Lake County History

The Curt Teich Postcard Archives—an internationally renowned collection—calls Lake County, Illinois home. As it turns out, so did Curt Teich.

Curt Teich lounging at his summer property on Bluff Lake near Antioch, Illinois, circa 1940. (Teich Family Papers CTPA)

One of the world's most successful postcard publishers, Curt Teich, has roots in Chicago dating back to the 1890s, and in Lake County to the 1930s.

Curt Otto Teich (1877-1974) grew up in Lobenstein, Germany. While Curt was learning the printing trade, his father, Christian, and older brother, Max, traveled to the United States to see the World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. When his father returned to Germany, he urged Curt to join Max in America.

Curt immigrated in 1895, and eventually settled in Chicago, where in 1898 he opened a printing business.

From 1911 until 1978 the Teich Company operated out of the factory on W. Irving Park Road in Chicago. This postcard view shows the factory after the five-story addition was completed, 1922. (CTPA A91552)

In order to stand apart from the many printers in Chicago, Teich became an innovator. He turned the bulk of his operation to printing postcards, and developed a large off-set press to meet production needs. Teich postcards became known for their quality and brilliance of color.

This Fox Lake postcard from 1950 is vivid and eye-catching, and showcases the Teich Company's signature product, the "large letter" card, which they developed and produced to great acclaim. The Teich Company produced postcards for all of North America with views ranging from Main Streets to tourist sites to advertisements. (CTPA OCH1828).

From the 1920s to 1940s, the Teich Company became the world's largest producer of postcards.

As the family's fortunes increased, Curt Teich puchased a summer home on Bluff Lake near Antioch, Illinois. The family's main residence was a beautiful estate house in Glencoe.

Teich summer home on Bluff Lake. It is believed Curt Teich owned the property from the early 1930s until his death in 1974. (Teich Family Papers CTPA)

Porch at Teich summer home. (Teich Family Papers CTPA)

Curt Teich with his youngest son, Ralph, at the Bluff Lake summer house, circa 1933. (Teich Family Papers CTPA)

Curt Teich looking pleased with his catch of the day out of Bluff Lake, circa 1933. (Teich Family Papers CTPA)

View of Bluff Lake from the Teich's summer home, circa 1933. (Teich Family Papers CTPA)

Teich's youngest son, Ralph Teich, (1925-2000) lived most of his life in Lake County, either at the summer house or as an adult at his own beautiful estate house in Lake Forest.

It was Ralph Teich's foresight and vision that saved the company's archives. In 1982, he donated the archives to the Lake County Discovery Museum.

For more on the history of the Curt Teich Company check out the Archives's blog The Curt Teich Postcard Blog.

In celebration of American Archives Month, the Curt Teich Postcard Archives is giving behind-the-scenes tours on Thursday, October 18, 2012. Registration is required, and there are still a few openings for the morning tour.

Every so often a story comes along that makes you believe in ghosts. The tale of Private James A. Davis of the 19th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment is one of them.

(right) Portrait of James Alfred Davis (1843-1862) from "Tales of Old Barrington" book by Cynthia Baker Sharp, 1976.

First a little background on the Davis family...

James Alfred's parents were James Sullivan Davis and Parintha Lawrence Davis. The couple were married in Massachusetts in 1828, and by 1830 moved to New York State and then to Pennsylvania. By 1841, the family had settled in Wauconda Township, Lake County, Illinois.

The extended Davis family had also come to Illinois with them, and included the Sumner Davis family (James S. Davis's brother), and their parents David and Sarah Davis.

The James S. Davis farm (highlighted) was located north of Fiddle Lake in Wauconda Township. James Alfred was born there in October 1843. (L. Gast Bro. & Co. Lith. St. Louis, 1861). By 1856, the family owned both the Wauconda Township farm, and property in Barrington on Franklin Street.

According to family lore, when the Civil War broke out in 1861 and President Lincoln called for troops, the Davis's second youngest son, James Alfred, and a neighbor boy, ran away to join the army.

I researched the 19th Illinois in hopes of identifying the neighborhood friend. The Regiment's records show only one other soldier in Company C from Barrington, who enlisted at the same time as Davis, and that young man was Franklin Applebee. The Applebee home was just down the block on Main Street from the Davis home.

Barrington in 1861 showing the J.S. Davis property at the west end of Franklin Street, and G.A. Applebee home on the far left on County Line/Main Street. (L. Gast Bro. & Co. Lith. St. Louis, 1861)

James Alfred Davis and Franklin Applebee mustered in with the 19th Illinois at Camp Douglas, Chicago on June 17, 1861. James Alfred was not quite 18, but was described on his enlistment papers as being 18. His enlistment papers also describe him as 5' 8 1/2" tall, brown hair and brown eyes, single, and a farmer.

Running away to enlist was indeed a bold venture for the young men, made ever more exciting by the fact that the 19th Illinois was a Zouave Regiment.

Several officers and sergeants of the 19th Illinois had belonged to the original company of Ellsworth Zouaves. Colonel Elmer Ellsworth of Illinois is shown 2nd from right (above). Ellsworth's militia had spawned a national Zouave craze, so it's not surprising that some of the first regiments formed adopted the Zouave dress and drilling style. (See my post on Ellsworth's Zouave Cadets).

Family lore states that on April 17, 1862, James Alfred's mother, Parintha, had gone to bed in her room on the first floor. The room had a view of the front porch, and as she lay in bed she saw James Alfred come onto the porch, wearing his uniform. What great joy to have her son home from the war! Her husband, James, came into the bedroom, and she declared their son's return, but James said it wasn't so. Parintha got up and they searched the house and porch, but couldn't find James Alfred anywhere.

The Davis family home where James Alfred appeared on the porch on April 17, 1862. Image courtesy of Davis family descendant.

Parintha Davis was convinced she had seen her son. Several weeks later she discovered why.

The family received a letter from Captain J.W. Guthrie of Company C of the 19th Illinois, in which he stated: "I regret to inform you that on April 17 your son, Private James Alfred Davis, was shot and killed by a Confederate scout while on picket duty just east of Tuscumbia, Alabama." U.S. Army records note that James Alfred died at the regimental hospital the same day he was shot.

Depending on the source, later that summer or after the war, a friend and comrade of Alfred's (probably Frank Applebee) visited the Davis's and recounted those last days. He said that he and Alfred were on picket duty and when retreat was sounded at dusk he called to his friend, and Alfred replied, "I can't, I am shot."

It was the same day and time that Parintha Davis had seen her son come onto the porch of the family home. The family has always believed it was James Alfred's spirit visiting them at the moment of his death.

