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THE BEFORE.....SERIES For some time now we’ve been contemplating writing a series of focused articles on very specific subjects – the kind of things school children rarely read about in their history text books. The writings will be made available in paper form as well. Called “The Before… Series.” We are concentrating on the decade of the 1920’s – a time of great change, social upheaval, easy credit, hard roads, electricity, radios, golf. Yet it was also a time when most McHenry County residents still live on family farms, attended one-room schools and remembered the so-called “Good Old Days.” Scroll down for: Life Before Walgreens Life Before Malls Life Before Motels
Medicine Before Penicillin Life Before Women's Suffrage
Life Before Walgreens
The small independent drug store has disappeared along with the rest of the small “independents.” Richmond once could boast the location of “Mc Henry County’s largest drug store.” Today we have to drive a distance in order to get a prescription filled. A drug store is one greatest need. In the 1920’s, Wm. O’Brien was a friendly registered Pharmacist firmly established on the southwest corner of Main and Broadway. He was proud to be “McHenry County’s largest drug store. Besides the soda fountain and cigar case, Mrs. O’Brien displayed watches, jewelry, perfumes and cosmetics in glass floor cases. Kodaks’ Box Cameras and various other types were available as well as film. Patent medicine lined the wall shelves. In April 1924, Mr. O’Brien had placed an ad in the N.A.R.D. for an apprentice. His present employee was leaving. A letter, addressed to William Toppen, Galesville, WI, dated April 29th 1924, asks him to come as soon as possible. Mr. O’Brien described the Richmond location as a “lively resort town”--600 population on a direct route from Chicago to all the southern Wisconsin lakes, mentioning especially Lake Geneva. Wages were $25.00 per week to increase as “soon as a man can show me he is entitled to a raise.” Bill Toppen came on the 10th of May. He worked for Mr. O’Brien and commuted to the Chicago School of Pharmacy to become a registered Pharmacist. Upon Mr. O’Brien’s death, “Bill” as he was soon known, owned the Pharmacy. He partitioned the building making the dug store one half the size for retail space. The other side was rental property at one time housing the Public Library and then insurance offices. As of 2006 the building had been restored by the Hollenbechs for Antiques on Broadway. The Toppens moved the soda fountain to the rear of the store. Three booths were added. Three round glass top display tables with chairs fitted neatly in the space in front of the fountain. Luick Ice Cream was delivered from Racine, WI. Mrs. Toppen’s Bittersweet chocolate syrup became the top favorite for sundaes. She made this secret recipe in the far back room of the store. Two malted milk machines turned out really thick malts and milk shakes. Green River and cherry syrup were dispensed from gallon jugs. Coca Cola syrup and root beer were dispensed from their own ceramic containers. All at five cents for a small glass -- ten cents for a large. Strawberry, chocolate, butterscotch, marshmallow, and pineapple were available for sundaes. The seltzer faucet made the soft drinks as well as ice cream sodas. Everyone had a preferred Coca Cola additive – chocolate, lemon, cherry, and Green River was available. After the Catholic Church Masses on summer Sundays, the soda fountain was packed. Mrs. Toppen and I were very busy scooping ice cream. We also had five cent and ten cent ice cream cones. Double dips often included two different flavors. We also dispensed Bromo Seltzer and Alka Seltzer to the Saturday night party goers. In my junior year in High School, Mr. Toppen asked me to be his clerk. I was happy to leave my Relief Operator job with Farmer’s New Era Telephone Company. In 1938 he was grooming me to get my Apprentice Pharmacy License. This would enable me to help him in the Pharmacy. Filling prescriptions at this time was very different from modern times. Most everything had to be made or mixed—I watched with fascination as Bill dissolved sparkly crystals on the slab to make an ointment. The mortar and pestle mixed for the capsules. I started out by typing the labels, but soon I was allowed to fill the capsules. This was a very exacting labor—each capsule filled and weighed exactly. No leftover powder and no short weights when you finished. I felt very proud to do this. This, of course, was under his supervision. After Public Service Electric Company closed their office on Main Street we collected the bill payments. Reports had to be sent in daily. A crew of service men answered all the “trouble calls” reported to us. Our phone was really busy after a thunder storm. The Greyhound Bus made four trips north and four trips south. Drivers drove from Chicago to Mauston, WI and then back after a layover in Mauston. They were signaled to stop if we had a passenger. This was done by pulling a light string inside the store that made a light flash outside. We sold tickets to any destination in the states and it often was difficult to determine fares. It was always routed through Chicago or Madison. Bus reports were made and sent to Greyhound every month. The wall shelves were lined with Patent medicines for man and beast. Lydia Pinkham, Dr. Caldwell’s Syrup of Pepsin and Sloan’s Liniment were examples. We had Worming Medicines and Udder Balm for four legged creatures of the farm. First aid