Tinley Park Native Uses Facebook to Drum up Childhood Memories

River Hasnoliver sure has a funny way of showing his pride.

Not content with a simple “I Heart Tinley Park” bumper sticker, this hometown man turned to social media to get his message across. Hasnoliver is the administrator of the popular Facebook group page, “You Know You’re From Tinley Park, IL if…”

“I got the idea while surfing the net one night,” said Hasnoliver, who works as a computer network administrator. “There are fan pages for many of the towns in our area, so I thought, ‘Why not Tinley Park?’ I grew up in Tinley; I lived and worked in Tinley. I have a lot of Tinley Park love ...”

It seems many others have a lasting love for our village, too. Since the group's creation in September 2011, Hasnoliver has found himself constantly approving new members—the tally was up to more than 1,640 as of Tuesday. Those living all over the United States turn to followers for a bit of nostalgia.

“I am in utter disbelief at the page’s popularity," Hasnoliver said. "At first I invited just a few of my friends to join, and soon (it) became just like the old shampoo commercial—you invite a friends, they invite a few friends, and so on.”

Topics on the page run the gamut from the old childhood hangouts to important events that happened in town. Many members find that responses come with a fast fury when simply posting an open-ended question, such as “Who was your favorite high school teacher?" Others have even connected with long lost friends and neighbors.

Hasnoliver, who said he reads every single post, loves comments and vintage photos regarding “old-time Tinley” especially businesses that are no longer around but bring back fond memories of growing up in Tinley Park.

It also seems the fan page has no age limit, he noted.

“I was talking to a friend of mine who mentioned his mom found out about the page and wanted to join,” he noted.

Patch has cherry picked a few of our favorite posts from the group. Yes, we’re members. Are you?

You Know You’re From Tinley Park, IL if ... 

• You remember going to the haunted house inside Brementowne Mall.
• You watched outdoor movies on a big tarp on the back of the maintenance building at McCarthy Park.
• You know .
• You got to see STYX in the gym at Kirby School.
• You remember Cavetts Drugs, Ben Franklin, Gately's Department Store, Jardine’s Family Restaurant and Dog 'n Suds.
• You remember the fireworks factory blowing up.
• You remember Boobie's sandwich shop. What was the deal with that? Even had dots in the Os.
• You know you’re from Tinley Park if ... you loved growing up there!

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