Glen Ellyn's Tavern Day brings history to today
In the 1840s, stagecoach travelers went to and fro between Chicago and Galena — both growing commercial centers at the time.
Along the way, many stopped at inns to get something to eat, have a drink, and stay the night.
One such place was the tavern owned by Moses Stacy, one of the early settlers of Glen Ellyn. His establishment was located at what is now the intersection of Main Street and St. Charles and Geneva roads — the area known today as “Stacy's Corners.”
His tavern building is still there — on the National Register of Historic Places — and now a museum operated by the Glen Ellyn Historical Society.
Members of the society have been organizing Tavern Day celebrations over the past two decades — complete with activities such as log sawing and rope making — as a way to bring the past to the present. This year's event is scheduled from 1 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25, outside the museum.
“Tavern Day is a chance for people to get a little glimpse of what life was like 150 years ago,” said Dan Anderson, a member of the historical society and volunteer clerk at the Stacy's Corners store.
On Sunday, Anderson will be dressed in a late 19th century-looking outfit — complete with bowler hat, vest and string tie — telling “old-fashioned” tall tales on a bail of hay.
“I ask kids, ‘Do you wanna hear a scary story, or a really scary story?'” Anderson said. “Afterward they say, ‘That's not so scary.' Kids these days have access to all these video games with violence and gore. They're not going to be scared.”
But it's clear that organizers of the festival try to make the event as authentic as possible. Among the other highlights of Tavern Day:
Ÿ An 1840s classroom — filled with desks with ink wells — is run by a schoolmarm who barks orders at students, Anderson said.
Ÿ Attendees will get to try their hand at corn shelling — removing kernels from corn — by using a hand-crank machine.
Ÿ Families also can play 1840s-era games and make their own candles and ropes.
Other activities include a petting zoo, blacksmith demonstrations, tours of the museum, bake sale and performance by local singing group A Cappella Underground.
If you go
What: Glen Ellyn Historical Society Tavern Day
When: 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Stacy's Tavern Museum, 800 N. Main St., Glen Ellyn
Cost: General admission is $8 for adults, $4 for children, $25 for families; tickets for society members are $6 for adults, $3 for children, $20 for families
Info: gehs.org