Archive for category: News

In light of the venue change for Northbrook Days, the Northbrook Historical Society has received many questions about the 2019 Shermerfest. First and foremost, we can assure you that the 41^st Shermerfest will proceed on schedule in the Village Green.

Shermerfest – Sunday September 15, 2019

The Northbrook Park District and Northbrook Historical Society have worked collaboratively on many endeavors over the years including Shermerfest. While the Park District always will make the final decision on whether an activity will proceed in one of its parks, or an area is off limits, the Society is used to working with and setting up around areas deemed by the Park District as off limits.

Historically, Shermerfest and Northbrook Days have several things in common: Both are family-oriented festivals, both are indelible parts of the Village fabric and history, and for decades, both have shared a home in Village Green Park.

But differences also are apparent, including major ones in the size, scope, and environmental impact of the two festivals. Those differences are:

• Shermerfest’s overall impact on Village Green Park is really very little compared to that of Northbrook Days.
• Most important for the trees and grounds of Village Green Park, Northbrook Days requires many large vehicles to travel through various parts of the park to deliver tents and rides. The fenced off overflow area for the creek located east of the path passing in front of the gazebo is where the worker’s living quarters (trailers) are set up, and where their vehicles go in and out of the park multiple times a day before the carnival opens and after it closes.
• Counting setup and takedown, Northbrook Days affects large areas of Village Green Park for over a week. Shermerfest is strictly a one-day event, including setup and takedown, with the actual festival operating for only four hours.
• Shermerfest has the flexibility to move our small operation around to avoid off-limit areas. Northbrook Days does not have that flexibility due to the size and number of tents, booths and rides they need in order to have a successful event. Northbrook Days deals with a budget and profits in six figures. A successful Shermerfest usually nets from $10,000 to $13,000.
• Shermerfest requires virtually no large vehicles. With the exception of the Sunset Popcorn Wagon, Calliope and Huckster Truck, no vehicles are allowed on the gazebo side of the path where many of the tree roots are located.
• The classic cars at Shermerfest enter the park on asphalt paths, and most occupy areas that have little or no effect on the root systems of trees.  Though the classic vehicle show features a variety of entries, virtually all are cars. And . . . a Model A, for example, weights only about 2,500 pounds — no comparison to a large delivery truck for carnival rides or supplies.

Buildings with true historic value are a rarity in Northbrook. That is why the Northbrook Historical Society is excited about an amazing opportunity it recently received.

The church located at 1812 Chapel Court (corner of Chapel and Church Street) has been the home of the Christian Science Society since the late 1950s. The structure dates to 1892, when it was built by volunteers and named Hope Union Church.

In mid-January of this year, the Christian Science Society made a stunning offer: The congregation expressed a desire to donate the church to the Northbrook Historical Society for the purpose of preserving the historic building.

After receiving the offer, “I couldn’t sleep that entire night,” said Judy Hughes, President of the Northbrook Historical Society.

Since then, church and Historical Society representatives have been working out the details of an agreement to transfer ownership of the church. A thorough inspection of the 123-year-old building was important, because maintenance and upkeep will be key issues for the Historical Society — an all-volunteer organization with limited funds.

The building appears to be basically in good condition, though items such as a handicap-accessible ramp, rest-room upgrades, air-conditioning adjustments, and so on, are needed. After careful review by both the Historical Society and the Christian Science Society, a contract between the two was signed in early May. A closing date for the transfer will come later in the year.

The Historical Society envisions using the current Sunday School area as a home for its library and archives — a research center with space that is sorely lacking at the Historical Society’s only other building, the Northfield Inn at 1776 Walters Ave. The Inn will remain the home of the Northbrook History Museum and the Historical Society’s consignment store, the Inn Shop.

No major changes would be made to the church’s current sanctuary, which the Historical Society likely would try to rent to a small congregation for use on Sundays. The sanctuary also could be used as a site for weddings.
No zoning changes are needed for the Historical Society to assume ownership of the church. However, in order for the Historical Society to use even a portion of the building as a research area, a special permit from the Village would be required.

Church neighbors on Church Street and Chapel Court have received letters from the Historical Society telling them about an informal meeting at the church on Tuesday, May 19, at 7 p.m., to discuss the future of the church and answer any questions.

Like the Christian Science Society, the major goal of the Historical Society is to preserve the historic building. Perhaps no other current or past structure in Shermerville/Northbrook tells the story of the Village better than Hope Union Church, which was built by volunteers on donated land using donated materials.

The church — which was constructed nine years before the actual incorporation of the Shermerville in 1901 — received its original name because it was envisioned to be the ‘hope’ of the small community and also serve as a “union” of congregations without regard for religious denominations.

Beginning in 1922, the building served as the home of the Presbyterian Church of Shermerville (and then Northbrook) until 1949, when the current Village Presbyterian Church was dedicated just a block north of Hope Union Church. Soon after, Hope Union became the home of St. Giles Episcopal Church for about a decade until St. Giles opened its current church on Walters Avenue just west of Pfingsten Road. The little church on Chapel was dedicated as the First Church of Christ, Scientist, on Dec. 6, 1959, and remained a Christian Science church until that congregation’s last service in the building on April 26, 2015.