included Mercurachrome, Iodine, bandages of all sizes, gauze, cotton, adhesive tape, corn plasters, toothache remedies, ready made mustard plaster for the chest. Along with cough syrups and cold remedies—we could fix anything. Bayer Aspirins, Anacin and Ex Lax and various pills like Dr. Sloan’s Diuretic and somebody’s Bilious Pills filled the drawers with small boxes of paper or tin. All personal hygiene products were discreetly displayed. Male customers always requested that Bill fill their needs. How times have changed! To the front of the store, there were cigarettes—Lucky Strike, Camels, Philip Morris—tipped and non-tipped—by the package or carton. A floor case of cigars—expensive Perfecto Garcia were 2 for 25 cents, Harvester, King Edward were 2 for 5 cents and several more. The wall case held Velvet, Prince Albert, Raleigh and Plow Boy tobacco for pipes—Corn Cob pipes and Grabow Filter Pipes were on display. Copenhagen and Seal Snuff with Beech Nut Chewing Tobacco shared the cigarette display. The Double Kay Nut Machine stood next to the cigar case. It was heated by two large light bulbs. The nuts were warm and fresh—a freshly toasted taste for two kinds of peanuts, cashews and mixed nuts. The large display case for candy held all the favorites. Candy bars and gum were a nickel. Baby Ruth, Butterfinger, Mounds, Milky Way, Charleston Chew and Musketeers to name a few. Black Jack, Wrigley’s, Famous Three and Pepsin Chewing gum and Life Savers filled the top shelf. Penny candy was found on the very bottom shelf. A large magazine rack was across from the cigars. Life and Look were the big sellers. For the searchers for romance, True Story and True Confessions filled the bill. Comic books were having a hey-day. One young lady, dressed in boots and cowboy hat always spent the time looking for Gene Autry Comics. She had a real crush on Gene Autry. Wall cases on the east side of the store were displaying special gifts and cosmetics. Armand Face Powder and Rouge along with Coty products were favorites of the day. Tangee and Coty Lipstick and Cutex Nail Polish were popular. Christmas shoppers found gift sets in fancy wrap from Evening in Paris and Coty, Dresser Sets, Manicure Sets, Compacts and jewelry. All suggestions for a gift for that special someone. For the gentlemen we had shaving sets, billfolds and cuff links with tie bars. Graduation gifts were found in Sheaffer and Parker Pen Sets and jewelry. We had a card case that held a card for every occasion. The cost was 25 cents to 75 cents. Baby gifts filled one case—compete from baby books to bootie and sweater and cap sets. Baby cups and spoons sold separately or in a gift set with an ABC plate. There were three large display windows to be trimmed. Crepe paper worked magic. Mrs. Toppen soon delegated that job to me. She taught me to make the crepe paper wings that framed the products displayed in the window. Displays were changed monthly. I enjoyed this task too. I remember being at the store working on that fateful day, December 7, 1941. It was a dark, dreary late Sunday afternoon. Mr. Toppen was seated at his desk in the pharmacy department listening to the news report. A reporter, named Paul Harvey, came on with the bombing at Pearl Harbor. Anyone who heard that news remembers the impact it made. My worst fears were realized. I was engaged to be married—no date set. Phil had received his draft notice. The wedding date depended on his call to serve. We were married January 4, 1942. He left on March 2nd. I continued to work all the time he was gone. He returned from the South Pacific in June 1945 to study another type of aircraft engine. He was to return to his Pacific base in August. I went to Williamsville, New York to spend the summer with him. This ended my eight years of pleasant work at the Drug Store. I shall always remember Nellie and Bill Toppen as two of my dearest friends. I learned much from my exposure to people and a business. I’m glad I have known an old-fashioned drug store, serving our community in the friendliest manner, day in and day out. by...Irene Borre
Life Before Malls
The 1920’s ushered in the age of American consumerism. With the sacrifices of the Great War behind it, American turned its back on the old and set its face defiantly, if somewhat apprehensively, to the future, to the new and to the modern. McHenry population increased greatly from 1900 to 1929, and businesses grew along with it. Advertising was revolutionized during the decade. From merely advertising lists of products available, manufacturers saw the possibilities of creating not only new products, but also the need for them. Aggressively pursing this, they defined what it meant to be successful and told the customer what they needed to buy to achieve it. The new was exciting, but there were also underlying uncertainties. Listerine ads ask—Is your breath really fresh—Are you sure about yourself? People in McHenry County, while embracing the new era, kept much of their day-to-day lives steady and predictable. Farm and town families alike continued to grow many of their vegetables in a back yard garden. Chicken coops were not unusual. Canning fruits and vegetables in season kept many housewives tied to stoves in a hot kitchen in August and September. Rows of beautiful canned peaches, tomatoes, pickles and jams from her labors rewarded the whole family through the winter. Traditional ads showed women demonstrating their love for their families by preparing and serving homemade food. Women were very seldom, however, depicted as indulging