Photographs and other mementoes are being sought by the Norridge Village Museum to help tell the tale of what locals lovingly call the “Island within a City.”
This year marks several milestones in the village’s 68-year history and curator Richard Massaro wants to expand on the collection of the tiny museum that’s tucked away in the Estelle Sieb Senior Center on a quiet stretch of Irving Park Road.
Local fire officials are planning ways to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Norwood Park Fire Department in August, while Harlem Irving Plaza and the Norridge Park District will both celebrate their 60th anniversaries.
Massaro is asking residents to search for old photos, uniforms, trophies, badges, street signs or other symbols of local history, preferably from before 1965, to complement the collection of hundreds of newspaper articles gathered by the late Estelle Sieb to chronicle her husband Joe’s 47 years in public office. He was the second mayor of Norridge.
“The way I see it, I’m filling in gaps and I’m really looking for anything from pre-1965,” Massaro said. “It could be photos in attics or in the basement in boxes somewhere and most people who have them probably don’t even know it.”
Massaro, a retired Chicago sales rep who worked as a driver for a freight company during the latter part of his career, was tapped by Mayor James Chmura last October to take over as museum curator. The village’s original historian, Myron Petrakis, is now in his 90’s and retired from the museum several years ago. A group of residents, officiated by the village as the Norridge Historical Committee, has been keeping the museum going. Massaro said.
“Ideally, I’d like to put all the parts of our town’s history together into a traveling-type of display that can be taken to the schools, public events, and other places for the community to experience,” he said.
He’s particularly interested in securing items for organizations that have been overlooked through the years. The Holland Inkers of Norridge was a 1960’s-era baseball team rumored to include retired Chicago Cubs players Bob Anderson and John Felske. Massaro said he plans to sift through old newspaper articles to gather stats and photos for a display. Then there’s the Norridge Theatre Guild, an informal group of actors who performed in the 1970’s.
“We want pictures of anything we can find, especially photos of how Norridge looked before it was developed, athletic photos, or anything showing the schools,” Massaro said.
Dates and details of the anniversary events have yet to be set, but Ridgewood High School has launched its own special way to mark being the only high school in Norridge. Sociology classes are creating a timeline for the school.
“We had several 50-year class reunions recently, and started realizing that when the classes come back with 50-year energy, they also come back with photos, archives, and other memories we’d like to preserve,” said Carol Valentino-Barry, school spokesperson.
When the multi-year project is finished, Barry said the timeline will be posted on Illinois Digital Archives for public access.
Residents with items to contribute to the historical society can contact Massaro at 708-977-9408.
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
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