Mary Jane Neumann, 43, a board member with the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park and the current owner of Hemingway’s boyhood home, at 600 N. Kenilworth Ave., answered a few questions for the Oak Leaves June 29 about the village’s famous author and the foundation’s upcoming fundraiser.
Q: How long has the board been planning the Hemingway Alive in Oak Park event, happening July 23 at the Oak Park Public Library? What is the money being raised for?
A: We began discussing ideas for the event in August 2015, but full planning started in January 2016. We’re raising money to maintain the Hemingway birthplace home and for future foundation endeavors, including a new writing center annex behind the birthplace home. Ten percent of the benefit proceeds will go toward our inaugural Hemingway Foundation Scholarship Fund.
More Top Picks Best Portable Massage Tables
Q: Which aspect of the event are you most looking forward to?
A: I’m looking forward to celebrating our hometown hero with Hemingway fans from Chicagoland and beyond. Some exciting highlights of the night include access to the Hemingway Archives, the unveiling of architecture plans for the Writing Center, personalized short stories by author Franki Elliot, a Hemingway photo booth and availability of our first short story publication, Hemingway Shorts.
Q: Your family purchased Hemingway’s boyhood home in 2012. What’s surprised you most about living in the house?
A: I could not have anticipated how much the house would enrich our lives. It has been a pleasure working with the foundation and interacting with Hemingway scholars, fans and family members. Of course, it is great for our boys to grow up in a house with such a rich history.
Q: Why is it so important to preserve Hemingway’s history in Oak Park?
A: Oak Park is the town that shaped him. His love of writing and art were nurtured by his mother, and his love of the outdoors began with his father and trips to the forest near their home. He initially honed his writing and journalistic skills at Oak Park and River Forest High School, the last formal education he received.
Q: Favorite Hemingway novel?
A: I love the short stories. “The Nick Adams Stories” and the “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” are particular favorites because they transport me back to Michigan and Africa.
Caitlin Mullen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.