The Mount Prospect Historical Society studies history, of course, and objectively knew about the Great Flu Pandemic of 1918. But its leaders didn’t expect to be struck by another pandemic today, any more than the rest of the public did. We were past those kinds of concerns, weren’t we?
But during March of 2020 it became apparent that residents of this planet weren’t past them and the Society shut its doors, just like every other entity.
During the rest of 2020 and at least the first half of 2021 the Society has adapted. Board meetings have been held online via Zoom and, during the warm months, on the Society’s driveway with everyone sitting six feet apart. They held a retirement farewell for their 17-year veteran Office Manager outside on the driveway and hired new staff via virtual first interviews and socially-distanced second interviews and by the fall of 2020 had welcomed three new staff members to their team.
Society activities were largely cancelled – no Spring Dinner; a bus trip to the Robie House and the Pullman neighborhood postponed multiple times; no 2020 Housewalk – the list goes on and on.
But the Society also got innovative. They quickly put together five different neighborhood walking tours using information collected over preceding years for the Housewalk and posted them on their website for people to download for free and enjoy while walking for exercise and entertainment. The tours’ availability was publicized via lawn signs posted along the various routes and continue to be immensely popular.
The Society’s summer camps for children were successfully done virtually with parents picking up materials in our Education Center breezeway and then having their children participate via Zoom. They also managed to have a Blacksmith demonstration on the Society’s driveway for members of the public to enjoy. Their enthusiastic new Office Manager, Amanda Marcus, even put new emphasis on the marketing and sale of unique, themed “Sammy Skobel’s Hot Dogs” and “Hotter Than Mother’s Pinball” t-shirts via the Society’s social media outlets, bringing in over $1,000 in sales during late 2020 and early 2021.
The Society also kept its membership informed by holding a virtual Annual Meeting in March 2021 (instead of the usual Soup or Chili Supper in the Village Hall) and publishing their financial report in the Society’s spring newsletter.
But the Society’s biggest victory was the Virtual Dollhouse Walk which their new director, Emily Dattilo, constructed around five wonderful Society-owned dollhouses from different eras and one fabulous dollhouse owned by a former Housewalk participant, Julie Michalik.
The Society’s videographer Board member Ed Johnson used his incredible skill, patience and equipment to create a narrated tour from a doll’s scaled-down perspective which they were able to post on the Society’s website and ask viewers around the country to enjoy for $10 per household. Their usual realtor Housewalk sponsors even chipped in sponsorship money and all-told, during the months of December, January and February, the Society pulled in $2181.53 to help keep them afloat. A total of 126 viewers paid to see the featured dollhouses.
“It has been a difficult time which has forced us to pivot and adapt, but we have done just that and have ample reason to take pride in our accomplishments,” said Deb Rittle, Society president.
“We have also forged a partnership with the Village, the Public Library and both of the Village’s primary park districts to virtually record for the future the reality of the pandemic’s impact on the people of Mount Prospect in essays, testimonials, photos, artwork and videos. That work continues,” added Marilyn Genther, Society vice president, and chairman of the Pandemic Reflections project.
