Three Frenchmen & A Goat: The DeMoulin Bros. Story

When

June 6, 2024    
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
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Where

Gaylord Building Historic Site
200 W 8th St, Lockport, IL, 60441
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John Goldsmith brings his trunk full of gadgets to explore the odd and unique history of the DeMoulin Brothers Company of Greenville, IL.

Today, the DeMoulin Brothers Company is one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of marching band uniforms, but its humble origins date back to 1892 with the creation of quirky initiation gadgets custom built for fraternal organizations: a Mechanical Bucking Goat, a Lifting & Spanking Machine, and a Fake Guillotine that sprayed unsuspecting victims with fake blood (fake decapitated head sold separately). The company later branched out into graduation caps and gowns, choir robes, church and lodge furniture, and circus outfits before finally settling on its most successful brand, marching band uniforms.

The story of the DeMoulin Brothers Company and its unique 132-year history is captured by Illinois Humanities Road Scholar John Goldsmith, founder and curator of the DeMoulin Museum, which annually is listed among the quirkiest travel destinations in the United States. He will entertain you in this tribute to the invention, imagination, and industry of three enterprising Illinoisans and their descendants. He will also entertain you with his trunk full of interesting DeMoulin gadgets and oddities.
Goldsmith and the DeMoulin Museum have been featured on the television programs Small Town Big Deal, Pawn Stars, Heartland Highways, Illinois Adventures, and Illinois Stories.

Registration is recommended for this free event so we don’t overfill the room.

This free event is co-presented by the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau. Illinois Humanities is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy Demands Wisdom and the Illinois General Assembly [through the Illinois Arts Council Agency], as well as by contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations.