THE PFINGSTEN PHOTOS: ALBUM #2

Last week we saw the first online photo album of amateur, turn-of-the-twentieth-century, local guy, Fred Pfingsten. His intent was, with his camera, to take photos of his family and farm. The catalyst for the purchase could very well have been his wedding to Emma Rohlwing that took place on September 3, 1903.

Multiple photos were taken by Mr. Pfingsten on his wedding day. This is a continuation of those photos. The earlier blog post can be seen here.

The largest tent at the Pfingsten/Rohlwing wedding. (Photo credit to the Pfingsten family)

It seems this photo, likely taken by Fred Pfingsten near dusk, illuminates the interior, upper structure of the tent. The size of the tent is quite large and probably allowed for a wooden floor to be placed inside for the dancing and merrymaking that would follow. Notice the American flag that is hoisted on one of the poles of the tent. The dining, “Welcome” tent is likely to the right and a young girl stands in front of the tent. The trees in the background almost block the Pfingsten house that is barely visible by its roof line and chimney at the back of the photo.

The two tents at the Pfingsten/Rohlwing wedding. (Photo credit to the Pfingsten family)

Taken from more of a distance, with this photo Fred went beyond one of the farm fence lines and out into the field to capture a longer shot of the location of the wedding festivities. The large tent is to the left, and the dining “Welcome” tent is to the right. The Pfingsten house is in the background. We can just make out the chimney on the left side of the house.

Raising their steins to drink to the newly married couple. (Photo credit to the Pfingsten family)

This group of men, raising their steins to the young couple, don’t appear to be too happy. However, given the fact that holding a smile for an extended period while Fred staged the photo, it is not too surprising that most them look somber. Anyone’s mouth would likely relax from a smile into repose.

To a man, the partygoers are dressed in suits and hats. Even the young boy in front has on a wide-brimmed hat that he wears with his white shirt. One man has a watch chain on his vest and another holds a cigar. Some, as is the fashion today, have beards, while others are clean shaven.

It seems that the beer is dark in color and that they hired someone from the outside to dispense it. The gentleman in the upper left, who is wearing an apron, appears to be the “bartender.” There is a more blurred gentleman in an apron standing to the left of him who probably worked with him.

More curiously is the sign, tent or wagon that has the letters F. S W A. In doing some research, the only company that comes close is T.F. Swan of Elgin whose business, in an 1883 edition of Elgin Daily News, is listed as a type of dry goods store. Maybe by 1903 he had expanded into the line of canvas and tents?

Fred and Emma (Rohlwing) Pfingsten, sitting in the middle, are surrounded by their wedding party. [Photo credit to the Pfingsten family]

This photo of the wedding party was, also, likely arranged by Fred, before he took his place in a chair next to his bride and allowed someone else to “take” the photo. Four bridesmaids, four groomsmen and two flower girls make up the group.

Unfortunately, the wedding party is unidentified though, it is somewhat easy to recognize that two of the women and one of the girls have the same eyes as Emma. The ladies, second from the left and second from the right in the back row, and the young girl to the right of Fred are quite probably Emma’s sisters. She had a large number of siblings who she would have likely included in her wedding.

Fred had only sisters who survived to adulthood so the men standing around him were either cousins or friends. It is interesting to note that both Fred and Emma were the oldest children in their families, though other family members married before them.

Wedding attendees. [Photo credit to the Pfingsten family]

This is another one of the glass plate negative photos produced by the Conant students. We can’t be sure that the photo was taken at the Rohlwing/Pfingsten wedding but it seems somewhat likely based on the fact that the women’s dresses resemble, quite strongly, the dresses on the ladies in the photo above.

The young girls are in their white, Sunday best and the location appears to be the Pfingsten farm, judging by the trees in the background.

What makes this photo so unique and wonderful for its time is the casual posing of two of the couples who have definitely had a good day. Most other photos of the day were often staged in a photographer’s studio. Fred’s informal, unpretentious camera caught these marvelous moments right on his family’s farm. What a treasure.

