Chicago, that toddling - and tippling - town. Our world class metropolis has been a malt-loving mecca since its beginnings and, if it weren't for beer and booze, Chicago wouldn't be here. Please join us on Sunday, January 27th at 2 p.m. for a brief annual meeting of the Wilmette Historical Society and to hear historian Liz Garibay talk about how alcohol helped shape Chicago. Garibay is founder of the Chicago Brewseum and curator of the Field Museum exhibit “Brewing Up Chicago.” Seating is limited; call (847) 853-7666 or email museum@wilmette.com to reserve your place.
Annual Meeting and Lecture: City of Booze Shoulders
"Beer Wars" now open!
Beer Wars: Wets vs. Drys on the North Shore chronicles the story of Chicago breweries and of North Shore saloons and their battles against temperance activists who advocated for their demise. The new exhibit includes a special section about the saloons of Gross Point (now largely part of Wilmette). Historic photos and ads, as well as a section of an original bar counter are featured along with other saloon amenities. Beer Wars will be on display through July 2019.
World War I exhibits to close at end of November
November 11th marks the centennial of the end of World War I. Here on the North Shore, you can visit three historical societies to learn about local community contributions to the war effort and the war's impact. At the Wilmette Historical Museum, Over Here and Over There: Wilmette and Gross Point in WWI spotlights some of the young men from the adjoining villages of Wilmette and Gross Point who eagerly enlisted and were sent to the trenches in France as well as their families back home who worked hard to show support. Whether knitting socks or raising money for ambulances or publishing soldiers' letters in the local paper, the folks back home were intimately involved in the war effort through those years. For more North Shore WWI stories and artifacts, visit the the Winnetka Historical Society's exhibit Winnetka Goes To War: 1917-1918 and the Glencoe Historical Society's Glencoe in the Great War. Hours differ among the three Museums, so be sure to check before heading over.
