DeKALB – Mother Nature showed her mercy with some cloud cover Sunday, keeping the heat index from pushing too far into the triple digits.
We’ll see how kind she’s feeling Monday, when for the third consecutive day, the high is predicted in the low 90s, according to the National Weather Service. With temperatures in the 90s this past weekend, flirting with DeKalb’s record high of 95 on both June 16 and 17 set in 1994, area residents sought relief from the heat by spending time in the pool or at the library.
The weather service issued a heat advisory Saturday morning through 7 p.m. Sunday in DeKalb County, warning residents of the threat of heat sickness or worse without proper attention, care and preparation.
Many dads enjoyed spending part of their Father’s Day on Sunday with their family while swimming in the Olympic-sized pool at DeKalb Park District’s Hopkins Park along Sycamore Road.
“I think we caught a break with the clouds today,” said 37-year-old Jason Hanna, a philosophy professor at Northern Illinois University, who was hanging out midday in the children’s pool with his 4-year-old daughter, Phoebe.
Rochelle resident Matt Sarver visited the pool for the first time with his children, Brooklyn, Austin and Charlie.
“It’s a good place to hang out with the kids,” Sarver said.
Waterman couple Reed and Kim Allen, along with their sons, Shawn and Bennett, bought season passes to enjoy the pool beyond the sweltering weekend.
“On a hot day, the best place to be is either inside or in the pool,” Reed Allen said.
Tessa Gridley, a cashier at Hopkins Park, said it’s common to see so many visitors from outside town.
“More people come to the pool when it’s hotter, and we see a lot of people from out of town,” Gridley said. “We had a family from Tennessee here on Sunday. People come into town to visit family and friends and go for a swim.”
She said Friday was a busy day at the pool – especially after 4 p.m. when people arrived for the evening swim.
“Things went pretty smooth this weekend,” said Jason Ostenberg, the Hopkins Park pool manager. “We’re happy to have so many people enjoying the pool. We had a couple hundred people on Saturday. The pool gives our community a place to cool off and have fun.”
Ostenberg said the pool is 25 meters across and 50 meters wide. It has two slides, with one ending in the shallower end of 3 feet 6 inches. He said that he has seen a lot of people coming to the pool for swimming lessons and Park District camps, as well as groups from Cornerstone Christian Academy in Sycamore and KinderCare.
Ostenberg offered advice on how to cope with the heat this summer.
“Make sure you drink a lot of water,” he said, “and use sunscreen. Listen to your body. If you feel lightheaded or nausea, get in the shade. Drink water slowly. Don’t pound it.”
The DeKalb Public Library,
309 Oak St., is both a designated cooling center and warming center for the community.
“We had a nice program on Saturday afternoon that featured guitarist and folk musician Barry Cloyd,” said Mike Page, the library’s adult services specialist.
“It was free and very well-attended. We had 30 to 40 people in attendance.”
This weekend reminded Page of a 100-degree day in 1995.
“We had a bad heat wave, and our house didn’t have air conditioning,” he said. “My wife went to her job, and our kids went to day care. Since I was a teacher on summer break, I came to the library to cool off. At night, my family and I went to Hopkins Park so we could go swimming.”
Page said that although air conditioning is more prevalent today, some people still need cooling centers such as the library.
“The library is a pleasant place to be,” circulation clerk Sumiko Keay said. “There is plenty to do, and people with a library card can use the computers.”
“I love the library for its books and resources,” DeKalb resident Ron Partch said. “It’s very user-friendly. It’s a good place to read the newspaper and hang out from the heat.”
DeKalb resident Alexandria Celestin came to the library Sunday with her mother, Marie Celestin of Chicago. They planned to watch Alexandria’s daughter, Maya Ann Celestin, in a dance recital later that afternoon at the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb.
“We came here to read and cool off before the performance,” Alexandria Celestin said.
• Daily Chronicle Editor Christopher Heimerman contributed to this story.