The RHS Facebook page is a rich archive of history-related posts by Carol Flynn, RHS Facebook admin and writer until mid-2025. Carol prolifically wrote a wide variety of meticulously researched local history articles for RHS. She continues to write for the Beverly Review and other media sources with articles particularly focused on local Ridge history.
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Ridge Historical Society
National Dog Day – August 26, 2024
By Carol Flynn
National Dog Day occurs annually on August 26 as a world-wide event to bring attention to all breeds of dogs and the importance of dogs in our lives.
Started 20 years ago by an animal welfare advocate, the day also calls attention to the many dogs that need to be rescued and adopted each year.
Of course, there are many stories related to dogs in the Ridge communities’ history. One favorite story, however, directly relates to rescue and adoption.
In the summer of 1945, a small dog described as a “brown toy shepherd” started to be noticed living in Dan Ryan Woods. It was assumed she had been dumped there because many people abandon animals of all kinds in the forest preserves. The animals rarely survive a Chicago winter.
The little dog was elusive with people. She would allow them to get just so close before she scampered away. She was often seen hunting for rabbits and warily searching picnic grounds for half-eaten sandwiches.
She began to be known as “the wild dog of Ryans Woods” but the children in the neighborhood called her Dollie, and eventually the adults started calling her that, also.
In October, as the weather cooled, the neighbors started leaving food out for Dollie at the edge of the woods. Mrs. Northrup, who lived at 8957 S. Oakley Ave., an active charity and “club” woman in the community, determined to capture Dollie and find her a good home.
That proved more difficult than expected. Talking softly to Dollie and offering tasty tidbits of food still brought Mrs. Northrup no closer than 10 to 15 feet from the dog.
Mrs. Northrup called in the Illinois Citizens’ Animal Welfare League, who sent experienced field agent Allen Glisch over to the woods.
While Mrs. Northrup distracted Dollie, Glisch managed to get a leash around the dog’s neck. Little Dollie, still shy, didn’t fight them; she wagged her tail when Mrs. Northrup and Glisch approached her and petted her.
When they started leading her out of the woods, however, Dollie hesitated to go. Instead, she led them to a nearby brush heap. There, in a leaf-lined den that she had dug, they found three puppies, about a week old whose eyes had not yet opened, fast asleep.
Dollie whined and danced around proudly as Glisch gathered the puppies in his arms, and she happily followed him as her puppies were carried over to Mrs. Northrup’s home.
Dollie became a bit of a media sensation, attracting the attention of the Chicago Tribune. In California, Marguerite Doe Ravenscroft, a wealthy socialite and philanthropist who strongly supported humane efforts and was the honorary chairman of the local animal welfare league, saw the article, and in December, sent a check for $15,000 to the Illinois organization to help build a new shelter in Chicago.
Dollie, her puppies, Mildred Fitz Hugh, the founder and president of the Illinois chapter, and Skippy, a terrier mix who got in on the act, posed for a picture with the check that appeared in the Chicago Tribune.
Fitz Hugh, also a wealthy socialite and the grandniece of Mayor Carter Harrison, announced in February of 1946 that the money was used to purchase two buildings at 3138-3140 Walton Street, for a new shelter. There was already a shelter at 6224 S. Wabash Ave.
What became of Dollie and her puppies wasn’t reported in the newspaper, but given their star qualities, and their downright adorableness, it’s probably safe to assume that they found “forever” homes.
Ridge Historical Society
The Connection Between the Ridge and Ukraine
By Carol Flynn
This Saturday, August 24th, is Ukrainian Independence Day.
Ukraine remains in the headlines as that independence continues to be threatened by Russia.
This post is a reminder that the Ridge has a historical connection to Ukraine, as well as a current one.
The historical connection comes through a prominent Ukrainian American family that lived on the Ridge.
Dr. Miroslaw and Bonnie Siemens (Sieminowycz, Sieminowich) owned and lived in the Givins Beverly Castle at 103rd St. and Longwood Drive from 1921 until the Beverly Unitarian Church bought the building in 1942.
At the time of Dr. Siemens’ death in 1967, at the age of 82, the family was living at 9559 S. Longwood Drive.
Dr. Siemens was born in 1885 in Ukraine and came to the USA in 1907. He graduated in 1913 from Bennett Medical College, affiliated with Loyola University.
He was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1914, and served in the U.S. military during World War I. He was a major, a regimental surgeon, with the 497th Field Artillery.
He then practiced at Roseland Community Hospital and kept an office in the Castle. He was also the physician for the Nickel Plate Railroad.
