Historic Commission

Minutes of the City of Wheaton Historic Commission July 18, 2017 Meeting Held at City Hall, Wheaton, Illinois Attendance Present: Barbara Dutton (Vice Chair), Emelie Engling, Nancy Flannery (Chair), Tom Kay, Steph McGrath (Secretary), Frank Principe, Bob Purdy. Absent: Maureen Fogerty. Meeting was called to order at 7:01 pm Public comment Visitors present: Carolyn Raber Carolyn, attending her 2nd meeting, explained that she is a 5 year Wheaton resident interested in old houses and historic buildings, and in learning more about what the Historic commission does. Approval of Minutes The minutes of the June 20, 2017 meeting were approved as amended following a motion by Bob, seconded by Frank, and passed unanimously. Old Business Preservation Issues -Nancy gave an update on the Seven Gables mansion; there will be an upcoming public hearing on August 7, 2017. Some neighbors are concerned about the new proposed location of Seven Gables. Nancy will speak during public comment. Support from the Commission and community will be welcome. Nancy will share this information on social media. RR Bollard -Nancy & Steph still need to take the railroad site marker draft to the train depot to check for possible mounting sites. Future Meeting at Cantigny -Nancy still needs to check if an open meeting can be held there legally; the Freedom Hall space can hold 70; there might be accessibility issues. WW1 Talk -Nancy informed the Commission that she will give a lecture on Wheaton’s Gold Stars WWI heroes on Tuesday October 24 at 7 pm, at the Wheaton Public Library. Bike Tour -The Wheaton History Bike Ride has been rescheduled for Saturday, September 23, 2 to 4 pm. Nancy will be the docent. Members of the Historic Commission were urged to participate. Bike Fest -Nancy reminded the Commission that the Wheaton Bike Fest will be held on August 12 10 am to noon; she will be there with a Historic Commission table with brochures, the storyboard of historic bike information. Steph volunteered to do the storyboard. Frank will participate at the Bike Fest table. Pride in Preservation Signs -Nancy gave an update on the cost of historic site plaques; she is still determining where to buy new yard sign holders. Everyone agreed that we need to redo the map for sign distribution. Miscellaneous -Update on Mystery painting at Kiwanis. Update on Center for History collection at City Annex, the participants are said to be getting closer to an agreement. New Business -The Wheaton time capsule project was reviewed; Frank found a Chicago Tribune article on the Wheaton Post Office’s time capsule. Commissioner Comments -Emelie reported on the upcoming Library Friends Book Sale; she has been looking for local history books for our use -Bob shared copies of the new Preservation Magazine -Frank has been looking for more speakers for history lectures; John Sweeney is a possibility, Sweeney does talks on religion -Tom likes discussing the history of Wheaton and his long family ties; his early jobs as a newspaper carrier and insurance seller fostered his interest in the Wheaton community -Steph especially enjoys hearing Tom’s job tales of reading water meters inside people’s houses. -Carolyn was interested to learn more about the Hawthorne neighborhood’s past as the Wheaton Driving Park—i.e. the horse race track Adjournment Tom moved, Bob seconded, the motion passed unanimously, and the meeting concluded at 8:12 pm. Next Meeting: Tuesday, August 15, 2017 at 7:00 pm, City Hall