Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Dec 9, 2011, 9:23 am
The Pre-Fire Cook County Courthouse and Chicago City Hall in Elmhurst, IL Stereo Card of the Cook County Courthouse ruins after the October 1871 Fire, Urns are just visible at the top of the building By Ray Johnson Only a piece of the building exists, but if you want to be able to touch a piec...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Nov 24, 2011, 9:01 am
Isaac Woolf knew how to celebrate Thanksgiving. For twenty-five years Woolf, president of Woolf's Clothing House ("the store with a horseshoe over the door and the Palmer House across the way")hosted a Thanksgiving "Newsboys' Dinner." In 1882, when Woolf began the yearly tradition, 100 "ragged and h...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Nov 22, 2011, 7:27 am
 To the adult American citizen Thanksgiving day means a festival memorial of our early fathers, and their courageous battle against the hardships of a new country.To the Chicago newsboy it means just one thing—Isaac Woolf's turkey dinner, where every one of the thousands of "newsies" can eat h...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Nov 21, 2011, 8:23 am
The recurrence of Thanksgiving Day recalls to the mind of an "old settler" the first day set aside in Chicago for the formal giving of thanks.It was November 25, 1841, just forty years ago, when the population was five thousand, seven hundred and fifty-two. Why the inhabitants of this city had n...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Nov 6, 2011, 8:45 am
What can I say? Life has just gotten in the way lately. No, The Journal has not been abandoned. Facebook and Twitter posts are still appearing regularly, but there has obviously been a deafening silence on the other sites. Not to worry. I shall return! Having a bit of surgery in a couple weeks...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Aug 9, 2011, 3:40 am
Painting, "The First Grain Elevator  in Chicago, 1838" by Lawrence C. Earle By Joe Mathewson From the earliest interpretations of the U.S. Constitution by legendary Chief Justice John Marshall, an important and continuing legal dispute has been between state and federal regulation of busin...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Aug 6, 2011, 7:20 am
By Peter T. Gayford In 1833, Billy Caldwell was involved in the creation of Chicago’s first Catholic church. This church's name at the time of its creation was Saint Mary of the Assumption, and it was situated on what is now the south side of Lake Street, west of State Street. (85) During that sa...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Jul 26, 2011, 6:32 am
By Peter T Gayford Following the Fort Dearborn massacre, in the early winter of 1812, Billy Caldwell returned to Amherstburg to enlist himself in the service of the British Crown. (43) At the time of Caldwell's enlistment, his father was a Lieutenant Colonel of the 1st  Essex Militia Regiment, an...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Jul 26, 2011, 6:31 am
By Peter T. Gayford The United States has a vast and rich history, filled with documents and writings of those many people that helped to form this country. During America’s Gilded Age (1869-1896), the United States witnessed an economic boom in its book publishing industry. This expansion was at...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - May 9, 2011, 3:12 pm
By Joe Mathewson The Chicago Board of Trade had a weak case but an astute lawyer. Henry S. Robbins, however, faced a dilemma. The longtime lawyer for the Chicago Board of Trade, who had successfully represented it before the U.S. Supreme Court, opposed a new rule adopted by his client. He saw it a...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Apr 3, 2011, 9:48 am
"Good Americans are said to go to Paris when they die; but it appears to depend upon whether they have been to Chicago first. I like the pleasant egotism of its citizens. All towns are not fortunate in their names. The syllables in New York come together like a nut-cracker, and Boston is quite a m...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Mar 24, 2011, 12:45 pm
George Barker could have ended up just another punk kid who turned to crime on the grimy streets of Chicago during the Depression. But, he didn't. Barker was smart, well-read, articulate and he wrote about his life behind bars and the people he met there. The Journal is proud to present a portion of...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Mar 14, 2011, 9:37 am