Dr. Siemens’ parents, Nicholas and Maria Magdalena Seiminowich, also lived in the Castle. Nicholas was a Ukrainian Catholic priest who rose to monsignor. In this rite, married men can be ordained priests.
Bonnie Veronica Barry Siemens, born in 1890, was Irish Catholic. They married in 1915 and had four children, Miroslaw, Jr., Roman, James, and Patricia.
Bonnie's mother Margaret Branan also lived with the family. Bonnie had tuberculosis and the grandparents did much of the childcare.
Dr. Siemens was very active and important in the Ukrainian American community. One notable achievement was to serve as the planner, fundraiser, and chair of the Ukrainian exhibit at the Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago in 1933-34. The exhibit showcased the country’s traditional arts and culture, including pysanky, the famous Ukrainian Easter eggs decorated using a wax-resist method. The tradition of decorating eggs, now associated with Easter, originated in Ukraine and the practice goes back thousands of years, predating the arrival of Christianity.
In 1939, Siemens was called to testify before the Special Committee on Un-American Activities of the U.S. House of Representatives because of a Ukrainian organization of which he was president. This was a precursor of “McCarthyism” when private citizens as well as public employees were investigated for “subversive activities” because of suspected communist ties. No charges were ever laid against Siemens’ group. The group dissolved in 1942.
Siemens was a benefactor of St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in Ukrainian Village on Chicago’s north side.
In the early 1950s he was instrumental in establishing the Ukrainian National Museum and served as honorary president.
Dr. Siemens has been called the “first ambassador for Ukraine in the U.S.” because of his efforts to preserve Ukrainian history and to help refugees from the country. Many dignitaries including the Crown Prince of Ukraine visited the family in the Castle.
The Siemens family is covered in "Chicago’s Only Castle – The History of Givins’ Irish Castle and Its Keepers" by Errol Magidson.
The Ridge community currently has two events going on that relate to Ukraine.
First, the book-signing for a new children’s picture story book, the “Plucky Ukrainian Sunflower,” created by local artist Judie Anderson and her daughter Karen Doornebos, will be on Ukrainian Independence Day, Saturday, August 24, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Bookie’s New and Used Books, 10324 S. Western Ave. Here is a link to an article on that event: https://www.beverlyreview.net/news/community_news/article_ce43cdba-598e-11ef-9490-3f76ccffd4b3.html
Second, the exhibit by Ukrainian artist Valeriia Tarasenko at the Beverly Arts Center, 2407 West 111th St., will continue through September 15th. Here is a link to an article on that event: https://www.beverlyreview.net/news/community_news/article_252dd3e2-4e94-11ef-9901-33b32ad93eb6.html
Lost or Found Series – The Northrup House
The final post to wrap up the Lost or Found Series is on the Rev. Dr. George William Northrup House.
This house is “lost,” that is, it was demolished sometime in the past. It was located at 2242 Morgan Avenue, the name of 111th Street before Morgan Park was annexed to the City of Chicago in 1914. Today the location is a vacant lot between 2154 and 2204 West 111th Street.
Northrup is one of the most prominent people in Chicago history to have lived on the Ridge. He was the President of the Baptist Union Theological Seminary, as well as a professor there. He was part of the story of how the “new” University of Chicago was established with an original connection to Morgan Park.
The Baptist church came to Chicago with the earliest settlers. In 1863, a group of Baptist leaders created the Baptist Theological Union, and the Illinois legislature granted the Union a charter to found an institution for theological instruction.
The Baptist Union Theological Seminary was founded in 1865 along with the “Old” University of Chicago, that is, the first attempt to form an institution of higher learning in the city, started by Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas.
The formal work of the Seminary began with the appointment of George W. Northrup as President and Professor of Systematic Theology.
Northrup was born in New York in 1826. He was self-taught, and without formal education, he entered college as a sophomore, and graduated with top honors. He then received a degree from Rochester Theological Seminary and was hired there as a professor.
His reputation spread as an educator and orator, and he was invited to Chicago to take charge of the new Seminary.
Originally classes were taught in buildings near Douglas’ Oakenwald estate at 35th Street and Cottage Grove. The Seminary grew under his leadership and earned a reputation for excellence.
Northrup was personally involved in fund raising for the Seminary, and through this, he met and developed a relationship with John D. Rockefeller, business icon and philanthropist.
In the mid-1870s, the Seminary, and the Old University of Chicago, started having financial issues, and there was talk of having to close.
