Charting the lore and lure of Chicago's ubiquitous burial grounds, this resource unearths the legends and legacies that mark the city's silent citizens—from larger-than-lifers and local heroes to machine mayors and machine-gunners. The book demonstrates that Chicago's cemeteries are home not only to thousands of individuals who fashioned the city's singular culture and character, but also to impressive displays of art and architecture, landscaping and limestone, egoism and ethnic pride. Mysterious questions such as Where is Al Capone buried? and What really lies beneath home plate at Wrigley Field? are answered in this reminder that although physical life must end, personal notes—and notoriety—last forever. 
Discover a Chicago That Exists Just Beneath the Surface—About Six Feet Under.
Ever wonder where Al Capone is buried? How about Clarence Darrow? Muddy Waters? Harry Caray? Or maybe Brady Bunch patriarch Robert Reed? And what really lies beneath home plate at Wrigley Field? Graveyards of Chicago answers these and other cryptic questions as it charts the lore and lure of Chicagos ubiquitous burial grounds.
Like the livelier neighborhoods that surround them, Chicagos cemeteries are often crowded, sometimes weary, ever-sophisticated, and full of secrets. They are home not only to thousands of individuals who fashioned the citys singular culture and character,but also to impressive displays of art and architecture, landscaping and limestone, egoism and ethnic pride, and the constant reminder that although physical life must end for us all, personal note—and notoriety—last forever.
Grab a shovel and tag along as Ursula Bielski, local historian and author of Chicago Haunts, and Matt Hucke, photographer and creator of graveyards.com unearth the legends and legacies that mark Chicagos silent citizens—from larger-than-lifers and local heroes, to clerics and comedians, machine mayors and machine-gunners.
This book contains 168 photos.

Graveyards of Chicago: The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries

History

Bielski, Ursula

Hucke, Matt

Americas

Lake Claremont Press

A unique insider's budget guide to Chicago, KNOW MORE, SPEND LESS: A NATIVE'S GUIDE TO CHICAGO takes readers beyond the standard tourist grounds, highlighting hundreds of free, inexpensive, & unusual things to do. It's the perfect resource for tourists, business travelers, & Chicagoans alike. Every chapter contains both mainstream & offbeat suggestions. "Touring" directs readers not just to the Art Institute & Buckingham Fountain, but to Farrakhan's House & hidden waterfalls. "Recreation" informs about golf & swimming, along with bingo & virtual reality. Besides its extensive budget recommendations, "Food" includes a vast specialty listing that advises on everything from bratwurst pizza & Cactus tacos to Croatian & Laotian eateries. "Entertainment" sends visitors to affordable clubs & theaters, then on to poetry slams & Elvis impersonators. "Walking" winds readers through ethnic neighborhoods & historic districts before taking them through luxury hotel lobbies. Alongside discount shopping information, "Shopping" points out where to get cookie jars & voodoo supplies. And this is only the beginning... FOR those who want to venture into the nooks & crannies of real, everyday Chicago, FROM someone who knows & loves this metropolis inside & out... You will not find a more indispensable handbook to America's Second City. To order contact: Lake Claremont Press, P.O. Box 25291, Chicago, IL 60625. 773-784-7517. E-mail address: lakeclarpr@aol.com.

A Native's Guide To Chicago

Travel

Sharon Woodhouse

United States

The story of the making and perpetual remaking of the Chicago River by everything from preglacial forces to the interventions of an emerging and mighty city is encompassed in this intimate biography of the heroic body of water. The book discusses how when French explorers Jolliet and Marquette used the Chicago portage to access the Mississippi River system, the Chicago River was but a humble, even sluggish, stream in the right place at the right time. 
American Regional History Publishing Award - 1st Place - Midwest Region Midwest Independent Publishers Association Merit Award - 2nd Place - History One of ten "outstanding nominations" for the Abel Wolman Award for the best new book in the field of public works history
Used and abused. Straightened and channelized. Reversed and revered. But never ignored...
An Intimate Biography of the Heroic Creek that Chicago Made
When French explorers Jolliet and Marquette used the Chicago portage to access the Mississippi River system, the Chicago River was but a humble, even sluggish, stream in the right place at the right time. That's the story of the making of Chicago. This is the other story--the story of the making and perpetual re-making of a river by everything from pre-glacial forces to the interventions of an emerging and mighty city.