In all, five of James and Parintha's sons fought in the Civil War: James Alfred (19th Illinois), George L. Davis (15th Illinois Cavalry), Anson C. Davis (15th Illinois Cavalry), Luther W. Davis (52nd Illinois Infantry), and Charles B. Davis (32nd Illinois Infantry).

Just six weeks after James Alfred's death, the Davis's next oldest son, Anson, died at Monterey, Tennessee.

The Davis home where James Alfred's ghost came to visit is no longer standing. The site on Franklin Street between Hough Street and Cook Street is now a car dealership.

It’s the holidays and that means lots of folks are baking sweets for family and friends. But will you use butter or margarine in your recipes?

Until the late 19th century, that wasn't an option. Due to food shortages in Europe, particularly of edible fats, the need for a butter substitute prompted the development of margarine. By 1869, Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès, a French scientist and inventor, developed a complex process using beef fat to create a palatable butter substitute.

From the start, margarine caused a great deal of suspicion and was subject to regulation.

In the 1880s and 1890s, most states, including Wisconsin, passed legislation prohibiting the manufacture and sale of margarine. Despite regulations, the inconsistent quality of butter available gave margarine a foothold with consumers. In 1902, Senator Joseph Quarles of Kenosha addressed the U.S. Senate, stating: “Things have come to a strange pass when the steer competes with the cow as a butter maker.” The senator was of course, referring to the use of animal fat obtained from slaughter houses to make margarine.

Food rationing during World War II changed everything. Though fats in general were rationed, butter required more ration points than margarine.

War Ration Book used by Charles & Elsie Bairstow of Waukegan, 1942. LCDM 92.8.36.

War ration stamps, 1942. LCDM 92.8.36

By the end of the war, margarine was a familiar sight on American dinner tables, and it had lost much of its stigma.

Curt Teich Company postcard featuring Miss Nu-Maid and Grandpa promoting Oleo margarine, 1948. Nu-Maid was a popular brand of margarine, and "Grandpa" had a radio show "advising housewives to buy 'Table-Grade' Nu-Maid." CTPA 8BH559.

By the 1950s, every state, except Wisconsin, repealed its ban on colored margarine. (yellow coloring was added to margarine to make it more pleasing, and more butter-like to consumers). So, it became a feature of Wisconsin life to “smuggle” margarine into the state.

Stores and gas stations along the Illinois-Wisconsin border advertised Oleo and kept large inventories of the product to accommodate the Wisconsin demand.

Photo taken in January 1966 of a store run by William Dooper on Route 41 and Route 173 in Lake County, Illinois. Gas stations near the State Line catered to Wisconsin residents who made the trip to Illinois just to buy Oleo margarine. The gas stations made more money selling margarine than they did selling gas. (photo from private collection)

In the 1960s, it was estimated that some service stations near the state line sold as much as a ton of margarine per week to Wisconsin customers.

In the end, public preference for margarine, the impossibility of enforcing the law, and the loss of revenue led Wisconsin to repealing its anti-margarine laws. In 1967, for the first time since 1895, Wisconsin residents could buy margarine legally to make those special holiday recipes.

To quote Julia Child, who famously championed butter when it was so very out of fashion: "If you're afraid of butter, as many people are nowadays, just put in cream!"

In 1932, Paramount Pictures held a talent contest in search of a leading lady for their film, Island of Lost Souls, the first screen version of H.G. Wells's novel The Island of Dr. Moreau.

The search for Lota, the Panther Woman, brought Paramount to the Midwest, where young women in Illinois and Indiana vied for the role. Contests were conducted by the Publix-Great State Theater Corp., and sponsored locally by the Waukegan News-Sun and Genesee Theatre in Waukegan.

On August 10, 1932, Miss Leona Bloom of 845 Ash Street, Waukegan, polled 5,320 votes to win the "right to represent Lake County" in the Panther Woman screen tests in Chicago. Leona Bloom (left) as pictured in the Waukegan News-Sun, August 11, 1932.

Miss Bloom received a two-day trip to Chicago where Paramount's screen and vocal tests were conducted. She stayed at the Hotel Sherman where accommodation was reserved for the contest winners by the Publix Theater Corporation. In addition, Miss Bloom received a porcelain miniature with an 18-karat gold plated frame.

Postcard of the Hotel Sherman at Clark and Randolph Streets, Chicago by the Curt Teich Company, 1942. The postcard caption reads: "One of the largest hotels west of New York, with 1,600 rooms, beautiful new dining rooms, elaborate banquet and convention halls." (CTPA 2BH323).

Photo of the young women competing for the title of "Panther woman." Pictured are: Leona Bloom, Waukegan; June C. white, Danville; Eleanor Wilke, Hammond; Sally Mansfield, Aurora; Wilma Jacobson, East St. Louis; Lillian Satterlee, Elgin; Eleanor Manning, Decatur; Margaret Stahl, Chicago Heights; Louise Pfund, Bloomington; Lavonne Long, Rockford; Ada Sellers, Alton; Kathryn Harney, Peoria; Lavette Carlson, Kewanee; Evelyn Gray, Joliet; Margaret Martinson, Michigan City, Indiana; and Mildred Huckins, South Bend, Indiana. Photo from the Chicago Daily Tribune, August 14, 1932.

The young women were taken to a Chicago studio for screen tests. The films were then sent to Hollywood for the executives to choose their new leading lady.

Ultimately, the studio's choice was Kathleen Burke (1913-1980), a dental assistant from Chicago. Pictured above in a publicity shot for her role as Lota, the Panther Woman.

Poster for Paramount Pictures' "Island of Lost Souls" starring Charles Laughton as Dr. Moreau, Richard Arlen, Bela Lugosi, Leila Hyams, and Kathleen Burke, which opened 80 years ago this month in December 1932.

While filming the movie, Miss Burke's boyfriend from Chicago, Glen Nelson Rardin (1902-1987), often visited the set. The studio took issue with their leading lady going out with Rardin, claiming the "midnight snacks after working hours" could affect her acting.

Burke and Rardin married in February 1933, and divorced in November 1934.

Her success in the "Island of Lost Souls" led to many more screen appearances, most notably as the leading lady in "The Lives of a Bengal Lancer" (1935) opposite Gary Cooper, and "The Last Outpost" with Cary Grant (1935).

Her final film role was in 1938, but she continued acting until at least 1940 when she played the part of Rebekah in the Biblical radio drama, "Light of the World."

