Latest news with #NaperSettlement
Chicago Tribune
06-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Rise of Kroehler Manufacturing Co. through innovative marketing explored in new Naper Settlement exhibit
Kroehler Manufacturing Co. was once a household name. Naper Settlement's newest exhibit explores just how the Naperville business marketed itself to eventually become at one time the world's largest furniture producer. 'Selling Kroehler' details the advertising strategies the company employed amid a changing consumer culture during the 20th century. The origins of Kroehler Manufacturing Co. date back more than 130 years ago, growing out of an entity called the Naperville Lounge Factory that was founded in 1893. The company name was later updated to reflect the ownership of longtime President Peter Kroehler, who was instrumental in building it into a nationally known business. At its peak, Kroehler had about 8,000 employees. Between the 1940s and 1960s, annual sales climbed from $20 million to more than $100 million before its demise in 1981. Because of the company's local roots, Naper Settlement has collected a large assortment of Kroehler materials, according to Jeanne Schultz Angel, the history museum's associate vice president of humanities. A couple of years ago it was decided they would use them to curate an exhibit and they began thinking about what kind of story they wanted to tell, Schultz Angel said. As chief curator Christine McNulty and curator of history Andrea Field looked at materials on hand, there 'was a story that was sort of bubbling up wanting to be told and that was the story of marketing,' Schultz Angel said. 'Of how innovative Peter Kroehler and the company were in marketing their furniture.' From there, the story evolved into how Kroehler's strategies related to broader American history and consumer habits at the time, she said. In the decades following the Civil War, the United States emerged as an industrial giant, according to an overview of the rise of industrial America from the Library of Congress. Following World War II, a post-war economic boom brought about higher wages that in turn fueled a new consumer culture, per a 2022 article from the National World War II Museum. 'That's what we found really, really interesting. … In the midst of all of this, we have our example of Kroehler Manufacturing,' Schultz Angel said. The exhibit, stretching across three rooms in the Pre-Emption House buiding, is a compilation of advertising materials, descriptive text, interactive elements and of course, furniture displays. One part highlights classroom kits that Kroehler's 'Consumer Education Department' sold to schools to make furniture buying part of home economic courses. Another looks at how Kroehler conducted a motivational survey on furniture buying to better understand consumer behavior. Asked what she hopes visitors take away from the exhibit, Schultz Angel said, 'For marketing and consumer culture, how we purchase things today … the world is sort of the manufacturer now, not just localized areas, right? And I think as much as (habits) change, there's still these things that we remind ourselves of.' 'Selling Kroehler' will be on view through December.
Chicago Tribune
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Forest preserve, park districts urging responsible trail use
The forest preserve districts of DuPage, Kane and Will counties, McHenry County Conservation District and the Fox Valley and Naperville park districts are teaming up to promote responsible trail use. The initiative is taking place in May, which is National Bike Month, a news release from the DuPage County Forest Preserve District said. Trail safety, rider etiquette and understanding electric bicycle classifications and regulations are among the topics being addressed in the campaign. Participating agencies will distribute pocket-sized handouts with trail safety guidelines and e-bike regulations, the news release said. The campaign will also include social media posts and trail-side signs. Participating agencies are working to align their ordinances to improve consistency, the release said. Under current forest preserve and park district regulations, only Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes are allowed on trails. Class 3 bikes, which have a motor that can travel up to 28 mph, are not permitted. All e-bikes must have a label that indicates the bike's class and top assisted speed, the release said. Kentucky Derby-themed concert planned Singer-songwriter Rick Pickren will perform a free Kentucky Derby-themed concert at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30, at the St. Charles Public Library, 1 S. Sixth Ave. in St. Charles. Pickren has performed his music and history programs at hundreds of museums, libraries, historical societies, colleges and churches, library officials said. To register for the concert, call 630-584-0076 or go to Kane Forest District offers free wood chips The Forest Preserve District of Kane County is offering free wood chips to the public on Sunday, May 4. Wood chips will be available for pick-up from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 4 at Burnidge Forest Preserve in Elgin and Big Rock Forest Preserve in Big Rock. Forest Preserve District staff will be on hand to help load chips with a tractor at both sites, according to a press release from the district. Non-district machinery to load is not permitted. Residents should bring their own shovels and containers, officials said. The public is welcome to take as many wood chips as they can haul away, while supplies last, according to the release. The chips are from hardwood trees removed throughout Kane County because of storm damage or clearing efforts, district officials said. Burnidge Forest Preserve is at 14N035 Coombs Road in Elgin. Big Rock Forest Preserve is at 46W072 Jericho Road in Big Rock. Signs within both preserves will direct people to the wood chip pile location, according to the release. For more information, call the Forest Preserve District of Kane County at 630-232-5980, go to or find the district on social media by searching @forestpreserve. Naper Settlement opens new 'Farm Forward' exhibit Naper Settlement's newest exhibit, 'Farm Forward,' explores the Illinois agriculture industry through the lens of local photographer Jeffrey Ross. Ross serves on the board of the Chicago chapter of the National Agri-Marketing Association and travels all over the country for various farm and agriculture marketing assignments. The exhibit is located inside the Mary and Richard Benck Family Agriculture Center on the settlement's campus, 523 S. Webster St. in Naperville, and is included in the museum's general admission. Illinois had 72,000 farms that span 27 million acres or about three-quarters of the state as of 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agriculture Statistics Service. About 89% of the state's cropland is considered prime farmland, according to exhibit information on the settlement's website. The exhibit captures some of the industry's innovative practices and includes rarely seen images to the everyday consumer, the website said.
