Fort Sheridan and the Impact of Chemical Warfare

During World War I (1914-1918), Fort Sheridan was at the forefront of mustering and training soldiers. Much of that training focused on mastering trench warfare, since the frontline in Europe was cluttered with the trenches of opposing armies.

As wounded soldiers returned from the war, the Fort shifted its priority from training soldiers to caring for them.

One of 78 hospital wards at Fort Sheridan, circa 1919. Dunn Museum 92.24.236

Many of the injuries treated at the Fort were caused by innovations new to warfare such as airplanes and poison gas. More than 30% of American casualties were from poisonous gases which ranged from disabling chemicals (tear gas and severe mustard gas) to lethal agents (phosgene and chlorine). Gases blistered exposed flesh and caused rapid or, worse, gradual asphyxiation. Those fortunate enough to survive needed somewhere to convalesce. 

The hospital at Fort Sheridan was built in 1893 and shown here circa 1930. Dunn Museum 92.24.1384

In 1918, the Post’s hospital expanded its operations and became General Hospital No. 28. Later it was dedicated as Lovell General Hospital for General Joseph Lovell (1788-1836), Surgeon General of the U.S. Army from 1818-1836.

Associated Press article which appeared in The Dispatch, Moline, Illinois on October 18, 1918.

The hospital grew into a multi-building complex, including the entire Tower complex. Temporary wooden structures were constructed on the Post’s parade grounds. This was the largest military hospital in the United States to treat wounded and convalescent soldiers.

View of Fort Sheridan looking northwest, showing the Tower and temporary

buildings for General Hospital No. 28 (later Lovell General Hospital) across the parade grounds.

Circa 1919. Dunn Museum 95.32.1

The "Trackless Train" at Fort Sheridan moved wounded between

hospital wards for treatment. Photo from the Chicago Tribune,

March 8, 1919.

Even with the Fort Sheridan hospital and other facilities throughout the country, there were more casualties than the system could handle. In addition to treating veterans of the war, Fort Sheridan's hospital accepted civilians suffering from the Great Flu Epidemic of 1918.

In 1919, the Hostess House of the Young Women's Christian Association was built at Fort Sheridan using

salvaged material. General Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces on the

Western Front in World War I, visited Fort Sheridan and the Hostess House in December 1919.

The facility provided a library and tea room which served homemade meals to convalescing soldiers. Dunn Museum 95.32.24.

Paul Steorp of Deerfield Township, Lake County, IL, wearing gas mask. Steorp 
served with the U.S. Army Ambulance Service. Dunn Museum 2003.0.16

The World War prompted an enormous expansion of the Army Medical Department. When the U.S. entered the war the department consisted of less than 1,000 personnel. By the time the peace treaty was signed in November 1918, it numbered over 350,000. 

In 1920, the temporary structures of Lovell General Hospital were dismantled and sold, and the parade field returned to an open state.

The memory of the horrors of WW I prompted changes in training soldiers for future conflicts, including mandatory gas mask training. 

2nd U.S. Infantry training in tear gas at Fort Sheridan,

circa 1925. Dunn Museum 92.24.1015.

Soldiers entering a gas chamber built on the Fort's Lake Michigan

shoreline. Circa 1935. Dunn Museum 92.24.1761.

Overseas during wartime, military personnel, nurses and civilians were legally required to carry gas masks at all times. Members of the Womens' Army Corps trained in the use of gas masks in simulation chambers as part of their coursework on chemical warfare and some studied gas identification in Officer Candidate School.

Women's Army Corps members emerging from gas chamber training

at Fort Sheridan, 1964. Dunn Museum 92.24.1202

To this day, researchers work to increase protection for military personnel against greater varieties of biological and chemical weapons.

The Bess Bower Dunn Museum's (formerly the Lake County Discovery Museum) Fort Sheridan Collection is digitized and hosted online at the Illinois Digital Archives. 

Murder of Officer Petersen

In honor of National Police Week, this post is in memory of Officer William Petersen (1893-1922) of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois.

Officer William Petersen on his Harley Davidson, circa 1922.
Courtesy of the Westerman Family. 

On Friday, January 13, 1922, William Petersen, a farmer and the only law enforcement officer for Winthrop Harbor, was killed while on patrol. 

As he stood in Art Christensen’s auto repair garage along Sheridan Road near the WI-IL Stateline, he observed a speeding vehicle. 

During Prohibition (1920-1933) bootleggers traveled through Lake County, Illinois along Sheridan Road from Wisconsin to Chicago. In addition to the vehicle going over the speed limit, Officer Petersen may have suspected the occupants of the "blue touring car" of being whisky runners. 

