Our current exhibition, Kenilworth Centennial Homes, 1889-1924, explores the history of Kenilworth’s oldest homes built from the 1890s through the 1920s.
Kenilworth is almost entirely a village of private residences. Since its founding in 1889, Kenilworth has been a desirable place to build or purchase a home and raise a family. Kenilworth’s homes are known for their high standard of construction. Now that it has been nearly 135 years since the first residence was built in the village, Kenilworth has hundreds of century-old homes.
In celebration of the community’s architectural significance, the Kenilworth Historical Society presents Kenilworth Centennial Homes, 1889-1924. This exhibit explores the history of Kenilworth’s 100-year-old homes, highlighting notable examples, early residents, architects, architectural styles, and the evolution of residential development in the village. The exhibit includes old photographs, original documents, and fascinating stories behind Kenilworth’s oldest homes. Visitors will gain insights into the rich history and architectural legacy of Kenilworth through this engaging presentation.
The exhibit will open be open through February 15, 2025.
“History and Development of Kenilworth” is a permanent exhibition at the Kenilworth Historical Society that was opened in 2021. This exhibition serves as a comprehensive introduction to the village’s rich history. In addition to detailed text panels with historical images, visitors will find interactive touchscreen displays for a hands-on approach to exploring local history.
Kenilworth Historical Society is celebrating 100 years of its mission to keep a history of the people and events of the village of Kenilworth, Illinois, to collect and preserve such material concerning the history of Kenilworth as may be of value to the people of the village and to disseminate historical information.
The first meeting was held on October 30, 1922 at the residence of Mrs. Helen Sears. Eighty-six Kenilworth residents were in attendance at the first meeting where presentations were given by both Helen Sears and Dr. Charles Smith, first secretary of the Kenilworth Company.
Over the next year the Kenilworth Historical Society will be hosting community events, sharing information from the History and Development of Kenilworth exhibit and much more! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram,Twitter and YouTube for upcoming details.
We would be happy to welcome new members, volunteers and board members. If you are interested in being part of the Kenilworth Historical Society, give us a call or email us.
The KHS is expanding the reach of the museum exhibits by adding more online content.
Our first online exhibit is a companion site to the 100 Years of Scouting museum exhibit from May – November 2019. This museum exhibit was made in collaboration with Kenilworth’s Troop 13 Scouts to commemorate their 100th anniversary in 2019. The new online exhibit explores the three different eras that defined Troop 13 throughout its long and rich history from 1919 to the present. Prior to the establishment of the Boy Scouts, there was the Kenilworth Cadets, which similarly acted as an organization for boys to learn skills like camping and self-discipline, but also military drills.
The Boy Scouts, or Scouting, officially began in 1908 in England after the publication of Robert Baden-Powell’s book, Scouting for Boys. Baden-Powell wrote this book as a nonmilitary field manual for a younger audience that also emphasized the importance of morality and good deeds. William Boyce, a Chicago publisher, brought this idea of Scouting back to the U.S. after a Boy Scout came to his aid when he was lost in a London fog. The Scout refused any sort of payment for doing a good deed. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was officially incorporated in 1910.
Explore our NEW online exhibit that gives new life and updates to our past museum exhibit, 100 Years of Scouting in Kenilworth.
In last week’s post we read Part 2 of Leon Allen’s diary of a young boy growing up in Kenilworth in 1903. Here are some more stories from his tales in 1904.
May 5. “Clider and I took our lunch out to the south woods today, only we didn’t take much because we caught crayfish in the pond at Mahoney’s pasture and boiled them. They taste almost like lobster. We would have had a swell time only my mother made me wear a coat, and so we had to lug that around with us all day and we almost forgot it a couple of times and that would have left me in a swell mess because my mother had a very unreasonable spell this morning. Clider and I got to talking about it and we have about decided that we will have to go out west and seek our fortune. We can make money on the way mowing people’s lawns and can wear anything we want to and eat in the woods all the time and sleep out every night. Clider said his uncle wasn’t much older than us when he went clear to Australia, and now he is awful rich, and I bet we would amount to something if we could get somewhere where they wouldn’t be bossing us all the time and maybe they would have some troubles around this town which we would not be mixed up in. So we have decided that we are going to run away tomorrow night. There is a lecture at the Union Church and my family is taking me to it but I am going to duck out and Clider is going to meet me in front of the church and we are going to run away.”