I have not been able to find what became of Leona Bloom after her audition. If anyone knows, I would enjoy hearing from you. I imagine she got married and had a family, and perhaps wondered how life would've been different (for better or worse) had she been chosen as the Panther Woman.

From 1947 to 1986, Victor and Marian Trybom operated the Rustic Manor Restaurant in Gurnee to delighted patrons.

One of the earliest views of the Rustic Manor Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge shown on a postcard, 1950. (CTPA OCH1557)

Detail of Rustic Manor sign from a retouched photo by the Curt Teich Company, 1950. (CTPA Job File OCH1557)

Victor Trybom (1895-1981) was born in Michigan to Swedish immigrants and farmers Olaf and Sara Trybom. Marian Trybom (1903-1991) was born to Polish immigrants Antone and Mary Kotarski.

Victor and Marian were married circa 1923. By 1930, they were living in Gurnee, Illinois with their children Marjorie and Marvin "Moe," having given up work on the family farm to find new opportunities.

By 1947, the Tryboms had opened the Rustic Manor on the northeast corner of Grand Avenue and Kilbourne Road in a house on the property. (Though most accounts give the 1947 date, the Village of Gurnee's website states the Tryboms were issued a liquor license in June 1945, and that was the start of the business).

The Tryboms added additions to create a sprawling log-style structure that reflected the popularity of the American Old West. During the 1950s and 1960s TV westerns and movies were hugely popular.

Postcard of the Rustic Manor showing its frontier fort style, 1951. (CTPA 1CK1422)

Rustic Manor entrance, 1965. Curt Teich Company postcard. (CTPA 5DK1527)

The western theme continued inside. The Rustic Manor was known for its taxidermy animal displays. In particular, there were mounted wall cases with gray squirrels in different scenarios, wearing clothes. (I wish I had a photo of that!)

One of the first things you encountered on entering the restaurant was the waterfall (above) that was so loud you couldn't stand next to it and talk. We would toss a coin or two into the pool, and then step aside to wait to be seated. Even though the sound of the water was overpowering, the environment this scene created made you feel like you were on an adventure. Teich postcard, 1959. (CTPA 9CK62)

Postcard view of one of the dining rooms at the Rustic Manor, 1955. (CTPA 5CK2346)

I often went to the Rustic Manor with my grandfather, who was especially fond of ordering the "Poor Man's Lobster." This was broiled white fish that came with hot melted butter served over a lighted candle. As a ten-year old, I thought that was fancy eating.

Menu cover from the Rustic Manor, circa 1960. (LCDM 2012.24.31)

A page from the Rustic Manor's menu, 1968. (LCDM 2005.3.1)

Rustic Manor drink menu, 1968. (LCDM 2005.3.1)

In 1986, the restaurant suffered severe damage when the Des Plaines River flooded. On January 8, 1987, shortly after completing renovations from the flood, a terrible fire broke out.

The fire was believed to have started in the barbeque pit from hot coals. (Photo courtesy of the Gurnee Fire Department.)

The back-to-back disasters were heartbreaking for the Trybom family and the restaurant's loyal customers. The building was razed and the location, on a designated floodplain, was dedicated as the Esper A. Petersen Foundation Park.

Twenty-five years later, the Rustic Manor and all its quirky charm are still missed by the community.

Santa and his sleigh and reindeer, 1959. Curt Teich postcard. (CTPA 9CK61)

In an age when anarchist bombings were daily news, the capture of 19-year-old Gabriella Antolini for carrying 50 pounds of dynamite and a pistol was a shock to many.

On January 17, 1918, the "Dynamite Girl" (as the newspaper's dubbed her) was arrested at Union Station in Chicago for transporting a satchel filled with dynamite. When questioned, Antolini gave the false name of "Linda José," a character in an anarchist propaganda play, and refused to cooperate with police.

Gabriella Antolini, alias Linda José, (above) as sketched by Maude Martin Evers for the "Chicago Tribune." The alias was no doubt a ploy to put authorities off the scent of her accomplices.

Gabriella "Ella" Segata Antolini (1899-1984) was the daughter of Sante and Maria Antolini. The family immigrated to the U.S. in 1907 from Ferrara, Italy. They worked as contract laborers in the cotton fields of Louisiana, before settling in New Britian, Connecticut where they did factory work. When her parents were notified of her arrest, they could not believe it was their daughter, although they were also anarchists.

After her arrest, Gabriella was brought to Waukegan where she was held at the Lake County jail to await trial. While in jail, Antolini planned an escape. She had hidden a milk bottle which she intended to attach to the end of a broom handle and "knock out" the Lake County Sheriff, Elvin J. Griffin. Before she could act, Antolini's cellmate informed the Sheriff of her plans.

The Lake County Jail (courthouse tower behind it), where the "Dynamite Girl" was held for several months in 1918. LCDM 92.27.253.1

After two weeks in jail, Antolini finally revealed her real name and began to tell her story. She admitted to being a sympathizer of the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.), which promoted worker solidarity and the overthrow of the employing class. She was also an acquaintance and follower of anarchist Luigi Galleani, who advocated the use of violence to eliminate "oppressors." From 1914 to 1932, Galleani's followers in the United States (known as Galleanists), carried out a series of bombings and assassination attempts.

On June 1, 1918, the "Dynamite Girl" was released from the Lake County jail when a $15,000 bond was made by wealthy Italian immigrant, Vincenzio DeAngelo of Chicago. In public, Gabriella was presented as DeAngelo's daughter. On June 27th, while walking with DeAngelo and his wife near the family home, he was murdered. Antolini was quoted in the Chicago Tribune: "O, he wasn't killed on my account. It wasn't because he helped me, I am sure."

In October, Antolini went before Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis (best remembered for expelling eight members of the Chicago White Sox from organized baseball for conspiring to lose the 1919 World Series). Antolini pleaded guilty and was sentenced to the maximum imprisonment of 18 months and a $2,000 fine.

Emma Goldman, 1911, from the Library of Congress.

While serving her sentence in the Jefferson City Prison in Missouri, Antolini met and befriended Kate Richards O'Hare, a Socialist activist who was imprisoned for an anti-war speech; and most notably Emma Goldman, an anarchist known for her political activism, writing, and speeches. Together, the women were known as "the trinity" and worked to improve prison conditions.

Following her release from prison, Antolini lived in Detroit, Michigan where she met and married Jerome Pomilia, a "fine-man's tailor." Gabriella worked as a seamstress at different shops. Jerome and Gabriella divorced in the 1940s, and Gabriella moved to Florida in the 1950s.

