By Woodrow Carroll The Chicago Blackhawks, in the years after World War II, went through a long stretch as the whipping boy of the National Hockey League. The struggle was largely the result of organizational decision-making, not the product of other conditions. After qualifying for the 1946 Stanley Cup playoffs
February 25 The U.S. Congress passes the Legal Tender Act, which authorizes the use of paper notes to pay the government’s bills. It ended the long-standing policy of using only gold or silver in transactions, and it allowed the government to finance the enormously costly Civil War long after its
February is Black History Month, and the Aurora Public Library District (APLD) is joining the celebration with a broad lineup of fun and educational programs for all ages! As we honor the many contributions of black and African American individuals, we emphasize the ways in which literature has been a
February 18 A man ignites a gasoline-filled container inside a subway train in Daegu, South Korea. The blaze engulfes the six-car train, before spreading to another train that had pulled into the station a few minutes later. In all, 198 persons were killed and nearly 150 others were injured. –
February 11 Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, is released from prison after 27 years, February 11. – 1990. February 12 Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic goes on trial at The Hague, Netherlands, on charges of genocide and war crimes in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo.
Maureen FitzSimons was born August 17, 1920 and grew up in Ranelagh, Dublin of an Irish Catholic family. Maureen was the second oldest of the six children of Charles and Marguerite. Her father was in the clothing business and her mother was a former operatic contralto and a successful women’s
In partnership with other libraries, Aurora Public Library District (APLD) will be host to Dr. Eve L. Ewing live on Zoom at 6 p.m. Monday, March 1, to discuss her latest book of poems, “1919,” in celebration of World Social Justice Day. Ewing is an educational sociologist whose research focuses
February 4 George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, is unanimously elected the first president of the United States by all 69 presidential electors who cast their votes. John Adams of Massachusetts, who received 34 votes, was elected vice president. – 1789. In the
Angela Clay Thomas was reelected to a third term on the Board of Trustees of the Aurora Historical Society Thursday, Jan. 21.
January 27 Soviet forces permanently break the Leningrad siege line to end the almost 900-day German-enforced containment of the city, which cost hundreds of thousands of Russian lives. – 1944. January 28 First U.S. unemployment compensation law enacted, in Wisconsin. – 1932. The space shuttle Challenger lifts off from Cape
January 21 Approximately 750,000 steelworkers walk out in 30 states, largest strike in U.S. history to that time. – 1946. U.S. president Jimmy Carter grants an unconditional pardon to hundreds of thousands of men who evaded the draft during the Vietnam War. – 1977. On the first full day of
Marie-Rosalie Bonheur was born March 16, 1822 in Bordeaux, Gironde. Her mother was a piano teacher and died when Rosa was 11.. Her father was a landscape portrait painter who encouraged his daughter’s artistic talents. Though of Jewish origin, the Bonheur family followed a Christian-socialist sect that promoted the education
In a recent essay, I sourced an actual biblical scholar for my information. In his rebuttal, Mr. Gerald Lubshina sourced a writer for The Chicago Tribune. Wow! Game, set, and match! Don’t be a sore loser such as Donald J. Trump, Chas! The Tribune writer claimed to have been an
“Player with railroads and the Nation’s freight handler” —Carl Sandburg Railroads were freighted with destiny. Flumes of white smoke over the Rockies became the main symbol of the United Sates and its achievements. The nervous panting, that pam-pah, pam-pah, now slow and even, now hurried, came directly from the soul
January 7 America’s first presidential election is held. Voters cast ballots to choose state electors; only white men who own property were allowed to vote. As expected, George Washington won the election and was sworn into office April 30, 1789. – 1789. Figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked and struck
December 31 Nearly 60,000 unemployed workers rally at a Pittsburgh stadium. – 1931. The United States, in accordance with the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, officially hands over control of the Panama Canal, to put the strategic waterway into Panamanian hands for the first time. Crowds of Panamanians celebrated the transfer of the
Presence Fox Knoll/Ascension Living retirement community, 421 N. Lake Street in Aurora, celebrate staff members with a Heroes Work Here sign on the front lawn.
The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University asked me to do some noodling about the future of Illinois. I have mentioned it to several friends. The responses: A roll of the eyes; a belly laugh; a retort that it is too late to do anything about Illinois.
December 24 The Treaty of Peace and Amity between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America is signed by British and American representatives at Ghent, Belgium to end the War of 1812. By terms of the treaty, all conquered territory was to be returned, and commissions were planned
I have a copy of “O.Henry’s New York” on my bookshelves and when I want a smile or two, I re-read it. His witty narration can be read and read again with enjoyment. So let us look this week at his short life of 47 years. William Sidney Porter was
