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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The Ridge Historical Society has to start over with the post about Pleasant Thiele Rowland’s connection to the Ridge. Ms. Rowland, of course, is the founder/inventor of the American Girl line of dolls. RHS recently received a donation of five of the original historical-time-period dolls that we will be using in a new exhibit premiering for the public on March 1, “Real American Girls of the Ridge,” which will pair the dolls with real women connected to the Ridge from the same time periods.
We reported that Pleasant’s grandparents lived in Beverly and her father spent his teen-age and young adult years here, and that Pleasant spent a lot of time with her paternal grandmother. All this is true.
But we have now discovered that Pleasant herself, with her parents of course, lived in West Beverly, from around 1947 to 1951, at 2754 West 108th Street.
This is the story: Edward August and Maude Daugherty Thiele, and their children, Edward Morton, William Harrison and Barbara Claire, moved to 9556 South Winchester Avenue during the 1920s.
On June 2, 1940, son Edward Morton Thiele, 26, still living on Winchester Ave. with his folks, married Pleasant Johnson Williams of Decatur, Illinois. The new bride, known as “Petty,” was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George A. Williams, a socially prominent family in Decatur. We’ll call Edward Morton “E. M.” and his wife “Petty” from now on because the duplicate family names get confusing. The newspaper reported that after a honeymoon in the East, the couple would live in the Marshall Field apartments in Chicago.
On March 8, 1941, E. M. and Petty welcomed their first child, daughter Pleasant Williams Thiele.
In 1942, on his World War II draft registration, E.M. listed his address as 1373 N. Hudson, Chicago, which is part of the Marshall Field Garden Apartments.
In the late 1940s, E.M., Petty and family are listed as living at 2754 West 108th Street. This house was built in 1947 and was put up for sale in 1951.
E.M. was a rising star in the advertising industry. He joined the Chicago-based advertising firm Leo Burnet Co., Inc. in 1951 and rose to president 10 years later. Some of the famous marketing campaigns from his era include the Marlborough Man, the Jolly Green Giant, and the slogan, “When you’re out of Schlitz, you’re out of beer.”
In 1951, when daughter Pleasant was 10 years old, E.M., Petty and family moved to the well-to-do far North Shore community of Bannockburn, Illinois. They maintained connections to Beverly through family and friends.
In 1969, Edward August and Maude Thiele sold the Winchester Ave. house and moved to Florida. Edward August, 87, died in 1976. His obituary said he had been vice president and sales manager of Tranter Manufacturing, Inc., which was formerly Kold-Hold Manufacturing Co., with whom he was associated for 25 years. Maude, 96, died in 1986 in Palm Beach.
In 1970, E. M. became vice chairman of Leo Burnet, the position he held until 1974 when he retired. In retirement, E. M. and Petty Thiele shared their time between North Palm Beach, Florida, and a lakeside cottage in Douglas, Michigan. He died in 1982 at the age of 68. Petty died in 2010 at the age of 94.
Please read the captions with the pictures for more of the story.
Next up: Pleasant’s life as a young girl in Beverly.
A final look at the American Perforator machine, from the company's brochure. The next time you see a perforated document – a cancelled check, a food label with a code, anything of that nature – you will know the background of the process. Great historical trivia brought to you by the Ridge Historical Society!
Today was the kind of field trip historians love. Ridge Historical Society folks visited The American Perforator Company in Frankfort, IL. This company started with patents in the 1890s and was incorporated in 1910. The late Carl Spencer joined the company as a salesman, and in 1960, Carl and his wife Elaine Spencer, now RHS president, bought the company. Ownership has passed to Bryan Spencer, their son.
The company makes machines that perforate, or stamp holes into, documents, checks, ID cards, X-rays, even leather and other items. The perforated message becomes a permanent, non-removable, secure identifying mark on the document. Typical messages include date stamps and status of the document – paid, voided, approved, etc. The perforations might be used to cancel a document, for example, to invalidate an ID or cancel a credit card. These machines have been purchased through the years by many businesses, government agencies, universities, hospitals, etc., from all around the world.
Visiting this company that has been in continuous business for about 130 years is like walking into a little working museum for the Second Industrial Revolution. This is the term used for the "technological revolution" of the late 1800s – early 1900s, marked by innovations in manufacturing. An important part of this revolution was the increased use of machine tools to produce standardized, precise parts. Numerous inventions were patented during these years – such as machines that could perforate.
This visit came about because Elaine Spencer's life story will be used as part of the upcoming "Real American Girls of the Ridge" exhibit. RHS received a donation of five original American Girl dolls from the historical series. This exhibit will pair the dolls with real people connected to the Ridge from the same time periods. Elaine was a youngster during World War II and her story will be paired with that of the Molly doll.
