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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 […]

Winnetka Garden Club members Weezie Monroe, Nancy Side, Linda Walsh, Gwen
McConnaughy planting bulbs at Moffat Mall in 2000. (Photo courtesy of WGC)

Winnetka Garden Club: 100 Years of Community Engagement

Originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2021 Gazette by Barbara Ferry In 1921, local women with a love for flowers, plants and an eye towards conservation, first organized a group that blossomed into the Winnetka Garden Club (WGC). Meetings were held in a member’s home, either preceded by lunch or followed by tea served from a […]

The all-male Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia Park, 1918. (Photo: Highland Park Historical Society)

Ravinia: Then and Now

Originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2021 Gazette By Helen Weaver Ravinia Park has changed since its opening in August 1904 as “the most beautiful and complete amusement place in the west,” but the Ravinia of then and the Ravinia of now still have much in common. A.C. Frost, president of the Chicago & Milwaukee Electric […]

Aerial view of 5 Indian Hill Road. (Photo: Hudson Real Estate Group)

Five Indian Hill Road Celebrates 100 Years

Originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2021 Gazette By Joan Evanich & Meagan McChesney This year, the stunning Italian villa-style home at 5 Indian Hill Road turns 100 years old. Throughout its long history, 5 Indian Hill has been home to several notable Winnetkans beginning with the original owner, Thomas H. McInnerney. Born in Iowa in […]

Advertisement for a housekeeping position placed by A.J. Mitchell at 1161 Chatfield.

Our House Was a Very Very Very Fine House

Historical research can be challenging, but the results can often be insightful, satisfying and, more than often, surprising. All of these sensations were experienced during the recent search conducted to find more information about the history of the house I grew up in, and those who lived in it prior to me in Winnetka. What […]

Former Village Toy Shop owners Pat and
Liz Berwanger, 2015. (Photo courtesy of
Liz Berwanger)

Winnetka’s First Toy Store

Originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2021 Gazette, By Meagan McChesney. Few local businesses have held such fond memories for children growing up in Winnetka as the Village Toy Shop. For over 70 years, the store was a staple in the Village, providing the only one-stop shop for classic and new toys, free polka dot gift […]