Great Midwest Foodways: Learning Tour to DeKalb, IL, 11/15

Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance

Learning Tour


You Are What You Eat:
Cookbooks as Ingredients to Shape Identity and Community

Danielle Spalenka, Curator
November 15, 2014

Regional History Center
Founders Memorial Library, Room 400
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115

(Plus visits to DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association and Egyptian Theater)
$12. (not including food)

Printer friendly information


We will visit the Regional History Center, which has a display of historical cookbooks, recipes, and ephemera from its collection for its exhibit: “You Are What You Eat: Cookbooks as ingredients to shape identity and community.” Cookbooks and recipes often reveal more than just a list of ingredients. Ethnic recipes help preserve a cultural heritage and demonstrate different cultures that exist in an area. Passing along a favorite family recipe helps keep the memory of family members alive. This exhibit explores how cookbooks have created a sense of identity in the northern Illinois region. This exhibit, which is being curated in conjunction with American Archives Month and the 50th anniversary of the University Archives, will be on display through November 15th.

Curator Danielle Spalenka will offer an introduction to the Regional History Center and the purpose behind the exhibit, followed by a narrative of their display, then a behind-the-scenes tour of their collections storage area with additional cookbooks out on display.

Danielle Spalenka is the Curator of Manuscripts for the Regional History Center at Northern Illinois University. She is responsible for collections management and preservation for the Center’s 330+ collections from the 18 northern-most counties of Illinois (excluding Cook). She has a BA in History from Saint Mary’s College (IN) and an MA in Library and Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before joining the Regional History Center in July, 2013, Danielle served as a project archivist at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum preserving manuscript and film collections and as a reference archivist at the Wisconsin Historical Society.

The NIU University Archives was established in September 1964 with the appointment of J. Joseph Bauxer as the University Archivist. In just a few years it expanded to become a depository for state local records (now called Illinois Regional Archives Depository). In 1979, through a grant through the National Endowment for the Humanities and with the support from the University Libraries and the History Department, the Regional History Center was established to collect the most significant historical records of the northern Illinois Region.

Do you have a community cookbook or recipes from the northern Illinois region you would like preserved for future generations? Consider donating it to the Regional History Center.

Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance is dedicated to celebrating, exploring and preserving unique food traditions and their cultural contexts in the American Midwest. By hosting public events, developing archival resources and generating publications, the GMFA uncovers the distinctiveness of a region that is as varied in tastes and traditions as it is in its geography from the Great Lakes to the Great Plains . Whether indigenous foods like Wisconsin cranberries and Minnesota walleye, iconographic flavors like the wheat and corn from across the prairies, immigrant cuisines from early Europeans to 21st century newcomers, or fish boils and fine dining in small towns and big cities, the Greater Midwest Foodways promotes and chronicles the diversity of the region’s culinary character.

Reservation made by email at GreaterMidwestFoodways@gmail.com with your name and number of reservations. Mail check to: Greater Midwest Foodways, 280 Laurel Ave, Highland Park, IL 60035

Transportation is not provided, though we will help pair people to share rides or collect them at the Metra station in Elburn, IL. We will introduce people offering rides to those who advise they need them.



Itinerary
(Subject to change)


Saturday, November 15th
11:00 am —Regional History Center at Northern Illinois University
Founders Memorial Library, room 400
(See road directions below)


1:00 pm —Lunch at: Tom & Jerry's, 215 W Lincoln Hwy Dekalb IL 60115, 815-758-1675 http://www.tomandjerrysdekalb.com (pork tenderloin sandwiches, gyros)

2:00 pm —DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association
111 South Second Street, Suite 204, DeKalb, IL 60115, 815-756-8737

On exhibit:
1. McCormick v. Manny: The Reaper Trial of the Century - covers the story of two reaper inventors and their court battle over manufacturing rights.
2. The Gunn Behind the Hybrid - a photographic, biographical exhibit of Charlie Gunn, a corn hybridizer 1917 - 1970s. The exhibit follows Charlie Gunn's developments with hybrid corn.
3. A photographic exhibit of local barns


3:00 pm — Egyptian Theater
135 North Second Street; DeKalb, Illinois 60115 (815) 758-1215 egyptiantheatre.org

Tours of the Egyptian Theatre last approximately one hour. From this walking tour (with many stairs), we will learn the theater’s history and architectural significance.


