Endnotes to Chronology
1 Bushnell conflicts on this point.
2 Andreas notes at p. 67 that the Chicago Portage was gradually abandoned in the 18th Century because of the periodic and numerous Indian wars raging in the area.
3 Please bear in mind that the approved draft of the proposed federal constitution did not contain the "Bill of Rights" when it was sent to the states for ratification. The "Bill of Rights" was proposed by the various states during the ratification process.
4 The cited work is a bit confusing. The Skokie Public Library catalog reflects the title to be "Chicagoland", published by "Chicago: Omnibus, 1963-71". An additional title is "Chicagoland magazine and FM guide". The only Omnibus work germane to this Chronology is the article The World's Largest Village authored by Forest Emerson in the volume cited above. All citations to Omnibus in this work are to the Emerson article contained in V. 1, pp. 22-31.
5 There are two Buck books in the SPL collection. The first is part of an Illinois Centennial edition published in 1918. The second was published in 1967 by the University of Illinois Press, Urbana, IL. The page cites are to the 1917 work.
6 The boundary line which separated the ceded lands from the retained lands can still be seen on many maps e.g. the political maps of Niles Township showing precincts published by the Cook County Clerk.
7 Various lists of the early settlers in Niles Township appear in the following works: Andreas, op.cit., pp. 470‑471, 476 / Beaudette, op.cit., pp. 5, 66, 68, 132 / League of Women Voters of Skokie‑Lincolnwood, p. 1 / Life (Skokie), sec. 3, January 17, 1963, pp. 24, 46, 59, 67 / Villager, May 22, 1958. pp. 20‑21.
8 Appendix E of this work is entitled "Parish Chronology". It chronicles various events in the life of St. Peter Catholic Church from 1843 to 1994. It references various events in the history of Niles Centre / Skokie.
9 Various lists of the early settlers in Niles Township, for the period 1840-49, appear in the following works: Andreas, op.cit., pp. 441, 471, 476* / Beaudette, op.cit., pp. 8, 27, 28, 49, 50, 53, 59, 66, 121, 132 / Life (Skokie), sec. 3, January 17, 1963, pp. 20, 72, 74* / Villager, May 29, 1958. pp. 17-18 / Rosche, op.cit., p. 4 / Reeling, op.cit., pp. 156, 159).
10 Andreas, at pp. 471 - 72, lists the elected officials of Niles Township through the year 1883. The names are too numerous to reproduce in this work.
11 The various histories of Skokie agree that Henry Harms owned three homes in Niles Center. There is some conflict among them as to the exact locations of his first two homes, although all agree that his third home was located at 5319 Oakton Street, which was purchased by the Skokie Park District in June 1999. Andreas reports at p. 474 that Harms' first home, a small frame house, was built in December 1854 and was located about "60 rods south of his present residence at the corner of Millers Mill Road and Harms Avenue" which would place Harms' first home approximately 990 linear feet south of the present intersection of Lincoln and Oakton Street. Richard Whittingham, the author of Skokie, A Centennial History, places Harms' first home at 5127 Oakton Street, the site of Village Hall. Skokie Centennial History, p. 24. Andreas reports that Harms' second home was built in 1860 and was located in back of his general store which he opened in 1862. This general store and house were sold to George C. Klehm, Harms' brother-in-law. This store was located on the SW corner of present-day Oakton and Lincoln Avenues. Whittingham places Harms' second home "directly across Lincoln from his original building". Skokie Centennial History, p. 26.
12 Although the Village was not incorporated until 1888, the area was referred to as Niles Centre.
13 During the Indian inhabitation, two trails converged in the northern part of Section 28. One trail came from the south (present-day Carpenter / Niles Center Road) and the other from the Southeast (present-day Lincoln Avenue). These trails join together at the present-day location of St. Paul Lutheran Church and part at the present-day location of St. Peter Catholic Church. The area between St. Paul on the south and St. Peter on the north is the geographic center of Niles Township. This area thus became known as "Niles Centre". The inhabitants used the English spelling until approximately 1910 when common usage spelled the name of the village "Niles Center". In this chronology, the English spelling will be used when the reference is prior to 1910 and the Americanized spelling will be used for references subsequent to 1909. Skokie will be used for references occurring subsequent to November 14, 1940, when the name "Skokie" was adopted.
