Dodee Connelly

Interview Date: March 4, 1987
Interview Location: Narrator’s home, 5510 Warren Street, Morton Grove
Interviewer: Yvonne Ryden
Duration: 205 minutes

Introduction

Dodee Connelly has given Morton Grove more than thirty-seven years of community service and continues to do so. In 1986, Dodee was honored by the Morton Grove Chamber of Commerce with the V. I. P. Award. She not only was the first spouse of a previous recipient, but, more importantly, the first woman ever to be honored. In addition to this, Mrs. Connelly was given the Citizen of the Year Award for 1987 by the Pulitzer-Lerner newspapers.

Dodee Connelly has had a career of service projects and is known for her enthusiastic ability for fund-raising. She was president of the Morton Grove Historical Society from 1983 to 1987 and is responsible for reinstating the oral history project after years of inactivity. Her main accomplishment as president was the moving of the Haupt-Yehl house from its original location on Lincoln Avenue to its present site at Harrer Park on Dempster Street. The house is now the historical museum for the Morton Grove Historical Society.

In this March 1987 interview, Dodee talks about her many affiliations in Morton Grove organizations, among them park commissioner, past president of the Garden Clubs and past president to the Morton Grove Woman’s Club, to name only a few. She is considered a “mover and a shaker” with countless volunteer hours and tireless enthusiasm. She has been an exemplary citizen for the town of Morton Grove and a significant influence in any endeavors she has chosen to undertake.