• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Allerton

Park & Retreat Center

  • Reserve
    • Weddings
      • Wedding Spaces
      • Lodging
      • Request for Information
      • Catering
      • Testimonials
    • Meetings & Retreats
      • Meeting Spaces
      • Request for Information
      • Lodging
      • Catering
      • Team-building/Breakout Activities
    • Special Occasions
      • Event Spaces
      • Lodging
      • Catering
      • REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
    • Lodging
      • Weekend Wind Downs
    • The Dome
  • visit
    • Event Calendar
      • Public Tours & Hikes
      • Weekend Wind Downs
      • Concert Series
      • Youth Programs
        • Summer Day Camp 2025
      • Holiday Events
      • Supper Club
      • Camp Lost Garden
    • Park FAQs
    • Plan Your Visit
    • McCraw Family Visitor Center
    • Greenhouse Café
    • Lodging
    • Park Maps
    • Accessibility
    • Area Attractions
  • THE FARMS
    • About
      • Farms Spaces
    • Summer 2025 Session
    • Folk Talk
    • THE FARMS FAQ
    • Instructor application
  • discover
    • About
    • The History
      • Allerton Family
      • Robert Allerton
      • Allerton Park
        • Since 1946
    • The Gardens
      • Formal Gardens Map
      • Public Tours & Hikes
      • Classes & Workshops
      • Bloom Calendar
    • Natural Areas
      • Trail Map
      • Public Tours & Hikes
      • Birding
      • Research
      • Management
    • Mental Landscapes Map
    • Artwork
      • Map
    • The Future
      • Master Plan
      • Artisan Village
      • The Wandering Woods
    • Park Blog
    • Diversity, Inclusion, and Access
    • Sustainability
  • engage
    • Donate
      • ALL IN for Allerton
      • Building the Legacy
      • Memorial & Dedicatory Gifts
      • Sponsorship Opportunities
        • Holidays 2024: Sponsorship Opportunities
      • Wish List
    • VOLUNTEER
      • Volunteer News
      • Allerton Park Photography Group
    • SHOP
    • Employment Opportunities
    • In-Residence
      • Artist-in-Residence Program
      • Naturalist-in-Residence Program
      • Past Residents
  • connect
    • CONTACT
    • Since 1946
    • ENEWS
      • enews archive
    • Allerton in the News
    • Staff
      • Staff Recommendations

Luke T: Since 1982

March 7, 2021 by Steve Hoffman

One my parents’ favorite embarrassing stories to tell takes place at Allerton: they were taking turns carrying me on their shoulders and, unfortunately, when it was my mom’s turn, I got sick in her hair. Even more unfortunately, this was in the early ’80s and before resources to clean up were as available as there are now.

We would visit when the bulbs and wildflowers were in were bloom, and then when the peonies were in bloom every year. As a small-town kid, the formal gardens and statuary caught my imagination, and were where I would mentally set the Agatha Christie country house novels to which my grandmother introduced me around the same time.

A little later on, it was my favorite place to take a date, and a little later yet, it’s where I got to watch two of my best friends get married.

In recent years, it’s been a pleasure to come back when I visit my family and see things like the Rainbow Garden and Christmas lights bring new magic. Even though I no longer live close enough to visit regularly, I have a pair of my own foo dogs sitting on the mantle which remind me of Allerton every day.

Visit the Since 1946 homepage here. Share your story here.

Filed Under: Since 1946: Story Scrapbook

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • TripAdvisor
  • Linkedin

515 Old Timber Road

Monticello, Illinois 61856

217 333 3287

allertoninfo@illinois.edu

CONNECT

  • Contact
  • eNews Archive
  • Staff
  • Photog Credits

Sign up for Allerton news

Click to Subscribe


University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign

Copyright © 2025 · allerton on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in