By Peter J. Spalding When Clarence Darrow introduced himself to Nathan Leopold, Jr., and Richard Loeb, they weren't the least bit impressed. Both boys were on trial for their lives, and all the Chicago papers had called for them to be hanged. Leopold and Loeb needed the best lawyer they could find,...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Mar 11, 2011, 6:33 pm
By Peter J. Spalding The biggest scandal of 1920's Chicago unfolded innocuously at first, when 14-year-old Bobby Franks missed his family dinner. It was a Wednesday evening, May 21, 1924. Bobby had just umpired a ballgame down the street from his Ellis Avenue home, and no one seemed to have seen hi...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Feb 24, 2011, 6:03 pm
Let's see a show of hands. Who out there hasn't bought a loaf of Gonnella bread or scarfed down a hot dog at the United Center or Wrigley Field? That's what I thought. If you hadn't it would be practically un-Chicagoan! The Gonnella Bakery has been a Chi-town institution for 125 years, beginning in ...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Feb 1, 2011, 1:23 pm
Like the rest of the nation, Chicago was still reeling from the Stock Market crash late in 1929. In December, Chicagoans were busily preparing for Christmas unaware of the deep depression that would cripple the nation for years. And, then it hit. A blizzard bombarded the city from December 17th thro...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Jan 9, 2011, 10:49 am
Do you like a mystery? A reader, Shawn England, recently sent me some pictures and asked if I had any information on the depicted event: I believe the picture was taken in the Chicago area due to the fact that the Policeman has CCP on his belt buckle. I have found photos of Chicago police with the s...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Jan 3, 2011, 1:36 pm
"Farewell, Chicago! Ruin fall on you! I hate, despise, and loathe you through and through. I hate the tricks of this intemperate clime, The dust in summer and in spring the slime; Nature is here on one perpetual spree; She shifts from hot to cold with devilish glee; From flare to frost so quic...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Jan 1, 2011, 12:29 pm
It's New Year's Day and I'm guessing not many people are going to be feeling up to reading much, so I'll make this brief. I want to wish all my readers and supporters a very Happy New Year. Without you The Journal would have not survived these past three years and I am forever grateful. Last year wa...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Dec 30, 2010, 6:08 pm
By Joe Mathewson He was an estimable, indeed extraordinary, citizen. Co-founder of an eminent Chicago law firm that lasted for more than a century, hugely successful business executive, secretary of war, minister to Britain, a leader in Chicago cultural life. But he was also the sole surviving son o...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Dec 22, 2010, 3:42 pm
I just received the latest Lake Claremont Press newsletter and, frankly, it was too good not to steal. I honestly don't think they will mind though. Oldest Chicago by David Witter is slated for release in January. Think combination history/guide book of/to Chicago's past. Trust me. You'll want this ...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Dec 22, 2010, 9:17 am
There have been many Chicagoans who have spent their lives caring for the less fortunate; Jane Addams, Florence Kelley, Louise de Koven Bowen are just three of the well-known individuals who worked to make the lives of the poor better. But, a person you may not know is one whose spirit and example i...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Nov 22, 2010, 11:57 am
It is in his knowledge that man has found his greatness and his happiness, the high superiority which he holds over the other animals who inhabit the earth with him, and consequently no ignorance is probably without loss to him, no error without evil. - James Smithson For my taste, The History Chan...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Oct 21, 2010, 2:53 pm
Satan (impatiently) to New Comer. The trouble with you Chicago people is, that you think you are the best people down here; whereas you are merely the most numerous. - Following the Equator, Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar The back-breaking, eye-straining, century long anticipated 760 page Autobiog...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Oct 18, 2010, 2:07 pm
Halloween is almost here so I thought it appropriate to post something that would give my readers a little shiver. If women's votes aridify The town that's briefly known as "Chi," I can't begin to tell to you The funny things that we shall view. By "funny" I'd not have you think That humor lies in...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Oct 16, 2010, 2:38 pm
