Santa Claus arrives in 2015. Copyright Bob Leavitt. Each year Libertyville residents gather in Cook Park for the holiday tree lighting the Friday night after Thanksgiving. Santa’s arrival by fire truck is the highlight of the evening for children of all ages. But in the late 1940s Santa arrived by another mode of transportation –…
Ten years ago this month, the Cook Memorial Public Library launched The Past is Present blog to help patrons learn about local history within our library district. We are proud to have shared over 120 posts and podcasts during the past decade. Thanks to the librarians who have researched and written posts on a variety…
It's possible that the biggest race ever held at the One Mile track was not a horse race, but an automobile race. The event took place in August 1913 and made headlines in the the Lake County Independent: "Biggest Race Carnival of Year at Libertyville,” “Speed Kings of Country to Race at Libertyville” and “World’s…
Find out the who's who of national celebrities and historical figures that have made appearances in Libertyville through the years. Enjoy part one of the series. There's more to come! Mentioned in the Podcast: Ep. 38: The Past is Present - Frederick Grabbe and Libertyville's Spring Water Local History page Catch every episode! Subscribe to…
In the 1890s and early 1900s, rising population in the Chicago made the countryside more appealing. Chicago business leaders looked to rural areas within commuting distance of the city to build country homes for their families and indulge their passion for farm pursuits, including raising horses. Chicago restauranteur John R. Thompson and railroad executive J.W.…
If thoroughbred racing is the Sport of Kings, harness racing, also known as trotting, could be called the sport of the people. Anyone could train their horse to trot and the cost of entry to the sport was much lower than that of thoroughbred racing. In harness racing, instead of a rider atop a horse,…
Two women in front of Libertyville bakery. 1915. We close out Women's History Month with a look at some of the earliest businesses in Libertyville that were owned by women. Previous Women's History Month Podcast Episodes Women of Cook Library The Past is Present: Dr. Norma Munson The Past is Present: 3 Women of Libertyville…
Over the course of American slavery’s nearly 250-year history, many slaveholders attempted to take credit for their enslaveds' inventions, and, as such, there’s no way of knowing exactly how many or, in some cases, which creations should actually be credited to Black inventors. While the law never explicitly prohibited Black inventors from applying for patents,…
Everyone knows Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, but what about the names you don't know? Here are just a few Black Americans who changed the course of history. Olito, F., & Montalti, V. (2022, February 2). 21 black pioneers throughout history you definitely should know. Insider. Retrieved January 27, 2023, from https://www.insider.com/african-americans-never-heard-of-should-know Famous…
As 1964 drew to a close, with a failed referendum behind them and an overcrowded library in front of them, the Cook Memorial Library Board set about regrouping and looking for their next course of action. In February of 1965 head librarian Mrs. Littler announced her plans to retire but wouldn’t do so for a…
