The Barclay Blog

A “Very Sad Experience” with Oscar D. Allen

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By Anna-Maria Manuel

Published April 1, 2023.

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Now that it’s spring, I’ve been more inclined to wander around Forest Home Cemetery (Forest Park, IL) on the better days. Thanks to my ongoing research on Philander Barclay, the Village Historian, I’m starting to recognize more people in Section 1, the “pioneer section” of the cemetery.

One notable person buried in Section 1 is Oscar D. Allen. I recently came across his headstone. According to Allen’s obituary in The Oak Parker, he was “the first and last president of the old township of Cicero before the incorporation of Oak Park.” [1]

Allen’s accomplishments and importance in local history were not lost on Barclay. He planned to record “three of Oak Park’s oldest and best known citizens” on wax cylinder on February 26, 1927, soon after he had recorded several cylinders at the 25th anniversary of the Borrowed Time Club. [2] The elderly residents he selected were S. C. Postlewait (“Dean of Undertakers” [3]), B. L. Dodge (Oak Park’s first superintendent of schools [4]), and Allen.

Unfortunately, Allen’s recording session did not happen. First, Barclay injured one of his hands. [5] The injury may have occurred at the Annex Garage, where he was employed at that time. [6] Then, while Barclay waited for his hand to heal, Allen became ill and died. Barclay recalled, “It is with deep regret that I failed to get a record of Mr. Allen.” [7]

More bad news. In March 1927, Barclay recorded a cylinder detailing his “very sad experience” with Allen. [8] Today, the record is not among Barclay’s cylinder collection, held by the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest. Its fate is unknown.

Thankfully, we have a rough idea what Barclay spoke on the recording, because he later wrote some notes from memory. [9]

Of the three originally selected speakers, only Postlewait recorded [10]. Dodge became ill with a severe cold and was unable to record. [11] In place of Allen, Barclay recorded Oak Park resident Eugene Hall, [12] a nationally-known commercial photographer [13] who had taken photos of the corner stone ceremonies of the Oak Park Municipal Building [14] and YMCA, on Barclay’s behalf, in 1903. [15]

Sometime later, Barclay gave the Eugene Hall cylinders to Hall’s son McClure.[16] The whereabouts or fates of the Hall and Postlewait cylinders are not known to the author. Like so many unique, home-recorded cylinders, the records are more than likely no longer extant, having succumbed to improper storage or handling, or been discarded by people who were unaware of the importance of the content.

Postlewait, Hall, and Barclay recorded cylinders in March 1927 [17]. Sadly, these were Barclay’s last documented cylinder recordings. [18] So far, despite an extensive study of five decades of Oak Park newspapers, I have yet to find any reports of later recordings by Barclay. In the Barclay Collection at the Historical Society, there do not seem to be notes detailing later cylinder recordings.