UPCOMING PROGRAMS
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Vintage Christmas Display
Dave Harms and Lynne Eltrevoog, historical society and Golden Glow of Christmas Past members from Marengo, are collaborating with the Des Plaines History Center to create “A Kinder Christmas.” The signature house will be decked out with rare, period holiday items the pair have collected over many years. Most items on display in the 1907 Kinder House date from the late 1800s – including feather trees, a revolving musical disc player, a wax-catcher linen tree skirt and several sleds.
The Visitor Center focuses on two key retailers in the 1960s: Polk Brothers and Sears. Among the items you will see under an aluminum Christmas tree are a Bozo record player, a Knockdown Target Shooting Gallery and several board games including The Beverly Hillbillies and Verne Gagne Wrestling.
Rare, lighted Polk Brothers “Vacucel” figures also are sure to trigger memories!
The exhibits will remain up for viewing from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 10. The History Center is closed for the holidays Dec. 24-27, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. To inquire about arranging a special tour email contact@desplaineshistory.org or call 847-391-5399.
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New book just in time for Christmas
Former History Center trustee, the Rev. Dr. William G. Grice, III, has written a book. And it’s on track for the holiday season!
“Railroad Santa and the Holiday Train” reflects Grice’s lifelong interests in railroads, model railroading, and being a “railroad fan.” He remembers steam locomotives pulling commuter trains and freights through Des Plaines. He received his first Lionel train set when he was 6 years old. By the time he was in junior high, he ran HO-scale trains and over the years he’s built several layouts.
The book’s characters evolved from Grice’s experiences with volunteers who have decorated classrooms and church halls, baked cookies, handed-out candy canes, and dressed up for the season, especially those who have worn Santa’s signature red suit.
“It’s a compilation of a number of different stories that people have told me over the decades,” Grice said. “Volunteers are the ones that bring the holidays to life.”
“Their memories are interesting and unique and help bring the holidays to life,” he said. The story shows how the desire to do one’s best – being honest, yet remaining hopeful when life is uncertain, along with showing empathetic kindness – can make a positive difference for the young and the young at heart.
Grice mentioned his own memories are involved, such as sitting on Santa’s lap in the little house at Ellinwood and Center Street when he was a child and from having visited the Holiday Train sponsored by the Kansas City Southern Railroad. The book pays a bit of homage to his father-in-law, telling the story of a railroad engineer named James who volunteers to play Santa Claus on a holiday train.
“My wife’s father was an engineer for the Kansas City Southern Railroad,” he said. “On several occasions, I rode in the locomotive’s cab with him.” Grice added his father-in-law had never engineered the KCS Holiday Train nor portrayed Santa.
Except for a 10-year period living in New England in the 1970s, Grice is a lifelong resident of Des Plaines. He is a graduate of Maine West High School and Northern Illinois University, where he majored in history and minored in English. Following graduation from NIU, he went on to earn his master’s and doctoral degrees from Andover Newton Theological School in Massachusetts. In December 1979, Grice returned to his hometown as the senior minister of the First Congregational Church of Des Plaines.
“What I hope is they (readers) come away with is a sense of kindness – even if a person’s wishes don’t’ come true,” Grice said. “There is a question in the book that is central for encouraging a conversation between an adult and child. It’s a book I believe both adults and children will enjoy. …It’s one that I hope will awaken feelings about the meaning of Christmas and memories of the holiday.”
Published in October, the paperback is available online for $16.99, including on Amazon Prime, and the author’s website HERE.