themselves by actually eating. The Campbell Soup Company became a leader in changing this image. They launched a series of ads claiming their soups were more nutritious than the soups made by the housewife. They suggested that furthermore their modern facilities were more sanitary than the dubious cleanliness of the average kitchen. Opening a can of Campbell Soup and enjoying it with your family was more efficient, modern and healthful. The Twenties saw the growth of the brand name product. The Crystal Lake Herald of 1923 ran ads for Armor Star bacon, Maxwell House coffee and Del Monte salmon. The chain store also began its march across the country. F.W. Woolworth, J.C. Penney, Safeway, Kresge and Piggly Wiggly began to exert pressure on the “Ma and Pa” stores. Schueneman Bros. urged customers to “buy at home—your dollar buys more value here than anywhere else.” McHenry County in the Twenties was still dominated by the specialty store. Most any item that a family needed could be had by going downtown. Most downtown areas included a department store, hardware, pharmacy, bakery, meat market, grocery store, ladies’ dress shop, millinery , and five-and-dime. For example, in 1920 Woodstock had two bakeries, four stores offering meat markets, four clothing stores, two retail dry goods, two furniture, three hardwares and many more shops. Smaller Harvard had two clothing stores, one retail dry goods, one furniture, two hardwares, two meat markets, and two bakeries plus other goods and services. Most every town had a dressmaker, a tailor and a shoe repairman who also sold and mended harness “in time for your spring plowing needs.” Proprietors often were very knowledgeable in the products they offered, having been in that line of business for generations. An example of this was Samter’s Store for men in Marengo. The store was founded by G.A. Samter in 1853 after arriving from Germany. When he retired in 1897 the store was managed by his son until 1917. Then a grandson, Harry Buell took over and ran the family business for 54 years until it was sold in 1972. The “Reliable Clothier” was a Marengo mainstay for 119 years. Elite Shop of Marengo in 1927 proudly announced that their new owners “with their pleasing personalities and friendly manners…are operating…with the welfare of their customers first at heart…” When, in 1921, the Piggly Wiggly chain introduced a new way of shopping with self-service lanes scientifically laid out, customers felt somehow subtly diminished in importance. Service was the order of the day. Not only Marshall Field sought to “give the lady what she wants.” Before electric refrigeration, ice boxes in the home kept food fresh but necessitated more frequent shopping. Grocery stores accepted orders by phone and delivered to the home that same day. Crystal Lake Grocery store sold Marshalls best flour for $1.85 in the store or $1.09 delivered. Most stores delivered for free. When refrigeration became common, grocery shopping could be done once a week. A shopping trip required the lady to be dressed properly. No one wanted to be seen in public in less than their best. At the store, the customer presented the clerk with a list of items desired, or told them what was needed. The clerk then fetched the items for the customer and bagged them. Bagging was carefully done. In grocery stores, especially, heavier items were placed in the bottom of the bag and braced against each other so they would not shift when the bag was lifted. Purchases were carried to the customers’ car or carriage. Stores were closed Wednesday afternoons, open until nine on Saturdays. Everyone was closed Sundays, of course. Downtown Saturday night was a big event in McHenry County towns. Parking spaces were at a premium. The noise level coming from downtown rose steadily through the evening as cars arrived, people went from store to store, stopped to chat and catch up on the latest news. Stores, ice cream parlors and movies theatres all did a brisk business. One Saturday night in Harvard in 1922 had 620 autos and 22 horse drawn carriages clogging the streets and maneuvering for parking space. Women continued to make many items of their own and their families’ clothing by hand. Patterns and material were readily available at the local five and dime. For social occasions, however, a purchased dress in the latest style was required. Mail order dresses were available by catalog. The Chicago Mail Order co. offered in 1921 a beaded silk crepe dress for $6.98. The local ladies’ dress shop was the mainstay for dress shopping for most people. The owner of such a shop took pride in having on hand just what was wanted by a long-term customer. Fitting was free. The Corner Shop of Crystal Lake, catering to the conservative tastes of McHenry County ladies (or perhaps just in possession of an overstock) announced in a 1923 ad “what every woman knows---that corsets are going to be worn just as much as ever.” The corset, however, was on the way to extinction. The boyish figure, slim and flat-chested, was the new fashion. Flapper looks were viewed initially with some suspicion. It was said that girls were becoming too thin, wearing themselves out doing the Charleston. Roads, some newly paved, railroads and electric lines crisscrossed the county, making the excitement of out-of-town shopping within reach of more people, but still sufficiently noteworthy to merit an item in next week’s newspaper. “Mrs. Henry Jones spent Thursday shopping in Woodstock.” Better yet was a train ride to Chicago for a day spent at