Ellwood House Museum Assistant Director Audrey King shared the many aspects of their operations during this week’s Rotary meeting.  The museum itself sits on 10 acres near downtown DeKalb with seven buildings including two mansions, a children’s playhouse, and a large garage converted to exhibit space.  Property is maintained by the DeKalb Park District with the non-profit Ellwood House Association managing programs and operations.  King says she came to the museum eight years ago and has seen steady expansion of their mission to preserve the structures, tell the story of Isaac Ellwood and the mass production of barbed wire, plus weave in special local historical connections to people and events which includes a lecture series in collaboration with the DeKalb County History Museum.

 

King spoke about several of the special features of the property.  For example, there are six architectural styles identified as part of the main mansion which went through three  major renovations during the time it was used by the Ellwoods.  For the holidays, King said they set up 40 Christmas trees.  King also said they are always searching for those hidden passages or hiding places that are part of old houses and can be lost from view for decades.  Likewise, while researching local links to history, King said they uncovered information about Sergeant Hattie Jackson of Sycamore who was part of the “Six-Triple-Eight” all-black, all female battalion in World War II featured in the recent popular movie.for their superior work in overcoming a backlog in mail delivery.

 

Details on tours and events at the Ellwood House are available from their website www.elwoodhouse.org.

December 8, 1765 – Cotton gin inventor Eli Whitney is born in Westboro, Massachusetts.  His invention that removes seeds from harvested cotton prompts yearly cotton production in the U. S. to jump from about 3,000 bales a year to 73,000 bales a year.

 

December 9, 1886 – American inventor and founder of the modern frozen food industry with a company that bears his name, Clarence Birdseye, is born in Brooklyn, New York.

 

December 11, 1915 – American singer (Strangers in the Night, My Way, The Summer Wind) and actor (From Here to Eternity, Guys and Dolls), Frank Sinatra, is born in Hoboken, New Jersey.  He is variously nicknamed “Chairman of the Board” and “Ol’ Blue Eyes.”

 

December 13, 1925 – American star of stage, screen, radio, and TV, Dick Van Dyke, is born in Danville, Illinois.

December 7, 1941 – The Japanese attack the U. S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii leaving 3,000 Americans dead and leading to the U. S. entry into World War II.

 

December 9, 1990 – Labor leader Lech Walesa wins a landslide victory in the Polish presidential election becoming their first democratically elected head of state since communist rule began after World War II.

 

December 11, 1936 – King Edward VIII announces in a radio address that he is abdicating the British throne citing his inability to govern without the support “of the woman I love.”  He marries twice-divorced Wallis Simpson in 1937 and they live out the rest of their lives as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

 

December 11, 1898 – The Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish-American War, is signed by President William McKinley.  The U.S. acquires the territories of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam.