December 25 During the American Revolution, patriot General George Washington crosses the Delaware River with 5,400 troops, to surprise a Hessian force that is celebrating Christmas at their Winter quarters in Trenton, N.J.. The crossing led to the first major victory for the new Americans. – 1776. Just after midnight
By Ricky Rieckert Dear readers, Hopefully, everyone is staying warm. This week, I’m going to add to Aurora’s downtown Main Street history. My dad would frequently use the phrase, Main and Broadway, in reference to something with a lot of people, action, or a happening place. In Aurora, downtown, from
December 18 The British ship Mayflower docks at modern-day Plymouth, Mass., and its passengers prepare to begin their new settlement, Plymouth Colony. – 1620. Japanese troops land in British crown colony Hong Kong, China. The Japanese troops are given the order “Take no prisoners” and a slaughter ensues. -1941. The
By Ricky Rieckert Dear readers, This week we’re focusing on Galena Boulevard, the street formerly known as Main Street in Aurora, stretched across what is now part of the downtown area, until the 1960s. East Main Street started east of Stolp Avenue (Island Avenue), heading east, until it turned into
December 11 In the aftermath of World War II, the General Assembly of the United Nations votes to establish the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), an organization to help provide relief and support to children living in countries devastated by the war. – 1946. Ten days after an
By Ricky Rieckert Dear readers, This week, I’ll finish the meaningful lyrics of Old Days by the band Chicago: “Funny faces, Full of love and laughter. Funny places, Summer nights and streetcars. “Take me back, To a world gone by. Boyhood memories, Seem like yesterday. “Old days, in my mind
December 4 Black Panthers Fred Hampton, 21, and Mark Clark, 22, are gunned down by 14 police officers when asleep in their Chicago apartment. Approximately 100 bullets had been fired in what police described as a fierce gun battle with members of the Black Panther Party. However, ballistics experts later
By Ricky Rieckert This week, I would like to share some lyrics from a song, written by James Pankow and song by Peter Cetera, the lead singer of the band Chicago, off their 1975 Album, titled Chicago VIII. The song easily could be titled Aurora. For you Baby Boomers, and
November 27 Pope Urban II makes perhaps the most influential speech of the Middle Ages, to give rise to the Crusades by calling all Christians in Europe to go to war against Muslims in order to reclaim the Holy Land, with a cry of “Deus vult!” or “God wills it!”
By Ricky Rieckert Thanks to everyone who braved the cold inclement weather to attend the Veterans Day parade in Aurora! A big thank- you to all of the veterans who fought to protect our country and our freedoms. And thank you Aurora Lions Club president, Randy Brown; his wife Lisa;
November 20 Twenty-four high-ranking Nazis go on trial in Nuremberg, Germany, for atrocities committed during World War II. – 1945. Seventy-eight miners are killed in an explosion at the Consolidated Coal Company’s No. 9 mine in Farmington, W. Va.. – 1968. November 21 The American inventor Thomas A. Edison announces
November 13 An immense tidal wave and storm surge, caused by a powerful cyclone, kills more than 200,000 persons in East Pakistan, now known as Bangladesh. It was at least the third disaster in the region to kill 200,000 persons. – 1970. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington,
November 6 Led by Bolshevik Party leader Vladimir Lenin, leftist revolutionaries launch a nearly bloodless coup d’État against Russia’s ineffectual Provisional Government. The Bolsheviks and their allies occupied government buildings and other strategic locations in the Russian capital of Petrograd, now St. Petersburg. Within two days the Bolsheviks formed a
October 30 Orson Welles causes a panic with his broadcast of “War of the Worlds”, a realistic radio dramatization of a Martian invasion of Earth. Perhaps as many as a million radio listeners believed that a real Martian invasion was under way and panic broke out across the country. –
Do you have an unconventional hobby? Something that fascinates you but makes others scratch their heads? For Will Quam, that passion comes in a size 194 × 92 × 57 mm and chances are you encounter thousands of them every single day. If the title didn’t give it away, I’m
October 23 A suicide bomber drives a truck filled with 2,000 pounds of explosives into a U.S. Marine Corps barracks at the Beirut International Airport. The explosion kills 220 Marines, 18 sailors, and three soldiers. A few minutes after that bomb went off, a second bomber drives into the basement
October 16 Civil war in China between the nationalists and the communists breaks out in 1927. The embattled Chinese communists break through nationalist enemy lines and begin an epic flight from their encircled headquarters in southwest China. Known as Ch’ang Cheng, the Long March, the communist forces’ retreat lasts for
By Ricky Rieckert Dear readers, I am going to finish up last week’s story of me working at The Blue Lantern Restaurant, where I started working in the summer of 1974. My favorite waitress to work with was Pam, she was Chinese, gorgeous, friendly, and always gave me pointers. One
October 9 Some 3,300 sanitation workers who work for private haulers in Chicago win a nine-day strike featuring a 28% wage increase over five years. – 2003. October 10 Six days into a cotton field strike by 18,000 Mexican and Mexican-American workers in Pixley, Calif., four strikers are killed and
By Ricky Rieckert Dear readers, I wanted to add some humor and a hands-on life experience to last week’s article, where I talked about The Blue Lantern Restaurant. In the summer of 1974, and soon going into my sophomore year at East Aurora High School, my brother and I were