Petersen pursued the vehicle on his motorcycle (which he owned personally), chasing the car for five miles through Winthrop Harbor and the City of Zion. Just south of Zion near Sheridan and Yorkhouse Roads, local farmers: George Pavlik, Lyle Fast and Melvin Jordan heard the sound of approaching vehicles and watched the chase. 

As he drew close to the vehicle, Petersen yelled for the driver to stop. Just then a man wearing a Derby hat leaned out the back window with a shotgun and fired twice. Petersen was shot in the stomach, his motorcycle swerved into a ditch and he was hurled into a field. 

The "murder car" drove away, and the onlookers ran to assist Petersen, and to telephone authorities in Waukegan. 

Waukegan police said the register on Petersen's motorcycle showed that it had reached a speed of 72 mph in the chase.

Local farmer, George Pavlik (1898-1962) witnessed the murder of Officer Petersen.
 

Deputy Sheriff Wilson of Kenosha and his wife were driving to Waukegan when they happened on the scene. Petersen was placed in Wilson's car and driven to Victory Memorial Hospital in Waukegan (now Vista East) where physicians said he was dead before being placed in the deputy's car. 

Headlines in the Waukegan Daily Gazette, January 14, 1922. Newspapers.com

George Pavlik went with police to Chicago to review mug shots while authorities in Lake and Cook Counties launched a massive manhunt. 

On January 17, Petersen’s funeral was held in Kenosha at the Danish Lutheran Church where he and his parents attended services. It was the largest funeral the city had ever seen. Law enforcement officers from around the region attended, as well as friends, family, and World War I veterans with whom Petersen had served. He was only 28 years old.

On February 4, it was announced that three "foreigners" were arrested for Petersen's murder at Koller's Tavern at 1920 Allport Street, Chicago. The accused were John Bartole (driver of the car), Michael Radich and Ignatz Potz. Previously, three other men were arrested and released. 

The shooter, Ignatz Potz, a woodworker by trade and native of Hungary, was a member of a Chicago gang with plans to rob a bank in Kenosha. In a Chicago Tribune article, Potz claimed he was drunk on "moonshine" when the incident occurred, and that when someone in the car said they were being followed by a policeman: "I turned around and shot him. That's all I know. I was dazed for three days after that." 

Lake County jail where Potz was held for trial. The jail was built in 1895
Photo taken in 1952. Dunn Museum Collections. 

Potz was detained in the Lake County jail. Friends of Petersen from Benton and Newport Townships made plans for a lynching party to take justice into their own hands by going to the jail and forcibly removing Potz and killing him. When Sheriff Elmer J. Green got word of the men’s plans, he talked them out of it.

Potz was tried, found guilty and sentenced to death. The gallows were brought to Waukegan from Chicago for the hanging, which was to be held on June 16, 1922. Invitations “to witness the execution” were sent out by the Sheriff’s department. 

Invitation sent out by Lake County Sheriff announcing the execution of Ignatz Potz.
Private collection. 

As preparations were underway for the hanging, Governor Len Small, commuted the guilty man’s sentence to life imprisonment. The governor initially stated that "important alleged circumstances not hitherto brought out had come to his attention." 

During this time, Governor Small had his own troubles. He had been indicted for embezzling $600,000 from the state. On June 24, 1922, Small was acquitted of all charges, and later, eight jurors got state jobs. 

In 1928, Governor Small pardoned Potz, who was released. Potz left Illinois for Los Angeles, California where in the 1930s he was working as an iron worker. Later, in 1928, Governor Small was indicted for having sold an estimated 500 pardons. He never went to jail, but was voted out of office. 

Gravemarker of Officer William Petersen. Green Ridge Cemetery, Kenosha, WI. 

Photo by Kenosha County Genealogical Society. Findagrave.com

Through the efforts of Winthrop Harbor Deputy Chief Rick Concepcion, Detective Sgt. Jim Vepley and Officer Sharon Churchill, Officer Petersen was memorialized. The Winthrop Harbor Police Station has been dedicated in Officer Petersen’s honor. 

On May 13, 2002 Marshal William Petersen's name was added to the wall of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC.

