SHE TURNED THE FIRST SPADE OF THE NORTH SHORE CHANNEL - Louise E. Paullin Ingraham

The Chicago Daily Tribune of September 26, 1907, carried the following story:

CHANNEL WORK ON; 

GIRL USES SPADE

Drainage Board Celebrates Beginning
of Construction of Evanston Canal.

Towns Hail Enterprise

Evanston and Wilmette Welcome Effort to Clear Waters 
Along the North Shore.

With the flashing of a nickel plated spade in the afternoon sunlight, turned once into a new tin pail, the celebration of the beginning of the Evanston Drainage Channel was completed in Wilmette yesterday.

The official spade was wielded by Miss Louise Elizabeth Paullin, the 12 year old daughter of George W. Paullin, the north shore representative on the board of sanitary trustees.   Clad in crimson, relieved at the throat and sleeves by white, the child stepped forward and performed her office with a quiet dignity that brought cheers from the 500 witnesses.

In the absence of President R. R. McCormick of the drainage board, Trustee Wallace G. Clark acted as chairman of the celebration, which was held at the foot of Central avenue, Wilmette, in the center of what is to be the opening of the auxiliary canal, and as close as possible to the 100 foot breakwaters which have already been constructed.  He was introduced by John C. Williams, and after a few preliminary remarks presented Isham Randolph, consulting engineer of the board, to whom the general scheme of the development of the sanitary district is ascribed.

Tells of Fight for Channel.

Mr. Randolph reviewed the history of the drainage canal, dwelling upon the first breaking of ground on the line between Cook and Will Counties fifteen years ago, when Frank Wenter was president of the board and Carter H. Harrison was mayor of Chicago.  He spoke of the attempt of St. Louis and the state of Missouri in the federal Supreme court to prevent the use of the channel for which Chicago had spent millions of dollars and of the struggle which continued until January 17, 1900, when the beaver trap dam was opened and the waters of the great lakes again flowed westward.

He closed his address with the following paragraph:

"I, who have had so much to say of the past, must not be adjudged unmindful of the future.  The past is the empire of memory, the future the broad and bright domain of hope.  What the original sanitary canal has been to Chicago, a boon, a health giver, this adjunct will be to Evanston, Wilmette, and the whole north shore.  It will save the bright waters of your lake form pollution and it will carry away those causes of offense which now excite your apprehension and your disgust.  Let us pray the work so auspiciously begun, may be pressed to a speedy and successful issue, and let us each and all lend a willing hand to every effort which will advance it."

Paden Promises Co-operation.

Mayor Joseph E. Paden of Evanston brought forward the necessity of maintaining the beauty and symmetry of the north shore suburbs and the danger of the importation of a class of men used to the customs of the neighborhood, but for his city he promised the most hearty good will for the success of the enterprise.  State Representative L. J. Pearson spoke in a similar tone for Wilmette.

H. F. Erdmann, chairman of the finance committee of the drainage board mentioned the difficulties that opposed the beginning of actual work on the new channel, and craved the patience of the north shore residents.  George W. Paullin spoke of the historic interest of the location of the channel mouth and of its future advantages.

Chief Engineer George Wisner summed up the actual work to be done in the digging of the canal by a statement that 5,000,000 cubic yards, or the equivalent of 2,000,000 wagon loads of dirt must be excavated, that nineteen highway and three rail bridges must be built, and that the total cost will be about $4,000,000.

Anyone who lives in or visits Evanston is well aware of the North Shore Channel (or as we always referred to it "the canal").  It's one of those things that has always been there for most people alive today, so we take it for granted.  In fact, whether a canal was needed, and then where it should go, was quite controversial in the years leading up to the story related above.  An entire book could probably be written on the events leading up to the opening of the North Shore Channel, and perhaps one already has been written, but I am instead going to tell you the story of the girl chosen to dig the first shovelful of dirt for the channel, Louise E. Pullin Ingraham.

