photo credit Northwood Park Historical Society

The vision of the Norwood Park Historical Society (NPHS) is to be “recognized as a leader, educator, advocate, and resource” in the community of Norwood Park that “values and preserves its historic character and is acknowledged as an area of historical importance to the city of Chicago and the region.” To reach out to older adults, the NPHS launched Voices of Norwood Park, a personal-history project designed to educate older adults about methods for recording their histories and for collecting written and oral histories of their lives and times in Norwood Park. 

Norwood Park is one of the oldest, most distinctive, and historically important neighborhoods in the Chicago metropolitan area. NPHS was formed in 1973 to preserve Norwood Park’s history and promote community awareness. The Society has transformed the oldest house in Chicago, which serves as its offices, into a multipurpose community center with a museum and a café. Its museum focuses on Chicago’s far-northwest side and has a growing collection of historical artifacts and research materials.

The Historical Society was created to advocate for the preservation of the unique character of Norwood Park, to include its historic architecture, open spaces, and streetscapes. The Society maintains archives related to Norwood Park, including its designation as a National Register historic district, and preserves the house as a community resource. The Society informs the community about the history of its members and local families, and is a resource for those seeking information about the community, its residents, businesses, and organizations. It also provides guidance on practices in historic preservation and restoration.

NPHS launched Voices of Norwood Park with an oral history and memoir-writing workshop co-sponsored by MatherLifeways, a Chicago organization whose purpose is to support myriad “ways to age well [i].” The workshop was led by experts from the Chicago History Museum and Loyola University. Voices encouraged older adults to share their histories with the community and the larger world through a variety of NPHS offerings, including publications, exhibits, presentations, website links, and intergenerational programs. Many who had lived in Norwood Park for decades showed great interest in Voices. Through Voices, older adults learned new skills, created personal histories for their own use, and contributed to recorded history. The program also gave older adults an opportunity to engage with new neighbors and discuss their memories of the neighborhood.   

Several long-time residents, whose oral histories would make important contributions to the project, volunteered to develop them and to collect them from others. Even more exciting to the Society, many of these volunteers were new, and were undertaking their first major project. To practice interviewing techniques, those who enlisted in Voices worked from a sample list of questions. They then received their oral history assignments and were encouraged to schedule their own interviews. Participants have been pleased with their work, as neighbors became reacquainted and talked about their recollections of the neighborhood’s past. The oral histories are invaluable to future Norwood Park residents, as they preserve many priceless memories.

Many models exist for gathering neighborhood histories. Voices is perhaps unique in that it is based on collaboration between two organizations, one dedicated to historic preservation, the other to enhancing the lives of older adults.  Both are committed to preserving the character and heritage of the neighborhood and to creating a livable community for all ages. The visitors to NPHS are the beneficiaries, as they experience the personal histories and insights of residents who have lived in Norwood Park for many years.

More information can be found on their site http://www.norwoodparkhistoricalsociety.org/