Chicago History Museum

It started a week ago, when an email from an address unknown to me appeared in my inbox. I alluded to this in the Road Apples section of the blog. Curiosity got the best of me, so I opened the email. Inside was a request to contact Plum, a production company that is working on an upcoming exhibit for the Chicago History Museum. After reading the email a couple of times, I picked up the phone and called the listed contact. I had a nice conversation with Diana, who explained that she had discovered a movie that I had posted on YouTube. She wanted permission to use the footage in the planned exhibit, if the folks in the movie were Chicagoans. As it turns out the movie in question was, in fact, of Chicagoans – my wife’s family from 1949.

The movie started out as a restoration effort from 8mm film that Peggy’s dad had shot during the wedding shower, wedding, and wedding reception for Peggy’s aunt and uncle. Last year, we had the long neglected, 8mm film digitized, and I edited clips and added a music track and posted the result on YouTube for family viewing. The project turned out being a 60th anniversary gift for Aunt Lou. I think she was pleased.

To complete the transaction, Diana sent me a release form and instructions for delivering the film. In turn, I called family members, told them what was going on, and secured their permission to release the movie. With resounding approvals, I completed and signed the release form and transmitted both the form and the MP4 to the production company.

This morning I checked the Chicago History Museum’s calendar. The headline reads:

Bessie Green-Field Warshawsky Gallery and Mazza Foundation Gallery

I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot

Opens Saturday, May 22

Nearly every part of a wedding celebration is steeped in history and tradition, with religion, culture, family custom, and superstition having shaped the Big Day since the first couple said “I do.” The exhibition explores an array of wedding traditions through costume, and how some of those traditions were standardized by Chicago retailers to create the wedding industry we know today.

If you find yourself in Chicago from late May to early January 2011, stop by the museum and discover how Chicago says, “I Do!”

Here’s a preview, no here’s my contribution to the exhibit: