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By Brent Hoffmann, Class of 2005

Ever been distracted while leading a tour?  Maybe a homeless man asking for a handout?  A noisy demonstration on Federal Plaza?  Marathon runners blocking a street?  Or bat-like creatures leaping from the sky just as you began your introduction?

Mary Willer’s been there.  “In July 2010, I was certifying for the river tour,” explained Mary.  “I knew that they were filming the Transformers 3 movie. So, when I got to the boat, the river was closed near the Michigan Avenue bridge and there was a police boat in front of our tour boat. Nevertheless, I crossed my fingers, went into my introduction, and saw that my tourees were totally ignoring me.  They were aiming their cameras and phones at the Trump Tower.  And focusing on five people in winged suits who jumped from the top of the Trump.  They looked like bats as they glided down to a plaza next to the river.  After the river was re-opened, I did my tour, got certified, and vowed to never watch another Transformers movie.”

Inspired by FLW

Mary was fascinated with Chicago architecture as a child.  “I grew up in Oak Park,” she continued.  “My bus ride to school took me past the Frank Lloyd Wright House and Studio.  So, now, when I travel outside the city, I look for Wright houses and buildings. Recently, I was thrilled to tour his final large-scale building, the Marin County Civic Center north of San Francisco, and completed after his death.”

Mary earned her degree in education at St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana.  She taught high school history and American studies for 30 years at New Trier and Prospect high schools. “Since history can be an eclectic subject, I used art, music, literature, and architecture to get the students’ minds into the period we were studying,” she explained. “I took my students on the architecture River Cruise and walking tours, as well as to the Frank Lloyd Home and Studio.  Those tours also piqued my interests.  So, after I retired, I applied and became a CAF docent in 2009.”

In addition to the River Cruise — “my favorite,” said Mary — she leads the Civil War and Chicago’s Role: Rosehill Cemetery and the Merchandise Mart tours.  “I’ve also been a docent at Northwestern University’s Block Art Museum in Evanston and the Terra Museum of Art in Chicago.”  When Terra closed in 2004, a selection of its paintings was sent on long-term loan to the Art Institute of Chicago.

Bertha in Sarasota

“Years ago, my husband and I had a winter home in Florida, near the last home of Bertha Palmer,” Mary said. “Bertha took her inheritance from Potter Palmer of about $7 million to Sarasota.  It’s said that she owned a third of the county. Mrs. Palmer experimented with orange groves, native and tropical plants, and cattle ranching, among other ventures.  When she died, her fortune was worth over $21 million, much of it due to the appreciated real estate that she owned.

“I used to lead walking tours of Bertha’s estate in Historic Spanish Point,” continued Mary.  “It included a visit to a homesteader’s house and the tropical landscaped grounds.  Also, to an ancestral Indian midden — ancient trash piles, actually — that give valuable information about the Native American tribes in the area.  But we couldn’t tour Mrs. Palmer’s mansion, which had been taken down.

“Although I no longer give that tour, I understand that Sarasota offers a popular Leading Ladies trolley tour that includes Bertha Palmer.”

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