History on canvas: Mural chronicles Westmont’s past

WESTMONT – As a former resident of Westmont, Fanny Moy thought she knew everything there was to know about her town. Like many parents, she was on the hunt to find the right place for her children, and Westmont checked all the boxes. Combined with good schools and a family-friendly atmosphere, Moy nestled into the western suburb for 13 years, watching her children grow up and into their own.

Though she decided to return to her hometown of Chicago after becoming an empty nester, Westmont called for her. Moy followed and is now known as the artist behind the mural at the Westmont Public Library. In the past four years, she has immersed herself into her town’s rich history, depicting standout moments, cherished landmarks and local icons throughout the decades since 1921.

In November, around the time of the village’s 98th birthday, Moy unveiled the fourth installment, bringing into focus what the neighborhood has become today.

A white banner for the Taste of Westmont, an ever-popular summer tradition, flies high in the right-hand corner of the 4-foot-by-5-foot panel. In another spot, Moy illustrated the U.S. Olympic luge tryouts, and next to it, a logo of Westmont-Hsinchu Sister City bursts with color.

“It was a very interesting process for me,” Moy said, reflecting on her latest work. “I was not familiar with all the interesting things that occurred and currently, too.”

Moy went on to handpick one more discovery. In the 1940s, Westmont was home to the Curtis-Gregg Circus.

“There’s a whole box that says the name of the circus with all the people that were part of the troupe and they’re all in their big like 1940s overcoats with fedora hats and the women with fur around their neck,” she said, adding their faithful companions, a line of circus dogs, were featured beside them.

“You know, it’s kind of a cool thing,” she continued. “I can’t think of any town that I’ve heard about that ever had its own circus.”

Larry McIntyre, village communications director, echoed Moy’s enthusiasm and sentiments. A self-proclaimed history buff, McIntyre said the mural is part of a five-year countdown to Westmont’s centennial, offering a slice of insight into their town’s story, starting all the way from the beginning.

The Potawatomi Indians lived on the land that is now known as Westmont until 1833, according to the village’s official website. During that time, the federal government tried to remove the Indians from the area. The “Indians held a general council in Chicago, and under coercion, agreed to vacate their land for nominal payment,” the site stated.

As the United States entered into the Industrial Revolution, railroads redefined the country’s economic development. Because of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad line, which was built during the mid-1800s, early towns such as Westmont changed from an agricultural community into a budding metropolis.

Fast-forward, Moy and McIntyre dropped more of Westmont’s historical nuggets. For many Chicago-area families, Suburbanite Bowl on West Ogden Avenue, which was built in 1957, is considered a nostalgic mainstay. And for the music lovers out there, Westmont once served as a home for legendary blues musician Muddy Waters, McIntyre said.

“It’s always fun to learn something that you didn’t know, especially something that you had no clue about,” McIntyre said, noting that Westmont has earned the reputation along the way as a hangout for celebrities, especially in the town’s nightlife scene.

“Local history is very important, and it is treated as a sense of pride for the citizens that live in that community,” he said. “And [the mural] is sort of a one-stop shopping.”

As Moy looks ahead to her fifth and final installment, she spoke of the theme. McIntyre recently has put out a call for submissions, asking residents of all ages to send in their ideas about the future of Westmont, which “can be anywhere between now and a hundred years from now.”

Those interested in participating have until Feb. 28 to enter. More details are listed on the village of Westmont's site, westmont.illinois.gov.

“The future belongs to the next generation,” Moy said.