Area headlines from August '08
"I can't believe those women made a trip that long in an automobile."
"It looks like offering money to get companies to locate in Elgin worked for that new businessmen's club."
"Who do those high school football players think they are, making those kinds of threats?"
These are just some of the comments people might have made after reading the newspapers of a century ago. Here's a look at those and others stories that made area headlines in August 1908.
*Definitely a person ahead of her time, Alice Byrd Potter arrived back in Elgin after becoming the first woman to drive from Chicago to New York and back again in a car. Accompanied by three female friends and driving a Haynes automobile, this adventure-seeker made the journey over largely unpaved roads, saying she had very few difficulties along the way. Potter, who also did all her own mechanical work, said she was thrilled with the trip, though two of her friends lacked the same enthusiasm and took the train home from New York. And, what was she planning next? Maybe a trip to California, but that would be at least a year away, she said.
*So, what did Elginites buy over $130,000 worth of annually with most of the money spent during the summer months? Why, ice cream, of course! The yearly expenditure - almost $6 for every man, woman, and child in the city - was spent mostly on vanilla, though chocolate and strawberry ran a close second. Most of the tasty treat was enjoyed at more than 20 ice cream parlors in the city, though street vendors, common in other communities, were expected to become more popular in the years ahead.
*Though the Civil War ended nearly a half- century earlier, the Elgin Academy had not forgotten the students and staff who served in the conflict. Two 5000 pound cannons, procured with the help of a local congressman, arrived and were planned as part of a prominent memorial on the campus- a display that now rests east of the current Elgin history museum. Area veterans and members of the Daughters of the American Revolution also said it was time for a permanent memorial to honor two veterans from the Blackhawk War in the 1830s who were buried in what is now Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve on Rt. 31. The soldiers, who were part of a group passing through the area along what is now Army Trail Road, perished from cholera and previously had only been identified by small American flags.
*Members of the Elgin High School football team threatened to "strike" if the Board of Education did not find a candidate to their liking for the position of head football coach. We want a "player who has been part of some big university team," said the captain. Team members even said they would raise the money for the person's salary themselves if necessary. The matter was finally resolved when T.A. Larsen - a highly popular math teacher who would later have Larsen Middle School named in his honor - was appointed to the spot.
• Today it's often government that offers financial incentives to encourage businesses to relocate, but a century ago organizations such as the newly formed Elgin Commercial Club - now the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce - took the lead. Scarcely two weeks after its formation, club officials offered $1000 to a fence company to entice it to locate in the city - even before it had donations of $25 and $50 in hand from members. Elgin's swift action reportedly helped it edge out Aurora which was also courting the firm.
• Nearby Algonquin became the center of attention as over 10,000 car fans and 500 autos descended on the village for the second annual "Hill Climb." With well known Elgin car owner Frank Wood barking to the crowd in a megaphone, more than 40 car entries in several different classes raced up a 300 foot slope. Garnering some of the top honors were Maxwells, Thomas Flyers, Buicks, and Pierce Arrows.
• Finally, done any "clamming" along the Fox River lately? After hearing that a camper vacationing along the banks of the Fox River had found a clam with a pearl worth $50, several men decided to take on the harvesting on a larger scale. The enterprising team scoured the river saying the luckiest finds were near Trout Park and just south of Dundee. The majority of the pearls they found were worth from $10 and $15 each and sold to a button company in downstate Illinois.