In 1992, Iranian artist Siah Armajani created a tribute to Gabriella Antolini titled: “Gazebo for Two Anarchists: Gabriella Antolini and Alberto Antolini” The interior view (above) shows the wood and steel painted sculpture on display at the Storm King Art Center, New Windsor, NY, one of the world’s leading sculpture parks.

According to Gabriella's son, Febo Pomilia, his mother remained a devoted anarchist until her death from cancer in 1984. She was cremated, and he scattered her ashes in a canal in Everglades Park.

During the Civil War, Susannah Smith (1839 - 1914) of Millburn wrote letters to her brother, George, who was with the 96th Illinois Regiment. One of George's comrades, Richard Thain, was rightfully envious of the long letters, and asked George for permission to correspond with his sister.

Susie D. Smith (right) photographed circa 1865 (LCDM 93.45.54)

In Richard's first letter to Susie, dated July 9, 1864, he wrote:

"Respected Friend,

I suppose you will think me rather bold in addressing you in this manner but I hope you will not be offended. My object in corresponding with you is to have something to occupy my time and to relieve the monotony of camp life. ... I hope you will do me the favor to answer this poorly written letter and if you wish to keep a correspondence I will be very happy to answer your letters. Believe me, Your Sincere Friend." (LCDM 93.45.433)

Richard Thain, circa 1880 from the History of the 96th Illinois Regiment. (left) Richard was the brigade's postmaster and was nearly killed by a Confederate scout.

It's difficult to see a romance blossoming in Richard's matter-of-fact letters, but in Susie's diaries there is plenty of evidence of her affection for him and the attentions he gave her following the war. (Susie's letters to Richard had been saved by the family, but unfortunately were destroyed in a fire at a family member's cabin in California in 1992).

The "soldier boys" were discharged and sent home in June 1865. On June 15, while taking a break from teaching at the Grubb School near Millburn, Susie wrote of her anticipation in her diary:

"Heard Richard was in... how I do wish that I could see him. I stand at the window a moment and then take a turn in the yard hardly knowing what to do... I can write no more for the girls are crowning me with oak leaves and roses, so, as they say, that their teacher may look pretty, if she should have company this afternoon." (LCDM 93.45.290)

She did have company that afternoon, and recounted the moment in her diary: "I have seen Richard, he came up to the schoolhouse... I thought that he was very kind to do so, but I could hardly speak to him, I was in such a tremble of excitement." (LCDM 93.45.290)

The old Grubb School where Susie Smith taught, and Richard Thain visited her on his first day back from the war. Photographed in 1966. Image courtesy of Historic Millburn Community Association.

This was probably not Richard and Susie's first meeting. They had both grown up in and around the small community of Millburn. However, their correspondence most certainly changed the dynamic of that relationship. Several days later, Susie wrote that she had spent "the happiest day of my life" in Richard's company, singing and talking.

Despite their age difference, Susie was six years Thain's senior, they spent the next year and a half together. Richard was often in Susie's company at church meetings, and spent evenings at the Smith family home.

Smith family home, north of Millburn. Photo circa 1890. (LCDM 93.45.79).

In early fall 1865, Richard moved to Chicago to start in business, but continued to make frequent visits to Millburn. On April 13, 1866, Susie wrote: "After tea, looked out and saw Richard coming up the path, quite a joyful surprise. R staid at our house all night."

Their relationship continued until December 1866, when things noticeably changed. Susie received fewer letters and still fewer visits from Richard. On Christmas Day, she wrote:

"Christmas... Had a good time and yet there is such a blank when R is gone that I cannot enjoy my self as well. How strange it seems that one person can add so much to anothers happiness and become as it were a part of anothers existence. It seems as though the greatest happiness I have next to the knowledge of the love of God is the thought of the love of my Richard thoughts of him are ever in my mind."

And then Susie's heartbreaking entry for January 1, 1867: "Happy New Year was exchanged on every side, and we passed a very pleasant day and evening... When we reached home my disappointed heart which I had managed to keep down all day gave way and I had a hard cry. I did hope to see Richard to day and I know he would have come if it had been possible but I was so grieved over it seemed impossible to keep from crying. And so I did cry. May God forgive me for being so weak. When will I ever learn to control myself. Ned dear brother came and put his arms around me and tried to comfort me." (LCDM 93.45.290)

Susie's diary ends on January 17th, leaving us with many questions, but from her tears we know she was not ready to lose Richard.

There is a happy ending for Susie, but it does not involve Richard Thain. He spent a couple of years traveling cross-country and building his business before settling down with Hannah Abbott in 1869 in Oak Park, Illinois. After Hannah's death, he married Emma Jenness in 1881.

In 1868, one year after the end of her romance with Richard, Susie began co-editing the Millburn Literary Association's publication with her neighbor, David J. Minto. They had been attending the same prayer meetings and evenings of singing at Mr. Hughes's for two years, and were both teachers.

Susie's one surviving letter is to David, dated May 7, 1869 from Chicago. Susie wrote to "Dear Davie" that her friend Mrs. Emerson wanted to "commence" the letter for her, because she knows "how to write love letters."

David J. Minto, circa 1870. (left) (LCDM 93.45.52) David enlisted with the 96th Illinois, but was honorably discharged due to illness in 1863. He came back to Millburn and farmed his family's land, and taught in the local one room schools.

In the same letter, Susie wrote: "Don't you think Davie that the 20th would be a good day for... you know." That "you know" referred to a possible wedding day. Indeed, they were married on that very May 20th by Rev. Thomas Lightbody of the Millburn Congregational Church, and remained married for 44 years.

Photographed in 1898 at the Minto family homestead are Susie and David Minto (seated) with their only surviving children, David Harold and Una (with kittens). (LCDM 93.45.91)

Susie and David's granddaughters, Katherine and Lura, donated the family's letters and diaries to the museum in 1993. The museum's Minto Collection is hosted online by the Illinois Digital Archives.

Dr. James Brister (1858 - 1916) was the first African-American dentist in Lake County, coming to Zion about 1903.

James Brister, 1903 (right) courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania Collection.

Brister was born in Philadelphia to Dr. Joseph Brister, D.D.S. and Olivia Parker Brister. He entered the University of Pennsylvania's dental school in 1879, receiving his diploma in 1881. He was the first African-American to earn a degree from Penn. From 1880 until shortly after 1890, James practiced dentistry with his father.

By 1893, James Brister moved to Chicago and opened a dental office on Dearborn Street. In 1897, he married Anna Murrell. Between 1898-1901, Brister's dental office was located on State Street, and then on Michigan Avenue from 1902 to 1903.