In 1877, a generous offer of free land (five acres) from the Blue Island Land & Building Co. (BILBCo.) led to the Seminary selling its buildings and land, relocating to Morgan Park, and building new facilities there.
This was quite a coup for the BILBCo., and helped fulfill the plan to establish Morgan Park as a prestigious religious, education, and temperance community. It was anticipated that additional educational facilities would follow, creating a new University of Chicago. Morgan Park Academy, started as the Mount Vernon Military Academy, and the Chicago Female College, were already established in Morgan Park.
The Seminary built an imposing three-story office and classroom building, now long gone, on the north side of 111th Street, just east of Western Avenue. Funding partially came from Rockefeller to do this, as well as from the BILBCo.
The Seminary brought to Morgan Park a considerable number of administrators, professors, clergymen, students, and members of the Baptist church. This led to a building boom for new houses.
Northrup moved to Morgan Park to continue to head the Seminary. Other important names were William Rainey Harper, a Baptist clergyman of Irish and Scottish ancestry who was an expert in Semitic languages and a professor of Hebrew at the Seminary.
There was also Thomas Wakefield Goodspeed from New York, who studied at the Old University of Chicago, was a founder of the Morgan Park Baptist Church, and was the financial officer for the Seminary.
The Old University of Chicago closed in 1886. Immediately talk about founding a new university was started. Public sentiment was in favor of building the school near the location of the original one, partly to honor the legacy of Senator Douglas, but also because people did not want the school in a suburb away from city accessibility.
Northrup, Goodspeed, Harper, and other leaders of the Seminary approached Rockefeller about establishing a new University of Chicago. The proposal was that the main university would be in Hyde Park, with some auxiliary components in Morgan Park.
Rockefeller agreed to the funding, but he was not interested in the Morgan Park part of the plan. His donations, which totaled over $1.5 million, included the stipulation that the Baptist Seminary become the Divinity School of the new university, and move back to Hyde Park. The Board for the new university readily accepted this plan.
In 1892, the Baptist Theological Seminary became the Divinity School of the new University of Chicago, and relocated from Morgan Park. Harper was named the president of the new university, and Goodspeed was a member of the Board of Trustees serving as secretary, registrar, and historian
Northrup, now approaching his 70s and having health issues, declined a leadership role, preferring to devote his time to teaching.
Northrup died in 1900. His personal library, consisting of 1,500 valuable books, was gifted to the university. His body lay in state at the university, and the famous sculptor from the Art Institute of Chicago, Lorado Taft, produced a marble bust of Northrup. He was buried in Oak Woods Cemetery.
Northrup outlived his two wives, Mary and Naomi, and had four adult children, three sons and a daughter. The daughter, Alice Northrup Simpson, lived her life in Morgan Park. She was employed as a teacher before marrying the Rev. Benjamin J. Simpson, and becoming the mother of five children. Simpson died in 1894 at the age of 39, leaving Alice a widow with five children. Alice died in 1916.
Other institutions used the Morgan Park Seminary buildings for a while, but shortly after 1900, the main building was demolished.
The female college continued for a number of years, but eventually closed as more education opportunities became available for women. The original building, on the Ridge on Lothair Avenue, was demolished in 1911.
The military academy was a preparatory school for the university for a few years, but the university decided to close it, and the school became the independent Morgan Park Military Academy.
Cowboys on the Ridge – Part 2
The last post introduced Robert “Pony Bob” Haslam, a youth who came to the U.S. from London at the age of 16 and became a true-life Wild West hero. He’s buried in Mount Greenwood Cemetery.
Haslam earned his renown, and the title “Pony Bob,” considered an honor, for his feats as a Pony Express rider in 1860-61. He was known for having both the fastest and the longest rides recorded for the Pony Express riders.
In March 1861, he was part of the relay that carried Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration speech to California. He traveled 120 miles in 8 hours and 10 minutes, using nine horses, while wounded in an attack by Paiute Indians that fractured his jaw, knocked out five of his teeth, and injured his arm.
It took a total of seven days and 17 hours to carry the news to California that time. The average trip was usually around ten days.
The speech included the announcement that the Confederates had attacked Fort Sumter, starting the U.S. Civil War. This caused California to back the Union, sending gold and 17,000 troops east to help the cause. Some news sources credited Pony Bob as “the man who saved the Union.”
The longest ride occurred in May of that year, when Pony Bob completed a 380-mile round trip, covering not only his own route but that of another rider too frightened of the Indian attacks to make the run.
