By Ricky Rieckert Dear readers, Most individuals agree about the importance of the bridges that cross over the Fox River that divide the east and west side of Aurora. I often thought they would have taken Sullivan Road east of Mitchell Road to Farnsworth Avenue, to reduce the traffic from
July 31 Former Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa disappears. Presumed to be dead, his body never has been found. – 1975. A hurricane strikes the East Coast of Florida and sinks 10 Spanish treasure ships and kills almost 1,000 persons. The ships left Havana, Cuba, on their way to Europe and
By Ricky Rieckert Dear readers, This week, we’ll finish the history of Aurora’s bridges. The bridges over the Fox River in Aurora, have significantly impacted the City’s development and character. Bridges were initially built to overcome the Fox River, connecting the east and west sides of Aurora, to enable easier
July 24 American archeologist Hiram Bingham gets his first look at Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca settlement in Peru that is now one of the world’s top tourist destinations with more than 300,000 tourists visiting every year.- 1911. The steamer Eastland overturns in the Chicago River; between 800 and 850
By Ricky Rieckert Welcome readers, As we start this week, I was pleased to see the last edition, with my birthday, July 10, on it. I received several phone calls, texts and cards from several people. To them: Thank-you. This week, as promised, we’ll be looking at the history of
July 17 U.S. president Harry S Truman, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, and British prime minister Winston Churchill, meet in the Berlin suburb of Potsdam to discuss issues relating to postwar Europe and plans to deal with the ongoing conflict with Japan. The meeting was marked by growing suspicion and tension
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
