Windy City Historians Podcast

In the Twentieth Century, Chicago’s Midway Airport had a sign that read “Crossroads of the World,” and during its heyday Midway literally was the aviation center of the world.  From a historical perspective the same has been true for Chicago reaching back a century earlier as a critical hub of the railroads, during the Industrial Age as a center for trade and manufacturing, and for centuries before a meeting place for uncounted generations of Native Americans.   The geographic reality was that where the Chicago river and estuaries of the Chicago region meet the southwest corner of Lake Michigan attracted indigenous peoples, Potawatomi, Miami, Anishinaabeg, Ho-Chunk, or Sauk and assuredly others portaging the divide, arriving by canoe or on foot.  Sometimes they stayed for a while or moved with the migration of the game and seasonal changes. Hence this place called Chicago despite the low lying, swampy, muddy, and unattractive ground due to it’s elemental location and convenient waterways has continued for centuries to be a key to the continent. This juxtaposition has spawned innumerable books on Chicago. In this episode we talk with author and Associate Professor of History John William Nelson Ph.D. about his recently published book Muddy Ground; Native Peoples, Chicago’s Portage, and the Transformation of a Continent. This exhaustive history underpinned by impressive research re-enforces the basic fact that geography frequently dictates the destiny of an area and out of this meeting place and important key transportation link to the continent this muddy ground eventually gave rise to a mighty city.  Dr. Nelson’s book brings important new insights and a fresh perspective on the Canon of portage history for Chicago to offer the reader a fresh perspective of the region and its importance for Native Americans and foundational story of Chicago’s origin and settlement. Links to Research and Historic Sources: The book, The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650–1815, (Studies in North American Indian History), by Richard White (2010) Explore the “Life of Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard” on the Chicago Portage website The book, The Autobiography of Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard, by Gurdon Hubbard (1912) The 1928 map of The location of the Chicago portage route of the seventeenth century by Robert Knight and Lucius H. Zeuch on the Chicago Portage website Wikipedia biography of Frederick Jackson Turner, (1861-1932) Historian — originator of the theory of the American frontier as a culture Archer Butler Hulbert (1873-1933) during his lifetime created and collected an amazing depth history and research most notably the 16 volume set entitled the Historic Highways of America University of Houston, Cullen College of Engineering website, “The Indian Canoe” by John Leinhart Wikipedia webpage on Pays d’en Haut – literally a French phrase translating to, “Upper Country” James H. Merrill, Ph.D. – a professor of history at Vasser College is the foremost expert on the interactions between colonialists and American Indians in early American history, and scholars agree Merrell’s work has helped shape the contemporary study of American Indian and early American history. “Pierre Margry Collection” translations at the Burton Historical Collection of the Detroit Public Library of early accounts and research from the Paris Archives by French historian Pierre Margry (1818-1894) The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Edited by Reuben Gold Thwaites Past Windy City Historians Podcast referenced in this episode: Episode One: Who Was First? Episode 2: The Place Called Chicagoua Episode 3: Urbs in Horto?

In this special episode of the Windy City Historians we revisit our discussion of 17th Century French explorer Jean Nicolet with the late historian John Swenson, J.D.. This was his last interview in which, John presents a new take, context, and history of Samuel de Champlain and Jean Nicolet’s adventures to establish New France, after the colony was taken by English privateers in 1629. Join us to learn more about this amazing history of exploration to better understand the roots of the Western European conquest of the new world and Great Lakes region. Did Jean Nicolet really venture into Green Bay? Could he have surveyed the mid-continental divide and been feted by Illinois tribes? Listen in as we honor and give tribute to Chicago historian John Swenson, a great friend to the podcast, and some fascinating history. John Swenson, Patrick McBriarty & Chris Lynch Links to Research and Historic Sources: The book, Champlain’s Dream by David Hackett Fischer Chart of the history of Canada 1534 to 1894 Ursuline Convent on the HathiTrust website Nicollet estate inventory (original in French) at the Newberry Library Champlain’s 1633 book Les Voyages de la Nouvelle France (Paris, 1632) online via Internet Archive – open to pp. 50-51 to the incursion of the Kirkes in 1629 Biography of Brother Gabriel Sagard (barer of the red robe) in Dictionary of Canadian Biography Biography of Theodore (Charles) Du Plessis-Bochart in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Theodore Du Plessis-Bochart in Wikipedia of France Paper about “Théodore Bochart; fondateur de Trois-Rivières et officier dans la marine du Roi” (biography a dozen pages) by Yannick Gendron (in French) Movie about Cardinal Richelieu (1935) on YouTube Jesuit Relations online by volume on HathiTrust website List relating Jesuit Relation years and volumes

In this Special Episode we take a view of Chicago History — Cicada style. For in the world of entomology, 2024 was a big year.  As two cicada broods The Great Southern Brood, which emerge every 13-years and is the largest of all periodical cicada broods and The Northern Illinois Brood which emerges every 17-years, coincided in 2024.  In places like Springfield, Illinois one could witness both broods in a cacophony of ear-shattering buzzing.   The last time these broods coincided was in 1803, the same year Fort Dearborn was built near the lakefront at a bend in the Chicago River — what is now the intersection of Wacker Drive and Michigan Avenue.  For those paying attention walking through this intersection will see rectangular brass inserts marking the boundaries of Fort Dearborn. It turns out the arrival of the 17-year cicadas offers an interesting metronome for the study of Chicago history.  These emergences have come at momentous times throughout the city’s history, and coincide with at least two events memorialized as stars on the Chicago flag. Join the Windy City Historians as we buzz through 221 years of history to see how cicadas left their mark on Chicago’s history.  Links to Research and Historic Sources: The New York Times had a fabulous article called “Maps of Two Cicada Broods, Revealed after 221 years,” by Jonathan Forum Biography of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Botanist Harry A. Allard (1880-1962) “Where billions of cicadas will emerge this spring (and over the next decade), in one map” by Brian Resnick, Vox website, May 3, 2024 Biography of William B. Ogden, Wikipedia website The Peshtigo Fire, Wisconsin Historical Society website, historical essay Goose Island: From the Encyclopedia of Chicago website Benjamin Harrison, The biography for President Harrison and past presidents is courtesy of the White House Historical Association History of the Chicago Defender, Chicago Defender website Biography of Marian Anderson in Wikipedia website YouTube video on , John F. Kennedy nominates Adlai Stevenson in 1955 Album details of Louis Armstrong Chicago Concert – 1956 on Discogs website Biography of Mike Royko on Wikipedia website Exhibit Looks at Legendary Chicago Journalist Mike Royko and a Changing Media Industry, by Marc Vitali | August 23, 2024 4:07 pm on WTTW website The Sears Tower on Wikipedia website “Cicada Map of Chicago’s Suburbs” By NBC 5 Staff • Published May 23, 2024 • Updated on May 23, 2024 at 12:43 pm

Chicago is blessed to still have two daily newspapers, while many other U.S. cities are lucky to have one. And too many these days have none. In light of such loss, it is remarkable to learn that at one time, Chicago had at least nine newspapers and in that age reporters and editors would do just about anything to get a scoop. The era is epitomized by the stage play “The Front Page” authored by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, who mined their experiences as Chicago reporters into Broadway and Hollywood fame. One of the most infamous men who lived through this Front Page Era and beyond was Harry Romanoff. As the resourceful night editor of the Chicago American “Romy”, as he was best know, would regularly outwit his competition armed with little more than a telephone to purloin gritty details, suss out the story, and get the scoop.  Today my co-host Chris Lynch has scored a historic scoop! So the Windy City Historians can bring you a 54-year-old, previously unknown, and never before available audio of Harry “Romy” Romanoff spinning tales from his 50-year career. Do not miss hearing these incredible stories from the 1920s to the 1960s from the man himself. Stories about the rich and famous, murderers, high-society scandals, gangsters and more. Join us in this extended episode for the colorful antics and anecdotes of a key newsman who not only witnessed but helped create Chicago’s newspaper heyday. Also catch a rare recording of Romy’s friend William Sianis founder of the famed Billy Goat Tavern & Grill and the Cubs curse of the goat. Credits from the 1931 Movie Ben Hecht and Charles Macarthur Chicago American front page Chicago American front page Harry J. Romanoff Harold Fowler McCormick Ganna Walska Samuel “Samoots” Amatuna Robert Irwin – the Mad Sculptor Sun-Times News Room c.1950 William Sianis, former proprietor of the Billy Goat Tavern with Murphy his goat in 1945. Links to Research and Historic Sources: Ben Hecht biography in the Encyclopedia Britannica The play The Front Page in Wikipedia The 1931 film The Front Page (1 hr. 40 min.) produced by Howard Hughes on YouTube Chicago newsman and editor Harry J. Romanoff’s Obituary from the New York Times Charles Macarthur biography from Spartacus Education Harold Fowler McCormick in Wikipedia Ganna Walska in Wikipedia Serge Voronoff in Wikipedia Sculptor “Lorado Taft and Chicago Sculpture” from the Encyclopedia of Chicago Series Murderer, “Robert Irwin: The Mad Sculptor” on the Encyclopedia of Chicago website Ganster Samuzzo Amatuna in Wikipedia The death of Samuel “Samoots” Amatuna on Nov. 13, 1925 as reported in the Chicago Daily Tribune Chicago and Midway Airport Photographer Mike Rotunno and Chris’ book When Hollywood Landed at Chicago’s Midway Airport: The Photos & Stories of Mike Rotunno Chicago south side’s March 4th, 1961 Tornado in the Chicago Tribune’s “Ask Tom”, on March 3, 2015 “The Billy Goat Curse” the legend explained on The Billy Goat Tavern & Grill’s website and Bleacher Nation’s take on the Curse, “75 Years Ago Today, a Dude Got Mad About a Goat” with a video An interesting side gig for Harry Romanoff included the Burma Brand which was part of his company the “Empire Spice Mills MFG Co., est. 1936” on the Made in Chicago website