While in Chicago, Brister came into contact with John Alexander Dowie's Zion Movement. Chicago's large population, and Dowie's Tabernacle location across the street from the main gate of the World's Columbian Exposition were significant in attracting new members to his church, including Brister.

Born in Scotland and raised in Australia, John Alexander Dowie (1847-1907) (above) was a charismatic preacher and faith healer who established the Christian Catholic Church.

Dowie came to Illinois in 1893 to preach his message of “clean and faithful living” outside the entrance to the Columbian Exposition. By 1899, his followers numbered in the tens of thousands, and had donated enough money for Dowie to consider establishing a socialist utopia. Ultimately, Dowie purchased 6,000 acres of farmland in Benton Township for his "City of God," which became Zion, a theocracy under his control.

Although Dowie was a controversial figure and his leadership was criticized for anti-democratic tendencies, he was ahead of his time when it came to social issues. He believed in an eight-hour work day at a time when 12-14 hour days were common, and allowed women to vote in local elections. He also believed in diversity and strongly enforced a policy against racism, making his church and Zion attractive to African-American families.

About 1903, James Brister moved his family to Zion, Illinois as part of Dowie's Christian Catholic Church. By 1905, 200 of Zion’s 10,000 residents were of African-American, South African or Caribbean heritage. Possibly the most influential of these African-American citizens was the town’s dentist, Dr. Brister.

Brister’s dental practice was in the “Temple Cottage” on Sheridan Road, and his family lived on Ezekiel Avenue and later Enoch Street.

In Zion, you did not become a leader in the church or hold public office unless Dowie personally chose you. Dowie selected Brister to be a deacon of the church, and his wife, Anna, a deaconess. Brister was also selected to be a member of the first Zion City Council in 1903. (Photo above showing James Brister - 2nd row left - as a member of the first city council for Zion, 1903. Courtesy of University of Pennsylvania Collection).

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

Dr. Beatrice Pearce, M.D., circa 1900.
LCDM 92.34.293

In 1847, Beatrice's father, Dr. William S. Pearce, immigrated from England, and settled in Chicago, opening 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," and re-established his drug store at Genesee and Washington Streets.

The first Pearce house (above) was located at 509 Julian Street, Waukegan.
(LCDM 94.14.30.2)
It is believed that William S. Pearce had this house built in circa 1855.
Beatrice would've been 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 - 1887. Since her father and brother were both 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, but 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, and 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 (above) from the Waukegan city directory for 1897-1898.
Directory shows Beatrice as a physician, and her father W.S. as being 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. Teich Postcard Archives A74192.

When Beatrice arrived in Ketchikan, she found a frontier town with a population of approximately 1,600. Compared to the bustle of Waukegan with a population of 16,000 (in addition to the nearby metropolis of Chicago), it was pioneer country. 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, and 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.

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

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 (LCDM 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 photo.

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 from 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.

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 archives.
Lake County Discovery Museum files.

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

Louise DeKoven Bowen (1859 - 1953)

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, and 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; and 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 where 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.

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!

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.

This week's post is in honor of National Police Week, and in memory of Officer William Petersen.

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 WinthropHarbor, was killed while on patrol. As he stood in Art Christensen’s auto repair garage along Sheridan Road near the State line, he observed a vehicle speeding.

During Prohibition (1920-1933) bootleggers traveled from Wisconsin along Sheridan Road through Lake County, Illinois. 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, 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.

George Pavlik went with police to Chicago to review mug shots while authorities in Lake and CookCountieslaunched 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: 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, photograph taken in 1952.
LCDM Collections.

Potz was detained in the LakeCounty 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 Chicagofor 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 that same year Governor Small was indicted for having sold an estimated 500 pardons. He never went to jail, but was voted out of office.

William Petersen's gravemarker at Green Ridge Cemetery, Kenosha, Wisconsin.

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.

Sources:

"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

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.

Postcard of soldiers convalescing at one of the wards at
Fort Sheridan's Lovell General Hospital, circa 1918.
LCDM 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.
Pictured here circa 1930. LCDM 92.24.1384

In 1918, the Post’s hospital expanded its operations and was dedicated as Lovell General Hospital for Joseph Lovell, Surgeon General of the U.S. Army from 1818-1836.

The hospital became a multi-building complex, including the entire Tower complex, and 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 Lovell General Hospital across the parade grounds.
Circa 1920. LCDM 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 Lovell General Hospital and other facilities throughout the country, there were more casualties than the system could handle. In addition to treating veterans of the war, Lovell accepted civilians suffering from the Great Flu Epidemic.

In 1919, the Hostess House of the Young Women's
Christian Association was built at Fort Sheridan using
salvaged material. General Pershing, commander-in-chief of American
forces in Europe, is shown visiting Hostess House. The facility
provided a library and tea room which served homemade
meals to the soldiers. LCDM 95.32.24.

Paul Steorp of Deerfield Township, Lake County, IL, wearing gas mask,
served with the U.S. Army Ambulance Service. LCDM 2003.0.16
The war prompted an enormous expansion of the Army Medical Department.
When the U.S. entered the war the dept. consisted of less than 1,000 personnel,
and numbered over 350,000 when the peace treaty was signed in November 1918.

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. LCDM 92.24.1015.

Soldiers entering a gas chamber built on the Fort's Lake Michigan
shoreline. Circa 1935. LCDM 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 OfficerCandidateSchool.

WACs emerging from gas chamber training
at Fort Sheridan, 1964. LCDM 92.24.1202

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

To request a free brochure on Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve with information on the history of the Fort and site map, please email me at: ddretske@lcfpd.org.

On June 26, 1913, the State of Illinois approved women’s suffrage. Illinois was one of many states to approve women’s right to vote in advance of the 19^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920, which gave all women the right to vote in all elections.

Suffrage pageant featuring German actress, Hedwig Reicher as "Columbia" in front of

U.S. Treasury Building in Washington, D.C., March 13, 1913. (Library of Congress)

Before women received the right to vote, they were considered second-class citizens with limited rights and privileges, and were beholden to their husbands. It was the Anti-Slavery Movement of the early 1800s that spurred progressive-minded women, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902), to begin a women’s rights movement.

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton,

prominent civil rights and women's rights leaders.

(Library of Congress)

In 1848, Stanton held a convention in Seneca Falls, NY to discuss the “social, civil and religious rights of women.” This was the official beginning of the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) joined the movement in 1850, and became a central figure. Anthony was famously arrested for trying to vote for Ulysses S. Grant for president in 1872.

