Marlene Cook
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Marlene Cook is a Lansing resident who loves learning and writing about local history. A member of the Illinois Women's Press Association since 1973, she has won multiple IWPA awards. Her 2020 awards in the Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest included first place for columns and second place for nonfiction book in the history category.
Lansing history: The family farm that became Fox Pointe
LANSING, Ill. (March 21, 2023) - Where once cows grazed and horses frolicked on a family farm, now people relax on a manicured lawn. Fox Pointe has been through many changes before becoming the entertainment venue it is today.
The Krumm family farm
It all began in 1850 when Henry Krumm...
Lansing history: From Riemer’s Farm Stand to Van Til’s to Jansma’s
Changing times eventually force a Lansing icon to close
By Marlene Cook
LANSING, Ill. (February 21, 2023) - Beneath the TF South High School building at 186th Street and Burnahm Avenue lie the roots of the Riemer Van Til farm that helped to feed many earlier Lansingites. In the 1930s, local...
Lansing history: The Ford Hangar and Henry Ford’s lasting impact on Lansing
By Marlene Cook
LANSING, Ill. (January 25, 2023) - The building is 96 years old, but it looks much as it did in 1927. You’ve probably driven past it many times without noticing it. But the Ford Hangar deserves attention.
Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford commissioned three hangars in the...
Lansing history: The lengthy, confusing story behind Jack’s Pub
Moving buildings can make it difficult to follow history
By Marlene Cook
LANSING, Ill. (December 6, 2022) - If only walls could talk! They might confirm or deny the many stories surrounding the property at 3325 Ridge Road, currently known as Jack’s Sports Pub and Eatery.
Our story begins in 1913
The earliest...
Lansing history: The murder of Bohemian Joe
1914 homicide still unsolved
By Marlene Cook
LANSING, Ill. (November 13, 2022) - Many Lansing residents remember the restaurant Bohemian Joe's, which opened in 2016 and sold to Dixie Kitchen in 2018. (See Bohemian Joe's says goodbye, published April 2018.) Bohemian Joe's was located at the northwest corner of Torrence and...
Lansing history: The Lansing Fire Department
Serving Lansing for 100 years
By Marlene Cook
LANSING, Ill. (October 9, 2022) - This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Lansing Fire Department, which was organized into an official fire-fighting unit on July 13, 1922. October 9–15 is Fire Prevention Week this year, and that gives us an opportunity...
Lansing history: The Lans Theater building
From movie theater to pizza parlor, a unique venue has overcome difficulties to serve the community
By Marlene Cook
LANSING, Ill. (September 13, 2022) - It was in September 1945 that The Times first reported, “Plans and specifications have been completed for a $100,000 movie theater in Lansing. The land has...
Lansing history: Stories of Lansing street names
Fred, Ada, William, Henry, and others were people before they were streets
By Marlene Cook
LANSING, Ill. (August 13, 2022) - Have you ever wondered how a street got its name? There are approximately 125 street names in Lansing — not counting the numbered streets — and more than seven square...
Lansing history: Rispens Seeds, a growing family business
By Marlene Cook
LANSING, Ill. (July 2, 2022) - The year was 1918. A young and restless Martin Rispens, who would reach his 18th birthday on December 3, was dreaming of what opportunities he might have in America, “the land of milk and honey.”
So he left his moder Antje, his...
Lansing history: Lan-Oak Park – 20 acres of community spirit
By Marlene Cook
LANSING, Ill. (June 2, 2022) - Lansing families owe a debt of gratitude to Dorothy Olas and all who joined her in 1947 in a mission to create a place for children to play. Their work led to the development of Lansing’s first park — Lan-Oak Park.
From...