All too often history repeats itself — with tragic results. During the last 100-years, the killing of one person becomes symbolic and spawns a larger tragedy. Irregularly bubbling to the surface these crises rise from elemental rents and systemic failures in the fabric of society. We call to mind the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25th, 2020 and beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles on March 3rd, 1991 and so on cascading back to the stoning and subsequent drowning of Eugene Williams on July 27th, 1919 off Chicago’s 29th Street Beach. The violence inflicted on these three men (and countless others) focused outrage to rally outcries, spark civil unrest and riots lasting multiple days. The conditions fanning the flames did not occur in a vacuum nor isolation, but built over time, due to compounding slights, inequality, and oppression. Although intermittent riots sprang up in different eras and regions of the country, the basic facts were the same; Black men were killed or beaten by white policemen or in Eugene Williams’ case, stones thrown and the palpable anger of whites against Blacks caused the drowning of the 17 year-old. In the aftermath of these deaths and days of violence people asked, “Why did this happen?” In Windy City Historians podcast Episode 29 – “The Chicago Race Riots of 1919” we explore the conditions of that hot, “Red Summer”, where Chicago, (and other cities) wrestled with the chaos of civil unrest. Through interviews with Claire Hartfield, the author of “A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919”, as well as commentary from Professor Charles Branham, Ph.D. we walk through the riot’s lasting legacy on Chicago, it’s Black community, and the many questions raised by an oppressive summer a century ago. Questions that are still being raised today, more than a century later. Robert S. Abbott, Publisher of the Chicago Defender Crowd in front of a storefront during the race riots in 1919. Examples of 1919 Commemoration Project glass blocks Crowd of men and National Guard Soldiers at tail end of 1919 Riots Black Veteran encounters National Guard Soldier during Riots. Black Veterans defended their neighborhoods from whites, while Guardsmen’s job was to quell violence. Links to Research and Historic Sources: “Chicago Race Riots of 1919” by Julius L. Jones, Chicago History Museum Blog “Chicago Race Riots“, Chicago Encyclopedia “City on Fire: Chicago Race Riot 1919“, by Natalie Moore, WBEZChicago, Nov. 23, 2019 “Carl Sandburg and the Chicago Race Riots of 1919“, Carl Sandburg Home, National Park Service, website Carl Sandburg poem “I am the People, the Mob” by Poetry in Voice 2016 winner Marie Foolchand at the Griffin Poetry Prize awards – audio used in this episode (at 39:20) In Memoriam, August Meier, by David Levering Lewis, Perspectives on History, Sept. 1, 2003 The book, “A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919” by Claire Hartfield The book, ”City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster that Gave Birth to Modern Chicago” by Gary Krist. “Black Soldiers in American Wars: Chicago’s ‘Fighting 8th’ and the 370th Regiment” from Black History Heros Blog “Flashback: Chicago’s first black alderman sat as the lone African-American voice on the city’s council – and then, Congress“, by Christen A. Johnson, Chicago Tribune, Feb. 14, 2023 The book, Big Bill of Chicago by Lloyd Wendt and Herman Kogan, Forward by Rick Kogan The Negro in Chicago; A Study of Race Relations and a Race Riot, by the Chicago Commission on Race Relations The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project (CCR19) by Peter Cole, Franklin N. Cosey-Gay, Myles X Francis Robert S. Abbott, Chicago Literary Hall of Fame website “1919 Race Riots Memorial Project will honor victims where the died — in streets all over city“, by Michael Loria, Chicago Sun Times, Feb. 20, 2023 “1914–Chicago Surface Lines“, Chicagology “Mapping Chicago’s 1919 race riots“, by Jack Wang, UChicago News, July 22, 2019

We are still living with many of the changes brought about by the Great War. The war to end all wars as World War I was called and the war’s impacts dramatically changed Chicago and the world. As we discuss, WWI tipped society to institute Prohibition, playing the national anthem at sporting events, spurred The Great Migration, suppressed of Chicago’s German culture, and made Jazz popular. All of these changes and more still affect and resonate in Chicago today. In this episode join us as we talk with historian Joe Gustaitis about these fascinating stories from his third book Chicago Transformed: World War I and the Windy City. Don’t miss this great discussion about the early 20th Century transformation by WWI of Chicago from a strongly German city into an even more diverse patchwork quilt of peoples and ethnicities of today. Parade of 370th Infantry in 1919 Author Joseph Gustaitis Armistice Day in Chicago ROTC Drills on Stagg Field in 1917 370th Infantry (Old Illinois 8th) 15th New York singing during return from WWI Dough boys marching in Chicago in 1917 ROTC Drills at Stagg Field on Univ. of Chicago Campus U.S. Government War Exposition at Grant Park – Sept. 2-15, 1918 Links to Research and Historic Sources: “History of American Music, as Recorded in Richmond, Indian”, by Avery Gregurich, Belt Magazine, Dec. 3, 2021 “Richmond: Birthplace of Recorded”, Originally submitted by: David M. McIntosh, Representative (2nd District) Library of Congress, Local Legacies website “The Paramount Records story: How Grafton left an unlikely legacy on American blues music”, by Maddie Burakoff, Spectrum News 1, Feb. 20, 2022 “The Chicagoans who served in World War I” by Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, March 18, 2018 “Germans” from the Encyclopedia of Chicago About Kennesaw Mountain Landis, “Baseball’s first commissioner faced impeachment for taking the job” by Frederic J. Frommer, The Washington Post, April 9, 2022 “About Jane Addams and Hull House”, Jane Addams-Hull House Museum website “History” About Contigny Park from their website “Samuel J. ‘Nails’ Morton: From War Hero to Ganster” by Jay Robert Nash from the Annals of Crime website “Why the Star Spangled Banner is Played At Sporting Events” by Becky Little, History Channel website, Aug. 31, 2018 “Forgotten Story of Illinois’ Black World War I Regiment”, by Daniel Haultzinger, WTTW, Nov. 10, 2017 Book Chicago Transformed: World War I and the Windy City by Joe Gustaitis

In American history, we were taught that pioneers and homesteaders moved from east to west settling the continent in the greater pursuit of “Manifest Destiny” — killing and obfuscating the First Nations peoples’ way of life.  However, another American pattern often overlooked is the migration from south to the north.  Starting less than a century after a Black man of Haitian decent named Jean Baptiste Point DeSable became Chicago’s first non-indigenous settler; African Americans in large numbers began leaving southern States and moving to the north, which historians now call “The Great Migration”.  Their motives were that of people everywhere seeking jobs, opportunity, and a better life. Northern States offered jobs and a relief from the weight of Jim Crow. For many Chicago had became a beacon of hope as Black-owned newspapers and in particular the “Chicago Defender”, distributed by Pullman Porters, gave hope to generations of former slaves, farmers, and sharecroppers.  Beginning as early as the 1880s and then from approximately 1910 to the 1970, rural southern Blacks by the thousands made their way north throughout these decades. And, just as the journey changed them, their music, culture, and customs changed Chicago.  Northern cities, and Chicago in particular, were not always welcoming, as decent  housing was scarce as restrictive covenants and red-lining forced African Americans to live in “The Black Belt”. This tightly constrained strip of blocks on the city’s south side, initially between 22nd and 31st Streets, later extending south to 39th and eventually to 95th Street and roughly sandwiched between the railroad tracks of the Rock Island on the west and Illinois Central to the east.  But even with forced segregation, many black businesses thrived, and a sense of place was established creating Bronzeville and its famous “Stroll”. Join the Windy City Historians as we delve into the Great Migration with Dr. Charles Brahnam, author and professor, and the perfect guide to take us on a journey into the Great Migration. A trip populated by famous brave and fearless black Chicagoans such as Ida B. Wells, Oscar DePriest, and Robert S. Abbott and into a better understand of this massive cultural shift for the nation and Chicago in particular. King Oliver Jazz Band Links to Research and Historic Sources: “The Long-Lasting Legacy of the Great Migration”, by Isabel Wilkerson for Smithsonian Magazine, Sept. 2016 Great Migration from Encyclopedia of Chicago website Dr. Charles Russell Branham interview on C-Span Steve Green story from the Arkansas Encyclopedia website Illinois Gov. Len Small from Wikipedia (Please note in our interview we say he was governor, but at the time of the Steve Green story he was involved in Illinois politics but not yet governor.) Ida B Wells: WTTW Chicago Stories Ida B. Wells biography from the Black Past website Ida B. Wells-Burnett biography from the Women’s History website Ferdinand Lee Barnett’s biography from the Black Past website Robert S Abbott biography on Wikipedia Oscar Stanton De Priest biography on Wikipedia Edward Herbert Wright biography on Wikipedia Jesse Binga biography on Wikipedia Carter G. Woodson biography on Wikipedia Chicago Race Riot of 1919 on Wikipedia Jim Crow laws from Wikipedia “History of Lynching in America” from the NAACP website A recommended book, THE DEFENDER: How the Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America From the Age of the Pullman Porters to the Age of Obama By Ethan Michaeli Boll weevil devastation from Wikipedia Pullman Porters from Wikipedia The Jones Boys, “From Riots to Renaissance: Policy Kings” from WTTW’s website The Incredible History and Cultural Legacy of the Bronzeville Neighborhood from Chicago Detours website Explore Bronzeville from the Blueprint for Bronzeville website Booker T. Washington biography from Wikipedia The South Side’s Last Remaining Jazz Landmarks article from Chicago Magazine Thomas A. Dorsey from the Gospel Music Hall of Fame website Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson performs at the March on Washington, August 28th, 1963 on YouTube Muddy Waters biography on Wikipedia King Oliver biography on Wikipedia Louis Armstrong biography on Wikipedia Music Samples in this Episode: Jimmie Noone’s Apex Club Orchestra – Let’s Sow A Wild Oat King Oliver’s Jazz Band (w/ Louis Armstrong) 1923 – Sweet Lovin’ Man Louis Armstrong 1928 – West End Blues Cab Calloway 1958 – Minnie the Moocher Olivet Baptist Church in Chicago from the Black Past website Olivet Baptist Church from it’s own website

