Flowers for Hull House

Guest post by Steve Ferrigan, Collections Digitizer for the Dunn Museum

When the Dunn Museum staff were told to shelter in place back in March and work remotely, one of the first things collections staff did was to take digital photos of diaries in the Minto Family Collection in order to transcribe them from home. 

It turns out you can learn a lot more than just about your own family by being cooped up at home for months. Sometimes you can learn about farm life in the early 1910s. 

The diary I was tasked with transcribing was Susie Minto’s from 1912. Every once in a while, very rarely, something happens in a Minto Diary. Between the days listing who is working where and on what; between the small trips to nearby towns for supplies or new equipment; around the brief recounting of church services attended and occasional church events; the greater world and its events and characters reaches through and touches the lives of the Minto family. 

In 1912, the family living at the Minto homestead included Susie and David J. Minto, daughter Una Jean, and son David Harold and his wife Mildred and their two daughters. (See Diana Dretske's Minto post for a history of the family).

Susie Smith Minto and daughter Una Jean Minto photographed about 1898. Minto Family Collection, Dunn Museum, 93.45.89.

One such diary entry occurred on Monday, August 12, 1912: "Una rec’d her mail today a letter from Jane Addams of the ‘Hull House.’”

Throughout her diary, Susie Minto (1839-1914) of Antioch/Loon Lake, then in her early 70's, makes mention of her daughter Una Jean (1876-1963) gathering flowers from the family’s garden to send to Hull House. They sort and tie bunches late into the night and box them up to be sent with the milkman on the earliest Wisconsin Central line train to Chicago.

By 1911, Hull House had grown to a 13-building complex in Chicago. In 1912, Hull House added a summer camp, the Bowen Country Club in Waukegan (today's Bowen Park). V.O. Hammon postcard. 

Jane Addams (1860-1935) was a pioneer in the settlement movement of the late 1800s. Hull-House, opened in 1889 by Addams and Ellen Gates Starr (1859-1940) soon emerged as a vital tool for immigrants, children, and the poor of Chicago. They provided childcare, an art gallery, a library, and classes in English, citizenship, job finding, art, music, and theater.

Jane Addams photographed at her writing desk about October 30, 1912. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 

Susie’s diary entry continues: “[Jane Addams] kindly thanked Una for sending the lovely flowers & said ‘the size of bunches did not really matter although the small bunches such as came yesterday seemed to give particular pleasure to the small children in the Mary Crane Nursery which is housed in one of the Hull House Buildings. The flowers were in splendid condition with much appreciation of your kindly thought of us & the courteous letter, I am sincerely yours.’ The above is a partial copy of letter rec’d by Una [and signed] Jane Addams Aug 12, 1912."

Susie Minto's diary entry for August 12, 1912. Minto Family Collection, Dunn Museum 93.45.289.

After seeing this routine mentioned numerous times, and after seeing the thank you letter Susie describes, I decided to do a little investigating to find out what the flowers were used for.

I quickly found some Chicago Tribune articles covering the Hull House and mentioning flowers for the children. From the Chicago Tribune on November 1, 1891:

“In the dining-room is the ‘advanced’ class, absorbed in the mysteries of cutting and putting together in a logical fashion muslin underclothes. On the sideboard is a great shining tin dish-pan filled to the brim with marigolds, and geraniums, and sweet old-fashioned mignonette—an explanation, perhaps, of the presence of some of these light-hearted, carefree little daughters of Italy, to whom a whole afternoon of serious application to anything but play must be irksome to a degree. But all the children love flowers—none more than these.”

Illustration of Jane Addams distributing flowers at Hull House. Chicago Tribune November 1, 1891. 

The small bouquets in this illustration are similar to the ones Una and Susie Minto had worked so tirelessly to gather and send.

