Talented Tailor The spectacle of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago drew visitors from around the world. Winnetka’s own tailor, Frank Heinig, owned a farm-like property on Green Bay Road. He submitted this innovative and award-winning “Promenade Suit and Overcoat” which was acclaimed for its “originality” and “skill in workmanship.”

Circle of Giving Julie Hall (1933-2016) began teaching at North Shore Country Day School in 1976. She became the first female Head of School in 1993. Reading to Lower School students as “Mother Goose” was just one way Hall contributed to this circle of giving, impacting thousands of young people during her long career. 

Trendsetting Winnetka Carolyn McDaniel and Nancy Steele, the duo behind Caro Nan, built a company which created these picnic style baskets turned into purses. Though located in Jacksonville, Mississippi, they designed bags for customers across the country, including this one for Winnetkans. The local shops illustrated on the side include Minna Hart, which commissioned and […]

Wheelin’ and Dealin’ The Game of Winnetka, also called Wheeler-Dealer, is a Monopoly-style game featuring local businesses. It was sponsored by the Winnetka Youth Organization (WYO). Proceeds from the sales supported WYO. “We’re there when Winnetka’s young people need us,” their brochure proclaimed, and they still are. WYO has been supporting youth since 1966.

Old Jim the Workhorse This tool was used to trim Old Jim’s hooves. The hardworking horse needed the care; he never took a day off. From 1936 to the end of the decade, he held the last dray horse license in the Village of Winnetka. Autos had largely replaced horses in daily life, but the […]

All Aboard! The railway through Winnetka transformed the village into a modern suburb by making daily commutes in and out of urban Chicago easy and reliable. Although accidents were not uncommon before the 1943 track depression, these signal lamps made rail travel safer. Their “non-sweating” function increased safety by eliminating moisture and ice from accumulating […]

Winnetka’s Building Blocks Before Winnetka’s founding, Artemas Carter developed a plan to create a great university here, which he would call Academy Hall. In order to establish the school, Carter and fellow founding fathers drafted the charter to incorporate the village on March 10, 1869. The 1870 building was built of handmade yellow-colored bricks, known […]