58th Annual Members Meeting. Board elections; dinner, entertainment. Shoreline Room at the Lakeview Center, 1177 Howard Ave. RSVP by May 7 at contact@desplaineshistory.org, or 847-391-5399. Members are free. Non-members are $25.

This year’s featured presentation, Edith: The Rogue Rockefeller McCormick, is a compelling living history performance and author talk, that brings to life one of the most fascinating and misunderstood women of the 20th century.

Hers was not a wonderful life … but had it never been, we may not have Brookfield Zoo, Chicago opera, James Joyce’s Ulysses, a cure for scarlet fever, and the popularity of Jungian psychoanalysis.

The daughter of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, Edith (1872-1932) married into the wealthy McCormick family and was once estimated to be the nation’s richest woman. She was a patron of the arts, a champion of science and health, and an unapologetically independent thinker. And yet, her life ended in financial ruin and isolation.

Historical interpreter Ellie Carlson steps into Edith’s shoes, while biographer Andrea Friederici Ross shares insights from her acclaimed book. Together, they illuminate the complex, often controversial legacy of this remarkable woman. Please join us for an insider’s look at Edith and to hear Edith’s “opinions” on how she has been portrayed by history.