Daily Herald opinion: DuPage Heritage Gallery renovation an opportunity to make exhibit more educational

For decades, a unique exhibit in Wheaton has brought DuPage County history to life through the stories of an impressive group of people with ties to the county.

The DuPage Heritage Gallery, located in a first-floor atrium hallway at the DuPage County government administration building, highlights the accomplishments of 12 individuals, including evangelist Billy Graham, who attended Wheaton College, and Joy Morton, the entrepreneur who founded Morton Salt and created the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.

Visitors to the gallery learn about each subject through text panels, photographs and memorabilia. Among the items on display are copies of “Anna and the King of Siam,” the book written by Wheaton College graduate Margaret Landon that inspired the musical “The King and I.” There also is a costume for Sherrill Milnes, an opera singer who grew up in Downers Grove.

The gallery, created in 1980, provides a fascinating introduction to folks with a suburban connection that many residents may not be aware of.

However, there is little doubt that the exhibit has become dated. So the county is planning to do a renovation.

Last month, correspondent Alicia Fabbre reported that the gallery was last updated in the 1990s and rededicated in 2000.

We applaud the county for acknowledging that the Heritage Gallery is due for a makeover. Still, questions remain on who will be included in the updated gallery.

Some have pointed out that the existing exhibit does not reflect the diversity of DuPage's population. Of the 12 individuals featured in the gallery, 11 are men, and one is a woman — and all of them are white.

“That is not representative of what DuPage County is,” said DuPage County Board member Michael Childress, who serves as chair of the board’s public works committee.

The county board has set aside $150,000 for a project to reimagine the gallery. As part of that effort, residents were asked recently to recommend people, places, and stories to include in the updated exhibit. There were 177 responses to the online survey.

While officials review the survey results, Fabbre noted that some individuals have already suggested people they would like to see in the gallery, including Ellen Annette Martin, a Lombard attorney recognized as the first woman to vote in Illinois.

“If you don’t present the history of all of DuPage County, you’re erasing it,” Becky Simon of Naperville, president of the League of Women Voters of Illinois, told Fabbre.

We wholeheartedly agree with that point. If county officials revamp the gallery, it should work to include the contributions of women, people of color, and Indigenous people.

However, it would be a shame if other figures in the existing exhibit, such as football great Harold “Red” Grange, were excluded from the updated gallery.

When DuPage officials ultimately decide what to do with the Heritage Gallery, we hope the discussion focuses on adding names rather than replacing them. The result would be an improved exhibit that is more interesting and educational.