Austin Manlove Zimmerman, Jr. (1909-1991) oral history: Wilmette Public Library Local History Collection

Austin Manlove Zimmerman, Jr. (1909-1991) oral history

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Austin Zimmerman, Jr. 

AZ: When it was suggested that I try to record some of my early recollections of Wilmette, I went back to the first memory I have of moving to Wilmette. We lived at the corner of 10th and Linden on the south east corner. There are now three houses on that property, but the original house, I believe, is still there. Grandfather and Grandmother Zimmerman lived with us, and Grandfather Zimmerman was the reader at the Christian Science Church at the corner of Central and 10th. And I went to kindergarten at the school at the corner of 10th and Central. The people next door to the east of us raised poodles, and I raised chickens. There was constant warfare between the two. Her poodles didn't like my chickens, and my chickens didn't like her poodles. And I hated both! The Catholic school and church were a block east of us at the corner of Linden and 9th. We lived at Linden and 10th for about two years. 

Y: What year was it? 

AZ: About 1912, I believe, is when we first moved to Wilmette. And it was early in 1914, the spring of 1914, that we moved to 219 6th Street, and at that time, my recollection of it is the entire yard was a garden. There are still remnants of the garden in front, a rock garden, and I'm sure I risked my neck, and broken legs, a thousand times a year trying to walk on those rocks, and jumping along them to pick lilies of the 

Austin Zimmerman, Jr. cont. 2 

AZ: valley and violets., which soon took over the entire area. The back yard now is much diminished in size, because the barn used to run north to south, and on the north side of the house was the driveway. You entered through two wrought iron gates and went down the driveway into the barn where the carriage was kept. And to the south of the carriage was where the horses were kept, and the hay was kept in the loft above. There were mangers and two horse stalls in the barn. The barn was far enough from the north line so that we had an opportunity to build a chicken coop, and I kept chickens, and I kept pigeons and rabbits. I used to raise the chickens from the egg to the dinner table, and the pigeons from the egg to the dinner table. Because in those days you could get two dollars and a half for a brace, that is two dressed squab, and I made at least five dollars a week out of squabs, and I know that many men in those days weren't getting paid five dollars a week.

Creators:

Zimmerman, Austin Manlove, Jr., 1909-1991, Interviewee

Young, Jean S.

, Interviewer

Media Type:

Audio

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Text

Item Type:

Audiocassettes

Description:

Interviewee: Austin Zimmerman, Jr.
Interviewer: Jean Young
Date of interview: Fall, 1975
Move to Wilmette, 1912 --Description and locale of homes
Raising squabs
Cooking methods
Population- Wilmette
Gross Point — truck gardens --So. Water Street Market
Milkmen, icemen and organ grinders, street lamp lighter and street lamps
Early Northwestern trains
Drug store — groceries — sports
School
Memorial Day
Houses in area
Tornado damage
Swimming — Gage’s Pier --Gage mansion — Casino
Original Northwestern/North Shore Golf Course
Northwestern Stadium
Stolp School
Maxwell — auto’s versus horse and carriage — 1920
“Chick Sales” vs. indoor plumbing
New Trier - Carnegie Library
Neighbors - Packard 26 Roadster
Trips to dunes — Ravinia
World War I - Liberty Bond sales - Zeigfield Follies
Bowman Dairy, ice house, ice boxes
Schooling — sports - Chuck Lauer
Evanston Hospital

Place of Publication:

Wilmette, Illinois

Date of Original:

1975

Subject(s):

Oral histories
Zimmerman, Austin Manlove, Jr., 1909-1991

Local identifier:

R977.31 ZI

Language of Item:

English

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