The Chicago River: A Natural and Unnatural History

Hill, Libby

A current and ongoing story of unequal power in Chicago, this book tells the story of four representatives of immigrant and migrant groups—Jewish, Italian, African-American, and Mexican—that have had a distinct territorial presence in the Maxwell Street area. The interviewees reminisce fondly on life in the neighborhood and tell of their struggles to save it and the 120-year-old Maxwell Street Market that was at its core. 
Midwest Independent Publishers Association Book Award - 2nd Place - Midwest Regional Interest
Harold, Florence, Nate, and Hilda Dragon Slayers at Halsted and Roosevelt
"You could be St. George and you couldn't slay that dragon," said Florence Scala. She was referring to her epic fight to preserve the Italian Taylor Street community from Mayor Richard J. Daley's plan to redevelop it for the University of Illinois. Yet, Scala and other ordinary citizens in Chicago's port-of-entry Near West Side neighborhood persisted in their extraordinary battles against some of the biggest power players in a city of clout.
"Near West Side Stories: Struggles For Community in Chicago's Maxwell Street Neighborhood" is an ongoing story of unequal power in Chicago. Four representatives of immigrant and migrant groups that have had a distinct territorial presence in the area--one Jewish, one Italian, one African-American, and one Mexican--reminisce fondly on life in the old neighborhood and tell of their struggles to save it and the 120-year-old Maxwell Street Market that was at its core.
"Near West Side Stories" brings this saga of community strife up to date, while giving a voice to the everyday people who were routinely discounted or ignored in the big decisions that affected their world. Though "slaying that dragon"--fending off the encroachments of those wielding great power--was nearly impossible, we see in the details of their lives the love for a place that compelled Harold, Florence, Nate, and Hilda to make the quest.

Near West Side Stories: Struggles for Community in Chicago's Maxwell Street Neighborhood

Eastwood, Carolyn

Inspired by his family's roots as Chicago Police members, award-winning journalist Daniel P. Smith draws the curtain to reveal the officers of the Chicago Police Department and their personal stories. Whether on the frontlines of a bloody battle over gangland turf or at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, from officers who battle personal demons to those who celebrate the adrenaline of the chase, this resource peers into a world of individuals trying to simultaneously balance work demands with the needs of their own private lives. Far from the imaginative portrayals sprouting from American television, the honest and sincere stories shared in the book are of those who carry the Chicago Police star alongside their life’s ambitions, responsibilities, and realities. 
The police stars, CPD clothes, and cop cars we see every day.
The Chicago Police Department is a mythical and legendary law enforcement unit as well as a closed-door society. In On the Job: Behind the Stars of the Chicago Police Department, Daniel P. Smith draws the curtain to reveal the officers and their personal stories. Smith, an award-winning journalist and the product of a Chicago Police family, explores the work/life juxtaposition of the men and wome--mothers and fathers, realists and idealists, cynics and consolers--who don the Chicago Police star.
From officers on the frontlines of a bloody battle over gangland turf to those at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, from those who battle personal demons to those who celebrate the adrenaline of the chase, On the Job peers into a world of individuals trying to simultaneously balance work demands with the demands of their own private lives. Far from the imaginative portrayals sprouting from American televisions, On the Job shares the honest and sincere stories of those who carry the Chicago Police star alongside their life's ambitions, responsibilities, and realities.
It's the hearts, scars, and families behind the uniform we never see.

