Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society Annual Meeting

There’s a lot to celebrate at the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society’s Annual Meeting, which takes place on Sunday, May 5 at 3 p.m. The event is free and open to the public and will be held in the gymnasium at Everett School.

Two families who have lived in the community for over 100 years will be honored with the Centennial Family Awards: the Cascarano family, nominated by Carrie Spezzano, and the Lanners-Rose family, nominated by Madeline G. Mobile.

The Cascarano family immigrated to the United States from Italy in the 1890s. Antonio and Celeste Cascarano and their nine children arrived in Lake Forest in 1910. Antonio worked as a gardener on the J. Ogden Armour estate. His family quickly became a fixture in Lake Forest, with his children and grandchildren making their marks in the community through crafts and professions of all kinds: landscape design, upholstery, produce delivery, the railroad, and Christmas trees, to name just a few.

When Joseph Lanners married Irene Rose in Lake Forest in 1931, both their families had been living in town since before the turn of the century. And both families made extra efforts to give back to their hometown. Joseph Lanners and his sister-in-law Madeline Rose organized and directed the Lake Forest Day children’s parade from 1931 until 1983 – over fifty years. Joseph also founded the first Boy Scout Troop at the School of St. Mary, in 1930.

You will also learn more about our host Everett School. Jan MacDougal, chair of Everett’s Centenary Committee, will present a lively review of the school’s 99-year history. Everett began as a small, two-room schoolhouse in 1914, back when Everett was its own community separate from Lake Forest. This old brick schoolhouse was transformed into a fire station in the 1950s when the current school building was constructed.

For more information about the Annual Meeting and Centennial Family Awards, call the Historical Society at 847.234.5253 or visit www.lflbhistory.org.