Fun&Games_v3

FUN G A MES &

FUN G A MES &

The life of the average Orland farmer was not an easy one; they often worked from dawn to dusk, six days a week! However, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t make time for fun! This mini exhibit explores the history of various sports, games and other leisurely activities in Orland Park. We hope you enjoy this display showcasing our community’s history. These items belong to and are cared for by the Village of Orland Park, along with a collection of over 25,000+ artifacts. These displays will be changed throughout the year, so be sure to stop back to see what is new!

Pictured above: Indian Clubs, c. 1890-1930 Pictured left: Ad for Carter’s Little Liver Pills, c. 1890s

THE RISE OF SPORTS There were a variety of games and toys that existed throughout the nineteenth century. Toys tended to be targeted for either boys or girls – items that encouraged strong gender identification. They were usually simple and handmade using materials that were readily available on the farm or homestead. Orland residents also spent their leisure time at the theater, watching plays or medicine shows. “Medicine men” gave performances outdoors from a wagon, platform, or tent, or indoors in a theater. By 1858, there were more than 1500 medicine patents, providing the “salesman” a wide variety of products to sell during shows, such as “medicinal” turpentine. Over the course of the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) and the 19th century, the United States government introduced numerous labor laws to better regulate workers’ safety and health. As a result, workers during this period had more leisure time than their predecessors. After the Civil War (1861-1865), the popularity of sports grew alongside the rise of exercise. Across America, people participated in sports at gymnasiums, courts, and fields. As settlers began to arrive in the area now known as Orland Park, they too engaged in community sports. School sports likely began after Orland Park School was constructed in 1922.

ARTIFACTS IN THIS CABINET TOP SHELF (LEFT TO RIGHT): • Porcelain Head Doll, c. 1890-1909 • Clarence Creer’s Bag of Marbles, c. 1920-1935 • .Humphrey Family’s Marble Solitaire Game, Date Unknown • Photograph of Kruspe’s Saloon, c. 1890-1910 • Advertisements for Carter’s Little Pills, c. 1890s • Bottle of Medical Turpentine, c. 1920s-1930s BOTTOM SHELF (LEFT TO RIGHT): • .Maude Humphrey’s Physical Education Class, c. 1890s • Indian Clubs, c. 1890-1930

Pictured above: Maude Humphrey’s Physical Education Class, c. 1890s Pictured left: Bottle of Medical Turpentine, c. 1920s-1930s

In the 1920s and 1930s, boxing in America became exceptionally popular. Arch Ward, a sports editor for the Chicago Tribune, came up with the idea of having an amateur boxing tournament in Chicago in 1923 called the “Golden Gloves.” There are no sources that confirm boxing tournaments took place in Orland Park; however, the profits of the “Golden Gloves” went to the Forty and Eight Convalescent Camp in Orland Park after it opened in 1929. The tennis we know today was known as “lawn tennis” because it was played on grass courts. The invention of the game has been credited to Major Walter Cropton Wingfield in 1873 because he published the first book of rules for it. In April 1935, several young men in Orland Park attended a Village Board Meeting, requesting the purchase of a net and markers for the tennis court. The board agreed to provide the necessary funds needed for such a court, which totaled $22.10 (about $505 today). They set up the court behind Orland Park School, near where the playground is located today. The first 18-hole course in the United States was the Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois, which opened in 1893. Thereafter, courses continued to open nationwide, providing space for amateurs and professionals to play. In the 1970s, Orland Park received the title of the “Golf Center of the World.” The name was given because the community offered 819 holes of golf within a 15-mile radius from the center of the Village. According to an Orland Park Chamber of Commerce booklet from 1979, there were 54 golf courses within 15 miles of the Village’s center, with 39 of those courses open to the public. BOXING, TENNIS & GOLF

ARTIFACTS IN THIS CABINET TOP SHELF (LEFT TO RIGHT):

• John Humphrey’s Boxing Gloves, c. 1910-1920 • Humphrey Family Tennis Rackets, Date Unknown BOTTOM SHELF (LEFT TO RIGHT): • .“Orland Park, Illinois: The Golf Center of the World” Brochure, 1972 • Golf Clubs, c. 1920s-1930s

John Humphrey’s Boxing Gloves, c. 1910-1920

BASEBALL & BOWLING Although the exact origin of baseball is unknown, some historians believe it to have originated from two English games: cricket and rounders. Both games involved a stick that was used to strike a ball. In 1845, Alexander Cartwright established a formal, consistent set of rules that all baseball teams could play by, some of which are still in place today. Throughout the mid-to-late 1900s, small towns like Orland Park formed their own baseball teams. The Orland area had multiple baseball teams dating as early as 1908, including the Orland Greys, Orland Reds, Wagoners, Orland Juniors, Orland Boosters, and the Wabash teams. Bowling was brought to America in the 1600s, but it reached its peak popularity in the 1850s. From that point, it spread rapidly across the country. The game was played predominantly in German communities, like Orland Park. According to a Sandborn Fire Insurance Map from the 1890s, there used to be a nine-pin bowling alley behind the Orland Park Hotel. It is unknown when the bowling alley closed.

