From Cavalry to Tanks: George S. Patton Jr.

Cavalry descending a bluff to the beach at Fort Sheridan with photographers documenting their training. Circa 1925. Fort Sheridan Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum 92.24.2658

The most famous cavalry officer to be stationed at Fort Sheridan was George S. Patton Jr. (1885-1945). Though the cavalryman-turned-tanker had a relatively brief stay at the Fort from 1909 to 1911, he made an indelible impression on all who encountered him. 

The U.S. Army post at Fort Sheridan (est. 1887) became known as a cavalry post with the arrival of the 7th Cavalry in 1892. 

The Fort's unique terrain was a welcome challenge for cavalry training. Cavalrymen tested their own and their horses' skills by descending the bluffs to the sandy beach, and traversing acres of uneven ground. 

After graduating from West Point in June 1909, a 24-year-old George S. Patton Jr. took a commission as a 2^nd lieutenant with the 15^th Cavalry and was stationed at Fort Sheridan near Highland Park in Lake County, Illinois. 

15th Cavalry officer, George S. Patton Jr., at Fort Sheridan, circa 1910. Fort Sheridan Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum 92.24.1966.

Partial lists of "officers present and absent" at Fort Sheridan, September 1909. George S. Patton Jr. (#52) is noted as having returned from leave on September 12. Ancestry.com. Returns From U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916. Original data from National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 94.

On May 26, 1910, Patton married his childhood friend and sweetheart, Beatrice Banning Ayer of Boston, Massachusetts. 

Lt. George S. Patton Jr. and Beatrice Banning Ayer on their wedding day, May 26, 1910. WikiTree.com

Wedding details as published by the Boston Globe on May 27, 1910. Newspapers.com

After a month-long honeymoon, the newlyweds made their home at Fort Sheridan. The Boston Globe, May 27, 1910. Newspapers.com.

As a married officer, Patton was assigned to new quarters in Building 92 on Leonard Wood Avenue East. On March 19, 1911, the couple welcomed their first child, Beatrice Ayer Patton, who was born at Fort Sheridan. 

Building 92 on Leonard Wood Avenue East (north of Martin's Lane) where Cavalry officer, George S. Patton Jr., his wife Beatrice and baby daughter Beatrice lived on the north side of this duplex. Fort Sheridan Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum, 95.32.68. 

A story relayed by the Ray Family of Diamond Lake (near Mundelein) is that Patton would come for Harriet Rouse Ray's famous chicken dinners on Sundays at the Ray's Lakeside Cottage. Patton arrived on horseback and in uniform, of course.

According to biographer, Ladislas Farago, Patton and his wife were known at the Fort as the "Duke and Duchess." Patton was independently wealthy, and the couple enjoyed dressing up for dinner, driving expensive automobiles, and were both equestrians. Chicago Tribune, October 25, 1964. 

Lt. George S. Patton Jr. on the porch of his Army residence at Fort Sheridan (Building 92), circa 1910. Fort Sheridan Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum, 92.24.2020.

At Fort Sheridan, Patton impressed his superiors and was known as a hard-driving leader. 

In late 1911, he was transferred to Fort Myer, Virginia, where he would come to know many of the Army's senior leaders. 

Patton (right) fencing in the 1912 Summer Olympics held in Stockholm, Sweden. He finished fifth overall in the modern pentathlon.  Swedish Press photo, public domain. Wikipedia.

In 1917, Patton joined General John J. Pershing's staff for the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in World War I. While in France training American infantry troops, Patton became interested in tanks. His new military path quickly developed as he advocated for the development of a tank corps. When the 1st Tank Brigade was created, Patton was placed in charge. Along with British tankers, he and his men achieved victory at Cambrai, France, during the world's first major tank battle in Nov-Dec, 1917.

During World War II, Patton was the Army's leading strategist in tank warfare. He commanded the Western Task Force in the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942, the Seventh Army during the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and was given command of the Third Army in France in 1944. 

An imaginative, shrewd, and often undiplomatic military commander, Patton is remembered as one of the most brilliant and successful generals in United States history. While his military genius in tank warfare was put to the test on Europe's battlefields, Fort Sheridan will always be Patton-the-cavalryman's first Army post.

