August Sonne

Interview Date: February 17, 1986
Interview Location: Narrator’s home, 6028 Grove Street, Morton Grove
Interviewer: Yvonne Ryden
Duration: 48 minutes

Introduction

August Sonne has been interested in things electrical all his life. He began in grammar school by installing switches and outlets at the request of the principal. He later made radio sets with headphones to be sold. In one anecdote, he told about his installation of decorative orange light bulbs in a large tree above Lincoln Tavern.

August, both before and after World War II, owned electrical companies in Morton Grove. During the war, he helped manage his brother Fred’s company, Chicago Aerial Industries, making innovative aerial cameras vital to the war effort. In his lifetime, August has seen many changes in his chosen field of electricity.