St. Charles “Wednesdays @ One” Events This Fall To Focus On History

A focus on history is the common thread connecting three “Wednesdays @ One” events this Fall at the historic Baker Community Center in downtown St. Charles.

The event series is produced by the Norris Cultural Arts Center and sponsored by Colonial Café. Admission to these programs is free, but attendees are asked to register through links found at www.NorrisCulturalArts.com. As the name suggests, all events are presented at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays.

The fifth season of this popular series begins on September 25 with a program from historian and author, William Pack, “Death-Defying Acts: The History of the Circus.” Pack will take his audience on a fantastical journey through the history of the circus, from Phil Astley’s creation of the modern circus in 1768, to Dan Rice, “the most famous man you’ve never heard of,” to the incredible feud between Barnum and the Ringling Brothers. He invites attendees to experience the story of those who gave their lives to the circus and became legends in the process.

The series continues on October 30 with a program from Eric Krupa, collections and exhibitions manager for the St. Charles History Museum. He will explore a timely subject, “The Dam at St. Charles: A 200-Year History.” St. Charles’ dam on the Fox River is in the news, as debate intensifies over its future. In this program, attendees will learn about the dam’s fascinating past, dating back to the early days of St. Charles’ history. Krupa’s program covers all aspects of the dam’s history, with special attention on key milestones and mishaps, and includes some rare historical photos of the dam and downtown St. Charles.

Concluding the Fall season of events on November 27, local historians Brian and Joyce Ostberg return to Wednesdays @ One with a discussion of “St. Charles’ Lost Railroad: The Chicago Great Western,” the last major railway created in the United States. Its route passed through northern Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri, and served St Charles from the late 1880s to the early 1970s. The talk will explore the origins of the railroad, how it evolved, its major challenges, and its ultimate decline and abandonment.

The Ostbergs started their YouTube channel, BeHistoric, in the autumn of 2020, a channel devoted to regional history and prehistory.  They have since published over 70 documentaries on regional topics related to history, archeology, and geology.