“Volunteerism is a superpower here,” Flossmoor Mayor Michelle Nelson declares in Tom Dobrez’s documentary film, “Flossmoor: A More Perfect Place.”
Commitment to volunteering and community service is a dominant theme of the film, so what better way to celebrate a town known for volunteerism than to further drive that spirit.
To that end, people at a recent screening of the 26-minute film were encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to support The Center for Food Equity in Medicine in exchange for the chance to see the documentary at the Homewood Science Center.
“The screenings have been joyous occasions,” said Dobrez, who moved to Flossmoor in 1967 as a first-grader and has concurrently released a book that dives even more deeply into the village’s rich history. “I’ve showed it a dozen times, and every time, people respond to something different.”
That was reflected in the comments of some of the roughly two dozen people who attended the Jan. 17 screening, with community spirit a key factor in embracing the film. Dobrez is treating his documentary as a theatrical release, with exclusive screenings designed to engage community members and drive support for local organizations.
“There’s so much I didn’t know,” said Kelly Philbin, a longtime Flossmoor resident who attended the screening with her father, John Stevens, a member of the first graduating class of Homewood-Flossmoor High School, which opened in 1959. “I love how it was intertwined with the Gem.”
The film uses Flossmoor’s Hidden Gem Half Marathon as a narrative arc, following runners through the village along a route that essentially winds through more than a century of history – from the Wagner House (the town’s oldest building) to Coyote Run Golf Course, to H-F High School, Heather Hill and Sterling Avenue.
Viewers learn Flossmoor history at every point along the way as the story unfolds about the community and the people who made it what it has become, since its humble beginnings as a stop on the Illinois Central Railroad in 1899, and incorporation as a village 25 years later.
“The enthusiasm and volunteerism are great,” said Anita Glencoe of Flossmoor, who came to learn more about her town and support the food drive.
Jennifer Loew Litwin of Chicago, who grew up in Flossmoor, said she was “blown away” by how the movie reflected the evolution of volunteerism in the village. “I think it’s amazing,” she said of the film. “I hope there’s a Part 2!”
Litwin attended the screening with her brother, Josh Loew. “It was great,” the H-F graduate and current Glencoe resident said. “History and footage from the past balanced with today, the best of what was great then and what is great now.”
Dobrez said he was inspired to make the movie after seeing the drone show that was part of Flossmoor’s centennial celebration in 2024. “There were all these symbols of Flossmoor. … People were crying,” he recalled. “I thought we needed a movie to celebrate this town.”
At first envisioning the film as a “talking heads” documentary, Dobrez started conducting research and filming interviews before the original director backed out of the project. So, he changed course and started writing a book, “A More Perfect Place: The Story of Flossmoor.”
The book was mostly complete when he finally wrote what became its first chapter, about the Hidden Gem Half Marathon. Around that time, Flossmoor native and filmmaker Joe McGrath contacted Dobrez about producing a promo for the Gem. Instead, Dobrez pitched the documentary.
“I talked him through my vision, and he said we could crush this,” Dobrez said. A team that included former H-F classmates and current students worked on the movie, narrated by Flossmoor resident and voice actor Michael Goldberg.
“The day was perfect,” Dobrez said of the bright, sunny day his crew filmed scenes of the Gem that established the framework for the documentary, recalling, “This is going to be something special.”
It had to be, especially since that day stood in stark contrast to the day of the film’s premiere – last Nov. 29, when a post-Thanksgiving snowstorm hit the Chicago area.
Still, Dobrez noted, “We had very few no-shows,” even for the scheduled trolley tour that followed the Gems route. Despite the inclement weather, 200 people came out to see the film’s premiere.
Since then, dozens more have seen the film and Dobrez has been working to keep up with demand for his book. “It’s been terrific – people see it and say, ‘I didn’t know that,’” he said. “It’s nostalgic and educational. I’ve been here 60 years and I learned things I didn’t know.”
Such as?
For starters, the identity of the winner of the Illinois Central Railroad contest that gave Flossmoor its name. Also, the date of the founding of Flossmoor Baseball and Softball, of which Dobrez was an early member and past president.
To discover these and other details, Dobrez directs folks to his book. Additionally, he has started a podcast, “Flossmoor in 15,” a quarter-hour “weekly dose of Flossmoor history” released every Friday.
But Dobrez has no plans to stream his documentary, preferring that screenings remain community events.
It’s a stance befitting the spirit of the project, one that Dobrez describes as “both a love letter to (my) hometown and a critical examination of its evolution, revealing how a small suburb’s journey can mirror the broader American quest for community, diversity and shared purpose … presenting Flossmoor as a microcosm of the American experiment — a place constantly striving, imperfectly, for a more perfect community.”
More information on Dobrez’s film and book are at www.flossmoorhistorybook.com.
Jim Dudlicek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.