The Last Stop On the Metra's Northwest Line: Harvard, Illinois 5K.

Harvard is in far northwestern McHenry County, and is apart of the Chicago Metropolitan area, which is the 3rd largest metro area in the United States (For now). It's also served by Chicago mass transit! It's the last stop on the Metra's Union Pacific/Northwest Line, as it's 63 miles northwest from downtown Chicago.
Harvard High School: 3:53
My attempt to make-up for the abandoned Motorola property: 4:05
Starline Factory: 13:30
Downtown Harvard: 13:30 - 20:10
Metra Station: 18:19
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[@ChrisHarden]

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[@nerdylab8746]

As someone who lives in Harvard I love and appreciate this video! Some things I’d like to share with y’all: - The school district recently won the title for the best school district to work in of McHenry county - A big part of the population (I’d say give or take 50%) is Hispanic, which explains why some restaurants/stores have Spanish names - like mentioned in the video, it has low crime rates and it’s a pretty quiet/calm town - Milk Days is probably one of the most known event of the town. It was created as a thank you/tribute to the local dairy industry. The second day of the celebration there’s a parade that goes through town all the way to the Milky Way park. In the park there are fair rides, fast food trucks, a tent where music of different kinds is played, and stands that sell from clothes to art and jewelry. - The cow in the center of town is called Harmilda. She’s been there since 1966.

[@michigandersea3485]

That Metra train is a huge asset when gas is $6. Plenty of job opportunities just to work a few stops down the line, let alone downtown which is kind of far.

[@dawnboren594]

What about the dairy queen? Is the gun club still there? Grew up in Lindenhurst and then lived in McHenry for 10+ yrs.

[@Kimberlytswift]

Yep you are right I am from Harvard to

[@ArtForAllOccasions]

My mother grew up in Harvard. Her high school buddy married into the Olbrich family. When I was a kid, my mom took me to their dairy where I saw the cows line up for milking. We didn’t go during Milk Days, but we did go during the summer, which sure beats those winters! What a great experience. I like this video, but missed seeing Harmilda!

[@j.philiplarson2064]

Yeah, I lived in Marengo and also Rockford, and I remember seeing the large statue of a cow when I went through Harvard...didn't know it had a name, but thanks for the info @nerdylab8746!

[@charleykeenan6171]

My wife and I worked in the Motorola factory 🏭 and also met there. That brings back some fine old memories.. Thanks for posting! And in all fairness, almost no one remembers that factory. We made a great product and made it well, 2001 new production moved to Mexico and China. Fun fact? The heart of the "Onstar" system was built there as well - along with the Milltary Satellite Phones...

[@SteveH-TN]

Thanks for sharing this video and information. My brother lives in Harvard. I have traveled by train on AMTRAK from Carbondale & METRA. Your coverage of Harvard is appreciated. The MOTOROLA Plant was closed before I got my DJI drone.

[@emu5088]

I appreciate your focus on Metra! I work for the agency, so it's always cool when videos show appreciation for our service.

[@jacquiwakeley3397]

I grew up in Harvard and also worked at Motorola there. It was a boring but safe place to grow up, many memories from there. Angelos Pizza has the best Italian food if you ever venture back. Love your videos👍

[@ivanjuarez1160]

I grew up there as well

[@ericb-hk3hf]

REDs number one, Micheals number two, then maybe Angelos. As far as pizza is concerned.

[@blackbelt2000]

I very briefly dated a girl that worked for motorola and she had to go to harvard for the projects she worked on. Dang, your channel name does bring up nostalgia hahah. Although, in this particular case it was a bad memory because the girl was crazy LOL. Keep the videos coming.

[@johnsmallberries3476]

the drone footage is a great touch👍

[@ChrisHarden]

Thanks! Still trying to get really good at flying it, but practice makes perfect.

[@dvferyance]

Sweigert TV one drone has footage of it.

[@blackbelt2000]

I used to take the harvard metra line when I worked downtown. I can't imagine how early someone who lives in harvard needs to catch the train in order to make it downtown to start the day if they work there.

[@ChrisHarden]

I feel like that would easily add 4 hours to your day.

