A peek at stories past -- tragedy, golf and more

"Did you see the design for the new Wing Park Golf Course?"

"I'm glad the high school principal is doing something about those parties."

"I can't believe Elgin's fire chief died like that."

These are just some of the comments people might have made after reading the Elgin's newspapers of a century ago.

Here's a look at those and other stories that made Elgin area headlines in May 1908.

• Elgin's five fire stations were draped in black and white banding to mourn the loss of Fire Chief David Sharp.

A 27-year veteran of the department, Sharp fell from a defective fire escape while inspecting a downtown hotel.

He was also the most senior member of the force, having gotten his start in the early 1880s while serving as a volunteer on Westside Hose Company.

One newspaper noted that Sharp's death may have saved the lives of many others had they been on the faulty escape during a real emergency.

• Elgin also said good-bye to one-time resident John A. Hamlin, who along with his brother Lysander. B. Hamlin once manufactured Wizard Oil in the city.

A resident of Chicago, Hamlin produced his highly popular product in Elgin in the years following the Civil War before moving the operation to Chicago.

Widely known in the theatrical field, Hamlin also built the Hamlin Theater in Chicago which later became the Grand Opera House.

• Talk about fast work. Thomas Bendelow, who was hired to lay out Elgin's new Wing Park Golf Course, completed the task in just three hours time.

"The natural slope of the ground was about as good as he had ever seen," reports said.

"The greens will not need to be sodded. Other areas will only need to be rolled and seeded."

Elgin was reported to be the first city of its size to have a municipal golf course.

Bendelow had designed over 500 other courses -- none of which had been a failure, reports added.

• With warm weather came a renewed interest in automobiles as 50 new vehicles including Reo Roundabouts, Franklin Touring Cars, and Jackson Roadsters joined the other 100 cars already on the city's streets.

Opting for something more adventurous, one resident purchased a 5-horsepower Indian and another a 3½-horsepower Excelsior motorcycle.

• Even though residents of St. Charles, Geneva, and Batavia voted to close their area's liquor establishments in a recent election, some thirsty citizens were not too keen on the change.

Liquor business in Elgin was reported to have seen a marked increase in clientele with some bar owners even receiving unsolicited offers to sell their business.

Not all new imbibers did so peaceably, though, including several from Geneva who were arrested for disorderly conduct.

To meet the need of residents desiring "beer and other beverages" in "dry" cities, one man said he was forming the Fox River Express Company to deliver liquor products directly to their homes.

• If all went well, children would start seeing fewer "Keep of the Grass" signs and begin having more outdoor fun instead.

As part of a growing national trend, personnel from the National Playground Association of America met with representatives of the Elgin Woman's Club, Y.M.C.A., and Y.W.C.A. to discuss better recreational opportunities for young people.

Proposed were sand piles and swings for younger children and see-saws and athletic fields for the older youth.

• Finally, high school students tend to party a little too much, you say?

That's what the principal of Elgin High School thought and wrote a letter to the parents with his concerns.

"The parties and receptions referred to as high school affairs cannot properly be called so. These are to be considered outside social affairs and the school takes no responsibility for them," he said.

"The social events taken part in by high schools students are also too numerous and take place in the middle of the week," he added.

The principal suggested forming a parents group to deal with the matter.