Diana Dretske ddretske@lcfpd.org

Sources: 

"Police Seek Cop Slayers," Waukegan Weekly Gazette, January 14, 1922

"Motor Cop Slain in Chase," Chicago Tribune, January 14, 1922
"Three Arrested as Slayers of North Shore Cop," Chicago Tribune, February 3, 1922
"Auto Speeders Admit Murder of Motor Cop," February 4, 1922
"Pot Confesses Killing Motor Cop, Court Told," Chicago Tribune, March 31, 1922
"Reprieve Saves Potz, Due to be Hanged Today," Chicago Tribune, June 16, 1922
1930 & 1932 Index to Rigister of Voters, Los Angeles City Precinct (Ancestry.com)
"Len Small: Perhaps the Dirtiest Illinois Governor of Them All" by Stephan Benzkofer for the Chicago Tribune, June 19, 2011

Arnold Westerman, oral history
Virginia Pavlik Bleck, oral history

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. 

Mineola Hotel - Endangered Site Designation

This week, Landmarks Illinois announced that it has placed the Mineola Hotel of Fox Lake on its annual 10 Most Endangered Historic Places list. 

Mineola Hotel, 91 Cora Avenue, Fox Lake
Photo by Ed Gerns provided by Landmarks Illinois

“This dramatically-sited building is intimately tied to the history of the Chain O’ Lakes region,” said Bonnie McDonald, President of Landmarks Illinois. “We hope that someone will come forward and bring it back to its former glory so that it may contribute to economic development efforts in Fox Lake.”

Making it onto the 10 Most Endangered Places list is quite the coup in the long struggle to get the Mineola, built in 1884, restored and protected. Though this does not guarantee its preservation, having the recognition and backing of Landmarks Illinois greatly increases the odds.

Since the inception of Landmarks Illinois’ Ten Most list in 1995, more than a third of the listed properties have been saved, less than a quarter have been demolished, and the rest are in varying stages between being continually threatened and rehabilitation. 

For more on the history of the Mineola, check out my previous post. 

The Landmarks Illinois website has more details on the history of the preservation efforts to save the Mineola, and information on who to contact to get involved. 

Congratulations to the hardworking, enthusiastic folks of Save the Mineola! 

Joseph T. Bowen Country Club, Waukegan

One of Chicago's great civic leaders, Louise DeKoven Bowen (1859-1953), left the legacy of Bowen Park in Waukegan.

Louise DeKoven Bowen (1859 - 1953). Online source. 

Bowen's career as a social reformer began in 1893 when Jane Addams asked her to join the Hull House Woman's Club. The two women shared many values, including women’s suffrage and children's health. Bowen became one of Addams’ key benefactors.

The 19th century saw a myriad of social reform movements, including those centered on temperance, and the needs of poor working families. Among these Progressive movements was Hull House, founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gages Starr on Chicago’s near west side.

Hull House became a center of social reform and cultural activity for immigrant women and children. Hull House also led the way for the first juvenile court in the United States, woman's suffrage, national child labor laws, and workers' compensation.

By 1896, Louise DeKoven Bowen had become a trustee and the treasurer for Hull House. In 1911, when her husband Joseph T. Bowen died, she volunteered to endow a park in his memory to expand Hull Houses's reach. Louise purchased 72-acres north of Waukegan for $29,000.

Louise DeKoven Bowen with "campers" at the Bowen Country Club.
Photo courtesy of the Waukegan Park District. 

The Joseph T. Bowen Country Club fulfilled Jane Addams’ longtime dream of giving city children a taste of summer in the country. The summer camp provided a country setting where disadvantaged mothers and children from the Taylor and Halstead area of Chicago could come.

Every two weeks during the summer “campers” arrived at the Bowen Country Club. There, they were given relief from noise, pollution, and fear of the city streets, and taught to respect each other and the environment.

One camp counselor recalled that “in a setting of great beauty, people of many races, religions and ethnic backgrounds lived, worked, played, ate, sang and danced together in an atmosphere of harmony and joy.”

Celebrating the Fourth of July at the Bowen Country Club, circa 1920.
Collections of the University of Illinois at Chicago

Over 40,000 women and children benefited from summer stays at the Bowen Country Club, which operated from 1912 to 1962.

After Jane Addams died in 1935, Louise DeKoven Bowen became president of the Hull House Association. Bowen continued her work for women's suffrage until her death at the age of 94.

In 1963, the Waukegan Park District purchased the Bowen Country Club, and in 1978 the site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Bowen Park's beautiful country setting also includes the Jack Benny Center of the Arts and the Waukegan History Museum.

King Peter II Returns to Yugoslavia

King Peter II of Yugoslavia. 

The remains of the only king to be buried in the United States were repatriated from Libertyville to Serbia this January. Peter II Karadordevic (1923 – 1970) was the third and last King of Yugoslavia.

