Library Needs Help Collecting Images for Oak Lawn Tornado History Book

Sunday marks the 46th anniversary of the 1967 Oak Lawn Tornado. Oak Lawn Library exhibits and historic archive will be open throughout the weekend.

It was the definitive moment in Oak Lawn’s history, and now Oak Lawn Library historian Kevin Korst is collecting those moments in a new local history book due out in 2014. Korst has been working on the book about the 1967 Oak Lawn Tornado, whose 46th anniversary falls on Sunday, for the past several months. The local history book is a follow up to another from Arcadia Publishing’s Images in America series, tracing Oak Lawn’s history from sleepy prairie town to a bustling, post-World War II suburb through historic documents and photos. “After we finished the Oak Lawn history book it was on our radar to do another one,” Korst said. “The topic that immediately came to mind was the 1967 tornado. People have an emotional tie to it.” Read Patch'…

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'On A Street Named Philbin Way'

Long-time Oak Lawn family boasting six generations is honored by renaming section of Cook name 'Philbin Way.'

The Philbin Way: Family Honored with Street Renaming

Long-time Oak Lawn family boasting six generations are honored by renaming portion of Cook Avenue "Philbin Way."

At one point there were 240 extended members of the County Cork Philbins living in Oak Lawn. They laid track for the Wabash Railroad, served as the first church organist for St. Gerald's, fought fires and drove ambulances for the Oak Lawn Fire Department, and helped dig out survivors of the 1967 Oak Lawn Tornado bare-handed, six days after arriving home from the Vietnam War. Sign up for the Oak Lawn Patch newsletter and breaking news alerts. Six generations of the Philbin Family were remembered last Saturday when Mayor Dave Heilmann and Trustee Bob Streit (Dist. 3) dedicated a portion of Cook Avenue between 97th and 98th Streets that will now forever be known as Philbin Way. "When I think of St. Gerald’s, thanks to your family there’s a …

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Lost Oak Lawn

VIDEO FLASHBACK: 'Round-Up Days' Parade 1957

Time to enter the time-machine and travel back to 1957 for the Oak Lawn 'Round-Up' Days parade.

During the 1950s, TV westerns like Gunsmoke, the Lone Ranger and Davy Crockett were all the rage. It wasn't unusual to see Oak Lawn kids outside playing cowboys and Indians. Taking advantage of the Western craze, the Oak Lawn Chamber of Commerce hosted an annual cowboy-themed weekend where local merchants staged fake gunfights on 95th Street. The Western weekends were designed to lure new residents into moving to Oak Lawn in the post-World War II years. 'Round-Up Days' always featured a parade full of riders on horseback, high school marching bands, and floats. READ LOST OAK LAWN Cowboys, Posses and Sheriffs Roamed Oak Lawn’s Streets 'Round-Up Days' had their desired effect. In its first three years, Oak Lawn's population grew from 9,000 …

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Lost Oak Lawn

VIDEO FLASHBACK: Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church 1957

Church members dedicate a new cornerstone.

Organized in 1939, Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church began its first year with just 40 members. By the time this groundbreaking ceremony was filmed in 1957, a growing congregation, along with a fire which damaged the church several years before, necessitated a new building. The church would be completed the following year, and continues to serve Oak Lawn residents into the present day.       Watch more 'Lost Oak Lawn' VIDEO FLASHABCKS: Kevin Korst is the local history coordinator for the Oak Lawn Public Library. Visit the library's second floor and explore the exhibits, archives or just ask Kevin an obscure history question about the village.

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VIDEO FLASHBACK: 'Round-Up Days' Parade 1952

Believe it or not, Oak Lawn once recruited new residents by "rounding them up."

