STS_Fund

Please support the Meadowdale Raceway

Save the Silo Fund

How much will this cost? Preliminary estimates show that about $12,900 will be needed for the silo repairs and re-painting. (Ironically, this is about half what it would cost to tear it down and haul it away.) We already have promises of donations of much of the skilled and unskilled labor involved in the project.

Who's involved so far? Key figures in this project include Donna and Jack Redmer, volunteer stewards of a portion of Raceway Woods, which includes the Meadowdale track. Jack Redmer and Bill Geister, Vice-President of Cardunal Savings Bank in Dundee are the signatories on the Save the Silo Fund at the bank. Keith Dale of Montgomery, Larry Brasch of East Dundee, Marc Polizzi from Cary and Ross Fosbender of Ottawa IL are also involved in the planning.

What to do now. Immediately, please decide at what level you can support

the Save the Silo Fund. Send your check to:

Save the Silo Fund

Cardunal Savings Bank

Attn: Bill Geister, Senior Vice President

704 W. Main St. P.O. Box 839

Dundee, IL 60118

847-428-3636

Please do it now. We need a substantial number of donations in hand to keep

the Forest Preserve District from following through on their plan to demolish the silo.

The concrete silo that identifies Meadowdale Raceways has stood for at least 67 years, and probably much longer. When the racetrack was built in 1958, it was painted and stood tall to identify the site for all those passing by on Route 31. It still stands tall, but it has weathered and become obscured by junk vegetation. The Save the Silo project is dedicated to saving it from planned demolition and returning this historic Fox Valley landmark to its former stature.

The Kane County Forest Preserve District made plans to tear down the Meadowdale silo. We learned of this less than two weeks before the demolition was to occur. An outcry from citizens, racing and history buffs convinced the Forest Preserve District to delay actions for six months. In exchange, we said we could, as private citizens, produce a plan and funding for the restoration on the silo.

We have consulted with a certified structural engineer and three long-time masonry contractors who have told us there is nothing seriously wrong with the silo. Repairing some cracks, closing the openings, and a new paint job will prepare it to stand for the foreseeable future. We will clear the junk trees and brush around it so it can again be seen clearly from the highway.

Why is the silo important? The Meadowdale silo is the most visible element left from the Raceway. It can again identify the location of the old track to all passing on Illinois Route 31. For it to be demolished would erase an important part of this historic site and an important Fox Valley landmark.

The important next step is to secure funding for the project. We must depend on private citizens who appreciate the historical value of Meadowdale International Raceways. We are calling on all who raced, worked, or watched races at Meadowdale, or wish they had, to support the Save the Silo fund.