Chicago Tribune
18-04-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Naperville News Digest: Applications due May 21 for Naperville Police Youth Academy; Naper Settlement opening new ‘Farm Forward' exhibit
D203 board voting on new sked, but actual hours decision delayed The Naperville District 203 School Board is to vote Monday on a plan to move its Innovative School Experience forward, but a decision on school day hours and block scheduling won't be made till June. In a video message this week, Superintendent Dan Bridges said the board and administrators have been listening to the feedback from the staff, families and community. There has been a lot of negativity publicly about the proposal, he said, but others have expressed their support privately. The Innovative School Experience is the formal name for a proposal to switch to a block schedule format for middle and high schools and adjust the start and end times for all students in elementary, middle and high school. Since the plan was unveiled in January, the board has heard from parents, teachers and students who have opposed the proposal. The administration will ask the board Monday to consider approving the plan's implementation goal of the 2026-27 school year while continuing to seek feedback from the community. This would include hosting staff meetings to increase understanding and address concerns, Bridges said. Design teams would look at topics within the proposal such as advisory design, band, chorus and orchestra, a developmental play focus group for kindergarten, middle school zero hour and others, Bridges said. Board members also will be asked to create a start-and-end time committee to review the proposed recommendations and consider additional options that will be brought forward to the board for approval in June, he said. The start and end times that are currently on the table shift elementary hours which now run from 8:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Middle school hours, which are now 8 a.m. to 2:50 p.m., are proposed to be 8:50 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. High school would start at 8:20 a.m. instead of 7:45 a.m., and still end at 3:10 p.m., under the current proposal. Naper Settlement opening new 'Farm Forward' exhibit Naper Settlement's newest exhibit, 'Farm Forward,' explores the Illinois agriculture industry through the lens of local photographer Jeffrey Ross. Ross serves on the board of the Chicago chapter of the National Agri-Marketing Association and travels all over the country for various farm and agriculture marketing assignments. The exhibit is located inside the Mary and Richard Benck Family Agriculture Center on the settlement's campus, 523 S. Webster St., and is included in the museum's general admission. Illinois had 72,000 farms that span 27 million acres or about three-quarters of the state as of 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agriculture Statistics Service. About 89% of the state's cropland is considered prime farmland, according to exhibit information on the settlement's website. The exhibit captures some of the industry's innovative practices and includes rarely seen images to the everyday consumer, the website said. For more information, go to Naperville Woman's Club sets dates for fine art fair in June This year's 65th annual Fine Art and Artisan Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 28-29 by the Naperville Woman's Club at Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville. Featuring the work of more than 100 artists from around the country, the free event will feature a variety of mediums, including ceramics, glass, metal, photography, painting, sculpture and more, an event news release said. Local musicians will perform, and food and adult beverages available for purchase. The event also includes several art-oriented interactive experiences geared for families, the release said. As in past years, the club will select an exhibitor's painting to be reproduced into an 8-by-12-foot mural. Visitors who duplicate a small portion of the mural will have their work stapled to a wood frame to create the larger work of art, the release said. A children's area will include face painting, yard games and sculpting clay
Chicago Tribune
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
'70s hit-maker War to perform July 19 at Naperville's Naper Settlement
