By Ricky Rieckert Dear readers, I hope everyone enjoyed the Fourth of July weekend, which is traditionally a time spent with family and friends, often including cookouts, parades, and fireworks. As we start the final part of North Avenue in Aurora’s history, I hope you have enjoyed the memories so
Between the early 1950s and the early 1980s, the Oswego area underwent a profound change. What had once been primarily a community catering to surrounding farms rapidly changed into a fast-growing Chicago exurb. Children who grew up during that era saw the entire character of northern Kendall County change, literally
July 10 A powerful explosion rips through the Rolling Mill coal mine in Johnstown, Pa. and kills 112 miners, 83 of whom were immigrants from Poland and Slovakia. – 1902. In Dayton, Tenn., the so-called Monkey Trial begins with John Thomas Scopes, a young high school science teacher, accused of
By Ricky Rieckert Dear readers, As we start a new week, I want to add some information from a subscriber friend, Tom, about Jackson Street at North Avenue and to the north. He texted me that on the southeast corner of Jackson Street and the jog for North Avenue, was
July 3 On the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s last attempt at breaking the Union line ends in disastrous failure which brings the most decisive battle of the American Civil War to an end. The Union had 23,000 killed, wounded, or missing in
By Ricky Rieckert Dear readers, this week we’ll start on the northwest corner of S. Broadway and North Avenue in Aurora. Today, the corner is a Citgo gas station and mini-mart. Before that, it was a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). KFC had two locations in Aurora, S. Broadway and N.
June 26 During World War I, the first 14,000 U.S. infantry troops land in France at the port of Saint Nazaire. The landing site had been kept secret because of the menace of German submarines, but by the time the Americans had lined up to take their first salute on
By Ricky Rieckert Welcome back again to this week’s Aurora History Tour. We start our tour on the East Side, on North Avenue heading west from Jackson Street. As we head west, the first street is Bevier Place, which heads north to Benton Street and runs south to Fourth Avenue.
June 19 Eight-hour work day adopted for federal employees. – 1912. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviets, are executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, N.Y.. – 1953. June 20 During the Civil War, West Virginia is admitted into
By Ricky Rieckert Greetings readers, This week we have the History of Aurora Tour Bus out and about on Jackson Street at North Avenue, on Aurora’s east side. North Avenue and Jackson Street in Aurora, are part of an historic Eastside neighborhood with a rich past. The neighborhood developed as
June 12 On this day in 1987, in one of his most famous Cold War speeches, president Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down” the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the repressive communist era in a divided Germany. – 1987. A gunman forced his way inside Pulse,
By Ricky Rieckert (Final part) Dear readers, please join me as we finish the history of Aurora’s water. In 1987, in anticipation of the rapid growth of the southeast section of the City, the five million gallon Southeast Standpipe and Booster section was completed. Shortly before that, in 1986, City
June 5 Senator Robert Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the California presidential primary. Kennedy was shot several times by a 22-year-old Palestinian assassin. Kennedy died a day later. – 1968. On this day, 3,400 members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union walk
By Ricky Rieckert(Part 2) Greetings readers! I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day. I have enjoyed participating and watching the parades in the Aurora downtown. What has been growing all the time, is the number of people attending and all the different nationalities in attendance. Seeing that, makes me
May 29 Heavy fog causes a collision of boats on the St. Lawrence River in Canada that kills 1,073 individuals. Caused by a horrible series of blunders, it was one of the worst maritime disasters in history. -1914. On the advice of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler orders
The Village of Montgomery invites history enthusiasts, families, and curious explorers to join us for a captivating journey through time, at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 7. The members of the Historic Preservation Commission will host a historic walking tour that will immerse participants in the fascinating stories and landmarks that
May 22 A massive wagon train, made up of 1,000 settlers and 1,000 head of cattle, sets off down the Oregon Trail from Independence, Mo., known as the “Great Emigration.” -1843. Civil Service Retirement Act of 1920 gives federal workers a pension. – 1920. May 23 An estimated 100,000 textile
The historic Tanner House Museum, 305 Cedar Street, Aurora, will open for the 2025 season Sunday, May 18. The museum will be open on Sunday afternoons from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. through September 21. The Tanner House, an 1857 home, is furnished and decorated in Victorian-era style. Visitors to
By Ricky Rieckert(Final part) With this final article about the history of Aurora’s social, nationality, and service clubs, I hope you have enjoyed the stroll down memory lane. It’s a privilege to write about the history of this great city, Aurora. As the Luxies cemented themselves as a premier club
May 15 U.S. president John Adams orders the federal government to pack up and leave Philadelphia and establish the Nation’s new capital in Washington, D.C.. – 1800. The Seven Years War, a global conflict known in America as the French and Indian War, officially begins when England declares war on