14 Beaudette spells it "Braitzmann".
15 As in all things associated with Henry Harms, there is some confusion in the various histories regarding location and dates of the establishment of his business enterprises. Whittingham, for example, writes that this establishment evolved into the Niles Centre Hotel. The News (Skokie), February 3, 1955, p. 74 states that Harms began this enterprise in 1865. Likewise the News (Skokie), July 3, 1963, p. 49. Care must be taken to read the histories carefully. See fn. 11 supra.
16 Peter Blameuser I remained in Europe. It is Peter Blameuser, II (or Jr.) who immigrated to this country in 1852. Peter II died in 1890. His son, Peter Blameuser III, was the third mayor of Niles Centre. He died in 1907. Peter III's son, George E. Blameuser, was mayor of Niles Center / Skokie from 1933 - 45.
17 A complete list of the names of these nuns is contained in Appendix C in St. Peter Catholic Church, 1868-69 to 1993-94.
18 Whittingham states that this election was held on April 17, 1888. The Court order states that the election is to be held on April 3, 1888. / Pursuant to state law, a Village elects a President and Board of Trustees. The chief elected official of the Village of Niles Centre / Skokie was the Village President. By ordinance enacted during the 22-year tenure of Albert J. Smith, the chief elected official of Skokie is now known as the "Mayor".
19 The original ordinance book of the Village of Skokie has been preserved and can be viewed at the Village Clerk's office in Village Hall.
20 Some additional sources are League of Women Voters of Skokie‑Lincolnwood, 1976, p. 4 / Life (Skokie), sec. 3, January 17, 1963, p. 28 / News (Skokie), July 3, 1963, pp. 3, 17, 64 / Rosche, 1949, ch. 3 / Skokie, Illinois Department of Community Development, Planning Section, 1964, p. 1 / Villager, June 19, 1958, p. 16).
21 A complete list of the identities of the nuns who taught at St. Peter Catholic School appears as Appendix C in the St. Peter Quasquicentennial Book authored by David Buisseret et al.
22 The St. Peter Quasquicentennial Book reflects a 1928 enrollment of 217 (Buisseret et.al., op.cit., p. 92).
23 The source materials for the information on the activities of the Cosmos Club of Niles Center are from an extract of newspaper articles that was compiled by the Skokie Historical Society. The original newspaper clippings can be viewed at the Skokie Heritage Museum. The source for the clipping might be noted on the article - or it might not have been. Sources will be noted where the information is available. Dates refer to the date on which the article appeared in the newspaper. These clippings are abundant sources for information on the activities of a small town during the Depression.
24 The bank was located at present-day 5104 Oakton Street. Skokie Paint & Wallpaper presently occupies the premises. The bank's vault is still present and the proprietor's office is located within the vault.
25 The Hon. Edmund K. Jarecki was a Judge of the County Court of Cook County. He was the grandfather of the Hon. Charles J. Conrad, Trustee of the Village of Skokie, 1977-84.
26 The November 6, 1941 issue of the Skokie Life identifies, by name and salary, village employees for the months of May 1940 through April 1941. The Skokie Life was published by Fred A. De Rango from offices located at 8021 Lincoln Avenue, Skokie.
27 A copy of the Tally sheet showing the outcome of the vote, and the identities of the voters, is reproduced at p. 144 of Luxembourg Brotherhood of America, 1887 - 1987, Richard J. Witry, 1987).
28 The Skokie Press was published at 5108 Oakton Street by the Skokie Press Publishing Company. Ray C. Pearson was Editor and Publisher.