In 1934, at 11-years old, Crown Prince Peter succeeded the Yugoslav throne on the assassination of his father, King Alexander. His father had been ruler of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from 1921 to 1929 when he became the first king of a united Yugoslavia.

Because of his youth, Peter II's great uncle, Prince Paul became Prince Regent. A schism formed when Prince Paul supported the fascist dictators of Europe while King Peter opposed them. King Peter supported a British backed coup d’etat in March 1941, which deposed Prince Paul.

The young king’s strong opposition to Nazi Germany, led to the Germans attacking Yugoslavia for three days and nights in Operation Punishment. Following the Axis invasion, the 17-year old Peter II and  members of the government fled the country. Peter II had to decide to join the anti-monarchist and revolutionary leader Josip Broz Tito against the Nazis, or maintain his government in exile. He chose the latter.

General Montgomery, Peter II, and Sir Winston Churchill in 1941.
 

Peter II settled in England in June 1941, where he joined other governments in exile from Nazi-occupied Europe. He completed his education at Cambridge University and joined the Royal Air Force, and was recognized by the government-in-exile as the Commander-in-Chief of Yugoslav forces.

The wedding of King Peter II of Yugoslavia and Princess Alexandra of Greece in London, England  on March 20, 1944.  On far left is King George VI of England. 

On April 8, 1941 President Roosevelt sent a message to Peter II: 

The people of the United States have been profoundly shocked by the unprovoked and ruthless aggression upon the people of Yugoslavia. The Government and people of the United States are witnessing with admiration the courageous self-defense of the Yugoslav people, which constitutes one more shining example of their traditional bravery.

As I have assured Your Majesty's Government, the United States will speedily furnish all material assistance possible in accordance with its existing statutes.

I send Your Majesty my most earnest hopes for a successful resistance to this criminal assault upon the independence and integrity of your country.

In 1945, the provisional government of Yugoslavia was led by Tito, and included representatives from the royalist government-in-exile. A post-war election was held to determine whether the country would continue as a monarchy or become a republic. In November 1945, Tito's pro-republican People's Front, led by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, won the elections by a landslide, the monarchists having boycotted the vote.

Tito was confirmed as the Prime Minister, and on November 29, 1945, Peter II was formally deposed.

King Peter II refused to abdicate, and went into exile in Britain and the United States. In 1948, he arrived in Chicago, and stayed at the Drake Hotel. While in the Chicago area, he visited the monastery of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Libertyville.

For the most part, Peter II lived in California, but in 1959, he visited Waukegan, where he was greeted by the mayor and treated to a dinner of Lake Michigan trout, sturgeon and smoked chubs, which he called "most exquisite." 

Well-known fisherman and Mathon's restaurant owner, Mathon Kryitsis met Peter II in 1959.
The restaurant was located near the shore of Lake Michigan on E. Clayton.
Postcard  circa 1945 (Dunn Museum 92.27.305)

He also met Mathon Kyritsis, a well-known fisherman and restauranteur who for many years forecast the weather by gauging the depth at which perch were caught. 

In 1970, Peter II died at age 47 in Denver, Colorado, after a long struggle with chronic liver disease and an unsuccessful liver transplant.

The funeral of King Peter II of Yugoslavia on November 14, 1970
at St. Sava's Serbian Orthodox Monastery Church in Libertyville, Illinois.
News-Sun Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum. 

It was the monarch’s wish to be buried at St. Sava’s Serbian Orthodox Monastery Church in Libertyville, in order to be close to the thousands of Serbians living in the Chicago area. King Peter II's funeral in Libertyville drew more than 10,000 people.

In 1976, the king’s son came from Yugoslavia to visit the gravesite at St. Sava’s under police guard. In 2007, Crown Prince Alexander, declared his intent to rebury his father in Serbia.

January 22, 2013, ceremony in Royal Chapel dedicated to
St. Andrew the First Called (patron saint of the Serbian Royal family),
after the remains of Yugoslavia's last king, Peter II Karadjordjevic, were flown back to Belgrade.
The coffin is draped with the national flag. Photo Royalty Magazine Volume 22 No. 11

In January 2013, the long anticipated repatriation took place with a private ceremony at St. Sava in Libertyville. On January 22nd, the return of Peter II to his homeland marked another step in the country's reconciliation with its royal past. (above) 

A State Funeral will take place for HM Peter II, his wife HM Queen Alexandra, and his mother HM Queen Maria on May 26 at St. George's Church Oplenac, in the city of Topola, where the Royal Family Mausoleum is located. 

