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Fox Valley Review in Words & Pictures
Celebrate our first year through the stories, photographs, milestones, and memories that transformed a simple idea into a thriving community publication.
First Anniversary Issue
One Year
of Stories
Celebrating the stories, people, and places that brought our community together.
1
Year • 12 Issues • One Growing Community
August 2026
A milestone measured in more than pages.
One year ago, Fox Valley Review began with a simple belief: the people and places of the Fox Valley carry stories worth preserving. This anniversary issue looks back at the writers, photographs, memories, and friendships that transformed that belief into a living community publication.
From the Desk of the Editor in Chief
One Year Later
One year ago, we released the very first issue of Fox Valley Review with little more than an idea and a hope that the people of the Fox Valley had stories worth preserving and that, if given the opportunity, they would share them.
They did.
Over the past twelve months, neighbors have become storytellers. Lifelong residents and newcomers alike have opened their hearts, entrusted us with family histories, celebrated local traditions, reflected on personal struggles, and captured the beauty of our communities through words, photographs, poetry, and art.
Writers found the courage to tell stories they had carried for decades. Photographers captured familiar places in extraordinary ways. Readers became regular contributors, and strangers became friends at our monthly release parties.
This issue is a celebration of that journey.
Inside these pages, Diane Kondratowicz reflects on our first anniversary; Sue Grommes concludes her moving return to Perigny; Granny takes us back to the one-room schoolhouse; Allison Stefansson shares the bittersweet moment her son leaves for Marine Corps boot camp; Jeff Weisman reminds us to slow down and listen; and Algonquin invites us to follow the curve of the Fox River through history, nature, and community.
Our anniversary feature, Fox Valley Review in Words & Pictures, offers a look back at a first year filled with unforgettable stories, inspiring people, memorable photographs, and countless reminders of why local storytelling still matters.
As we begin our second year, our mission remains unchanged: to celebrate the people, places, businesses, history, and experiences that make the Fox Valley unlike anywhere else.
To our writers, poets, photographers, artists, sponsors, advertisers, volunteers, readers, and everyone who has encouraged this publication along the way, thank you. Here’s to another year of discovering the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Inside the Anniversary Issue
Stories that remember, connect, and invite us closer.
From family milestones and wartime remembrance to childhood lessons, quiet mornings, and the natural rhythm of the river, the August issue reflects the range of voices that have shaped Fox Valley Review's first year.
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Reflections on Our First Year
As Fox Valley Review marks its first anniversary, Diane Kondratowicz reflects on the remarkable writers, faithful readers, and enduring friendships that transformed a simple idea into a thriving community.
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Three Missions from Home, Part IV
Sixty years after the loss of Alvin Samuelson, Sue Grommes returns to the French village that never forgot. At a moving memorial ceremony, her mother's unforgettable speech reminds us that remembrance is one of freedom's greatest acts of gratitude.
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Granny's Woven Quilt, Part XII
As another school year begins, Granny takes us back to a little white schoolhouse where one teacher, eight grades, and a ringing bell taught lessons in respect, community, and character that lasted a lifetime.
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The Marine Mom Diaries
As her son leaves for Marine Corps boot camp, Allison Stefansson captures the bittersweet emotions every military parent knows—the pride of watching a child pursue purpose and the ache of letting go.
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Let the World Come to You
Jeff Weisman shares a quiet morning with his young daughter at a neighborhood pond, discovering that the greatest lessons in parenting—and in life—often begin when we stop talking long enough to listen.
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Algonquin Walk | Oh Smoke
From its Native American roots to its vibrant riverfront, Algonquin invites readers to explore the town where the Fox River bends. A companion poem reminds us that the air we breathe—and the burdens we bear—are more deeply shared than we often realize.
Table of Contents
See the issue at a glance.
The two-page contents spread brings together the anniversary reflections, recurring series, community portrait, poetry, and feature stories included in Volume 2, Issue 8.
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