History is Personal on Des Plaines Memory

Last month, the library and the Des Plaines History Center launched Des Plaines Memory, an online resource for local history. I spoke with Steven Giese, our Digital Projects Librarian, to learn more about Des Plaines Memory and how it has made history a very personal thing for him.

What is Des Plaines Memory?

Des Plaines Memory is an online collection of photographs, letters, postcards, newspapers and telephone directories. My job is to work with Shari Caine, the Executive Director of the history center, preparing and uploading historical materials to the web site. We are also interested in working with local organizations and businesses to archive historical documents they might have.

You must be very passionate about history!

I’ve never been what you’d call a “history buff.” Don’t get me wrong: I liked my history classes in school and I read the occasional historical novel. But history has always seemed sort of dry and far removed from my everyday life. But my attitude’s been changing ever since I started working on Des Plaines Memory.

Jefferson Township High School Postcard, circa 1910 

In what way?

Because of all this exposure to local history on Des Plaines Memory, I’m realizing that I can’t get away from it! When I grab lunch at the Sugar Bowl diner I can imagine that I’m sitting in the old post office as it was in 1915. On my daily commute to work I pass by the old site of Maine Township’s Jefferson High School and I think about a postcard of the school I added to the collection from a woman named Lucille to her old friend and classmate, Grace.

Children at Douglas Aircraft child care center

What else has surprised you about the project?

I've been amazed to see people connecting with the project in very personal ways. Sandra & Carol Schallawitz found a picture of their mother, Ruth, working at the Douglas Aircraft day care center during World War II. Lane Hudson found original photographs of several homes he bought and restored. He also left interesting comments about the histories of individual homes.

Any final thoughts?

Visit Des Plaines Memory often as new content is uploaded frequently. Leave your own comments or add posts to your Facebook page. Or you can follow us on Twitter and Tumblr.

Des Plaines: The Project

In case it wasn't clear from my last post, I'm a transplant to the Chicago area. Before I moved here, I read a fascinating book called Nature's Metropolis by the historian William Cronin. In this book, Cronin describes the extensive economic, cultural, and social network that grew out of Chicago during the 19th and 20th century.  Key industries like timber, meat packing, and manufacturing connected the city to places near and far in the Midwest and beyond. Railroads, of course, were the ties that bound the system together.

Russell Lee, Chicago Skyline and the 14th Street Passenger Yards, May, 1948. The Newberry Library

Because of this book, I have always thought of the city—and the areas around it—as a vast organism, a nervous system—wonderful because of its complexity. Now that I'm working in Des Plaines, I find myself learning about a whole new area of this intricate system and full of questions about its origins, the people who live and work here, and its future.

Because I have so many questions, I plan to do the only sensible thing that a librarian can do: start a research project! Only this research project won't involve books and magazines (well, maybe a few), it will involve talking to people in the community and reporting back here what I find out.

So, to get the ball rolling, tell me in the comments what I need to learn about Des Plaines. Who should I talk to? What questions should I ask? In the coming months, I will try to incorporate your responses into my features.

Thanks!

Riding with the Des Plaines Peloton

Peloton: noun/ˈpeləˌtän/ The main field or group of cyclists in a race.

We weren’t actually racing on June 4th, as Police Chief Jim Prandini kept reminding us, though I saw plenty of riders in spandex and clip-in bike shoes. We all had helmets and we all had bicycles and we all had a great time.

We were celebrating the refurbishment of the Des Plaines River Bike Trail, a 3-year effort by the City of Des Plaines to improve the existing Des Plaines River Trail through the city.

Riders gathered at Public Works near the Methodist Campground to register, buy a helmet if needed, and in general gear up for the ribbon cutting and trail ride. There were at least 250 people in attendance, some riding, some setting up drinks and food, some registering riders, and everyone having a good time.

The trail is just gorgeous, with dappled sunlight breaking through the trees, and plenty of room for riders and runners on both sides of the path. We had so many riders that we started seeing them coming back while we were still on our way south!

Here’s the end result: sweaty, thirsty and all smiles! Pictured are Alderman Dick Sayad, Library Trustee Steve Mokry, Acting Assistant Director Roberta S. Johnson, and Alderman Dan Wilson, liaison to the Library Board. So get out on that bike trail - you'll probably cross paths with the Mayor!