Today the Ridge Historical Society revealed a recent donation and plans for a new exhibit. Beverly resident Joan Regnier O'Connor has donated her family's collection of five original American Girl dolls and numerous furniture items and accessories.
The American Girl dolls, of course, are a well known and beloved phenomenon. They are a line of 18-inch dolls first introduced in 1986 by the Pleasant Company, founded by Pleasant Rowland. The original dolls focused on various periods of American history, with accompanying books told from the viewpoint of the girls. Rowland sold the company to Mattel in 1998.
Joan began collecting the dolls with her daughters Michelle and Christina, who are now in their 30s. They first got interested in the dolls thanks to Joan's mother-in-law, the late Grace O'Connor, who was a children's librarian in Beverly and Mt. Greenwood. Grace shared the books with her daughter-in-law and granddaughters. She used to hold parties for the dolls at the libraries.
Joining the RHS collection are Felicity from the Colonial period, Kirsten the Pioneer girl, Addy from the Civil War era, Samantha from late Victorian times, and Molly from World War II.
RHS will be showcasing the dolls in a new exhibit, "Real American Girls of the Ridge." Three of the dolls, Addy, Samantha and Molly, will be paired with stories of actual girls who grew up connected to the Ridge communities during the appropriate time periods.
Addy will be paired with the story of the late Cornelia Reeves, an ex-slave who settled in Morgan Park in 1885-86. Her descendants are believed to still be in the area and RHS Historian Linda Lamberty, the Curator for this exhibit, is tracking them down for the story.
Samantha will be paired with the late Margaret Gear Lawrence who grew up on the Ridge around 1900. Margaret became very active with the new Girl Scouts organization founded in 1912. RHS Board Secretary Carol Macola, also very active with the Girl Scouts, will help with this exhibit entry.
Molly will be paired with Elaine Spencer, RHS President, who grew up on the Ridge during World War II. Elaine will share first-hand stories of life in the early 1940s during the turbulent war years.
Pleasant Rowland, the "inventor" of the American Girl dolls, has a strong connection to the Ridge. Her paternal grandparents lived at 96th and Winchester and her father spent his formative years here.
All of these stories will be shared in upcoming Facebook posts.
The soft opening for the "Real American Girls of the Ridge" exhibit will be at the annual meeting of RHS members on February 23rd. The following Sunday, March 1, at 2:00 p.m. will be the free grand opening reception for the public at RHS. The exhibit will run through the summer. Watch this page for more information.
The event, "Speaking of Unmentionables: History of Ladies' Underwear," has been cancelled for this Sunday, January 26, 2020. It is being rescheduled for Sunday, February 9, 2020. We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. Thank you.
It's cold and windy outside, and most folks are probably settled in for the night. This is a chance to catch up on neighborhood news – from 100 years ago. The Suburbanite Economist newspaper ran columns every Friday with news from various south side communities, and there was one for "News from the Ridge – Morgan Park, Washington Heights, Beverly Hills, Walden, Longwood and the Southern Suburbs." These are the five columns from January 1920.
Note you will see Fr. Hurley of St. Margaret's mentioned several times. In a few years, Fr. Timothy D. Hurley would be assigned to start a new parish, St. Barnabas. The first Mass at this new parish was said on Christmas 1924.
Oh, the weather outside was frightful, but the party inside was delightful …. Thank you to the brave souls who came out tonight during Chicago's first major snowstorm of the season for the closing reception for the "Threads of Imagination" exhibit at the Ridge Historical Society.
Performance artists donned Sandra Leonard's sculptural costumes for an improvised art performance event. Sandra offers a rich visual experience often based on birds and that was tonight's theme. The performers distributed origami birds to the guests which made for a nice keepsake. Some of the birds found a new home at RHS.
Last reminder! Attend this event before we get snowed and iced in for the next few days – the storm is due to get pretty bad during the night, after this is over. Tonight, 7 to 9 p.m., at the Ridge Historical Society, 10621 S. Seeley Ave., Chicago, the closing reception for the "Threads of Imagination" exhibit featuring performance artists wearing the sculptural costumes of Sandra Leonard. Free, great refreshments! Come on over! Reservations not required! Last chance to see this great exhibit!
Tomorrow night, Friday, January 17, 2020 – the closing reception for the "Threads of Imagination" exhibit at the Ridge Historical Society, 10621 S. Seeley Ave., Chicago, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The featured artist will be Sandra Leonard who will have performance artists there in some of her sculptural costumes. Free admission, refreshments will be served. Send a Message to RHS with any questions.
Be sure to get this event on your calendars!