Wilder Park Birth Place of La Leche League

It was 1956 when seven women— Marian Tompson, Mary White, Mary Ann Cahill, Mary Ann Kerwin, Betty Wagner, Edwina Froehlich and Viola Lennon—threw down their blankets in Wilder Park to talk mothering while their children played.

Specifically, the topic was (gasp!) breastfeeding.

Women didn't really have the support of the health care system, family and society at large to breastfeed in 1956. These seven stay-at-home moms simply wanted to make sure women were supported in the endeavor if they so chose.

They couldn't have known they were starting an international organization.

That picnic was the beginning of La Leche League International, which now has thousands of members and leaders worldwide.

 "These women were quite revolutionary in their time," said Barb Emanuel, director of LLLI in Schaumberg.  "They realized early on that every mother has the right to make choices for herself, her baby and her family."

Lennon, who died earlier this year at age 86, also went on to co-author The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, now a national bestseller in its eighth edition.

Her daughter, Elmhurst resident Gina Horn, said her mother supported women who chose to breastfeed, but didn't criticize those who didn't.

 "While she believed that breastfeeding was best for mother and baby, she would never have said anything to alienate someone who chose not to breastfeed," Horn said. "She let the facts speak for themselves."  

But the topic still is controversial, even 50 years later.

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen stirred the breastfeeding controversy recently in an interview last month with Harper's Bazaar UK. 

Bundchen said, "I think there should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their babies for six months."

Critics immediately started writing and tweeting about topics ranging from Bundchen's right to voice her opinion to a woman's right to breastfeed.

Emanuel said she has fielded dozens of questions from journalists wanting LLLI to weigh in on Bundchen's comments. 

"I tell them all, one mother doesn't have to be wrong to make another right," she said.  "The more than 7,000 leaders we have today work hard to talk about the benefits of breastfeeding.  They know not everyone believes in breastfeeding, and they respect that."

Lennon was especially beloved for her "non-confrontational" style, Horn said.  She breast-fed 10 children, including a set of twins.  Yet, when a close family member chose to bottle-feed her children, Lennon never said a word about it.

"My mother never judged anyone," Horn said.  "She just incorporated her beliefs into being the best mother she could be."

As the youngest of Lennon's children, Horn recalls her mother's tireless passion to help build an organization devoted to women and their children. 

"She worked long hours with a million kids at her toes," Horn said.  "My mother was professional, strong and independent.  She broke a lot of barriers for women in her day, but I'm sure she never thought (it) would grow into the international organization it is today."

Lennon served on LLLI's board of directors for many years before turning her efforts to maintaining the financial vibrancy of the organization.  She spearheaded the group's fund-raising campaigns, securing generous donations for years to come.  She attended LLLI annual conferences around the world and became one of its most sought-after speakers. 

"People adored her," Horn said.  "They'd come up to her and ask for her autograph.  It was so cute."

Upon Lennon's death in January, the letters and tributes poured in to LLLI and family members.  

 "She was such a strong role model," Horn said, "and a huge support to me as well as to women everywhere."