Special guest Elizabeth Stigler will talk about a surprisingly illicit activity, mushroom hunting. It isn’t uncommon for Czechs to spend many weekends hunting mushrooms during the season, especially in the Czech Republic. However, in Cook County, due to illegality of mushroom hunting, Czech mushroom hunters have had to choose between their ancestral foodways or face legal repercussions. Through oral histories, learn more about the history of Cook County’s mushroom hunters, gendered labor, and ethnic identity.

Special guest Elizabeth Stigler will talk about a surprisingly illicit activity, mushroom hunting. It isn’t uncommon for Czechs to spend many weekends hunting mushrooms during the season, especially in the Czech Republic. However, in Cook County, due to illegality of mushroom hunting, Czech mushroom hunters have had to choose between their ancestral foodways or face legal repercussions. Through oral histories, learn more about the history of Cook County’s mushroom hunters, gendered labor, and ethnic identity.