In 1909 Chicago changed dramatically both physically and intellectually. Having grown through fits and starts via annexation and experiencing the most rapid population growth of any city in history, to that point, the Chicago City Council approved a new street and address system in 1908. The new address system took effect in 1909 and employed the Philadelphia and furlong systems to renumber, rename, and rationalize street names and addresses across the city. 1909 also ushered in a momentous intellectual shift in perceptions of what Chicago was and could be. Authored by architects Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett The Plan of Chicago offered an idyllic and revolutionary vision for Windy City that still resonate. Join us in this episode as we interview cartographer, historian, and geographer Dennis McClendon to delve into these concrete and esoteric plans that forever changed the physicality and vision of Chicago. Plans and improvements that are still relevant and reverberate acros Chicago’s streets, city planning, development and architecture to this day. Edward Brennan in 1926 Excerpt from the Street Renaming Directory of 1909 Bird’s eye view rendering from The Plan of Chicago Map of the central business district from The Plan of Chicago Daniel Burnham & Edward Bennett Links to Research and Historic Sources: More about cartographer, historian, & geographer Dennis McClendon History of 3-principal mapping companies in the U. S.: Rand McNally, H.N. Gousha, and General Drafting Edward Brennan, author of Chicago’s street renaming and renumbering system Philadelphia Street Numbering system explained Furlong system explained Overview of the “Roads and expressways in Chicago” in Wikipedia “Old Addresses” article on the pre-1909 addresses from the Forgotten Chicago website Chicagoland Books & Files including the Chicago Street Renaming & Renumbering Directories of 1909 from the Living History of Illinois website Milwaukee’s Street Renaming & Renumbering from the Encyclopedia of Milwaukee website Overview of The Plan of Chicago from the Chicago Architecture Center website Biography of Daniel Burnham from the Chicago Public Library website “Who was Edward Bennett? And why has he been overshadowed for a century by Daniel Burnham?” by Patrick Reardon on the Burnham Plan Centennial website Wacker’s Manual as described by the Chicago Architecture Center website “‘Big Bill’ Thompson: Chicago’s unfiltered mayor,” by Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune article Feb. 5, 2016 Chicago’s Midway (formerly Municipal) Airport history from the Encyclopedia of Chicago “Chicago’s Municipal Pier,” (#2, now Navy Pier) from Chicagology website Northerly Island from the Chicago Architecture Center website “Displaced: When the Eisenhower Expressway Moved in Who Was Moved Out?” by Robert Loerzel from the WBEZ website McMillan Plan for the Washington D.C. “mall” from Wikipedia Chicago’s Millennium Park from Wikipedia

The path to riches is not often associated with journalism, but in the case of George Ade, writing for Chicago newspapers was his road to wealth and fame. Ade, (1866-1944) who was born and raised in Kentland, Indiana, attended Purdue University and then came to Chicago to work as a reporter in the heydays of newspapers. Today George Ade is rarely remembered, with his books out of print, and decades since his musical comedies were performed. But from the 1890s to the early 20th century, he was compared to Mark Twain, a friend of his, and had not just one, but two hit plays on Broadway at the same time. Ade earned so much money from his successful books, plays and syndicated newspaper columns, he built an English Tutor on a 400-acre estate in Indiana, named Hazelden. There Ade threw big parties and was visited there by U.S. Presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Calvin Coolidge. In fact, Taft began his Presidential campaign of 1908 from Hazelden. Ade’s name lives on through his philanthropy, like the donation of 65 acres, with fellow alum David E. Ross, to Purdue University, for a football stadium in 1924, which is now known as Ross-Ade Stadium. What was true then about Ade’s writing is also true now, and that is Ade’s stories are hilarious. His final book “The Old Time Saloon” (1931) is laugh-out-loud funny and a recent edition from the University of Chicago Press is annotated by Bill Savage. Bill Savage, Ph.D. is a professor of English at Northwestern University and our guide through not only the work “The Old-Time Saloon: Not Wet – Not Dry, Just History” and this podcast. Dr. Savage paints a picture of the Chicago Ade knew from the high-class Saloons downtown to the more seedy establishments frequented by his friend, Finely Peter Dunne, whose literary bartender, Martin T. Dooley, delighted a nation with his quips. Writers like Ade and Dunne started out as journalists, and along the way captured the rhythms of speech and the vernacular of the working man, and in doing so gave birth to a new type of literature. A style practiced later by authors such as James Farrell, Nelson Algren, Mike Royko and Stuart Dybek. We hope you will enjoy this dive into Chicago’s literary and drinking past. Links to Research and Historic Sources: The book, The Old-Time Saloon by George Ade Chicago writer and author George Ade (1866-1944) Ross-Ade Stadium at Purdue University Northwestern Professor of English Bill Savage, Ph.D. Hazelden (George Ade House) in Brook, Indiana Chicago writer and author Peter Finley Dunne (1867-1937) Mr.Dooley on the Immigration Problem (1898) adapted from the writings of Finley Peter Dunne, performed by Alexander Kulcsar. “Who’s Your Chinaman?”: The Origins Of An Offensive Piece Of Chicago Political Slang By Monica Eng Era of “Hinky Dink” Kenna and “Bathhouse John” Coughlin from the Encyclopedia of Chicago “Mickey Finn: The Chicago Bartender Who Infamously Drugged And Robbed Patrons With Laced Drinks,” By Natasha Ishak Published September 24, 2019 The Everleigh Club from Wikipedia Chicago Daley News Building (Riverside Plaza) from Wikipedia Douglas Copeland’s novel “Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture” Straw Hat Ettiquette from the Vintage Dancer website Liz Garibay’s website: History on Tap “The Dry Season” by Steve Rhodes, published June 22, 2007 in Chicago Magazine The book, The World Is Always Coming to an End: Pulling Together and Apart in a Chicago Neighborhood (Chicago Visions and Revisions) by Carlo Rotella (2019) Jimmy’s Woodlawn Tap from the Chicago Bar Project website American novelist and journalist, Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) in Wikipedia Writer, poet, and author, Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) The book Native Son by Richard Wright (1908-1960) Studs Lonigan: A Trilogy by James T. Farrell (1904-1979) American novelist and short story writer Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941) in Wikipedia American writer Nelson Algren (1909-1981) in Wikipedia Chicago: City on the Make by Nelson Algren (1951) The book, Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago by Mike Royko (1988) The book, The Coast of Chicago by Stuart Dybek (2004) German-American business man and philanthropist Charles Wacker (1856-1929) in Wikipedia “Back to School with Bill Savage: Class of ’80” by Bill Savage in the Chicago Reader, Aug. 25, 2011 The restaurant Al’s Beef

October is Railroad history month in Chicago. Although we already released Episode 24 – The Railroads on the history of railroads in Chicago there was too much good stuff to stop there. So we are sharing this Bonus episode from our interview with retired railroad engineer and historian David Daruszka about his experiences as a locomotive engineer. We hope you will enjoy this additional segment in honor of Railroad History Month we are calling “Working on the Railroad.” Poster by Mitch Markovitz First Female African-American UP Engineer Eric Smith Railroad Art Engineer on eastbound Pennsylvania RR Engineer running a Steam Locomotive WWII Railroad Poster Alaska Train Engineer

For 150 years, Chicago has remained the country’s busiest rail hub at the center of the nation’s rail network. In all, 40 railroads provide services from Illinois to every part of the United States and all seven of the major North American freight railways converge in Chicago to make it the largest US rail gateway. Moving anything coast-to-coast by rail is almost guaranteed to pass through Chicago. In 2011, Illinois ranked first in the US for rail freight volume accounting for 490.4 million tons. Today, the state is the world’s third most active rail intermodal hub with 25% of U.S. freight rail traffic and 46% of all intermodal traffic beginning, ending or traveling through Chicago. Each day, nearly 500 freight trains and 760 passenger trains pass through the Chicago region, moving the goods and people that are the life blood of the national economy. In this episode we talk with retired train engineer and rail historian David Daruszka to discuss Chicago’s rail history from its founding in 1848 to its peak in the 1940s and on into today’s operations. Though the waterways established Chicago the railroads soon became a key connector and transfer link to the continent from east to west and north to south. The development of Chicago from a frontier town into a world-class city could not have happened as it did without the railroads. Chicago became and arguably still is the greatest railroad center in the world. We hope you enjoy this journey into Chicago’s railroad history. Map of Railroads in and out of Chicago Locomotive “The Pioneer” Stock Certificate Grand Crossing in 1902 Map of the Illinois Central Railway Plaque commemorating the railroad establishing Standard Time Union Stockyard Columbian Expostion Train Station in 1893 Roundhouse at the Calumet Yard Pullman Porter Museum in Chicago Pullman Car Interior Pullman Car at the Illinois Railway Museum Early Refrigerated Car Links to Research and Historic Sources: “Transportation that Built Chicago: the importance of the railroads” from the Curbed Chicago website Chicago’s Grand Crossing neighborhood and railroad crossing in Wikipedia Pullman Porters from the History Channel website C-Span Book Talk with Larry Tye author of the book Pullman Porters and the Making of the Black Middle Class (2004) “Why Was Casey Jones an American Folk Hero?” from the History Channel website Samuel Insull history and bio on Wikipedia Relocating the tracks at Midway Airport from the Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal Chicago Railroad Fair narrated 1948 home video on YouTube Chicago Railroad Fair Color Home Movies 1948 Film of “Wheels A Rolling” musical history of trains from the Chicago Railroad Fair of 1948/49 on YouTube Operation Lifesaver offers school and community group presentations on RR crossing safety “Stand by Me” (1986) movie clip of the Train bridge scene Article on Chicago’s last roundhouse “NKP’s Calument Yard, Coaling Tower, Roundhouse, Turntable” on the Industrial History website Chicago Railroad Stations from Chicagology.com Link to railroad historian Fred Ash’s book Chicago Union Station Freight Rail Overview from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration website