Jane Rozek
Local History Librarian
Schaumburg Township District Library
jrozek@stdl.org

THE PFINGSTEN PHOTOS: ALBUM #1

Some time in the late 1800s or early 1900s, this young boy who was born in Schaumburg Township, would grow up and indulge himself by purchasing a camera. His name was Fred Pfingsten and his intent was to take photos of his family and farm. The catalyst for the purchase could, very well, have been his wedding to Emma Rohlwing that took place on September 3, 1903.

He most likely developed his photos on dry glass plate negatives. Oregon State University says “dry plate glass negatives were in common use between the 1880s and the late 1920s.” [Oregonstate.edu]

Imagine, though, the forethought that Mr. Pfingsten must have given to the purchase, considering that he “likely needed considerable chemical and technical knowledge, specialized darkroom materials and equipment, and a dedicated work space to develop [his] plates and print photographs.” [Texas State University]

Where in a farmhouse would Mr. Pfingsten have developed his photos? Chances are it was the basement, where he would have also been without electricity and heat. Even in remote Schaumburg Township where there was little ambient light, the basement was probably his first choice. Regardless of where he worked, it couldn’t have been an easy task to bring himself up to speed on the developing process.

While the library owns some of the Pfingsten photos outright, there are others that we were allowed to scan, compliments of the Pfingsten family. In addition, others were developed from some of the original glass plate negatives in 2012-2013 by students in the Conant High School Photography Club that was overseen by Linda Patino-Goergen.

These glass plate negatives were donated to Doug Flett of St. Peter Lutheran Church by Rev. Michael Pfingsten, a descendant of Fred Pfingsten. It was Mr. Flett’s diligence that caused him to seek out Conant High School. After the Photography Club finished their work with the negatives, they were then given to the library as the permanent repository.

Multiple photos were taken on the Pfingsten’s wedding day, which was a Thursday. In those days, most large weddings in the area took place on Thursdays. One of the reasons may have been that families did not want to interfere with church services that were held on the weekend.

Fred and Emma (Rohlwing) Pfingsten stand behind two of their flower girls outside of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Schaumburg. Reverend Gustaf Mueller stands on the right of Mr. Pfingsten. (Photo credit to the Pfingsten family)

While we can’t be one hundred percent sure that Mr. Pfingsten and his camera took these clearer photos, the fact that the above photo has a typed description at the bottom is a good indication that he did. It is likely Mr. Pfingsten staged the photos that he was a part of and then someone else, with his instructions, took the picture. This photo was taken outside of St. Peter Lutheran Church. Reverend Gustaf Mueller stands to the right of Mr. Pfingsten. He served as pastor of St. Peter’s from 1883 to 1905.

Horses and wagon that likely brought the newly married couple to the Pfingsten farm after the wedding. (Photo credit to the Schaumburg Township District Library)

This photo, taken on the Pfingsten farm (the barn, with its double cupolas, is distinctive) could have been taken either before the wedding or as the festivities began. It is most likely the former, based on three reasons. If Mr. Pfingsten was setting up the camera he would have had more time to do so before the wedding than after. Also, it would have been easier to gather the men and boys together in the wagon on the way to the church, rather than after they arrived back at the farm for the merrymaking. And, thirdly, the aprons on the men look crisp and snowy white. It is difficult to imagine that that pristine condition would have continued through the day and night of celebrating.

The “Welcome” tent at the reception on the Pfingsten farm. (Photo credit to the Pfingsten family)

This photo is one of those developed from the glass plate negatives that were donated to the library by the Pfingsten family. It is a virtual guarantee that Mr. Pfingsten took the photo himself, given the somewhat blurred image.

Through details gathered by the Conant students, family members stated that this was likely taken the day after the wedding. To a certain extent, we might dispute this fact, given the more stylish nature of the ladies’ dresses. It is difficult to imagine they would be cleaning up in such dressy dresses.

