A bus load of students had just descended on the Rookery, a century-old architectural gem at LaSalle and Adams Streets that was designed by Chicago architect John Wellborn Root. The famed fortress-like structure, with its noteworthy inner court, would be the first downtown stop on a Chicago area tour that was bringing the students to some of the structures discussed in a College of Lake County architecture appreciation class at the college’s main campus in Grayslake.
The excursion also included stops at Ragdale, the former Lake Forest home of architect Howard Van Doren Shaw; the Highland Park Senior Center, which is on the National Register of Historic Places; the State Street Carson Pirie Scott & Co. store, built by Louis Sullivan; and the recently cleaned white Reliance Building on State Street built by the D.H. Burnham & Co. architectural firm.
As the students walked–admiring the Rookery’s staircase, Carsons’ filigreed forest base and the Reliance’s Gothic decoration–instructor Nancy Cook dropped such tidbits as Daniel Burnham’s plans for Chicago in 1919 being off-base because he did not think the automobile would be important.
Back in Lake County, a comment by Deerfield student Maita Houpis mirrored the general sentiment. “It was nice to have someone explain the construction of the buildings, why and how each step came in, and say this was developed because of this,” Houpis said. “And when I passed these places before, I would see a photo shop or health store on the main floor and never really look up.”
Typical college class field trip? Not exactly. Houpis is 63.
Aside from their place of residence–most live in Lake County–what the 38 students primarily had in common was their age group and an itch to expand their minds. When they received their course-completion certificates at a luncheon a few days later, the students became the first “graduating” class in CLC’s Elder College, a program that targeted the over-50 crowd with its weeklong mix of classroom and field experience in a variety of arts subjects.
Most of the participants had dipped into computer, travel and fine-arts topics in CLC’s one- and two-day Discovery classes held at Marshall Field’s in Vernon Hills’ Hawthorn Shopping Center. The Discovery program was initiated for older citizens by the college’s Southlake Educational Center officials in 1993.
“Elder College is an outgrowth of the Discovery program. People in that program were interested in an intense week of study that covered the subject matter in more depth,” said Sheila Marks, director of the Southlake Educational Center.
And if Elder College rings a bell, that is because the program was developed along the lines of Elderhostel, a Boston-based, not-for-profit organization that offers mini-academic experiences to people ages 55 and older at educational institutions all over the world.
Held during the summer, when there was less demand on the college’s facilities and instructors, Elder College’s charter session was called Explore the Arts.
The program included classes that touched on the Chicago area’s influential architecture, composers that bridged the Classic and Romantic periods of music, different forms of dance and their history, and the nuts and bolts of theater productions.
Classroom instruction was followed by such experience-the-real-thing trips as the architectural tour, which also included some North Shore sites on the National Register of Historic Places, CLC dance and theater performances and a concert at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park.
“We’ve done Elderhostel,” said 63-year-old Susan Sickle of Highland Park, who signed up with husband Steve, 68. “And this is modeled after other Elderhostels, except you don’t sleep over. But you do stuff together and learn together. It’s fabulous.”
The Sickles loved the interaction with others and the learning opportunities.
“It’s a wonderful break in the routine and an enriching break in the routine,” Steve said. “You get a lot out of it. It’s fun doing something different. It exposed us to things we have not thought about.”
Not that this specific arts selection covered material that was new for many of the enrollees, including the Sickles, Highland Park natives who have taken note of Chicago’s architecture and attended Ravinia.
“But every time somebody talks to you about those things, you learn some more,” Steve said.
It was the whole week’s experience, from lively class and lunch discussions to group excursions and a well-organized program, as much as the information gleaned that made the Sickles and other participants say they wanted to return to Elder College, which costs $130 per person.
Indeed, Steve thought he would be happy to learn something on breakthroughs in genetics and astronomy.
“The real thing about something like this is that it takes you out of whatever you’re doing,” he said. “It exposes you to something you might find interesting, which I did. It doesn’t have to be the arts. It could be science or political science. You meet a bunch of people you otherwise would not meet who are interesting themselves and have their own perspective. It broadens your milieu. We spend our lives in a relatively narrow circle. Breaking away from that is one of the real pluses of this program.”
Houpis also enjoyed the group.
“What I particularly like is that the people are wonderful,” she said. “So many had so much to add to what was given in class. And it was extremely well put together. The college thought about every detail. Even during the lunch hour, they brought people in from the college to talk about what they do.”
Libertyville student Ben Fisher, a 73-year-old retired pathology professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago who attended with his wife, Kenny, praised the planning and the teachers.
“As a former educator, I appreciate how well the whole thing went off,” Fisher said. “I think they did a good needs assessment. And the faculty was extremely enthusiastic. The faculty was at a high level and presented their material in an interesting way, not straight from a textbook. They did not just talk at you. It was surprisingly interactive.”
Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback, Marks and her Elder College program co-developer, Dorothy Ellis, Southlake’s Educational Services administrative assistant, plan to have another session next summer.
Marks said the class age range was 50 to 82 and 10 of the students were couples. “I was surprised at the number of couples–five–that we had,” she said. “And I didn’t think we’d have as many people at the younger end of the spectrum because of the time commitment,” which covers five full days.
What did not surprise her was the positive response. Marks recalled one note that said, “I woke up on Monday, disappointed that I didn’t have Elder College to go to.”