- Diana Dretske ddretske@lcfpd.org

Women's Army Corps at Fort Sheridan

Women's Army Corps member at Fort Sheridan, circa 1943. Fort Sheridan Collection, Dunn Museum 92.24.1112

In September 1939, Americans were in the tenth year of the Great Depression when war broke out in Europe with Hitler’s invasion of Poland. As the warfront expanded throughout Europe and Asia, the U.S. needed to increase the strength of its’ military to prepare for the possibility of war. These preparations included discussions on the prospect of a women’s corps.

Along with men, women wanted to do their part to fight the threat of fascism and many lobbied for a role in the U.S. military mobilization. At the forefront was U.S. representative Edith Nourse Rogers (1881-1960) of Massachusetts, who introduced a bill in Congress in early 1941 to establish an auxiliary corps to fill non-combatant positions in the army.

The bill stalled until the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 propelled the United States’ into war. Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, foresaw a manpower shortage and understood the necessity of women in uniform to the nation’s defense. Not only were women needed in factories, but also in the military. 

With the support of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and General Marshall, on May 15, 1942, Rogers’s bill (H.R. 4906) passed into law creating the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). As an auxiliary unit, the women were limited to serving with the Army rather than in the Army.

The purpose of the WAAC was to make “available to the national defense the knowledge, skill, and special training of the women of the nation."

Women taking the oath as officer candidates in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps at army headquarters, Chicago. Four of the women pictured were African American, including Mildred L. Osby (top left), who would command an African American Women's Army Corps unit at Fort Sheridan. Chicago Tribune, July 12, 1942.

The first WAAC training center was at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. On July 20, 1942, one hundred and twenty-five enlisted women, and four hundred and forty officer candidates arrived for training.

Of the four hundred and forty women selected for officer candidate training only 40 places were allotted for African American women, reportedly based on “the percentage of the population.” Mildred L. Osby (1913-1953) of Chicago was one of the African American women selected for officer training. Her fellow candidate, Charity Adams Earley, described them as “the ambitious, the patriotic, the adventurous.”

Lt. Mildred L. Osby recruiting women for the WAACs in Washington D.C., November 1942. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 

The U.S. Army post at Fort Sheridan received its first 150 auxiliaries on December 30, 1942. The WAAC detachment arrived from Fort Des Moines by train at the Fort Sheridan depot. Commanded by Captain Edith M. Davis, the women were the first company of WAACs assigned to the Army Service Forces’ Sixth Service Command (Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan) headquartered in Chicago.

First WAAC detachment arriving at Fort Sheridan on December 30, 1942. Mary Jane (Lett) Lucas aka "Jane" is right of center holding large duffel. Chicago Sun Staff Photo / Fort Sheridan Collection, Dunn Museum 95.32.23.

Among the first detachment of WAACs at Fort Sheridan was Mary Jane (Lett) Lucas (1921-2014), who recalled that the women auxiliaries were given a warm reception. She noted that the army “didn’t know what to do with us,” and was given a job as an usher at the post’s theater. The army quickly figured out how best to utilize the extra "manpower." Duties for the women’s corps included: clerks, stenographers, commissary, photo analysts, surgical assistants, lab assistants, mechanics, and chauffeurs.

On July 3, 1943, the auxiliaries were officially given “active duty status” with the passing of the bill to create the Women’s Army Corps. All auxiliaries (WAACs) were offered the choice of an honorable discharge and return to civilian life or joining the U.S. Army as a member of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). Seventy-five percent of the women enlisted.

This new designation was important as it gave women full military rank and benefits for service injuries and allowed them to serve overseas. It also gave them protection as soldiers and if captured were eligible for rights given to prisoners of war.

WAC Mary Jane (Lett) Lucas, bottom right, with Sixth Service Command Laboratory soldiers and WACs, circa 1944. Lucas met her husband, Colonel Charles J. Lucas (1923-2011), at Fort Sheridan’s Non-Commissioned Officers’ club. They married in 1947 and settled in Grayslake. Mary Jane Lucas Collection, Dunn Museum, 2012.20.39.

