Preparing for Halloween

It's a little early to be thinking about Halloween, unless you're a museum planning for an exhibition. The Halloween: Superstitions & Traditions exhibit will be open September 5th to November 1st.

With installation coming up in just a few days, staff is busy writing label text, selecting artifacts, and steaming Halloween costumes in preparation for display. Here, Collections assistant, Becky Gates, steams a circa 1960 Blue Fairy costume on loan from a private collector.

The exhibit will feature vintage Halloween collectibles such as costumes, trick or treat bags, noisemakers, Jack-o-Lanterns, and postcards.

The origins of Halloween trick or treating are very old, and connected to Celtic and Roman culture, and also harvest traditions. While doing research for the exhibit, I also came across photographs in the collection of Raggamuffin Day. Though this day is associated with Thanksgiving, its parallels to Halloween are striking, including that people (especially children) dressed in costume and went door-to-door begging. The photo of adults dressed in costume for Raggamuffin Day in Waukegan is from 1903.  (Coon-Mason Family Photo Album, 93.30.194, Dunn Museum).

The Thanksgiving masquerade or Raggamuffin Day existed as late as the 1930s and then, according to sources, suddenly vanished. Afterward, Halloween costumes and parades gained national popularity and Raggamuffin Day was all but forgotten.

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.

Rare Maerlein Family Photograph

The museum's collections staff assists about 1,700 people each year. Many of these individuals need access to the Lake County history materials or the Teich postcard collection. They contact us by phone and email, and a portion of them visit the archives to complete their research.

We've had visitors from Europe, Canada, and across the United States. Lake County residents often stop in for one to two hours to pore over historic maps, photographs, manuscript collections, or to utilize our special library. It's not unheard of for researchers to make an appointment to spend an entire day, or even several days to fully delve into their research topic.

Recently, a couple visiting from San Diego, California, spent a day digging into their family's Lake County roots. They gave me a list of family names and asked if there might be any photos or other materials related to them. One of the surnames on the list was Maerlein or Merline.

A query of the archives database showed a couple of items of interest, but I recalled a collection of photos related to the part of the county they were researching that weren't yet catalogued on the computer. After checking the inventory for the Wagner Collection, I found the name Merline listed, and pulled the photograph to show the researcher.


Handwritten on the back was: "Merline family, daughter married Titus." No other information was known, other than the family was from Fremont Center. When I showed her the photograph, she was overjoyed. It was an extraordinary find for her. The photograph was of her grandmother and great grandparents, and the only photo of her great grandparents she had ever seen.

What turned out to be a great discovery for her was also a bonus for the archives. The researcher was able to identify the individuals in the photograph as John and Margaretha Maerlein, and their daughter Anna. Anna married John "Joseph" Titus in 1907.









After returning to California, the researcher sent me a note to thank me for assisting her and making a quality copy of the photo for her. She wrote: "I consider it one of my treasures, because I have few or no pictures past my grandparents' generation."

Finds like this don't happen every day, but they do happen, reminding me of the great value of organizing and making these materials available to people around the world.

German U-Boat in Lake Michigan Waters

This week it was reported that Russian military submarines are patrolling the coast of the Eastern United States in international waters. The incident has raised eyebrows, but most analysts cough it up to the Russian's flexing their muscles and checking U.S. surveillance capabilities.

This isn't the first nor the last time a foreign nation's sub has been near or in our waters.

A view of the German U-boat, UC-97, courtesy of the Eastland Disaster Historical Society.

Immediately following the end of World War I, the United States was still in the process of paying off its war debt. The United States Navy expressed an interest in acquiring several surrendered German submarines for display purposes in conjunction with a Victory Bond drive. Early in 1919, UC-97 and five other German U-boats were allotted to the United States by the British Government.

UC-97 was commissioned by the German Imperial Navy on September 3, 1918. The Chicago Tribune reported on August 17, 1919 that the sub was credited with sinking seven merchant ships, although other sources note that this class of submarine (UC III) conducted no war patrols and sank no ships. It was surrendered to the United States in November 1918.

"A German Sea Serpent With Its Fangs Pulled," Chicago Tribune, August 17, 1919.

