Tavern Day takes Glen Ellyn visitors back in time

Posted September 23, 2009 11:00 pm

By Marco Santana

Marilyn Goodrich, center, will bring some of her goats to Tavern Day on Sunday in Glen Ellyn. Goodrich, 81, has been part of the community for more than 50 years and said she will answer questions from visitors during the celebration of Glen Ellyn's history. Courtesy of Jean Jeske

Marilyn Goodrich remembers when a trip to Churchill School meant riding into town with a horse and wagon.

Back then, she says, folks with horses and folks with cars were used to sharing Geneva Road.

Today, the 81-year-old Glen Ellyn woman says, it would be difficult for her to even cross the street.

She's seen countless changes in her town and says there are both good and bad sides to progress.

"Sometimes you miss it (the way it was), then you think 'I don't really want to be working that hard,'" Goodrich said with a laugh. "It's nice sometimes to just sit in the air-conditioning."

Goodrich will be among those attending Tavern Day on Sunday as the Glen Ellyn Historical Society gives residents a look into the past. The event celebrating the town's true pioneers begins at 1 p.m. at Stacy's Tavern Museum, 557 Geneva Road.

Tickets are on sale at McChesney Miller Grocery store, the Bookstore and Stacy's Tavern for $6 for adults, $3 for ages 3 to 17 and $20 for a family ticket.

Events will include a kids area that features old-fashioned children's games, storytellers and museum tours. Goodrich will bring along several dairy goats she raises on her 11-acre property just north of town.

She said her mother-in-law likes to talk about the tavern as a place for Fox Valley-area milk producers to meet before they would embark on convoys throughout the region in a "milk train" to sell their wares.

She said she relishes the chance to teach children and young adults about the past.

"You've gotta know where you've been to know where you're going," she said. "You need to remember where you came from and how things were like in all history."

Society spokeswoman Jean Jeske said residents can get a good sense of the village's history at the event.

"That's the basis upon which their town was founded," she said. "These are the people who founded their town."

Other attractions include character actors dressed in pioneer clothes telling stories of the times and an 1840s-style band.

"This is a chance (for people) to immerse themselves into what the founding fathers had to struggle with in life," Jeske said.

Characters in pioneer clothing will tell stories and demonstrate crafts during the Tavern Day celebration. Daily Herald file photo

Participants of all ages will get a feel for what pioneer life was like Sunday when the Glen Ellyn Historical Society celebrates Tavern Day. Daily Herald file photo

If you go What: Glen Ellyn Historical Society's Tavern Day When: 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday Where: Stacy's Tavern Museum, 557 Geneva Road, Glen Ellyn Ticket prices: $6 adults, $3 ages 3 to 17, $20 family package in advance; $8 adults, $4 children, $25 family package at the gate Ticket info: Available at the museum; McChesney Miller Grocery, 460 Crescent Blvd.; or The Bookstore, 475 N. Main St. Info: <a href="http://gehistoricalsociety.homestead.com" target="new">gehistoricalsociety.homestead.com</a>

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