Farewell, Year Four of the Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter. Marianne Mather and I have enjoyed spending time in the Tribune’s extensive archives researching and revisiting Chicago’s past, and look forward to doing it again in 2026. It also marks one year since we began “Today in Chicago His tory,” a day-by-day look back at notable people, places and events from in and around this great city. Farewell, and thank you As we look forward to the new year, we say goodbye to our colleague Ron Grossman who has retired after writing more than 2,000 articles and columns for Tempo, main news, Metro, Perspective, Opinion, the magazine and AE, plus book reviews, travel pieces and of course Flashback and Vintage Chicago Tribune. Our favorite professor will enter 2026, we hope, with time for relaxation, his grandchildren and his harmonica, of course. You’ll see some new names joining us to tell some of the biggest stories from Chicago’s history. What would you like to see in this newsletter? Please make it your resolution to let us know! Email us. Did you miss a week in 2025? Here’s a comprehensive list. Jan. 2: Our favorite stories pulled from the archives in 2024 Jan. 9: Debunked — what we’ve found in the Tribune archives that changes conventional wisdom Jan. 16: Pardon me — Chicagoans who received clemency from a US president Jan. 23: The mass deportation of Mexicans in 1954 Jan. 30: Plane crashes that stunned our city Feb. 6: From horseless carriages to cougars, revisiting the Chicago Auto Show Feb. 13: Our grand, old flag — the Illinois state flag Feb. 20: How ‘Circle campus’ became UIC Feb. 27: The city’s groundbreaking Black aviators March 6: Meet Violet Bidwill, the NFL’s first female owner of the Cardinals March 13: Walgreens has been the backdrop for our city’s history March 20: Our favorite animals who became celebrities March 27: The White Sox’s wild ride into the team’s 125th season April 3: Chicago Cubs who have hit for the cycle April 10: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘The Big Four’ April 17: As McDonald’s turns 70, a look back at its suburban origins April 24: Chicago Bears’ mostly obscure No. 10 picks in the NFL draft May 1: The 40-year saga of State of Illinois Center May 8: Nancy Faust’s White Sox memories, from Harry Caray to ‘Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye’ May 15: Sue the T. rex’s journey to the Field Museum May 22: How piping plovers have captured our hearts through the years May 29: Roxie Hart’s evolution — from Beulah Annan to Broadway and the big screen June 5: Revisiting ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ filming locations 40 years later June 12: Unexpected finds in Chicago parks June 19: Inside the final months of Sam Giancana, former Chicago Outfit head June 26: Revisiting the Starved Rock murders and convicted killer Chester Weger July 3: Revisiting our hottest days — including the 1995 heat wave July 10: Mother Cabrini’s Chicago milestones on her path to sainthood July 17: 6 activities people used to do in the city during the summer July 24: Eastland disaster and its aftermath July 31: Remembering Ryne Sandberg, the Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Aug. 7: ‘Little Orphan Annie,’ from poem to paper, and to stage and screen Aug. 14: For your amusement — pleasure parks of bygone summers Aug. 21: The death of Emmett Till and his legacy, as reported by the Tribune Aug. 28: The National Guard has been activated to Chicago 18 times from 1877-2021. Here’s a breakdown. Sept. 4: Naval Station Great Lakes Sept. 11: 44 things about former Chicago Cubs star No. 44 Anthony Rizzo Sept. 18: 10 memorable moments from the 1985 Bears Sept. 25: Where local ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ revelers did the ‘Time Warp’ at midnight Oct. 2: Cubs-Padres 1984 series Oct. 9: Colleen Moore — silent movie star, fairy godmother, patron of the arts Oct. 16: Famous Chicagoans who lived to be 100 years or older Oct. 23: Skull-duggery — the city’s infamous bones Oct. 30: Remembering the macabre Whitechapel Club from the 1890s Nov. 6: Lake Michigan shipwrecks close to the city Nov. 13: Holy Name Cathedral’s 150th anniversary Nov. 20: Remembering the lore of Marshall Field’s State Street store Nov. 27: The International Livestock Exposition Dec. 4: Meet Jay Berwanger, the University of Chicago football player who won the 1st Heisman Dec. 11: Do you remember when 90 inches of snow fell almost 50 years ago? Dec. 18: Taxi drivers targeted in 1985 surprise immigration raids Dec. 25: Bears playoff appearances — including the ‘Sneakers Game,’ the ‘Fog Bowl’ and ‘Double Doink’ Kori’s pick: The mass deportation of Mexicans in 1954 Non-citizens board a U.S. Border Patrol plane at Midway Airport in 1954 during a deportation drive in Chicago. The group was being flown to Texas and then put on a boat headed for Veracruz, Mexico. (Chicago Tribune historical photo) Immigration may have been