If it’s not the day after, it is possible it is the morning of the wedding. In either case, it must have been early in the morning given the tidy nature of the women’s clothing. We also have to assume that most of the people in the photo are part of the immediate Pfingsten family who were on the premises for the wedding or members of the Rohlwing family who came over to help.

The “Welcome” tent at the reception on the Pfingsten farm. (Photo credit to the Pfingsten family)

This is another photo taken outside of the Welcome tent at the wedding. It, too, has a typed description below the photo. With the blurred gentleman on the left, Fred Pfingsten likely took the photo.

It is unique in that we can see that this is one of the dining tents on the premises. Both men and women are sitting elbow to elbow around the table that is wide enough to accommodate two chairs at either end. Others are waiting to take their place, including young ladies who wore their best white dresses. These girls still wore their dresses at or slightly below their knees as it was not considered unseemly to show their legs. The men and boys all wore suits, with many of them also sporting hats.

The corner of another tent is in the upper right corner. Next week, we will see that tent as well as more photos of this famous wedding in Schaumburg Township.

And, thus begins a look at the photos planned, staged and developed by a man who clearly was interested in photography as a hobby. We are fortunate, as it is a look at every day occurrences in a Schaumburg Township world that is far removed from ours.

Jane Rozek
Local History Librarian
Schaumburg Township District Library
jrozek@stdl.org

LOST NEGATIVES AND HOW THEY WERE FOUND AGAIN

[When writing these blog postings I have a strict rule that they should all focus on the history of Schaumburg Township.  This week I’m making an exception because this neat story fell in my lap after a program at our library.  Because I am in charge of the Illinois Collection, I put together a year-long series of programs called “Chicagoland:  Read All About It.”  Christopher Lynch, one of the authors, shared this story with me and  I couldn’t resist telling you.]

In 2002 Christopher Lynch wrote a book called Chicago’s Midway Airport:  The First Seventy-Five Years.  Ten years later he published another book called When Hollywood Landed at Chicago’s Midway Airport.  The second book is largely the story of Mike Rotunno who was the Midway Airport photographer during the 1920s through the 1960s.  Because Midway was THE airport of the Chicago area during this time, it was the scene of arrivals and departures of many celebrities from the world of Hollywood.

When Mr. Rotunno was called on assignment to take photographs, he often brought his daughters, Mimi and Judy with him.  Not only did he take photos of the stars, but he also introduced them to his daughters.  As a result, the girls grew up thinking that Hollywood movie stars such as Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were their playmates.

Eventually, after a long tenure at Midway Airport, Mr. Rotunno moved on to a similar assignment at O’Hare in the early 1960s.  Somewhere, though, in the course of his career, part of his collection of negatives was lost.  The family did not know if they were misplaced, left behind or discarded.

One day, out of the blue, Mr. Lynch received a phone call from a family who lived in the home in Berwyn where the Rotunnos had resided years ago.  It seems that a box of negatives from the years 1933 to 1938 had been discovered, tucked away in the rafters of the garage.  Mr. Lynch contacted the sisters who were delighted to hear of the find.  Mimi traveled to the Chicago area and met with the family who graciously turned over the negatives. They were still intact, able to be developed–and hadn’t been seen in over 80 years.

As a result, through the generosity of the Rotunno Family Collection, we are able to bring you a few of the photos.  They are but 3 of 1200 negatives that were found in the box.  And what interesting finds they are!

I am grateful to Christopher Lynch and the Rotunno girls for their willingness to share the story.  Mike Rotunno was well aware of the fame of his photographic subjects and gave his daughters the marvelous opportunity to meet so many famous people.  And, because of their cooperation with Christopher Lynch, a family was able to track them down to return a box full of wonderful photos and memories.