Native Americans held great respect for natural systems while also managing the landscape to support their people and way of life. As “civilization” came to this area Chicago became a military outpost, village, city and metropolis and its residents were confronted with the elemental and reoccurring issue of controlling water — both fresh and waste water. Managing this cycle of use and renewal the city has over the decades repeatedly invested millions into various projects to drain the land, process waste, and modify the waterways for both sanitation and navigation. These major projects have included altering waterways, building canals, tunnels, and water works and treatment facilities to make the greater Chicago area livable and comfortable on a day-to-day basis for the millions of residents and annual visitors each year. In this episode we will discuss how Chicago came to not only reverse the Y-shaped river running through its downtown, but also the precedents and solutions to regulate fresh water, sewage, flooding, and growing needs of the population. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) formerly known as The Sanitary District was created in 1889 to manage the area’s water resources and was tasked with building the Sanitary & Ship Canal to protect Lake Michigan and our source for drinking water. Toward this end we speak with Dick Lanyon who is an author, historian and retired MWRD engineer to explain this amazing story of political power and engineering genius that created the evolving regional system of water management for Chicagoland. Ellis S. Chesbrough (1813-1886) Drawing of building the water intake cribs in Chicago Digging of the Sanitary & Ship Canal Temporary dam on the South Fork of the Chicago River Work on the embankment Work on shore pilings Removal of the center-pier of a swing bridge in the river A dredge at work Work on a rock section of the Sanitary & Ship Canal Canal work Preparing to fill in the canal near the stockyards Towing barges on the canal Links to Research and Historic Sources: Books by retired MWRD engineer and historian Richard Lanyon History of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District from their website Biography of engineer Elis S. Chesbrough from the ASCE website History of the Chicago Water Cribs from the Industrial History website posted Feb. 3, 2016

Looking back on historical events, whether it is the Civil War or the Chicago Fire, they are usually presented in isolation, a individual events separated by subject, pinned to a specific date or period of time.  Yet, history is not nearly so neat and tidy, and to someone who lived through those times, it becomes part of the greater tapestry of life.  With this in mind our latest and 22nd episode of the Windy City Historians podcast “Eyewitness to History” approaches this historical journey following the experiences of Chicago policeman, John E. Fitzpatrick (1852-1902). As a Patrol Sergeant Fitzpatrick was present at the Haymarket Bombing of 1886, rose rapidly through the ranks to soon attain the position of Inspector and lead the honor guard for President Cleveland for the opening ceremonies of the Columbian Exposition of 1893.  A year later, Inspector Fitzpatrick would be embroiled in a chaotic summer due to the Pullman Railroad Strike, and the following year is assigned as lead detective on the H.H. Holmes serial murder cases that shocked a nation.  A century later, these remarkable stories and adventures were unearthed by his great-great-granddaughter and our guest, Kim Fitzpatrick. Based on Kim’s diligent research we uncover the life and times of John E. Fitzpatrick and present this fascinating and personal history of his decorated Chicago Police career. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed learning the Fitzpatricks’ story. Note: This episode was updated on May 4, 2021 to correct a missing “great” to Kim Fitzpatrick’s relation and great-great grandfather John E. Fitzpatrick. John E. Fitzpatrick Kim Fitzpatrick Newspaper sketch of Inspector Fitzpatrick The Raising of Chicago buildings George Pullman Chief Francis O’Neill Union Leader Eugene V. Debs Debs Cartoon Illinois Gov. John Peter Altgeld Pullman Car Interior Replica of the Lincoln Funeral Pullman Car Wreckage from the Johnstown Flood Pullman Strike Scene Links to Research and Historic Sources: John E. Fitzpatrick obituary, Chicago Tribune, Mar. 27, 1902 Opening Day of the Columbian Exposition: May 1st, 1893, a series of articles on The World’s Fair website posted in April 2018 The Time They Lifted Chicago Fourteen Feet, on the enjoy Illinois website posted Dec. 3, 2018 The Lincoln Funeral Train, on the Illinois History & Lincoln Collections blog posted Aug. 30, 2019 The Johnstown Flood, by David McCullough published Jan. 15, 1987 Johnstown Flood Memorial, National Park Service website H.H. Holmes (1861 – 1896), on Wikipedia on this serial killer also chronicled in the book below Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson “How a Deadly Railroad Strike Led to the Labor Day Holiday,” by Sarah Pruitt posted Aug. 27, 2019 on the History Channel website The Pullman Strike 1894 history on the Kansas Heritage website Historic Pullman Foundation website Chief O’Neill’s Pub & Restaurant website A Harvest Saved: Francis O’Neill and Irish Music in Chicago, by Nicholas Carolan published April 1997 Francis O’Neill: The Police Chief Who Saved Irish Music, on WTTW’s Chicago Stories website Pullman Strike, by Melvin I. Urofsky on Encyclopedia Britannica website Pullman National Monument on the Nation Parks Service website Adam Selzer astonishing Chicago website by this historian, author and tour guide President Obama dedicates the Pullman Site a national monument on YouTube posted on July 21, 2016 “The Rise and Fall of the Sleeping Car King,” by Jack Kelly, Jan. 11, 2019 on Smithsonian Magazine website

As we conclude this three-part mini-series on the Columbian Exposition of 1893, we talk about a few favorite exhibits and stories about the Fair, connections that exist still, and relevancy of the World’s Fair today. A major event for Chicago and honored by a star on the Chicago Flag the Fair brought Chicago and the United States to the world stage to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of Christopher Columbus coming to America. Join us as we speak with Paul Durica the Director of Exhibitions at the Newberry Library and historian and writer Jeff Nichols. And to complete this show, co-host Chris Lynch shares additional stories and connections with this World’s Fair culled from his research on the topic. Join us for a fascinating ride through Windy City history on this episode about the Chicago Columbian Exposition and World’s Fair of 1893. Map of the Fair Fair visitors on the Midway Plaisance A belly dancer from the Streets of Cairo Exhibit The dancer Little Egypt, stellar attraction at the World’s Columbian Exposition The first electric moving-sidewalk The Japanese pavilion 1894 ruins of the Fair A image of the destroyed Fair grounds after the 1894 fire Links to Research and Historic Sources: A history of the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893, link to this four volume set in Hathi Trust Panic of 1893 in Wikipedia The Columbian Museum and history of the Field Museum from their website Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect of the Columbian Exposition in Encyclopedia Britannica “The Man Behind the Man Behind Oz: W. W. Denslow at 150,” by Michael Patrick Hern, July 5, 2006 on the AIGA website. Harriet Monroe (1860 – 1936) a biography on the Poetry Foundation website Lumpen Radio – community radio station located in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago at 105.5 FM Aunt Jemima and the Pearl Milling Company John Phillips Sousa a biography on the Library of Congress website Thomas Edison film in 1896 of Little Egypt on YouTube Music Lesson: The Streets of Cairo from Larsen Halleck on YouTube

We continue our discussion of Chicago’s first World’s Fair to learn why carousels were risque, the Ferris Wheel encouraged voyeurism, Columbus was cool, and unfortunately racism was the norm. In addition, the 1893 World’s Fair was a launching pad for many new products, industries, and processes that were promoted, were popularized or invented as a result of the Fair, like the Post Card, Cracker Jacks, the Zipper, and many more. In this second World’s Columbian Exposition episode, we talk with historian and Director of Exhibitions at the Newberry Library Paul Durica, to explore the various exhibits, tone, and tenor of the Fair and Chicago in 1893. Plus, additional snippets from our interview with historian Jeff Nichols. This World’s Fair transformed a swampy patch of lakefront, which is now Jackson Park on Chicago’s south side, and remnant lagoons and three harbors still exist there today. Besides these physical remainders of the Fair, this historic exhibition also marked Chicago history through the gathering of many influential people and ideas from around the world. This Fair was the impetus for the sharing of world cultures and intermixing of peoples and traditions that still impacts us today. Join us on this episode for more fascinating stories surrounding the World’s Columbian Exhibition of 1893. Ida B. Wells Frederick Douglass The Midway The Liberal Arts Building Turkish Village Exhibition The Electricity Hall Rickshaws on the Midway Plaisance The Administration Building The electrified Court of Honor of the White City Links to Research and Historic Sources: Chicago Tribune May 4, 2017 article, “Take a ‘walking tour’ of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition — the ‘White City'” Chicago by Day and Night, edited by Paul Durica and Bill Savage The Midway Airport Historians Chicago: City on the Make, by Nelson Algren The Auditorium Theatre a national historic landmark “Life at the Infamous Civil War Libby Prison,” by Holly Goodbey The History of the Carousel The Making of the Modern U.S. website, “Chicago’s World’s Fair 1893” about the significance of electrification at the Fair Potter Palmer Ida B. Wells-Barnett, by Arlisha R. Norwood on the National Women’s History Museum website Frederick Douglass (c. 1818 – 1895) on the Biography website The Redman’s Rebuke, by Simon Pokagon Studs Lonigan, by James T. Farrell Julian Hawthorne (1846 – 1934) the American writer and journalist and son fo the novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne Steele McKaye actor, playwright, and inventor of the World’s biggest Theater Eadweard Muybridge (1830 – 1904) known for pioneering work on motion and early motion pictures Frances Hodgson Burnett author of several children’s novels including The Secret Garden (1911) Museum of Science and Industry today The building on the right as it was at the Columbian Exposition in 1893

