Glencoe Historical Society
at the
Eklund History Center & Garden

The Eklund History Center and Garden benefactor Sara “Sally” Eklund was proud of her Swedish heritage, and so it is fitting that in the Museum that bears her name, we are now offering a smorgasbord of exhibits.

A variety of exhibits are on display this month through June, when the museum closes for the summer. The last event of the year will be the annual Strawberry Sociable on Sunday, June 12th.

Join us on fourth Sundays of the month of April and May (closed on the second Sunday due to Mother’s Day) and the second Sunday in June to view:

1940s: Years of Transitions

A visit to the homefront of the 1940s, with displays of a kitchen and living room of the era, plus artifacts including newspapers, books, and sewing supplies. Some items are familiar even today: Dick and Jane books, Spam, Jell-O and Lionel trains. Others are solely from the decade that embraced both war and peace: draft board classification cards, posters to remind the population to save newspapers and not use meat, a rotary phone and a typewriter.

Victorian Bride

The newest exhibit, showing a champagne embroidered silk wedding dress and a display that illustrates wedding traditions – from why the wedding cake is tiered to why all wedding dresses are not white. A Victorian room surrounds the bride, with calling cards sitting on a table on a silver salver just as they would have been in a Glencoe parlor more than 100 years ago.

What’s in Our Name

An exhibit about Glencoe, Scotland and its relation to Glencoe’s first seal, which featured a boat that plied the ocean, rivers and streams of the high loch area in Scotland but was never seen in Glencoe.

Glencoe’s Business District

The downtown area through the 1920s with an emphasis on Wienecke’s Hardware that graced the village for almost 100 years;

The Eklund Family workshop

Honoring the family that lived and worked in the workshop that now houses the Historical Society museum, are the workbench handmade by Carl Ekland, his furniture-making tools as well as the tools for upholstery and drapery making.

Join us for one of these Sundays or call for an appointment for a personal visit, 847.835.0040.