Hey Nonny and local organizations collaborate to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the closing of Arlington High School

When Arlington High School closed in 1984, it opened a wound that has yet to heal. Three Arlington Heights institutions — Hey Nonny, the Arlington Heights Memorial Library and the Historical Museum — will be holding events in September to commemorate and explore the Arlington High closing 40 years ago.

Tickets are now on sale for “Death of the Cardinals — the Closing of Arlington High School” at Hey Nonny. Scheduled for Sept. 4 and 5, the show tries to answer the question of why Arlington High was closed, and why the closure hurt so much.

“I’m forever intrigued by the moments that shaped who we are as a community,” co-owner Chip Brooks said. “The show will feature snippets from 30 public meetings that occurred over the course of 200 years that led to the closing of Arlington High. Arlington High had a contentious and litigious birth, and an even stormier death.”

Naturally, Brooks has enlisted the support of exceptional musicians who will provide the live soundtrack to the dramatization of Arlington High School’s history. Numbers will range from the 1866 hit “You Naughty, Naughty Men” to Irving Berlin's “Everybody's Doin' It Now” (1911), along with hit songs from the early 1980s, including John Lennon's “Nobody Told Me,” Journey's “Who's Crying Now?” and “Feeling Stronger Every Day” by local kids turned superstars, Chicago. Band members will also play the parts of the various participants in the 30 public meetings explored in the show.

Now in its sixth year of operation, Hey Nonny is a highly regarded music venue and bistro that sits at the center of Arlington Heights’ thriving downtown. As part of its community-centric role, Brooks and Hey Nonny have developed a series of musical shows about Arlington Heights history. The first covered the founding of Arlington Heights; the second told the history of the Cellar teen club, which brought the late 60s greatest rock stars (The Who, Cream, Van Morrison) to Arlington Heights.

“I didn’t grow up in Arlington Heights, but in my 37 years in this town, I’ve heard a lot about the pain of Arlington High closing,” said Brooks. “So, I really wanted to try to figure out what happened — what went wrong.”

Naturally, the postwar baby boom plays a big role. Arlington High was the only high school in District 214 for 34 years. Then, between 1957 and 1973, the district added seven more high schools to handle the rapidly growing student population. But then the student population declined as fast as it had risen, and schools had to be closed.

Brooks’ research shows plenty of bad faith, screw-ups, and manipulation in the 1983 decision to close Arlington High, but also issues with township high schools — like Arlington. Farmers campaigned against the school; lawsuits were filed repeatedly, many ending in the Illinois Supreme Court; and the General Assembly repeatedly passed laws to try to kill Arlington High before it was ever built. This history, along with more lawsuits, all came crashing down with the 1984 closing of Arlington High.

Brooks is pleased Hey Nonny, the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, and the Arlington Heights Historical Museum were able to work closely in planning Arlington High-related events this year.

The Arlington Heights Historical Museum will host an event on Sept. 4, that will include the showing of a documentary about Arlington High, “Lady in Red,” a pop-up exhibit featuring things from the museum’s collection of the school’s materials, including yearbooks, sports and activities equipment, lockers, flags, banners and pictures. Guests will be encouraged to share their memories around firepits set up outside the museum.

“This is going to be a great event for Arlington High alums,” said Historical Museum Operations Manager Maggie Sraga. “We hope that folks come decked out in their Cardinal garb.”

The museum event begins at 6:30 p.m. There is no charge for the event, but a $5 donation to the Historical Society will be requested.

On Sept. 14, the Memorial Library will have an online presentation about the history of Arlington High School as part of its Landmark Series. This series is researched and presented by Eddie Kristan, manager of the library's Local History and Genealogy collections.

“I hope that this event will not only reveal some fascinating facts about the school but will also show people the incredible resources we have at the library,” said Kristan.

This event is free and available online and will be recorded and accessible after Sept. 14.

Brooks summarized the planning saying, “This particular historical moment has a lot to say about who we are as a community, so it will be really fun and interesting for newer residents, as well as those who were here for the action in the early 1980s.”

Tickets for “Death of the Cardinals — the Closing of Arlington High School” can be found at heynonny.com/#shows.