On the Job: Behind the Stars of the Chicago Police Department

Biographies & Memoirs

Daniel P. Smith

Historical

The first comprehensive look at the horror movie programs that found their way to local TV stations in the 1950s, this book discusses how the motion picture industry initially disparaged and feared television but eventually began to embrace it, and it focuses on films grouped into the horror genre. Thousands of films that had long been gathering dust in film studio vaults gained new life with TV genre programming, and Chicago's tradition of TV horror movie shows was born in 1957. 
During my generally misspent youth, I devoted an inordinate amount of time watching the most preposterous movies ever made. I use the word preposterous advisedly, because that s the precise term to describe films involving giant scorpions, teenage werewolves, little green Martians, big alien brains, fire-breathing space turtles, 50-foot women, puppet people, humongous leeches, killer shrews, and grasshoppers as big as the Shedd Aquarium. Not that I have any regrets. --Author Ted Okuda, from the Introduction
Although the motion picture industry initially disparaged and feared television, by the late 1950s, studios saw the medium as a convenient dumping ground for thousands of films that had long been gathering dust in their vaults. As these films found their way to local TV stations, enterprising distributors grouped the titles by genre so programmers could showcase them accordingly. It was in this spirit that Chicago s tradition of horror TV movie shows was born. TV viewers couldn t get enough of the old monster movies everything from glossy Frankenstein and Dracula epics to low-budget cheapies featuring giant grasshoppers and teenage werewolves. Here in Chicago, these films were broadcast on such horror movie shows as Shock Theatre, Thrillerama, Creature Features, and Screaming Yellow Theater.
Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: From Shock Theatre to Svengoolie is the first comprehensive look at Chicago s horror movie programs, from their inception in 1957 to the present. Through career profiles of the Horror Hosts who provided comedic interludes between commercial breaks, discover which creepy presenter was one of the 12 reporters to travel around the country with the Beatles during their 1965 66 U.S. tour, and learn about the politics behind Channel 32's sudden (and outrageous) switch from Svengoolie to the Ghoul. Also included are broadcast histories of such hostless programs as Creature Features, Thrillerama The Big Show, The Early Show, The Science Fiction Theater, and Monster Rally, along with a guide to 100 fright films broadcast on Chicago television and a look at the Shock! horror library that started a TV craze. Filled with rare photographs and ever-before-published data, Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows celebrates a grand tradition in local television.

Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: From Shock Theatre to Svengoolie

Humor & Entertainment

Okuda, Ted

Yurkiw, Mark

Television

There was a time when every television station in Chicago produced or aired programming for children, and this book discusses the back stories and details of this special era from the people who created, lived, and enjoyed it, such as producers, on-air personalities, and fans. This compendium describes how from the late 1940s through the early 1970s, local television stations created a golden age of children's television unique in American broadcasting and how the FCC changed the regulations governing the relationship between sponsors and local programming in 1972, effectively bringing the genre to a close since the programs operated under strict budgetary constraints. The story of this chapter in television history show the richness of imagination and inventiveness of children's programming and the devotion of the fans. Featured shows include Bozo's Circus; Garfield Goose; Kukla, Fran, &amp; Ollie; The Mulqueen's Kiddie-A-Go-Go; Ray Rayner and Friends; and Super Circus. 
"Today, we can be nostalgic about the passing of great local children's fare such as Bozo's Circus . . . and Garfield Goose. However, I believe that today's children have more and better choices in programming . . . . What is missing is the localism, the heart and soul that emanated from these and other programs. Economics, regulation, and expectations for what a program should look like have altered children's television forever. As you read this book, perhaps you will not only find memories or curiosities from a bygone era, but inspiration to create children's television for today's audiences. A pie in the face is still funny, kids still like to dance, and the last time I looked, you could still buy six buckets and nail them to a board and call it a Grand Prize Game."—from the foreword by Neal Sabin, WCIU-TV, Chicago
Behind-the-Scenes Stories of the Golden Age of Chicago Children's Television as Told by the People Who Lived It
At one time every station in Chicago—a maximum of five, until 1964—produced or aired some programming for children. From the late 1940s through the early 1970s, local television stations created a golden age of children's television unique in American broadcasting. Though the shows often operated under strict budgetary constraints, these programs were rich in imagination, inventiveness, and devoted fans. The mere mention of their names brings smiles to the faces of Midwestern Baby Boomers everywhere: Kukla, Fran, &amp; Ollie, Super Circus, Garfield Goose, Bozo's Circus, Mulqueens' Kiddie-A-Go-Go, BJ &amp; Dirty Dragon, Ray Rayner and Friends, and a host of others. In 1972 the FCC changed the regulations governing the relationship between sponsors and local programming, effectively bringing to a close this chapter of television history.
What Chicago kids' show had American Bandstand host Dick Clark dancing on T.V. for the first time ever? Why did one have to wait months and, more often, years to get tickets for Bozo's Circus? Which very popular and successful host never wanted to do a children's T.V. show? Who really made the puppet Garfield Goose (you may not have known it was a mystery)? Remember the talent that bit the head off a parakeet on live TV and the shocked emcee's reaction? What sent television executives into a quandary when Kiddie-A-Go-Go went on the air? Which show was almost forced off the air because a giant soft drink company opposed a so-called rival's use of the word sip? Now, discover the back stories and details of this special era from the people who created, lived, and enjoyed it—producers, on-air personalities, and fans.