Marshall Field’s. The shopping and buying of the Twenties was financed increasingly by the use of credit. The age of the easy monthly payment was born. Public Service Co. would deliver a Federal electric washing machine to county residents for $5 down and monthly payments of $7.50. A Federal electric vacuum cleaner could be had for $1.40 down. J.P. Kroger of Crystal Lake offered a Ford Touring car (total price $298 f.o.b. Detroit) for “a small down payment and the balance on easy terms.” The rising amount of debt did not concern most people. A player piano was $12 a month, a refrigerator $10 a month. The Music Company would gladly arrange payments on a modern, new Victrola music machine. The Corner Shop had a special showing of hats of “original and Parisian cleverness.” Excitement was in the air. An easier life could be paid for as we go. In the mid 1920’s, the hard times seemed all behind them. And they were---for a while. by--Jean Nigbor
Life Before Motels
It didn’t take long for the public to take to motoring. The automobile quickly left the realm of rich man’s toy to transportation necessity once Henry Ford made his Model T cheap and available. Folks liked taking to the open road despite the terrible conditions that existed before the hard roads movement. Driving one’s car a traveler wasn’t tied to strict railroad schedules and dress codes and mealtimes set up at railroad hotels. That sense of freedom, the excitement of travel adventure combined with automobile road improvements created a tourism industry that continues today. Those first automobile tourists traveled with everything including the kitchen sink. Their car was a home-away-from home because these were the days before motels. Called tin can campers, auto gypsies, auto campers these earlier adventurers loved gadgets and regularly traveled with gasoline stoves, Dutch ovens, portable refrigerators, steam irons, wash tubs, big tents, folding beds, collapsible camp furniture, food, clothing and sporting gear. Top heavy with equipment for all occasions, auto campers drove until tired, pulled off to the side of the road and set up camp. The fact that a campsite might also be private property didn’t enter into the equation. As the numbers of these travelers increased so did litter, damage to crops, theft of property and general displeasure from those whose property was being violated. In 1916 motorists averaged 125 miles a day. As roads improved so did the mileage that increased to 170 miles in 1920, 200 miles in 1925 and 300 miles in 1931. In McHenry County, Illinois the 1920’s saw its first organized efforts to formalize camping sites as well as lure the motoring public to places like Hebron, Richmond, Crystal lake, Spring Grove, Woodstock, McHenry, Marengo, and even little Solon Mills by providing tourist camps. By 1921 it was estimated that 20,000 Americans drove cross-country as compared to only 12 in 1912. That same year an estimated nine million Americans planned to go motor camping in the summer. I As the numbers of auto campers continued to climb so too did the efforts on behalf of local businessmen organizations to capitalize on the trade these potential customers could provide to local businesses if only they could be lured into America’s small towns. It was argued that by setting up tourists camps travel by automobile would be encouraged and the travelers would spend money on gas and oil, food, supplies and souvenirs. In September of 1921 the Illinois Auto Club erected motorist guide signs through McHenry. It was shortly thereafter that auto camps began springing up across the county. The first mention of one was in Woodstock in the summer of 1922. With the city providing the lights, sand and water, the commercial club made up of city businessmen, agreed to build a shelter. The site chosen for the camp was called Standpipe Park, which was located at the intersection of Hill and Jackson Streets. There are no records indicating how popular a stopping place this was; however, because of a nearby pond which has been since drained, it was often called “Skeeter” Park. The following year the McHenry Plaindealer newspaper reported that a two acre tract along the Nippersink Creek and near the Village of Richmond was to be set aside for a motor tourist camp. In short order electric lights and a well were installed. The Osborn Tourist Camp, a private camp according to Robert Gardner of Solon Mills, was located in a grove of trees on West Solon Road off Route 31 and south of Richmond. The camp was still operating in 1927 but no one remembers how long it remained. Meanwhile McHenry was planning its own camp site. In late May, 1923 N.H. Petesh and William Spencer of the McHenry Community Club contracted M.A. Conway about a tract of land east of the Fox River for tourist camping. Conway’s Woods (located on Lincoln Road) as the site was commonly called had previously been used as a picnic grounds. The Club struck a deal with Conway to rent a strip of land for their camp. They planned to erect a big sign above the entrance. The businessmen were worried they might lose the tourist trade without such a camp. Additional newspaper accounts indicated the site was gradually becoming known by the traveling public enough so that Mr. Conway was making an effort to get park seats. By 1925 new signs were needed for Conway’s Woods and several businesses stepped forward to help. Alexander Lumber Company would donate the wood for one sign. Thomas P. Bolger would donate sign paint and Mayor Wattles asked the City Council to approve