In 1893, Chicago is host to one of the most recognized and internationally famous world fairs, which honors the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus arriving in America. Granted it was a year later than planned, but it became known for the advancement and development of many companies and ideas. A specially built exposition landscape was created south of the then city limits in Jackson Park in what was the neighboring township of Hyde Park, which was annexed in 1891. The White City as this world’s fair became know was the first major use of electricity, which lit the World’s Columbian Exposition buildings and grounds from May 1st until October 30, 1893. This Fair is legendary to Chicago history and commemorated by the third star in the Chicago Flag. With our previous episode we learned about the many things that occurred in Chicago in 1893 and here we dive into the Fair and interview historian and writer Jeff Nichols with some snippets from a future interview with historian Paul Durica. This is the first installment in a three part mini-series on the World’s Columbian Exposition and the White City. We hope you will enjoy it. Balloon on the Midway Plaisance Cover for Sheet Music from the Fair Circus performers on the Midway Plaisance The U.S. Government Building at the Fair Columbian Exposition Ferris Wheel The White City Links to Research and Historic Sources: The World’s Fair Chicago 1893 website offers a great collection of information about the Fair. A Bird’s Eye view of the World’s Columbian Exposition is a great digital map on the Library of Congress’ digital archives A link to Jeff Nichols author page, including articles in the Chicago Reader Paul Durica’s Pocket Guide to Hell, i.e. Chicago A history of the Alley L initiated for 1893 Chicago World’s Fair A history of the City Beautiful movement The H. H. Holmes Hotel constructed by the infamous serial killer made popular in The Devil in the White City by Eric Larsen Frederick Douglass’ speech at the World’s Columbian Exposition A history on Ellis Bennett from the Chicago Reader, “A Story of Squatters’ Rights, a House from the World’s Fair, and a Remarkably Stubborn Man” by Jeff Nichols The book World’s Fair Notes: A Woman Journalist Views Chicago’s 1893 Columbian Exposition, by Marion Shaw An article on “Buffalo Bill Goosed the World’s Fair,” by Matt Braun Alderman Johnny Powers “The War of the Currents” between Thomas Edison and Nicholas Tesla and the lighting the World’s Columbian Exposition The New York Times review of the new biography Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight

For most historians if you mention Chicago and the year 1893, they will immediately think of the World’s Colombian Exposition. However, there was much more going on in Chicago during that year that still resonates today. Beyond the excitement surrounding the Fair, 1893 was pivotal for the many new contributions, innovations, and changes that impacted the city and beyond. Many Chicago institutions we know today are tied to or originated during that year. A short list would include the first Chicago Cubs stadium, the tamale, the hot dog, Wrigley chewing gum, and much more. This monumental year holds many interesting stories well beyond the White City as a backdrop that was in direct contrast with Chicago’s work-a-day world, some would call “Gray City.” Join us in this episode for the extraordinary changes and important events of 1893, as we speak with historian and author Joe Gustaitis to set the scene for an upcoming episode focused on the Colombian Exposition and the White City. author Findley Peter Dunne author Henry Blake Fuller author George Ade Marshall Field Busy State Street c.1893 Swami Vivekananda Three successive buildings of the Marshall Field & Company Store on State Street The very first World’s Parliament of Religions held at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1893 West Side Grounds from 1906 World Series Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox Links to Research and Historic Sources: 1893, Chicago’s Greatest Year, by Joseph Gustaitis Chicago Literary Renaissance, Encyclopedia of Chicago A History of Midland Authors, Part 1, by Robert Loerzel on the Society of Midland Authors Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1893, from the Harvard University’s Pluralism Project Bio of Swami Vivekananda who brought Yoga to the United States Bio of Julius Rosenwald Marshall Field & Company State Street Stores, Chicaogology Bio of Hamlin Garland who helped create The Attic Club, which two years later was renamed The Cliff Dwellers Club Selfridge’s History of the Vienna Beef Co. The history of Chicago National League Ball Parks including the West Side Grounds on Chicagology General Santa Anna and chicle Chicle the natural chewing gum History of the Wrigley Company, from the Made In Chicago website Francis Willard House Museum & Archives in Evanston, IL Women’s (Bike) History Month: Francis Willard, by Liz Murphy Cycling in Chicago, by Chris McAuliffe as reviewed by Zachary Schuster in Cyclocross Magazine

Why is May Day a holiday celebrated all over the world, but not in the United States? The answer is piece of Chicago history pointing to the events culminating at Haymarket Square on May 4th, 1886.  As part of a campaign to establish an eight-hour workday planned two-years prior a national strike and protest was scheduled for Saturday, May 1, 1886. That day as many as a half-million workers may have walked off their jobs nationally, and in Chicago an estimated 80,000 people paraded down Michigan Avenue. Two-days later at the McCormick Reaper Works, police and striking workers clashed, shots were fired, and two workers were killed.  The following evening in response a crowd, estimated at 2,500, gathered at Haymarket Square to hear labor leaders speak and as this peaceful meeting was ending, police moved in to break up the gathering.  A bomb was throw high in the air over the crowd by a still unknown assailant killing about four civilians and seven officers: Mathias J. Degan, John J. Barrett, George F. Miller, Timothy J. Flavin, Michael Sheehan, Thomas Redden, Nels Hansen and wounding as many 100, of this number 60 were police officers, including Officer Timothy Sullivan who succumbed to complications from his wounds two years later. The incident shocked Chicago and the nation, particularly the power elite, who saw anarchist influences in the labor movement as a direct challenge to the social order and a threat to power.   Eight men, labeled Anarchists, were tried in what was literally the trial of the century. The impact of the Haymarket affair still echoes today as most Americans have no concept of May Day or what is known elsewhere as International Workers’ Day.  Join the Windy City Historians in this episode as we talk with Historian Dominic Pacyga and author and attorney Thomas Geoghegan about these events and continued relevance of the labor movement in Chicago and the nation. Memorial Statue of Police Officer erected at Haymarket Square Haymarket Square in 1890 Links to Research and Historic Sources: The Haymarket Affair The book, Anarchy and Anarchist, by Michael J. Schaack, Captain of Police, Chicago, 1889. Illinois Labor History Society  Eulogy At Waldheim Cemetery Delivered by Captain William P. Black, Attorney for the Haymarket defendants, who had been executed on November 11, 1887 Anarchism in Germany How the Nobel Prize Was Born: A Surprising Story of Bad Journalism, Existential Guilt, and Dynamite “Educate Fools,” by Thomas Geoghegan, The New Republic, January 20, 2020 The book, Only One Thing Can Save Us: Why America Needs a New Kind of Labor Movement, by Thomas Geoghegan “The Only Alderman Who Stood Up to Richard J. Daley,” by Daniel Hautzinger with a video segment from WTTW Chicago Tonight, February, 25, 2019 The book, Challenging the Daley Machine: A Chicago Alderman’s Memoir, by Leon M. Despres Chicago: A Biography, and other books by author and historian Dominic Pacyga “The Pardon of the Haymarket Prisoners,” by Governor John Altgeld, June 26, 1893

There is one story well-known throughout the world about the Windy City and a cow kicking over a lantern that set the Great Chicago Fire in motion.  The fact that the story of Catherine O’Leary’s cow is totally false seems not to matter, as this wrong-headed legend continues to perpetuate itself with the general public.  As the newspaper editor Dutton Peabody says in the 1952 film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, “when the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” And so it is, a hundred and fifty years later, Mrs. O’Leary and her cow live on in popular culture.  The events of the evening of October 8th, 1871 would be the culmination of a prolonged hot, dry summer in the Midwest, and when Chicago began to burn, there were fires burning in several other places as well.  However. Chicago and the legend of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow eclipsed the reporting of the other fires, and stuck in the popular imagination.  The Great Chicago Fire became the second star on the flag of Chicago, a marked tragedy, as approximately one-third of the residents lost their homes and the more than 300 who lost their lives.  But the fire was also considered a beginning for Chicago, a reset, a blank slate — that would allow the city’s business leaders and architects to imagine a new and better Chicago to rise from the ashes like a great phoenix. In this episode, the Windy City Historians interview William Pack, a historian and author of “The Essential Great Chicago Fire” (2015) to recount the events of that faithful Sunday night when smoke was spotted southwest of the city center, near the intersection of Jefferson and DeKoven Streets.  It is an illuminating story of mistakes, delays, human error, and heroism, and a transformative event for the young city on the prairie that became the “City on the Make” as later chronicled by Nelson Algren.  Two days after the fire co-owner and managing editor of the Chicago Tribune Joseph Medill wrote, “We have lost money, but we have saved life, health, vigor and industry.  Let the watchword henceforth be Chicago shall rise again!” In December of that year Medill would be elected mayor of the City of Chicago as a candidate of the “fireproof” party serving two terms from 1871 to 1873. Links to Research and Historic Sources: Presenter, magician, and interviewee William Pack’s Educational Programing Draft of the Emancipation Proclamation Signed by President Abraham Lincoln destroyed in the Chicago Fire Chicago History Museum’s online collection about the Great Chicago Fire Out of the Ashes: The Birth of the Chicago Public Library “My Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather’s Greatest Challenge: The Chicago Fire” by Caroline Thompson, Chicago Magazine, Oct. 10, 2017 The release of prisoners and a “Fragile note illuminates city’s great fire,” by Mark Lebien, Chicago Tribune, Oct. 2, 1998. The documentary, Chicago Drawbridges we pull a segment from for this podcast courtesy of co-producers Stephen Hatch & Patrick McBriarty The 1938 Movie “In Old Chicago” looks at life in pre-fire Chicago and the calamity of the Great Fire “The Legend of Mrs. O’Leary,” by Margaret Carrol, Chicago Tribune, Oct. 10, 1996 “Whodunit? The Mystery of Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow,” by Richard F. Bales, Chicago Public Library, Sept. 30, 2014 “Catherine O’Leary, the Irishwoman blamed for starting the Great Chicago Fire,” by Eoin Butler, The Irish Times, Feb. 24, 2017 “Mrs. O’Leary, Cow Cleared by City Council Committee,” by Steve Mills, Oct. 6, 1997 “When the sky exploded: Remembering Tunguska,” by EarthSky and Paul Scott Anderson in EARTH|SPACE, June 30, 2020. Chelyabinsk Meteor, CNN coverage on YouTube, Feb. 17, 2013 Chelyabinsk Meteor Shockwave Compilation, YouTube, Feb. 18, 2013