Before Fall on the Green, there was "Round-Up Days," an annual parade from 1949 through 1958 that celebrated local businesses and the good life in Oak Lawn. Civic leaders took advantage of the TV western craze by hosting a cowboy-themed weekend designed to lure people into moving to Oak Lawn in the post-World War II years. READ LOST OAK LAWN 'Cowboys, Posses and Sheriffs Roamed Oak Lawn’s Streets.' Members of the Oak Lawn Village Board and Chamber of Commerce adopt the roles of horse thieves, gold diggers and cowboys staging mock gunfights and trials in the center of 95th Street. In 1957, a record-breaking 100,000 visitors attended 'Round-Up Days.' Sadly, the last round-up was held a year later, a victim rising costs and residents …

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Jim Vondracek

9:41 am on Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Thanks for an interesting article! We moved to Oak Lawn 8 years ago and its always interesting to learn more about its past. The 'round-up' sounds like it was in the period before Oak Lawn's big growth in the late 50s and into the 60s, with the changing south and southwest Chicago neighborhoods and people moving from those neighborhoods to OL. Thanks again!   more ›

Lost Oak Lawn

VIDEO FLASHBACK: Cruising Down 95th Street in 1940

Do you remember when 95th Street was just two lanes?

Filmed around 1940 when the village was home to just 3,500 residents, a segment of this footage was taken from a car headed west down 95th Street.  Several former Oak Lawn landmarks are visible, including the train depot, water tower and Behrend’s Hardware Store. Most of the buildings that appear in the film do not survive into the present day.   READ MORE "Lost Oak Lawn." VIDEO FLASHBACK: Green Oaks Kiddieland Roller Coaster 1966 Voices from the Past: Fred Dumke '50 Years and Going Strong:' Scenes from a Jubilee Kevin Korst is the local history coordinator for the Oak Lawn Public Library. Visit the library's second floor and explore the exhibits, archives or just ask Kevin an obscure history question about the village. Editor's note: In …

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John Hurlock

8:38 am on Friday, December 28, 2012

The hood ornament on the car appears to be a Dodge Ram. Occasionally the water tower, which was on the North side of 95th street, appears on the left side indicating that the car was traveling east not west at that time.   more ›

Photo Exhibit Celebrates Library Anniversary

"75 Years of Progress" on view through end of November.

When the Oak Lawn Public Library was moved from a dusty barn to a 19th century farm house, nobody could have imagined that their community could one day boast of having the largest collection of books in the Southland.  Relocated in the midst of the Great Depression, the first librarian’s salary was paid for through the Works Progress Administration. And although FDR’s New Deal program provided only temporary funding, residents enthusiastically supported the growing library. Highlighting the near-constant expansion of the library facilities, the photo exhibit featured in the second-floor art gallery will be on display until the end of November.  The carefully-selected photographs will help demonstrate to visitors the parallel stories of …

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Lost Oak Lawn

'50 Years and Going Strong:' Scenes from a Jubilee

Remembering Oak Lawn's Golden Jubilee in 1959.

Crowded into the meeting room at the Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, Oak Lawn Village President Harvey Wick carefully examined the pile of trinkets and souvenirs gathered before him. Across the hall, Trustee and future mayor Fred Dumke met with reporters from the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times, eager to announce his town’s upcoming 50th anniversary celebration.  “The spirit of our Golden Jubilee is not only good for Oak Lawn to stimulate business, but will show our visitors that this is a fine community in which to live,” Dumke told the media.  Since its founding as a farming community on the outskirts of Chicago, the first half century of Oak Lawn’s story witnessed countless transformations. From humble beginnings as a cluster of homes gathered …

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Lost Oak Lawn

A Little Piece of Hollywood in Oak Lawn

Lost Oak Lawn recalls the Coral Theatre.

From Rhett Butler’s sharp-witted response to Scarlett O’Hara’s plea, to Steve McQueen’s motorcycle leaping over Nazi soldiers, the Golden Age of Hollywood produced some of the most iconic images captured on film.  It was a time when Marilyn Monroe and Katherine Hepburn’s names covered marquees across the country.  And in a popular theater along 95th Street, residents of Southland came to see their favorites on the big screen. Built in 1942 as one of several cinemas owned by the Lucas Theater Corporation, the Coral Theatre quickly became one of Oak Lawn’s most popular weekend destinations. Prior to Coral’s construction, the nearest venue was in distant Beverly, making a trip to see the latest flick impractical for those without a car.  With…

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Lorraine Swanson

1:10 pm on Wednesday, June 29, 2011

It's sad seeing these old movie theaters go. When I was a kid, I practically lived at the Des Plaines Theater. The place would be packed at night with families going to the show, something you don't see very often. It was a big deal when prices were raised from 50-cents to 90-cents. I think I saw every film that came out in the 1960s and 1970s, but because tickets were so cheap, the DP Show …   more ›