Susie Minto in her flower garden. Minto Family Collection, Dunn Museum 93.45.77.7

The Tribune article continued: 

“And after the sewing is all folded neatly away, the awkward thimble and troublesome needle safely hidden in the depths of the sewing-bag for another seven days; when all the hats and coats have been given to their rightful owners, then that dish-pan is moved out into the hall and every child receives from Miss Addams’ hands a bunch of flowers for her very own. It is worth traveling a long distance just to see this distribution, the joy in it is so evident. With a funny compromise between a bow and a curtsey, a 'thank you, teacher,' and a face wreathed in smiles, each child receives the bit of bloom and fragrance."

After reading Susie Minto’s diary and day after day of chore lists and weather reports, discovering this small glimpse of the larger world as seen through the Minto lens was a beacon of sunlight on an otherwise gray page. It made me start reading closer and looking for even more details connecting these early 20^th century rural farmers to larger world events.

Reading old script can be difficult, but by transcribing these diaries the Dunn Museum can make them more accessible to researchers and the general public to enjoy and to make their own discoveries about the past. 

~ ~ ~ 

The Bess Bower Dunn Museum's Minto Family Collection is available online through the host site Illinois Digital Archives.

C.R. Childs Real Photo Postcards of Lake County

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of National Postcard Week (in the U.S.), I wanted to feature the incredible work of real-photo postcard publisher, the C.R. Childs Company of Chicago (1906 - ca. 1950). 

In this region, one of the best known photographic postcard producers was the C.R. Childs Company. Charles R. Childs (1875 – 1960) was born in Elmwood, Illinois and worked for the Joliet Daily News before moving to Chicago to start his own commercial photography business about 1900.

One of the many stunning postcard views C.R. Childs took in Lake County.
This view is of children in a haystack at Selter's Resort, Antioch.
Photo taken July 20, 1913. LCDM M-86.1.69

By 1906, Childs was specializing in real-photo postcard views of Chicago's neighborhoods and suburbs, including Lake County, Illinois. He was on trend, recognizing the collecting phenomenon of postcards. His postcards were an instant hit with his ability to capture the essence of the subject being photographed. 

The Lake County Discovery Museum has over 600 Childs' postcards and photo proofs of Lake County. The Chain O' Lakes region was a particular favorite of the Childs Company, probably because of the area's natural beauty, but also because it made good business sense to create postcards for the tourist trade.

A "slice of life" moment captured by C.R. Childs: Wisconsin Central Railroad depot,
Antioch, circa 1912. LCDM M-86.1.1

Childs had a knack for capturing a moment in time such as the train arriving in Antioch or a farm thrashing scene in Lake Zurich. He was one of a few postcard photographers to become nationally known.

It is estimated that Childs, along with the photographers he employed, produced 40,000 to 60,000 different photo postcard views of the Midwest.

Another example of Childs' extraordinary eye for beauty:
"Along the Shore at the Toby Inn, Lake Marie, Antioch," circa 1913,
by C.R. Childs. LCDM M-86.1.120 

Today, Childs' postcards are highly collectible, and also give valuable insight to historians who consider his views documentation of life in the early 1900s. 

In addition to the Lake County Discovery Museum, repositories with large C.R. Childs postcard collections include the Chicago History Museum and the Indiana Historical Society. 

Mundelein Turns 100!

This year marks the village of Mundelein's 100th birthday. Actually, Mundelein was settled in 1835, but the village incorporated in 1909, making this the centennial celebration. Curt Teich large letter postcard for Mundelein, 1950 (OCH-1817).

There are three things that stand out in my mind about Mundelein: St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, International Eucharistic Congress of 1926, and the community's long struggle to find a permanent name.

Since I've already addressed the Eucharistic Congress in an earlier post (2-20-09), I'll explain the town's search for the perfect name.

The first name associated with Mundelein was Mechanics Grove in 1835. The name is straightforward and refers to its people who "worked with their hands," and "grove" indicates there was once a large stand of trees.

When the Wisconsin Central Railroad came to town in 1885, land was needed for a depot. John Holcomb, a prosperous local farmer, donated 20 acres for the depot and the community became known as Holcomb. That name did not last long as people quickly realized that a stakeholder in the railroad was William Rockefeller (John D.'s brother), and forthwith renamed the town Rockefeller in 1886.

