The Originals

In 1838, the first settler arrived in Huntley, Mr. Grinell. The city continued to grow, with two dairy businesses coming to town, Borden and Dean Foods. The railroad came through, churches were built, along with schools and the post office. In 1998, a groundbreaking was held for Del Webb’s Sun City. And the first residents began moving into the Del Webb Sun City residential development in 1999.

“Our neighbors in Arlington Heights convinced us to come and take a look,” Arlene Selm said. “So, my husband, Dick, and I came and saw the models by where the lodge is. We really had no interest in any of the models. Nothing really caught our attention. But we came back and we fell in love with this model. It wasn’t there the first time we came through.”

What made Sun City feel like home?

“The best part of moving here,” Selm said, “is the neighbors. We started getting together with Drinks on the Driveway. We started working together to create fun times for the neighbors. We got all excited about decorating for Christmas. We got neighbors to donate Christmas trees and a group of us decorated the lodge after it was built for the holidays with the donated trees. We were on the ladders, putting up those decorations. It was great fun. Some of them are probably still being used!”

This was all before some of Sun City’s famous features were even built.

“The lodge wasn’t all here in the beginning, but when it all came together, but when it came, we enjoyed the pool and swim lessons,” Selm recalls. “We just kept continuing to do things together. It was such a fun neighborhood. We started the Bunco Club in the neighborhood. We had New Year’s Parties and Christmas Parties and the different Country Clubs. You pretty much knew everyone in Del Webb in the beginning.”

And now how do Dick and Arlene feel 20 years later?

“We are so content here. I feel like we are living in a lap of luxury. We are so thankful to have moved here and felt all our dreams have come true.”

In 1950, the population in Huntley was 830 and jumped to 5730 in the year 2000. The population for 2019 is estimated at 27,207 according to the most recent United States census estimates. Huntley, Illinois is the 78th largest city in Illinois based on official 2017 estimates from the US Census Bureau.

Don and Arlene Pelland tell their Sun City story.

“There were buses from the outlet stores coming here. We were downsizing, and we wanted something that could be easily reached by family even though we were moving way out here. This was right off of I-90 and that was perfect We made the decision and came on Saturday morning to the lodge at nine o’clock to put money down on the lot we wanted. We had two in mind and we got one of them,” Don said.

Arlene shares, “You know that this was a farm owned by the Drendels and neighborhood five has two streets: Shirley and Drendel, named after Shirley Drendel, the wife of the farmer.”

To some, Sun City had a vacation-like feel.

Arlene continues, “I felt like it was timeshare place in the beginning. Both Don and I were golfers, we would organize teams and we were living in the country. On Wildflower Lake, you could use the rowboats they had there and go around the lake. We used to do that a lot with our grandchildren. It took about four years before we felt like we were at home, not on a vacation. There was such much to do. I joined dancing, exercised, and played Bunco. There so many stories, so much fun that we had in the last 20 years here.”

The best part?

The Pellands agree: “I like my home and my neighborhood. It is a family here. We have Lunch with the Ladies, I love the Sun Day Paper, the Lifestyles book that offers so much to do.”

Melba and Gerald Knust are another original couple.

“We just retired and we were looking around for something close to Elgin. When we drove through the front gate, we were stunned. It was so beautiful,” Melba said.

The Knusts were in awe of the array of activities available.

Melba said, “There is so much to do here if you want to do it, but there is the option not to do anything.”

They first became interested in the athletic scene.

Gerald said, “At first we played a lot of Bocce ball. I was a captain of many teams, but the summers seem to have gotten hotter. So now we are enjoying playing Pinochle. And we love the Day trips offered. We have been to the Fireside theatre, the Cubs games.”

The opportunities kept on growing.

Melba said, “More people came and moved in and more activities were added. We have 50 homes in our neighborhood and we pretty much know everyone. We like our neighbors. We like driving the golf cart or walking to the lodge and watching the sunset on Wildflower Lake.”

The activities became fun for residents to share with others as well.

Gerald remembers, “Our granddaughter used to love fishing here on Wildflower lake. We would picnic and fish down the lake.”

Gerald recalls, with fondness, the camaraderie shared by the original Sun City residents, experiencing the community together for the first time.

“We all moved in at the same time. Somehow it worked with all the moving trucks coming in at the same time. We were in this together. We worked together, helped each other. Del Webb gave us a truck and we had volunteers take a shift to do a neighborhood watch. We would drive around and look for open garage doors, papers left out for a few days and any flashing lights. We looked out for each other,” he said.

Pat Riggs, a retired nurse from Elgin states, “I moved here to get away from a terrible neighbor. I heard about Del Webb from Arizona. I came to the outlet stores, that is where the sales office was. There was no lodge at the time. I found the model I liked. It was perfect!”

Although Riggs had reservations, these dissipated quickly.

“At first I was afraid I would have to play cards to fit it. I am not a card player. Then I met Auggie in the lodge, an art teacher. I have never drawn or taken an art class in my life. But she invited me to try. Bring a picture, a pencil, and some paper. I traveled a lot and my favorite picture was one of an elephant that I took while in Africa. With her help, I found that I had it in me to draw. Then the three of us decided to start a swimming class to get the seniors in the pool,” Riggs recalls.

Riggs notes that the closeness of the community is one of its strengths.

“This is family, we look out for each other. My neighbor and I would take a two-hour shift driving the neighborhood watch truck around,” Riggs said. “My neighbor was very short and had a hard time getting into that truck. But a dealership fitted it with a step so we would have an easier time getting in.”

When Al and Ruth Roberts arrived, they remember what the area looked like in the beginning.

“There was no lodge, no road beyond Drendel when we moved in,”

Ruth said. “We moved here to be near our grandchildren. We had already planned to retire down south, but our daughter said we won’t have any grandparents near. So, we stayed.”

Al said, “It was really a stroke of genius that Del Webb built these neighborhoods. It gave us an opportunity to bond and develop wonderful relationships.”

He continues, “We had looked into moving back into the community of Algonquin, but these were established communities and it would be hard to get to know our neighbors.”

Al believes that Sun City’s past 20 years have been life-changing.

“This community has become part of us. It goes beyond a surface relationship. We had a component of faith that binds us together,” he said.

Twenty years later, Del Webb’s Sun City Huntley is one of the premier active adult communities in the Chicago area and the largest 55-plus active adult living community in the Midwest. Now there are over 5,400 homes spread across 2,300 acres and recently voted one of the best places to retire.

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