In the "Portrait and Biographical Album for Lake County, Illinois" 1891, each man's church and political affiliations are listed, but for their wives only a church affiliation, since their political views were inconsequential without the right to vote. The sketch for Mark Bangs of Wauconda notes: "In politics he was a Whig and cast his first Presidential vote for William Henry Harrison... Both he and his wife [Clarissa Hubbard Bangs] are faithful members of the Baptist Church of Wauconda."

Anti-Women's Suffrage postcard, circa 1918.

Even George Washington got in on the act! (Teich Postcard Archives, BB302)

The Suffrage Movement spread, and in 1910, chapter houses of the American Woman’s League were built in North Chicago and Zion. The league worked to “advance, protect and uplift American womanhood,” and spun off into the American Woman’s Republic, which educated women about government in preparation for when they had the right to vote.

A leading activist, Grace Wilbur Trout (1864-1955) was president of the Chicago Political Equality League, which published pamphlets and circulated petitions to lobby the state legislature to grant women voting rights. When she became president of the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association, the organization started focusing on creating local organizations and lobbying individual legislators.

Grace Wilbur Trout, 1913. (Library of Congress)

Trout mobilized a public show of support in getting Illinois's partial suffrage bill passed. The bill permitted women to vote for "Presidential elections and for all local offices not specifically name in the Illinois Constitution," but not for state representatives, congressional representatives, or governor. The bill passed on June 11 (83 votes for and 58 votes against) and was signed by Governor Dunne on June 26, 1913.

The new law made Illinois the first state east of the Mississippi River to grant women the right to vote for President of the United States.

Interestingly, the first woman to vote in Illinois in a town election did so twenty-two years before the Illinois law was passed. In 1891, Ellen Martin of Lombard noticed that the town's charter did not mention gender as a factor in who could vote. After she and 14 other women voted in that year's elections, the charter was quickly amended.

On July 5, 1913, Clara A. Colby (1878 - 1962) became the first woman to legally vote in Illinois, casting her historic ballot for a new town hall in Libertyville. Colby said, “I’m a very happy woman to have had this opportunity.”

Headline from the "Chicago Tribune," the day after Clara Colby's historic vote. (above)

The paper noted that Clara's husband, Wayne Colby, was very proud of her. He was quoted as saying: "Just to show that it is not such a terrible thing for a man to stay at home and do the housework on the occasional voting day."

Anti-Women's Suffrage postcard, circa 1918. Men at home doing the laundry and

looking after babies was a prominent theme of naysayers. (Teich Postcard Archives, BB342)

After returning home briefly, Clara Colby went back out to encourage more women to vote. She spoke to women on the street telling them, "Do go and vote. I don't care if you vote in favor of the new hall or against."

Daisy E. Morse (1876 - 1946) headed a delegation of half a dozen women who applied for ballots. She was quoted in the paper: "My husband told me not to vote, but you see I am here."

Libertyville's Mayor Schnaebele's wife and daughter, Caroline and Della, preferred to finish their morning housework before casting their vote. The paper noted, "They were on hand first thing in the afternoon and cast a ballot in favor of the new town hall."

The Tribune noted that Clara Colby "more than hinted that the balance of power rested in their [women's] hands and the men had best take care and keep Libertyville clean or the women would show their strength and make demands."

Commemorative plaque at Clara Colby's gravesite, Lakeside Cemetery, Libertyville, Illinois.

In October 1862, while the 96th Illinois was in northern Kentucky, they were approached by two Confederate deserters—James Kenty and John McGill.

Both men had enlisted from New Orleans with the 1st (Strawbridge's) Louisiana Infantry. James Kenty was an unwilling recruit, enlisting on April 29, 1861, and John McGill was conscripted, enlisting on May 23, 1861.

A large number of the men in the Louisiana Volunteer Infantry were foreign-born, particularly Irish from New Orleans' wharves and docks. John McGill (1833-1891) was a laborer and immigrant from Ireland, and James Kenty (ca. 1840-unknown) was a sailor and immigrant from England.

Desertion rates in the South were far lower than those of Union soldiers. Some have attributed this to the South fighting a defensive war, on their own ground, giving the soldiers a sense that they were fighting for their homeland. Another factor, early in the war, were the Union's great losses.

Private Kenty was wounded while fighting with the 1st Louisiana at Pittsburgh Landing in the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862.

Battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862.

Confederate forces under Gen. Johnston attacked a stunned Gen. Grant and his Union troops

along the Tennessee River at Pittsburg Landing. The battle was the bloodiest the war had yet seen.

Art by Thure de Thulstrup, ca. 1888 (Library of Congress)

Kenty requested a discharge after completing his year of service, but was refused. He was present on the muster rolls until September 1, 1862. Private McGill was present on the muster rolls until April, 1862. Interestingly, neither man is listed in Confederate war records as a deserter.

How these men managed to survive until they approached the 96th Illinois is anyone's guess. They had come to Kentucky with General Bragg's Army. According to the 96th's history: "upon a favorable opportunity slipped from the ranks and made their way northward until they met this command when they offered to enlist and were accepted."

Kenty and McGill officially enlisted with Company C, 96th Illinois on November 1, 1862.

Both proved to be excellent soldiers. Kenty served most of the time in the Quartermaster's Department as the regimental/brigade butcher.

McGill was promoted to sergeant, and was severely wounded in the shoulder at the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863. He rejoined the command, but in front of Atlanta, August 24, 1864, he was again wounded in the shoulder, this time so severely he was discharged from service.

Kenty and McGill survived the war. Kenty's last known residence was in Stockton, Rooks County, Kansas in 1886. McGill settled near Walled Lake, Michigan with his wife Elizabeth A. Graham McGill. The 96th's history noted that in 1885, he was in poor health (probably from his war wounds).

John McGill's tombstone in Walled Lake Cemetery, Michigan.
His service with the 96th Illinois is noted at the bottom of the stone.

Experience northern Illinois's largest Civil War re-enactment
at Lakewood Forest Preserve on Route 176 in Wauconda, July 13-14, 2013.

Gene Tunney, circa 1928

World heavyweight champion, James Joseph "Gene" Tunney (1897-1978) trained for one of his famous bouts at Cedar Crest Country Club near Lake Villa.

A New York native and son of Irish immigrants, Gene Tunney began fighting in 1915, and served in combat during World War I, hence his nickname the "Fighting Marine." He started as a light heavyweight, but in 1925 began to concentrate on heavyweight matches.

