“Chicago, A View Over Time” takes on subjects explored in Linda’s book: race, marriage, mental illness, and Chicago history. You can read “sneak previews” of book excerpts, and even get a peek at some scenes that had to be cut, but are still fun, poignant, or intriguing.
“Family Archaeologist” explores a century of family letters, diaries, and artifacts, and how they illuminate history and our shared humanity. To get an overview of the blog, click: “Welcome to Family Archaeologist”
“Letters of a World War II Airman” shares original letters to and from my uncle, Frank Ebner Gartz, from 1943-1945, tracing the course of WWII, life on the home front, and the evolution of a neighborhood kid into seasoned airman.
LATEST BLOG POSTS
Veterans Day evokes Thanksgiving Thoughts
On Veterans Day, I always think of my beautiful, young, handsome Uncle Frank Ebner, whom I never met in person, yet I feel I know intimately. Why? Because I have nearly 300 letters written to and from him from January 1943 to the end of September 1945. Then the letters stopped coming home.
Joan Baez “Fare Thee Well” & a 1961 Performance
Joan Baez was an iconic singer for those of us who came of age in the 1960s. I bought six tickets in February of this year for her "Fare Thee Well Tour," which came to Chicago on Friday, October 5th. I was not prepared for the surprise that awaited me.
Meeting the REAL BlackKklansman
I met the real Black Klansman, Ron Stallworth, author of the memoir, BlackKklansman, last Monday night at our local Evanston Book store, Bookends and Beginnings. It's a small, indie bookstore with nooks and crannies, that somehow packed in about 100 people. The event was sold out weeks in advance with a waiting list.
Martin Luther King-Dream Speech: a remembrance
Martin Luther King made his "I have a dream" speech on August 28th, 1963. It was held that day in honor of the anniversary of Emmett Till's torture and murder on the same date, in 1955.
1968 Democratic National Convention remembered in “Redlined”
Next Tuesday, August 28, 2018, will mark the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, and the anti-Viet Nam War Protests that once again (after the ML King riots just five months earlier) turned Chicago into a battleground and divided our city and country into camps; the "law and order" crowd (what Nixon called the "Silent Majority" vs. the anti-war protestors. It was the final melee in a year of turmoil that had roiled the nation.
Father of the Year
When I was in eighth grade, our English teacher, Mrs. Hall, asked all the students in class to write an essay on why we thought our dads should be “Father of the Year.”
A Memorial Day Tribute – Infantry and Air
This Memorial Day, I'm remembering two relatives who each served in one of the 20th century's two world wars.
Housing Injustice 100 years ago
The best defense is an offense, and that was as true in the past as it is today. A century ago, a deceitful notary took advantage of my grandfather’s absence to wrongfully sell his property. My grandmother's father, Samuel Ebner, (left) wrote her and her new husband, Josef Gartz, a letter dated May 11, 1913. Samuel was clearly in great distress over the illegal sale.
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