The History of the Maurice Lenell Cooky Company, Chicago-Norridge, Illinois.

         

"Lenell Cookies," as it was first known, began as a bakery founded in 1925 by Swedish brothers Hans and Gunnar Lenell at 4349 North Avers Avenue in Chicago. 

Then the Lenells' joined with friend Agaard Billing in 1937 to start the company, which they changed its name to "Maurice Lenell Cooky Company," the misspelling paying homage to Hans and Gunnar's Swedish heritage. The Harlem Avenue plant at 4474 North Harlem Avenue in Norridge opened in 1956.

Maurice Lenell cookies were manufactured and sold in Norridge, primarily out of their Harlem Avenue factory store, "The Cookie Jar."

"His name was Erik Maurice Lenell, and he was the son of Hans Lenell," explains Jill Bocskay, who is Hans Lenell's granddaughter. "Hans started the company with his brother. But his son was actually the company's namesake," she says. "He chose that name because it was kind of an American-sounding name and less like a European or Swedish name. He thought it would be easier for people in the United States."

"In Chicago, everyone still talks to me about it," says Bocskay. "As a child, people would go there for every holiday to get lots of cookies for all their relatives, but also they would go there because you could see the cookies being made. It's so much a part of people's childhood."

  

For nearly 50 years, the Lenell family built a name and a loyal following for specialties like Raspberry Jelly Swirls, Almonettes, and my personal favorite, Pinwheels. Maurice Lenell closed its Norridge factory in 2008. 

The Cookie Jar Factory Store, Norridge, Illinois

Consolidated Biscuit Co. has been making the cookies since Maurice Lenell filed for bankruptcy in 2008. They bought Lenell's equipment and trademarks and promised to continue making the cookies, told the Tribune the equipment used to make the cookies had aged, and the undertaking became hard to justify. The company also said the Food and Drug Administration, and customers, wanted a revision to the recipe to remove partially hydrogenated oils. But they say that revision "changes the whole cookie." Consolidated Biscuit Co. stopped producing the beloved old-fashioned treats, and all that remains at the Cookie Store is left on the shelves. The company says it ceased production in 2010 because it was too expensive.

The newly formed Hearthside Foods, a Chicago-based baking company, acquired the Maurice Lenell brand in 2010.

"Maurice Lenell is a top-of-mind brand, and it's in the hearts of Chicagoans and part of their past," says Hearthside Vice President of Marketing Roy Jasper. Jasper was tasked with resurrecting Maurice Lenell. "Our job was to figure out how to re-establish that same feeling and emotion in the brand and carry it on," he says. Staying true to the Lenell tradition was imperative for the company's CEO, Rich Scalise, a native Chicagoan who had fond memories of his childhood treat.

The "Cookie Store and More" opened at 3829 North Harlem Avenue in Chicago in 2010 to serve as the unofficial outlet for the Maurice Lenell brand but closed its doors in August 2015.

VISIT OUR MAURICE LENELL SOUVENIR SHOP

INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
Sources: WTTW, WGN TV, NBC Chicago

Lorado Taft's "Ferguson Fountain" aka Fountain of the Great Lakes, at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Ferguson Fountain, commonly known as the "Fountain of the Great Lakes," depicts five female figures grouped together so that water flows from their shells the same way it passes through the Great Lake system. Superior, at the top, and Michigan empty their water into the basin held by Huron, who sends her stream to Erie. Ontario receives water and gazes off as it flows into the ocean. Completed in 1913, the fountain now sits inside the south wing of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Ferguson Fountain at Chicago's Art Institute was never officially renamed to "Fountain of the Great Lakes." The fountain was commissioned by the Benjamin Ferguson Fund, and one surface of the fountain references the title "B.F. Ferguson Fountain of the Great Lakes." However, the fountain has been commonly referred to as the "Fountain of the Great Lakes" since its installation in 1913. The name "Ferguson Fountain" is still used sometimes but is less common.

The idea for a Great Lakes fountain came from a remark made by architect Daniel Burnham at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. Burnham chided the sculptors assembled to ornament the fairgrounds for not "making anything" of the tremendous natural resources in the West, especially the Great Lakes.

The Fountain of the Great Lakes is one of the best-known works of Lorado Taft, an Illinois native educated at the University of Illinois and later at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

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There was some controversy over the female nudity depicted in Lorado Taft's "Ferguson Fountain." The fountain features five allegorical female figures representing the Great Lakes. Three figures have bare upper torsos, which was considered controversial at the time. Some critics argued that the nudity was inappropriate for a public space, while others defended the fountain as a work of art.

The controversy over the nudity in "Ferguson Fountain" was part of a larger debate about the role of public art in the early 20th century. In the years leading up to the fountain's dedication, there was a growing movement to censor public art considered too sexually suggestive. This movement was led by groups like the National League of Women Voters, who argued that public art should be uplifting and educational, not titillating.

In the end, "Ferguson Fountain" was not censored. However, the controversy over its nudity did highlight the changing standards of public decency in the early 20th century.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.