop Third and State that holiday season.

As many of you know, our shops in Geneva are unique – many of them sell one-of-a-kind items that you certainly wouldn’t find in a mall. In the ’80s, the shops may have had different names, but they still were unique.