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,…
March is Women's History Month. Join us in celebrating the vital role women have played in our collective history. Attend a program, choose your next great book, or check out a podcast episode. You can also explore and learn more through research databases and other blog posts. Programs & Activities History Matters: LHS Women's Athletics…
How many movies have you watched from home over the last few years? What TV shows have you been binge watching? Today we take for granted the wide range of visual and audio entertainment that is available to us on demand, whenever and wherever we want it, but it was not much over one hundred…
Anyone who has driven by the Vernon Hills Hawthorn Mall recently can see big changes are in store (no pun intended). But how did it all start? From millionaire farmers to small scrappy towns, there's a surprisingly rich history prior to the arrival of the mall in early 1970's. During the late 19th and early…
It's the podcast's 100th episode! And what better way to celebrate than by exploring the library's own 100th birthday. As part of Cook Library's Centennial Celebration, Local History Librarian Jenny Barry walks us through the first 40 years of the Cook Memorial Public Library up until 1960. Hear what it was like using the library…
Libertyville has been home to many Lake County firsts, but did you know it was the first county seat? Through a series of events, including but not limited to surreptitious petitioning and a rather bitter political feud, Libertyville went from a small but upcoming village to county seat, then back to a village. Arriving in…
The Cook Memorial Library entered the 1950s stuffed to the gills in a repurposed house in need of repairs. Discussion of a possible addition in the early 1940s led nowhere and the funds available for improvements to the building were low. Despite these challenges, the library continued to move forward to serve patrons of all…
As the 1930s came to a close, Libertyville looked forward to the possibility of an expanded Cook Memorial Library. The library’s collection of 15,000 books was crammed in the first floor of the former Cook home and the structure was in need of external repairs. In 1939, the Libertyville Lions Club formed a Cook Memorial…
We celebrate Women's History Month and Cook Library's Centennial by looking at the women who were key to the founding of the library and its early days. Local History Librarian Jenny Barry shares the stories of Emily Barrows Cook, Mabel MacGuffin, Norma Lee Peck, Clara Colby, Laura Taylor, August Lovell, and more. Keep checking the…
Image: Mapping Inequality Note: This episode is part three in a three-part series originally released by Drops of Ink – the student news publication of Libertyville High School. Drops of Ink explores different perspectives on race in Libertyville. Originally published September 14, 2016. Produced and hosted by Conor Kennedy. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/cooklib/A_History_of_Racism_in_Libertyville_and_the_North_Shore_part_3.mp3…
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