Park Center supervisor balancing life, work

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Karl Kerwin, building supervisor for the Park Center, helps move balloons for the Kiddie Gras event at the center held Feb. 2. | Curtis Lehmkuhl~Sun-Times Media

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Updated: March 11, 2012 8:25AM

For a Glenview father of two who accomplished the rank of Eagle Scout in Boy Scouts at an early age of 15 — Karl Kerwin, part-time building supervisor at the Glenview Park Center — remains driven.

“I continue to follow the scout’s oath and laws. I wish more people would,” said Kerwin, a 19-year Glenview resident who lived in Oak Park for 26 years.

Nowadays, his “most important job is ‘stay-home Dad.’”

Said Kerwin: “I originally left my full-time position with a Chicago marketing firm to be more available for my son, who is diagnosed with autism.

“I wanted to provide support to him. Having one parent at home has helped our family to be more grounded. I also am able to help with the grocery shopping and other household tasks.”

His wife Laurie is a first-grade teacher in Elmwood Park. After 19 years of marriage, they enjoy cooking and gardening in their year-round greenhouse.

“My specialty is homemade pizza,” says Kerwin. “I also dabble in fixing things.”

They have one daughter, Andrea, 16, a Glenbrook South High School junior and Alex, 14, a Springman Middle School eighth-grader in the North Suburban Special Education District (NSSED) program.

“The schools are very good,” observed Kerwin.

“There are many fun things to do here in Glenview.

“I have always felt like Glenview has the charm of a small town.

“Where else in the summer can you go to the Dairy Bar on a Wednesday, get an ice cream cone and walk to Jackman Park to see a concert?

“It’s like being in Mayberry.”

In fact, it’s so homey that the building supervisor in Kerwin once welcomed visitors who wanted to stay, overnight, at the Glenview Park Center.

“My first year on the job an older couple came in the building with suitcases,” recalls Kerwin.

“They went to the Park Center’s front desk, which was closed. I approached them asking how I could help them. They replied, ‘We would like a room.’

I said, ‘You mean you’re looking for a hotel to stay?’ The gentleman said, “No, we would like to stay here ... are you all full?’” he said.

“I then informed them that the Park Center wasn’t a hotel,” Kerwin said. “They looked around and his wife said, ‘This sure looks like a lobby of a hotel.’

“I later helped them find a hotel nearby,” said Kerwin.

As one of two building supervisors, the Glenview Park Center is “about 44,000 square feet and I have covered ever foot of it (in gym shoes).”

What else does Kerwin find welcoming about the Glenview Park Center?

“The beautiful mural carved out of bricks in the main lobby above the fire place — it shows all the historical places and buildings in Glenview, I just think that’s unique,” observes Kerwin.

“Also the sculpture in front of the building of children in a circle is amazing.

“In Splash Landings, there is a flag made of tiles with hand prints of several children, including a small hand print of my daughter.

“The tiled flag was made when the building was finished.”

And there you have it — the Kerwin family has made its mark on Glenview.