Although they had to make do without big-screen televisions, computers and compact disc players, early residents in Oak Brook and Hinsdale managed to create a cultural and social life that may make some people wish they could step back in time–just to join in the fun.
“So much entertainment was homegrown. There were groups that put on plays. Games were not so organized. There was sandlot baseball or sledding on the street and hayrides,” said Barbara Link, a volunteer with the Hinsdale Historical Society.
“They used to have barn dances, picnics and swimming in the creeks,” said Audrey Muschler, co-founder of the Oak Brook Historical Society.
A talent to sing, play an instrument or tell stories apparently made the Graue family’s home near Oak Brook a gathering place. The Graue family also was prominent in the area’s commerce, operating a gristmill nearby.
“They were a very musical family,” Muschler said. “There are stories of them rolling up the rugs and dancing.”
Equestrian balls became a popular event in the 1920s in Oak Brook with the construction of polo fields and stables, Muschler noted.
The Sunday afternoon polo matches always drew crowds who enjoyed the skill of the games and the fun of meeting friends. “You’d drive your car right up and park next to the polo field. You’d bring a picnic and see many people you knew,” recalled Muschler, who attended matches in the 1950s and ’60s.
In addition, actors were emoting in amateur theatricals and barbershop quartets were exercising their vocal pipes.
And new technology was making an impact: In 1913, the Hinsdale Theater opened its doors. It featured 319 seats and charged 10 cents for a slate of several short, silent films.
The theater, which had moved in 1925 to 31 E. 1st St., closed in 1999 because of the difficulties of operating an independent theater amid competition from multiplexes. The Hinsdale Theater and Performing Arts Commission is working to raise funds to save and restore the theater.
“It’s going to be a showcase for film. It will also have a venue for professional live theater,” said Pat Bruder of Hinsdale, the commission’s general manager.
The theater used to present live professional shows. In the 1950s Charlton Heston, Shelly Winters and Debbie Reynolds were among those who performed there.
“They used to stay in people’s homes,” Bruder said. “Debbie Reynolds supposedly helped out with the chores and rode her bike to the theater.”
Other theatrical ventures are thriving.
At nearby Drury Lane Oak Brook in Oakbrook Terrace, “I Hate Hamlet” is the current production.
The First Folio Shakespeare Festival recently ended its fifth summer season. The non-profit troupe, based in Clarendon Hills, performs during the summer on the grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Mansion in Oak Brook. As early as next year, First Folio may start performing year-round; in the winter, the troupe would use a chapel adjacent to the retreat wing of the mansion.
“I think it’s nice to have good-quality theater in the western suburbs,” Howorthsaid of First Folio. “A lot of people like not having to drive to Ravinia or downtown [to Chicago]. And it’s in beautiful surroundings.”
People who want to learn more about the arts or support them have several venues from which to choose, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago-Hinsdale chapter or the Hinsdale Arts Center, 5903 S. County Line Rd.
The center, founded in 1980, provides 115 classes a week in the visual arts, theater, music, dance and literary endeavors, executive director Sherry DeVries said.
She described the center “as a whole building that is overflowing with culture and things going on. It’s really a vibrant, active place.”
“At 3 p.m., children start coming in for their music lessons or they are taking ballet classes. And we have people looking at art exhibits,” she said Culture is alive and well in the western suburbs, she noted.
