In 1888, a village 12 miles northwest of downtown Chicago was incorporated as Niles Centre. This swampy land was eventually renamed “Skokie” in 1940. Skokie means “big swamp” in the language of the area’s former inhabitants, the Potawatomi tribe. After World War II, Skokie’s population boomed, explaining why a large percentage of its homes were…
Tag: Skokie
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in Skokie
Unlike many briefly popular seasonal stories, Rudolph’s fame grows and spreads each year. The rudy-schnozzed animal is more popular in Canada than in this country (if that be possible). And he is going abroad, too. England and Australia are taking the shy little critter to heart, and any day now, Rudolph will be speaking Spanish…
Dr. Korczak Terrace in Skokie
Although this post is not about a specific museum or library, it is about how I used a museum and library to gain more insight into the history of a street name. Skokie, a suburb just north of Chicago, used to have one of the largest Holocaust survivor populations per capita: approximately 7,000 people in…
Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
In 2009, the third largest Holocaust museum in the world opened up in Skokie, Illinois. The two largest museums are Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C., respectively. Why Skokie, you might ask? Skokie used to have one of the largest Holocaust survivor populations in the world. Whereas…
Bet Arkeh 