A Look Inside Skokie
Photographs by Laura S. Friedlander

Skokie is the community where I live, the community where I have chosen to raise my family and the community where I grew up. As I set out to document my community, I realized that one exhibit could only show the tip of the rich, cultural iceberg that is Skokie.

My parents were born and raised in Chicago and lived in the area most of their lives. They spent a short while in Cleveland, Ohio while my dad was working for NASA and going to graduate school. When they moved back to Chicago with 2 kids and one on the way (me) their desire to live out the “American Dream” led them to Skokie, a town close to Chicago and their extended family, a town where they could afford to buy a home with a yard, a town with public transportation (Skokie Swift) so my dad could get to work, a town with tons of kids running around the neighborhood.

My memories of growing up in Skokie include: learning to ride my bicycle with no less than 10 neighborhood kids behind me, in front of my bicycle and next to me, pushing me off, telling me to peddle faster, cheering me on and picking me up off the sidewalk when I fell; spending entire summer days at Oakton Pool, jumping off the high dive, sometimes backing down off the ladder when my nerves got the better of me; celebrating Christmas over at our neighbor’s house, even though we were Jewish; spending long summer nights outside running around, playing ghost in the graveyard, statue maker, red light/green light until our mothers called us in, we could hear the distant sound of our names being called, drawn out and far away, saying goodbye to our friends until the next day. I also remember huge snowstorms where we couldn’t get our cars out for days and rainstorms when the Skokie streets flooded and the kids all flocked to the streets splashing through the dirty water while our parents mopped up the basements.

My childhood memory of Skokie’s diversity is this: about half of the families were Jewish and the other half celebrated Christmas! Yes, I do remember a few families that were neither Jewish nor Christian, spoke another language and celebrated different holidays, but in those days Skokie could hardly be called a diverse community.

After living in other communities for several years, we chose to move to Skokie to raise our family, wanting for our children to have a childhood not unlike ours (my husband Adam grew up in Evanston): running in the neighborhood with a pack of kids, swimming at Oakton Pool, helping out and visiting with neighbors. As it turned out, we were able to give our kids an even richer experience.

In addition to being a welcoming and vibrant community, the Skokie of today is like a small United Nations, exploding with cultural expression. In our town there are over 70 languages spoken, each with its own tapestry of traditions. We have cultural festivals and international nights at our schools, books in many different languages to check out at the library and just people living their lives, sharing the joys and pains and appreciating one another.

To enter the exhibit click here