Musician’s mom will be immortalized in stone outside Durty Nellie’s pub

By Sara Faiwell
sfaiwell@dailyherald.com
Posted Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Ted Nugent will roll through Palatine today to honor a woman he calls a true inspiration in his life — his mother.

On the eve of his trip, Nugent went down memory lane about his short time living in the Northwest suburbs in the 1960s.

He moved here because his father got a job transfer. At the time, his musical career in Michigan already was starting to take off.

The day he moved to the Chicago suburbs, Nugent went to a downtown Arlington Heights establishment called the Cellar, a hot spot for music at the time.

“I immediately realized that my Motor City music intensity would trump the local bands,” Nugent told the Daily Herald on Tuesday.

As a teen, he’d play every weekend with the new Amboy Dukes group in the area, and his mom was always supportive.

“She’d tell me not to give up, to rehearse after school and to do my chores later,” says Nugent, now 59.

At 5 p.m. today, a tribute to Nugent’s mother, Marion “Ma” Nugent, will be unveiled in front of Durty Nellie’s pub and eatery, 180 N. Smith St., in downtown Palatine.

Spearheaded by local musician and Palatine resident Eric Kinkel, a 7,800-pound stone tribute will be unveiled to honor her. An image of her will be sandblasted on the rock and there will be a bronze plaque.

“I do not need a public display to fulfill my love and remembrance of my mother, but it is nice since I am a public figure and ‘Ma’ was a public figure,” he said.

At the event, he plans to speak about how important family is. While the rocker won’t perform, he does have a show later tonight in Waukegan.

“Ma” Nugent was a Palatine resident for 28 years. She died in 1988, and Kinkel, a family friend, says she never got the proper tribute.

For more information, visit www.erickinkel.com.

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