Louise Elizabeth Paullin was born January 10, 1895 in Evanston, Illinois to George Washington Paullin (1864-1933) and his wife Mary Hamilton, nee Garwood (1858-1946).  George was originally from Philadelphia, and Mary from New Jersey.  They married February 2, 1866 in Jersey City, New Jersey, but shortly after their marriage relocated to Evanston.  The Garwood family was already well-established in Evanston, and in 1875 local druggist William Garwood invented the ice cream sundae.

George Paullin was a furrier by trade, and he knew that Evanston women of means would be good customers for his warm furs during Chicago's frigid winters.

In addition to Louise, George and Mary Paullin had three other daughters:  Frances Ann (1887-1977), Laura Virginia (1889-1986), and Little Florence (1890-1891). 

The 1890 US Census for Evanston is, of course, lost, but the Paullin family shows up on the 1900 US Census, living at 1837 Wesley Avenue in Evanston.

1837 Wesley, Evanston

   

The family consisted of George and Mary and their three daughters, but remembering Little Florence, Mary told the census taker she had given birth to four children; three of which were still alive in 1900.

The need for a drainage canal for Evanston and Wilmette had been recognized almost from the time the area was first settled.  Sewage used to flow out into Lake Michigan, but since the lake was also the source of the area's fresh drinking water, continuing this practice could end up a serious health hazard.  In fact, one of the primary reasons for the merger of the Village of South Evanston with the City of Evanston in 1892 was that South Evanston's sewage outflow was too close to its water intake. South Evanston had two sewer outflow pipes - one pipe was one block north of the water intake, and one pipe was one block south of the water intake.  As the incidence of typhoid outbreaks became more frequent it became obvious that this was a primary cause.  After the merger, South Evanston could tap into Evanston's water supply, but something still needed to be done eventually about the sewage.

After much debate, the canal was finally authorized in 1903 by the North Branch Sanitary and Improvements Association.   As a long-time advocate of the canal, George W. Paullin, Louise's father was elected to what was then called the "Drainage Board" in 1905.  There was continued controversy, however from those who wanted the channel to be open to shipping, to Canadian water authorities who feared that the canal would take too much water out of Lake Michigan and harm the other Great Lakes.  While all this played out, the Drainage Board was quietly buying up all of the lands and rights-of-way needed for the channel.  When private interests moved to get an injunction to keep the channel from being dug, the Drainage Board decided to act swiftly and have the work begin. Things happened so fast that the president of the Board, Robert R. McCormick was not even in town when the ceremony was held.  Board member George W. Paullin decided that his daughter Louise would be the prefect person to turn over the first shovel of dirt.  The 7.7 mile North Shore Channel was finally completed in 1910.       

The 1910 US Census finds the Paullin family living at 1908 Sheridan Road in Evanston:

1908 Sheridan Road Evanston

Today 1908 Sheridan Road is part of Northwestern University.  The Paullin family still consisted of George and Mary and their three daughters, Frances, Laura and Louise.  Surprisingly, this time around Mary Paullin told the census taker that she had given birth to three children and all three were still alive.  Could she have forgotten poor little Florence?  She must have.  

Louise attended the Evanston Academy of Northwestern University from 1910-1914.  Here is a photo of her from the 1912 yearbook from Evanston Academy, the "Bear" when she was Second Semester president of her class:

Here's a photo of Louise from the 1914 "Bear:"

She was again a class officer, this time the First Semester Secretary.

Louise Paullin graduated from Evanston Academy in 1914 and then enrolled at Northwestern University in Evanston where she majored in Botany, with minors in Zoology and French. While at Northwestern she became a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. She graduated with a B.S. in 1918. 

Here's a photo from her freshman year at Northwestern where she was Chairman of the Social Committee:

In her senior year (1918) she worked on the Northwestern Candle magazine:

And here is Louise Paullin's entry from her senior yearbook in 1918:

On August 20, 1919, the Evanston News-Index published the following item:

Miss Louise Paullin succeeds Mr. Lee as city editor of The News-Index. Her appointment follows about a year and a half of work on Mr. Lee's staff and is an expression on the part of the publishers that women if properly trained and if endowed with the necessary enthusiasm and perseverance can do equally as well as men the work which heretofore has been called exclusively men's field.