Pony Bob developed a strong friendship with Buffalo Bill Cody and joined his Wild West Show. Pony Bob decided to settle in Chicago and took a job with the Congress Hotel as a porter where he entertained guests with stories of his adventures. He was in Chicago with Buffalo Bill for the 1893 World’s Fair.
At the age of 47, he married Jenny Weiner, 19. Pony Bob died on Leap Year, February 29, 1912, at the age of 72. He was buried in Mt. Greenwood Cemetery, and it was rumored that Buffalo Bill paid for his grave, although cemetery records show it was purchased by his wife – but perhaps the money might have come from Buffalo Bill.
Jennie remarried, and they lived at 11825 S. Western Avenue in Morgan Park. That husband died in 1939. In 1940, Jennie had the marker there now in Mt. Greenwood Cemetery installed on the grave of her first husband, Robert “Pony Bob” Haslam.
True Grit and Cowboys on the Ridge – Part 1
Tales of the Wild West, folklore truly unique to America, have captivated the world’s imagination for over 150 years.
“The Western” has become its own genre in literature and in film. The stories are usually morality parables – there is a good guy and a bad guy, clearly distinguished, and the good guy wins. If he dies in the process, he’s an even bigger hero.
On Wednesday, August 7th, the Blue Island Ridge’s only bookstore, Bookie's Chicago, and only movie theater, the historic Lyric Theater in Blue Island, are partnering for a special showing of the 2010 film “True Grit,” an adaptation of the 1968 novel “True Grit” by Charles Portis.
This event is next in the series from Bookie’s Film Adaptation Book Club, which came back from its COVID-enforced hiatus in March with a very successful showing of “The Commitments” based on the novel of the same name by Roddy Doyle.
Critics have named “True Grit” one of the great American novels, and it has been adapted twice into award-winning movies.
The 1969 version starred John Wayne as the man with true grit, Rooster Cogburn.
The 2010 version, which will be shown at the Lyric, comes from the Coen Brothers who have given the public such great contemporary films as “Fargo” and “No Country for Old Men.” The star of the Coen Brothers’ production of “True Grit” is Jeff Bridges, who also starred in the Coen Brothers’ cult classic, “The Big Lebowski.”
RHS is mentioning this event for two reasons. First, it was the administrator of the RHS Facebook page who suggested “True Grit” as a possible novel/movie to Bookie’s owner, Keith Lewis.
The years of expansion into the western and southwestern portions of the United States, the “frontier,” are an incredibly interesting and picturesque period in U.S. history. At one time, Chicago WAS the western frontier.
That brings us to the second reason, local history’s connection to the Wild West.
Of course, Morgan Park was known as “Horse Thief Hollow” in the mid-1800s because of the horse thieves who hid out in the ravines, bringing stolen horses to the stockyards and railroads for sale. That is a big story for a series on Facebook or an in-person presentation one day.
Today let’s start with looking at the “Cowboys on the Ridge,” those true-life Western characters who had a connection to the Ridge.
Remember, we’re talking reality here, and when it comes to the Wild West, reality often was no less colorful and dramatic than the fictional stories.
The Ridge’s biggest Western celebrity is Robert “Pony Bob” Haslam, the star of the Pony Express in the 1860s, who is buried in Mount Greenwood Cemetery. His grave is the most sought after to visit in the cemetery.
Pony Bob is considered by many to have been the bravest, most resourceful, and best rider of the Pony Express. He has quite a following among the aficionados of true Western stories, although his name never became quite as famous as some other people of the time, including Pony Bob’s very good friend, Buffalo Bill Cody.
To appreciate Pony Bob’s story, it must be considered in context of the times.
The Pony Express only lasted 18 months, and it is tied closely to Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.
By the 1850s, both U.S. coasts were settled, but the interior, from Chicago to San Francisco, was still “untamed.” A means of fast delivery of mail across the plains was needed. Telegraph lines were not existent yet and the railroads had not yet laid down tracks. Wagons could take weeks or even months to deliver a message.
In 1858, the owners of a freighting business, in an effort to snare a government contract for delivering mail, proposed a fast mail service between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California.
The plan was to have mounted riders travel short routes, with switch-offs at stations along the way. In just two months’ time, a system comprised of 120 riders, 400 horses, 184 stations, and hundreds of additional personnel was put together.
The Pony Express was born.
Riding for the Pony Express was difficult work — riders had to be tough and lightweight.
The advertisement for riders read, “Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred.”
Riders would travel at full gallop, changing horses every ten miles at the next station, traveling day and night for up to 100 miles before being replaced by a new rider.
The first trips east and west, which started on April 3, 1860, were each completed in ten days.
