The Dog Days of Summer

To celebrate summer, I looked through the archives for evidence of how our predecessors dealt with the heat before there were water parks and air conditioning. These images should cool you off even if it is 90 degrees and 80 percent humidity outside.

This picnic scene from about 1895 is unidentified, though it may be attributed to the Lux family of Wadsworth.

This detail of the picnic photo shows a large dog napping in the shade in the foreground, and the pleasant group of picnickers, enjoying tea or coffee in ceramic cups and saucers.












Perhaps a dip in the lake is more your style. How about this diver caught on film, circa 1895, a split second before hitting the water. Today, it costs on average $90 for a season pass to a water park. I'll bet it didn't cost this lad a penny to cool off.










And a detail of the boys who stayed on the boat, watching the dramatic plunge and waiting for their turn.













This real photo postcard from circa 1910 is captioned: "'We Are Having an Awful Splash' at Lake Zurich, Ill."

The close-up of the bathers, in there wool swimsuits, is proof of the great fun they had "posing" for this Masure and Leonhard postcard.








Take a lesson from the past to keep cool during these Dog Days, and find a shady spot under a tree or dip your toes in a local lake!

A Day Belonging to Father

Father's Day is this Sunday and was developed to complement Mother's Day, by honoring men's role in parenting.


This photo of the David Minto family of Millburn was taken about 1898, a full ten years before the first observance of Father's Day was celebrated in a church in West Virginia. The photo shows David sitting prominently in a rocking chair with his wife, daughters, son, and relations around him.


The YMCA and many churches pushed to legitimize the holiday, and a bill was introduced to Congress in 1913, but Father's Day failed to gain national support. This photo of Gordon Ray and his father, George Ray, of Diamond Lake was taken in 1913. They had just returned from hunting mud hens and it appears that George is crowing over their bounty.

Many viewed the idea of Father's Day as simply a promotional tool for companies to profit by selling more cards and gifts, similar to how Grandparent's Day and Secretary's Day are viewed today. Whereas Mother's Day had centuries of tradition surrounding it, having been celebrated in England as "Mothering Sunday" for hundreds of years, and in the United States from the 1870s. Mother's Day gained official status by the Federal Government in 1914.

On July 14, 1952, five-star General Dwight D. Eisenhower visited the family of his son, Major John Eisenhower, who was stationed at Fort Sheridan. Eisenhower is seen here with his grandson, David. In 1953, Eisenhower became the 34th President of the United States, winning on a slogan of "We like Ike."

In 1966, Father's Day finally got the respect it deserves when President Lyndon Johnson issued a proclamation making it a federal holiday.

The Circus Comes to Town

Last fall, I was walking through one of the objects storage areas with the museum's exhibits manager. He glimpsed a large folded canvas and asked about it, so we donned white cotton gloves and opened it to reveal an incredible sideshow banner of a snake.

The 9' x 9' banner was so spectacular that it was decided on the spot that it had to be exhibited. So, the planning began to create an exhibit around it. It is shown here on display in the museum's Step Right Up! exhibit open through August 2, 2009.

The "Alive" banner was painted and signed by Snap Wyatt, a Florida-based artist, who was a popular banner painter from the 1940s to 1960s. These banners were designed to be larger-than-life in color and subject to draw customers down the Midway to the sideshow tents.

The banner has been in the museum's collections for many years, but no records indicate how it came into the collection or where it was used. Despite this, we know that circuses traveled through Lake County towns giving performances, and some overwintered in factory buildings in Grayslake.

Included in the exhibit are about 100 postcards from the Curt Teich Postcard Archives of circus acts, winter quarters, and clowns. This 1953 picture postcard features performers with the Gainesville Community Circus of Gainesville, Texas.

In 1929 the citizens of Gainesville put together a circus to raise money for the bankrupt local theatre. Entirely staffed by local residents wearing homemade costumes, the circus was so successful that it continued until 1958.

The collections were further searched for circus related photos and objects. A bandmaster's jacket and baton were selected to display as well as photos of circus parades in Waukegan.


Shown here is a photo of the Sells Floto Circus parade on Genesee Street in Waukegan, August 23, 1920.
In 1906, this circus was created in Colorado as a combination of the Floto Dog & Pony Show and the Sells Brothers Circus. The Sells Floto Circus generally operated with sideshow acts. The circus was purchased by the American Circus Corporation in 1921, and then by Ringling Brothers in 1929. When Ringling bought the American Circus Corporation for $1.7-million, they owned virtually every traveling circus in America.

Sells Floto, like many circuses of the day, was impacted by the Great Depression, and closed in 1930.

"The Man from Libertyville"

The Adlai Stevenson II historic home in Mettawa has been in the public eye recently with the completion of its renovation. The Lake County Forest Preserves' spent several years planning and renovating the home with State funding. This summer, public tours are available and indoor exhibits will be opening.

Thanks to all the press, the museum has benefited with donations of Stevenson memorabilia and books.

Stevenson was one of the 20th century's most important statesmen. He was Governor of Illinois from 1949 to 1953, ran twice for President as the Democratic National Candidate in 1952 and 1956, and served as Ambassador to the United Nations during the Kennedy administration from 1961 to 1965.