The 1920 US Census shows the Paullin family still living at 1908 Sheridan Road in Evanston.  George lists his occupation as "Fur Manufacturer" (I thought the animals "manufactured" the furs...); Laura is a teacher in a private school and Louise is the editor of a daily newspaper, as mentioned above.  The third sister, Frances, had married Raymond S. Pruitt in 1914.

In the years after her graduation, in addition to being the Editor of the Evanston News-Index, Louise assisted in the Botany laboratory and continued to take classes at Northwestern, in subjects as diverse as Chemistry, Art and English.  Louise's two sisters, Frances Anne and Laura Virginia, also graduated from Northwestern - Frances in 1912 (Liberal Arts) and Laura in 1933 (Education).

The 1930 US Census shows the Paullins are still at 1908 Sheridan Road.  George Paullin indicated that they owned the house and assigned a value of $37,000 to it.  Sixty five year old George listed his occupation as "Retired," and Laura as a "Teacher in a Public School."  Surprisingly, Louise specified "None" as her occupation.

Louise's father, George W. Paullin, died in Evanston on November 18, 1933.  Here is his obituary from the Chicago Daily Tribune of November 19, 1933:

The 1940 US Census finds Louise Paullin living with her widowed mother Mary and her sister Laura, still living at 1908 Sheridan Road, which they now say is worth $40,000.  This time both Laura and Louise list their occupation as "Grade School Teachers."

Louise's mother, Mary Hamilton Garwood Paullin, died in Evanston on September 24, 1946.  She was eighty seven years old.  The Chicago Daily Tribune reported that she left an estate of just under $1 million to her three daughters.

On a happier note, Louise Paullin married the then-mayor of Evanston, Mr. Samuel Gilbert Ingraham on January 23, 1947. (Mr. Ingraham retired from his position as mayor in 1953, due to ill health.)

Mayor S. G. Ingraham

Samuel Ingraham died September 15, 1955, following a long illness. He is buried in the churchyard of Christ Church (Episcopal) in Winnetka. Not in their renowned cremation gardens but in the oldest part of the cemetery which featured in-ground burials:

Louise Paullin Ingraham was a member of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church and the Evanston Daughters of the King, and served as a director of Canterbury House at Northwestern and on the Women's Board at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary.  She was active in the local community as a member of the Evanston Historical Society, where she once gave a lecture, and the Women's Club of Evanston.  Her community interests extended beyond Evanston as well to include membership in the Chicago Historical Society, the Mid-Western Antique Association, the Women's Republican Club of the 13th Congressional District, and the Fort Dearborn chapter of the D.A.R.

Louise Paullin Ingraham died in Lake Forest Hospital on October 18, 1990.  Here is her obituary from the Chicago Daily Tribune of October 22, 1990:

The St. Mary's chapel at St. Matthew's held special significance, because in 1950 Louise and her two sisters donated the small gothic lannon-stone chapel as a memorial to their late parents George and Mary Paullin.

Louise's obituary failed to mention that she had turned over the first shovel full of dirt for the construction of the North Shore Channel.

She is not buried at Christ Church next to her husband - she is in the Paullin family plot at Rosehill Cemetery:

The Paullin Family Plot - Rosehill Cemetery

Here is her tombstone - again nothing about her and the canal:

Louise Paullin Ingraham did not live to see it, but proponents of the canal got the last laugh.  In 1999 the North Shore Channel was named the "Monument of the Millennium" by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Louise Paullin 1923 Passport photo

Louise Elizabeth Paullin Ingraham - who turned the first shovelfull of dirt for the North Shore Channel - may she rest in peace.

A LETTER FROM - Sherman Levine

On November 8, 2013, I told the story of young Sherman Levine, who was a military weatherman at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii and was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  If you haven't had a chance to read it, go back and take a look:

http://undereverytombstone.blogspot.com/2013/11/he-died-on-december-7-1941-sherman.html

Sherman Levine's story moved me deeply.  After doing the research and writing the article, I felt like I knew Sherman Levine.  Whenever I watch any documentaries about December 7, 1941, or the movie 'Pearl Harbor' I think about him and wonder where he was in relation to whatever they are showing on the screen.  I received a lot of positive comments about the story and I even heard from Debbie Craig (no relation) whose mother Shirley is the one whose yearbook photos and inscription I had used in my story.