Robert Haslam was born in January, 1840, in London and he came to the US in 1856. He helped build the Pony Express stations, and was given the mail run from Friday’s Station at Lake Tahoe to Buckland’s Station near Fort Churchill, 75 miles to the east.
The next post will cover the events that made Robert Haslam a star, and earned him the nickname “Pony Bob,” which was an honor.
For information on the “True Grit” event, see the Lyric Theater website at https://www.lyrictheater.com/.
Lost or Found Series – More information on Hough, McMeen, and Northrup
In the last post, three houses in Morgan Park that were photographed in 1889 were identified. Two were lost, that is, demolished, and the third was found, still standing but obscured from view by a modern commercial building constructed in front of it.
The three houses were all located on 111th Street, which was called Morgan Avenue back then.
Morgan Avenue, on top of the hill from Western Avenue to Longwood Drive, was primarily residential. Many nice houses were built along the street for the earliest residents of this suburban village, which had been founded in 1874 by the Blue Island Land and Building Company.
The top of the hill was also the location for prestigious education institutions. On the north side of the street was the Baptist Union Theological Seminary, which moved to Hyde Park as part of the University of Chicago. The Mount Vernon Military Academy, which evolved into today’s Morgan Park Academy, was, and still is, on the south side of 111th Street.
East of Longwood Drive, at 111th Street and Hale Avenue, was the Morgan Park stop on the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad commuter line. The men who started the Blue Island Land and Building Co. and Morgan Park were also the owners of the Rock Island Railroad (now part of Metra).
They were savvy businessmen. First, they bought land on the Ridge from the old Morgan estate. Then they built their railroad through the area, connecting the Ridge with downtown Chicago. Then they sold off the land north of 107th Street in plots for homes for a higher price and developed the land south of 107th Street into the village of Morgan Park.
They made substantial amounts of money doing this and became very wealthy men. This was a common practice throughout the expanding U.S. The railroad men were quite often also the major land developers.
Commercial development in Morgan Park first began around the train stops. A large park would be established in front of the train stop on 111th Street. This park would be called Depot Park but today is known as Bohn Park. Depot Park would became Morgan Park’s “village green” for festivals and the location of the village Christmas tree.
Washburn Hall, which included commercial space on the first floor and a large room on the second floor for meetings and special events, was also on this section of Morgan Avenue.
The first of the three houses in last week’s post, at the northeast corner of 111th Street and Western Avenue, was the residence of Henry (Harry) Oswald Hough and his wife, Claudia Hakes Hough.
Western Avenue then was still very rural even though it was a major north/south thoroughfare through the area.
H.O. Hough, as he was usually referred to in the newspapers, was a bookkeeper for a stockyards company. He was educated at the University of Chicago. There’s not that much information available about his job, but there is some information about his social life in Morgan Park.
Before he even got to Morgan Park, in the 1870s, Harry’s name popped up in the society pages as being one of the available single men at parties. One example was a party put on by the South Side Independent Club at a private residence in the Prairie Avenue district in 1875.
Claudia came from Connecticut and was 19 years old when she married Harry in 1884; he was 26.
Tragedy struck their young family when their two-year old son, Rupert, died in 1887. They had a second child, Waldern, who lived to adulthood but his mother, Claudia, outlived that son also.
Harry and Claudia lived in Morgan Park by 1888, and were part of the active social scene there. They “rubbed elbows” with some of the famous names from local history, including the Blackwelders, Silvas, Igleharts, Wiswells, Givins, Ayers, and Myricks.
They were early members of the Owl Club of Morgan Park, which, according to the Chicago Tribune, was “composed of the elite of the town, which is sufficient guarantee regarding the character of its recipients. It is a pleasure to belong to such an organization as the Owl Club.”
[The Owl Club of Chicago started as a press club, but expanded to include everyone from artists to businessmen. As more “men about town” became members, the press started to consider the club as less distinguished and the elitism as “pretentious.” The press members left the club and formed a new club, the Chicago Press Club. David Herriott, the editor and publisher of the Morgan Park Post, served as a president of the Chicago Press Club.]
Claudia was an accomplished musician, and Harry liked getting on the stage, also. The couple was involved in local performances, and they entertained at their house regularly.
A few examples include Harry leading the “german” at a reception of the Owl Club in 1888, and Claudia managing a performance of “Liebling’s amateurs” at the Hough home in 1889. The german was a very popular group dance that was more like a party game. The Liebling Amateurs were students and followers of Emil Liebling, a German pianist and composer who lived in Chicago.