Lucas was assigned to the Army’s Sixth Service Command Medical Laboratory at Fort Sheridan, driving officers from the lab, and checking in thousands of samples. This laboratory received more than 66,000 food and water samples from 1941 to 1945. The laboratory’s principal activity was the chemical and bacteriological examination of foods, including large quantities of canned evaporated milk, dried powdered milk, and cheese procured for the Armed Forces. At the lab, Lucas also worked with German prisoners of war, but was not allowed to speak to them. 

In November 1943, an African American WAC unit was posted to Fort Sheridan under the command of 1st Lt. Mildred L. Osby (promoted to Captain in January 1944). At the time of her enlistment in July 1942, Osby was married, living in Chicago, and employed at the social security board. She had graduated from Officer Candidate Training at Fort Des Moines, served as a WAAC recruiter in Washington, D.C., posted to Fort Custer, Michigan, and WAC Company B commander at Fort Sheridan. 

Capt. Mildred L. Osby, date unknown. Photo from FindAGrave.com, Arlington National Cemetery.

The seventy-five African American WACs under the command of Capt. Mildred Osby were assigned to duties in the Recruit Reception Center. Soldiers on furlough also passed through the Fort where their service records were checked and instructions given for the length of furlough time they had at home.

Soldiers and WACs worked in the Rotation Section, which had a "graveyard shift" to accommodate the great numbers of soldiers passing through and to "speed overseas veterans through." (The Tower, August 11, 1944).

WACs Pvt. Ruth Mays (right) showing records to Pvt. Florence Brown while working in Fort Sheridan's Rotational Section.  Mary Jane Lucas Collection, Dunn Museum, 2012.20. The Tower, August 11, 1944. 

Twenty-six of the original company of WACs at Fort Sheridan on their two-year roll of honor, December 1944. Mary Jane (Lett) Lucas (top row, red star). Thirty of their WAC comrades had been transferred overseas where they were serving in New Guinea, Egypt, England and France. The Tower, December 29, 1944. 

Details of the celebration at Fort Sheridan marking the 2nd anniversary of the creation of the Women's Army Corps. Chicago Tribune, May 15, 1944.

During World War II, nearly 150,000 American women served as soldiers in the Women’s Army Corps. In 1948, for their superb service during the war, President Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act allowing a permanent place for women to serve within the military in regular, peacetime forces. 

The Women's Army Corps disbanded in 1978 and all members were fully integrated into the U.S. Army.

The Dunn Museum is celebrating those who served with a new temporary exhibition Breaking Barriers: Women in the Military through June 13, 2021. To experience this past exhibition, you may view it as a virtual exhibit online. 

- Diana Dretske ddretske@lcfpd.org

Sources: 
Bess Bower Dunn Museum (Fort Sheridan Collection 92.24/95.23; Mary Jane Lucas Collection 2012.20)
"War Training - First Contingent of WAACs Arrives at Fort Sheridan," Chicago Daily Tribune, December 31, 1942.
"Twenty-five WAACs Win Promotion to Second Officer," Chicago Tribune, January 3, 1943.
"American Women at War - Lt. Mildred L. Osby," Chicago Tribune, November 28, 1943. 
"American Women at War - Capt. Mildred L. Osby," Chicago Tribune, January 30, 1944.
"WACs at Fort Sheridan to Observe Anniversary," Chicago Tribune, May 15, 1944.
"'Graveyard Shift' Hastens Rotation Men Home," The Tower, August 11, 1944. 
"WACs Celebrate Second Anniversary Here," The Tower, December 29, 1944. 
"On the Record with Mary Jane Lucas," Lake County Journal, May 27, 2010. 
Earley, Charity Adams. One Woman's Army: A Black Officer Remembers the WACs. Texas A&M University Press, 1995. 
Treadwell, Mattie E. United States Army in World War II, Special Studies: Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1991. 
Ancestry.com
FindAGrave.com. "Mildred Lavinia Osby," Arlington National Cemetery. 
"Twenty-One Illinois Women Who Are in the Army Now," Chicago Tribune, June 12, 1942.
George C. Marshall Foundation Blog: https://www.marshallfoundation.org/blog/marshall-75th-anniversary-wacs/
The Women’s Army Corps: A Commemoration of World War II Service, Judith A. Bellafaire
https://history.army.mil/brochures/WAC/WAC.HTM    

Rags, Hero Dog of the First Division

On July 14, 1918, a homeless terrier on the streets of Paris, France was rescued by two American soldiers of the First Infantry Division. Named Rags, the dog became a war hero and mascot, and spent two years living at Fort Sheridan.