In the Spring of 2020, one of the first cracks in the American economy with Covid-19 was the closing of several meatpacking plants in the United States.  The nature of the process with workers stationed in close proximity to one another, poorly ventilated spaces, and often arduous work conditions and practices became a breeding ground for the virus and created Covid hot-spots around the country.  Meanwhile, the White House exercising its executive authority via the Defense Production Act ordered slaughterhouses to remain open for fear of disrupting of the nation’s meat supply.  This underbelly of the food chain is often overlooked, yet for more than a century Chicago was largely identified with wholesale slaughter and meat processing thanks to the Union Stock Yard & Transit Company, which opened on Christmas Day 1865.  Stockyards and the downstream processing operations would soon become a ubiquitous presence in the economy of the growing metropolis of Chicago, the commerce of the United States, and the world.  Union Stock Yard from Sept. 1866–Chicago Illustrated Mid-century postcard of the Stock Yards The Stock Yards in 1941 The Union Stock Yard & Transit Company led Carl Sandburg to coin the dubious moniker for Chicago, “Hog Butcher to the World.”  Yet these operations provided an important testing ground for great ideas and smart solutions employing many great minds, including civil engineer Octave Chanute (1832-1910) and the architect Daniel Burnham (1846-1912).  The Stockyards were a prime tourist attraction in Chicago for the general public and people of note such as authors Rudyard Kipling, who was shocked by it, or Upton Sinclair, who based his novel “The Jungle” on the conditions and worker experiences there.  The Yards as locals referred to it spurred additional innovations — for instance the butchering disassembly line inspired Henry Ford to reverse the process to build automobiles which ultimately made them affordable to average Americans.  The Union Stock Yard created huge fortunes and dynasties with names like Armour and Swift, often on the back of worker exploitation, which prompted strife and conflict and influenced the development of labor unions.  Great gusts blowing across the prairie turned small fires into great conflagrations on several occasions, and yet the Yards survived for more than a century before meeting its demise to the gradual shift of economic winds.  However in its heyday, the Yards was the place to be.  Join us in this episode to hear some more great Chicago history as we interview historian Dominic A. Pacyga, author of Slaughterhouse: Chicago’s Union Stock Yard and the World It Made.  Image from the 1934 Stock Yard Fire The Union Stock Yard Gate in 1879 Unloading hogs from Stock Cars in 1912 Christopher Lynch & Dominic Pacyga Revolving Hog Wheel at the Armour Plant in 1912 Dominic Pacyga & Patrick McBriarty Links to Research and Historic Documents WTTW Chicago Stories: The Union Stockyards American Heritage: 1800s Chicago Union Stockyards Collection of images of the Union Stock Yard & Transit Company from the Industrial History website Author Dominic Pacyga and his books from the University of Chicago Press Dominic Pacyga Shares History of Chicago’s Stockyards in ‘Slaughterhouse’ November 23, 2015 on WTTW 1910 Union Stock Yards Fire on Chicagology website 1934 Union Stock Yards Fire on Chicagology website Chicago Public Art: Union Stockyard Gate Packingtown Museum at The Plant in the Back of the Yards neighborhood of Chicago “The Jungle” a novel by Upton Sinclair based on the stockyards Octave Chanute civil engineer and aviation pioneer

Chicago has a long history of brewing and distilling; of taverns, pubs, and saloons; of alcohol distribution and consumption so we hope you will soak up this episode on the history of alcohol and its impact on the city. This episode of the Windy City Historians podcast is a historic concoction ranging across Chicago’s history to explore the interplay of sociability and society around beer, spirits, and brewing to create, support, and shape the development of this toddling town and vice versa. We hope this will whet your appetite and briefly quench your thirst for history through a unique take on the City of Big Shoulders. In this episode co-hosts Christopher Lynch and Patrick McBriarty talk with Chicago historian Liz Garibay to discuss her research and fascinating stories of American and Chicago history as viewed through the lens of alcohol. Learn the true origin of PBR’s Blue Ribbon — it’s NOT from the World’s Colombian Exposition of 1893 — OR about the Lager Beer Riots of 1855 — as we serve up another interesting brew of Windy City history. Cheers! Beer for Chicago intercepted in Zion, IL during Prohibition E. Josetti Brewing Co. of Chicago advertisement Schlitz Brewing Company in Milwaukee, WI Serving Beer in a Tavern in Chicago Chicago Harbor Mouth ca. 1900 Links to Research and Historic Documents Latest Chicago Beer News — Historic Seipp Brewing Returns to Chicago a revival of a historic beer from the great-great-great-granddaughter of Conrad Seipp — look for it at Metropolitan Brewing Co. Bygone Breweries from the Forgotten Chicago website The Oxford Companion to Beer definition of Chicago from the Craft Beer & Brewing website Chicago Breweries from the Chicagology website History of Lill & Diversy Brewing from the Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal History of the Schoenhofen Brewery from the Forgotten Chicago website The book Al Capone’s Beer Wars by John J. Binder Chicago’s Brewseum’s exhibit at the Field Museum and the video on the 1855 Lager Beer Riot video History on Tap — historian Liz Garibay’s website of events, tours, and more…

It was a rapid change from a small frontier outpost of mostly French-Indian residents, a mix of British traders, and upstart American soldiers.  In the two decades following the War of 1812 Chicago emerged as a jumping off point for westward expansion and as a center for commerce, transportation, and land speculation. Native Americans were forced west of the Mississippi River and the majority of the French Metis community and core of Chicago’s earliest settlement joined them. This latter group was shunned, abused, and unwanted by newer emigrating United States citizens.  A third decade brought the telegraph, railroads, and federal funds to create a harbor as the young city became the most rapidly growing city in history as it boomed in the century that followed. In this episode of our “Laying the Foundation” series of the Windy City Historians explore this often ignored and long forgotten era and we complete our interview with Dr. Ann Durkin Keating.  Tapping into the history of Juliette Kinzie and the city’s early wheelers and dealers Chicago rises up out of the swampy, prairie landscape along the Y-shaped Chicago River on far southwestern shore of Lake Michigan.  It becomes the railroad, warehousing, and industrial center of the Midwest forever altering the landscape and shaping human history to approach nearly 300,000 residents by 1870.  Join us we unearth an early Chicago that is now unknown and mostly forgotten. Lake Street in 1857 raising the grade of an entire block Colton’s 1855 Map of Chicago 1845 View of Chicago from the west Interview of Dr. Ann Durkin Keating The Wigwam site of the 1860 Republican Convention nominating Lincoln The first Rush Street Bridge in 1860 Links to Research and History Documents Treaty of St. Louis of 1815 between the United States and the chiefs of First Nations touching the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Indiana Removal Act of 1830 signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830 Treaty of Chicago 1833 A brief history of Phillip Verling (1933-2016) from Friends of the Chicago portage William Burnett fur trader in St. Joseph, MI who disappears in 1812 Kinzie Family Tree Two of Ann Durkin Keating’s books: Rising up from Indian Country and The World of Juliette Kinzie Book Early Chicago: Up Until the Indians Left in 1835 by Ulrich Danckers and Jane Meredith — See also the website of the same name William Ogden real estate developer, railroad executive, first mayor of Chicago, and entrepreneur Alexander Robinson was the Metis son of a British Officer of Scottish descent and Ottawa mother and later interpreter and tribal leader negotiating for the Council of Three Fires (Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Pottawatomie) John Harris Kinzie (1803 – 1865) son of John Kinzie (1763 – 1828) from his second marriage and second president of the Town of Chicago The Sands from the Chicago Crime Scenes Project website posted in Dec. 17, 2008

The contagion began suddenly in the northern suburbs of Chicago and floated south toward the city like an invisible cloud.  Soon restaurants, saloons, and theaters were closed and the police had the power to break up crowds and arrest individuals for spitting, coughing or sneezing in public.  Public funerals were forbidden and elective surgeries canceled.  Everyone wore face masks.  Was this Spring, 2020?  No, it was Chicago in the Autumn of 1918. Join the Windy City Historians for this special episode as we step away from the chronological telling of Chicago history of our ongoing “Laying the Foundation” series, and instead chart the course of epidemics and outbreaks in Chicago history. In particular, we dig into the, so called, Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918. This pandemic reveals many parallels between the events of 1918 and today’s struggle with the novel coronavirus (SARS Cov-2, its new official name) in 2020.   In this episode we interview historian Joseph Gustaitis, author of Chicago’s Greatest Year, 1893 and Chicago Transformed: World War I and the Windy City to learn about Chicago’s the first health crisis in 1835 and subsequent outbreaks and diseases plaguing the young city leading up to the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918. A cataclysmic event in 1918 and 1919 this epidemic infected one-third of the world’s population, over 500 million people and killing approximately 1% of the human population on earth, an estimated 20-to-50-million people.  In the United States alone approximately 675,000 citizens died — more Americans than were killed in WWI and WWII combined. The pandemic affected the way Americans and Chicagoan’s live and work today and was particularly lethal to people in the prime of their life.  Learn more about this incredible story 100+ years ago and the parallels and differences with today’s pandemic. Sick bay at Ft. Riley, Kansas in 1918 Posting in Chicago in 1918 St. Louis Red Cross Motor Corps on duty Oct. 1918 Influenza epidemic Reported daily flu cases in Chicago from Dr. Robertson’s Preliminary Report in Nov. 1918 Reported daily deaths from flu in Chicago from Dr. Robertson’s Preliminary Report in Nov. 1918 Links to Research and History Documents We mention in this episode one known documented account of whites giving smallpox infected blankets to Native Americans. This is attributed to the letters of Jeffery Amherst a British officer stationed at Fort Pitt in later day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who under siege in 1763 during the French and Indian War (1754 – 1763) writes to Colonel Henry Bouquet. Much has been written of this legend this so a variety of sources are cited on the topic below: Influenza Encyclopedia: the American Influenza Epidemic of 1918-1919: A Digital Encyclopedia produced by the University of Michigan Center for the History of Medicine and Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library. Blog post from a professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on how infectious diseases spread, “The Risks – Know Them – Avoid Them,” by Erin Bromage The Straight Dope – “Did whites ever give Native Americans blankets infected with smallpox?” by Cecil Adams from October 24, 1997. More on Jeffery Amherst from hosted by the University of Massachusetts by Peter d’Errico © 2001, 2020 Details on the folklore of smallpox infected blankets “The Nessus Shirt in the New World: Smallpox Blankets in History and Legend” by Adrienne Mayor, The Journal of American Folklore Winter, 1995 — please discount her references to Ward Churchhill accounts which were later proven completely false! Please note Ward Churchill mentioned above sadly perpetuated the myth of the U.S. Army spreading smallpox to First Nations in at least six publications between 1994 and 2003. Churchill entirely fabricated incidents which never occurred, about individuals who never existed. His sources were completely falsified, and talk about fake news, he repeatedly concealed evidence in his possession discrediting his falsified version of events. Below are additional links and research we touch upon in this episode: Chicago historian Joseph Gustaitis’ books Chicago’s Greatest Year, 1893 and Chicago Transformed from Southern Illinois University Press. George Pullman’s early career moving & raising buildings, “Moving Buildings with George Pullman” from Classic Chicago Magazine. Piping fresh water from Waukesha, Wisconsin to the World’s Fair from a Jan. 6, 2012 blog post “Armed Standoff Over Wisconsin Water” by B & M Technical Services Inc. John M. Barry video interview (29 minutes)on April 7, 2020, author of the book The Great Influenza. Influenza outbreak in Haskill, Kansas in “The site of origin of the 1918 influenza pandemic and its public health implications” by John M. Berry from the Journal of Translated Medicine, Jan. 20, 2004. Chicago Reader article by Jeff Nichols, “The ghosts of Great Lakes,” April 6, 2020 on the Flu and Great Lakes Naval Training Center. Dr. John Dill Robertson’s “Preliminary Report on the Influenza Epidemic in Chicago” includes charts shown above November of 1918. Article analyzing Dr. Robertson’s reported statements of 1918 “Exploring Chicago’s Spanish Flu of 1918” from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 5, 2013. Backstory a podcast episode from the American History Guys and the University of Virginia “Forgotten Flu: American & the 1918 Pandemic”

