Ducks are a common site in and around the pond at Wolfe Wildlife Refuge in Oak Lawn, but one duck stands out as he strolls the grounds — Duke Mallard.
The Duke, as he is sometimes called, was a popular sighting at Oak Lawn Park District’s recent Howl-O-Ween celebration. The character is a Park District mascot and is portrayed by a Park District employee.
At Howl-O-Ween, there were multiple themed stations. One with vampires had a Guess the Vampire game. Another featured Sesame Street along with Ernie’s Rubber Duck Game. There was a witch in a scary, misty setting, and Paw Patrol characters, and a pumpkin patch.
Amid it all, the big duck Duke was greeting visitors and making new friends.
“He’s adorable,” said Jack Leiser, who came with his wife, Martha, and 1-year-old daughter Lucy.
Leiser used to work for the Park District before becoming a firefighter in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago. Wolf Wildlife Refuge is also where he proposed to his wife.
“It’s a special place,” said Leiser, who lives with his family in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood. “It’s nice to be outside with all the trees.”
Lucy, his daughter, was enchanted by Duke, walking toward him before taking a step back. Duke responded with a little dance of his own.
A youngster dressed up as a werewolf, Jordan, 6, gave Duke the thumbs up.
Duke appeared on the scene around 2023 when the Park District was searching for a new mascot. At the time, Genae Grabowski, his creator, was working part-time at the Oak Lawn Ice Arena as the Zamboni operator. When she became a mixed media designer for the Park District, she redesigned the logo and incorporated the mallard duck.
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Grabowski, now a senior graphic designer with the village of Orland Park, also helped write Duke’s “history” with some creative support from her then supervisor, Justin Waters.
“Oak Lawn had a mascot originally named Seemore Eagle, but we didn’t want to remove him from the story completely,” said Grabowski. “I designed their relationship to be his adoptive father as he raises him in the park and recreational world.
“Duke truly becomes the face of fun at Oak Lawn with his friends and family helping with programs and special events,” she said.
Seamore is still around, though he does not appear live at events, like Duke. The story is a whimsical tale as it appears on the Oak Lawn Park District website.
“Duke’s love for Oak Lawn Park District started as a youngling as he grew up with his friends at Wolfe Wildlife and interacted with people that walked the trails,” according to Duke’s creators.
Grabowski said Duke’s official origin story contains a bit of her own history.
“The story came to me as it really was my story at the district,” she said. “A lot of my feelings and personality of how passionate I am to my work reflects in Duke Mallard.”
In the past, she dressed up as Duke at a Chicago Sky WNBA game, participated in visits to Park District day camps and programs such as Little Learners, and appeared at events such as Howl-O-Ween, and Summer’s Last Blast. She was the only Duke performer who could skate in the suit.
“From what I saw with Duke, the families loved him and the kids were so excited to have a face to call their own in their hometown,” said Grabowski.
Employees got into the Duke fun, too, showing a sense of pride in the character and its relationship to their home base.
“We love Duke, he’s a good salesperson for the district,” said Michael Sinkewich, general manager of the district’s Ice Arena and aquatics. “The kids all love him.”
Brandi Brumfield, a cultural arts supervisor who runs dance and theatre programs, is also a fan.
“I love Duke,” said Brumfield. “Duke brings so many smiles, he’s so fun and inviting.
“He’s danced with me — he boogies down.”
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.