First Division Rags at Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, New York, circa 1930. Courtesy of Grant Hayter-Menzies.

Late on that Bastille Day evening—one hundred years ago—soldiers Jimmy Donovan and George Hickman bumped into a stray dog on their way out of a cafe. The men gave the little dog a scrap of food and pat on the head, and the smart little terrier took a chance and followed Donovan down the street and into history.

Moments later, Donovan was picked up by Military Police for staying out past curfew. On the spot, he scooped up the dog and named him "Rags," claiming he had been sent to find the division's mascot. Rags charmed the MPs and was allowed to return to camp with Donovan.

Rags loved soldiers and was trained by Donovan to salute them on parade. Courtesy of Grant Hayter-Menzies.

Just four days later, the French terrier—now officially the First Division's mascot—was on his way to the war front with his new companion. Animals were key in the war effort for transportation, to convey messages and to track the enemy. Donovan taught Rags to salute soldiers on parade and utilized him for carrying messages. On his own, Rags learned how to find damaged communications wire that Donovan, as a member of the Signal Corps, repaired.

At the Battle of Soissons, July 18 - 22, 1918, Rags and Donovan along with 42 infantrymen were surrounded by Germans. Donovan attached a message to Rags's collar and sent him off to military command, which resulted in an artillery barrage and reinforcements who rescued them. News that Rags had saved the day spread through the division.

At Soissons, France, Rags began to make a name for himself as a "war dog." Soissons in ruins by William L. King, 1919. Library of Congress.

Rags and Donovan participated in the final American campaign of the war, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which began on September 26, 1918. This was the largest American-run offensive and the bloodiest operation of World War I for the American Expeditionary Force.

On October 2, Rags carried a message across the battlefield amid falling bombs and poison gas. The swift delivery resulted in an artillery bombardment leading to the capture of the Very-Epinonville Road, and saved the lives of American soldiers.

Days later, on October 9, Rags and Donovan were caught in heavy enemy shellfire. Rags was injured on his right front paw, right ear and right eye from shell splinters and he suffered effects of gassing. Donovan was also seriously wounded and the two were taken to a field hospital together. Rags's health improved quickly, though he lost sight in his right eye. While Donovan convalesced, Rags was allowed to stay under his cot and was occasionally placed next to Donovan on the cot.

Donovan suffered from a severe case of mustard gas poisoning, which damaged his lungs. The best care for him would be at the U.S. Army post at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, where the hospital staff specialized in the treatment of gas and shell-shocked patients.

Fort Sheridan's tower overlooking parade grounds covered in temporary wards for Hospital No. 28, circa 1919. BBDM 95.32.1

During the journey from France to Fort Sheridan, Donovan and Rags were separated due to military procedures, but many compassionate individuals ensured the two would be reunited, including Col. Halstead Dorey. Colonel Dorey had recognized Rags as the "little hero of the Argonne campaign," and smuggled Rags onto the hospital ship in one of his bags. Animals were not allowed for fear of contagion, and were euthanized if found.

Jimmy Donovan and Rags arrived at Fort Sheridan in late 1918. Donovan settled into one of the wards at Hospital No. 28, later re-designated Lovell General Hospital. Rags was allowed into the hospital once medical staff realized he was no ordinary dog, but a war hero. Rags visited Donovan daily, which did wonders for both their morale.

(For more on poison gas treatment at Fort Sheridan see my Chemical Warfare post).

Postcard view of a ward at the Fort Sheridan hospital, similar to the one where Rags visited Donovan. BBDM 92.24.236

When Rags was not at Donovan's side he was exploring the fort. He soon sniffed out the best mess halls where cooks would feed him. He also found lodging at the post's fire station.

