How One Woman Changed Western Springs

Mary Tredwell Cattell was a woman “ahead of her time”. A new bride, she arrived in Western Springs in 1914. But, before that, she had attended the Leland Powers School of Theatre in Boston and the School of Drama at Columbia University. She also had attended New York University, the Minneapolis School of Speech, and had taken drama classes in Washington and New York. She had even studied in England at Stratford-on-Avon.

As the wife of Hib Cattell, she raised four children at 1129 Maple in Western Springs (first photo). But, she also managed to pursue her passion for the theatre. She studied the principles of directing from Ivan Lazaroff, founder of The Chicago Arts Theatre. Although he passed away in 1928, he had encouraged her to found a theatre of her own. And, what better place than her home town of Western Springs?

When asked why she decided to found a theatre, Mary said she had three reasons: (1) She had fallen in love “… with this funny little town of Western Springs (population 2,900), (2) She had been working with a Russian (Lazaroff) who died shortly after starting a theatre in Chicago and felt his ideas should be carried on, and (3) “I had four children who were just as ignorant of theatre as the rest of Western Springs, and I wanted to do something about it.”

So, she invited 24 people to her home. Using the village’s water billing list, they managed to get 150 residents to come to an organizational meeting. Thus was born the “Little Theatre of Western Springs”. Performances in 1929 were held at the Village Club. The stage was so small that actors, exiting from one side, had to go outside and around the building if their next entrance was to be from the stage’s other side.

In 1930, the theatre moved to the old Congregational Church House, which had become available after the new First Congregational Church was completed. But, in 1931, the theatre returned to the Village Club. All this while, Mary Cattell was not only directing the performances (second photo), she often appeared on stage, even presenting one-woman shows. A consummate perfectionist, she required actors to participate in training sessions.

Surviving the Depression years, the theater became well-known throughout the Chicago area. And, in 1960, Mary and her friends broke ground for the theatre’s new $250,000 home located at Hampton and Hillgrove avenues. Third photo.

After directing no fewer than 160 theatrical performances, Mary passed away in 1972 at the age of 78. Memorial services were held in the theatre which she helped found. And, according to one news account, “She had a good house.”

At the time of her death, a close friend noted that “…to some persons, life is bounded by a narrow course. It is a flat, dull, dreary landscape. But the Mary Cattells of the world are here to help future expansion of our thoughts and imaginations.”

In 1974, a $200,000 theatre expansion was made, aptly named for Mary Cattell. And today, after 86 years of operation, the Theatre of Western Springs (no longer the “Little“ Theatre of Western Springs), continues to draw crowds from far beyond our village boundaries.

Each week, the Western Springs Historical Society presents a “Blast from the Past”. To view prior stories, visit us at www.westernspringshistory.org or just click on the author’s name shown above

Photos:

Mary Cattell with her daughter, Mary Helen

Mary Cattell in later years

Theatre of Western Springs – circa 1970