Lombard native teaches historical holidays at Kline Creek Farm

Wayne Hill did not set out on his time with the DuPage County Forest Preserve to be a historical interpreter. But after 13 years as a forest ranger, colleagues encouraged him to apply for the position when he told them that he wanted to enter the environmental education side of things.

Eleven years later, the Lombard native teaches patrons at West Chicago's 19th century-style Kline Creek Farm about life in the 1890s. This month, Hill has taken visitors through a Victorian home set up as it would have been for a late 1800s holiday celebration.

Hill said he appreciates the circumstances people lived in back then and the struggles they had to endure.

“I have found something I truly enjoy,” he said. “Things that happen in the past influence what happens in the future.”

On Sunday, Hill led tours every hour on the hour. Although there were some slow times, Hill says the tours have drawn a pretty decent crowd since they began in early December. The final tours will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

During the tour, Hill walks visitors through a dining room, sitting room and parlor, as well as a kitchen complete with a wood-burning stove.

He also highlights some of the traditions people of that era observed. Among them were gifts left for diners during family holiday meals, a Christmas tree adorned with handmade ornaments and a goose feather tree in the parlor.

Hill, 44, said most gifts of that era were handmade and some were more practical than others.

“It wasn't uncommon for a young girl to steal all of your socks a week before Christmas and fix the holes in them as a holiday present,” he said.

“I have found a niche in my life,” he added. “I get the best of both worlds: I get to do environmental education from a historical perspective.”