To celebrate the Illinois Bicentennial and local history, Rockford Area REALTORS® partnered with Tinker Swiss Cottage in early October for Trunk or Treat—a free community event with museum tours, crafts and of course, lots of candy.
Rockford Area REALTORS® chose to partner with the museum to bring awareness to this local historical landmark. Over 350 community members joined in the activities and many were in the Halloween spirit, dressing up in their favorite costumes.
“This event had tremendous impact on the Rockford area and our museum. On average, our attendance at the museum on a Saturday is approximately 30 people or less; however, because of this event we reached 350 visitors on October 6th! Many of these visitors had never been to the museum before, and because of your donation we were able to provide them all with free tours,” said Samantha Hochman, Executive Director of the Tinker Swiss Cottage.
In addition to hosting the community event, a grant from Illinois REALTORS® assisted with the financing for the museum to restore a bedroom wall.
Hochman added, “With your generous donation, we are finally able to properly fix cracks in the plaster. We will be able to apply to the replicate of the original wallpaper to the wall and restore the room to its original splendor by the end of this year.”
“Tinker Swiss Cottage was built by one of our founding fathers, Robert Tinker, in 1865. We believe this historical home is a key piece of our local history and wanted share our passion with the community,” said Rockford Area REALTORS® Director of Communications, Jenny Gailey. “It was incredible seeing the museum campus filled with so many families eager to learn about a historical landmark in their own backyard!”
Tinker Swiss Cottage was left to Rockford Park District from the Tinker Family and opened to the public as a museum in 1943. The complex features the house, barn, carriage house and contains a Pre-Columbian Native American conical mound. The museum is open for guided tours Tuesday – Sunday, from 1:00pm to 3:00 pm.
REALTORS® across the state are working with heart in their communities to complete projects like this to commemorate the Illinois Bicentennial. Rockford Area REALTORS® project is one of more than 30 legacy projects supported by our local REALTOR® associations.
Projects have included fundraising for local historic home improvements and community murals or promoting local historical properties and societies. Illinois REALTORS® donated land in downtown Springfield next to its headquarters and built Bicentennial Plaza – a REALTOR® Community Partnership, which is a signature project of the state bicentennial celebrations.
The association is an official endorsed partner with the Illinois Bicentennial Commission, which oversees the state’s plans for the milestone birthday.
(This blog post is part of a series covering Illinois REALTORS® local associations legacy projects leading up to the state of Illinois 200th Birthday. Learn more.)
