McCormick Day to celebrate benefactor of Cantigny Park
Many visitors to Cantigny Park in Wheaton know about benefactor Robert R. McCormick's past as the former editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune and as a colonel who served in World War I.
What they might not realize is that McCormick, who lived from 1880 to 1955, had a lighter side as well.
"Mr. McCormick had lots of fun," said Will Buhlig, assistant director of the Robert McCormick Museum in Cantigny Park.
Often, when members of a Tribune department exceeded a certain threshold or goal McCormick had set for them, he would invite them all to his 500-acre estate at Cantigny for a free picnic and some baseball.
Now, people are once again invited to Cantigny Park to celebrate McCormick's birthday.
The park's McCormick Day party will run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday at 1S151 Winfield Road.
The annual celebration started as an idea of one of the staff members of the McCormick Museum as a way to honor McCormick and add some programming for the museum.
Buhlig said he hopes the day will raise awareness about who McCormick was and what he did for Cantigny Park.
"He's the whole reason why we're here," Buhlig said.
McCormick's career will be highlighted in walking tours of the estate, where guides will talk about his journalism and military careers.
Kids, meanwhile, can participate in the "Splash Artillery Challenge," where they can shoot sponges in the air. Japanese lanterns, like the kind that were flown at McCormick's birthday party back in the 1950s, can be made in the Education Center.
And history buffs can hear from McCormick's late wife, Amy (or at least an Amy McCormick impersonator) in the McCormick Museum, where she will tell stories of the couple's life together.
"We wanted to have it so everything we do that day relates to something of interest of him," communications officer Lisa Bryant said.
Bryant said the grounds themselves will be showcased as well, with a Historic Grounds tour.
Several thousand people are expected at the event, and all the activities are free, with a performance by the Chicago Sinfonietta ending the day at 7:30 p.m.