The Railroad Tycoon who Built Chicago: New Biography of William Butler Ogden
on Oct 28, 2009 in William Butler Ogden In a letter from Paris, dated 22 August 1877, Mary Todd Lincoln, the president’s widow, wrote, “This morning, in a New York paper of Aug. 8, I read the announcement of Mr. Wm. B. Ogden’s death. In former times, he was a very prominent citizen...

Eyewitness to the Great Fire: A Pack on my Back
on Oct 8, 2009 in Great Chicago fire It was the great fire of 1871 that made me a country peddler. Oh, yes! I remember the fire very well. It was in October. We used to go to bed early, because the two roomers had to go to work very early. We were getting ready to go to bed, when we hea...

National Fire Prevention Week; Thank Chicago!
on Oct 4, 2009 in Peshtigo Fire Great Chicago fire Today marks the beginning of National Fire Prevention Week. The event commemorates the anniversary of two of the most devastating fires in United States history, the Great Chicago Fire and the Peshtigo Fire, and creates awareness of fire safety. Both...

On Chicago: The First City Loan
on Oct 2, 2009 in Chicago Police Department history Simpler times..."It was on August 10th, 1833, that Chicago became organized as a town under the general laws of the state, and at the election held that day only twenty-eight votes were cast A board of trustees was elected, consisting of P. J. V. Owe...

Author! Author!
on Sep 30, 2009 in Chicago writers Lake Claremont Press Chicago historian Richard C. Lindberg will be at the Niles Public Library tonight (September 30th) at 7 PM discussing his latest work, The Gambler King of Clark Street: Michael C. McDonald and the Rise of Chicago's Democratic Machine. The book is de...

Who Was That Lady?: Rue Winterbotham Carpenter
on Sep 28, 2009 in Arts Club of Chicago Rue Winterbotham Carpenter Ever heard of Rue Winterbotham Carpenter? I hadn't either until I ran across Emily Evans Eerdman's blog, EEE. With the help of Bart Swindall, historian of Chicago's Auditorium Theater, she has brought to light an important figure in Chicago's artisti...

Century of Progress Homes Open For Tour
on Sep 24, 2009 in Century of Progress homes 1933 Century of Progress "Over 70 years of wind, sand and surf have battered the five World's Fair houses located along Lake Front Drive in Beverly Shores, but their uniqueness has weathered the elements. With the theme of a Century of Progress, the houses were built for the...

On Chicago: They Will Say
on Sep 6, 2009 in Carl Sandburg Chicago poetry Of my city the worst that men will ever say is this:You took little children away from the sun and the dewAnd the glimmers that played in the grass under thegreat sky,And the reckless rain; you put them between wallsTo work, broken and smothered, for...

Satchmo at the Savoy
on Sep 3, 2009 in Savoy Ballroom Louis Armstrong The Federal Writers' Project, part of President Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal," was established during the Great Depression as a means to provide work for unemployed writers, teachers, librarians, lawyers or just about anyone who might qualify as a...

Ideals, Morals, and The Daily Newspaper: A Guest Editorial
on Aug 27, 2009 in Theodore Dreiser newspaper journalists H. L. Mencken FOR two centuries now if not longer the newspapers, rather than the preachers and reformers generally who preceded and still parallel them, have been elevating themselves to the roles of soothsayer, prophet, and guardians of all phases of virtue, hon...