On the pine wood walls of the recently opened Oak Park River Forest Museum hangs a document that many residents of this progressive suburb might find disturbing.
The charter document from 1926 establishes the first chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in Oak Park, calling on its members to, among other things, “valiantly preserve and persistently practice the principles of pure patriotism, Honor, Klanishness and White Supremacy…”Â
Adjacent to the document hangs a banner and photo celebrating Marjorie Judith Vincent, an African American and former Oak Park and River Forest High School graduate who went on to be crowned Miss America in 1991.
The juxtaposition tells a story about the Oak Park that once was and how it changed over the decades.
Frank Lipo, executive director of Oak Park River Forest Historical Society, which runs the museum, said the two items are both part of Oak Park’s history.
“We want to tell different stories and kind of mix those stories so people see change over time and see that the community is not always the same,” he said.
The artifacts are among the myriad of treasure to be found at the new museum – housed in the 120-year-old Cicero Firehouse, 129 Lake St. – which opened earlier this summer. The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The museum relocated to the renovated firehouse after spending the last 47 years at the Park District of Oak Park’s landmark Pleasant Home, 217 Home Ave.
The first exhibit: Oak Park River Forest from A to Z.Â
“So we’ve been gathering tens of thousands of artifacts, photographs, documents and materials and we thought we’d start off with a kind of a scavenger hunt feel,” Lipo said during a recent tour.
The scavenger hunt encourages visitors to find items among the exhibit that represent every letter in the alphabet. For instance, the bicycle ridden by Philander Barclay, the Oak Park shutterbug who photographed much of the village in the early 20th century, would be filed under the letter B – either for Barclay or bicycle; there really are no rules with the scavenger hunt.
The goal is to get visitors to look closely and also to get feedback on what patrons like and don’t like, Lipo said.
“What are we collecting on behalf of Oak Park and River Forest over the years?” Lipo asked. “We want to make sure we’re collecting the right things.”
While unafraid to tackle issues like racism in Oak Park’s past, the museum also provides commentary on today’s technology with its Tech 1.0 exhibit, which features outdated gadgets that are now available in most smart phones.
Tech 1.0 features the lost technology of rotary dial telephones, a card catalogue from Oak Park and River Forest High School – hidden treasures can be found in the drawers of the catalogue – a typewriter, a transistor radio from the 1930s and a defunct adding machine once used by the Village of River Forest.Â
The exhibits are only a part of the services offered at the museum; as at its Pleasant Home location, the museum invites historians and others to visit its research center, located in the south side of the building in what used to be horse stalls when the building was still used as a firehouse.
The museum has a large selection of various blueprints for Oak Park and River Forest buildings starting in the 1950s, archival boxes with family and organizational records and bound copies of Oak Park’s two current newspapers: Wednesday Journal and Oak Leaves.
Lipo noted that the new research space in the back of the building provides more space to accommodate groups and work stations for those who want to spread out and stay awhile.
The rehab of the building, which entailed installation of geothermal heating and air-conditioning, a sprinkler system and other fixtures, cost upwards of $1 million.
The historical society is now working to fix up the second floor of the building to open in September.
“The work’s never done because now we have to work on keeping this building active and alive, and ultimately, our goal is to add an elevator so the second floor is fully accessible,” Lipo said.
CONTACT: tim@oakpark.com