Early 1900's Electrician Lit Up Western Springs (Plus, Cows!)

Lawrence Castrodale, born in 1875, in Italy came to Western Springs in 1883, where he lived for 69 years. A self-made man, he had a high school education and an international correspondence course in electrical engineering.

According to genealogical files at the Western Springs Historical Society, he started his career as an engineer at the Vive Camera Company, one of the village's earliest businessses. Then, he worked for the Village of Western Springs as an engineer at the Water and Power plant on 47th street. 

He wired the first homes for electrical service and also had an appliance and fixture shop near the Water Tower. In 1900, the telephone company hired him to install phone service in Western Springs and surrounding towns.

He worked briefly for the CB &Q railroad in the switch yards until Pontius Carlson, a prominent citizen, got him a job with the International Time Recording Company in Chicago around 1905. He worked there for many years on bell ringing systems controlled by clocks. The company later became a subsidiary of International Business Machines Corporation (now IBM Corp.).  He retired from the company at the age of 70.

He married a Swedish immigrant, Augusta Olson, in 1891. They had three sons and a daughter. 

Because of his active participation in the village's development, his personal service to many families and his devotion to the Baptist church, Castrodale was well-know and highly respected in the village, according to his file in the Western Springs Historical Society, one of many family files that the society keeps in its Archives at Grand Avenue Community Center.