two more welcome signs leading into the city bringing the number up to seven. It seemed that no community wanted to miss an opportunity to cash in on sales revenues generated by the traveling public. In Crystal Lake alone in 1924 there were 520 registered automobile owners. Small towns like Hebron began agitating for a free tourist camp within close proximity of their village. Spring Grove provided one, probably somewhere along today’s Route 12. Whether Hebron’s was ever established is unknown nor do we know where the Spring Grove tourist camp was. Over on the southwestern side of McHenry County, Marengo, one of the area’s oldest cities sits right along one of the state’s oldest roads – Grant Highway or U.S. Route 20. In 1924 the Marengo City Improvement Association contacted Earl Penny to lease some of his land on Rowland Avenue for a tourist camp. Earl’s daughter Gladys Penney shared some of her recollections about that camp in 1999 in the Society’s newsletter The Tracer. According to Gladys her folks had a farm at the end of Rowland Avenue just off Route 20 five blocks west of the downtown business district. A big sign on the highway directed motorists to the camp. Families drove in, pitched tents and stayed overnight. She remembered them coming up to the farm just west of the camp to use the outhouse behind the big house, to get water from the well and sometimes buy eggs, milk or vegetables. After a year of operation the Marengo Civic Improvement Association improved the camp with adequate toilet facilities for men and women. They also provided a new table and new platform around the well. It was probably around the same time that a 50¢ fee was imposed to help with the upkeep. According to a 1927 newspaper article, the auto camp was still in operation. As time went on improvements were made to the motor camps. Travelers compared camps in one town and another and pressured for improvements which then resulted in overnight usage fees. Crystal Lake by 1925 was collecting a $1.00 parking fee for out-of-towners who parked at the lake front. The auto camps had great appeal to the traveling public, especially the women. The well equipped camp could supply items a traveler wouldn’t need to pack himself like picnic tables, tent floors, recreational equipment and personal supplies. Besides they offered clean privies, showers, and rain shelters. Unfortunately municipal supported auto camps fell out of favor during the same decade, 1920’s, that they first flourished. Local newspapers like the McHenry Plaindealer excitedly announced each and every improvement when the camp sites were new. But there was a lot going on then. In 1922, alone, St. Patrick’s Parish in McHenry built a new church, a four year new high school was approved, the McHenry Country Club opened the first nine of its 18 hole golf course, cement road building was moving ever closer, a sewer system was undertaken and McHenry passed from a village to a city. Tremendous growth and new technology brought about by access to electrical power and more leisure time affected McHenry County just as it did the rest of the country. As long as motor camps were new they were news. Yet it was costly to stay competitive. In addition, as time went on, a different class of travelers showed up at the camps. These individuals took to the road and actually lived from one motor camp to another, looking for jobs and cheap lodging. They were not likely to spend as much in town as hoped for. Thus the shift to for-profit private camps which were less conflicted in their mission. As one source (Americans on the Road – From Auto Camp to Motel, 1910-1945 by Warren James Belasco, 1979) put it, “Private operators of tourist camps weren’t torn at all. They targeted the spending tourist with more attractive camping facilities and from there, cottages.” Municipal efforts failed because they were caught between serving the public interests of outdoor recreation or serving the profit interests of local merchants. A poll of 59 cities taken in 1930, for example, found that 29 had abandoned their camps because of private competition. This was happening inside McHenry County too. The story of McHenry County’s auto camps ends with much less fanfare than when they began. It wasn’t much of a leap from tent sites to cottages in the tourist industry. To see that next step, a quick stop at the McHenry County Historical Society museum in Union will produce one of the 1949 – 1950 Orsolini Cabins, once located on Whiskey Corners (Routes 31 and 12 south of Richmond). Until the bigger owned chain motels replaced them, these little “Mom and Pop” owned cottages like Orsolini’s or McClure’s in Harvard served the traveling public in McHenry County just fine. Their story, however, is another chapter in American tourism history. by...Nancy J. Fike
Medicine before Penicillin