They may have hoped that by adopting that name, the town would receive some special compensation from the Rockefellers. Local legend claims that William visited
once. He rode the train to the Rockefeller depot, got off the train, and got right back on. Postcard of the depot in Rockefeller, circa 1905. Courtesy of private collector.

In 1909, Arthur Sheldon bought acreage in Rockefeller for his business school. He had buildings constructed and a large number of students came from across the country. The school's motto was: Ability, Reliability, Endurance, and Action. The people of Rockefeller were so taken by Sheldon and his motto that they adopted the acronym AREA for the town's name. Postcard of summer session at Sheldon's School of Business, circa 1910. Courtesy of private collector.

That name sufficed until 1920 when Sheldon's school went bankrupt. Conveniently, around that same time, the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, under the direction of Cardinal Mundelein, was looking for a considerable amount of land on which to build its new seminary. Construction began in 1920 of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary.

It is believed that the citizens of Area were so enthused about the seminary plans, and the new firetruck they received from Cardinal Mundelein, that they agreed to rename their town Mundelein in 1924. Though not everyone was happy. The non-Catholics, and there were quite a number of them, did not think the name was appropriate. Postcard of Cardinal Mundelein at seminary cornerstone ceremony in Area, 1920. Courtesy of private collector.

The stage was now set for the International Eucharistic Congress to arrive in 1926, and for the town of Mundelein to be put on the world's map.

After eighty-five years, I think we can be fairly certain that the people of Mundelein will keep this name.

National Postcard Week

The first full week of May each year marks National Postcard Week (in the U.S.). Early in the 20th century, postcard enthusiasts sent "Postcard Day" cards on May 1st, but the modern celebration began in 1984 as a way for sellers and collectors to promote the hobby of postcard collecting.

I thought it'd be fun to share some of my favorite postcards from the Museum's Lake County collections. There are about 2,700 postcards in that collection (not to mention the millions in the Teich Archives). So, I concentrated my search on the Chain of Lakes area and found examples of several types of postcards.

One of my all-time favorite views is this colorized one from Stilling's Summer Resort at Pistaqua Bay, Illinois. The message is written on the "front" of the card as required on early postcards. Mildred wrote: "Dear Helen. This is the only postal that they have here." And what a lovely one, indeed.

The reverse side of the postcard shows the address, a McHenry postmark, and a penny stamp. The address side of the postcard was only for addresses until 1907 when a space was created for the message.

Real photo postcard of the Wisconsin Central Railroad at the Antioch depot, circa 1910. Train enthusiasts will love this view for obvious reasons, but I enjoy the slice of life aspect of the people and their baggage, and the milk can sitting on the platform. Photo postcards were as popular as printed views. As an added bonus to historians, they are a unique documentary record because the photos got little or no touch-ups in production, unlike picture postcards which were often altered.

C.R. Childs is probably my favorite postcard producer. I'm partial to Childs because I love photographs, and his are exquisite. Also, Childs produced hundreds of views of Lake County. The Museum has about 600 of them in its collection. This photo postcard of Lake Marie, Antioch is from about 1913 and is typical of the quality of the Childs Company of Chicago.

Charles R. Childs (1875 – 1960) started producing postcards in 1906 and continued into the 1950s. As shown on the reverse of the Lake Marie postcard, it is stamped "Salesman's Sample." This indicates that the card was taken around by a company salesman to potential buyers such as general stores, and ice cream parlors. The store would order a quantity or might even commission a specific view.

This Curt Teich Company chrome printed postcard from 1956 (6CK500) for the George Diamond restaurant in Milwaukee, Chicago and Antioch always makes me chuckle. In a good way. It's a terrific representation of steakhouses of that era, and also reminds me of my grandfather who loved to grill steaks in his backyard. George Diamond is seen here preparing a steak in front of one of his open charcoal broilers.

Happy Postcard Week to one and all!