Joan Evanich once set out on a path toward a career in historic restorations.
But something occurred that shocked her adopted community of Winnetka–as well as the rest of the country–and struck close to home, causing Evanich to rethink her priorities.
Evanich’s two children, Sarah and Paul, were in Hubbard Woods Elementary School in May 1988 when a disturbed woman, Laurie Dann, went on a shooting spree there. Dann killed one child and injured five others before leaving the school, wounding a nearby resident and killing herself.
Evanich was expecting another child at the time, and having lost a child some years earlier, she decided against pursuing a full-time career in order to spend more time with her children.
But she never lost her passion for history and architecture and soon found other avenues for exploring those interests with the Winnetka Historical Society, where she has served as board president and, for three years, executive director.
During her time in a leadership position with the society, the organization has experienced one of the most dynamic–and, at times, controversial–periods of its 70-year existence. It recently acquired what may be the most significant addition to its collection and may move into its first permanent home sometime this year, although that move is stalled by a lawsuit.
The society is also enjoying broad community support, and many who are familiar with the organization credit Evanich’s energy and enthusiasm.
“When I was involved as president of the historical society it was just a very small group,” said Phil Hoza, who was president in the early 1980s and recently rejoined the board. “We did not have the dynamic organization that they have today. We were located in the basement of the library in a 20-by-20 room. I used to call it King Tut’s tomb because it was all there but you couldn’t see it.”
Society weathers difficulties
Hoza, who helped nominate Evanich for the Winnetka Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year Award she received in 2000, said Evanich and the current president, Nancy Judge, have helped draw a broad cross-section of the community into the organization and have been instrumental in keeping the organization together over a difficult two-year period, during which the society has been without a home.
Judge said the society began growing in 1988 when it opened its first museum, in the former Skokie School, but she agreed that in recent years the organization has kept a high profile, and Evanich has been instrumental in that effort.
“She does have a good public profile and that’s been very beneficial for us,” Judge said. “As executive director she is our representative in the community. She’s the face the public sees, and she’s very well regarded.”
Evanich was the eldest of three siblings growing up in West Allis, Wis., a suburb of Milwaukee. Sheattended the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee for three years, during which time she married childhood sweetheart Kevin Evanich, whom she had met in junior high school.
The couple moved to Evanston in 1976 when Kevin was accepted into Northwestern University Law School. Joan Evanich briefly attended what was then the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle Campus, but left to start a family. The couple lost their first child, Seth, to sudden infant death syndrome.
The Evaniches moved to Winnetka in 1982, and Joan Evanich returned to school in 1986, attending Mundelein College (now part of Loyola University Chicago). It was at Mundelein College that her interest in architecture, art and history intensified, and she received a bachelor’s degree in interior architecture.
A few years later she would have a chance to channel that interest into a hands-on project. In 1992 the family bought a 1910 Winnetka house designed by noted architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, whose work included the Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago and Market Square in Lake Forest. Joan Evanich began researching the house the following year as a prelude to an extensive, historically accurate restoration. That research led her to the Winnetka Historical Society, which kept records on local historic structures.
Leader drawn to society
Evanich knew she wanted to be part of the organization “as soon as I walked in the door” at the society’s home in the former school, she said.
“All the collection was there, and I walked in and it was just something that really piqued my interest,” Evanich said. “I’ve always been fascinated by history. And even though I wasn’t born here and my husband wasn’t born here, my children were born in this area and raised here, so it became fascinating for me to learn about the history of the town.”
She started doing volunteer work for the society and joined the board in 1993. At about that time she also joined the village’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, where she would serve for eight years.
“She was recommended as a person who would be good for the commission,” recalled Village Trustee Nan Greenough, who was commission chairwoman at the time. Greenough found Evanich had “an extraordinary sensitivity” for older homes and was a font of valuable knowledge because of her educational background and experience in restoring her home.
In 1994 Evanich was named the society’s museum chair, a position in which she worked directly on exhibits with the executive director. She was named president four years later and offered the job of executive director in early 2000.
