The city government of Aurora dedicates Westbrook Drive in Aurora Friday to John and Eileen Hix Street, home to Hix Brothers Music in Aurora.
The rain stopped long enough to reveal the street sign.
John Hix was born in Aurora in 1924. As a child, he learned to play the guitar and helped support his family by playing at Aurora saloons and taverns. A graduate of East Aurora High School, Hix returned to Aurora after his tour of duty ended in World War II and began teaching music lessons in his garage.
That same year, he married Eileen Petritsch and soon after, bought a house on Farnsworth Avenue and converted his garage into a teaching facility. In 1952, he moved his wife and four children to Burbank, Calif. to work in the aerospace industry only to move back to Aurora in 1955 and again pursue his teaching and retail business.
For the next four decades, John and Eileen dedicated their time and talents to Aurora until they retired in 1996.
Continuing their father’s legacy, the three Hix brothers bought the store and changed the name to Hix Brothers Music and have continued to be an integral part of the Fox Valley by building upon the Hix family legacy of more than seven decades of service. Hix Brothers was a sponsor of the inaugural City of Light Ukulele Festival Sunday. Click here to see the video.
Jason Crane/The Voice 