Chicago!

HOG Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders...

How can you not love Chicago? Lake Michigan, the wiseguys, the theatre, Frank Lloyd Wright, the Sears Tower, the endless list of movies made there, the poems, another creatively named band - Chicago (not the 80s Chicago, though, good heavens that stuff is painful), the pizza, the snow, the stock exchange, the Cubbies, jazz...I could do this all day! There's a hair salon there called "Curl Up & Dye", I think you can even spot it during one of the chase scenes in The Blues Brothers. I'm a sucker for a good pun.

Chicago is just one of those cities about which there is entirely too much to say. But here's a quick run-down on a tiny portion of Chicago history. The city now known as Chicago was founded by a man from Haiti, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable. In 1773, he had a farm near Peoria. He moved around a bit, including spending some time in prison for being an American loyalist just before the Revolutionary War. Once he was freed from prison he set up camp on a spot called Fort Dearborn which, in 1830, was named Chicago. In 1871 - big fire. People call it the "Great" fire of Chicago, but I bet the residents didn't think it was so great. In 1893 came The Colombian Exposition where the very first Ferris Wheel was exhibited and the city was plagued by a serial killer calling himself H.H. Holmes (Herman Webster Mudgett. As you know, it is a hard and fast rule that all serial killers must go by three names). There's a great book about the fair and the killer called The Devil in the White City. Of course when prohibition got going so did Al Capone. If that hadn't happened, we be out a lot of wonderful movies and books.

There is simply too much! Tell you what, if you want to know more about this fantastic city, call John Borland, Stephanie Campbell, Ed Elftmann or Joseph West. These fine Engle Martinites make their home there. Our friends in Chicago will be spending their day working in Blackwell's Native Plant Nursery for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. Check out the link if you get a chance.