Afterwards —Lothson's Karry Out, 644 E Lincoln Hwy. DeKalb, IL. 60115, 815 756-4303
Fried chicken eaten al fresco on the car’s trunk. (opens at 4:30 pm)

OR Pizza Villa, 824 W. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb, IL. 60115, 815 758-8116
http://www.pizzavilla.com - Thin & Crisp Crust, cheese & sausage with a sausage oil sheen and beer nuggets. (opens at 4:00 pm)

OR Sorrento’s, 50W187 Rt. 64, Maple Park, IL 60151, 815-895-5466
http://www.sorrentosranch.com Prime Rib - Supper Club atmosphere (opens at 3:00 pm)


If you wish to bring locally produced sausage home, bring your cooler to stop in at:

Headon's Fine Meats, 103 S. Main Street, Creston, IL. http://www.headons.com

Inboden's Meat Market, 1106 N 1st St, Dekalb, IL 60115, (815) 756-5852 http://meatplace.com/

Ream's Elburn Market, 128 North Main Street, Elburn, IL 60119 Phone: 630.365.646
http://www.elburnmarket.com

***

Public Transportation:
- Metra from Chicago to Elburn departs Ogilvie Transportation Center at 8:40 am arriving Elburn at 10:06 am.
- Metra from Elburn to Chicago departs at 4:25 pm arriving 5:50 pm (every two hours)
- While it takes 25 minutes to reach DeKalb from Elburn, there is no public transportation on Saturday. Anyone using the train, we will do our best to find a ride to DeKalb and back.

***

Directions to Northern Illinois University Visitors Pay Lot: 200 Carroll Avenue, DeKalb, IL (Free parking all day on Saturday):

Founders library is the big brown building east of the Visitors Lot - the entrance is the north side of the building, facing the Holmes Student Center.


From the Northern Suburbs
Go west on the East-West Tollway (I-88).
Exit for DeKalb at Annie Glidden Road.
Continue on Annie Glidden Road to Lincoln Highway (IL 38).
Turn east (right) on Lincoln Highway (IL 38).
Turn north (left) on Carroll Avenue (at the Pizza Hut).
Turn west (left) into the Visitors Lot.


From Downtown Chicago
Go west on the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) to the East-West Tollway (I-88).
Exit for DeKalb at Annie Glidden Road.
Continue on Annie Glidden Road to Lincoln Highway (IL 38).
Turn east (right) on Lincoln Highway (IL 38).
Turn north (left) on Carroll Avenue (at the Pizza Hut).
Turn west (left) into the Visitors Lot.


From the Northwest
Go south on I-39/IL 51 to the "DeKalb, Route 38" exit.
Proceed east on IL Route 38 to DeKalb.
Go through downtown DeKalb and turn north (right) on Carroll Avenue (at the Pizza Hut).
Turn west (left) into the Visitors Lot.



From the West
Go east on the East-West Tollway (I-88).
Exit for DeKalb at Annie Glidden Road.
Continue on Annie Glidden Road to Lincoln Highway (IL 38).
Turn east (right) on Lincoln Highway (IL 38).
Turn north (left) on Carroll Avenue (at the Pizza Hut).
Turn west (left) into the Visitors Lot.


From the Southwest
Go north on I-39 to the "DeKalb, Route 38" exit.
Follow IL Route 38 to DeKalb.
Turn north (left) on Carroll Avenue (at the Pizza Hut).
Turn west (left) into the Visitors Lot.


To Lunch at: Tom & Jerry's,
215 W Lincoln Hwy Dekalb IL
Turn right / south on Carroll Ave
Turn left / east on Lincoln Hwy (less than a half mile on your left)


To DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association
111 South Second Street, Suite 204, DeKalb, IL 60115
Start out going east on IL-38/W Lincoln Hwy toward Pearl St. Continue to follow IL-38.
Turn right on Second Street. (look for parking)


Egyptian Theater
135 North Second Street; DeKalb, Illinois 60115
Start out going south on S 2nd St toward Grove St.
Turn left onto Grove St.
Turn left onto S 3rd St.


Lothson's Karry Out (from Egyptian Theater)
644 E Lincoln Hwy. DeKalb, IL.
Start out going southeast on IL-38/E Lincoln Hwy toward IL-23/S 4th St.


Pizza Villa (from Egyptian Theater)
824 W. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb, IL
Start out going west on IL-38/E Lincoln Hwy. Across the street from McDonalds


Sorrento’s, (from Egyptian Theater)
50W187 Rt. 64, Maple Park, IL
Start out going southeast on IL-38/E Lincoln Hwy toward IL-23/S 4th St. Continue to follow IL-38. (8.1 miles)
Turn left onto CR 1/E County Line Rd. (0.6 miles)
Turn right onto Rt. 64

HI,

Razbry offered some tweaks to the driving instructions, which has been updated above.

Printer friendly information

Regards,