Once the sub cleared the locks and entered the Great Lakes, it began a series of visits to American ports on Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, and Michigan. Though scheduled to visit Lake Superior ports as well, the voyage had to be cut short due to wear on the engines.

In August 1919, the U-boat started back down the coast of Lake Michigan toward Chicago, making a stop in Waukegan.







This series of photos was taken of the U-boat docked in the Waukegan Harbor, and being inspected by the local citizenry. (LCDM 93.40.1 Photo album)

This photo of the submarine appears to have been taken from inside a truck or automobile.









































On June 7, 1921, the U-boat was sunk as a target by the USS Wilmette on Lake Michigan 20 nautical miles off the coast of Highland Park.

Ironically, the USS Wilmette was originally built as the SS Eastland of the infamous Eastland Disaster. In 1915, the SS Eastland--a Great Lakes day passenger and transportation ship--turned over after pulling away from her berth on the Chicago River, drowning 812 people out of over 2,500 passengers - the greatest single loss of life in Great Lakes nautical history.

In 1917, the U.S. Navy purchased the salvaged hull, cut it down in height and rebuilt it into the training vessel USS Wilmette, which served until it was scrapped in 1948. Prior to using the UC-97 for target practice, she was stripped of all armaments, propulsion and navigational equipment.

The German U-boat's wreckage was located in 1992 by A&T Recovery, but its location has not been released to the public.

Let's All Go to the Fair

The Lake County Fair opened this week in its new digs on Route 137 in rural Grayslake. The move has been controversial. However, the Fair has had many homes in its' 157-year history, including Waukegan, Libertyville, Antioch, Gurnee, Wauconda, and of course, Grayslake.

The Fair got its start as the Lake County Agricultural Society in the 1840s, by local nurseryman and horticulturalist Robert Douglas, who held arbor and floral exhibits at the county courthouse in Waukegan.

In 1852, the first county fair was held at the McKay race track in Waukegan. The fair's purpose was to encourage "better farming and livestock raising by holding annual exhibitions of all sorts of farm produce: fruit, vegetables, dairy products, items of home manufacture, poultry and livestock."

This artful arrangement exemplified what the fair association promoted--beautifully grown produce. This display was made by Fremont Township farmers and Prussian immigrants, Christian and Catherine Thomas, and exhibited at the fair, circa 1880. At the center of the apples and grapes are the Thomas's portraits, who were rightfully proud of the fruit of their labor. 

Tom Thumb (1838-1883) in 1863. Encyclopædia Britannica online.

The fair also featured entertainers and horse harness races. In 1855, General Tom Thumb appeared at the Lake County Fair in Waukegan.

Horse harness racing at the Waukegan Fair, McKay's racetrack, circa 1878. Dunn Museum Collection

The McKay race track was located west of the County buidling on the north side of Washington Street. This image shows a harness race at the track, probably during the Waukegan Days Fair, circa 1880. The courthouse can be seen in the center distance.

Having the fair on the east side of the county was probably a burden for farmers and visitors. In 1854 it was moved to French's Farm in Libertyville, a more central location, but went back to Waukegan from 1855 to 1857. Farmers then convinced the county board to lease 10 acres in Libertyville for the fair's use. It was held at the Lake County Farm (Winchester House) location from 1858 to 1881.

In 1882, the fair moved to Appley Avenue (now Lake Minear) in Libertyville. This location was popular and used until 1925.

Shown at left are the Libertyville fairgrounds which included a racetrack, circa 1910.

In 1928, the fair was reborn in Antioch, where it remained through 1947. In 1948-49, it was again held in Libertyville at Memorial Field; 1950 in Gurnee; 1951-55 in Wauconda; and had its longest run in one location from 1956 to 2008 in Grayslake at Routes 45 & 120.

The Grayslake location was the former property of one of the fair's founders, John Gage (1802-1890). Gage's farm was often praised as being a "model for eastern and western farmers."

This photo shows the Fine Arts Department building at the Grayslake fairgrounds, 1968. Each year, local artists are encouraged to enter paintings and photographs to be judged for fair ribbons.

