Eldon Hatch
Class of 1949Alumni Recognition Award, 2004
Eldon Hatch has been an integral pat of the Naperville community throughout his life. He grew up on West Avenue, north of Naperville, on his father's farm, and attended Erb Grade School, a one-room schoolhouse in Naperville. Eldon went on to junior high and eventually graduated from Naperville Community High School in 1949. While enrolled in high school, Eldon was a member of the Naperville Go Getters 4H Club, serving as a 4H National Congress member and was also the Naperville FFA Vice President and FFA Delegate to the national convention in Kansas City in 1948. An avid member of the Grace Evangelical United Brethren, Eldon earned perfect attendance for seven years.
After high school, Eldon Hatch went to work as a cattle broker for Fred Hatch and Company at the Chicago Stockyards and concurrently supplemented his education with night classes at Northwestern University and North Central College. IN 1952, Eldon was drafted into the United States Army during the Korean Conflict. Qualifying for the U.S. Army School of Food and Dairy Hygiene, Mr. Hatch served as veterinary meat inspector until 1954. Returning from the service, he continued his job at the Chicago Stockyards, where he became president of Fred Hatch and Company from 1969 through 1971, when the stockyards closed. Mr. Hatch's career in the sale of land began when he earned a brokerage license, which opened the door to many business opportunities in his life. Eldon opened a farm real estate department for Roy Dudley Real Estate in Naperville, served as Director of Municipal Waste Recovery Corp., dealing with recycling and represented the company in Japan, began organizing the Bank of Sugar Grove, and opened Eldon Hatch and Company to offer counsel in the purchase of farm and commercial property for development and tax free exchange all within the years between 1971 and 1976. Eldon was the charter member of the Naperville Saddle Club, serving as president in 1978, as well as a member of its Board of Directors.
Currently a member of the Naperville Heritage Society, Eldon volunteered to work during the construction of the Naper Settlement, and role-played Joe Naper at Joe Naper Days. Eldon traveled to Ashtabula, Ohio, to learn about Captain Naper's life and graciously contributed 700 hours to the planning and development of the Joe Naper Trek in 1981, celebrating Naperville's sesquicentennial. Mr. Hatch led the horse drawn wagon from Chicago to Naperville, recreating Naperville's settlement in 1931. A member of the Speaker's Bureau at Naper Settlement, Eldon speaks to public schools and community groups on the history of Naperville.
Mr. Hatch served on the Board of Education Assistance Ltd. with Senator Peter Roskam that provided scholarships for disadvantaged high school and college students. As a member of Our Savior's Lutheran Church for eighteen years, Eldon had the opportunity to serve on a missionary team, accompanied by Mayor George Pradel, to Naperville's sister city Nitra, Slovakia, in 2001. Along with his wife, Eldon collaborated on a group of dog stories that offer a moral; they were written for their grandchildren. The book is entitled, The Adventures of Orange Willi.
Eldon Hatch and his wife Meredith have two children named Meredith and Gavin, both graduates of Naperville Central. Mr. Hatch has continually grown professionally and expanded his community efforts and always supporting his Christian faith-driven ideals. Today he is eagerly waiting to edit and publish a group of faith stories called Blessed My Life Through.
MR. HATCH'S MESSAGE TO STUDENTS: We have been given a marvelous set of keys that unlock the doors to a happy, successful future. Use them wisely with integrity.
