North Shore Views

Winnetka Story

If you’re interested in (painlessly) learning about the history of Winnetka and the North Shore, check out a new documentary by John Newcombe in collaboration with the Winnetka Historical Society, called Winnetka Story: The History of Winnetka & The North Shore. Just produced this year, the film is a little over two hours long, but it’s divided into three parts so you can enjoy it in bite-sized pieces. Part 1 is about the early settlers to the area and covers the period 1832-1871. Part 2 takes us up to the turn of the century and Part 3 deals with the period 1900-1945.   John Newcombe now lives and works in California, but grew up in Winnetka and approached the Historical Society in the fall of 2007 about making a film about the history of the area. In an interview that coincided with the release of the film, he talked about how he went about crafting a film that would be both informative and entertaining. He said that he followed four rules:

1. Focus on personal stories, not just facts and dates.
2. Recount personal anecdotes and events, especially those that were dramatic or humorous.
3. Use comparisons (then and now photographs)
4. Edit ruthlessly to prevent boredom

One of the things I liked best was the effective use of then and now photographs. He would take an old photograph of a particular place and morph it into a new photograph of the same place taken from the same angle, right before your eyes. For example, a photo of the old school house that stood at the northwest corner of the Village Green fades out as a picture of the Village Green as it looks now fades in. This cool technique really brought the history to life.

The DVD is available from the Winnetka Historical Society for $19.95 plus tax.

Tags: Chicago North Shore, North Shore history, Winnetka

A Visit to the Wilmette Historical Museum

Why is it that you can travel to Paris or Rome and see every museum and landmark the city has to offer, but you never quite get around to seeing the things your own city has to offer? I lived in Chicago for about 8 years before I ever managed to go to the top of the Sears Willis Tower, and then it was only because I had relatives in town who wanted to go.  I  finally went on the architectural boat tour after about 10 years when my college friends came to visit (I highly recommend it, by the way).

But I do love history and I do love old things, so when my eight year old daughter suggested a visit to the Wilmette Historical Museum, it seemed like a good alternative to shopping for door busters on Black Friday. She had been to the museum the week before on a class field trip and she was anxious to show me around. Of course, her idea of showing me around was to rush me through the exhibits on the way to the authentic jail cells that date from the building’s previous role as Gross Point Town hall. The jail is definitely the feature attraction for the third graders.

I did manage to check out a wonderful exhibit of wedding dresses through the years since the town’s early days as well as an exhibit about Roemer Park and the early days of youth baseball in Wilmette.  And I did learn a little more about Antoine and Archange Ouilmette, after whom our village is named.

And the museum itself is an important part of local history. It was built in 1896 as the Village Hall of Gross Point, a farming community of German immigrants just west of Wilmette.  The village derived most of its tax revenues from the many saloons along Ridge and Illinois Roads. When the temperance movement ushered in Prohibition, the village was driven into bankruptcy. Gross Point was annexed by Wilmette in 1924.

We enjoyed our visit and spent a good chunk of time talking with the curator, Patrick Leary, who can tell you just about anything you want to know about the history of this area. We are now proud members of the museum and look forward to learning more about Wilmette’s history.

Tags: North Shore history, Wilmette, Wilmette Historical Museum

Winnetka- Home of the First Jungle Gym

Here’s a little known bit of North Shore trivia: the first-ever Jungle Gym, constructed in 1920, is still being enjoyed by children at Crow Island School on Willow Road in Winnetka.  It was invented and patented by lawyer and Winnetka resident Sebastian Hinton. Apparently Hinton’s father, a mathematician, had built a three-dimensional bamboo frame in their backyard in Japan in order to teach his children about Cartesian-coordinates. But Sebastian and his siblings thought it was just a toy where they could climb and swing like monkeys. As an adult he saw that it could be a fun and space-efficient way to encourage physical development in children and he proposed it to Winnetka school superintendent, Carleton Washburne.

The first prototype was placed at North Shore Country Day School. While it was a big hit with the kids, it also had some design flaws, which needed correcting. A sturdier version was installed at Horace Mann School (where the Post Office now stands).  When the school was demolished in 1940, the apparatus was then moved to Crow Island School, where it still sits on the southeast corner of the school’s playground.

Tags: Crow Island School, North Shore history, Winnetka