Michael Ebner on Glencoe: The story and the podcast

On December 6, Michael H Ebner, emeritus history professor at Lake Forest College gave a very enlightening and lively lecture about the history of Glencoe. This lecture was part of the Glencoe Public Library’s Centennial program. Professor Ebner made mention of the library’s excellent Centennial web site that includes a history of the library, a library timeline, a history of Glencoe, 100 years of literature (a decade-by-decade account of selected authors written and read during the period) and an interactive touring guide to Glencoe.  And it’s downloadable on iTunes.

But Ebner’s story begins well before iTunes and driving tours. Ebner places the founding of Glencoe at around 1835 with the arrival Lisa and Anson Taylor from Chicago, the first non-Potawatomi residents.  They founded Taylorsport and built a hostel which catered to travelers on the post road going west, as well as the port on Lake Michigan.

Ebner began his lecture with a reference to The Great Good Place, a book written by Ray Oldenburg. Oldenburg makes the case that “bars, coffee shops, general stores, and other ‘third places’ (in contrast to the first and second places of home and work), are central to local democracy and community vitality.” By providing  book discussion, lectures, children’s programming and classes, the Glencoe library assumes in Ebner’s words, “an enduring role within the fabric of local history.”

I had intended to tape Ebner’s lecture so that I could take better notes than usual.

However, after listening to his presentation, I asked Professor Ebner if I could create a podcast from the material. So what follows is an abridged version of Ebner’s lecture, which roughly covers the years 1835 through 1899.

For more information on Glencoe and other North Shore communities, we suggest reading  Michael Ebner’s book Creating Chicago’s North Shore, a Suburban History In this book, he “explains the origins and evolution of the North Shore as a distinctive region. At the same time, he tells the paradoxical story of how these suburbs, with their common heritage, mutual values, and shared aspirations, still preserve their distinctly separate identities. Embedded in this history are important lessons about the uneasy development of the American metropolis.”

I really like the idea of “Great Good Places” and welcome any story suggestions about a “Great Good Place” that you would like to feature on our site.

Here’s the podcast. Hope you enjoy it.

Michael Ebner: A short history of Glencoe from Ageless NorthShore on Vimeo.