Beverly Copeland

Interview Date: April 18, 2018
Interview Location: Morton Grove Public Library
Interviewer: Chad Comello
Transcriber: Eric Skoglund and Charles Menicocci
Duration: 51 minutes

Introduction

Beverly Copeland has lived in Morton Grove for 54 years. She grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household on Chicago’s West Side with her extended family. She vividly remembers her family’s move to Berwyn in the early 1950s into a small bungalow home. An aspiring fashion designer, she briefly studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before she met her husband on a blind date. She moved to Morton Grove in April 1964 with her husband, a two and a half year old, and a six-month-old baby.

In this interview, Beverly talks about their young family’s move to Morton Grove, living at home with young kids during extensive renovations, going back to school in her 40s, and working at the Morton Grove Public Library when the first computers were installed. She also discusses her political activism, her involvement with the community group Morton Grove Women Who Drink Tea, and the benefits of Morton Grove’s increasing diversity.