From the President
By: Kathy Gemperle
March 1st marks the completion of the first year for the Edgewater Historical Society. During this year we have been gathering members and resources to further the study and investigation of the history right here in our community.
The success of this year is a tribute to many in Edgewater who have taken the time to help in so many ways. A special congratulations to our first Board of Directors who have taken the responsibility and leadership to get the job done.
Many others have contributed to our efforts, including former Edgewater resident Ray Seitz, who has donated two plat maps of the north Edgewater area. We have “a friend in Pennsylvania” - Donald Brown, through Gregg Mann, is contributing some valuable postcards to our Edgewater collection.
And special thanks to Bill Maloney, editor of the Olympian, a newsletter sent to friends of St. Ita’s from 1942-1988. Bill has given the Edgewater Historical Society a set of originals. Because of ill health, Bill is unable to continue his quarterly newsletter, which is one of the only chronicles we have of the passing scene in Edgewater. We are grateful for the consistent effort Bill has given to his community and for the generous gift to our historic collection.
Recently, we had the opportunity to assist three students working on projects for the Chicago Metro History Fair. Jeff Auer of Rogers Park presented the story of Berger Park. Theresa Bradford and Nevenka Tomasich presented a history of the Edgewater Community Council. (Theresa, a student at Good Council High School, is the daughter of Wally and Joan Bradford, who worked to found the ECC more than 29 years ago.) Both of these projects are worthy contributions and may become part of our collection in the future.
In our second year, we hope to continue our research and provide community activities that inform and educate our residents about Edgewater’s history. Once an inventory of our resources is complete, we hope to establish a collection and to assist others in further research. It is great news to hear from Becky Haglund at the Sultzer Library that a complete set of microfilm of the Lerner News will be available for research at the Sultzer soon.
If you are interested in helping our own clipping file to grow, just clip any news articles about Edgewater or Edgewater residents from the Lerner, the Chicago Tribune or the Chicago Sun-Times. Please mark the date and source on each article and bring them as a birthday present to our March 25th birthday party, 10:00 a.m. at the Edgewater Library. See you there!