May 6. “We didn’t run away last night. My mother made me sit up in the front seat with her at the lecture. When we finally did get out I found Clider shivering and sore because he had to wait so long. We walked down towards the station and he said ‘Well, I suppose we are going to run away.’ I said yes but I bet it will be cold sleeping out in the woods. We decided we may as well sleep at home and Clider said we weren’t backing out only we could run away some other time so what was the hurry? Besides, I have a rabbit which is going to have some young rabbits and Skippy Keehn and I are going to start a rabbit factory over at his house and we will make lots of money because Kempers bird store will pay us 25 cents a piece for young rabbits.”
June 16. “Well I skipped a lot of days in this diary but I am catching up now. Clider and I are in much worse disgrace in this place than we have ever been in before and it seems the whole town were out looking for us, and I guess they tried to fish us out of the lake, and now of course they are mad at us just because we weren’t in the lake. Last Sunday Clider and I decided that it would be a good time for us to run away. So we told Bubbles and Shippy all about it and they thought it was a very good idea and we counted up and I had 10 cents and Clider had 3 cents, Bubbles had 15 cents and Shippy had 10 cents. Well we could buy a loaf of bread for supper for 5 cents, so we would have plenty to eat for a long time.
We decided that we would stop at the Wilmette post office and send our mothers a post card to say we were just going out west to seek our fortunes. But the post office was closed so we decided we would write them some other time.
So we went west for miles and miles and got way out in the country. Shippy got tired and lagged behind and it got pretty dark and soon we decided that he had gone home. Pretty soon we came to a patch of woods and sat down and ate half the loaf of bread so then we felt swell and sat around and decided how we were going to get rich and maybe go to Australia.
We started to build a fire and found that we had only one match and it went out. And after that it didn’t seem to be so much fun. We tried to sleep on the ground but it was awful cold and hard and the mosquitoes were terrible.
In the morning we got on the road again and bought some graham crackers for breakfast and we decided that there was no sense of going to Australia- we would just go out west where nobody would boss us and start a cattle ranch and be rich.
After a while we got awful tired and we lay down in a field to take a little snooze. When we woke up we saw a buggy coming down the road with a man and boy in it. The man said ‘jump on behind’ and he sounded terrible mad. I looked up. My gosh! It was my father and Shippy looking awful scared. So there we were, riding home with our feet hanging over the back of the buggy. And all the way home nobody said a word excepting everybody along the road hollered to my father, ‘Oh you found them did you?’ Clider and I could see that we had got into an awful mess again and were a disgrace to the town and would probably have a very bad time for awhile which proved to be all too true.”
October 14, 1903. “Lawrence Horsewell and I found a lot of wild cucumbers this afternoon. They grow on vines in the woods and are not like tame cucumbers. They are round and rusky on the inside with a lot of stickers on the outside. It is lots of fun to peg them at people.”
October 15. “Old Cap. Rooney (the village policeman) wouldn’t chase us today when we pegged wild cucumbers at him so there was nothing exciting to do so we went up the spout. That’s what we call it when we climb the water tower. Going up the spout is very exciting because the ladder on the inside is wet and slippery and the wood is pretty rotten. Then when you get half way up you have to climb out through the window and go up the rest of the way on an iron ladder outside of the tank. The iron ladder is solid but it seems awful high and windy. When you get to the top there is a floor over the tank with just one square hole in it about the size of a window. All around the edge of the floor are posts holding the roof up and under the roof there is another floor. Between the top floor and the roof is a swell room that we use for a clubhouse. The water was up to the top of the tank this afternoon and we dared each other to go in swimming but it was too cold. Its funny we never thought of that last summer.”
Kenilworth’s first water tower was demolished in 1926.
