Oakford Pecans - a story of discovery, Linda Eilks & Pumpkin/Squash update

Highland Park Historical Society will host on Wednesday. November 5, 2025 at 7:00 PM ‘Oakford Pecans – a story of discovery,’ presented by Linda Eilks and an update of Pumpkin/Squash by Catherine Lambrecht.
Linda Eilks grew up on a farm outside of Oakford Illinois. After careers at both IL Extension and U.S. Department of Agriculture, she retired and moved into a home within the village of Oakford. There she was faced with an abundance of pecans falling from the trees in her yard. She researched what to do with them and found some interesting historical facts about the pecan trees in the area. She will talk about pecan trees in general, those that grow around Oakford, and especially those that grow in her yard.
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Many moons ago, Catherine Lambrecht was a University of Illinois Extension Master Food Preserver who was instructed by Linda Eilks. It happens she now lives near the region where pumpkins (80 miles in circumference from Morton, Illinois). She obtained her very first Dickinson Squash after years of talking about them. She will offer an update on recently updated knowldege. One piece of wisdom: all pumpkins are squash, but not all squash are pumpkins!

‘Oakford Pecans – A story of discovery,’ presented by Linda Eilks and an update of Pumpkin/Squash by Catherine Lambrecht will be offered over Zoom. For further information or a zoom link, please contact Archives@HighlandParkHistory.org or847/432-7090. Admission is free.