the biggest story in our city in 2025. Hours after he was inaugurated for a second term in January, President Donald Trump signed executive orders declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and reshaped policy to target anyone in the country illegally — “millions and millions” of people, according to him — for deportation. Vintage Chicago Tribune: Taxi drivers targeted in 1985 surprise immigration raids There was precedent here. Chicago’s community of immigrants lacking permanent legal status was targeted more than 70 years earlier for deportation, I discovered. Read the full story. Marianne’s pick: Chicago famed as skyscraper’s birthplace. But respect also is due the humble bungalow. A family portrait taken on the front lawn of their bungalow home, circa 1950. (Chicago Bungalow Association) This is one of my favorite stories because I live in and am the steward for a bungalow that is over 100 years old (mine was built in 1923). Our city is full of these historic masterpieces built with versatility in mind — I love the way natural light streams into the “frunchroom,” not to mention the amazing way air flows through the house. The story resonated with readers too — we received so many responses from people telling us about their beloved homes. Read the full story. Kori’s pick: Lake Michigan shipwrecks close to the city A “dead eye” on the Wells Burt. Named for their resemblance to human skulls, they were used to hold and tension ropes in the rigging. (Eric Vaandering) November marked the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior. It was interesting to learn that several hundred similar wrecks could lie beneath the waves in the part of Lake Michigan that falls under Illinois’ jurisdiction, according to the University of Illinois. These include everything from small excursion boats to a massive German submarine. We loved looking back at these ships and how they sunk — and were delighted to pair them with underwater photos taken by diver Eric Vaandering. Read the full story. Marianne’s pick: Chicago’s connection to ‘The Great Gatsby’ as Fitzgerald’s novel turns 100 Ginevra King, center, stands with friends at the country wedding of Adele Blow and Lt. Wayne Chatfield-Taylor in La Salle, Illinois, on Aug. 22, 1917. The couple was married at Blow's parents estate, Deer Park, which is now Matthiessen State Park. Society members were brought to the wedding on a special train from Chicago. (Chicago Tribune historical photo) I had no clue that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote his famous novel based off a young socialite from Lake Forest, Ginevra King, whom he fell in love with, but who ultimately didn’t chose him. She’s widely viewed as the inspiration for the glamorous Daisy Buchanan. Vintage Chicago Tribune: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘The Big Four’ Time magazine pronounced King and three friends the cream of the crop of Lake Forest debutantes in 1919. They wore gold pinkie rings engraved “The Big Four.” One was Edith Cummings, a premier amateur golfer of the 1920s. She appeared as Jordan Baker in “Gatsby.” Years later, King described herself in a letter to Fitzgerald’s daughter: “Goodness, what a self-centered little ass I was!” Having been a teen girl who probably fell in and out of “love” a lot, I can’t imagine my younger years becoming encapsulated in a book that would spur public opinion about me for the rest of my life. Talk about social media following us around! Read the full story. Kori’s pick: Meet Violet Bidwill, the NFL’s first female owner of the Cardinals Paul Christman, right, quarterback for the Chicago Cardinals, shows Violet Bidwill, center, owner of the Cardinals, the secret plays with which they hope to beat the Eagles, on Dec. 28, 1947. Cardinals halfback Charles Trippi, bottom left, coach Jim Conzelman, top left, and President Ray Benningsen, look on. (Ed Feeney/Chicago Tribune) It’s wonderful to tell the story of a person whose life was important, but perhaps not as well-known as it should be. Chicago Bears matriarch Virginia Halas McCaskey, who died in February, was not the first woman to become principal owner of an NFL team. Yet the woman who was lived nearby. Violet Bidwill was entrusted with the leadership of the Chicago Cardinals after her husband and team owner Charles Bidwill died unexpectedly in 1947. And though she, too, later died suddenly, the Bidwill family still retains ownership of the team due to her efforts. Read the full story. Marianne’s pick: A South Side gathering of Black intellectuals set the stage for Black History Month The mural "Mind, Body, and Spirit,” painted by William Edouard Scott in 1936, is in the Wabash YMCA in Chicago, Jan. 28, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune) I love this job because I’m constantly learning new things about our city. I didn’t know there was a YMCA on the South Side where many influential Black people gathered when they