Ela Historical Society holds appraisal event.
The Ela Historical Society will hold its annual Antique Appraisal event on Sunday, May 19, at 2 p.m. Bring your treasures and find out what they’re really worth. Penny Welch will be appraising items. All oral appraisals are $5 per item; limit of two.
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Lake Barrington resident Nancy Schumm to speak about early settlers' gardens.
Hear Nancy Schumm present her talk "Pioneer Gardens," Sunday, April 21, at 2 p.m., at the Ela Historical Society, 95 E. Main St., Lake Zurich. Light refreshments will be served. All are welcome to this free presentation. An award winning photographer and writer, Nancy Schumm is the author of four books on regional history. A history geek, Nancy has been lecturing and presenting professional papers on historic topics since 1997. In her work documenting Barns in Wisconsin and Illinois, Nancy has observed and studied the plants that early settlers and homeowners selected for their gardens both in and around the farmstead. As the owner of Schumm Consulting LLC, Nancy conducts property studies for owners of historic properties, assists …
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Bill Kiddle from Raupp Museum to visit Ela Historical Society, Sunday.
Bill Kiddle from the Raupp Museum will be giving a presentation on life in Lake Zurich during the 1930s and 1940s, 2 p.m., Sunday, March 17, at the Ela Historical Society. Mr. Kiddle will present a highly interactive talk which will include looking at local maps and exploring census data from that time. Audience members will learn about the 14 percent growth in jobs in Northern Illinois, and the impact of national political, economic, and social trends upon local residents. Ample opportunity will also be given for family stories and individual questions and answers. Be sure to stop by and visit the Ela Historical Society at the Lake Zurich Chamber of Commerce Expo.
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Stop in at the Ela Historical Society to see antiques from days gone by.
The Ela Historical Society's newest acquisition is a milk crate from the Lake Zurich Creamery. In the early days farmers with their horses and wagons would line up to deliver milk on cold wintery days to the Lake Zurich Creamery on Main Street. The Mionsky Apartments now stand where the creamery once stood. According to the Ela Historical Society records, in the 1920s, milk could be purchased for "$1 to $2 per 100 weight of milk." There were three small creameries in the area, Lake Zurich Creamery - which was owned by Charles Patten, Lakes Corners and Quentin Corners.
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The museum will no longer be open on Sunday.
The Ela Historical Society and Museum will now be open to the public on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The museum will not be open on Sunday. The museum's monthly meeting will be held on the third Sunday of the month at 1 p.m. Visit the Ela Historical Society's website. Like the Ela Historical Society on Facebook.
Frozen water was a commodity at the turn-of-the century.
At the turn-of-the-century in Lake Zurich, the lake was a source of ice that was cut out. The ice was harvested in the winter after beaches were closed. Ice houses included the Bruce Ice Company, the Knickerbocker and Consumer's Ice. The ice was harvested by scraping off the snow first and then cutting furrows. The cakes of ice were 24-square inches. Ice was also transported via rail lines to the metropolitan areas. Ice was delivered and sold to customers bby horse and wagon. The iceboxes had a pan of water in the bottom that needed to be emptied twice a day. The Knickerbocker Ice House was torn down in 1928.
Do you know where this mystery photo was taken? It features actors from the Lake Zurich Playhouse.
Summer stock was thriving on Main Street in the 40s and 50s.
For about 10 years in the mid-century, Lake Zurich had a successful summer playhouse. Lake Zurich Playhouse was started by Bella Itkin-Konrath who taught at the Goodman School of Drama for 47 years and was the director of the Children’s Theater of the Goodman Theater in Chicago Bella started the summer stock in the early ‘40s and brought together young actors and actresses to perform shows over the summer. Legendary theater and screen star Geraldine Page and Harvey Korman, well known for the Carol Burnett Show, were among those young actors. Page met her husband at summer stock in Lake Zurich and they were married at the Barrington Methodist Church. Page appeared in more than 100 different plays at the Lake Zurich Playhouse …
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Do you remember the Prehm, Knigge hardware store?
Herman Prehm settled in Lake Zurich in 1892 and purchased the harness shop owned by Jacob Herman, at the northwest corner of Main and Rand Rd, where he opened the first hardware store. Later he built a new store one block south on South Rand. He was postmaster so the hardware and mail service co-existed in the building. The Knigge family bought the business in the late ‘30s and operated it until 1973. After 1973, the store changed hands numerous times and was once a sports store and a printing shop. The building was destroyed by fire on July 24, 1994. This information was provided by the Ela Historical Society.
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Do you know what stands in the spot where the Lake Zurich Hotel was?
The Lake Zurich Hotel was built in the early part of the century, according to Ron Frank, Ela Area Historical Society vice president. For more than half of the 20th century, Lake Zurich was a bustling tourist town with hotels on Main Street and inns and cottages on the lake. The hotel was previously known as the Peaham Hotel and was located on Main Street. In 1972, the hotel burned down and two people were killed, Gordon Stewart and Lars Westin, according to Ela Township History. After the hotel burned down, a bank was built on the lot. That building is now Lake Zurich Village Hall.
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Tea drinker
9:08 am on Thursday, April 11, 2013
I have one of Nancy's books. She is a fantastic speaker, and very knowledgable about local history! more ›