Historic Voices

Eleanor Roosevelt (One 90-minute presentation, w/video)
In August of 1943, while the world was waging war, Eleanor Roosevelt embarked on a secret five-week mission at the request of her husband, President Roosevelt. She boarded a military transport plane and headed to the Pacific theater while the war with Japan was far from being decided. Her quest was to discover and report back first-hand accounts of the war, in such a way that only she could do. Her journey was a closely guarded secret until news broke ten-days into the mission that she had left the country on a risky expedition. Learn what she not only discovered and reported back to her husband, but also the unexpected responses she received from military service persons from the top leaders of the war to the foot soldiers in the trenches.   
 

Fire Safety in the Home (One 90-minute presentation, w/video)
If you had to say, which room in your home is the most likely to have a fire? Our homes must meet fire-safety codes when they are built, but what standards are present to ensure we maintain our homes in a fire-safe manner? Fire-safety in the home is something we rarely give much thought about, until we have an unfortunate event. Join us in this session to learn not only where fires are most likely to occur in your home, but how we can mitigate the risk to minimize any event from happening. Find out what safety equipment we can install to provide warning and early suppression of any outbreak. This course is presented by a Certified Healthcare Safety Professional with decades of experience in fire-safety.

How The States Got Their Shapes (Four 90-minute presentations)
We are so familiar with the map of the United States that our state borders seem as much part of nature as mountains and rivers. Yet you may be surprised how politics, wars, geological features, bad surveys, battles between states, and petty grievances played into how our states got their shapes. For example: Why are many of the northeastern states so small compared to the other states? Why is Vermont not considered one of the original 13 states? Why is there a West Virginia but not an East Virginia? Did you know that the area that is now Rockford, Illinois was once part of the territory that eventually became Wisconsin?

How The States Got Their NAMES (Two 90-minute presentations)
Have you ever wondered how our states got their names? Over 500 years ago, when European explorers came to what is now North America, looking for gold and a passage to China and the Indies, millions of Native Americans were already living on this land and they had names for every plain, mountain, river, lake and stream. That is why 27 states have names that come from Native American words… or at least what the Europeans thought they heard.  Come and join us for this two-session class as we discover together the factual and true source of the name of every US state.

Jerks in Chicago History: The 1800’s (One 90-minute presentation, w/video)
Join us for a look at the some of the badly behaved characters who shaped the history of Chicago during the 19th century. There were of course the notorious thieves and bad-guys who dominated over the young and struggling prairie town. But we will also look at perpetrators of mischief and other colorful anti-heroes… some who could be considered misunderstood visionary thinkers. From the Chicago Times newspaper publisher Wilbur Storey, to the king of department stores Marshall Field, to the dastardly sausage maker Adolph Luetgert, we will take a delightful look at those individuals who helped shape Chicago in the 1800’s.

More Jerks in Chicago History: 1900 – 1945 (One 90-minute presentation w/video)
In this session, we will take a look at the men and women who turned Chicago into the corrupt and crime-riddled western town it became in the first half of the 20th century. We begin with William J. Davis the cost-cutting theater owner where over 600 people died in one afternoon. We will look at James Colosimo, the grandfather of the Chicago mob, and how Big Jim Thompson was perhaps the most corrupt mayor Chicago ever had. We will examine how Dean O’Banion, Al Capone, and John Dillinger had their influence and rule over the local mob. Join us for this second installment on the Jerks in Chicago History.

Even More Jerks in Chicago History: 1945 – 2000 (One 90-minute presentation w/video)
Join us in this last of three presentations on Jerks in Chicago History, where we examine the actions of even more thieves, murderers, jerks, and mobsters in Chicago. Starting with William Heirens in 1945 and ending with Barbara Byrd-Bennett, we look at the lives of individuals who make up the latter half of the 20th Century. Some were politicians, some were law enforcement officers, and some were respected business entrepreneurs. Whatever their role, they resorted to their dark side and added to the list of badly behaved characters who shaped the history of the Windy City.

The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping: New Theories and Debates (One 90-minute presentation)
It is known as the crime of century - the infamous kidnapping and murder of the infant son of Charles A. Lindbergh in 1932. But nearly a century after Bruno Richard Hauptmann died in the electric chair, questions that even then troubled many, have become more persistent. At the time, many individuals were not convinced of Hauptmann’s guilt. In the decades since, only more theories and speculations have evolved. This presentation will get to the heart of the mystery. We will review the facts of the case, the manhunt for the perpetrators, and the arrest, trial, conviction, and execution of Hauptmann. Learn how Lindbergh’s actions could be considered an obstruction of justice. Discover how recent authors have all come to a similar conclusion: The real killer may have gotten away with it.

The Driftless Area (One 90-minute presentation, w/video)
What is the Driftless Area? It is a region in the Midwest (Northeast Iowa, Southeast Minnesota, Southwest Wisconsin and a wee bit of Northwest Illinois) that was skipped by the glaciers in the last ice age, leaving the area "lacking glacial drift", i.e., Driftless. Even if you haven't heard of the Driftless Area, it is likely you have visited it already if you've been to Galena, IL, or the Wisconsin Dells. The Driftless Area is a natural, beautiful sculpted landscape region that is full of monadnocks (huge masses of rock rising up out of the middle of a plateau), rolling hillsides that extend into deeply carved river valleys that cut into limestone bedrock, sinkholes, palisades, bluffs, and caves. This presentation will identify the oldest river in the world and reveal the natural beauty of the region where only certain flowers and plants are found in the world.   

Amelia Earhart: Her Last Flight (One 90-minute presentation, w/video)
Amelia Earhart was a world-renowned pilot who became the first woman to fly the Atlantic and the first person to fly solo across the Pacific from Hawaii to California. But most people know her today as the famous aviatrix who never completed her around-the-world trip in 1937. What happened to Amelia and her navigator Fred Noonan on that fateful leg of her last flight? Was she simply lost at sea? Was she captured by the Japanese? Was she a spy? Join us for this presentation as we examine her Last Flight and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance in the South Pacific just before World War II with the Japanese.

Galveston Texas: America’s Deadliest Natural Disaster (One 90-minute presentation w/video)
Galveston, Texas was a pleasant sea-side community of 38,000 residents on September 8, 1900, and the leading port to the great Southwest of a bustling United States. Little did anyone realize that a violent hurricane was about to change their lives and the make-up of their city forever. It is estimated that over 8,000 people lost their lives that day. Join us for this presentation of America's worst natural disaster as we examine the science on how this monster storm began and why our own U.S. Weather Service failed to recognize the potential this storm would have.