Naperville Sun – Page 11

While the playing of high school football dates back to the early 1870s in the eastern part of the United States, the first interscholastic game in Illinois didn't take place until Nov. 1, 1879, when Evanston High School defeated Northwestern Academy, according to a history of the game on the Illinois High School Association website. As this 1915 photo taken by prolific Naperville photographer Charles Koretke shows, it was clear our city — with just 3,449 residents, according to the 1910 U.S. Census — had fully embraced the game as evidenced by Naperville High School's full roster of players. It's hard not to cringe at their cursory nod to head protection and other protective gear but presumably the sport was not nearly as roughly played as it is today. (Naperville Heritage Society)

The Way We Were: Football in Naperville already a big thing 110 years ago

October 3, 2025 at 1:00 p.m.

A 1915 photo of the Naperville High School football team shows just how much the game as changed in the intervening years.

With the kids at one table and the adults at another, this photo of dinner at Grandpa Stark's house could have been taken today were it not for the boys being attired in suits, the girls wearing giant bows in their hair, and the old-fashioned coffee pots and light fixtures that can be seen. According to previously published information, grandpa was Jacob Stark and this photo was taken at a Thanksgiving dinner in 1901 at his home at 15 N. Brainard St. in what is now known as the Naperville Historic District. (Naperville Heritage Society)

The Way We Were: Celebrating Thanksgiving at Grandpa Stark’s Naperville house in 1901

September 26, 2025 at 12:44 p.m.

Were it not for the kids' attire and the old-fashioned decorations, this Thanksgiving photo could be modern and not from 1901.

Cyclists using the same paths or sidewalks as walkers need to communicate so they don't scare or hit a pedestrian when coming from behind. (Forest Preserve District of Will County)

Letters to the Editor: Bikers need to communicate with walkers when sharing path

September 26, 2025 at 12:09 p.m.

Letters to the editor submitted to the Naperville Sun.

Crews work to pull a vehicle out of Lake Osborne, behind the Naperville fire and police headquarters, after it was discovered during a Naperville Fire Department training exercise on Sept. 25, 2025. (Carolyn Stein/Naperville Sun)

Human remains, possibly those of missing Berwyn man, found in submerged car in Naperville

September 26, 2025 at 2:07 p.m.

Human remains have been found inside a vehicle discovered Thursday in Lake Osborne, just behind the Naperville police and fire department headquarters, officials said.

Apparently walking advertisements were a thing long before it ever dawned on someone to climb into hot dog costume to sell red hots. This undated cabinet photo of Mary "Mamie" Naper Webster shows her bodice and skirt adorned with musical instruments and advertisements to publicize S.M. Schaefle, a Naperville store that sold sewing machines and musical merchandise. (Naperville Heritage Society)

The Way We Were: If you want to sell musical instruments, why not try wearing them?

September 18, 2025 at 7:57 p.m.

An undated photo of Mary Naper Webster shows the young woman covered in musical instruments to advertise a Naperville business.

Letters to the Editor: Politics can’t be separated from celebration for Hispanics

September 18, 2025 at 6:52 p.m.

Letters to the editor submitted to the Naperville Sun.

Homeless man charged with committing six business burglaries in Naperville

September 17, 2025 at 10:38 a.m.

A homeless man has been charged with burglarizing four Naperville businesses — two of them twice — over a seven-week span, officials said.

What a different world it was in Naperville back in the 1890s. This is a view of downtown looking east from what was Naper Academy, located at Eagle Street and Van Buren Avenue, according to the Naperville Heritage Society, which has this photo in its archives. With clothes hanging in the breeze to dry and barns in so many back yards, Naperville really was a small farm community more than 130 years ago. The idea that it would one day not only be a Chicago suburb but the third largest city in the state would have been an inconceivable thought to the denizens back then. (Naperville Heritage Society)

The Way We Were: Naperville really was a small farm town back in the 1890s

September 12, 2025 at 9:30 a.m.

This photo offers a view of downtown Naperville looking east from what was Naper Academy at Eagle Street and Van Buren Avenue.

It's hard not to look at this photo and ask, why so glum? But as has been noted before, smiling in photographs was not something people did much of back in the day. This was taken on July 4, 1892, and captures a group attending a holiday picnic at Burlington Park in Naperville. A handwritten note that accompanies it indicates that W.G. Knoch, third from left, married Adolphine Boecker, fourth from right, and their son, Winfred "Win" George Knoch, would go on to be appointed a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, a job he held until his death in 1983. Three years before he died, he and his wife donated 13 acres of farmland to the Naperville Park District, the start of what we now know as Knoch Knolls Park. (Naperville Heritage Society)

The Way We Were: Serious faces bely what was likely a fun July 4 picnic in Naperville

September 4, 2025 at 1:56 p.m.

Photo from 1892 captures Naperville July 4 picnic-goers, two of whom have a big connection to Knoch Knolls Park.

Letters to the Editor: Women still fighting for equality, as D203 situation demonstrates; negotiating new deal with IMEA is the right way to go

August 29, 2025 at 7:45 a.m.

Letters to the editor submitted to the Naperville Sun.

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