Mildred, Grace and Dorothy are about halfway through the nine-hole miniature golf course, and they have a bet going. The winner, they say, should get treated to a ”Kitchen Sink”-a huge concoction of ice cream, hot fudge and caramel served at a nearby ice cream parlor.
”One Kitchen Sink with three spoons,” says Grace, as she eyes the sand trap at the 8th hole.
This is no ordinary miniature golf course. It`s on the second floor of the Devonshire, a rental retirement community in west suburban Lisle, and was constructed last year by Devonshire resident Don Eichenger.
The sand trap is a piece of crumpled sandpaper. Water obstacles are filled plastic bottles. Other obstacles were carefully crafted by Eichenger in the wood shop, and tees are made from scraps of green carpet.
”It`s a little cramped, but people have fun and that was the point, to put together something my neighbors could enjoy,” Eichenger said. ”We have score cards; it gets competitive. And it`s something we can do with our grandchildren when they come to visit.”
Eichenger, a chemist who retired from the Wrigley Co. in 1988, also has designed a carpet bocce game. He`s currently working on a shuffleboard game for the residents.
”This is a very supportive place,” said Eichenger, one of the first residents to move into the Devonshire when it opened in 1990. ”You`re not lonely here. And there`s so much activity going on all the time, you can do as much as you want to do.”