With the exception of four years, the fair has been held each year from 1852 to 2009. In 1861 and 1864 it was not held due to the Civil War. The fair board stated: "the times are too troublesome for holding of airs successfully on account of the volunteerings of so many of our labouring men for the war, and on account of the general depression all over the land, our people have no heart for such shows." And in 1926 and 1927 there was no fair, for unknown reasons.

Bud Slusser with his "team of pigs" at the Lake County Fair in 1968. Dunn Museum Collections.

There's something for everyone at the fair!

Diana Dretske ddretske@lcfpd.org 

McDonald's Fun-to-Go

You may have seen Ronald McDonald in the news this week as he met with a collector of Happy Meal toys. The occasion? McDonald's is celebrating the Happy Meal's 30th anniversary.

In 1977, Dick Brams, a McDonald's Regional Advertising Manager, commissioned the first Happy Meal and called it McDonaldland Fun-to-Go. The "Fun-to-Go" part of the name was because its mission was also to promote the new drive-through window service that was being introduced.

Two years later, the kids' meal was rolled out nationally with a Circus Wagon Train theme. The toy prize that came withe the meal became the key to its success and changed the way children ordered food.

In 1991, the museum accepted a set of eight McDino Changeable Happy Meal Toys into the permanent collection (above). It was an unusual addition to the tens of thousands of objects in the museum's care, especially since the toys did not have a significant relation to Lake County. However, they complemented the museum's advertising doll collection. Photo by Deanna Tyler

Each toy is shaped like McDonald's food items and unfolds or transforms into a different dinosaur. The McDinos were donated with their original packaging as shown in this photo.

What was initially meant for children and to draw young families to the restaurant, quickly became collectibles for adults.

To date, billions of meals and toys have been sold, and the toys and the Happy Meal packaging serious collector items. The cheap trinkets of the early Happy Meals have been gradually replaced with increasingly sophisticated toys, many of which are a tie-in to some existing toy line or motion picture.

Here is a close-up of the Meal-O-Don. Cute!

Hairdos and Don'ts

Women's hairstyles have changed a great deal over time. Thankfully.

To celebrate the evolution of hairstyles, I've selected photos of Lake County women from the museum's archives.

Sarah Jane Maynard (1836-1914) is shown here circa 1860. Her hairstyle and dress evoke the era 1854 to 1862, with her hair parted down the middle, and the small collar and wide bell sleeves on her dress.

She was the daughter of Jesse H. Maynard who started a brickyard in 1856 on Grand Avenue just east of Greenbay Road in Waukegan.







This photograph of Emily Coon Mason (1868-1953, second from left) and friends was taken circa 1892. Hair was worn up, and often curled or "frizzed."

Emily was the daughter of Reuben W. Coon, a prominent Waukegan newspaper man, lawyer, and State Senator.

Interestingly, at the same sitting the women were photographed from behind, giving us a delightful detail of their up-dos.






Emily's younger sister, Lucille Coon, is shown here from circa 1900.

In the first decade of the 20th century hairstyles transitioned from the more confined styles of the Victorian era to looser, fuller hairstyles. Volume was emphasized, and longer hairstyles featured hair parted in the middle with a noticeable part.






By the 1910s, large bows were all the rage for schoolgirls. Shown here are scholars from the McAlister School in Waukegan, circa 1916.

Look closely at the girls in the front row to see the different placement of the bows.






This 1925 Maple Grove School class photo is of Miss Josephine Kische (later Ullrich) and some of her scholars.





The photo features all the girls sporting the controversial "bob" hairstyle, which appeared during World War I. The "bob" evoked freedom from convention, and of course, women and girls loved it, because it was so much easier to care for. Its popularity skyrocketed by the 1920s when famous women like Coco Chanel began wearing their hair this way.

Women's Army Corps Captain E.M. Davis is shown in this circa 1942 photograph at her desk at Fort Sheridan. (BBDM 92.24.1882)


During World War II, women were expected to help with the war effort.

Hairstyles needed to be easy to manage, but also feminine and attractive. Hair tended to be shoulder-length or shorter, but always curled and rolled.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, I'm including a photograph from 1969. Here is Caryn Hayes at the cosmetics counter at the Fort Sheridan post exchange. (BBDM 92.24.1290)

The hairstyles of the 1960s were in transition from the big hair of the 1950s to flips and all their variations.