Among the Stevenson II memorabilia is this color campaign pin for Adlai Stevenson II and John Sparkman. Alabama Senator John Sparkman was chosen as Stevenson's presidential running mate in 1952. The slogan: "Go Forward with Stevenson Sparkman," was very appropriate for the future thinking Stevenson.




"Adlai and Estes" color campaign pin, 1956. This was Stevenson's second bid for the presidency. Carey Estes Kefauver ran as his vice-president, and was a Senator from Tennessee.


In 1965, after Stevenson's untimely death in London while U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, the U.S. Postal Service issued this commemorative stamp.

For more information about upcoming guided tours and exhibits: Adlai E. Stevenson II historic home.

The Boys of Summer

The Chicago Cubs are having a wobbly season, but it's summer and that means baseball!

The game we know and love today developed in the 1840s and 1850s. This photo was taken about 1885 and is from the Museum's Lux Family Collection.

By the Civil War in 1861, baseball was so popular it was being played by the soldiers in prison camps, and five years later, baseball was referred to as the national pastime.

The rise of the game’s popularity correlates with the rise of manufacturing jobs in the United States. This economic boom increased the size of the middle class and gave families more leisure time to play and watch sports.

U.S. Army Fort Sheridan baseball team on the post's parade grounds, circa 1900.

Grayslake baseball team, 1905. Pictured are Dr. William Clarke, A.A. McMillen, Rev. Schultz, William Brandstetter, George Thomson, Fred Battershall, R.W. Churchill, J.T. Morse, and George Fredericks.

In Lake County, Lake Forest Academy organized a team that played its first game in 1867 against the Waukegan Amateurs. Local baseball teams regularly played against one another beginning in the spring of 1871. Teams such as the Pioneers and Lake Shores of Waukegan, the Nine of Lake Forest Academy, the Prairie Boys of Libertyville, and the Highlanders of Highland Park played each other for championship titles. Wauconda was the archrival of Lake Zurich, and Grayslake of Monaville (east Fox Lake).

This terrific photo shows a crowd cheering on the Fort Sheridan team, circa 1930. On June 9, 1944, the Fort’s team played an exhibition game against the Chicago White Sox at the Fort, beating the Sox 8 to 6.

Thought I'd include the "Girls of Summer," too. Here members of the Women's Army Corps play ball on the parade grounds, circa 1950.

Blarney Island, Grass Lake

Blarney Island in Grass Lake is one of the most unusual bars in the world, since you can only get there by boat. It also has a reputation for boisterous partying.

In the beginning, there was Shorty's Place, also known as Rohema. This resort, like so many others on Grass Lake, offered boat ride tours of the lotus beds. Shorty built his place about 1906 when the waters were unusually low. The change in water level created a small peninsula which jutted into the lake.

Here, Shorty's "Rohema" is shown from the waters of Grass Lake looking back at the resort clearly on land. This real photo postcard was made about 1910.

Colorized postcard of lotus on Grass Lake. Dunn Museum, 2001.3.23

 
The beautiful colorized postcard (above) of the lotus beds gives a sense for what the fuss was about. People flocked to see the lotus beds which covered vast acres of Grass Lake. The flowers still grow on the Chain, but are limited to "no wake zones." The best time to see the blooms is in July.

A slightly later view of Shorty's place, about 1915. It is difficult to tell from this view, but Shorty's is still on land.

Some historians have identified "Shorty" as Shorty Shobin. Though in local papers of the day articles referred to him simply as "Shorty." In 1908, the McHenry Dam was built across the Fox River and the water levels began to rise. A paper reported that the dam was "blasting [Shorty's] hopes... Each day he watched the water increasing on his domain."

This photograph taken of Shorty's Rohema is a rare close-up of the resort, and the man on the porch may be Shorty himself. If so, it's the only known photo of Shorty in the Museum's collections. An unidentified woman is standing next to a rowboat planted with flowers.

It is not clear at what point Shorty sold his business, but by 1923, the name Blarney Island is in place with Jack O'Connor as the proprietor. Some have claimed that Shorty lost his resort to Jack O'Connor in a poker game. O'Connor's original resort reportedly burned down and he used Shorty's former site to start his business anew.


This picture postcard from about 1925 gives an incredible perspective of Blarney Island across the lotus beds. Today, the area around Blarney Island is open water.

Locals claim the water level did not rise high enough to create the resort "island" until 1939 after the Stratton Lock and Dam was built, making historians realize that a lot of information has been lost to time. Why would O'Connor call his establishment Blarney Island in 1923 if it was still on land?

This close-up of O'Connor's Hotel Blarney shows clearly how the resort is built on pylons. Again, there is a rowboat planted with flowers, very reminiscent of Shorty's Place, and probably a popular gardening decoration of the time.

The spring thaw of 1952 nearly destroyed the entire building. Ed Walters, the owner at the time, decided to rebuild and used remnants of the original structure to maintain Blarney Island's history.

Blarney Island still exists, and is open everyday, but remember, you can only get there by boat!

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!