Glencoe Historical Society
at the
Eklund History Center & Garden

Spring 2003 Newsletter

Getting’ in groove

New exhibits, more events

Historical Society activities successful in 2002, continue through New Year with events at Eklund History Center

The Glencoe Historical Society closed the books on the year 2002 with slam-bang events and exhibits, as well as a phenomenally successful publication of Images of America: Glencoe, Illinois.

The annual dinner this year was held at the home of John and Leslie Carothers, who went all out for us—with a fabulous sit-down dinner of lamb chops and risotto, beautiful hors d’oeuvres and dessert, not to mention a lovely selection of wine that flowed all night. All set in their lovely new house. We cannot thank them enough. It was a wonderful evening for everyone.

The evening’s presentation was a slide show on the writing and publishing of the Glencoe picture-history book by Ellen Kettler Paseltiner and Ellen Shubart. The book has been well received and the Society sold out its inventory by the winter holidays. The book is available at: Books on Vernon, Book Stall in Winnekta, Borders and Barnes and Nobles throughout the area. It also is available at the Society, Village Hall and the North Shore Community Bank. All profits go to the Historical Society. A second edition will be out by spring.

The two Ellens made numerous presentations around the Village about the book—Ellen S. at the library, Ellen P. at the Rotary Club and both of them at North Shore United Methodist Church. It became quite the holiday gift—particularly to children who had moved from the Village.

The fall exhibit—Girl Scouting in Glencoe—was a terrific success. Curators Janice Gemp and Alice Glicksberg created a rainbow of Scout uniforms—from khaki to blue with various shades of green in between—that marched around the exhibit room. Scout projects, flags and dolls rounded out what was a massive effort to display hundreds of photos and artifacts. And, of course, cookie sales held a central spot, with boxes, pictures of Scout saleswomen and covers of the Glencoe News that featured Scouting. Numerous Scouts—and former Scouts—came and saw the exhibit.

All of this is just the prelude to upcoming events featured in this newsletter. As always, we are grateful to our volunteers and the donors and members who make this all possible. We hope you’ll join us for the roster of upcoming events. ⇑

Map Exhibit Opens

Mapping the Village’s History is be the newest major exhibit at the Eklund Center. Maps of all sizes – hand drawn to computer generated, zoning to Indian trails, terrain, home lots, subdivisions and aerial photos from different eras – are featured. Children attending can draw their own maps.

Second Sundays of the month, 2-4 p.m. ⇑

Schedule Of Events

The Society is open the 2nd and 4th Sunday of every month, September to June. The Eklund Center is handicapped accessible. For information, or set up an appointment, call 847.835.0040.

An asterisk (’*‘) indicates that event requires registration and fee. To register call 847.835.0040, leave your name. Fees paid at door. All events at the Eklund Center, 377 Park Avenue, unless otherwise noted.

Please note: Some of the events for the remainder of the year have changed from previously announced dates.

March 9: 2-4 p.m.

Map Exhibit Opens

March 23: 2-4 p.m.

Happy Birthday, Glencoe! A celebration of the Village’s and exhibits on early Glencoe

April 27: 2-4 p.m.

*Glencoe Road Show (antiques appraisal) ($15)

May 4: 2-4 p.m.

*A Program for Children: Victorian Fun and Games ($5 per child)

May 18: 2-4 p.m.

Dedication of Plaque for Donors

June 8: 2-4 p.m.

*“Strawberry Sociable” (Garden Party, $10); Brick Walkway Dedication ⇑

Thank You for Donations

The Glencoe Historical Society is always grateful to those who donate funds and/or artifacts for the collection. Since our last listing, the following people have donated items to the collections. We thanks all of them:

Artifacts for the museum collection

Anonymous

National Program & Printing Co. Promotion cards for Glencoe Theater (Burt Lancaster, Ingrid Bergman, Betty Hutton, etc.)

Andee Brown

Wienecke’s decorative dish towel

Maurice Fulton

Glencoe Hotel, Glencoe Argyle Scotland stationery and Rotary Club of Glencoe Good Luck penny

Lois Graller

History of the home at Park Avenue and Greenleaf in pictures and documents

Maxine Philipsborn

Two bouillon cups (double handled), Columbian Star china, Ridgeways, England, Oct. 28, 1840

Fred Schweiger

Piece of wood trim indicating construction contractor, date for 375 Park Ave. (Augustus Clavey, 1889)

Rebecca Shubart

Metal-bodied rubber type, brass blotter holder, stamps pad, etc.

