Learn Lombard's 'saucy' history on pub crawl

The Lombard Historical Society will hold its annual Saucy Tales Trivia Pub Crawl from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, in downtown Lombard.

The adults-only event has historical society staff and volunteers regaling participants with "saucy tales" of Lombard's history, while testing their knowledge of local and general history as it relates to scandals, shenanigans, criminals and basic human stupidity.

"Every town has its dirty little secrets, and Lombard is no exception to that rule," said Keith Ulrich, the historical society's director of programming,

Given the overall small-town feel of the Lilac Village, most of its scandals are more of the stupid-human-tricks variety than big dramatic reveals, Ulrich said.

Doing research for the trivia part of the pub crawl has been pretty amusing, he said.

"I'm not from the area originally, so it's been an enlightening look into the human condition over the decades in Lombard. We have our share of speed demons, dumb criminals and boozy vandals - that kind of stuff," he said.

Scouring local papers' archives, pouring through records stored at the historical society, and talking to locals in the know, Ulrich has put together a humorous collection of stories that won't be found in any of the tried-and-true local history books.

"People make some questionable life choices, and barring anyone getting seriously hurt, the consequences of those choices can be pretty entertaining for the rest of us," he said.

The pub crawl is a fundraiser for the historical society, and Ulrich found many local businesses coming on board to donate space, food and prizes.

"We've got three local bars downtown that have been awesome about letting us use their spaces for the night, and we're giving out great prizes that will raise awareness of those Lombard organizations that care about preserving our local history," he said.

The participating establishments are Punky's Irish Pub, Marquette Kitchen & Tap, and The Cellar. Trivia buffs break up into teams and go from bar to bar on the top of each hour enjoying trivia, food, drinks, and the company of other history buffs.

"Given this ridiculously stressful election season, and even the pressure from the World Series, I think we could all use a fun, relaxing night out," Ulrich said.

Tickets are $20 for historical society members and $25 for nonmembers. To purchase tickets, visit www.lombardhistory.org or call (630) 629-1885.