Step back in time with View From the Bluff, where 250 years of history come alive.
Join Museum co-founder Kathy O'Hara and Joanna Rolek (director of LF/LB Chamber of Commerce) for an episodic journey through the stories and scandals that built our community. Kathy's vivid narratives replace dusty dates with gripping local lore.
From frontier secrets to modern triumphs, discover the moments that shaped our town. To know where we're going, you have to see the view from where we've been.
Lake Bluff History Museum is launching its first-ever podcast series. In honor of the USA's 250th anniversary, we've teamed with the Lake Bluff 250 committee to create curated local history.
Whether you're a lifelong resident, curious newcomer or a far-away bluffer who left your heart in the village, this series offers a front-row seat to the legends, scandals and triumphs that define Lake Bluff, Illinois.
Available in both audio and video format, these engaging episodes do a deep dives into local history: the Artists Colony, Crab Tree Farm mysteries, Gen. MacArthur's "kidnapping," secrets of the Rondout Train Robbery, "what is a Chautauqua?" … and more.
A new View from the Bluff podcast episode will drop every Thursday
Lake Bluff History Museum wraps up its View from the Bluff podcast series with a discussion of how Lake Bluff's quiet Uptown transformed during the mid-1900s to present and became the vibrant community center we enjoy today (now more frequenty referred to as "Downtown.")
Many thanks to Producer Bruce Himmelblau for his significant contributions to this series. Please visit
https://www.youtube.com/user/bsvptv and https://www.bsvp.com (https://www.bsvp.com/) to learn more.
20 Aug 2026
Uptown Downtown All Around the Town - Part 1
The origins and development of Lake Bluff's charming "uptown" and its short-lived predecessor west of the tracks are discussed in part 1 of this podcast.
13 Aug 2026
Ad Men Mad Men of Lake Bluff
Lake Buff was home to many of the mad men of the mid century advertising in the United States, including Draper Daniels and John Crosby.
6 Aug 2026
The Day the General Went Missing
The citizens of Lake Bluff kidnap General MacArthur April, 1951
30 Jul 2026
Shadows Over the Bluff
Was there a spy living in Lake Bluff?
A Lake Bluff man and his family are visited by federal and local officials and later interned in Crystal City Interment Camp, Cystal City Texas.
23 Jul 2026
Crime and Controversy Part 2: The Furnace Mystery
Elfrieda Knaak: murder or suicide? The story behind the woman found in the Lake Bluff Village Hall furnace October, 1928.
16 Jul 2026
Crime and Controversy Part 1: Rondout Train Robbery
The largest train heist in U S History occurred in Rondout, Illinois. Carried out by the Newton Brothers in 1924, they stole more than $2 million in cash.
8 Jul 2026
The Diva of Center Avenue
Did you know a world-renowned opera star grew up on Center Avenue? Born in 1902 to a pianist mother, prodigy Marion Claire Cook went on to star in European opera houses, perform on Broadway, and share movie billing with Basil Rathbone. Later, she became the prima donna of the popular Chicago Theater of the Air radio show alongside her husband, conductor Henry Weber.
4 Jul 2026
Lake Bluff's Fabulous Fourth of July
This bonus episode shares the history of Lake Bluff's popular Fourth of July parade through stories beginning with the first parade in 1876 through to the present.
2 Jul 2026
Most Patriotic Town
How did a small beach town with a population of 700 make national headlines during World War I?
In the latest episode of our View from the Bluff podcast, we share the story of Lake Bluff's contribution to the Great War and how the village earned the headline "Most Patriotic Town."
You'll learn the details of how our village sent 10% of its population to WWI and raised significant funds for the war effort. This included funding an ambulance for the front line that was driven by local resident John Kreutzberg.
25 Jun 2026
Crab Tree Farm Part 2: The Bad Boy of Crab Tree Farm and Other Misdeeds
Did you know that during the 1920s and '30s, Lake Bluff was at the center of several national crime stories? The village faced a surprising wave of lawlessness during the Prohibition era that reached all the way to Crab Tree Farm.
Crab Tree Farm Part 2 of Lake Bluff History Museum's "View from the Bluff" podcast explores published accounts of events that kept federal investigators and newspaper reporters busy decades ago.
18 Jun 2026
Crab Tree Farm Part 1: The Durands
In the first of two episodes about Crab Tree Farm, O'Hara and Rolek take a closer look at the history of the property and the people who shaped it starting with Judge Blodgett's "Ashland" estate through dairy farmer Grace Durand's ownership.
11 Jun 2026
The Great Lakes Naval Base
2026
4 Jun 2026
A Bohemian Presence: The Artist's Colony in Lake Bluff
In the early 1900s, a number of artists and literary figures drawn to the beauty and proximity of Lake Bluff's lake and ravines lived in an area that became known as "The Artists Colony".
The impact of these artists and intellectuals far exceeded the boundaries of the Village and built on a legacy of creative spirit extending back to the Chautauqua inspired Lake Bluff camp meetings. O'Hara and Rolek discuss several key figures whose artistic legacy continues to ripple through Lake Bluff's cultural landscape.
28 May 2026
A Haven for Children: The Lake Bluff Children's Home
The 1890s were a period of painful economic recession and a time of extreme social dislocation during which thousands of orphans and children whose parents could not afford to care for them were given up for adoption. The arrival of six children brought to Lake Bluff by the Metodist Deaconesses in 1894, the 75-year saga of the Lake Bluff Children's Home (LBCH) began. Its development, success and ultimate decline present a unique story of social service and community engagement, highlights of which are shared in this podcast.
21 May 2026
Banning Booze: Lake Bluff's role in the Prohibition Movement
Frances Willard and others who summered in Lake Bluff were instrumental in the adoption of the 18th Amendment. While intended to cure numerous societal ills, this nationwide prohibition of alcohol instead resulted in rise of crime and bootlegging. Tune in as hosts O'Hara and Rolek discuss how Lake Bluff played a role in prohibition of alcohol nationwide and in the illegal transport of alcohol during the years the 18th Amendment was in effect.
14 May 2026
A Daughter of Chautauqua: The Lake Bluff Camp Meeting
In the mid-1870s, Lake Bluff was transformed into a summer resort modeled after New York's Chautauqua when a group of Methodist ministers and businessmen started the Lake Bluff Camp Meeting Association. The Camp Meeting offered an escape from the city and an opportunity to enjoy activities and lectures centered around education, religion, the arts and recreation.
Hosts Joanna Rolek and hisorian, Kathy O'Hara.
7 May 2026
First Families
The second episode in Lake Bluff History Museum's podcast series, First Families provides listeners a closer look at several of the families who moved to Lake Bluff in the 1830s as hosts Kathy O'Hara and Joanna Rolek share stories of the contributions these families made to the community.
The Museum teamed with the Lake Bluff 250 committee to create 16 episodes of curated local history in honor of the USA's 250th anniversary. Museum co-founder Kathy O'Hara and Joanna Rolek (director of Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce) discuss Lake Bluff's most fascinating chapters. New episodes are released each Thursday.
29 Apr 2026
Why Lake Bluff? The Land
Why Lake Bluff? is the first in a weekly series of podcasts created in honor of the USA's 250th anniversary. Lake Bluff History Museum has teamed with the Lake Bluff 250 committee to create 16 episodes of curated local history — totaling 250 minutes of storytelling. In this introductory video, Museum co-founder Kathy O'Hara and Joanna Rolek (director of Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce) discuss the attraction of the land to Lake Bluff, Illinois' early inhabitants.
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
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