Dick Berry Memorial Run

Newspaper Article from 1986.

A jogger was struck and killed by a vehicle whose driver left the scene about 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the northbound lane of the 400 block of Calvin Park Boulevard North. Police identified the man as Richard Berry, 39, 3320 E. State St., after television and radio pleas for aiding in identifying “an injured man” produced a call from Berry’s brother-in-law.*

That’s how the Rockford Register Republic reported the April 1986 death of Dick Berry. Click the text above.

Now, almost 30 years later, Dick’s name popped up in the newspaper again. *The above is from the files of the Rockford Register newspaper. If you live in Rockford please subscribe. We need newspapers not mindless bloggers.

The “30th State Street Mile” is coming up this weekend and guess who started it? Yes, none other than Dick Berry.

This year’s race is on Saturday, August 2, 2014 and starts around 5:00 p.m. and I’m sure there’s a lot of stuff going on before the race starts. It begins at the top of the hill at the intersection of E. State St. and Summit, in front of SwedishAmerican Hospital and it’s all downhill from there to the Rock River. As always it’s dedicated to Richard Berry because is was his good idea.

He was a star athlete at Whig Hill grade school, Wilson Junior High, and Auburn High. When we were at Whig Hill he was one of the tallest kids there, taller than some of the teachers. In 8th grade I learned it’s never a good idea to ask someone who’s real tall, “How’s the weather up there.?” Turns out it was raining.

Dick lived on the northwest corner of N. Johnston and Parkside in our old Ken-Rock neighborhood, right across from Maple Leaf Printing, owned by our good buddy Howard Wise.

Dick’s childhood home has been gone for many years and like most of the houses in our old neighborhood they’ve been destroyed, dismantled, and disowned. Our old homestead used to be one of the nicest ones down there but now it’s a piece of rundown shit.

When we lived in the Old Neighborhood people cared about their property. Every time it rained hard our next door neighbor, Mr. Hogan, would be out there in his galoshes making sure the ditches were clear so the water would flow. Mr. and Mrs. Hogan took pride in their little house on Day Ave.

Steve Franklin and I went back home last year. Pretty disgusting. If the Hogans weren’t already dead they would be if they saw their once beautiful house. I could put up a picture of their house but I won’t; no more than I’d put up a picture of your dead cat after he’d been run over by a truck.

What’s all this other stuff got to do with Dick Berry. Nothing, except that Bill Coad, Steve Franklin, Roger Burt, Steve Holcomb, Chuck Rudd, and, uh, what’s his name, the unforgettable Bob Severson all remember what a good friend Dick Berry was and what great place we all came from. (Miss Schwandt says, “Kendall, never end a sentence with a preposition.”)

They’re right when they say “You can’t go home again.” Well, once a year is enough.

If you go down to the Dick Berry State Street Mile Memorial Run and feel a sudden burst of wind it might be Dick’s spirit racing to the finish line, or if there’s a light spitting of rain from the Heavens above, that might be his way of saying, “Ken, it’s still raining. Ha ha.”

If you have a picture or anything you’d like to add to this story send me an email.

Please feel free to add any comments, which is at the upper right hand, top of the page. It says “Leave a Comment.” His friends would appreciate reading what you remember, if anything. Share your thoughts and memories while you can.

Thanks again and thanks to Richard Hoffman for writing.

PS…. To Chuck and Mary Rudd. Let me know if my commas are in the right spot.

PPSS….. Roger Burt always called him “Richard” not Dick.