Power Up. That’s the first thing noticed pulling into the driveway of longtime Elgin residents Brent and Susan Kallhoff. It’s the message on the rear license plate of the Kallhoff Electric business truck.
Truth is, the couple, married summer of 1994 at St. Boniface Catholic Church, moved here to power down. After one year living in Lincoln, they wanted a place “where you didn’t hear sirens all night, every night,” Brent said emphatically. Susan chimed in, “We wanted to be closer to family and (with even more emphasis) we were done with big city life.” Susan is an Elgin native. Brent calls O’Neill his boyhood home.
Sitting at their kitchen table with patio door open to the east, one can hear the birds chirping incessantly and nary a car whirring by on the westside city street. One is bathed in total calm. “Elgin is everything we hoped it would be,” they chimed nearly in unison as they listed all they love about living here – quiet, slow-paced, safe. “You can let the kids run around town and not worry about them,” Susan reflected. “It’s almost like living in the country,” Brent added.
In reality though, their lives are pure electric, as in energized. Both are fully employed. Susan, who has an associate degree in administrative assisting from Lincoln School of Commerce, has worked for Draper Insurance Agency and the Bank of Elgin since 1996.
