The Park Forest Historical Society will host its "Remembering Richard Nixon's Campaign Visits to Park Forest, 1956 and 1960" event on Sunday at Ryan Hall of St. Mary's Church.
The facility is located at 227 Monee Road. During the event, the society will tell the story through a display of news articles, photographs, and a couple of short movies.
On Oct. 25, 1956, Richard and Pat Nixon visited Park Forest when the then vice-president was campaigning for Dwight D. Eisenhower. They also visited on Oct. 29, 1960, when he was campaigning for his own presidential bid. The speakers and Mrs. Nixon were on a roof extension of the Goldblatt's department store on the west side of the Park Forest Plaza shopping center. Thousands of people attended each rally.
The Park Forest Historical Society calls on the public to relive the moment. You can share your story at the event if you were at one or both campaigns. Archivist Jane Nicoll said residents can contact her if they have digitized pictures or videos of the visits at 708-481-4252 or via email on the website, www.parkforesthistory.org.
The program is free and open to the general public.
Nicoll announced that instead of hosting its usual November program, the society invites people to attend the Park Forest 75th Anniversary Committee's program on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 3 p.m. The event will take place at Freedom Hall, 410 Lakewood Boulevard in Park Forest.
The program will feature a short video talk by author Gregory Randall and excerpts from the 1981 video, "OH! Park Forest: A Work in Progress." This video includes interviews with Philip M. Klutznick, President of American Community Builders, as well as several pioneer citizens of Park Forest who participated in the "OH! Park Forest: An Oral History" project conducted by the Park Forest Public Library in 1980 and 1981. Myrtle Martin and Don DeMarco will also speak on integration in Park Forest for a few minutes.
The "OH! Park Forest" transcripts are now in the possession of the Park Forest Historical Society, and some of them are available on the Illinois Digital Archives in the project "Park Forest: An Illinois Planned Community."
Following the history program, the Grande Prairie Singers and a quintet from the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra will perform musical selections.