[@samsorensen5779]

As someone that lives in harvard, motorola is like the only thing people ever know the town for. The Library and surrounding parks is basically where I grew up. schools are horrible, hence why my parents sent me to a private school in Wisconsin. And, yes Milk Days is pretty fun, just your normal parade and some cool rides like the county fair are set up in the park west of town. Theres a good bakery, a couple good bars and pizza places and one very good old supper club that opened the 60's on the south side of town. The Starline is pretty cool on the inside. Good video! :)

[@craignovy2090]

Excellent well thought out and narrated video. Growing up in Chicagoland in 1950s and 60s it was considered even back then to be a suburb of Chicago so you are absolutely correct on that. Some of the Chicago based companies CEOs enjoyed living out here because of the transit station. Now I know thanks to you what it looks like. I think it is doing well despite some shuttered significant factories. What a treat...because of you Chris I am getting to know and see the area I grew up in better!

[@sterlingw470]

Another great job!!...Its been years and a big part of my life in Northern Illinois...thanks for all your hard work!!

[@bradforddillman7671]

Thinking about Motorola, that was my first Cel phone in 1994. Hard to believe how much the world has changed in the last 27 years. No internet, no smartphones, no KZbin...

[@jeffaulik3980]

When the Motorola plant was built, it was a really big deal. Though it was open from 1997-2003, there were only two years where it reached full employment. There was another large electronics factory in Harvard from 1947-1979 called Admiral Corp. They made TV's, radios and stereos and employed over 2000 people at their peak in the early to mid-60's.

[@westfester859]

Great video, nice new intro and well placed comedic sarcasm, always entertaining to watch.

[@petermenningen338]

I lived in the outskirts by the old Motorola plant between 2000 and 2014. A little backstory CNW needed to have a terminal in harvard and the founders negotiated with them for a passenger station. Part of that easement states that as long as a passenger train is run on that track Harvard needed to be an active passenger station. When Motorola needed to widen Division street for turning trucks they needed to move Harmilida (plastic cow) from the center of the road to one side. They wanted to put it in an invisible place. But the town rejected and petitioned the Governor and IDOT to keep it visible. Motorola was forced to buy a corner building and convert it to a park with a pedestal for Harmilida (there are actually 3 of them with one being changed every year at Milk Days).

[@ArtForAllOccasions]

Ah! So that’s why I missed the cow and division street looked unfamiliar. I visited 30 years ago when she was still in the center. I remember laughing at the cow crossing sign… my mom told me that people kept hitting her! 😂

[@JDale56]

Another great video. If you are ever in the area again try out Crandall's restaurant in nearby Hebron for AYCE broasted chicken.

[@charleykeenan6171]

Go for the "Basketball" stay for the chicken.. 😉

[@tommyharrison412]

I Grew Up in Harvard In the early 2000’s It was An Amazing Life! H-Town Will Always Be Home 🏠

[@katem8063]

Loved this! Milk days were a favorite as a kid. Would love to see a drive through Woodstock, with it's beautiful Square and city park.

[@sambrinson89]

I had to watch this to find where the used Prius I just bought spent it's past-life. Looks like a nice place.

[@nomadchadd4114]

That Factory is pretty neat. Keep the videos coming.

[@dvferyance]

You should do the Delevan Lake Geneva area sometime. It's got a lot of pretty lakes.

[@ArtForAllOccasions]

My mother, who grew up in Harvard, took us to the Wisconsin Dells. Is that located in that area? I only visited Harvard once and it was 30 years ago so I don’t remember much about the area. The only things I remember are Harmilda, the cow crossing sign and my mom’s high school friend’s dairy. I had to revisit Harvard on KZbin. Glad someone took the time to make and share this.

[@dvferyance]

@@ArtForAllOccasions no that's in Walworth county which is the next county north.

[@dvferyance]

@@ArtForAllOccasions No Lake Geneva is in Walworth County the next county to the north. The Dells are like 45 miles NW of Madison.