On New Years Day of this year I was contacted by Blair Magida Waddick. Here's what her email had to say:

Dear Mr. Craig--

I read, with great interest, about your research on weather military personnel during WWII.  My parents, Esther and Gil Magida, were very good friends of Sherman Levine.  Mom lived across the street from him at 4915 Monticello and he and Dad were on many sports teams together while at Von (baseball, basketball, lettermen, etc.)  On a visit to Hawaii, they tried to find his grave, not knowing that he was buried at Westlawn, a cemetery we visited often.  I have a letter from him I found in Mom's scrapbook that he wrote while at Hickam Field.  If you would like a copy of this letter, please let me know.  Regards, Blair Magida Waddick 

Blair's father Gil Magida had passed away on July 20, 2004, and like Sherman is buried at Westlawn Cemetery in Norridge.  Did I want a copy of Sherman Levine's letter to his buddy back home?  You bet I did!

So, thanks to the generosity of Blair Magida Waddick, here is Sherman Levine's letter dated May 15, 1941, just 207 days before his tragic death:

May 15, 1941

Dear Character;

Just received your interesting letter and enjoyed reading it very much.  I was very much surprised to hear that you and Esther are sending me a package and even though I haven't yet received it I just want to take this opportunity to say thanks a million.  You see, it takes a little longer for a package to reach here than a letter.  Very nice of you to think of me in that respect, and I really appreciate it.  Well Gil, so you're studying for your exams eh?  Well you're not the only one.  Right now I'm up to my neck in that very same thing.  Yeah, I really am surprising myself, the way I have been studying lately.  As you know I'm learning all about meteorology and it's very interesting even though it is tough.  I work up in the weather station taking observations or rather learning how, and I'm on 8 hours and off 32.  It's a pretty soft life right now.  I went down to the beach a few days ago and some fella down there had a pair of those rubber fins that you attach to your feet and boy oh boy, I could really go with them. Otto Jaretz, and Adolph Kiefer are in town for a swimming meet but I couldn't get to see them, because no one is allowed to leave the field due to an "alert" being in effect, which means that it is sort of a rehearsal in case of an attack; with a black-out and all the trimmings.  I'm sending you a picture, I thought you might like to have it.  So now you drive Esther's father's car eh?  Boy, I certainly could go for a nice girl in a nice car.  Pretty soon everybody will (be) going on picnics + beach parties, right?  Why don't you stay in the city this summer?  You always go away to camp, and there is plenty of fun if you'd stay and go on dates and etc. in town.  But then again going to camp is pretty nice too, so I guess you better do what you think you will enjoy best.  Speaking about a full moon Gil, there is one here every night, no fooling.  But what good is the moon if there isn't a little "scenery" to go with it?  Have you been to this joint called "Michael Todd's" yet?  Well, time is going pretty fast now, and this place is beginning to look a whole lot better.  But, I'm always thinking about the day when I will walk down Monticello Ave. again and then just before I go upstairs to my house, I'll yell across the street "Hey Gil I'm back."  And I think I'm pretty safe in thinking you'll be there, at Esther's house.  Well, say hello to Esther, and your family + "Herb" and all the rest of the mob.  I ought to have your package in a few days, and thanks alot.  Aloha, Sherm June '40 (sic).  

Here's the letter in Sherman's own handwriting and a copy of the envelope it came in:

 

And here's the photo he enclosed with the letter:

It's a great letter from a great guy.  He misses home, and all his friends, and looks forward to the day that he will return.  He knows he's in a tropical paradise, but what good is it if all your friends are thousands of miles away?

