Dolores Haugh was born in Chicago on October 2, 1923. Deciding to move due to Mount Prospect in 1952 due to the village’s building codes, Haugh and her husband soon became deeply involved in the Mt. Prospect community. In 1967 Haugh became one of the founding members of the Mt. Prospect Historical Society, then executive director of the Mt. Prospect Chamber of Commerce in 1980. Haugh spent fifty years working as a journalist for the several local newspapers, and became editor of the Prospect Day during the 1970s. Haugh’s “Haugh to Plan a Party” column was particularly popular, each article consisting of sets of instructions for planning parties following different themes. Haugh also started many Mt. Prospect traditions, including the annual Teddy Bear Walk and the farmer’s market. She was awarded the “Living Legend Award” at the “Shining Star” dinner in 1995 for being a “formidable and admirable local legend.” Dolores Haugh passed away on January 10, 2019 at the age of 95.

Riverview Amusement Park began as a sharpshooter park in the late 1800s. Established by Wilhelm A. Schmidt, “Schuetzen Park” gradually added a carousel and swing set as activities to keep the wives and children of the entertained. What started as a few modest rides grew to a full amusement park by the early 1900s, becoming known as “Riverview Sharpshooters Park” (later changing to simply “Riverview Park”) in 1904. The ride “The Bobs” was added in the 1920s, and the wooden roller coaster soon became the most popular attraction at Riverview. Other rides included a free-fall parachute ride known as Pair-o-Chutes; Aladdin’s Castle funhouse; The Bobs roller coaster; and Shoot the Chutes. Riverview was also home to several less wholesome attractions, such as the Freak House and the African Dip. The latter consisted of several high, narrow cages in which sat black men who shouted insults at spectators, who were encouraged to throw balls at a metal disc attached to the cage which when hit would drop the men into a tub of water. This “attraction” went on until the final years of the park.

After operating for over six decades, Riverview closed its doors in October of 1967. The last surviving ride, the original carousel, can now be found at Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta. The former site of Riverview Amusement Park at Belmont and Western Avenues in Chicago is now home to a strip mall.