"Feed a fever, starve a cold" – or is it the other way around! My grandmother had many sayings like that! Remember onion plasters, mustard plasters, oh how they burned our chests! But they would cure a chest cold, wouldn’t they? Vicks Vaporub was rubbed on the chest and around the nose to clear up the nasal catarrh! And is still being used. Many old cookbooks (1800 – 1925) had remedies for the "sick and invalids" that are not understandable to us. "Avoid having a kerosene lamp in the bedroom – odor is irritating to the mucous membranes." "Keep all medicines or anything suggestive of illness out of sight in a sickroom: (Good idea). "Never visit a sickroom in a violent perspiration or with an empty stomach." "Diet should be food which satisfies the ‘humour,’ but does not nourish or stimulate." That is gruel, gelatinous soups, or aromatic drinks" (ugh). "Teething children should have milk from one cow – this cow should NOT be fed on green corn or sour apples!" "For summer complaints, use scaled milk, (not boiled) also rice jelly or barley gruel!" Enough of that! Let’s get a little closer to our times! Here are some "sure cures." For poison ivy – use juice of a milkweed plant. Insect repellent – rub snake root between hands, put on face. For a sty on eyelid, lay a flax seed in corner of your eye. Car sickness – two tablespoons of sauerkraut juice will settle the stomach. Liniment prescription: 1 part vinegar 1 part alcohol 1 part turpentine Let alcohol eat up one cake camphor before adding to other ingredients. (1946) A dirty wool sock around your neck for a sore throat – the dirtier the better! Patent medicines were very popular in the late 1800’s and still are in many places! Remember Doan’s Little Liver Pills, Lydia Pinkhams Tonic for Women, Beecham’s Pills – just a few of the many. Some were well-laced with alcohol or opium. Fortunes were made in America by quackery – mostly for treatment of sexual problems. Men were told that their "days" were few, unless they took extensive courses of various treatments. Almost as prevalent were treatments for alcoholism. In Illinois was the Keeley Institute, run by Dr. Leslie Keeley, a qualified physician. It is difficult to decide whether Dr. Keeley was a quack or not! His treatment was injections of gold bichloride. Alcoholics from all over the country came to Dwight, Illinois for the Keeley treatment. The "cure" often succeeded, probably, due as much to decreasing amounts of alcohol each day, as to the gold bichloride. Keeley Institutes were in 40 cities in the U.S. There is a Keeley Institute still, under different management, using orthodox methods of treatment – and no gold bichloride. The First World War stimulated research and interchange of ideas. That most important analgesic, aspirin was a brand name of the German company, Bayer, and acquired by the Allies under the Enemy Property Act. Lysol was another invention of this company. Before World War II tetanus antitoxin was available, as well as sulfamycin, both of which saved many lives. "Sulfa" powder was put in open war wounds, helping them heal without infection. Actually hand washing, clean operating rooms and changing clothes between surgical patients began in the mid 19th century, but was not popular until much later. Now we are getting even more stringent about washing hands almost between every activity – even teaching primary students to sing "Happy Birthday to You" three times while washing hands after bathroom visits! Do you remember when families and houses were quarantined for "communicable diseases" i.e., mumps, scarlet fever, whooping cough and measles? Either the whole family was unable to leave the house for some weeks, or usually the husband couldn’t come in the house or some of the "well" children had to be farmed out! After the patient was "cured" the house was fumigated with sulfur candles. Aren’t you glad that there are antibiotics, immunizations, important technology and well-educated physicians to keep us "well" now? By 2100 we will be looking back and laughing at the strange medical practices in the 19th and 20th centuries. by Dr. Alice Mijanovich
Before Video Games - Soap Box Derby
McHenry County Youngsters have always found a way to keep busy when not in school or doing homework. Video games are played today. Sit down, stare at a little digital screen, and push buttons to be entertained by all sorts of stuff. What did kids do before video games became so popular? Watching TV has been around for many years. Listening to The Lone Ranger, Superman, and Bobby Benson and the B-Bar-B Riders, was a daily ritual during the days of radio. “Stick-ball,” “hide-and-seek,” and “simple simon,” were neighborhood games played by many. Little League Baseball and other organized sports have been around for a long time and are still active. How about car racing for kids? That may not seem appropriate, but it is a kids sport that started many years ago and remains popular to this day. It all began in 1933 in Dayton, Ohio. Journalist Myron Scott spotted three boys racing down a hill. The boys had built small cars out of wooden boxes and baby-buggy wheels. The journalist sponsored a race for the boys and their friends the next week. A trophy was awarded to the winner. Nineteen youngsters showed up for the race. The race spark was ignited. The Mr. Scott found sponsors, spread the word, and the first national Soap Box Derby race was held in Dayton, Ohio on August 19, 1934. The interest in young people racing homemade cars grew rapidly. Generous sponsors helped the program grow and in 1935 the federal Works Progress Administration built a large soap box derby facility in Akron, Ohio. The national soap box derby race has been held in Akron every year except during the years of World War II. The 70th anniversary race was at Akron on July 21, 2007. McHenry County has been involved in the All American Soap Box Derby (AASBD) program almost since it was started. County resident Mr. Henry E. Buch built a car and entered it in the soap box derby race down the South Street hill in Woodstock in 1940. He didn’t do well in that race, but he did very well the next year. Mr. Buch was fifteen years old in 1941 when he won local races and was sent to the national race in Akron, Ohio.
