Kenar - Jakubowski, North Chicago

In 2007, a collection of photographs and documents from the Kenar-Jakubowski Family of North Chicago was donated to the museum.

For the museum, the donation enhances its holdings for the North Chicago area, and the period of the 1920s - 1940s. It also increases our understanding of immigration to the county. Much of the county's history is related to settlement and growth, and this donation is the story of first generation Americans.

Jacob Kenar (photo 1944)

The patriarch of the family, Jacob Kenar (1878-1944), was a Polish immigrant and naturalized U.S. citizen. He arrived in the United States in 1900 and settled in North Chicago with his wife, Anna. Jacob became a leader among Polish people in the community, was a member of the Polish National Alliance Society and Holy Rosary Church, and worked for 25 years at the Chicago Hardware Foundry Company.

Julia Kenar (1904-1984), circa 1920
in her North Chicago letterman sweater

The bulk of the donation relates to Jacob and Anna's eldest child, Julia, and her husband Joseph Jakubowski.

The collection gives insight into life in North Chicago in the first half of the 20th century, and into the lives of immigrant families and their children. These were ordinary people living out ordinary lives, and in part that's what  makes the materials all the more fascinating. It's a slice of life.

Julia was the only woman in the Kenar family to drive a car.
Pictured here on Victoria Street, North Chicago, circa 1925.

Julia's husband, Joseph Jakubowski
(1902-1976), studio photo circa 1920. 

Joe worked as a butcher. He's pictured here in
the meat market's slaughter yard. The original
Holy Rosary Church can be seen in the
background at 14th and Victoria.
Photo circa 1922. 

Julia and Joe had this house built between 1941-1946
on Skokie Highway near Stearns School Road in Gurnee. 

One of many receipts related to the
construction of
Julia and Joe's home.  

Another local business the Jakubowski's
patronized as they furnished their new home.

Julia Kenar Jakubowski was a plant superintendent at
Pfanstiehl (Fansteel) Chemical Corporation. She is
shown in this photo at the plant, standing in the back
of the room, 1942. 

The images shared here are a sampling of what the Kenar-Jakubowski Collection has to offer historians and genealogists. The collection consists of one-linear foot of material.

Food in the Atomic Age

The postwar era of the 1950s, changed the way America cooked and ate. Television allowed companies to mass-market their products to consumers, and the automobile culture boomed with the freedom to enjoy food on the go.

The phrase "Atomic Age" was coined by New York Times journalist, William Laurence, who was the official journalist for the U.S. Manhattan Project which developed the first nuclear weapons, and tested them in 1945.

During the 1950s, Las Vegas became a tourist destination known for its casinos and the atomic mushroom clouds seen on the distant horizon, as shown in this 1952 Teich postcard (2CP2072).

The Nevada Test Site, a U.S. Department of Energy reservation located 65 miles northwest of Vegas, was established in 1951 to test nuclear devices. The blasts spurred the growth of the city through tourism and could easily be seen from downtown Vegas hotels.

After the lean years of rationing during World War II (1941-1945), Americans were ready to enjoy life to the fullest again. The new prosperity allowed families to renovate kitchens and buy new appliances for the first time.

The look was cleaner and less fussy than the kitchens of the 1930s, and relied heavily on electricity, which was an efficient power source for the plethora of new gadgets available to housewives. 5CK493 Teich postcard, 1955.





In 1955, the Lyon Company advertised steel cabinets for kitchens with this Teich postcard (D10797). Color was all the rage from pink cabinets to blue blenders. Anything but white was preferred. The cabinet's advantages included doors that opened with a tap, convenient storage in corner, ventilation, and built-in ranges.

Eighteen million women worked during World War II to keep the country and the war effort going. When the war ended, most women left or were forced out of their jobs to make way for returning soldiers.

1950s fashion was characterized by full skirts that accented a slim waistline. The conservatively flattering looks were emphasized by a pageant of colors and patterns influenced by European, Turkish and Asian cultures. Green cotton dress worn in the Mundelein area, circa 1954.


Stainless steel was the material of choice for a durable, modern look. These stainless steel mint julep cups were manufactured by Craft Manufacturing in North Chicago, circa 1950.

Swanson TV Dinners were introduced in 1953 and fit well into the new age of convenience. 9CK713 Teich postcard, 1959.

The postcards and objects shared in this blog are a small portion of items selected and researched by collections staff for the museum's upcoming exhibit, "Food in the Atomic Age" open November 14, 2009 to February 21, 2010.