October 16. “Of all things, it snowed today. We got a big gang together, Prof. Pole (his name is Eyre Pole and sometimes we call him Air Hole but we usually call him Professor Waldo Beans or Prof. for short because he uses such big words) and a lot of other fellows. We ambushed some of the big kids and pegged snowballs at them. Only the snow had got pretty slushy and it was easier to peg mud balls so they got awful sore and chased us into Van Schacks’ barn. We defended the barn until we ran out of mud balls and then they got in and caught us. Burley Cheney has been to Exeter and he knows some swell tortures that they used on him when he was being hazed so he said lets try them. So the first one was the ‘hot belly.’ To give a kid a hot belly you tie him on his back to a board and pull up his shirt and pack snow on his stomach. Then you take a broom and sweep the snow off his stomach, going round and round, saying ‘here we go round the merry-go- round and once again for the ladies.’ It is very painful torture. So after that we all went home but I bet we will get them to chase us tomorrow and we will keep them out of that barn. I am glad there is some excitement in this town.”
October 17. “There is an awful rumpus in this town. I forgot to say that yesterday while they were giving us the ‘hot belly’ they hung the Prof out of the hay loft window by a rope tied to one of his feet and he hollered something awful and said he would get apoplexy and a lot of things like that so they got interested and watched him but he didn’t get any of these things, so pretty soon they dragged him in. Well it seems that somebody’s mother was at a bridge club or neighbors or something and saw Air Hole hanging out of the window and thought it was a funny thing for a boy to be doing so we all got asked a lot of inquisitive questions. Well we didn’t say much because we were afraid that they would nose into things like they usually do and spoil what little excitement there is in this town but some fellows said more than others did so now they are all saying it is barbarous and cruel and had aught to have a stop put to it.”
October 18. “The big kids started chasing us right after school. So after they chased us up in the barn we got awful scared thinking about that ‘hot belly’ and we ran upstairs. After a while they caught us. Burley Cheney said that in Siberia they torture people by shaving a spot on the top of their heads and let cold water drip on it and it makes them go crazy. So they shaved a bald spot on Lou Van Schack’s head and tied him to a post in the barn and fixed a can of snow and water over his head so it dripped on his bald spot and they all sat around and watched him to see if he would go crazy but Lou didn’t go crazy at all so everybody was much disappointed. The rest of us all jumped out of the window into a manure pile and over Kim Root’s back fence and got away.”
Leon Allen was a young boy who lived in Kenilworth at the beginning of the 20th century. The Kenilworth Historical Society has in its archives a diary he wrote in 1903 and 1904 describing some of the adventures he and a group of friends had in the early days of the village. Mr. Allen was later prevailed upon to share his diary at meetings of the historical society, much to the enjoyment of the attendees.
October 1, 1903. “I have joined a fraternity. The members are me, Clider Taylor, and Stubs Taylor and then there is Vin Taylor, and Bob Lester and Ned Badger and Phil Maher and maybe we will take in some of the other fellows but we are not going to take them all in now because then there would be nobody left to initiate and what would be the use of having a fraternity if there was nobody left to initiate into it?”
October 2. “This is a very secret fraternity which we have organized. Its name is the Phi Nu. Those letters are Greek letters and the deepest secret of all is what they stand for. We have not thought up what they stand for yet but that makes it a much deeper secret.”
October 3. “Our fraternity is building a fraternity house. It is out in the North Woods, just north of the new street which some people call Winnetka Avenue. It is so far in the woods that nobody can see it from the new street or from Sheridan Road. At first we didn’t know what we could build the house with but there is a new house not far away and we thought it would be all right to take a few boards. At first we thought that this would be stealing which is a very mean thing to do but Lester said it wasn’t stealing, it was just rustling boards which is the same as taking watermelons out of the Pease’s garden or cantalope out of the Sears’ garden or anything like that. So we decided that rustling boards is not stealing because how else could we build a fraternity house anyway?”
October 5. “It being Saturday we worked all day. It is getting to be awful hard work. It is harder for Clider and me because we bent so many nails and split so many boards that the fellows won’t let us be carpenters any more and so we just carry boards from the place we rustled them last night to the house. I have decided not to ask my father about rustling boards. My father is very unreasonable sometimes and maybe he would be unreasonable about this. I am pretty sure he would be.”
October 6. “We couldn’t work on the house. We were all dressed up and if we got our clothes dirty or changed them we would get asked a lot of inquisitive questions and it would probably be best not to explain about those boards just yet and besides this is a secret fraternity. So we just went over to Insull’s poultry farm and shot ducks and pigeons with sling-shots. A fellow had ought to behave on Sunday anyway.”