On September 23, 1926, Tunney defeated the legendary Jack Dempsey (1895-1983) in Philadelphia, PA in a 10-round unanimous decision for the Heavyweight Championship of the World. Not surprisingly, there was great interest when a rematch was announced the following year.

On August 11, 1927, the site for Tunney's training camp for his second fight against Dempsey was officially announced. The location would be Cedar Crest Country Club (aka Cedar Crest Farms). The property located in Lake Villa Township and west of Route 59 on the shore of Fox Lake, was the former estate of coal mine owner and operator, Jackson K. Dering (1870-1925).

The Chicago Tribune reported on August 19, 1927: "the training site is almost 70 miles by motor from Chicago... one of the few places Billy Gibson, manager of Tunney, visited in his quest for a training camp. Gibson asserts it is the most ideal training camp sites he has seen in his thirty years' association with boxing."

Headline for Tunney's training camp announcement. Chicago Tribune August 12, 1927.

Tunney was given a suite of rooms in the main house, and rooms for his invited guests, access to a swimming pool, and two boxing rings. According to the Tribune: "Signs will be posted along the highways directing motorists to the camp. Unlike Dempsey, the champion [Tunney] will work in public and special trains will be run over the Soo line." The Soo Line was the only railroad to the lakes region and Lake Villa.

Gene Tunney (in back) listening to a "band of youths" playing on the lawn of Cedar Crest Country Club,

Lake Villa. Chicago Tribune, September 3, 1927.

After some public workouts in front of 4,000 fans and newspaper reporters, Tunney announced that he would begin training in secret. He did, however, work in a total of five exhibition matches at the camp for his fans.

"I have my own ideas of training," Tunney said to the Tribune regarding the secret workouts. "I want to perfect certain punches and I do not want any one to know the style of attack I am going to use against Dempsey."

Jack Dempsey was the most famous boxer of his era, and a cultural icon of the 1920s. He held the World Heavyweight Championship from 1919-1926. The odds makers favored Dempsey to win the rematch.

The Tribune reported that on September 13, Tunney spent the day golfing at the Onwenstia Club in Lake Forest and dining with society friends. His manager Billy Gibson noted that Tunney wasn't sleeping well with noise around the clubhouse and on the Fox Lake shore. Gibson said: "We thought it best for the champion to get away from the camp for a few days and forget all about the fight."

Program for the historic fight, September 22, 1927, Soldier Field, Chicago.

Tunney rode in a bullet proof car protected by two squad cars from Lake Villa to Chicago the day of the fight. It was said that notorious Chicago mobster, Al Capone, was a fan of Jack Dempsey and bet on him to win, fueling rumors that the fight was rigged.

The match was held at Chicago's Soldier Field, drawing a gate of $2,658,600 (nearly $34 million in today's dollars), and over 104,000 in attendance.

Tunney dominated the fight in rounds one to six, but in the seventh round, Dempsey knocked Tunney to the ground. This was the first time in Tunney's career that he'd been knocked down.

Controversially, the referee did not start counting immediately. Instead, he waited until Dempsey moved to a neutral corner giving Tunney several seconds to recover before the actual count. Because of this delay, it became known as the Long Count Fight.

Chicago Tribune photo from the famous Dempsey-Tunney fight, showing Tunney knocked down and the referee trying to move Dempsey to a neutral corner before beginning the 10-second count.

Interestingly, it was Dempsey's camp who had negotiated for a new 10-second count rule for knockdowns for this fight.

Tunney later said he heard the referee at the "two" count and could've gotten up at any point after that, but waited until "nine." Dempsey said he had no reason not to believe Tunney, who then dominated the final two rounds, and won the title by unanimous decision.

Notably, when Tunney knocked Dempsey down in the eighth round, the referee began counting before Tunney moved to a neutral corner.

After the fight, Dempsey lifted Tunney's arm and said, "You were best. You fought a smart fight, kid."

New York Herald headlines the day after the historic rematch, September 23, 1927.

Approximately 15 million people listened to the fight on the radio, but controversy over the fight decision erupted. This was due in large part because a U.S. law prohibited the shipment of boxing movies over state lines. Once the law was repealed and people could see the count for themselves, the controversy dwindled. Tunney's alertness after being knocked down quieted the naysayers.

Perhaps the Washington Post's sports reporter Shirley Povich said it best when he wrote: "Gene Tunney did get up. With the count of nine he rose to his feet a calm, deliberate fighting machine, stunned, but aware, and there Gene Tunney saved the championship."

It was Dempsey's last career fight and Tunney's next to last. Tunney again defended the title successfully against Tom Heeney in 1928.

Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey, circa 1940, location unknown.

Despite fighting each other in one of the most controversial boxing matches in history, Tunney and Dempsey became good friends.

For Lake County's 96th Illinois Infantry, Chickamauga was "A battle of tremendous proportions and fraught with mighty import."

Today, this battle is not as well known in the North, most likely because it was a Union defeat. So, on this 150th anniversary, let us look back and remember.

Lithograph by Kurz and Allison, 1890. Library of Congress.

The Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia, September 18 - 20, 1863 was the most significant Union defeat in the Western Theater of the Civil War, and had the second highest number of casualties in the war following the Battle of Gettysburg two months earlier.

The battle was named for Chickamauga Creek, and fought between the Army of the Cumberland under Major General William Rosecrans and Confederate Army of the Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg. For the 96th Illinois, this was their most intense engagement of the war.

The opposing generals at Chickamauga:
Maj. General William Rosecrans and General Braxton Bragg

Early in September 1863, Rosecrans had forced Bragg's army out of Chattanooga, Tennessee, but Bragg was determined to reoccupy the city. He decided to meet Rosecran's army head-on. As Bragg marched north on September 18, his cavalry and infantry fought in skirmishes against Union cavalry and infantry. Captain Blodgett of the 96th's Company D "caught a bullet in the shoulder," but remained with the company although the wound was painful.

Fighting began in earnest on the morning of September 19, and though Bragg's men made a strong assault they could not break the Union lines.

According to the 96^th’s history, by the end of Saturday, the men were "'spoiling for a fight.' Half in hopes that they might be spared the dangers of the battle, and half in fear lest they might not share in its honors."

Late on the morning of Sunday, September 20th, General Rosecrans was misinformed that he had a gap in his line. Moving units to fill the supposed gap, Rosecrans inadvertently created an actual gap. The breach was exploited with deadly force by Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's corps. Longstreet's attack confused the Union ranks and drove one-third of the Union army, including Rosecrans himself, from the field.

