#100YearsAgoToday Harold Fowler McCormick, president of farm equipment manufacturer International Harvester Company, hosted 500 of his office employees at his Lake Forest estate, Villa Turicum (pictured). Harold F. McCormick had become president of International Harvester in 1918. According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, “In 1919 the McCormick company added an employee representation plan, a common feature among large welfare capitalist firms of the time. In combination, McCormick programs were intended to blur the distinction between worker and manager, to bind employees to the firm, and most emphatically, to deter unionization.” McCormick played a major role in the plan’s formation, and hosted these employee outings as bonding experiences. Source: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1332.html | |
#100YearsAgoToday Summer recreation kicked into high gear in Lake Forest, with the town’s two playgrounds open and the beach “bathing” season launched. The playgrounds, at West Park and at Farwell Field at Illinois and Washington roads, had recreation instructors (Patricia Taylor and Anna De Haan) to provide supervision, to organize games, and to take children down to the beach twice a week. | |