Wauconda Township Historical Society

Wauconda Township Historical Society

711 N. Main St., Wauconda, Ill. 60084

Tel.: 847.526.9303

Newsletter

Autumn 2008

Welcome to the new edition of the Wauconda Township Historical Society newsletter. I’ll be sending this out every couple of months with an update on what we’re doing. Later issues will also feature parts of a Wauconda area history timeline that I’ve compiled from the various sources available to me at the Andrew C. Cook House and the Wauconda Area Public Library. If there are other things you’d like to see here, please let us know.

WHAT’S GOING ON AT THE COOK HOUSE? As some of you know, the Cook House has been closed for most of the summer. Despite appearances, we really have not closed up shop! We have had several serious maintenance issues at the Cook House in the past couple of years, the most serious being that mold had taken over one of the downstairs closets and parts of several walls. Thanks to a generous memorial donation from one member family, we were finally able to contract with a mold removal company. However, in the process of cleaning up the mold, we discovered some unrelated damage to the the walls. As a result, we’ve had to do more work on the Cook House than we had expected. For much of this summer, our displays have been under protective tarps while the walls were repaired, insulated, and then repainted.

These repairs are now finished, and it is expected that we will be open again during the summer months of 2009. In the meantime, if you need to reach the historical society, it’s probably easiest to do so by calling me (Lynn McAlister) at the Wauconda Area Public Library. The number is 847-526-6225, and if I’m not there, you can leave a message for me at extension 265. You can also contact us online: our email address is wauconda.history@gmail.com.

OTHER NEWS Doris Aimers-Voss has been working all summer to draw attention to the history of Wauconda’s business district. She has created poster-boards that show what buildings on Main Street once looked like and explain the uses to which they’ve been put over the years. Some of these posterboards are now on display (there is one in the front window of Wauconda Paint and Glass, and another is hanging in the Village Hall). Doris has now enlisted the help of some local junior high students, who are working on this as a part of Project Citizen. Keep an eye out for more of these fascinating posterboards to appear in future months.

COMING UP . . . WTHS annual Christmas potluck: This year we’ll be meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday the 15th December at the Wauconda Township Hall (505 W. Bonner Rd.). If you plan to attend, please contact Cindy Bilisko at 847-366-3344 to let her know what you can bring. Why not bring your 2009 dues at this time too?

Historic building markers: We are hoping to initiate a program in the coming year to draw attention to some of our historic buildings. Interested owners of homes or businesses will be able to apply for a plaque marking the building’s date. WTHS member Nick LoPresti has been researching materials and designs that will be durable, attractive, and not too costly. It is easy for people to pass right by our older buildings without being aware of their history; we hope these plaques will make people more aware of the wealth of history that we have right here in Wauconda Township. There will be more information on this as the program develops. Meanwhile, thanks to Nick for all his work.

2009 MEETINGS AND PROGRAMS General meetings: The first general meeting will be held in April, date and time to be announced. This year we hope to have a general meeting every other month.

Programs: We hope to have several of these in the coming year, but we have not yet settled on speakers or topics, so if there’s anything that you’re really interested in hearing about, please let us know.

That’s all for now. We hope to see you at the Christmas party, and we wish all of you a wonderful holiday season and the best of new years.