- D. Dretske, Curator

Sources: 
Royalty Magazine, Volume 22 No. 11, www.royalty-magazine.com
"Waukegan Has Ex-King Peter as Its Guest," Chicago Tribune, February 28, 1959. 
"The Sad Life of Peter II, and the Curious Disinterring of the King of Yugoslavia from Libertyville," Chicago Magazine, January 2013. 
News-Sun Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum, Libertyville, IL. 
Reference Files, Bess Bower Dunn Museum. 

Beatrice Pearce, M.D.

Beatrice Pearce (1866 - 1948) was one of the first women doctors in Lake County, and one of the first doctors in the frontier town of Ketchikan, Alaska.

Beatrice Pearce, circa 1899. Dunn Museum, 92.24.294.

In 1847, Beatrice's father, Dr. William S. Pearce, immigrated from England. He settled in Chicago and opened a drug store on N. Clark Street. He married Mary Grace Copp in 1853. 

By 1855, Dr. Pearce moved to Waukegan, "Because the ground [in Chicago] was swampy." He re-established his drug store at Genesee and Washington Streets.

The first Pearce house (above) was located at 509 Julian Street, Waukegan.
Dunn Museum 94.14.30.2
It is believed that William S. Pearce had this house built, circa 1855.
Beatrice was born here in January 1866.
In 1881, her father purchased the former Dr. Kellogg house
at 320 Julian Street, where the Pearce's lived until 1922. 

After graduating from Waukegan High School, Beatrice attended the Woman's Hospital Medical College in Chicago from 1883 to 1887. Since her father and brother were doctors, it is likely that Beatrice had a good deal of support as she pursued a medical career. Typically, women faced discrimination and other barriers to becoming a doctor. By the end of the 19th century, about 5% (over 7,000) of all doctors in the United States were women. 

After graduating with her medical degree, Beatrice set up her own practice, specializing in diseases of women and children. Her practice was located above the Pearce Drug Store on Genesee Street. She lived with her parents on Julian Street. The Pearce Drug Store was founded by her father in 1855, and later operated by her brother, Dr. William W. Pearce.

Pearce family listings in Waukegan city directory for 1897-1898.
Beatrice is shown as a physician and her father W.S. as retired. 

In addition to her medical practice, Beatrice was a suffragette. In March 1897, she attended a Woman Suffrage convention in Waukegan, but the event had low participation due to a blizzard. Still, the women organized a local suffrage association, consisting of 30 members, and Beatrice became its treasurer. 

In 1908, Beatrice met Dr. George E. Dickinson, while attending a medical convention in Chicago. They married later that year. Dickinson (1870 - 1956) had immigrated from England and was practicing medicine in Ketchikan, Alaska. He took his new bride to Ketchikan where they practiced together for nearly 40 years.

Postcard of Ketchikan, Alaska, 1918. Curt Teich Co. postcard A74192. 

When Beatrice arrived in Ketchikan, she found a frontier town with a population of approximately 1,600. It was pioneer country compared to the bustle of Waukegan with a population of 16,000, in addition to the nearby metropolis of Chicago. Ketchikan got its start in 1883 with the establishment of salmon fishing and canning, and later mining and timber companies. Today, it's known as the Salmon Capital of the World, and salmon and tourism are the foundation of the local economy.

Beatrice and George had no children. They devoted their lives to the well-being of the residents of Ketchikan.

Beatrice passed away March 16, 1948 and is buried in Bayview Cemetery, Ketchikan. Memorial services were held in Waukegan on April 1, 1948, and conducted in the Masonic temple by the Waukegan chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, to which Beatrice had belonged since 1892.

- Diana Dretske, Curator ddretske@lcfpd.org

Sources: 
Lake County History Archives/Lake County Discovery Museum. 
Curt Teich Postcard Archives/Lake County Discovery Museum.

"Woman Suffrage Work at Waukegan," Chicago Tribune March 24, 1897.

Waukegan City Directory 1897-98, Vol. II, Whitney Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois. 

"Dr. B.P. Dickinson Memorial Rites Will Be Conducted April 1," Chicago Tribune March 25, 1948.

"Dr. Dickinson Dies in Alaska," Waukegan News-Sun, 1948.
"Waukegan: A History" by Ed Link, Waukegan Historical Society, 2009. 
Mommd.com - MomMD is a leading online magazine, community and association for women in medicine. 

Census records

Family records on Ancestry.com