Originally appeared in the Fall 2020 Gazette, by Holly Marihugh Last June 6th on the Village Green in Winnetka, the same ground where Martin Luther King Jr. spoke 55 years ago, an estimated 2,000 Winnetkans gathered to denounce racism. This year marked an explosion of protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd […]
Originally appeared in the Fall 2020 Gazette, by Charles Shabica When Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, war to an American was the “War in Europe.” It wasn’t until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 that President Roosevelt (FDR) committed us to that same war (“A date which will live in infamy,” he […]
Originally appeared in the Fall 2020 Gazette by Helen Weaver “A city accustomed to snowstorms succumbed to one today,” was the lead-in to a January 27, 1967 New York Times story on the worst snowstorm in Chicago history. For those living in the metropolitan area, including many Winnetkans, the storm that brought 23 inches to […]
Originally appeared in The Winnetka Current, March 30, 2020 By Holly Marihugh, Contributing Columnist It’s hard to overstate the type of “open door” policy the Trieschmann family had in its Cherry Street neighborhood for the last 58 years. Over the decades, the family invited many neighbors and friends to come on in, including an 18-year-old […]
By Holly Marihugh, April 3, 2020 In 1921, Winnetka pushed forward a progressive engine of change in comprehensive village planning. Edward H. Bennett of Chicago led a team to chart a direction for the village on issues from railroads to lakefront development, traffic patterns to utilities, playgrounds to public buildings, and much more. Bennett had […]
Appeared in the Gazette, Spring/Summer 2020 by Rachel Ramirez “Come and Get Well,” calls a 1918 advertisement for the North Shore Health Resort from the Chicago Daily Tribune. The ad, under the “Health Resorts” section of the classifieds, lauds the facility’s “Scientific care combined with ideal surroundings,” “beautiful grounds,” and a “bathing beach.” Established in […]
Appeared in the Gazette, Spring/Summer 2020 Spring is in the air. Maybe. If you live in Winnetka near the lake, spring is here one day, gone the next, maybe not to return until June. But regardless of the weather, spring breaks are upon us as is a new baseball season where all the teams are […]
Appeared in the Gazette, Spring/Summer 2020 by Holly Marihugh Piloting a Thunderbird Huey helicopter over the Mekong Delta in Vietnam took Phil Hoza a long way from the North Shore. But through a twist of fate, sudden fire from Viet Cong forces changed the outcome of Hoza’s life and eventually returned him safely to his […]
Appeared in The Gazette, Spring/Summer 2020 by Helen Weaver For 15 years from the early 1940s until the late 1950s, Winnetka was the home base of Gillette (Gil) Elvgren, a highly successful commercial artist, best known for his paintings of scantily clad women published in advertising calendars for the Brown & Bigelow Company. Elvgren, his […]
Appeared in The Winnetka Current Daily, February 24, 2020 By Holly Marihugh, Contributing Columnist Mike Leonard will be featured as the guest speaker at Winnetka Historical Society’s Spring Event from 6-8:30 p.m. April 6 at Community House Winnetka. Even though he created stories all over the U.S. and in many places dotting the globe, former […]
Appeared in the Gazette, Fall/Winter 2019 By Charles W. Shabica, Ph.D., P.G. Educated at Brown, Yale, and the University of Chicago, Charles Shabica is President of Shabica & Associates, Inc., Coastal Scientists and Engineers, and is Emeritus Professor of Earth Science, Northeastern Illinois University. High lake levels and more intense storms have many Great […]
By Holly Marihugh Appeared in the Gazette: Fall/Winter 2019 Even though it rained cats and dogs on and off, around 300 visitors stepped across the threshold of the Schmidt-Burnham Log House on Pioneer Day held September 22nd. The event was part of Winnetka’s year-long celebration of the 150th anniversary of the village’s founding. The […]
By Helen Weaver Appeared in the Gazette: Fall/Winter 2019 As we celebrate the sesquicentennial year of our Village’s founding, let’s take a look back at what was happening In Winnetka 50 years ago, during the year of our centennial celebration. While many of us might remember 1969 as the year of the lunar landing, Woodstock, […]
Originally appeared in the Fall 2020 Gazette, By Executive Director, Mary Trieschmann In the spring of 2020 we experienced historic events, reminding us that Winnetka is part of a global community and compelling us all to “pivot.” As soon as news of the coronavirus hit the press, we pivoted to continue our mission to honor […]
Originally appeared in the Fall 2020 Gazette, by Ann Thompson Every age is subject to tragedies and challenges and how people coped in the past can be an interesting thing to ponder. In 1921, shortly after the Treaty of Versailles ended the devastation of WWI and the Spanish flu raged worldwide, the Winnetka family of […]
Originally appeared in the Fall 2015 Gazette; updated August 2020 By Cecile Hales; Updates by Meagan McChesney Winnetka schools are known around the country and around the world, and none holds this distinction more proudly than Hadley, now celebrating its 100th anniversary. Hadley’s progress since its inception in 1920 is remarkable: from a single […]
Appeared in the Gazette, Spring/Summer 2020 by Ann Thompson Meagan McChesney is the newest Winnetka Historical Society (WHS) staff member who recently began her role as Curator. The Curator’s job is an important one for the organization because the main focus of WHS is the care of the artifacts amassed over an almost 90-year history. […]
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