Well, it seems that our Harry M. Hansen Duck Hunt ("Hunting for Hansen") is not such a wild goose chase after all. At least it has piqued the interest of several readers who are hot on the trail. There is no new information to report as yet, but some appropriately themed items have been uncovered. M...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Oct 14, 2010, 2:22 pm
I often receive emails from readers. Sometimes they are notes of support (those are my favorites). Other readers are writing to request that I help them trace their Chicago ancestry (which I don't do) or provide a valuation on some bit of historical Chicago memorabilia (which I also don't do). But, ...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Oct 3, 2010, 2:11 pm
World War I officially ended today. IN honor of twenty-seven fellow workers whose lives were sacrificed in the Great War, the employes of Marshall Field & Company held a memorial service in the Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, December 8, 1918. Four thousand three hundred men and women, a fourth of the ...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Sep 20, 2010, 11:47 am
The following article was submitted by Croatian journalist and explorer, Mladen Postruznik. It is the story of the ill-fated Seljan expedition and includes the disappearance of two Chicagoans in 1913. While speculating on what happened to the adventurers, the article leaves more questions than provi...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Sep 17, 2010, 8:26 am
By Joe Mathewson Twice consigned to prison by the U.S. Supreme Court for violating federal law, Eugene V. Debs of Indiana nevertheless left an influential mark on the nation, confirmed by an unlikely federal seal of approval years later. Debs attained the fame of violent conflict in Chicago. A high ...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Sep 13, 2010, 6:41 am
On October 3rd the Old Town School of Folk Music will host a benefit for two under appreciated pre-war blues musicians, Kansas Joe and Papa Charlie McCoy. The show, preceded by a free walking tour of other blues grave sites at Restvale Cemetery (including Muddy Waters) will be a survey of their musi...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Sep 11, 2010, 9:21 am
“There are stars who's light only reaches the earth long after they have fallen appart. There are people who's remembrance gives light in this world, long after they have passed away. This light shines in our darkest nights on the road we must follow.” From: The TalmudChicagobookbabe is a resea...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Sep 9, 2010, 7:13 am
Historic maps of Chicago tell all kinds of intriguing stories about the city's origins and development: vanished creeks and woods, big projects never accomplished, forgotten ethnic groups and neighborhoods, mysterious subdivisions, abandoned industrial areas, vice districts and world's fairs, ghosts...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Sep 5, 2010, 5:07 pm
HANNAH SHAPIRO and the 1910 CHICAGO GARMENT WORKERS' STRIKE By Rebecca Sive In July 1976, Hannah Shapiro Glick, the initiator of the 1910 Chicago Garment Workers' strike, saw some photos of it in a magazine feature story on the exhibition: "Forgotten Contributions: Women in Illinois History." At the...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Sep 3, 2010, 10:24 am
Yep, the Newberry has it. Really; I'm not kidding! Thanks to an "Anonymous" tip, I learned that the Bruce Roberts 1931 "Map of Chicago's gangland from authentic sources: designed to inculcate the most important principles of piety and virtue in young persons, and graphically portray the evils and si...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Sep 2, 2010, 5:39 am
UNDERGROUND CHICAGO: A WALKING TOUR Did you know that cemeteries and skeletons played a major role in the history of Chicago? Over the last 100 years, digging in almost any area of the city's original Gold Coast has uncovered unidentified skeletons and remains of the graveyards that used to inhabit ...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Aug 26, 2010, 2:41 pm
You can consider this a sidebar to today's featured book over at the Chicago History Online Library: Own Your Own Home by Ring Lardner (1919)I thought the illustrations were terrific; reminiscent of John T. McCutcheon's Bird Center cartoons. Anyone remember the Toonerville Folks? It was an extrem...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Aug 21, 2010, 7:11 am
A Packinghouse Worker's Job Margaret Hawley was 25 years old when she was interviewed in 1939 by Betty Burke for the Federal Writers' Project. Keep in mind that Upton Sinclair's gritty novel, The Jungle, exposing the exploitation and working conditions of stock yard workers, was published in 1906. T...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Aug 14, 2010, 8:14 am
