E v a n s t o n   a n d   i t s   n e i g h b o r s

Touring the Frances Willard House on the campus of Northwestern University.

105th Annual Meeting held April 29-30 in North Shore suburbs

The 2005 Annual Meeting is over, but memories of the Society's adventures in

Society members visited the Bah'a'i Temple in Wilmette.	Ann Durkin Keating receives the "Book of the Year" award for The Encyclopedia of Chicago.
	The Wheaton History Center takes home an award of "Superior Achievement."

"Evanston and Its Neighbors" won't soon be forgotten. Tours of Evanston, Skokie (Niles Center), Wilmette, Northwestern University, and other sites along the southwest shore of Lake Michigan were made memorable by excellent tour guides and speakers, who brought this distinctive community alive.

More than 35 people signed up for this year's Annual Meeting, organized by out-going President David W Scott, Leah Axelrod, ISHS and staff members William Furry and Mary Lou Johnsrud. Tours of the Charles Gates Dawes Mansion, the Evanston Historical Society, the Frances Willard Flouse, the Levere Temple on the Northwestern University Campus, the Wilmette Historical Society, and the Bah'a'i Temple, as well as driving tours of the various communities were featured.

On Friday evening, April 30, Michael Ebner, Professor of History at Lake Forest College, was the keynote speaker at the evening banquet, held in the Windows Room on the top floor of the North Shore Skokie Hotel. A dynamic speaker who used slides to augment his program, Ebner explained how eight suburbs developed—he called them pearls of the North Shore necklace —and became a multi-municipal community itself, a region within the Chicago metropolis from Evanston to Lake Bluff. At the banquet the membership elected Marvin W. Ehlers president of the Society, and ratified the Society's new constitution and by-laws.

On Saturday, April 30, the Society hosted its annual Awards Luncheon, also in the Windows Room. More than 80 friends and award recipients gathered for a memorable afternoon.

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2005 Illinois State Historical Society Annual Award Winners

Book of the Year
James R. Grossman, Janice L. Reiff, and Ann Durking Keating
"Encyclopedia of Chicago," Univ. of Chicago

Jay Bonansinga, author of The Sinking of the Eastland, receives an award from David Scott.

A memorable meal at the Blue Moon restaurant in Evanston.

Publications

Richard Christiansen, Northwestern Univ. Press, Superior Achievement
"A Theater of Our Own: A History and a Memoir of 1,001 Nights in Chicago"

Grayslake Historical Society/Charlotte Renehan, Certificate of Excellence
"The Canning Factories of Grayslake"

Homewood Historical Society, Superior Achievement
"Homewood Through the Years"

J.P. Sean Callan, Certificate of Excellence
"Courage and Country: James Shields, More Than Irish Luck"

Kathy Pasch, Certificate of Excellence
"Forreston: A 150 Year History"

Robert Sterling, Certificate of Excellence
"Joliet: Then and Now"

Jay Bonansinga, Superior Achievement
"The Sinking of the Eastland: America's Forgotten Tragedy"

Robin F. Bachin, Certificate of Excellence
"Building the South Side: Urban Space and Civil Culture in Chicago, 1890-1919"

Richard Longstreth, Univ. of Chicago Press, Superior Achievement
"The Charnley House: Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and the Making of Chicago's Gold Coast"

William and Jane Ann Moore, Univ. of Illinois Press, Superior Achievement
"Owen Lovejoy: His Brother's Blood, Speeches and Writings, 1838-1864"

Paul M. Nemecek, Certificate of Achievement
"Historical and Cultural Essays on Czechs in America"

Richard P. Bessette, Certificate of Achievement
"Rods Down and Dropped Fires"

Special Projects

Dixie Highway Communities & Historical Societies, Superior Achievement
"Drivin' the Dixie"

Jim Edstrom and Steve Lollino, Certificate of Excellence
"Illinois History: An Overview" (preservation and restoration of Teaching filmstrips)

Landmark Preservation Council of Illinois, Superior Achievement for The Farnsworth House Preservation Project

Geoffrey Baer/WTTW-TV, Certificate of Excellence
"South of Chicago: Suburbs, Steel Mills, and Shoreline"

Exhibits/Programs

Wheaton History Center, Superior Achievement Awards
"Images of Wheaton and Local Government Walking Tour" and "The Eastland Disaster: Chicago's Titanic Exhibit"

Geneva History Center, Superior Achievement
"Greetings from Geneva: A Trip Through Time"

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Tour organizer David Scott explains the history and architecture of Northwestern University at the 105th Annual Meeting of The Illinois State Historical Society.

Galena/Jo Daviess County Historical Society and Museum, Superior Achievement
"The Old Blacksmith Shop"

Chicago Historical Society, Superior Achievement
"My Chicago"

The Naper Settlement, Superior Achievement
"The Lure of Fishing"

The Society learned all about wet and dry reform along the Northshore at the Wilmette Historical Society.

Documentarian Geoffrey Baer and WTTW-TV took home an award.

William and Jane Ann Moore were honored for their collection of writings by Owen Lovejoy.

Photos by William Furry and Dan Buck

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