When I got to the part of the letter that says

"I'm always thinking about the day when I will walk down Monticello Ave. again and then just before I go upstairs to my house, I'll yell across the street "Hey Gil I'm back."  

it makes me very sad, because as we know, fate had a  different ending for the story of Sherman Levine.  He never walked down Monticello Avenue again, and when he finally did come back to Chicago in 1947 he came back in a flag-draped pine box. 

Before we say goodbye to Sherman Levine once more, let's take a look at what happened to the rest of the people mentioned in his letter.

We'll start with Gil and Esther.  "Gil" was Gilbert Asher Magida.  He was born in Chicago on June 15, 1922 and died on July 20, 2004.  "Esther" was Esther Harriet Rabinowitz.  She was born in Chicago on November 24, 1922 and died on December 5, 2005.  Gil and Esther were married in 1943.

Esther and Gil Magida

Here's what Blair had to say about her parents:

After high school and some college, he and Mom eloped since he got his draft notice.  He was pretty upset when he was 4F because he was blind in one eye.  So, he continued at  Northwestern and then USC to get his BS and MS in Education.  He and Mom had fifty cents a day for meals while in LA. They lived in one room.  Mom typed his thesis and worked in the USC library and Dad worked for the local park district and went to school full-time.  While in California, he and a bunch of his friends from Von Steuben played basketball in an adult league, just as they did as kids in high school.

Coming back to Chicago, Dad was hired in River Forest as a grade school gym teacher.  Yeah, most of my friends laugh at that, too, since, no, he wasn’t an MD or lawyer or own a company.  But Dad wasn’t just a teacher.  Case in point:  one day I was buying a coat and when I gave the salesperson my credit card with both maiden and last names, she asked me if I was related to Dad and then she told me her story.  Her family moved to River Forest when she was in second grade and now she was the new girl no one befriended.  The kids were really mean. So Dad found out about it and one day when she was not at school, Dad spent much of the class talking about being a “good citizen” (remember that term?!) and kind to everyone.  She said when she came back to class, the kids were totally different.  She stayed in River Forest only one year, and I met her some 30 years later.  But she told me she will never forget how special he was and how he acted on her behalf.  

Dad did this all the time.  His kids knew about being a good sport and a gracious winner. They were taught respect.  Everyone who wanted to, played in every game or activity.  And after he took human anatomy class, he never again let his kids hit the soccer ball with their heads—in the 50’s.

Growing up in Oak Park, I found out that both Mom and Dad were members of what was then called The Hemlock Society and actively fought for fair housing in our lily-white suburb.  And everywhere they lived, they were active in synagogue life.

When Sherm talks about “camp”, it’s Camp Interlaken for Boys (Jewish—but not required-- and private) which was in Eagle River, Wisconsin. Dad’s Uncle Herb Magida was an owner and later Dad owned the camp with Joe Kupcinet, (the brother of famous columnist Irv Kupcinet), at the camp every summer, working his way up from camper to counselor to Camp Director.  He later became part-owner of a girls’ camp which I attended.

Leaving River Forest after more than 40 years, he was hired by Park Ridge schools as Curriculum Supervisor where he hired and trained teachers, etc.  He was also on school boards, (bringing a different perspective), taught college courses for several universities, wrote articles for professional educational journals, was active for local political candidates, and donated his services to the Village of Lincolnwood, where they lived, for all kinds of Village-sponsored activities.  And there’s lots more, but you get the idea.

Dad was a true gentleman, always believed in fairness, had an outstanding sense of humor, believed in the goodness of man and thought all deals should be sealed not with lawyers, but a handshake. Mom was one of the smartest people I’ve ever known.  In one class at USC, a prof encouraged her to go to law school, saying he’d pay for all her books (in 1943).  She was kind, very funny, and devoted to us.  I was raised with love and support, and encouraged to pursue any profession, and not just girlie-ones.  Mom and Dad were joined-at-the-hip, totally devoted to each other from the time they were 14.  It was an amazing love affair and it lasted over 60 years.

I won the Parent Lottery and no one is luckier than me.