Jane Rozek
Local History Librarian
Schaumburg Township District Library
jrozek@stdl.org

MR. THIEDE LEFT HIS MARK

One of the most iconic photos of early Schaumburg Township is this view of a new bridge  built over Salt Creek on East Schaumburg Road near today’s Spring Valley Nature Sanctuary.  With so many people in the photo and the relatively new Wilkening Creamery in the background, the photo provides an interesting display of local residents and their excitement over a new bridge that had to have made their lives much easier.

What is barely noticed in the photo is the photographer’s name in the lower portion of the picture–Thiede of Des Plaines.  Knowing that our library has a few photos by him, most of which are outside photos, I thought it might be a good idea to contact the Des Plaines History Center to see if they had his archive of photos.  Acquiring other Schaumburg Township photos for our collection would make for neat, unique items in our Digital Archive.   Unfortunately, in exchanging emails with them, I discovered that they have photos and postcards of their own taken by Thiede but do not have his collection.

In further discussion though, they mentioned that, interestingly enough, Mr. William Thiede is actually buried in the Immanuel United Church of Christ cemetery on Old Church Road in Streamwood.   Having just obtained their records on microfilm, that got me started in a whole new direction.

It seems that William Julius Thiede was born in Germany and moved to Hanover Township with his parents in 1880.  By 1891 he had married Ida (Mundhenke) Thiede in the above mentioned church.  They either lived nearby or had a real affinity for the church because their daughter, Alpha, was baptized in the same church in early 1892.

The 1900 census lists the family in Elk Grove Township where William was employed as a teacher for Cook County School District No. 63 and their only child is Clarence, born in 1894.   (Alpha died in 1899.)  Shortly after this they moved to Des Plaines and William established his first photo gallery on Ellinwood Street.  Later he purchased a tailor shop at 686 Lee Street and converted it to a photographic studio.

In 1910 the personal information in the census is the same except they were now living in Maine Township and William was an insurance agent.  According to information at the Des Plaines History Museum, he served as a representative for Prudential Insurance Company from 1909 until 1927.

Shortly after the 1910 census, another child, Evangeline, was born to them in 1911.  Unfortunately, she died in September of 1920.  It was the same year William sold his studio.  One can imagine he didn’t have much heart for photography work after his daughter’s death.  A stroke in 1925 caused him to retire from active life and he passed away at the age of 60 from the long term effects.  His wife, son and daughter-in-law were the only survivors.

Clarence died in 1963 leaving only his mother and wife.  Obituaries for the two ladies have not been found.  Because we know William and his daughter Evangeline are buried in the nearby cemetery, it is difficult to suppose that his wife is not also.  I have walked the rows and did not see a stone for the name Thiede.  It would be interesting to know the end of the story if anyone can supply it.

It is true that Mr. Thiede and his family may not have lived in Schaumburg Township but he most definitely left his mark.  A picture is, indeed, worth a thousand words.

[After reading this posting, Shari at the Des Plaines History Center did a little more digging.  She discovered that, on July 12, 1962, William, Alpha and Evangeline were all reinterred at the Town of Maine cemetery.  This was one year before Clarence died in July 1963 and two years before Ida died in May 1964.  Rose was buried there later.

According to the cemetery records the family is buried in the following locations:
William Thiede, Block 49, Lot 3, Grave 19
Ida Thiede, Block 49, Lot 3, Grave 18
Evangeline Thiede, Block 49, Lot 3, Grave 17
Alpha Thiede, Block 49, Lot 2, Grave 12
Clarence Thiede, Block 46, Lot 4, Grave 30
Rose Thiede (Clarence’s wife), Block 46, Lot 4, Grave 29

No wonder I couldn’t find them at the Immanuel United Church of Christ cemetery!]

(Many thanks to Shari with the Des Plaines History Center for providing me with so many details and for sharing my interest and enthusiasm in this topic.)

(The article is from the April 3, 1908 issue of the Cook County Herald.  Thank you to David Hammer for supplying it.)

Jane Rozek
Local History Librarian
Schaumburg Township District Library
jrozek@stdl.org