October 7. “We finished the fraternity house today. It was an awful lot of work but it is a swell house and we chipped in and bought hinges for the door. We are going to sleep out in it all night tomorrow if we can get loose.”
October 8. “We didn’t sleep in our fraternity house at all. We haven’t got any fraternity house. We went after school and we couldn’t find it. At first we thought we had forgot where it was but we found the place where it was and it wasn’t there. It is a very deep mystery.”
October 9. “ We have found our fraternity house. Clider and Bubbles were down in Evanston on their bykes at a place where there is a big new building being built and there out in front of it was our fraternity house and they were using it for a tool house and it had a sign on it showing who was building the building and it was the same sign that was on the house where we rustled the boards. That man just stole our whole fraternity house. He stole our hinges and everything. I think any one who would steal should be put in jail!”
By 1894, an electric railway was established between Waukegan, North Chicago, and Lake Bluff by the Bluff City Electric Street Railway Company.
This railway competed with the Chicago and North Western Railroad (which still runs the Union Pacific/North Metra line today). The Bluff City Company did not last very long and eventually sold in 1897 to A. Frost and George Ball, who renamed it the Chicago & Milwaukee Railway Company. The company quickly began expanding service to other North Shore communities. The Chicago & Milwaukee faced difficulties from both its rival Chicago & North Western Railway Company and North Shore communities, including Kenilworth. In the beginning of 1899, the Chicago & Milwaukee Railway Company completed laying tracks from Waukegan to Chicago with a small gap at Kenilworth. Chicago & Milwaukee was unable to obtain a franchise for operation from Kenilworth’s Village Board due to the need for laying new tracks along what is now Richmond Road, north of Kenilworth Avenue. Not only would the construction of the tracks interfere with public property, the tracks would also have to run through private property owned by Joseph Sears.
The standoff was serious enough that police officers were posted at the rail’s terminal and railway workmen were warned off private property. Even though the tracks were not complete through Kenilworth, the North Shore Line did not stop its operations. Passengers were required to take horse-drawn taxis between Wilmette and Winnetka to connect with lines on the north and south sides of Kenilworth. This raised tensions with passengers, between villages, and even the residents of Kenilworth began to worry that they would experience troubles arising from the crowds gathering at the terminal as they waited for their taxis.
Map of Kenilworth. The yellow line follows the North Shore Line (notice that it bends around Kenilworth Station – in blue); the red line follows today’s Union Pacific/North Line.
The issue resulted in a condemnation suit against the Sears tract at Kenilworth Avenue and numerous, long talks with the Village of Kenilworth to gain consent to lay tracks across the streets. The issue began to resolve on July 17, 1899 when the Kenilworth Company, which Joseph Sears was the sole owner of at this time, sold the required land to the Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railway Company for $22,500. The money didn’t all come at once though, the Electric Railway Company paid Joseph Sears $1500 for signing the contract, then another $5000 upon delivery of the deeds and title to the properties. Finally, they agreed to pay the remaining $16,000 upon the passage of an ordinance by the Village of Kenilworth, granting the Electric Railway Company the rights to lay the tracks through the rest of the village.
Kenilworth’s Village Board held two special meetings on July 18 and July 19 to consider an ordinance submitted by the Electric Railway Company that would grant them “the right, permission and authority to locate, construct, lay down, maintain and operate a system of Electric Railway lines upon certain streets and parts of streets in… Kenilworth.” The ordinance passed unanimously with many restrictions as to how the Electric Railways Company can construct their tracks, only giving them until October 1 to complete construction and begin operation of the North Shore Line through Kenilworth. The Electric Railway Company gave the village $12,000 to accompany the passage of what became Kenilworth’s 35th ordinance.
The money given to the village was to be spent on beautifying the railway entrance along Kenilworth Avenue. The architect George Maher was brought on to design the fountain as well as the stone benches and urns that are seen today at the intersection of Kenilworth Avenue and Richmond Road. Of the $12,000 only $3500 was spent for the fountain, benches, and urns.