It was reported that the 12,000,000 tons of dirt fell. It drifted like snow against homes and buildings. 50 m.p.h winds coupled with scorching temperatures in the 90s and only 13% humidity added to the misery. Trees were stripped of branches and leaves. Tulip beds withered. Housewives who had just c...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Aug 9, 2010, 6:05 pm
Andrew Carnegie: Godfather of Pullman, Illinois By Gregg McPherson To understand the impact of Andrew Carnegie (left, circa 1878) on the founding of Pullman, IL, we need to go back to just before the Civil War and the beginnings of the sleeping car industry. Contrary to so much popular culture, Ge...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Aug 7, 2010, 11:54 am
Let's be honest. Chicago was the poster child of industrial revolution pollution at the end of the nineteenth century; dirty streets, dirty air, dirty water and summer heat compounded the unpleasant situation. Northern winters provided little attraction either. What's a millionaire to do? A few of ...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Jul 31, 2010, 12:41 pm
If you have enjoyed yourself at one of the thousands of amusement parks around the country, you have Chicago's Columbian Exposition to thank. While rooted in the European fairs, Chicago's 1893 extravaganza is often considered the precursor of the modern American amusement park; the first to have a F...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Jul 26, 2010, 10:51 am
Frank Sinatra made it practically a city anthem, but "Chicago" (That Toddlin' Town) was actually written in 1922 by Fred Fisher. The German-born songwriter came to the United States in 1900 and he had his first big hit song in 1906 - "If the Man In the Moon Were a Coon." Ya, I'm not going to go ther...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Jul 22, 2010, 10:40 am
It is time for The Journal to take its summer vacation. Well, it is not so much a vacation as a time for study, reading and regrouping. Posting on the blog will resume September 1st, (or maybe August 1st; don't know) but I will continue to add interesting Chicago history links to The Journal's Faceb...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Jul 19, 2010, 5:17 am
There was an oppressive atmosphere of dull, stupid endurance, and the faces of most of the women were pitifully blank. There was abundant evidence of lack of opportunity for promotion, of ceaseless mechanical work, of colorless, uneventful lives, and all this with good physical conditions and fairly...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Jul 14, 2010, 1:27 pm
A Chicago chemist got a great idea in 1915, one that eventually became the foundation of the mega-makeup company, Maybelline. According to descendant and Maybelline historian, Sharrie Williams, "when a kitchen stove fire singed his sister Mabel's lashes and brows, Tom Lyle Williams watched in fascin...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Jul 10, 2010, 10:15 am
Chicago history buffs and classic film fans take note! Chicago:The Original 1927 Film has been transferred to disc by Flicker Alley and released in a special two-disc set! Directed by Chicagoan Frank Urson and produced by Cecil B. DeMille, the silent film was thought to have been lost, but a print w...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Jul 7, 2010, 1:41 pm
Received the following press release today from University Press of Mississippi regarding their latest release: During most of the twentieth century, Archibald J. Carey, Sr. and Archibald J. Carey, Jr., father and son, exemplified the blend of ministry and politics that many African American religio...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Jun 23, 2010, 1:07 pm
Newspapers’ freedom to publish, though embraced in 1789, wasn’t enforced until a Chicago publisher stepped in nearly a century and a half later By Joe Mathewson How did a loathsome, convicted publisher of a scandalous Minneapolis weekly newspaper come to be represented by a distinguished Chica...
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Sharon W. posted an article on The Chicago History Journal - Jun 15, 2010, 5:10 am
Have you always wanted to participate in an archaeological dig, but traveling to Syria was just too far? Stay in Chicago and experience some of the excitement Agatha Christie felt while traveling with her archaeologist husband, Max Mallowan (no murders, but maybe some bones). Take a walking tour of ...
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