Gil and Esther Magida

Gil and Esther were blessed with three children: Blair, Paul and Stephen. They never forgot their friend Sherman Levine from Monticello Avenue. On a trip to Hawaii they tried to find his grave but could not because unbeknownst to them he was buried back in Norridge, Illinois at Westlawn Cemetery, where Gil and Esther are now buried as well.

Otto Carl Jaretz, Jr. was born February 12, 1922 in Chicago.  In August of 1929 when he was only seven years old he was almost killed when his aunt Emily Strahamer committed suicide by opening all the gas jets in her kitchen.  Just as Otto and his uncle were climbing into the house through a window to try to save Mrs. Strahamer, the gas ignited and Otto and his uncle were badly burned.  As Sherman mentioned in his letter, Otto Jaretz was a competitive swimmer.  He held U.S. records in the 200-, 220- and 100-yard freestyle in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He was also a member of four national record-setting relay teams, won six AAU individual and six AAU relay titles and was on a world record-setting relay team in 1938.  Otto enlisted in the military in 1942.  Otto Jaretz died on March 14, 2006.  He was survived by his wife Lorraine and one daughter.

Otto Jaretz - 1939

The other friend Sherman mentioned in his letter, Adolph Kiefer, was also a competitive swimmer. Adolph Gustav Kiefer was born in Chicago on June 27, 1918.  He had his first swimming experience after a near fatal fall into a Chicago drainage canal.  He accidentally fell into the ice-cold water, but rather than panic, young Adolph simply rolled onto his back and began to kick his feet until he reached dry ground.  Falling into the canal prompted Adolph to learn how to swim and, with the encouragement of his father, he devoted his life to becoming the best swimmer in the world.  As a youth Kiefer swam every day for hours on end, and by the age of 16 he became the first person in the world to break the one-minute mark in the 100-yard backstroke.  This monumental record would stand unbeaten for another 15 years.

Adolph Kiefer

Adolph Kiefer's unrelenting passion for swimming, and his steadfast determination, paved the way for an historic swimming career filled with countless accolades and accomplishments.  Adolph's crowning achievement came in 1936, when he won a gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke event at the Berlin Olympics.

Adolph Kiefer at the 1936 Olympics

In the late summer of 1942, at 23 years of age, Adolph entered the Navy as a Chief Athletics Specialist in the Physical Fitness/Swimming Division.  Kiefer was immediately alarmed by the inadequacy of the Navy's Swim Training program.  Shockingly, Kiefer soon realized that several high-ranking Officers didn't even know how to swim, and the Navy was actually losing more lives to drowning than bullets.  Consequently, Adolph designed and implemented a comprehensive swim training program for 2 million recruits on 6 different bases.  According to Adolph, "The biggest thrill of my life was having people tell me that I saved their life by teaching them the 'victory' backstroke".

Inspired by his work in the Navy, Adolph Kiefer established Adolph Kiefer & Associates in 1947. Soon after establishing Kiefer & Associates, Adolph began working on several new revolutionary innovations that would change the sport of swimming forever.  By 1948, Kiefer had developed the world's first nylon swimsuit.  Around the same time Adolph invented the kickboard, which has helped a countless number of individuals learn how to swim.  In the mid 1950s Kiefer introduced the world's first turbulence resistant racing lane.  He was also the first person in the world to distribute the soft molded swim goggle gasket.  Kiefer reinvented several other swim safety devices over the years, and his company continues to be at the forefront of swimming innovation.

As of this writing (February, 2016) Adolph Kiefer is still living, and still swimming every day.

So thank you to Blair Magida Waddick for sharing Sherman Levine's letter to her father.  Thanks to her also for giving us the "story behind the story."  When I relate these stories on my blog I am limited to reporting whatever information I can glean from the Internet or other sources.  That's what makes it so nice when someone wants to fill me in on the human side of the stories that goes beyond facts and dates.

Sherman Levine and his friends:  Gil and Esther Magida, Otto Jaretz and Adolph Kiefer - just a great bunch.  They come from what is called "The Greatest Generation" because they were.  May Adolph Kiefer continue to enjoy long life and good health and may Sherman, Gil, Esther and Otto rest in peace.