More Elmwood Park local history artifacts will be online soon

We are excited to announce that the Elmwood Park Public Library has won a Library Services and Technology Act Digital Imaging grant.  In the coming months we will be working to digitize hundreds of photograph’s from the Library’s Local History Collection.  These photos will portray scenes from the first 50 years of life in our village. This project will increase citizens’ access to local history and cultural material in a digital format.  When completed, our digital collection will be available from the Library’s web site as well as the Illinois Digital Archives.  We would like to thank the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services and The Illinois State Library for making this project possible.

We will keep you informed on the progress of our digitization project on this blog.  Currently we are selecting photographs and plan to begin the long process of digitization later this year.  In the meantime, we are adding more photos to our flickr page which is accessible by clicking on the photos that are on the right side of our blog’s main page.  If you have any questions about the project feel free to leave a comment.  You can also visit the library in person to view the collection by making an appointment.

When You Ask Geoffrey, Geoffrey Asks Us

WTTW, one of Chicago’s PBS television stations, airs a program called Chicago Tonight which features news and stories about the Chicago area. A regular segment on the program is Ask Geoffrey which features questions about Chicago history and landmarks sent in by viewers and answered by Geoffrey Baer, host of many WTTW shows.

On May 1, 2008, a viewer sent in a question asking about an odd structure that was once located at the intersection of Grand and Harlem. There was much speculation at the time about what the structure was. Some thought it was a secret government facility or a missile silo. The structure was actually a radar test platform built during the Korean War. Unable to find any information about the long-since demolished platform, WTTW sent a reference question to Russ Parker, the head of the Elmwood Park Library’s Reference Department and Local History Room. Russ was able to provide some photos and newspaper articles related to the platform that were used on the show. You can watch the video by clicking here (sorry, we are unable to embed it).

If you have any questions about long-forgotten landmarks or the history behind a favorite location, you can submit them in the comments section or email them to askref@elmwoodparklibrary.org.

Edwin P. Emmerling 1913-2008

We are saddened to announce that Edwin Emmerling, Founder of the Elmwood Park Historical Society, passed away recently.   Mr. Emmerling contributed many of the photographs and artifacts that compose the Library’s Local History Collection and was active in promoting interest in our Village’s history.  For more information, you can view the obituary in the Elm Leaves here.