Other performances that both Harry and Claudia appeared in with the Owl Club drama group included “Little Brown Jug” and “Among the Breakers,” both at Washburn Hall, sometimes referred to as the Morgan Park Hall.
They also participated in Owl Club costume parties at the Hall, popular events in the late Victorian era. These included a calico party, where the women all dressed in calico, and games were played, such as the men each receiving an envelope with a piece of calico in it, and having to find the women whose dress matched the piece of cloth.
Another costume party put on by the Owl Club was a “phantom” party, or a “sheet-and-pillow-case” party, where the attendees dressed as ghosts with costumes made from, yes, sheets and pillow cases.
It was also reported in the Tribune that the Hough House in Morgan Park was burglarized in July 1889, and “a spring overcoat and a lot of silverware” were stolen.
Alas, Henry’s and Claudia’s marriage did not last. They divorced, and she eventually moved to California, and he moved to Florida.
The Hough House was demolished some time ago, and recently a new dollar store opened on that corner, replacing the CVS pharmacy that had been there.
The second house in this post is identified as the Joseph E. McMeen House at 2330 W. 111th Street. The house still stands, but it is obscured by a modern commercial storefront built in front of it on 111th Street.
McMeen was an interior decorator and painter, and one source listed him in the furniture business. He had an office in the city.
It doesn’t appear that McMeen laid down long-lasting roots in Morgan Park. The newspapers reported that his house at 109th and Hermosa (then Fairfield), which had only been built six months before, was destroyed by a fire in 1889. The family was sleeping and had a narrow escape.
That is also the year he is listed as living in the house on 111th Street that still stands, so it seems likely he moved into that house after the other was destroyed. The picture of the house shows it was just completed; there wasn’t even a walkway to the front door yet.
McMeen was also in the newspaper when he was injured by a cable car. He was awarded $1,000 from the Chicago City Railway Company.
The third house was the residence of Rev. Dr. George William Northrup. The address was 2242 Morgan Avenue, but the house has been demolished and today the space is a vacant lot.
Northrup was the most prominent of the three residents. He was the President of the Baptist Union Theological Seminary, as well as a professor there.
Northrup is part of the story of how the University of Chicago was almost established in Morgan Park, and that will be covered in the next post
Lost or Found? – Identify Buildings #3, 4, and 5 – TWO LOST AND ONE FOUND
Last week, three more pictures of buildings from an 1889 book of photographs of Morgan Park were posted in the “Lost or Found?” series, with the challenge to identify them and find them if they were still standing.
The answer is that all three of these houses stood on 111th Street but two are gone now and the third is hidden from view.
The Blue Island Land and Building Company established Morgan Park in 1874, designing it as an educational, religious, and temperance community, laid out like an English Village.
In 1889, 111th Street was known as Morgan Avenue and was primarily residential. Western Avenue had not been developed yet as a commercial thoroughfare and was still very rural. The commercial districts were concentrated around the Rock Island train stations to the east, today’s Metra line.
According to RHS research:
Building #3 is lost. This was the Henry Oswald Hough House, with the original address of 2368 Morgan Avenue, located at the northeast corner of 111th Street and Western Avenue where there is now the new dollar store, replacing the CVS pharmacy.
Building #4 is found. This is the Joseph E. McMeen House at 2330 W. 111th Street. The house still stands, but it is obscured by a modern commercial storefront built in front of it on 111th Street.
Building #5 is lost. This was the Rev. Dr. George William Northrup House, with the original address of 2242 Morgan Avenue. The house is no longer standing; the location is now an empty lot on the 2100 – 2200 block of 111th Street.
These houses all had significant histories, which will be covered in the next posts.
Happy Fourth of July from the Ridge Historical Society
By Carol Flynn
The Ridge 100 Years Ago
As this year’s Fourth of July activities wrap up, let’s look back at the holiday 100 years ago. The Ridge communities were known for their festive celebrations.
On June 27, 1924, Sullivan’s Englewood Times, a south side Chicago newspaper, reported that “big doings” were being planned for the annual community Fourth of July event to be held in Ridge Park.
“The community has a reputation to provide a good time and it surely will be a successful day if balmy summer weather prevails,” stated the paper.
The Boy Scouts assisted the Beverly Hills Post of the American Legion in going house-to-house to help the event’s finance committee raise funds.
A busy day from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. was planned. A “delightful time” was promised, with pink lemonade, dancing, a public speaker, athletic and swimming events, baseball, a band concert, and “booths galore.” Not to be forgotten was the “beautiful” fireworks display scheduled for the evening.
