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Louise Holland, 2015. Photo courtesy of Holly Marihugh.

Few but Mighty: Women Village Presidents

Appeared in the Spring/Summer 2023 Gazette by Nan Greenough Starting in 1915 – two years after Illinois passed women’s voting, but five years before the 19th Amendment – each Winnetka Village Council included at least one woman trustee. In 1980 Gwen Trindl broke the glass ceiling to become the first woman Village President. Gwen was […]

Log House being moved on May 6th 2003

Log House Celebrates 20 Years in Crow Island Park

Appeared in the Spring Summer 2023 Gazette  by Joan Evanich It is hard to believe that the Schmidt-Burnham Log House moved to Crow Island Park 20 years ago this May. Surprisingly, it was not the first time the almost 200-year-old house was moved! The hand-hewn house originally was located at the current site of the […]

Dr. Morrison’s medicine kit, c. 1881.

The Village Doctor

Originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2022 Gazette by Meagan McChesney, PhD – WHS Curator While conducting research for the latest Explore Winnetka Stories feature on Winnetka’s earliest businesses, I happened upon a c. 1885 business card for Winnetka-based “Homoeopathist and Surgeon,” G. H. Morrison, M. D. Intrigued, I ran a search of Morrison’s name and […]

Ice skating in Hubbard Woods Park, c. 1940s.

Winnetka on Ice

Originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2022 Gazette by Helen Weaver “What is the matter with Winnetka?” a young girl asked in an 1894 letter to the North Shore News. “Why cannot Winnetka girls and boys have a place where they may satisfy their desire for skating?” Winnetka may not have had a rink in 1894 […]

Betty’s of Winnetka ad, Winnetka Talk, May 1980.

Shop Till You Drop

Originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2022 Gazette by Karen Vorwald As I see kids at Starbucks, Hometown and Fizz & Pop, I remember growing up in Winnetka and hanging out “uptown” with my friends for snacks or shopping. At the corner of Chestnut and Elm, Valentina is in a building with a long retail history […]

Beaded purse with fringe, c. 1920s. (WHS
collection)

Curator’s Corner: Collections from the 1920s

By Meagan McChesney, WHS Curator This summer, the Winnetka Historical Society’s (WHS) annual gala will be held at 5 Indian Hill Road, a historic property that turns 100 this year. Fittingly, the gala will celebrate the 1920s, the decade in which noted architect Reginald D. Johnson designed the house for Thomas H. McInnerney. The house […]

Reflections

by Mary Trieschmann, WHS Executive Director The Winnetka Historical Society (WHS) turns 90 this year and what a journey it has had! In 1932, a small group of Winnetkans interested in preserving history decided to organize WHS. In its first year, founding member Frank Windes described the organization’s general mission: “Let us find out all […]