Country clubs became important centers of social activity in Lake Forest's early decades. The Onwentsia Club was, in the words of one writer, "the premiere social and sporting club in the Midwest". In 1898, members held a plantation-themed party, dining on fried chicken, corn on the cob, and watermelon served by—in keeping with the party's theme—"little colored girls". After-dinner entertainment included a minstrel show. This was a period in United States history in which there was considerable interest in Southern culture and the mythical plantation society. Both the North and South were active in memorializing their contributions to the Civil War, as well as achieving a kind of reconciliation that, according to historian David W. Blight, pushed issues of race to the side.