I took the opportunity to go with my family to the Oak Park River Forest Museum over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, drawn by the exhibit about OPALGA+ (Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association ), so well described in Stacey Sheridan’s excellent story, OPALGA ‘s BIG GAY DECADES (WJ, Dec. 18).
While the precipitating motivation was to see the outstanding exhibit, we spent almost two hours at the museum, looking through all of the exhibits on both floors. The presentation of the early history of this area and, in particular, the sordid and inspiring saga of open housing and racism in our towns was extraordinary.
I have lived in Oak Park for over 50 years and thought that I knew a good piece of our past. However, so much of what I read and saw was new to me, and it was presented, both in images and artifacts, as well as with printed explanatory descriptions, in compelling ways.
I highly encourage folks to take some time over the next few weeks, especially if you have people coming home to visit, to take a trip to the corner of Lombard and Lake streets and spend a couple of hours enjoying learning more about our towns.
Rebekah Levin
Oak Park