The North Shore Line became known as the fastest interurban line in the country, providing high speed service from Waukegan to Hammond, Indiana. After coming under new management in the 1940s, which opted for buying buses to replace the line, ridership fell and schedules were reduced. The last train ran on July 25, 1955. Since then, the tracks have been removed and replaced by the Green Bay Trail.
Excerpt from Chicago Daily Tribune, July 21, 1899, Pg. 5.
Sources: Chicago Daily Tribune. Shore Line Raises $1,500,000: Chicago and Milwaukee Trolley Road Floats a Big Mortgage – To Reach Kenilworth on Sunday. July 13, 1899. Pg. 5
Chicago Daily Tribune. Try New Trolley Line. July 17, 1899. Pg. 12
Chicago Daily Tribune. Building Road in Kenilworth. July 21, 1899. Pg. 5
Chicago Daily Tribune. Recent Sales, Leases, and Loans. Aug 6, 1899. Pg. 26
Chicago Daily Tribune. Blame Laid On Franchise War: Kenilworth’s Franchise Fight. Nov 19, 1899. Pg. 6
Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railway Company and Kenilworth Company Agreement. 1899. Kenilworth Historical Society, AR-2002.17.5
Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railway Company and Village of Kenilworth Agreement. 1899. Kenilworth Historical Society, GRF.IX.1.4
Kenilworth Village Board. Kenilworth Village Board Meeting Minutes (1896-1915). 1896-1915. Kenilworth Historical Society, GRF.IX.1.11
Many prominent Kenilworth residents, including Vibe and Anne Spicer were active in the late 19th century Arts and Crafts Movement.
A guild was founded in Kenilworth in 1896. Characterized by individual artistic expression and the creation of art as an escape from the increasingly dense, industrialized and mechanized city, the Arts and Crafts Guild included many enthusiastic Kenilworth residents.
The Spicers moved to Kenilworth in 1896. After a period of renting a house, they asked architect George Maher to design a home for them at 312 Essex Road. They called their house “Tilfredshaden,” a Norwegian word for contentment. Anne created an elaborate garden on the property. The appeal of the Spicer home and garden was recorded by a tribute written by early Kenilworth resident, Louise Kirkland Sanborn, “The heart of the Spicer house was a big red brick fireplace facing the front door, warm and grateful welcome as one came in out of the cold… Later they built the Mushroom Shop where they could turn their clever fingers to the things they were both so much interested, carpentry, weaving, pottery (Vibe set up a potter’s wheel and built a kiln), and before long charming bowls, tiles, vases and similar treasures began to flow into their friends’ houses.”
Vibe Spicer making pottery
Anne was a creative writer as well. She published her poetry in two volumes and she was a contributor to a popular column in the Chicago Tribune called, “A Line ‘O Type or Two.” The published name she chose was “Anchusa,” a flowering plant. The following poem was dedicated by Anne to a Mrs. Lee who had sent Anne seeds of the Anchusa Capensis.
“I wonder if they’ll grow! Surely they must If warmth and welcoming love can make it so. How I shall watch till the first seedlings show, Chrysoprase piercing through the earthy crust. Bursting their casings, how they will upthrust And push and reach up where the sunlit glow Works golden alchemy to make things grow- Sweet tiny miracles, out of dust! Then I shall lift them from their sheltering frame And plant them in the sunny garden beds Where they will wink at me with flowery eyes And smile in the friendliness and speak your name. And I shall bend to pet their little heads- Deepened reflections of these April skies.”
On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment was ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment that prohibited the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquor.
Across the nation, state legislatures enacted new liquor laws in response to the repeal of Prohibition. In Illinois, the Liquor Control Act of 1934 sought to “foster and promote” the regulation of alcoholic liquors. However, the lengthy legislation included certain provisions that drew ire and concern in Kenilworth and nearby villages. One such provision mandated the issuance of a tavern license for any city or village that failed to hold a referendum on the sale of alcohol before May 10, 1934.
News of this provision quickly spread throughout the North Shore suburbs, where the prospect of saloons and taverns greatly stirred residents wary of such establishments. Decades before Prohibition began in 1919, the North Shore suburbs were “dry,” a term used to describe a municipality that imposed regulations against the sale of alcohol. Many felt that taverns and saloons would hurt the moral fabric and character of their communities. Additionally, the temperance movement – a nineteenth and early twentieth century organized effort to limit or outlaw the consumption and production of alcohol – occupied a strong foothold on the North Shore. Indeed, the sentiment of the temperance movement was reflected in deed restrictions against the sale of intoxicating beverages found during Kenilworth’s early years.