Mr. Buch was a B-29 crew member during World War II and later became a prominent citizen in McHenry County. He opened the 2005 Soap Box Derby races in McHenry, Illinois with a ceremonial run down the track in his 1941 car. The rubber on the old wheels gave out near the end of the track and he crashed. He was not hurt, his car was repaired, and he still has it. During the 1940s informal soap box races were held weekly at numerous towns in the Fox River Valley. Eventually, Woodstock became the official site for the AASBD race at the local level. Mr. Don Peasley was the Derby Manager for the official 1951 Woodstock race. Mr. Peasley is currently a prominent photographer/journalist in McHenry County. Soap box racers in Woodstock started near the high school and raced their cars down the South Street hill toward town. Jim Barrett built a car, raced it in the 1952 Woodstock race, and was one of the winners. Mr. Peter Perkins of Marengo also entered that race. His car placed well enough to be sent to the races in Akron, Ohio.
Is there an alternative to video games for youngsters today? Sure!
The soap box derby is
active and popular in
McHenry County. The
town of McHenry
is where the official race is held each year. The track goes down the
hill toward East
Campus
High School.
The McHenry Kiwanis Club is the sponsor of this exciting event.
The rules are strict.
Cars must be built with adult supervision. Cars are built from a kit and
can be purchased locally. Boys and girls from ages eight to seventeen can
become soap box derby racers. There are other requirements that must be
met. The rewards are great. Building the car and being in a local race
is exciting and something just a bit unusual. A local race winner can
enter a regional “rally” race. Rally race winners are the ones who take
their cars to the national race in Akron, Ohio. Racers who win or place
in each division at the races in Akron receive very nice scholarships. Are you tired of that video game? Get involved in a fun activity that has been in McHenry County long before video games were around. Get involved in the excitement of building and racing a soap box derby car. Specifics and requirements can be obtained from Mr. Jim Marinangel at the McHenry Savings Bank in McHenry, Illinois By Brian Knight, Ringwood, August 2007
Life Before Women’s Suffrage
In 1917, as the United States slid to war with Germany, a group of women approached the White House in Washington, D. C. They stood quietly at the home of President Wilson. The banners that they wore draped from shoulder to waist proclaimed them to be “Silent Sentinels;” women who wanted the President and Congress to take action to give all American women of age the right to vote in all elections. Members of this group stood continuous vigil until after the Congress accepted Wilson’s proposal to allow the states to ratify the 19th amendment. On June 10, 1919, Illinois became the very first state to vote in favor of that ratification. Surprisingly, especially considering all that has been said, much of it greatly romanticized, about the “ratification struggle,” McHenry County newspapers took almost no notice at all of that ratification. The truth of the matter is that McHenry County women were, since 1913, free to vote in township and municipal elections. Women in many trans Mississippian states held the right to vote in local and state elections, in some cases, as early as the 1890’s. This early exercise of the local franchise by women as well as the November 1917 mobilization of women in the nation to do important war work made county, state, and national woman’s suffrage almost a foregone conclusion at the end of World War I. The Illinois local woman’s suffrage struggle which culminated in 1913 can not correctly be described neatly and cleanly only in terms of whether women had the right to vote. The story deeply involves the various county chapters of the Illinois “Anti-Saloon League” and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). In McHenry County, both groups had extremely active chapters led by women of great note in the county. Hand in hand with these groups was a political movement called “Progressivism” which was sweeping the nation in the first decade of the 20th century. Progressives, like Theodore Roosevelt who ran for the Presidency in 1912 as a “Progressive,” believed that the nation could be a better place if a variety of social reforms were accomplished through national, state, and local legislation. It was believed that an important key to this legislation was women who were, at that time, believed to be the best and highest holders of social morals. Progressives believed that if women were to be allowed to exercise the franchise they would surely vote in favor of “progressive” educational, justice, and environmental reforms. A classic example of “progressive womanhood” in McHenry County was Marengo’s Elizabeth Sisson Shurtleff, the wife of Edward D. Shurtleff who happened to be, between 1901 and 1910, the powerful Speaker of the House of the Illinois General Assembly. Active in both the McHenry County chapters of the Anti-Saloon League and the WCTU, Elizabeth Shurtleff believed strongly that if the widespread use and sale of alcoholic beverages could be contained, even eliminated, families would become more stable, children would be happier, and public education would flourish. Her husband supported her in her