Naper Settlement's 2025 Naper Nights concert series will include a July 19 performance by the band War, famous for such 1970s hits as 'Spill the Wine,' 'Low Rider' and 'The Cisco Kid.' Founded in 1969 in Long Beach, California, the R&B/funk band is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its 1975 multiplatinum-selling album, 'Why Can't We Be Friends.' Lead singer/keyboardist Lonnie Jordan is the only original member in the current lineup. Tickets are $35 through May 12, increasing to $40 on May 13, a settlement news release said. Children's tickets are $15. 'We're thrilled to welcome War to Naper Settlement on July 19, one of music's defining and most enduring soul and funk groups,' Adison Glick, a special events senior leader, said in a statement. The Naper Nights concerts are held monthly throughout the summer and mostly feature tribute bands performing the music of well-known pop, rock and country acts, the release said. This year shows are scheduled for 5 to 10 p.m. June 20-21, July 18-19 and Aug. 15-16. The lineup is: June 20: Sun Stereo, a Flaming Lips tribute band, and Nothing's Shocking, a Jane's Addiction tribute band. June 21: Tennessee Whiskey, a Chris Stapleton tribute band, and WailOn, a Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings tribute band. July 18: Morning View, an Incubus tribute band, and Android Paranoid, a Radiohead tribute band. July 19: Rico!, a Santana tribute band, and War. Aug. 15: Cream Cheese Accident, a String Cheese Incident tribute band, and Bears Gone Phishin', a Widespread Panic tribute. Aug. 16: Great American Taxi and Wilclone, a Wilco tribute. In addition to the musical performances, Naper Nights features local food and beverages and a children's activity area.
Chicago Tribune
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Naperville News Digest: Will County Forest Preserve District holding two local events; Naper Nights lineup announcement, tix on Record Store Day
Will County Forest Preserve District holding two local events Local events at which residents can check out wildflowers or view a historic farmstead are being held next week by the Forest Preserve District of Will County. From 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 17, residents can take a guided hike to find wildflowers at the Hidden Oaks Nature Center, 419 Trout Farm Road, Bolingbrook. The flowers along the hike include trout lily and Dutchman's breeches, a district news release said. The free hike is open to anyone 10 or older. Register by April 16 at Two days later, the district will offer a tour of the Riverview Farmstead Preserve, located on Book Road, just south of Hassert Boulevard in Naperville. The free tour is led by a naturalist from 10:30 a.m. to noon and 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 19. It is a chance to explore the Clow family's 19th century farmstead and listen to stories of farm life, the district release said. Open to anyone 12 or older, the tour registration deadline is April 17 at Naper Nights lineup announcement, tix on Record Store Day Naper Settlement will announce its summer Naper Nights concert lineup in a promotional event with five local record stores on Saturday, April 12, which is Record Store Day. The concert series will feature a new lineup of tribute performances and one nationally known band with several hits from the 1970s, officials announced. Concert dates are June 20-21, July 18-19 and Aug. 15-16. To celebrate the national act coming to Naperville, the settlement has partnered with local record stores, including Purple Dog Records in Naperville, to give away free tickets. Other participating record stores are Crooked Arm Vinyl & Tap in Lisle, Kiss the Sky in Batavia and Left 'Round Records and Paul Rose Records & Boutique, both in Plainfield. Each store will have five pairs of tickets to give away. Special Naper Nights giveaway records will be hidden inside the stores near the albums that correspond to the concert lineup, officials said. If the record is found, it can be turned in for two free tickets to one of the shows. To take part in the promotional event, follow Naper Settlement on social media. The settlement will post hints and trivia about the upcoming lineup leading up to Saturday, when tickets will go on sale at 5 p.m. For more information, go to COD to present free OD recognition, Narcan training The College of DuPage will host a free Narcan training program from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, in the Health and Science Center on its main campus, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. Participants can learn how to recognize an opioid overdose and how to administer Narcan, or Naloxone, which is used to reverse an opioid overdose in an emergency, a college news release said. As part of the free session, which is open to anyone 18 or older, participants will receive a free Narcan kit. The training is offered in collaboration with the DuPage County Health Department and the College of DuPage Continuing Education.