Fort Sheridan's fire station where Rags lived, shown here circa 1919. BBDM 92.24.361
The building (with an addition) is now a private residence.

Despite the care of the hospital's highly skilled staff, Donovan died, leaving Rags without his closest companion.

Donovan had been concerned about who would look after Rags. Thankfully, Rags had become a celebrity at the fort. His brave deeds had followed him from the battlefront and many took pride in having such a unique war hero in their midst.

Rags had spent so much time charming new acquaintances that he had become the "post dog." He also became attached to Major Raymond W. Hardenbergh, his wife Helen, and their daughters, Helen and Susan. Rags moved into the Major's bungalow at Fort Sheridan, which became his first true home.

The family quickly learned that Rags loved sweets, playing with the major's daughters and wandering the fort, but hated loud noises. Apparently, he was shell-shocked like so many of the veterans at the fort's hospital.

When Major Hardenbergh received orders for his new post, his wife and daughters gained the support of the fort community for bringing Rags with them. After all, they had given Rags his first home and, "It wasn't fair to make him homeless again."

Rags sledding with Susan Hardenbergh at Governors Island, New York, circa 1926. Courtesy of Grant Hayter-Menzies.

First Division Rags lived out his remaining years as a member of the Hardenbergh family. His war scars and fame followed him wherever he went.

Though Rags was one of millions of dogs, horses and other animals utilized during World War I as "military mascots," Rags had endeared himself to a generation of soldiers.

Rags's gravemarker at Aspin Hill Memorial Park, Maryland, placed by Lt. Col. Raymond Hardebergh. 

Epitaph: "Rags War Hero 1st Division Mascot WW I, 1916 - 1936." Courtesy of Grant Hayter-Menzies.

Rags saved the lives of innumerable American soldiers, and was a companion to Jimmy Donovan and the men of the First Division. Because of his bravery and the respect soldiers had for him, Rags was smuggled to the United States where he would live for eighteen years to the delight of the Hardenbergh family and thousands of men and women stationed at Fort Sheridan and army posts throughout the U.S.

Rags at Governors Island, circa 1929. Courtesy of Grant Hayter-Menzies.

For the full story of this remarkable war hero, read From Stray Dog to World War I Hero: The Paris Terrier Who Joined the First Division, by Grant Hayter-Menzies.

Illinois National Guard, Camp Logan

Camp Logan in Zion was an Illinois National Guard rifle range. This Guard training facility operated from 1892 to 1974 in what is now the Illinois Beach State Park.

John Alexander Logan (1826-1886), namesake of Camp Logan, Zion, Illinois. 

Congressional Portrait Collection, Library of Congress

The camp was named for General John Alexander Logan, a politician who raised and commanded the 31st Illinois Volunteer Regiment from southern Illinois in 1861. 

The camp was located east of Sheridan Road and adjacent to the Chicago & North Western Railroad. The property was purchased by the State legislature in 1892 to facilitate National Guard training in the region.

Camp Logan, circa 1900. Private collection.

By 1900, the camp was well established and included a headquarters office, four regimental barracks, range office, mess hall, kitchen and arsenal. From an early date, regular Army marksmen from the U.S. Army post at Fort Sheridan preferred the rifle range at Camp Logan over their own facilities. Naval Militia from the Naval Training Center Great Lakes also utilized this facility. 

Firing line, Camp Logan. Date unknown. 

The camp's arsenal is visible in the background at right. 

Private collection. 

U.S. Naval rifle range, Camp Logan. Date unknown. Private collection. 

Before World War I, the Illinois National Guard put great emphasis on rifle marksmanship. It was one of the few Guard activities that was judged by strict Army regulations.

Training at the camp included handling of small weapons, tactical maneuvers, and rifle marksmanship. Soldiers performed a variety of marksmanship scenarios on targets located from 100 to 1,000 yards oriented toward Lake Michigan. In 1902, over 6,000 soldiers attended the camp and expended over 640,000 rounds of ammunition.

