After roughly 12 years as a successful historical author, lecturer and performer, Leslie Goddard has learned what to look for when it comes to choosing subjects for her books and talks and one-woman shows.
More Top Picks Best Multivitamins For Women Over 60
“My primary consideration is always the audience,” said Goddard, who will present her “Remembering Marshall Fields at Christmas” lecture Nov. 27 at the Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg. “It has to be a story that will grab people, that will inspire them, and give them a new perspective on history. But there also has to be a sweet spot that allows for my own personal interest. I’ve found that the stories I don’t feel personally connected to don’t work as well.”
Which is why, back in 2006, when she discovered there were no good histories of Marshall Fields in print, Goddard decided to create an illustrated lecture on the great Chicago store. Then she wrote a book about it for Arcadia Publishing, and then developed an equally popular lecture about the Fields Christmas experience.
Goddard knew the history of Marshall Fields was a great Chicago story. Even better, it was a story that involved a strong family connection. Her grandfather was a buyer for Marshall Fields’ linen department from the late ’30s to the mid ’60s. Her mother and father and aunts and uncles all worked at Fields for a time. And she herself worked in the Fields Oakbrook store for a year.
Goddard has known that history is her calling since childhood, when she’d visit historical settings ranging from Graue Mill in Oak Brook to the Ringling Brothers mansion in Sarasota, Fla., and basically “want to move in and live there.” Later, she earned a Ph.D in history from Northwestern in addition to a master’s degree in museum studies and a master’s degree in theater, and worked as an educator at the Evanston Historical Society, the Elmhurst History Museum and Graue Mill.
Around 12 years ago, Goddard began branching out with lectures and one-woman shows on historical subjects that interested her, adding more and more and becoming busier and busier until she finally decided, four years ago, to devote herself full time to the pursuit.
In addition to Marshall Fields, Goddard’s lecture subjects include “Chicago’s Sweet Candy History,” “Gone with the Wind: The Making of a Legend,” and “Christmas Traditions at the White House.” She also performs roughly 10 one-woman shows including “Amelia Earhart,” “Eleanor Roosevelt,” “Titanic Survivor Violet Jessop” and “Civil War Nurse Clara Barton” — and she’s currently at work on a portrayal of “Hamilton’s Women” (his wife Elizabeth and her sisters Angelica and Peggy).
Looking back, Goddard sees that a separate lecture on Marshall Fields at Christmas was probably inevitable.
“People were asking about it so much,” said Goddard, who illustrates the lecture with more than 70 photographs and numerous artifacts including Fields Christmas boxes and catalogs. “And that’s understandable, because for so many people that was the time when the store had the most impact on their lives. It was a special occasion, going to Fields at Christmastime to see the Christmas windows, to eat in the Walnut Room and see the Christmas tree, to see Santa Claus in Cozy Cloud cottage.
“I meet women who take their kids to the Walnut Room, even now, when it’s owned by Macy’s, because their mothers and their grandmothers and their great-grandmothers went every Christmas. There aren’t many traditions that go back that far.”
Goddard added that she’s constantly impressed by how strongly people react to this lecture.
“The memories people have of this store, especially at Christmas time, are just really happy,” she said. “I think there’s something really wonderful for them about remembering the feeling of seeing Santa Claus there, for example.
“Somebody said to me once, ‘You know, everybody knew that all the other Santa Clauses on State Street were just helpers. The real Santa Claus was always the one at Marshall Fields.'”
‘Remembering Marshall Fields at Christmas’ lecture
When: 4 p.m. Nov. 27
Where: Prairie Center for the Arts, 201 Schaumburg Court, Schaumburg.
Tickets: $10.
Contact: 847-895-3600; www.villageofschaumburg.com