Eklund Center Garden

Lois Graller

4 Filing cabinets, hanging folders

Woman’s Library Club of Glencoe

$250 ⇑

Meet Our Volunteers

Keeping the Eklund Center going requires lots of workers. The Historical Society relies on and is thankful for its volunteers. Below are profiles of the Thursday morning group. Anyone interested may join the Thursday morning group, or set up other times to work. Call Ellen Paseltiner at 847.251.5529 for information. Next newsletter: The Tuesday night volunteers.

Thursday Morning Volunteers

By Ellen Paseltiner

For over a year now, a group of volunteers has been working on Thursday mornings to help set up the Research Center on the second floor of the Eklund History Center. Regulars at these work sessions include Beth Berry, Dan Goodwin, Barb Olinger and Ellen Paseltiner.

They began by rearranging the storage area and unpacking the numerous boxes that had been brought from Watts Center, the Historical Society’s previous home. They sorted these boxes and separated the photographs, books, objects and documents. They are now involved in a detailed sorting of all the documents, creating categories and organizing the main filing system. A computer soon will be acquired with museum software to aid in this process. Who are these volunteers that give so much of their time to the Historical Society and why do they do so?

Beth Berry has been in Glencoe since 1988. She grew up in Annapolis, Maryland and has always liked antiques and old houses. She joined the Glencoe Historical Society after attending the Greenleaf Avenue Housewalk. After reading a plea for help for volunteers in a Historical Society newsletter, she offered her time and energy to help in the sorting of all the collection. As Beth puts it, she enjoys "bringing order out of chaos." Beth’s strengths include arranging the space in the center and sorting with a decisive ability.

Barbara Olinger has been in Glencoe since 1985 and grew up in Northbrook. She learned about the volunteer needs at the Historical Society when her daughter Andrea conducted an oral history project for the Society. Barbara is committed to preserving history. In her work at the Society, she finds that the “thrill of discovery” is one of the rewarding parts of the job. “You never know what you will find in the boxes and when you come upon a treasure, you’re transported to another time,” Barbara exudes. Some of the treasures the volunteers have found: a dance card from the 1890s, a whooping cough quarantine sign, essays by Central School children from the early 1900’s, and tickets to the World’s Columbian Exposition. Barbara is particularly adept at the laptop computer, which helps in creating a database for the collection.

Dan Goodwin has lived in Glencoe since 1992. He also grew up in Maryland—in Baltimore. Dan is concerned about the numbers of teardowns in Glencoe and felt that working at the Historical Society was one way to help save some pieces of history from being lost. Attending the first dinner the Society had at its new Eklund Center home, Dan became intrigued when looking through the old real estate files in the Research Center. He also enjoys putting chaos to order, even if it’s one paper at a time. He loves “getting up to his elbows” in old stuff and finding the gems from another era. Dan has always loved maps, old and new, and has created an inventory of the maps in the Historical Society’s collection.

[Editor’s note: Ellen Paseltiner didn’t write about herself so we’ll fill in. A native of Maryland, Ellen moved to Glencoe when her children were young. Now that two of them are in college, the Paseltiners moved to Wilmette and a smaller home. Ellen co-authored our recent book, is secretary of the board and Director of the Research Center. She is a terrific organizer and keeps us moving forward. And we’re delighted she keeps working in Glencoe; Wilmette, keep your hands off!] ⇑

Just what is a Strawberry Sociable?

Our final program for the year is a Strawberry Sociable—a term we didn’t make up, but found in the archives of the historical society. The Society, which was formed in 1935, held these events to celebrate the beginning of summer. They were picnics with young and old invited to attend and have a good time. We hope you’ll mark your calendar now for June 8—this year’s Sociable, beginning a new tradition. ⇑

Donor Plaque Dedication

May 18; Check It Out

The unveiling and dedication of the plaque listing our donors to the capital fund will be held at the Society on May 18. The Historical Society will be sending out postcards to ensure that everyone who donated will be listed and that all spelling are correct.

Watch your mail for this important note—or drop by when we’re open on Sundays and make sure your name is on the list and the spelling is correct.

The wall of honor will be a permanent addition to the History Center and we want to honor each person who so graciously donated funds to our cause.

If you have questions, call the Society at 847.835.0040. ⇑

Time Winding Down For Getting Your Brick Order In

The Eklund Center Commemorative Pathway, running from the Park Avenue sidewalk through the Garden to the Eklund History Center, will be dedicated June 8 at the Strawberry Sociable, a garden party.

Vintage Park Avenue bricks, circa 1915, will match the patio bricks already in place and will be personalized.

In order for the bricks to be engraved in time for the dedication, we will have to close order-taking by mid-April. If you have not yet ordered your brick (s), please call the Society at 847.835.0040 or drop by on a Sunday and ask for a form. Cost for a first brick is $100 with 3 lines of engraving, 13 letters each line. Additional bricks are $75. ⇑