Fort Dearborn at the beginning of the War of 1812 . . . is it a Battle or a Massacre? How should we, in the twenty-first century, talk about the events that occurred on Chicago’s lakefront on August 15, 1812 — a month-and-a-half after the declaration of war? How do we describe what happened to the column of approximately 100 soldiers, farmers, women and children in Indian Country that abandoned Fort Dearborn, mostly on foot, for Fort Wayne when they are attacked by approximately 500 Native Americans? Join us in this episode of the Windy City Historians Podcast for the second half of our interview with history professor Ann Durkin Keating, Ph.D. and The First Star — a reference to the first star on the Flag of Chicago. Does William Wells actually get his heart carved out to be eaten by the victors? Find out about this and much more as we discuss the final events, implications, art and language surrounding Chicago and aftermath of this infamous attack in Chicago in 1812. We hope you will enjoy it as much as we have putting it together! Engraving of the Battle of Fort Dearborn by S.C. Hooper Sculptural relief of the battle on the SW bridge house of the Michigan Avenue Bridge Statue of the Fort Deaborn Attack Commemorative plaque in the sidewalk by Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive Dr. Ann Durkin Keating being interviewed by the Windy City Historians Links to Research and History Documents Rising Up From Indian Country by Ann Durkin Keating, Ph. D. H.A. Musham, “Where Did the Battle of Chicago Take Place?” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, 36, no. 1 (March 1943) Dr. Keating also recommends: Constance R. Buckley, “Searching for Fort Dearborn: Perception, Commemoration, and Celebration of an Urban Creation Memory,” (Ph.D. diss., Loyola University, 2005),  6. Topinabee (1758-1826) – a Pottawatomie leader from the St. Joseph River area Simon Pokagon (1830-1899) – author and Native American advocate and Pottawatomie born in southwest Michigan. Son of Leopold Pokagon who was present at the Battle of Fort Dearborn. More about Simon Pokagon and the events at Fort Dearborn on August 15, 1812 Battle of Fort Dearborn

Did you realize each of the four stars on the Chicago Flag represent important dates in Chicago history? The two blue stripes on the flag have a special meaning as well. In this Episode we will discuss the events running up to the Fort Dearborn Massacre which is represented by the first star on Chicago’s flag. We interview historian, professor, and author Ann Durkin Keating, Ph.D. about the events leading up to what she prefers to call the Battle of Fort Dearborn which occurred on Chicago’s lakefront on August 15, 1812. This is the eleventh episode in our inaugural series we call “Laying the Foundation” and continues our chronological overview of Chicago history from its beginnings up to the 1930s. Since March 2019, we have released a new episode each month, usually on the last Friday of the month, to bring you a new slice of fascinating Chicago history. We hope you are enjoying the podcast and we could use your help to expand our audience. Please tell your friends, family, acquaintances, and even complete strangers about these amazing Chicago stories in audible form available only on the Windy City Historians Podcast. Join our Facebook group the Windy City Historians of over 8K members and discover more great Chicago history. The first Chicago flag in 1917 George Catlin painting of Tenskwatawa the Shawnee Prophet, brother of Tecumseh Stamp of the first Fort Dearborn History and evolution grapic of the Chicago flag Links to Research and History Documents Rising Up From Indian Country by Ann Durkin Keating The Middle Ground by Richard White Tecumseh (1768-1813) Shawnee leader Battle of Tippecanoe Main Poche: The Last of the Traditional Potawatomi War Chiefs Thomas Jefferson and development of his Indian policy Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer by Robert M. Owens Thomas Forsyth (1771-1833) Peoria trader and partner of John Kinzie Ninan Edwards (1775-1833) Governor of the Illinois Territory from 1808 to 1818 Capt. Nathan Heald (1775-1832) Commander of Fort Dearborn in 1812 Lt. Linai Helm (? – 1838) junior officer at Fort Dearborn in 1812 Ensign, George Ronan (ca. 1783 – 1812) junior officer at Fort Dearborn in 1812

Founded in 1803, Chicago’s Fort Dearborn is the western most outpost on the frontier, and by 1812 still the most isolated fort in Indian Country. The garrison and few settlers are outnumbered five-to-one by the neighboring tribes within a day’s ride. A pivotal year in Chicago history the corner of today’s Wacker Drive and Michigan Avenue is the site of Chicago’s first murder on June 17. At that point tensions are already high and this killing comes one day before Congress declares war on Great Britain. Although, the approximately 100 residents of Chicago will have no idea war is declared until mid- to late-July. Just why trader John Kinzie stabbed fort interpreter Jean Lalime to death is a two-centuries’ old Chicago mystery. Was it jealousy, a trade dispute, bad blood? Listen in as we set the scene of Chicago on the cusp of the War of 1812, weight the accounts, motivations, and events surrounding this gruesome murder on the banks of the Chicago River. We hope you enjoy this fascinating slice of Chicago history and interview with writer Paul Dailing who authored the Chicago Reader article “The long death of Jean Lalime“. The bones of Jean Lalime as once displayed at the Chicago Historical Society Freelance writer Paul Dailing & podcast co-host Christopher Lynch Receipt signed by John (Jean) Lalime for his annual salary as Interpreter at Chicago Links to Research and History Documents “The long death of Jean Lalime” in The Reader by Paul Dailing The blog: 1001 Chicago Afternoons by Paul Dailing Fort Dearborn: A Novel by Jerry Crimmins Chicago River Bridges by Patrick McBriarty Bio of Milo Quaife (1880-1959) authority on the Old Northwest and former Superintendent of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin

The evolution of Chicago continues with early settlement and the establishment of Fort Dearborn, at the mouth of the Chicago River. A diverse collection of residents of non-Native Americans begins the continuous occupation of Chicago and new conflict and controversies arise. Scratching out a living at this isolated post in Indian Country, competition over trade escalates requiring the involvement of the Secretary of War as Fort Dearborn is embroiled in Chicago’s very first scandal. We revisit the background of Jean Baptiste Point de Sable, characters and events leading up to this crisis at a time when the fur trade is still strong and the best business in town is selling goods to the soldiers at the fort. Several of these early folks now lend their names to the streets of today’s metropolis, but are mostly forgotten today. Join us to learn all about the scandal at Fort Dearborn, seven years after it was first constructed in Chicago. Links to Research and History Documents Chicago: Growth of a Metropolis, by Mayer & Wade Rising Up From Indian Country, by Ann Durkin-Keating Juliette Kinzie, by Ann Durkin-Keagin Thompson Plat of Chicago of 1830 in the Encyclopedia of Chicago Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History by Helen Hornbeck Tanner William Burnett, Trader in St. Joseph, Michigan Jay Treaty of 1794 John Kinzie Family Tree from Wauban, by Juliette Kinzie