Major General George H. Thomas took over command, and Union units, including the 96th Illinois, created a defensive line on Horseshoe Ridge and Snodgrass Hill. The Confederates repeatedly assaulted the Federals, but the Union lines held. Thomas was thereafter known as the "Rock of Chickamauga."

Snodgrass Hill where the 96th Illinois and other Union troops
fought off repeated attacks by Longstreet's corps.
Curt Teich Postcard Archives, RC488.

The 96th Illinois's Lt. Col. Isaac Clarke of Waukegan, led his men up Horseshoe Ridge. “Clarke sat calmly on his horse near the left of the Regiment, speaking words of cheer to the men as they met the terrible fate. A moment later a bullet struck him, inflicting a mortal wound. He was assisted from his horse and carried to the rear upon a blanket,” and subsequently died.

Lt. Col. Isaac L. Clarke

The loss of Clarke caused confusion in the ranks. A staff officer approached Capt. George Hicks of Company A: "hurriedly, with arms outstretched... his manner and tone indicating intense excitement," and informed Hicks of the loss of Clarke.

Hicks immediately assumed command of the Regiment: "Comrades, you have made one charge-a gallant charge. On yonder hillside lie the bodies of your fallen comrades. Forward to avenge their deaths!"

After the days' desperate battle, “The Union forces were well exhausted and almost out of ammunition, except as they took it from the cartridge boxes of the dead and wounded.” Twilight ended the battle. Union forces retired to Chattanooga while the Rebels occupied the surrounding heights. The 96^th Illinois and 121^st Ohio were the last organized body to leave the field.

George E. Smith of the 96th Illinois Company D wrote to his sister in Millburn two weeks after the battle: "I suppose you have all heard of the fight in which we were engaged at Chickamauga, and are all waiting with beating hearts to hear the result." He had survived those fateful days with only his foot being scraped by a bullet.

The Union suffered an estimated 16,170 casualties and Confederates 18,454. The 96th Illinois played a critical role, always in the front line and at the right where the work was most severe.

The 96th Illinois's losses in killed and wounded were the heaviest of any regiment in the Reserve Corps. Of the 419 men who went into the fight, 200 were killed or wounded, and 34 captured.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there were a number of protests by Native Americans for better housing and social services. Some of these protests took place in Lake County.

Some believe the protests were rooted in the 1953 "Indian termination" policy passed by the U.S. Congress, which eliminated most government support for Indian tribes and ended protected trust status of Indian-owned land. This was followed by the Indian Relocation Act of 1956, designed to encourage Native Americans to leave Indian reservations, acquire vocational skills and assimilate into the general population.

Native Americans moved to urban centers in five original relocation cities: Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Seattle, and were to receive assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) with housing and employment. Many Native Americans struggled to adjust to their new surroundings, and faced unemployment, low-end jobs, discrimination, and the loss of traditional cultural support.

Since Illinois did not have a large in-state reservation, Native people from tribes throughout the country came to Chicago. When the relocation began approximately 8% of Native Americans lived in cities. As of the 2000 census, that number climbed to 64%.

Original sign for the American Indian Center, circa 1953.

In 1953, the American Indian Center (AIC) of Chicago was organized by the Chicago Indian community. For fifty years the AIC has been the principal cultural resource for Chicago's Native Americans.

The Chicago American Indian Conference was held at the University of Chicago in 1961, attracting hundreds of Native Americans from across the country. As a result of the conference, a Declaration of Indian Purpose was created which in turn helped to mobilize a generation of Indian activists.

In 1970, the Chicago Indian Village (CIV) emerged to fight for better housing for the city's urban Native American population. The CIV's protests began when a Menominee woman was evicted from her Wrigleyville apartment. This eviction led the group to a two-month encampment at a Wrigley Field parking lot.

Senator Adlai Stevenson III (right) speaks with Mike Chosa (center)
and members of the Chicago Indian Village who crashed a political dinner
at the Sherman House in Chicago. Stevenson intervened on the protesters
behalf with Chicago police. Chicago Tribune photo, May 19, 1972.

From 1970-1972, community organizer Mike Chosa of the Chicago Indian Village planned seven encampments throughout Chicagoland. Two encampments were held in Lake County: one outside the main gate at Fort Sheridan, and another at Camp Logan in Zion.

The goal of the protests was to generate leverage with government agencies to address inadequate housing and social services for Chicago's 16,000 Native American citizens. A fact sheet prepared by the Chicago Indian Village stated that the Indians in the encampments "are not welfare cases: they are working people."

Chicago Indian Village encampment outside
George Bell Gate at Fort Sheridan, January 1972.
LCDM 92.24.1378

The Chicago Tribune wrote on January 3, 1972: "Thirty Indians protesting substandard housing conditions yesterday erected teepees outside the main gate at Fort Sheridan that could cause hug traffic jams today." They also carried signs protesting the Vietnam War.

Similar encampments were held across the country most notably at Alcatraz Island by a group known as Indians of All Tribes from November 1969 - June 1971. The IAT pointed to 19th century treaties that stated abandoned or unused federal land would be returned to the Native people from whom it was acquired, hence their occupation of Alcatraz.

Chicago Indian Village encampment at Camp Logan
barracks, Zion, Illinois, April 12, 1972.
Photo by Joe Kordick. LCDM 2011.29

About the same time as the Fort Sheridan encampment, the protesters secured "a winter home" at Camp Logan in Zion where they remained until June 29, 1972. They then stayed at the United Methodist Church in Winthrop Harbor until accommodations were made for them with the Milwaukee Indian Action Group.

By the summer of 1972, the momentum behind the Chicago Indian Village was exhausted and the group eventually dispersed.

Curt Teich's Lake County Summer Home

Civil War Ghost of the 19th Illinois Regiment

Butter vs. Oleo Margarine

Paramount Pictures Search for the 'Panther Woman'

The Rustic Manor

Gabriella Antolini, the Dynamite Girl

Susie Smith's Civil War Romance

Dr. James Brister, Zion, Illinois

Beatrice Pearce, M.D., County's First Woman Doctor

King Peter II Returns to Yugoslavia

Joseph T. Bowen Country Club, Waukegan

Mineola Hotel - Endangered Site Designation

C.R. Childs Real Photo Postcards of Lake County

Officer William Petersen 1893 - 1922

Fort Sheridan and the Impact of Chemical Warfare

Women's Suffrage - 100 Years of the Right to Vote

Confederates Join the 96th Illinois

Boxer Gene Tunney Trained Near Lake Villa

Battle of Chickamauga, September 18 - 20, 1863

Chicago Indian Village Protests 1970-1972