WC_120816

winnetkacurrent.com life & arts
the winnetka current | December 8, 2016 | 23
Winnetkan Elinor Miller (left), who just celebrated her 101st birthday on Nov. 26, has
lived in town for 70 years. She often shares memories of life and enjoys friendship
with several locals of the 600 block of Lincoln Avenue, including with neighbor Betsy
Hammond. JACQUELINE GLOSNIAK/22ND CENTURY MEDIA
101 years of life, 70
years of neighborly love
An apartment-style space with a relaxed vibe. Picture your friend’s place, but her sofa’s for sale. And her
imogene + willie jeans. And that necklace you love. Even her candles. And, oh, that lamp! You get the point.
a curated clothing &
housewares collection
shopexhibit.com
1148 Wilmette Ave Wilmette, Illinois (847) 251-5840 Hours: Tues - Sat 11-5
Jacqueline Glosniak, Editor
In 1915, the world was
a very different place from
what it is now.
The world was in the
midst of World War I (or
the Great War as it was
known then), the U.S.
House of Representatives
rejected a proposal to give
women the right to vote
and Babe Ruth hit the first
home run of his career for
the Boston Red Sox.
And, on Nov. 26, 1915,
just one day after Albert
Einstein drafted his theory
of general relativity, Winnetka’s
oldest resident,
a woman named Elinor
Miller, was born.
The 70-year resident of
Winnetka, who has seen the
world around her change
drastically over the course
of 101 years, remains as
sharp, vibrant and joyous
about life as ever.
Miller’s life began in
1915, where she was born
on the North Side of Chicago
and spent her childhood
playing with family
and friends in her neighborhood.
After graduating
from Senn High School
in Chicago’s Edgewater
neighborhood, she attended
a teacher’s college
sponsored by the City of
Chicago and later graduated
from Northwestern
University.
Soon after, she and her
future husband, Herman
Miller, had their first date
the evening of a close
friend’s unique birthday
party.
“A friend of mine [had]
her 21st birthday [and] her
parents organized a hayride
party,” Miller said. “I
was told to invite someone
to go with and invited
someone I knew. We became
very good friends
and then got married.”
Soon after marriage,
Miller and her husband,
a certified public accountant,
decided to purchase
their home in the 600
block of Lincoln Avenue
after learning about the
area when her sister three
years her senior moved to
Wilmette.
“I was a teacher, and the
Winnetka schools were always
the school that they
told you [about],” she said.
“That was the time Carleton
Washburne was the
kingpin of the education
system.”
Miller and her husband
raised three children in
Winnetka, a daughter and
two sons, who attended
Greeley School and Hubbard
Woods School. She
says the family loved
growing up in Winnetka
because of how close all
things were to their home.
“[My children] loved
it because they could go
to the Community House
Please see happy, 26