DuPage history program celebrates life as Illinois reached statehood
By Kevin Beese Staff reporter — October 19, 2018
Political shenanigans are nothing new to Illinois, according to historian and performer Ellie Carlson.
Bringing her “We’re Gonna Party Like It’s 1818” presentation of olden day dance, food, literature and entertainment to the DuPage Historical Museum on Thursday (Oct. 11), Carlson talked about the liberties that political leaders took to get Illinois to statehood.
Ellie Carlson, creator of the “Party Like It’s 1818” program, listens to a speaker during her historical interpretation at the DuPage Historical Society.
She said, during her presentation timed with the state’s bicentennial, that the criterion for statehood was a population of 40,000 or close to it if a burgeoning area.
Illinois settlers were a mobile bunch in 1818, Carlson said, often moving from one town to another.
“There was a census done in one place and they would count everybody,” Carlson said. “Then someone would move five or six miles and they would count them again when they did the census of that town. There was skullduggery even then.”
Carlson, who does performances as Mami Eisenhower and other females in history, said Illinois probably only had no more than 32,000 residents when granted statehood in 1818 –and that number could have been as low as 20,000.
A Chicago resident who studied history and theater, Carlson will have given her presentation of what parties were like in 1818 a total of 33 times by the end of this year.
Jennifer Stasinopoulos of Naperville reads a poem by John Keats during the program.
Creating a performance for Carlson is more than flipping through a few pages of a history book.
“It takes me six months to a year to develop a character,” she said.
Carlson said she loves creating the historical interpretations she presents.
“My programs construct live history,” the Chicago resident said. “They are the closest you are ever going to come to time travel – at least so far.”
Carlson’s “We’re Gonna Party Like It’s 1818” program will be presented:
- Friday (Oct. 19): 7 p.m. at the Hinckley Public Library District, 100 Maple St. Registration required.
- 13: 7 p.m. at the Prairie Trails Public Library, 8449 Moody Ave., Burbank. Registration required.
- 15: 7 p.m. at the Frankfort Public Library District, 21119 S. Pfeiffer Road.
- 16: 6 p.m. at the New Lenox Public Library, 120 Veterans Parkway. Registration required.
- 2: 4:30 p.m. at the Addison Historical Museum, 446 W. Lake St.
- 3: 6:30 p.m. at the Evergreen Park Public Library, 9400 S. Troy.
- 4: Noon at the Tuesday Book Review Club at Quality Inn & Suites, 800 N. Kinzie Ave., Bradley.
- 6: 7 p.m. at Arlington Heights Memorial Library, 500 Dunton Ave. Registration required.
- 7: 1 p.m. at St. Charles Public Library, 1 Sixth Ave. Registration required.
- 25: 1 p.m. at Sheridan at Green Oaks, 29330 N. Waukegan Road, Lake Bluff.
kbeese@chronicleillinois.com