29 A biographical article of Mayor Wilson appears in the August 16, 1956 edition of the Skokie News.
30 The hospital was never constructed at this location. It was built in Maywood, IL. The reasons for not building have not been unearthed. The question remains why a "reverter" clause was not placed in the disannexation ordinance requiring the land to come back to Skokie in the event that the hospital was not built. This transaction occurred during the administration of Mayor George Wilson.
31 This news article relates the story, perhaps apocryphal, of how Old Orchard received its name. According to the article, Stanley Field's future father-in-law, a scion of old Baltimore society, thought Field to be a hayseed from the untamed Chicago area. On one occasion, he greeted Field with the following: "Hello Mr. Orchard." Apparently, MF&Co. executives wanted to honor Stanley Field by naming the new development in Skokie after his nickname.
32 This article contains a great deal of information regarding the Heinz family history.
33 This financial institution is now a Cole Taylor Bank branch.
34 Thanks are due to Skokie's Assistant Postmaster, Jim Struck, for the citation. He is an ardent White Sox fan.
35 The History indicates that Allan Weisberg Park, located at 9800 Gross Point Rd. was purchased in 1964. This is incorrect. This parcel was donated by the developer of the condominium immediately north of the park sometime between 1979 and 1985 during the tenure of R.J. Witry. The late Allan Weisberg, a former president of the Board of Park Commissioners, and long-time Skokie resident, died at the dedication ceremonies in his honor.
36 A review of the Village of Skokie's official zoning map dated March 1999 clearly shows part of Ionia Avenue remains in Skokie.
37 The ordinance, as initially proposed, required that title pass to the Village of Skokie after 40 years. This provision disappeared. The building was subsequently sold by the developer to the Council for Jewish Elderly.
38 Harvey Schwartz, Village Corporation Counsel at the time of the Nazi March, has stated privately that the number assigned to Skokie's Jewish population was not based upon any verifiable fact but was a pleading device to make an impression on the trial court. Skokie's Jewish population was never as large as portrayed in the press and movies and probably never exceeded 40% of the total population. Nor was there ever any verifiable number established for the number of Holocaust survivors who lived in Skokie at the time. See Fn. 2 in the opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals issued May 22, 1978.
39 The May 28, 1992 issue of the Skokie Review has an extensive chronology of the history of Centre East for the Performing Arts.
40 The original calendar used by Western Civilization was established by the Egyptians as early as 4241 BC. Julius Caesar adopted the Egyptian calendar in 45 BC. This calendar, which became known as the Julian calendar, survived into the Middle Ages. It measured a solar year as 365¼ days. This measurement, however, is actually longer than the time it takes the Earth to circle the sun. The astronomic measurement is 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes 46 seconds. This difference caused calendar drift. To correct this drift, Pope Gregory XIII appointed a commission ca. 1575 to derive a solution to the imprecision. In 1582, pursuant to the recommendations of the "calendar commission", Pope Gregory XIII decreed that October 4 was to be followed by October 15. This was necessary to make up for the missing "11" days due to the imprecision mentioned earlier. "To prevent the accumulation of another 11-minute a year discrepancy, the Gregorian calendar omitted the leap day from years ending in "00" unless they were divisible by 400." The year 2000 is such a year. A Jesuit by the name of Christopher Clavius, appointed by the Pope to the "calendar commission", was instrumental in defending the adoption of the Gregorian calendar at the time. For an excellent treatment of the history of marking the passage of time, see The Discoverers, by Daniel J. Boorstin, Random House Books, 1983. For more information on Christopher Clavius, S.J., please see the article On Time, which appears in "Company, a magazine of the American Jesuits", Winter 1999/2000, pp. 26-27.
Please permit this compiler a personal note. The significance of 2000 is the turning of the numbers as noted above. However, notwithstanding the great deal of time, money and effort which went into the December 31, 1999 New Year's Eve celebrations, all of which were beautiful and exciting, convention still holds that centuries and millennia end in 00s and start with 01s. If I am curmudgeonly in this regard, so be it. RJW
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