Westmont native spends two years chronicling community’s history

WESTMONT – Growing up in Westmont, Maggie South heard that the Rolling Stones once came to her hometown to visit the legendary Muddy Waters. It’s a story that bends facts, putting up a fight between doubt and disbelief. The facts are the Rolling Stones took their name from the bluesman’s song, “Rollin’ Stone,” and Waters called Westmont home for a decade until his death in 1983.

“You would think if the Rolling Stones came to town, somebody would have written it down,” South said, laughing. “It would’ve been in the newspaper. It’s not like they were a very small band. I don’t know if Mick Jagger actually came to us.”

While there’s no proof that the meeting took place, it hasn’t stopped Westmont residents from telling the story, the 26-year-old South said. It’s now a factoid woven into the fabric of the west suburb’s long history.

For two years, South, who authored “Images of America: Westmont,” spent time parsing through the details of her neighborhood’s past, stringing together 100 years in just over 100 pages. In chapters divided by decades, South, along with the help of the Westmont Area Historical Society, pinned down Westmont’s most important moments.

The road to building Westmont was “slow but steady,” according to the book. Long before the town was incorporated in 1921, the Potawatomi Native Americans lived on the land. In 1833, the federal government forced them to leave, offering a small monetary settlement as consolation.

From there, farmers and businessmen eyed the vacant land as a place to raise their livestock and set up manufacturing facilities. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad allowed business to flow between Westmont and Chicago, putting more and more eyes on a blue-collar town that boasted potential.

“The first 30 years as a new kind of village must have been so fascinating to be in because you’re seeing all this growth,” South said of Westmont’s early years. “You’re seeing just the start of something.”

That something, she added, was Westmont’s growth into a community.

Village Communications Director Larry McIntyre oversaw the book’s production and spoke about Westmont residents as a tight, close-knit family. Volunteerism is rooted in Westmont’s culture, said McIntyre, an Oak Park resident who has worked with the village since 1993.

As a founder of the Westmont Special Events Corp., McIntyre believes the spirit of helping one another lives through the nonprofit. It takes a village to pull off events such as the Taste of Westmont and Cruisin’ Nights and Street Fair, but “it’s always been about volunteers,” he said. “If anyone shows any interest in anything, we can easily find them an opportunity to get involved.”

South shared McIntyre’s sentiments when she penned the book’s introduction. She called Westmont residents “a town of volunteers who will tirelessly give time making the village a better place to live.”

She also reminded them of their resiliency as they continue to face the COVID-19 pandemic. South included a message of positivity – they will “emerge from these challenges as a stronger, better community.”

As South reflected on writing Westmont’s history, she thought about her journey to loving her hometown. This is where her family’s roots are, where her father grew up, where she grew up, went to school and landed her first job out of college. This book, in some ways, was personal.

“I just want people to realize that Westmont is important,” she said. “I feel like sometimes it might get overlooked a little bit because it is a small town. It is what it is. It’s colorful, and it’s got its own history – and that’s important.”