ARTIFACTS IN THIS CABINET TOP SHELF (LEFT TO RIGHT): • John Humphrey’s Baseball, Date Unknown • Photograph of the Orland Grey’s, 1910 • Buck Family’s Baseball, 1952 •.Photograph of the Wabash Baseball Club, 1922 •.Photograph of the Orland Boosters, 1928-1929 BOTTOM SHELF (LEFT TO RIGHT): • Toy Wooden Bowling Pins, c. 1880s-1900 • Skittles Bowling Game, c. 1940-1970 • .Cabinet Card of the Orland Park Hotel, c. 1890s • Brunswick Corp. Duck Pin, c. 1979-1995 • Amflite II White Bowling Pin, c. 1985-2005

Baseball photos pictured top to bottom: Orland Baseball Team, c. 1920s; Orland Grey’s, 1920 Bowling pins pictured left to right: Bowling pin, c. 1985-2005; Duck Pin, c. 1979-1995; Toy bowling pin, c. 1880-1890

THE CREATION OF THE ORLAND PARK RECREATION DEPARTMENT

In the summer of 1954, Babe Lohmann founded a youth baseball group. Games were played between Orland and Mokena. The following year, Orland Park joined the “Wilco League.” This later resulted in the formation of the Orland Park Youth Association (OYA) around 1961. Today, OYA offers programs for boys and girls in baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, and basketball. They offer both recreational and competitive level sports. In 1976, the Orland Park Soccer Club (OPSC) was founded by a group of parents and soccer fans wanting to enhance the existing recreation department’s soccer programs. Sports organizations were common in Orland Park, but the Village of Orland Park wanted to expand its services and programs during the 1970s. Today, the Recreation Department oversees multiple facilities that offer programs for all ages, including preschool activities, sport camps, dance, fitness, music, art, history, theater, and special recreation. These facilities include the Civic Center, Franklin Loebe Center, Sportsplex and Orland Health and Fitness. The Department is also responsible for more than 500 acres of parks, including Centennial Park, Centennial Park Aquatic Center, and the John Humphrey Sports Complex. ARTIFACTS IN THIS CABINET TOP SHELF (LEFT TO RIGHT): • OYA Know Your Town Brochure, 1960 •.Orland Park Recreation Program Guide, 1985 • Sportsplex Opening Day Program, 2002 •.Photograph of a Special Recreation Basketball Game, 1993-1997 BOTTOM SHELF (LEFT TO RIGHT):

• Fishing Lures and Bobbers, c. 1900-1920s • Photograph of McGinnis Slough, 1990 •.Photographs of Centennial Pool on Opening Day, 1992 • Humphrey Family Ice Skates, Date Unknown • .Ice Arena Grand Opening Souvenir Clock, 1995

Pictured: Chicago World’s Fair memorabilia 1933

Pictured top to bottom: McGinnis Slough, 1990; Fishing lure, c. 1900-1920; Fishing spinner, date unknown; Fishing bobber, date unknown.

BASKETBALL & THE ORLAND PARK BAND

In 1891, James Naismith wrote the first set of rules for a sport he called basketball for a class assignment, which was influenced by a game he played as a child. The first basketball games had nine players on each team. The goal was to throw a soccer-like ball into peach baskets that were hung on the balconies of each end of the gymnasium. After a “basket” was made, the game was stopped for the ball to be retrieved, using a ladder to reach the peach basket. The first public game was in 1892 and basketball’s popularity quickly spread. By 1898, the first professional league was formed, and seven years later, nets finally replaced the peach baskets. According to long-time Orland Park resident Ralph Agate, Orland Park had a community band long before he became a tenor saxophone player in the 1920s. Unfortunately, the exact year of when the band was formed is unknown. However, after reading various newspaper articles regarding the band’s performances, we know that the band existed as early as 1908. It is likely that it was formed even earlier. Agate stated that most small towns like Orland Park had community bands. Saturday evenings were popular days to play, as people would come out to enjoy live music on a band stand located in the town center.

ARTIFACTS IN THIS CABINET (LEFT TO RIGHT): • Basketball Hoop, c. 1930s • District 135 Basketball Cheers, c. 1940s •.Photograph of the Orland Park Band, c. 1890s • Orland Band Concert Ticket, 1930

Pictured top to bottom: Photograph of the Orland Park Band, c. 1890s; Orland Band Concert Ticket, 1930

WOODMAN HALL & PHONOGRAPHS

Woodman Hall was considered one of the centers for social life in Orland Park during the 1890s-1930s. The hall was a place where people were able to gather and share their talents. It received its name from the Modern Woodmen of America and was built in the late 1800s on 144th Street, between 1st and 2nd Streets. Dance and plays were popular forms of entertainment in the early 1900s-1920s and many of these functions were held at the Hall. Dancing was a lively activity and according to early recollections, young people would travel upwards of eight miles to attend a dance at Woodman Hall. The Victor Talking Machine Company began in the late 1880s, when Emilie Berliner invented the mass-production flat phonograph record. Thomas Edison invented the cylinder phonograph in 1877, but Berliner’s design allowed for copies of audio recordings to be made due to his record’s flat designs. Displayed here is a phonograph that belonged to the Humphrey family from 1915. This talking machine was introduced in 1911 alongside a wide lineup of newly designed phonographs from the Victor Talking Machine Company. The production of this model ran for over 11 years. The original 1911 machine sold for $25, equivalent to about $825 today. ARTIFACTS IN THIS CABINET (LEFT TO RIGHT): • Program for “Pink Dominoes” – A Play Performed at Woodman Hall, 1920 • Photograph of Woodman Hall, 1908

• Victor Talking Machine Records o “Havanola – Fox Trot,” c. 1917 o “Listen to the Mocking Bird,” c. 1916 • Victor Talking Machine, 1915

Pictured above: Victor Talking Machine, 1915; Victor Talking Machine Record, “Listen to the Mocking Bird,” c. 1916

MAYOR Keith Pekau VILLAGE CLERK Patrick R. O’Sullivan TRUSTEES: William R. Healy, Cynthia Nelson Katsenes, Michael R. Milani, Sean Kampas, Brian J. Riordan, Joni J. Radaszewski

HISTORY MUSEUM