North Shore residents believed that the most effective time to hold a referendum would be during the April elections. To bring a referendum to the ballot, a petition with sufficient signatures (25% of all registered voters) must be filed with the respective Village Clerk no later than March 1, 1934. Given that the Liquor Control Act of 1934 was passed on January 31, residents were left with a limited window of time to circulate petitions. Nonetheless, on February 28, Kenilworth organizers garnered enough signatures to file a petition for a referendum. In fact, two petitions made their way through Kenilworth, demonstrating the popularity of the referendum efforts.
Advertisement published in the Evanston Review for March 29, 1934 imploring an affirmative vote in the upcoming liquor referendum in Evanston.
Notice of liquor referendum from Nicholas P. Miller, Village Clerk of Wilmette, published in the Wilmette Life for March 1, 1934.
Evanston, Glencoe, Wilmette, and Winnetka also succeeded in securing enough signatures for a referendum. Additionally, residents of unincorporated areas outside of official municipal boundaries in New Trier Township earned the ability to vote on the subject in the upcoming election. These unincorporated areas included the triangle area known today as Plaza Del Lago. Throughout the early twentieth century, “No Man’s Land,” as it was called, developed a negative reputation for its association with illicit activities. Notably, Miralago, a Spanish-styled ballroom built in the 1920s, became a popular destination for gambling and liquor-related activities. It was not out of the imagination then to assume No Man’s Land could be a site of future taverns or saloons. As a result, New Trier Township felt hard-pressed to ensure residents of No Man’s Land provided signatures to permit participation in the referendum.
On April 17, 1934, residents of Kenilworth, and adjoining villages, voted in large majorities in favor of local prohibition of alcoholic liquor licenses. Two-thirds of residents living in unincorporated segments of New Trier Township also voted affirmatively. Thirteen days later, as pursuant with the legislation, Kenilworth and New Trier Township were once again “dry.” Village of Kenilworth officials, cognizant of No Man’s Land’s tendencies, created official maps of the territory to monitor compliance. In July 1934, after reports of the sale of alcoholic liquor and beer in No Man’s Land, the Village Board called on proper enforcement officials to take “immediate steps” to enforce prohibition within No Man’s Land.
Incidents of unlawful and undesirable activities continued to transpire at No Man’s Land throughout the 1930s. In 1942, the unincorporated territory was annexed by Wilmette, after which development projects revitalized the area. In 2017, the Village of Kenilworth voted to end its prohibition of the sale of alcohol, ending its status as one of the last “dry” suburbs of Chicago.
– Will Taylor
Works Cited:
“Liquor Control Act of 1934,” Illinois General Assembly, accessed October 1, 2020, https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs5.asp?ActID=1404&ChapterID=26#:~:text=This%20Act%20shall%20be%20liberally,manufacture%2C%20sale%2C%20and%20distribution%20of
Shea, Robert. From No Man’s Land to Plaza del Lago (Chicago, IL: American References Publishing Corporation, 1987), 60, 70, 76-85.
Thayer, Kate and Routliffe, Kathy. “Dry no more: Kenilworth, one of last no-liquor holdouts, lifts sales ban,” Chicago Tribune, March 27, 2017. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-kenilworth-liquor-laws-dry-suburb-met-20170326-story.html
Note: Information not directly cited above sourced from Kenilworth Historical Society’s Village of Kenilworth General Reference Collection, Prohibition Referendum, 1933-1934, Folder 3, Box 3.
Dorothy Sears was the sixth and youngest child of Kenilworth’s founder, Joseph Sears. Dorothy studied at Mrs. Babcock’s boarding and day school in Kenilworth for 11 years before continuing her education in teaching.
In 1916 she opened her own school in a Winnetka store building and later in the basement of the Winnetka Women’s Club. In 1927, she bought a dilapidated house for $100 and converted it into a permanent location for her North Shore Montessori School. Dorothy eventually became the honorary custodian for the Kenilworth Historical Society and served as its President for several years.