The year 2000 was a challenging one for the society. Its museum in the former Skokie School of Winnetka Public Schools District 36 had received 18 awards, but the district needed the building back to accommodate rising enrollments. In March 2000 the museum was asked to move.
The society bought a Civil War-era house at 411 Linden St. in 2001. But within weeks of the society receiving a special-use permit from the village to convert the building into a museum, neighbors of the Linden Street house filed a lawsuit to prevent the move. They were concerned that it would set a precedent allowing institutional uses in residential areas, bringing an increase in traffic and hurting property values. The original suit was dismissed in April 2002, but another suit was filed and has not been resolved. A hearing is scheduled Feb. 20.
The society is proceeding with upgrades to bring the building up to code with hopes of moving in next year.
In 2001 the historical society took possession of the Schmidt-Burnham Log House after the death of Ann Hibbard Burnham Smith, the last member of the Burnham family to live in the house. Evanich was instrumental in negotiating an agreement with the Burnham family in 1998 to leave the cabin to the historical society.
Log cabin a new asset
Built in the 1830s, with a 1917 addition, it is the oldest log structure in Cook County. Its acquisition was something the historical society had been talking about since the 1940s, Evanich said.
Evanich has since enlisted the Winnetka Park District and the Winnetka school district to help turn the cabin into an educational asset. The Park District has agreed to provide land for the cabin in Crow Island Woods, alongside Crow Island School, and plans are to move the cabin there in the spring. Evanich also has been working with the school district to integrate the cabin into the curriculum.
Liza McElroy, Winnetka’s director of parks and recreation, said Evanich’s enthusiasm for the project proved contagious.
“We’re in a very landlocked community,” McElroy said. “Open space is at a premium, but this is something that would be really beneficial to the community. It comes out in the end as a win-win situation for the historical society, the Park District and the school district. It’s a great deal for the residents and her passion played a role in convincing the park district to go ahead with this.”
Julie Pfeffer, curriculum director in District 36, said teachers working with Evanich on curriculum development “are incredibly enthusiastic” about the project.
“She really is an expert on the history of the village and can really serve as a wonderful resource to all the teachers in the district,” Pfeffer said. “We had a group of four teachers come, and Joan walked us through the house and gave us little pieces of history. She made it very personal and very easy.”
Evanich’s role has led to other projects. Two years ago she worked on a video on Winnetka’s history, hosted by WGN’s Steve Sanders, which received an award in 2001 from the Illinois Association of Museums and another the following year from the American Association for State and Local History.
In 2001 she appeared on an HGTV (Home and Garden Television) program about Sheridan Road, and last year helped producers research Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, a Winnetka native, for an A&E Biography program.
Evanich still finds herself fascinated by the town’s history. She recognizes families around Winnetka and knows what contributions their forefathers made to the community, and she enjoys answering some of the puzzles about Winnetka, such as why all the railroad crossings are below grade. (The crossings were rebuilt in the early 1900s after a number of accidents that caused 31 deaths.)
The museum has about 20,000 items in its collection, including numerous items of historical clothing and a dental imprint made by Gen. Philip Sheridan. The collection is in storage in Skokie School and in a temporary office provided by the Winnetka Community House, and items are taken out for traveling exhibits.
One of Evanich’s greatest disappointments is that she can’t do more at present to share the town’s rich history with other residents.
“When you have access to the collection as I do, you really start to care about these people you’re reading about,” she said. “I have tangible things I can hold in my hand that they used, and you really start to develop a relationship with these people who no longer are alive. You can see their impact on the town in the buildings and the different organizations that they founded. And that’s just really interesting to me.”
Joan Evanich
Title: Executive director, Winnetka Historical Society.
Number of years in field: 9.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in interior architecture from Mundelein College.
Favorite accomplishment: “Acquisition of the Schmidt-Burnham Log House. It is the oldest in Cook County. I was very instrumental in negotiating with the family to make this happen.”
Biggest challenge: “To find a permanent home for the stories of Winnetka.”
Why is the work you do here of value? “I think you need to know about your past to know how things got the way they did and where you’re going.”