Two key innovations were incorporated into the Camp Logan range, the echelon target system and Aiken targets. For more on the inventor of the Aiken targets, see my post on Illinois National Guardsman, Robert Aiken. 

Corp. Rex Coniglio, Lieut. D.E. Zealand, and Private M. Cherion 

using 3-inch trench mortar at Camp Logan. 

Circa 1937. Dunn Museum 2013.18.28

From 1933 to 1937, Colonel George Marshall was assigned as the senior instructor at the camp. Marshall would become U.S. Secretary of State in 1947 and thereafter develop the Marshall Plan for the economic recovery of Europe after World War II. 

Following World War II, training became more restrictive due to the development of more powerful weapons and the increasing civilian population near the camp. The camp’s use dwindled until it was closed in 1974.

View of some of the buildings, and more construction underway at Camp Logan. 

Circa 1918. Dunn Museum 99.7.6

In 2000, the 243-acre Camp Logan National Guard Rifle Range Historic District, including the remaining 1890s - 1950s buildings and landscape structures were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Camp Logan was placed on the list because of its status as the best remaining example of a pre-World War II National Guard training facility in Illinois and the role it played in the evolution of the Illinois National Guard. 

One of the remaining structures at the Camp Logan National Guard Rifle Range Historic District. 

Photo courtesy of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. 

- Diana Dretske, Curator ddretske@lcfpd.org

Special thanks to Dunn Museum volunteer researcher, Al Westerman. 

Girl Scouts of America

Last year marked the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts of America (1912-2012), which were formed in Savanna, Georgia by Juliette Gordon Low. To celebrate, let's take a look at Girl Scout items in the museum's collections.

Dorothy Gleiser, circa 1922.
Dunn Museum 93.31.5

Above is the earliest Girl Scout photo in the museum's Lake County collections. This photo of Dorothy Gleiser (1913 - 2003) of the Thistle Troop of Lake Forest was taken at Brae Burn Farm where her father was the farm manager, and her family lived.

This 1926 photo shows Dorothy Gleiser wearing another Girl Scout uniform. The uniform pictured was donated by Dorothy to the museum in 1987. Dunn Museum M-87.3.1.

Dorothy Gleiser's 1926 Girl Scout uniform (above). This is a typical button-down-the-front coat dress uniform of the early 1920s. Dunn Museum 87.3.1

"Girl Scouts be Prepared" belt buckle from Gleiser's Girl Scout uniform, 1926. Dunn Museum 87.3.1

Girl Scout pin from Gleiser's uniform, 1926. Dunn Museum 87.3.1

Cover of guide book for Girl Scout leaders dating to 1937. Dunn Museum 96.5.44

Cover of "Games for Girl Scouts: Brownie, Intermediate, Senior" from 1942. The 106-page booklet includes quiz and memory games, and also physical games the Scouts could play. Dunn Museum 96.5.40.

The photo (above) was taken in 1965 at Fort Sheridan. The caption reads: "Sergeant George Stacey of 204th Military Police Company shows members of a Fort Sheridan Girl Scout Troop how to affix reflector-type safety tape to their bicycles." Dunn Museum 92.24.731

Cookies are probably the first thing that comes to mind for most people when they think of the Girl Scouts. Here, members of the Fort Sheridan Troop sell cookies to an unidentified fireman, 1970. The sale of cookies as a way to finance troop activities began as early as 1917 with members baking the cookies themselves. Dunn Museum 92.24.737

"Girl Scouts of Fort Sheridan Troop 157 that received merit badges: (from left sitting in front of table) Jackie DeThorne, Jeana Graham, Pattie Kapp, and Mary Compney, (back row from left) Kim Kusick, Kathy Phillips, Nancy Peddle, Nancy Phillips, Alesia Smith and Donna Marion. Troop 157 is headed by Mrs. Helen Hugger  and Mrs. Eunice Elliott." March 24, 1970. Dunn Museum 92.27.729

"Members of Girl Scouts Troop 170, Fort Sheridan, hold a candle light ceremony in honor of Thinking Day, Feb. 22, 1970... Scouts are (from left) Kathy Kob, Beth Reaser, Linda Nunn, Anne Luke, Barbara Sovers, Wendy Ives, Denise Smith, Andrea Simmons, and Janice Kadomstei (center foreground)." Dunn Museum 92.24.712 

Each year on February 22 the Girl Scouts celebrate World Thinking Day in which the girls participate in activities and projects with global themes to honor their sister Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in other countries.