beliefs and activities. In 1915 in “Progressive” fashion, Shurtleff worked with the noted Jane Addams to introduce a bill in the Illinois House to ban the employment of children under the age of 16 (with certain exceptions) in Illinois. Although Edward Shurtleff had given up the Speakership in 1910 because of his alleged involvement in the bribery scandal which forced William Lorimer to resign his US Senate seat (Chicago newspapers called Shurtleff a “bag man” for Lorimer), he was able to retain both the trust of his community’s residents and his seat as a state representative. Those who saw the saloon (aka – neighborhood tavern) as being necessary to the happiness and contentment of the average working man went to great lengths to convince newspaper readers and any others who would listen that “Woman’s suffrage will double the irresponsible vote. It is a menace to the home, men’s employment, and to all business.” The Anti-Saloon League believed that if women were allowed to vote, their votes would go far to implement programs bringing excessive drinking to an end and, thus, bringing about improved home and community environments. In May of 1913, the Illinois Senate, under the sponsorship of Republican turned Progressive, Hugh S. Magill, passed a bill to allow women to vote in township and community elections by a vote of 29 to 15. This action raised the ire of Democrat Anton Cermack of Chicago, who would later become the mayor of Chicago (and vacationed often in Fox River Grove), who was pushing a variety of legislative initiatives catering to the needs of the state’s saloon and tavern owners. Cermack believed that Shurtleff would, regardless of the appeals of Shurtleff’s wife, support his pro-saloon stance, especially since Hugh Magill was the very man who had led the charge against Lorimer going to the United States Senate. The leadership of the Anti-Saloon League responded to Cermack’s actions in the House by appointing, based on the recommendations of the lady leaders of the WCTU, a number of floor captains in support of the suffrage bill. One such floor captain was, at the quiet insistence of Elizabeth Shurtleff, her husband, Edward. The WOODSTOCK SENTINEL reported (June 12, 1913, page 1) that, as the time for the vote on the bill arrived on June 11 “None of the former Speaker’s close friends dreamed for a moment that he would vote for the woman’s bill.” The CHICAGO INTER-OCEAN reported (June 12, 1913) that the passage of the bill was questionable when Edward Shurtleff asked to speak. The MARENGO REPUBLICAN, Shurtleff’s home town newspaper stated (June 13, 1913, page 4) that “Shurtleff made a speech that electrified the members and snatched the suffrage bill from [failing] at that critical moment.” As reported in the INTER-OCEAN, Shurtleff said For five months we have witnessed the spectacle of a
moving picture show over Shurtleff’s vote on the measure was enough to convince those friends and allies he had made in the House while he was its Speaker, to bring 83 votes in support of the measure, 6 more than were necessary for passage. The WOODSTOCK SENTINEL published a report (June 13, 1913) that shortly before the passage of the Illinois suffrage bill the noted English suffragette, Emily Pankhurst, visited Woodstock and participated in a Suffrage Rights parade around the Square with members of the Oliver Typewriter “repair, experimental, and power departments.” The columnist vacuously reported that the … winsome Emily, gowned in one of Gay Paree’s latest
creations headed a parade The paper had nothing to say about the right to vote granted to women. Similar to other McHenry County newspapers, the HARVARD HERALD of June 26, 1913 printed a long article describing those offices for which women could vote. They were municipal and township offices only. The article stated that Illinois enjoys the distinction of being the first
large state in the union to grant The McHENRY PLAINDEALER reported in its March 19, 1914 edition that the annual McHenry Township election would actually have a contest for one of the three offices, that of Township Collector. Not only would there be a rare contest for a position but the contest was between a man and a woman. The paper reported that “The present incumbent [John Niesen] is a man with many friends [and] has held the office for a number of terms.” Niesen’s opponent was Mrs. Mayme Harrison. The reporter then editorialized that We believe that both candidates are well worthy
and ably qualified to fulfill the The PLAINDEALDER reported the results of the contest in its March 26, 1914 issue. The reporter wrote We have heard it said that the women of
McHenry, when it came to voting time, The results of the election were 272 votes for Mayme Harrison and 447 votes for John Niesen. The CRYSTAL LAKE HERALD of April 16, 1914 reported that Nettie Teckler was the first woman to cast a ballot in that community. In sum, when the issue of national woman’s suffrage came before President Wilson in 1918, the issue had already been decided in McHenry County. Women were already showing considerable political strength by voting in appreciable numbers in those elections were they could. They had already proven themselves when the 19th Amendment was passed. The prognostication of the reporter of the McHENRY PLAINDEALER as to the role of women in American politics was vindicated.
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