The Golden Age of Chicago Children's Television

Mulqueen, Jack

Illinois Woman's Press Association Award Book Award - 1st Place - General Nonfiction
 Come on Baby, Don't You Want to Go? 
 Chicago boasts more landmarks in blues history than any place else north of the Mississippi Delta. More blues musicians live and work in Chicago than in any other city in the world, and more clubs devoted entirely to the blues thrive here than in any other metropolitan area.
 Only in Chicago can you hear live blues music seven days a week, 365 days a year, by musicians who helped create the Chicago blues sound--a lusty, amplified style built on shuffling rhythms, electrified slide guitar, wailing harmonica, and gritty vocals.
 The passion and intimacy of this celebrated American art form draw a half a million or more people to Grant Park each June for the largest free blues festival in the world. Natives and visitors alike know there is no better party music than the rollicking, soulful, swinging tempos and melodies of the blues for drawing you in, getting you moving, and reaching deep into your soul.
 Today's Chicago Blues brings together everything fans will need to know about the blues in Chicago. A more in-depth look at the city's blues scene than typical guidebooks offer, this up-to-date resource offers both newcomers and longtime devotees a handy and informative way to enrich their experience of this celebrated musical genre. 
Come on--immerse yourself in the historical and cultural context of this powerful, emotional, sensual music, and see for yourself how Sweet Home Chicago is moving the legacy of the blues forward.

Today's Chicago Blues

Arts & Photography

Karen Hanson

Music

Charting the lore and lure of Chicago's ubiquitous burial grounds, this resource unearths the legends and legacies that mark the city's silent citizens—from larger-than-lifers and local heroes to machine mayors and machine-gunners. The book demonstrates that Chicago’s cemeteries are home not only to thousands of individuals who fashioned the city’s singular culture and character, but also to impressive displays of art and architecture, landscaping and limestone, egoism and ethnic pride. This edition includes all new digital photos and refreshed text in the same spirit and informal, travel-book style as the original. Mysterious questions such as Where is Al Capone buried? and What really lies beneath home plate at Wrigley Field? are answered in this reminder that although physical life must end, personal note—and notoriety—last forever.

Graveyards of Chicago : The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries

In this easy-to-use reference guide, family historian Grace DuMelle provides the means to trace Chicago connections like a pro. She shows not just what to research, but how to research. Without wading through preliminaries, readers choose any of the self-contained chapters that focus on the questions beginners most want answered. Other chapters cover the nuts and bolts of the mechanics that are the key to making a family's past come alive, with highlights summarizing important points. In finding Chicago ancestors, readers will better understand not only their family's history, but also their involvement in the history of a great American city. 
Midwest Independent Publishers Association Book Award - 1st Place - Hobby/How- To Illinois Woman's Press Association Book Award - 1st Place - Instructional Nonfiction National Federation of Press Women Book Award - 3rd Place - Instructional Nonfiction
The Chicago Roots of Your Family Tree
For almost 175 years, a great metropolis on the shores of a freshwater sea has sent a siren call to immigrants internal and external, giving most Americans some kind of link to the City of Big Shoulders. Whether your people came west from New England in the early days of settlement, or north from Mississippi in the Great Migration; whether they sailed from Sweden and Sicily, or flew from Budapest and Prague; whether they settled here permanently or temporarily, this easy-to-use reference guide will help you document them.
Family historian Grace DuMelle provides the means to trace your Chicago connections like a pro. She shows you not just what to research, but how to research. Without wading through lots of preliminaries, choose any of the self-contained chapters that focus on the questions beginners most want answered and jump right in!
Where do I start? When and where was my ancestor born? When did my ancestor come to America? What did my ancestor do for a living? Where did my ancestor live? Where is my ancestor buried?
Other chapters cover the nuts and bolts of the mechanics that are the key to making your family's past come alive, with highlights summarizing important points:
Examples of documents such as death certificates, church registers and U.S. census entries. Chicago-area research facilities: what they have and how to access it. Researching using newspapers, machines and catalogs. Sources for specific ethnic research. Sources for long-distance research.
In finding your Chicago ancestors, you will not only better understand your and your family's history, but also your and your family's involvement in the history of a great American city.

Finding Your Chicago Ancestors: A Beginner's Guide to Family History in the City and Cook County

DuMelle, Grace

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