[@zubairrazzaq6271]

Amazing Northwest side of Illinois Huntley others cities and towns 👍👍👍👍👍

[@rulettebishop3932]

U have really great driving music in the background… What’s the name of this Instrumental .. Great Video

[@BrettB1983]

wish you could do one of Oregon illinois

[@mp5clone679]

you missed the cow! Also you failed to mention that a substantial percentage of the population of Harvard is Hispanic involved in the agriculture industry. This little farm town has been sliding downhill since the closing of Motorola.

[@shippingservice5139]

Like and Elgin or aurora in the country, which is weird how bad it got.

[@starmsjc]

Bad that there is Hispanics or that the Motorola is gone?

[@NormieWeimarican]

@@starmsjc both

[@Chicago611]

I live and work in Harvard, great small town, very low crime rate.

[@michigandersea3485]

Do you have any thoughts on the schools? My wife and I might move there with our daughter, who would be entering preschool soon.

[@AcousticGString]

You passed my moms house at 7:18 and you would have passed mine if you would have kept going straight on Thompson instead of turning right on Metzen street by Washington school. I grew up here, went to high school here and know a ton of people who live here. Crime was a problem at one time keep in mind, Harvard Illinois was talked about on the Phil Donahue show because of the gang activity. The metra runs from Chicago and Harvard is the last stop so criminals would take the train to the end and get off. It was an issue, I remember when it was really bad in the 90s.

[@chicagofan76]

Wish I would have watched this last week. I would have gone there for Milk Days.

[@theFaded01]

Nice vid. What's the music being used? Really digging the vibe.

[@anthonyhunt701]

Love this town for some weird reason lol!

[@paulf1245]

Like that new intro!

[@maddogg2k855]

Do Olney il next please and thank you Olney is home of the white squirrels

[@supermarioworld04]

Do Zion and Winthrop Harbor in the future

[@sarahvazquez3943]

I moved to Harvard on 2007 before that I never heard of this town. Love this little town! Best thing I did for my kids is move here from lake county. It’s like vacation for my parents when they visit us. So calm and relaxing here.

[@michigandersea3485]

How have the schools been? Thinking of moving to Harvard with my wife and daughter who is going into preschool soon.

[@denali9449]

What? No mention of Hermilda the Cow? She is a statue of a milk cow near Division and Ayer Streets. In the 1972 I had to make a trip to Harvard for work. At lunch I asked what folks did for excitement in Harvard - I was told that they go downtown to watch the cow rust. Not a lot happened in those days in Harvard after 6:00 PM. I had to go find that cow after hearing about it. A few years later I was working in Chicago and a guy I worked with lived in Harvard and made that C&NW commute daily. Took him 90 minutes in the morning and over 2 hours at night - but he said it was worth it mentally. I spent an hour each way on that same train to get to Barrington but it sure beat driving.

[@AnoraJohnson]

*Harmilda,* with an _a_ like Harvard. 🐄

[@denali9449]

@@AnoraJohnson Sorry, you are correct. The memory is not what it used to be. Thank you for the correct spelling.

[@AnoraJohnson]

@@denali9449 It sounds like you remember a lot. The idea of watching the cow rust makes me smile. From what I've heard, teenagers bored of watching her oxidize sometimes stole her. There was a rumor that the city had spare cows somewhere. Don't know if it's true, but there were occasional mornings when the concrete pedastal stood empty. 🙂 Sorry my response was abrupt. I was half asleep and apparently not very verbal. _Edit: I spelled pedestal wrong lol_

[@denali9449]

@@AnoraJohnson Teens stealing statues must be something common to small town America. My wife grew up near a farming town in Indiana, a bit smaller than Harvard, and every six months or so the Big Boy statue from Bob's Big Boy restaurant would go missing. Going to high school in Deerfield (Illinois) we did not have a statue but we had a fountain at Sara Lee which begged for some Salvo Soap tablets. As for the other; you were not abrupt, just offering a corrective thought.

[@NormieWeimarican]

@@AnoraJohnson Marengo would try to steal it during homecoming events. They're Harvards rivals.

[@jeffb5581]

Good video

[@shanewebb7537]

Love these

[@chicagofan76]

I’ve lived in Woodstock for almost a year. I’ve yet to go to Harvard. So if I never go at least your video will show me the town. Or if I do finally go, your video will be what finally made me go.

[@shippingservice5139]

Yuck Woodstock Illinois. Out of all of America why lol

[@shippingservice5139]

People from Hampshire and union and Marengo Illinois won’t go towards Woodstock!

[@chicagofan76]

@@shippingservice5139 what don’t you like about Woodstock? It’s a nice town. Needs road repair badly but where I live in nice and quiet and downtown is great. Less traffic then in Crystal Lake.

[@michigandersea3485]

@@chicagofan76 That person is obsessed with race and political ideology. I don't care which side of the fence you're on; if you pay too much attention to those things they keep you from seeing the reality right in front of your face.

[@goldtopazasylum]

my friend lives in Harvard, cool

[@alexandria8255]

Harvard has the best bakery...The Swiss Maid Bakery. yummm. 🌺👍🌺

[@aps125]

The info displayed at the bottom: date, rtc, city name, etc. are those from the gopro camera?

[@ChrisHarden]

Nope, they’re my own added graphics.

[@aps125]

@@ChrisHarden that’s a lot of effort, awesome.

[@ChrisHarden]

@@aps125 Thanks. At first it was, but as true with anything it’s not as much effort after I’ve done it a couple of hundred times for every video.

[@janicehammersmith4728]

You were in the left turn lane on Rt173...to turn onto Rt14...you continued onto Ayers instead.... Can't tell you how many times I've been cut off by folks doing that exact thing.. Lol

[@ninaakari5181]

Nokia at 4:14: "am I joke to you"

[@ChrisHarden]

Haha yes. Nokia has always been a joke. With the exception of their legendary brick phone. Sorry Nokia lol.

[@dawnboren594]

Hey, here's an idea. Lake Geneva, tons of history tied into prohibition and all the really wealthy from Chicago.

[@glennso47]

What was the big water tower near the end of the video?

[@ChrisHarden]

Same one from the beginning part of the video.

[@AnoraJohnson]

Harvard has two water towers. The old one is near Lyon's Park - that's the blue and white one at the beginning. The big round-bellied tower later in the video is the newer one. It's downtown near the Swiss Made Bakery. 🙂

[@AnoraJohnson]

@@ChrisHarden 2:10 old watertower near Lyon's Park 19:18 new watertower downtown

[@jackellis3083]

I live in harvard.

[@denniscollins2441]

how is it?

[@jackellis3083]

@@denniscollins2441 great town!

[@denniscollins2441]

@@jackellis3083 Are there any blacks?

[@jackellis3083]

@@denniscollins2441 A few. Most are Mexican in town. But overall, it’s a great town!

[@chicagofan76]

To my knowledge the most happening thing in Harvard these days is the True Value warehouse. Oddly True Value isn’t that popular in the burbs as most prefer Ace Hardware.

[@danielamazinglol3374]

Bro in University Street where there was a church if you go left you’ll see a brown house and that’s where I live

[@zachbittinger1353]

I'm from woodstock so I know Harvard lol

[@rampage230]

Do poplar grove

[@danielamazinglol3374]

Bro you just passed my house

[@danielamazinglol3374]

OK where do you live I live in Harvard

[@dawnboren594]

I used to live in McHenry, now on a mountain in Southern California. Finally made it to the reservation I am a member of.

[@geragonzalez4482]

teboy ademan dar por no sacar la casa mi primo juan

[@shippingservice5139]

Country living Hampshire and Marengo Illinois supports President Trump and our Veterans. We hunt and fish and farm.

[@starmsjc]

Trump is not from a small town. And big cities have many veterans as well.

[@michigandersea3485]

My friend, those are exurbs as much as country towns. I went to Hampshire last week and it looked like a very prosperous exurb to me, and Marengo like a factory town/exurb. I grew up on a farm in Ford County IL which is actually truly rural. Check out Piper City or Gibson City if you want to see what a real country town looks like, where people have to make a living locally and can't commute to the suburbs.

[@johnsmallberries3476]

ugh....I'd say that school admin bldg is more "mustard" than yellow...what a horrid color.

[@AnoraJohnson]

It's not like that it person. The bricks are yellowish, but not in a weird way. It used to be a school.