For most of her life, she kept extensive diaries of her day-to-day. Below are a couple excerpts from her 1918 diary during the Influenza Pandemic:
Dorothy Sears, c. 1910, KHS
October 27, Sunday
Little Georgie Kruse telephoned this morning to say that his mother had the
influenza. Poor little boy he was very frightened. Helen went right over there. She
found her not very sick.
December 11, Wednesday
School. Only 10 children there [out of twenty two]… Seemed as if I called up nearly everyone I knew in the evening. Annie Mason has the “Flu” I may have to close my school.
December 12, Thursday
Dr. Schneider said we would have to close the school until Monday because Annie Mason has the “Flu”… Sewed at the Red Cross in the afternoon—A meeting of the Emergency Bureau in the eve. at Mrs. Sanborns.
As I was looking through the Historical Society’s library researching old cookbooks written by Kenilworth residents for the Kenilworth Cookbook Club I came across; The Good Egg- 200 Recipes For Leftover Egg Whites or Egg Yolks.
The author is Loretta White. Her personal inscription in our book reads; “To my beloved hometown, Kenilworth where I lived from 1917 to 1938 and from 1943 to 1954.” The copyright is 1959 and it was published by Rand McNally & Company. According to an old newspaper article from the Naples Star (December 30, 1971) The Good Egg Cook Book was selected by LIFE magazine as one of the top ten cook books in 1962.
Loretta White, c. 1959, KHS
Our records tell us that Loretta first lived at 310 Richmond Road. Her parents were Thomas and Loretta White. From 1943 to 1954 she lived at 644 Abbotsford Road with her husband and son.
In the newspaper article Loretta reported that after “making beauty queen” at Northwestern University in the 30s she became a model for the John Powers Agency.
She married and eventually settled back again in Kenilworth. “There followed seven years of typical suburban living, driving my husband to the station, club meetings and then whoom!- the bomb fell. A famous movie star breezed in and out of town and with her blew my husband. Divorce followed and all I had in the world had gone except for my seven year old son, Peter.”
Loretta regrouped and worked in television in Chicago during the 50s, doing a daily half-hour cooking show with French chef Eddie Doucette. Following preparation of dishes there would be egg whites or egg yolks left over. Loretta began searching for dishes that included the leftovers. In the process she began writing the cookbook.
Her acting career later included numerous TV commercials, appearances on the Perry Como Show and Car 54, Where Are You. She appeared in the movie The Group, as Candice Bergen’s mother.
Getting back to The Good Egg Cook Book, hints were offered such as; “Do not keep beaten whites standing. Use them immediately or the foam will revert back to the original liquid state and the whites cannot be beaten again.”
I also spotted a recipe for using egg whites that sounds pretty special.
CINNAMON CANDY KISSES
4 egg whites 1 cup chopped nuts
pinch of salt ½ cup cinnamon candies
1 cup sugar
Beat egg whites and salt until dry. Add sugar and nuts. Then cinnamon candies. Drop on a greased and floured cookie sheet. Bake in a slow oven (325 degrees) for 25 minutes. Makes 60 kisses.
Loretta ended the book with the following message; “The most chic thing a woman can be today is a good cook.” How times have changed, thank goodness!
On March 1, 1971 excavation began for the construction of the Stuart Memorial Building, home of the Kenilworth Historical Society and Village of Kenilworth.
Exciting happenings at Kenilworth Historical Society! The remodel of the gallery and offices is complete and our new exhibits are installed! Stop in to see the new exhibit on architect/designer/artist Marion Mahony Griffin and our updated Kenilworth Centennial Homes exhibit!
Our tree is now up for the season thanks to the help of the Kenilworth Girl Scouts who decorated the tree. Take a look the next time you’re driving down Kenilworth Ave!
The tradition of a lighted Kenilworth Christmas Tree was first documented in 1908 with the lighting of a spruce tree near the fountain.
If you want to learn more about the many trees of Kenilworth, you can pick up a copy of “Kenilworth Tree Stories” from our gift shop!
Bring your hard hats! Demolition work for our upstairs renovation has begun. But don’t despair, our collections will remain open for research during the construction!