(This post was originally posted August 10, 2012)

D. Dretske ddretske@lcfpd.org 

Chicago Indian Village Protests 1970-1972

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there were a number of protests by Native Americans for better housing and social services. Some of these protests took place in Lake County, Illinois.

Some believe the protests were rooted in the 1953 "Indian termination" policy passed by the U.S. Congress, which eliminated most government support for Indian tribes and ended protected trust status of Indian-owned land. This was followed by the Indian Relocation Act of 1956,  designed to encourage Native people to leave Indian reservations, acquire vocational skills and assimilate into the general population.

Native Americans moved to urban centers in five original relocation cities: Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Seattle, and were to receive assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) with housing and employment. Many struggled to adjust to their new surroundings, and faced unemployment, low-end jobs, discrimination, and the loss of traditional cultural support.

Since Illinois did not have a large in-state reservation, Native people from tribes throughout the country came to Chicago. When the relocation began approximately 8% of Native Americans lived in cities. As of the 2000 census, that number climbed to 64%.

Original sign for the American Indian Center, Chicago, circa 1953. Online photo.

In 1953, the American Indian Center (AIC) of Chicago was organized by the Chicago Indian community. For fifty years the AIC has been the principal cultural resource for Chicago's Native Americans.

The Chicago American Indian Conference was held at the University of Chicago in 1961, attracting hundreds of Native people from across the country. As a result of the conference, a Declaration of Indian Purpose was created which in turn helped to mobilize a generation of Indian activists.

In 1970, the Chicago Indian Village (CIV) emerged to fight for better housing for the city's urban Native American population. The CIV's protests began when a Menominee woman was evicted from her Wrigleyville apartment. This eviction led the group to a two-month encampment at a Wrigley Field parking lot.

Senator Adlai Stevenson III (right) speaks with Mike Chosa (center)
and members of the Chicago Indian Village who crashed a political dinner
at the Sherman House in Chicago. Stevenson intervened on the protesters
behalf with Chicago police. Chicago Tribune photo, May 19, 1972. 

From 1970 to 1972, community organizer Mike Chosa of the Chicago Indian Village planned seven encampments throughout Chicagoland. Two encampments were held in Lake County: one outside the main gate at Fort Sheridan, and another at Camp Logan in Zion.

The goal of the protests was to generate leverage with government agencies to address inadequate housing and social services for Chicago's 16,000 Native American citizens. A fact sheet prepared by the Chicago Indian Village stated that the Indians in the encampments "are not welfare cases: they are working people."

Chicago Indian Village encampment outside George Bell Gate at Fort Sheridan, January 1972.
BBDM 92.24.1378

The Chicago Tribune wrote on January 3, 1972: "Thirty Indians protesting substandard housing conditions yesterday erected teepees outside the main gate at Fort Sheridan that could cause huge traffic jams today." The activists also carried signs protesting the Vietnam War.

Similar encampments were held across the country most notably at Alcatraz Island by a group known as Indians of All Tribes (IAT) from November 1969 to June 1971. The IAT pointed to 19th century treaties that stated abandoned or unused federal land would be returned to the Native people from whom it was acquired, hence their occupation of Alcatraz.

Chicago Indian Village encampment at Camp Logan
barracks, Zion, Illinois, April 12, 1972.
Photo by Joe Kordick. BBDM 2011.29

About the same time as the Fort Sheridan encampment, the protesters secured "a winter home" at Camp Logan in Zion where they remained until June 29, 1972. They then stayed at the United Methodist Church in Winthrop Harbor until accommodations were made for them with the Milwaukee Indian Action Group.

By the summer of 1972, the momentum behind the Chicago Indian Village was exhausted and the group eventually dispersed.

- Diana Dretske, Curator ddretske@lcfpd.org