News from September 1908
Elgin's reputation as a shopping center continued to grow in September 1908 as one of the largest department stores outside of Chicago opened in the city. The month also saw the introduction of a new way for Elgin High School players to learn football, and hundreds gathered at Lords Park on the east side to celebrate a date that goes all but unnoticed today. Here's a look at those stories and others that made local news in September 1908.
• Today we know the bright colored brick building at the comer of Spring and DuPage streets as the downtown campus for Elgin Community College, but a century ago it was getting ready to open as Swans Department Store - one of the largest department stores outside the city of Chicago. Boasting more than 25,000 square feet, the venture was headed by Theodore Swan who had been expanding operations in the area since the end of the Civil War. And, why is the name "Henrietta" prominently displayed over the front door? That feature was added by the widow of Peter Burritt who had the building constructed in honor of Burritt's first wife.
• Can high school players learn football by "correspondence school?" That's what many were wondering after high school officials said they were going to try such a venture. Said to be "an all encompassing topic among the students," the plan called for players to receive regular lessons by mail which included illustrations for regular plays as well as instruction in "trick plays." The team's coach, who was in his first year at the job, said he was fully in support of the idea.
• What type of home was the least expensive to building in 1908 - wood, plaster, brick, or concrete? The answer, according to one newspaper report, was concrete blocks. The increasingly popular building material was 2 percent cheaper than plaster, 6 percent cheaper than frame, and 12 percent cheaper than a comparable brick home. Men using brick making machinery on-site could make as many as 300 blocks in a day, reports said. Elgin was said to be a pioneer in this new style of building, many examples of which remain today.
• More than 500 people - many former slaves and their descendants - gathered at Lords Park for the city's annual Emancipation Day celebration. Sponsored by the Second Baptist Church and held near the anniversary of the signing of the famous document by Lincoln, one of the highlights of the day was the preparation of the meat by former slaves Arthur Newsome and Aaron White. The park pavilion was festively decorated with pink and white paper and a prominently displayed a picture of Lincoln. Elgin's Mayor spoke at the occasion as did a Chicago pastor who reflected on the changes since the end of the Civil War more than four decades earlier.
• Ah, the good old days when our water was fresh and pure. Well, maybe not. After hundreds of residents complained of stomach aches, city officials issued an order for citizens to boil their drinking water. "An epidemic of typhoid fever may follow if conditions do not improve," said one physician of the problem believed to be caused by a combination of no rain followed by hot weather. Unlike today, water purification at the time consisted only of the filtering of river water, not the multi-step process we currently use.