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There are several sources from which the following information was obtained. They are:
Early Skokie, published by the League of Woman Voters in 1976, The Diamond Jubilee Editions
of TheNewS) and The Life, published July 3, 1963 and January 17,1963, respectively, and copies
of The News, dated November 9, 1939, November 16, 1939, December 7, 1939, December 28,
1939, and February 3, 1955.
As early as 1936, there was agitation to change the name of the village from Niles Center to
almost anything else. The ostensible reasons were threefold: 1. Confusion over the Village of
Niles, Township of Niles and Niles Center; 2. The Village's reputation as a haven for speakeasies
and taverns; 3. The rural sounding "Niles Center" was inappropriate for the times. For the most
part, the agitation was confined to editorial demands for change. However, in 1939, a movement
was begun by Scotty Krier which achieved the desired result.
The Early Skokie pamphlet describes the events surrounding the name change. The facts stated
in that pamphlet mirror the stories appearing in the Diamond Jubilee editions of both newspapers.
The gist of all three sources state, that, after a contest was held in 1939 to suggest a new name, the
Village Trustees voted against renaming the Village "Ridgeview", the winner of the contest. After
a June, 1940 referendum was held and the citizens voted to change the name to anything, Mayor
Blameuser referred the matter to a committee of distinguished citizens to come up with a name.
Both the Diamond Jubilee editions of the newspapers and Early Skokie state unequivocally
that in the 1939 contest, although 1,168 entries were received by the Krier Committee, not one
entry suggested "Skokie," According to these sources, Skokie was not suggested until 1940 when
Armond King saw an Indian figurehead on some bank stationery and thought of "Skokie" as an
appropriate name for the village, Thus, the story crediting Armond King with originating
"Skokie" in 1940, This is not the case,
In November, 1939, Seotty Krier, "prominent bu§ine§sman and a direetor of the Chamber of
Commerce" (Niles Center News, November 9, 1939) formed a committee to effectuate a name
change by Christmas of that year. The purpose of the committee was to solicit suggested names
from the citizens of the Village, including school children.
Pursuant to the solicitation* approximately 4,500 name suggestions were received by the
Krier Committee, which, after deducting duplications, 1,097 different or differing names remained.
On Monday, December 4,1939, the judges, sixteen men and one woman, (Armond King was not
a judge) narrowed the 1,097 suggestions to twenty-five names for further consideration. In addition
to the two names, Ridgeview and Oakton, which were ultimately chosen to oppose one another
in an unofficial election, the front page of the December 7,1939 issue of the News lists "Skokie"
as among those nominated for the Village's new name. Therefore, any account which states that
the name "Skokie" was not suggested prior to the 1940 Armond King story is erroneous.
In discussions with Armond King's son, Neil, and research conducted by the Author, the
correct story appears to be as follows. Armond was a member of the Village Planning and Zoning
Commissions. George E. Blameuser was Village President and Scotty Krier was everywhere.
After the Village Trustees voted against adopting the name "Ridgeview", the matter was referred
to a committee composed of representatives from various civic groups. Among those appointed
by their organizations were Section 3 member, Joe Hansen, representing the Chamber of
Commerce, Section 15 member, Bill Lyon, representing the American Legion Post and Armond
King, representing the Planning Commission. Mayor George Blameuser and the Trustees were
ex-officio voting members of the "name change committee."
When the "name change committee" began its deliberations, in August, 1940, "Skokie"
could not have been unknown to the Committee. It is an old Indian term which means
"swampland" and which was used by the Pottawatomi to describe the area. As previously noted,
it was suggested to the Krier Committee in 1939. And lastly, it was the name given to describe the
North Shore i.e. "Skokie Valley."
Presuming the "bank stationery" story to be true, the likely scenario is that Armond King
was instrumental in persuading his fellow committee members to support "Skokie." A review of
the Committee vote taken at the August 9,1940 meeting shows "Skokie" to have received 15 votes
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