“The park is big and a spirit of welcoming” would be extended to everyone, promised the event planners.
The weather did cooperate that day. July 4th fell on a Friday in 1924. It was a clear day, but cool, in the low- to mid-sixty degrees. That proved to be fine with the community, and the event proved to be everything promised.
“The Ridge’s Community Fourth was one of the best ever. The whole town was there from Morgan Park to Beverly and 91st st., not counting the visitors from other places,” wrote the paper the following week, on July 11, 1924.
About a mile to the north, in the Beverly Woods (now Dan Ryan Woods) at 87th Street and Western Avenue, another group also held a big Fourth of July event in 1924.
According to the Southtown Economist, another southside paper that had previously been known as The Merchants Telegram, the Englewood Old Settlers Association invited their community to join them for a day of picnicking, music, and games.
“Old settlers,” or “pioneer,” societies were once very popular. People who had lived in a community for a specified amount of time got together to share stories and memories. Today, in some ways, the “nostalgia” pages of Facebook fill some of this function, although there is no comparison to getting together in person for reminiscing.
A person had to have lived in Englewood for at least 20 years to qualify for membership in the Englewood Old Settlers Association. The membership of the club numbered 600 in 1924.
For the Fourth of July outing, the attendees gathered at 63rd Street and Ashland Avenue at 10:00 a.m. Transportation to the woods would be by automobile, something still new and exciting for many people. Anyone who needed a ride would be able to find one.
The newspaper reported, “In striking contrast to the days when lanterns furnished their only illumination to guide them to neighborhood gatherings, automobiles will carry the Old Settlers to their picnic.”
The cars were decorated with flags, and horns were provided to create noise for the procession.
The day was filled with activities. Charles S. Deneen, the past Governor of Illinois, gave a speech in the morning. (The next year Deneen would become the U.S. Senator from Illinois.)
A piano had been brought along, and next, the attendees, some in wheelchairs, sang patriotic and old time songs.
A five-inning baseball game was played by two teams of Old Settlers. The oldest player was 71 years old. The prize of a straw hat went to the first man to hit a home run, which happened in the third inning and was the only home run in the game.
Additional competitions went on, with prizes supplied by the local businessmen.
For men, there was horseshoe pitching. Women’s events included wood sawing and nail driving.
There were potato races and sack races, races for “fat men” and “fat ladies,” and for married men and married women. There were also races for boys and girls.
A prize was awarded for the best decorated auto.
Tables and chairs were brought over to the woods for people to set up their “basket” lunches and dinners. Ice cream, pop, and peanuts were sold.
Later in the day there was dancing.
About 2,000 people attended and the event was deemed a social and financial success.
The paper reported that moving pictures of various events would be taken. Those movies may still exist somewhere and would be wonderful to watch.
Because July fourth was on a Friday, many businesses also gave their employees Saturday off. It was the norm back then for people to work a half day on Saturday in addition to full days Monday through Friday. The average work week was 50 hours.
Lost or Found? – Identify Buildings #3, 4, and 5
“There was a time, not long past, when Morgan Park was only the tramping ground of the hunter, and little did its early settlers think it would ever be a component part of the young Giant, then beginning to loom up some thirteen miles to the North.
“But Time and Railroads work mighty changes in a very few years in this great Northwest.
“Commerce, Manufactures and Agriculture have made Chicago one of the great marts of the world.”
– Views of Morgan Park, 1889
This quote is from the introduction to a book of photographs of buildings in Morgan Park published in 1889.
Those photos form part of the current exhibit at the Ridge Historical Society (RHS), “Louise Barwick’s Lost Ridge,” which explores the Beverly/Morgan Park neighborhood as it existed in times past.
One section of the exhibit, produced by RHS Board member Tim Blackburn, includes historical images of buildings in Morgan Park. Some of these buildings still stand, although they might have been moved from their original locations or altered from their original looks, and some of these buildings have been demolished
Here are three images from that book of photos. Can you find these houses in Morgan Park – that is, if they are still standing?
The answers will be posted in a few days.
The History of Brood XIII Cicadas in the Chicago Area – Part 4 REVISED and Conclusion
The earliest emergence of Brood XIII of the 17-year periodic cicadas, also known as the Northern Illinois Brood, that people are around to remember occurred in 1939.
Since then, there have been five more emergences – 1956, 1973, 1990, 2007, and 2024.
By 1939, the basics of the cicada life cycle and behavior were known. Future years brought fine-tuning and additions to this knowledge.
In 1956, newspaper articles were still advising on how to use dangerous, deadly insecticides to kill the emerging cicadas and newly hatched nymphs before they could burrow too deeply. Once they got underground, they were harder to destroy.
One article, which appeared in the Chicago Tribune, stated “If you rate yourself a public spirited citizen who wants to help suppress this pest, here is the procedure,” then related how to use nerve gas developed by the Nazis in World War II on the harmless insects.
The chemical could only be used safely if special protective clothing and face masks approved for use with poisonous gases were worn.
It seems incredible today that these chemicals were not only available for purchase by the public back then, but encouraged for use at their homes.
In 1973, the County Extension Offices advised against spraying the cicadas.
“The best alternative to spraying is to have patience for about two weeks and the Cicada will complete its life cycle and pass out of the picture for another 17 years,” said one advisor.
In between 1956 and 1973, biologists realized that Brood XIII is made up of three distinct species of periodic cicadas that are on the same 17-year cycle, and emerge together. Each species has a distinctive “song” adding to the community cicada chorus.
1973 was also the first year that an official “census” of Brood XIII was started to see if the population stayed consistent or fluctuated from one emergence to the next emergence 17 years later.
In 1990, it was reported that the populations of cicadas were down due to the vast numbers of elm trees that had been lost in the last few decades.
The loss of the trees was due to Dutch Elm Disease, a fungal infection, introduced into the U.S. via imports that came through the Netherlands, although the beetle that carried the fungus came from Asia.
The elm trees in the U.S. had no natural immunity to the fungus, so the spread of the disease to the Chicago area, beginning around 1960, led to the destruction of hundreds of thousands of trees here. The Forest Preserves District of Cook County, a major habitat for Brood XIII, lost over 100,000 trees, including many in the Dan Ryan Woods on the Ridge.
2007 was the first time “cicada mania” took over.
“Cicada cuisine. Cicada sculptures. Cicada poems. Cicada blogs. Cicada tank tops, baseball hats, and coffee mugs. Even a traveling CicadaMobile,” reported the Chicago Tribune. Photographing cicadas became a popular undertaking in 2007. Chicago became a destination spot for people wanting to experience the cicadas.
Cicada cuisine has been a topic over the years.
That animals in the wild, as well as pet cats and dogs, enjoyed them was well known. In 1956, Brookfield Zoo requested that the public collect cicadas and bring them to the zoo, where they fed them as a treat to the birds, reptiles, and even some of the monkeys. The zoo received so many cicadas they froze them for use during the winter.
It is reported that the Brood XIII emergence, as well as other large brood events in other parts of the country, has unexpected consequences – the creation of temporary imbalances in local ecosystems. As the wildlife fills up on cicadas, the usual insects and small prey they eat, including some considered “pests” for crops and gardens, proliferate, and it can take several years for levels to return to “normal.”
Human consumption of cicadas remains of interest. It was reported early on that some Native Americans and early settlers ate them.
Newspaper articles give directions for harvesting cicadas, and recipes for preparing them, from coating them in egg-batter and deep frying them to using them in pies. Their taste has been described as “sweet and nut-like,” “crispy chicken nuggets,” and “new potato with a hint of avocado.”
Cicadas also have their place in myths and superstitions.
They were considered locusts for centuries, and a bad omen, that would destroy crops. This was not true; cicadas are not related to locusts at all.
In some ancient cultures, they were considered a sign of rebirth and transformation. They were also often a symbol connected to music.
For a long time, before their regular lifecycles were understood, they were considered the forecaster of wars, because there is the appearance of a “W” on their wings.
Of all their traits, though, the one that fascinates people the most is the periodic cicadas’ emergence in 13- and 17-year cycles.
These “prime number” occurrences have resulted in several theories as to their origins, usually relating to “survival of the fittest” natural selection to avoid predation.
However, to some conspiracy theorists, there may be something more sinister going on here. Cicadas could be human-engineered, or even from another planet.
The emergence of Brood XIII is coming to an end for this cycle.
Although very dramatic, and loud, in some places, there is anecdotal evidence on the Ridge that the numbers are down this year due to the decrease in old-growth deciduous trees, those that drop their leaves annually, like the old oak trees that grace the area.
These trees are dying off due to old age, and they have not been replaced over the years. As the trees die off, so do the cicadas that live in their root systems.
There will be many less trees and therefore less cicadas in the coming years if trees that can host and sustain cicada populations are not planted to replace the ones that are removed.
This brings to a pause this series on Brood XIII of the North American periodic cicadas. The story will resume in 2041.