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines settler as, “a person who goes to live in a new place where usually there are few or no people”. Native Americans have lived in the greater Chicago area for approximately 10,000 years dating back to the last ice age. Dependent on long lost oral histories we have no clear records of the future city’s earliest peoples, though archeological efforts and early French documents seem to indicate no native villages existed within today’s Chicago city limits. There have been significant native villages in the suburbs surrounding Chicago, but no evidence of native settlement on the Chicago River has ever come to light. The last seven episodes of the Windy City Historians Podcast has attempted to relate the first hundred plus years of Chicago’s earliest recorded history from the first westerners to pass through the area; be it Nicolet somewhere between 1628 and 1634 or Jolliet and Marquette in 1673. We now unveil this story of Chicago’s very first settler connecting us to the permanent and continuous settlement of the City of Chicago. This man, a man of color, and his family has long been swept under the rug while the trader and opportunist John Kinzie was held up as the town’s founder, a man we can best describe as Chicago’s first scoundrel. We hope you will enjoy this in depth conversation with historians John Swenson and professor Courtney Pierre Joseph Ph.D. relating the life, times, and impact the very first settler made on the site and city that would follow in his footsteps. This is the story of the trader, gentleman farmer, and Chicago’s founder — Jean Baptiste Point de Sable. Mr. Point de Sable, and yes, that is the proper French spelling of his full surname, is a fascinating character we hope you will enjoy learning about as much as we have. Patrick McBriarty & Dr. Courtney Joseph Historian John Swenson Dr. Courtney Joseph & Chris Lynch Bust of Point de Sable at the DuSable Museum French Villages in Illinois from the 1778 Hutchins’ Map “Plan des differents Villages Francois dans le Pays des Illynois” Links to Research and History Documents Early Chicago, by Ulrich Danckers & Jane Meredith, 1999. See also the website: https://earlychicago.com/ “The DuSable Myth”, by John Swenson, Chicago Reader, August 1, 2002. British Trader John Orillat (1733-1779) of Montreal “the Rockefeller” of Canada in his day Chicago’s Authentic Founder by Marc Rosier Wauban by Juliette Kinzie (1806-1870) George Rogers Clark (1752-1818) who lead American militia in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois during the Revolutionary War against the British. Battle of Fallen Timbers Transcribed Treaty of Greenville of 1795 Images of the original Treaty of Greenville of 1795 Jay Treaty of 1794 Alexander Robinson “The Long-Lasting Legacy of the Great Migration”, by Isabel Wilkerson, Smithsonian Magazine, September 2016. Cahokia is one of Illinois’ large towns when it was a part of the Indiana Territory The Defender by Ethan Michaeli DuSable Museum of African-American Art at 740 East 56th Place, Chicago, Illinois 60637

Perhaps nothing in Chicago history is as fundamental as Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette’s expedition of 1673. Their voyage by canoe from St. Anglace down Lake Michigan to the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers and the mighty Mississippi was of epic scale. On the way back north they paddled up the Illinois River passing through the place the Indians called “Chicagoua.” If the City of Chicago had a Mount Rushmore, Jolliet and Marquette would be on it. For Father Marquette the trip was to evangelize the Native Americans, while Jolliet’s focus was exploration, potential trade, as was the first to suggest a short canal to connect the waterway between Lake Michigan and the Illinois River. With the tricentennial of this historic feat approaching it appeared nothing was planned to commemorate it. For Ralph Frese, Chicago’s “Mr. Canoe” this was unconscionable. So he set out the idea of reenacting the Jolliet & Marquette Expedition, picked the crew to paddle it, and built the canoes, while remaining entirely behind the scenes to receive little or no credit. For this podcast, Chris and Patrick were thrilled to sit down with three key crew members of this 1973 re-enactment, Chuck McEnery and brothers Ken & Reid Lewis. Listen as this lively discussion unfolds commemorating the early origins of Chicago history. Filled with laughter and travails they persevered to set the stage for later historical reenactments, like the La Salle II expedition of 1976-77 recounted in Episodes 4 & 5. The re-telling 46-years later still feels fresh as the splash of paddles and songs of the Voyageurs wash across the waters of time. Ken Lewis, Chuck McEnery, & Reid Lewis Reid Lewis, Chris Lynch, & Ken Lewis Jolliet & Marquette 1973 re-enactment Reid Lewis, Pat McBriarty, & Ken Lewis Reid Lewis (red coat) as La Salle and two other crew members claiming Lousiana for France Links to Research and History Documents Documentary of the 1973 Jolliet & Marquette Expedition More information about Jolliet & Marquette Expedition member “The Fox” – Jim Phillips: Chicago Reader article about Jim Phillips aka “The Fox” Outside/In Podcast – Episode 32: Fantastic Mr. Phillips Gary Gordon Productions post: The Fox Is Dead: Long Live The Fox Who’s on First? Chicago Tribune article about Jolliet and Marquette by Jim Sulski on October 26, 1997 Expedition of Marquette and Joliet, 1673 in from the Wisconsin Historical Society.

“Unquestionably the discovery of the Mississippi is a datable fact which considerably mellows and modifies the shiny newness of our country, and gives her a most respectable outside-aspect of rustiness and antiquity.” — Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi For the new country of the United States, the river that bisected it was old. This mighty river shaped the destiny of the towns and cities along its many miles of shoreline. Chicago was just a backwater to St. Louis, Missouri and Galena, Illinois before the railroads began to dominate transportation and Chicago’s rapid rise to prominence. Our esteemed guest Paul Meincke took full measure of this river on an epic 70-day journey and joins the Windy City Historians in a special episode of our “Canoe Chronicles” to share some history and present reality of the “Mighty” Mississippi. In 2017, Paul, with friends Bill Baar, Tim Clark, and Tom Lobacz, started this adventure at the river’s headwaters in Minnesota and canoed some 2,320 miles to Gulf of Mexico. Captured in the documentary ”Mississippi by Canoe” on YouTube, Paul will tells of the trip’s challenges, triumphs, and insights and offers some behind the scenes in the making of the documentary. We hope you will enjoy this lively tale of paddling, politics, and history sprinkled with legends, mosquitoes, alligators, and how life is better when experienced by canoe, even 950,000 paddle strokes later. Paul Meincke is “mostly” retired after 30-years of general assignment reporting for ABC7 Eyewitness News in Chicago, and ironically Paul’s celebrated 45-year broadcast career began on the banks of the Mississippi River in his hometown, Rock Island, Illinois. It was a real pleasure to met and talk with him. Links to Research and History Documents Paul Meincke documentary “Mississippi by Canoe” Information and documentary on Ralph “Mr. Canoe” Frese former owner of the Chicagoland Canoe Base Army Corps of Engineers charts of the Upper Mississippi River Navigation Charts and Illinois Waterway Navigation Charts Vicksburg and the Civil War history Fort Defiance in Cairo, Illinois at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers New Madrid Earthquake of 1811 Tow Boat sinking in on July 8, 2017 near Cairo, Illinois Atchafalaya River which splits off the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico Philmont Scout Ranch from the Paul Meincke “Bear Story”

Our examination of René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle continues in this episode, as we follow the progress of the 1976-77 La Salle II Expedition, which ran into rough weather in Door County, Wisconsin and plot their progress as winter forces the crew out of their canoes to walk or portage the frozen rivers and roads, as they try to make it to the Mississippi. Author Lorraine Boissoneault shares her insights from her book The Last Voyageurs and we interview Reid & Ken Lewis who organized this epic reenactment and and Rich Gross who was part of the crew on this trek seeking the Gulf of Mexico. We also gained fascinating insights from our interview with veteran broadcaster Paul Meincke recounting his 2017 trip canoeing the Mississippi from its headwaters to the Gulf and the ever present dangers of paddling this river of commerce of America’s heartland. Reid Lewis in 2018 at the Elgin Natural History Museum Paul Meinike and his commerative paddle from the trip Artist’s rendering of La Salle claiming Louisiana for France Links to Research and History Documents Images from La Salle II Expedition Lorriane Boissoneault’s book The Last Voyageurs Mississippi by Canoe – video by Paul Meincke of four retirees paddling from the headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico in 2017 Natural History Museum at Lords Park in Elgin, Illinois Hard Waters; The Untold Story of La Salle: Expedition II, by Craig P. Howard Tabor Hill Winery in Buchanan, Michigan co-founded by Len Olsen, who created the sparkling wine Décidons Demain meaning “Let’s decide tomorrow” in support of the reenactment.

The name La Salle is ubiquitous throughout the United States, with streets, parks, towns, universities, parishes, schools and even counties named for this French explorer. In this episode, “La Salle and the Voyageurs”, we examine the influence of La Salle, as well as interview Reid Lewis, the founder of a 1976-77 reenactment of La Salle’s second expedition journeying from Montreal to the Gulf of Mexico.  Rich Gross, a member of the crew tells us what it was like to canoe for 3,300 miles as an 18 year-old student, and we talk with Lorraine Boissoneault, the author of “The Last Voyageurs” about La Salle and this re-enactment of his voyage. René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle is a larger then life figure, and so one cannot devote just one episode to him; this is the first of a two-part podcast on this giant of French and American history, who along with Jacque Marquette and Louis Jolliet, is in the Pantheon of French explorers who opened up the frontier of North America and traveled extensively on in the Great Lakes region Interviewing Rich Gross displaying a hatchet that he made and was used on the La Salle II Expedition. Lorraine’s book about the La Salle II Expedition Reid Lewis at the Elgin Public Museum of Natural History & Anthropology in Elgin, Illinois Lorraine Boissoneault Links to Research and History Documents Biography of La Salle from the Canadian Encyclopedia Biography of La Salle from the Canadian Museum of History Ralph Frese aka: “Mr. Canoe” in Chicago Lorraine Boissoneault, writer & author Elgin Public Museum of Natural History & Anthropology WTTW Chicago Tonight Interview of Lorraine Boissoneault and Reid Lewis, and Cliff Wilson

Released Friday, May 31, 2019 – What’s in a name? “Urbs in Horto” or as translated from Latin “City in the Garden” is the motto on the seal of the City of Chicago, which nicely ties together the third interview with historian and retired attorney John Swenson. Swenson presents the final and most amazing piece of early Chicago history revealing the details of this ancient place called Chicagoua and the platform mound two-leagues from the Chicagoua Portage, the area’s earliest known civic and cultural center some 40 miles from today’s downtown Chicago! We visit the mound, twice, and interview Adler Planetarium Astronomer Mark Hammergren regarding the astronomical significance of the mound, and learn some fascinating insights into Chicago’s ancient culture and peoples. This brand-new history and discovery grew out of Swenson’s passion for horticulture, history, and etymology. His initial dig into Chicago’s origin story and the wild allium the city was named for has grown into an entirely new landscape for Chicago history, the City in the Garden and hence the name of our third Episode: “Urbs in Horto?” PREVIEW OF EPISODE 3: Urbs in Horto? Historian John Swenson Mound at Spirit Trail Park Astronomer Mark Hammergren Ramps at the Daley Center farmers market in Downtown Chicago