Dressing for Winter

The Norwegians say, "There is no bad weather, only bad clothing."

With six weeks of winter left (thanks Mr. Groundhog!), I thought it'd be fun to share photos of how folks dressed in winter's past. Some more fashionably than others.

This photo of Bess Bower Dunn was taken in Waukegan about 1899. Bess is dressed in active wear that's actually a bit suffragette for the day—a cozy, and mis-buttoned cardigan sweater, bloomers, boots and hat. Women who did not wear skirts were considered highly suspicious and often criticized.

"Bloomers" were named for Amelia J. Bloomer, a prominent 19th century, women's rights advocate, who wore them.

Here's a photo of an unidentified woman, who may be Bess Dunn's mother, wearing a long skirt, heavy coat, fur stole and hat. The fur is most likely mink. (Dunn Museum, Bess Dunn Collection)








Diamond Lake School boys out for a day in the snow, near today's Countryside Lake, 1908.

(Dunn Museum 91.17.5)

More winter sports fun this time with members of the Women's Army Corps, Ann Bertsos and Polly Wassen of Company A. The WACS are skating on the ice rink at the east end of the Parade Grounds at Fort Sheridan, circa 1944. (Dunn Museum 92.24.571)

Of course, the reality of winter is that someone's got to clear the snow! The Fort Sheridan snow removal crew is pictured here on February 8, 1967.

Standing on machine: Private Thomas Brinker, Corporal Larry Treplow, Private Wayne Wright, Frank Beglanda, John Sumiset, W.L. Jackson, and Dan Clements. Front row from left: Road and Ground Supervisor Joe Kanke,Bill Rose, R.C. Williams, Randy Pracht, Anthony G. Quin Jr., Bennie W. Zoss, Gene Swisher, Rosevelt Thomas, Mario Caraffi, Milton Harrison, Abraham Gonalez, and Bob Broveak.

Diamond Lake Outdoor Fun

Gordon Ray and his dog with pickerel, Diamond Lake, 1916. Gordon Ray Collection, Dunn Museum, 91.17.37

Lifelong Diamond Lake resident, Gordon Ray (1893-1987), wrote in his 1980 autobiography that winters were great fun when he was a kid. "Outside of getting wood, and cutting ice and doing chores there wasn't too much work to worry about. Outdoor activities included skating, coasting on sleds, sleigh riding, rabbit hunting and fishing through the ice."

Gordon Ray's Diamond Lake Grade School friends sledding in 1908. Gordon Ray Collection, Dunn Museum, 91.17.6

In the winter of 1908, Gordon Ray took photographs of his classmates from Diamond Lake Grade School. The boys are sledding during a short break from school.

Diamond Lake Grade School friends. Photo by Gordon Ray, 1908. Gordon Ray Collection, Dunn Museum. 91.17.5

 
Just two years prior to taking these photographs, a thirteen-year old Gordon Ray spent his savings on a camera. He wrote: "That was a real thrill for a 13 year old boy, and I quickly learned how to take pictures, to develop the films, and to print my own pictures."

The Ray Family had a farm on the east shore of Diamond Lake. From the 1890s to 1946 the Rays were in the resort business. Their first venture was the Lakeside Cottage, an expansion of the family's farmhouse where vacationers boarded and enjoyed Ma Ray's famous chicken dinners. Then Lloyd and Gordon Ray opened the popular Ray Brothers Resort from 1906 to 1946.

Diana Dretske ddretske@lcfpd.org 

Lake Michigan in Winter

This is one of my favorite views of Lake Michigan. 

It's a colorized postcard of the Waukegan shoreline made by the E.C. Kropp Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

I use this circa 1910 image in my lectures on Lake County history, usually when speaking about the last Ice Age that ended around 12,000 years ago. That's the "truth of art." You use what you can to illustrate a point, even if it's not quite accurate. 

Ken Burns did that expertly in his Civil War series, and kudos to him for bringing that moment in American history to life for us all. 

This 1899 photograph shows a fishing tug frozen in Waukegan harbor. Lake Michigan was a vital part of Lake County's development and economic growth, from the 1840s. Winter ice build-up in the harbor could cause mayhem for even the most experienced sailors and fishermen.

In 1963, the News-Sun reported that five fishing tugs were frozen in the ice a mile off shore. Lucky for them, within a day they broke through, unlike Ernest Shackleton's harrowing 1914-1916 Antarctic expedition.
Large chunks of windrow ice are visible in this 1913 photograph of the harbor and lighthouse. This photo is credited to E.W. Plonien. During a normal winter, 17 to 29 inches of ice grows in sheltered harbors and bays on Lake Michigan.

Break water, looking north from lighthouse, Waukegan, January, 1947.

The ice formations along the lakeshore are quite remarkable. It's worth a trip to the Waukegan harbor in mid-winter to see the frozen waves over the docks and piers.