Irwin Dilg

Interview Date: May 16, 1978
Interview Location: Narrator’s home, 6316 Lincoln Avenue, Morton Grove
Interviewer: Denise Rossmann Christopoulos
Duration: 2 hours, 31 minutes

Introduction

Irwin Dilg’s ancestors were among the first builders of Morton Grove. His father, Fred Dilg, was one of the first businessmen in Niles Township owning and operating the Morton Grove Exchange and Post Office. Irwin became manager of the Exchange upon the death of his father.

Irwin recalls the Morton Grove Colts baseball team of his youth and many of his responsibilities managing the store with his mother. The building was erected in 1904 and housed various social events. The top floor ballroom accommodated dances, parties, political rallies and was a local meeting place.

Irwin returned from the service to find his mother had changed the tavern into a successful ice cream parlor. This was due in part to the propriety of the post office in the building and subsequently Prohibition. At this time Irwin Dilg went to work at the county assessor’s office and later became a court clerk and police magistrate for the village.