So what does it take to run a first-class antiques show?
Energy, diplomacy and superb organizational skills, for starters–but not necessarily a deep knowledge of antiques.
At least that’s the case for the co-chairmen of the 2000 Hinsdale Antiques Show and Sale, which runs Sept. 7 to 10 at the Community House in Hinsdale.
Lauren Johnson and Paula Whitelaw both enjoy owning a few family heirlooms. But neither is especially interested in collecting antiques, nor, they concede, are they particularly knowledgeable about them. That’s the province of experts involved in the show, they say.
Instead, they were drawn to the benefit by friends and a penchant for community service.
“We had just moved here from the city (in 1988), and a sorority sister of mine invited me to co-chair the Saturday barbecue with Linda Sweeney. It sounded like a great cause and a good way to meet people,” said Johnson, who lives in Burr Ridge. She persuaded her husband, Dick, a WLS-Ch. 7 newsman, and three of his colleagues to serve as “celebrity grillers.”
Later she chaired the speakers committee and the Pantry, which sells pies, cakes, cookies, breads, and other home-baked goods furnished by some 200 volunteers.
“Pantry duty really called for a lot of detail work and was actually tougher than I thought it would be,” she said.
The Pantry was Whitelaw’s first experience. “Someone asked me to help out by baking something, and I felt the same way Lauren did. Here was true community effort for an important cause,” said Whitelaw, a Hinsdale resident for 12 years.
The two women became friends, discovered they worked well together and co-chaired the show’s Preview Party in 1995 and the Publicity Committee in 1997. Last year they were named benefit chairmen-elect, working under the tutelage of chairmen Rose Staat and Susan Volz.
“In that capacity we sat in on preliminary and final meetings and hung around the Community House the weekend of the show to observe the entire procedure, how all the pieces fit together to create the big picture,” Johnson said.
Today’s version is a far cry from the early shows, which, along with the Community House itself, have an interesting history.
Designed to help meet the social, recreational and educational needs of people who live in seven southeast DuPage County towns, the Community House is rooted in a private men’s club established in central Hinsdale early in the last century.
Membership dwindled during the Great Depression, and the handful of members who remained agreed to donate the property to the community. They selected a board of governors (now called trustees) and a citizens advisory council. In 1941 they incorporated the private, not-for-profit Community House to serve Hinsdale, whose population then stood at 7,500.
Four years later, a group of local women rented the building for an antiques show They hoped to raise $300 to aid a small Virginia church, and they promised to donate any additional profits to the Community House.
The success of that show led the agency’s governing board to organize two more. Although the fundraiser was suspended until completion of a new facility on a 14-acre site at 8th and Grant Streets, it has been back in business since the late 1950s as an annual event–one that has grown grander over time.
In 1962, for example, the first program book was merely a leaflet, exhibitors came only from a 90-mile radius, and a single luncheon was prepared by volunteers.
This year the ad-filled program book is expected to run at least 140 pages, antiques dealers will arrive from all parts of the nation to show and sell their wares, and entertainment and a catered lunch, brunch and dinners will spark the weekend.
Bakers, ticket and raffle ticket sellers, floral arrangement donors and hostesses swell the number of volunteer participants to 500 or more.
Half of the committee chairmen report to Whitelaw, the other half to Johnson. On hand to answer questions and offer advice is Sally Porter, 1988 general co-chairman.
“The more you divide the work, the easier it is for everyone,” said Whitelaw, noting that this year 100 people are serving on 28 committees.
But it’s the chairmen who are charged with putting all the pieces together.
“Lauren and Paula are both incredible people. They have everything it takes to run the 2000 Hinsdale Antiques Show and Sale–energy, enthusiasm, persistence, diplomacy, organizational skills and flexibility,” said Theresa Forthofer, executive director of the Community House. “They both have a great sense of humor, and they’re fun to work with.”
Net proceeds from the show have run between $75,000 and $100,000 in recent years, generating 25 percent of Community House’s operating funds.
Like any successful venture, running the antiques show takes time and attention to detail. Comprehensive reports filed by chairmen at the close of each show aid the process.
“There are some weeks in which Lauren and I devote at least part of every single day to the show,” Whitelaw said.
For Johnson, that means fitting the work into an already busy schedule. Last spring she celebrated 20 years of employment with Marriott Corp.
“I’ve worked in group sales, marketing and as director of special projects. Right now I’m in charge of Marriott Lincolnshire’s dinner theater subscription campaign on a part-time basis,” said Johnson, who “became hooked” on theater as a child.
She and her husband also have three school-age children, and she is active in the PTO.
Whitelaw likewise has her own juggling act to maintain. She and her husband, Robert, have three school-age children as well. Whitelaw also has devoted time in the past to other volunteer endeavors, including a stint as co-chairwoman of the Grace Episcopal Church Decorators’ Showcase House benefit a few years ago.
As for their work with the antiques show, Johnson said: “Our role is to act as general managers, to empower others to do their jobs.
“We’re blessed with bright, well-educated, creative people; we hand them the ball and let them run with it. The resources these volunteers bring to the table are tremendous; if they don’t know where to find something that’s needed to enhance the show, they know someone who does.”
The goals for this show “are to showcase the dealers and antiques, to attract browsers and buyers from Chicagoland and neighboring states and to raise money so the Community House can continue its important work,” said Whitelaw. “We want everyone to have a good time.”
2000 HINSDALE ANTIQUES SHOW AND SALE
Location: The Community House, 415 W. 8th St., Hinsdale.
Phone: 630-323-7500.
Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sept. 8; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 9-10.
Tickets: $8 in advance, $10 at the door.
Related Events
(Prices unavailable)
Sept. 7: Preview party for patrons. Reception, 5:30-6:30 p.m.; cocktails and hors d’oeuvre buffet, 6:30-10 p.m.
Sept. 8: Ladies day out–Decorator tours, 10:30-11:30 a.m.; antiquing (wine/soft drinks served), 11 a.m.-noon; luncheon, noon-1 p.m.; Second City performance, 1-1:45 p.m. Antiquing (cocktails and hors d’oeuvres served), 6-7:30 p.m.; dinner and entertainment, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
Sept. 10: Gospel brunch–12:30-1:30 p.m.; Bryant Jones & The Chosen performance, 1:30-2:15 p.m.
Throughout the show: The Pantry (baked goods); Plants (mums and more); The Beverage Center; boxed lunches, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
— Compiled by Helen J. Anderson.
LAUREN JOHNSON
Age: 46.
Title: Co-chairman, 2000 Hinsdale Antiques Show and Sale.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in communications, 1976, DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind.
Favorite part of job: Meeting people and learning new things.
Biggest challenge: Wondering whether we have covered all the bases.
Advice: Have patience and fortitude.
PAULA WHITELAW
Age: 44.
Title: Co-chairman, 2000 Hinsdale Antiques Show and Sale.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business, 1984, Marymount Manhattan College, New York, N.Y.
Favorite part of job: Working with delightful people and sharing ideas.
Biggest challenge: Juggling time schedules.
Advice: Keep smiling.
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COMMUNITY FOCUS SECTION
Oak Brook & Hinsdale
This is the second of four special sections about Oak Brook and Hinsdale that the Tribune is publishing in 2000.
Part 3, coming Sept. 6, will look at issues in education in Oak Brook and Hinsdale.
If you have any comments or suggestions about this issue or future Community Focus Sections, contact Pam Becker at 312-222-4208.
