Fun Aurora Facts

• Famed silent movie cowboy William S. Hart (1865-1946) spent his boyhood in the Aurora area.
• Aurora Dentist Bernard J. Cigrand (1866-1932) is recognized as the founder of Flag Day.
• Maud Powell (1867-1920), who grew up in Aurora, went on to become the world's premier female violinist.
• Ruth VanSickle Ford (1897 - 1989), lifelong Auroran, gained fame as a premier watercolor artist with her works hanging in places like the Smithsonian.
• Prior to enlisting in World War II, actor Eddie Albert worked in Aurora's Ward & Jones Furniture Shop.
• Newsman John Drury and Meterologist Tom Skilling, both Aurora natives, have gained fame in Chicago-area broadcasting.
• Shirlee Fonda, wife of the late Henry Fonda, grew up in Aurora, and was once employed by Barber-Greene.
• In professional sports, East Aurora graduate Kurt Becker (Chicago Bears) and West Aurora graduate Kenny Battle (Basketball).
• West Aurora graduate Wendell Minor is a highly respected illustrator and book jacket designer with over 2000 covers to his credit.
• Eric Halfvarson, West Aurora graduate, is a world renowned bass opera singer having sung with every major opera in the U.S., as well as in Europe from Vienna to London.
• Robert J. Olah, East Aurora graduate, gained notoriety performing with the Lawrence Welk Orchestra as a featured violin soloist for 67 consecutive television shows.
• Grover Schiltz, East Aurora alum, has been the premier English horn player for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 1959.