stayed here — dreaming up big ideas like Black History Month. In 1915, Carter G. Woodson, a University of Chicago alum, invited four African American notables to a meeting at the Wabash YMCA where he was staying. They founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and published the Journal of Negro History. By 1926, Woodson proclaimed a Negro History Week, the precursor to Black History Month. You can tour the Wabash YMCA, now a senior residence, and see the historic mural Mind, Body, and Spirit created by artist William Edouard Scott from 1936. Read the full story. Kori’s pick: The city’s groundbreaking Black aviators Members of the “Black Eagles,” the first Black fighter pilots to serve in the U.S. Army Air Corps, display awards they received in Chicago on Feb. 16, 1983, from the U.S. Customs Service north central region. From left are Carl Ellis, Lawrence Clark, Robert Martin, James Hall and Felix Kirkpatrick, all former members of the Chicago “DODO” Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen. (Ernie Cox Jr./Chicago Tribune) I learned about Capt. William R. Norwood — the first Black pilot for United Airlines — during a visit with my son to the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. Norwood’s name is inscribed on the Boeing 727, which he previously flew, that’s part of the “Take Flight” exhibit. Chicago’s connection to leaders in Black aviation, I found, is strong. Bessie Coleman — the first Black woman to earn a pilot’s license — inspired Cornelius R. Coffey and John Charles Robinson to pursue aviation careers. Coffey and Robinson later founded the first U.S. airport for Black aviators along 139th Street, and trained hundreds of pilots — Black and white — together at Harlem Airport in Oak Lawn. Willa Brown — the first Black woman to earn private pilot and commercial licenses — and Janet Harmon Bragg were two of their students and also part of the Challengers Air Pilots Association. Even the famed Tuskegee Airmen have a Chicago connection — the pilots trained at Chanute Field in Rantoul before their relocation to Alabama. Read the full story. Marianne’s pick: Scopes monkey trial, broadcast by WGN radio, held nation in thrall 100 years ago High school student Howard Morgan, 14, sits on the witness stand in 1925, center, and testifies against his teacher, John Scopes, who Morgan said taught the theory of evolution in his class. The Scopes trial was the first ever to be broadcast in the nation on WGN, using radio equipment in the center of the courtroom. (Chicago Herald and Examiner) Mother Nature almost robbed WGN of its place of honor at the intersection of radio and legal history — it was the first ever to broadcast a trial across its radio waves. An electrical storm destroyed telephone poles and wires over a wide area of southern Ohio in July 1925. The Chicago Tribune, WGN’s owner, was using those wires as part of a link between its broadcast facility atop the Drake Hotel in Chicago and a courtroom in Dayton, Tennessee. On trial in that courtroom was John Scopes, a high school teacher, charged with violating Tennessee’s Butler Law. It prohibited public schools from teaching any “theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.” The glass-plate negatives from the trial are some of my favorites. Not only are they beautifully preserved, but they show documentary photos from the trial rather than staged photos after the fact. Many photos from the 1920s are stagnant and posed. These photos are alive showing the action as it’s happening! Read the full story. Kori’s pick: As McDonald’s turns 70, a look back at its suburban origins The first McDonald’s restaurant on Lee Street in Des Plaines on Nov. 16, 1982. The building had been in operation since April 15, 1955. (George Thompson/Chicago Tribune) Marianne and I both grew up in northwest suburban Des Plaines. And though the site that formerly housed the first McDonald’s location there is long gone, it was fascinating to learn about the global chain’s humble beginnings. Read the full story. Marianne’s pick: Decades before Irish were Chicago political royalty, they lived in a ramshackle slum called Kilgubbin An illustration showing a typical Goose Island residence was published in the Chicago Times, Nov. 15, 1891. (Chicago History Museum) In the 1850s and 1860s, Kilgubbin was often mentioned in the pages of the Tribune and other Chicago newspapers. The name became symbolic of slums where poor Irish immigrants lived in ramshackle shanties, squatting on property they didn’t own. Of course, Kilgubbin wasn’t the only place where Irish people lived in Chicago during the city’s early decades. In the 1830s, Irish laborers dug the Illinois Michigan Canal, settling in a spot once called Hardscrabble, which became the South Side’s Bridgeport neighborhood. I always think of those South Side neighborhoods when I think of the Irish settling in Chicago (and of course there’s a certain famous Irish family from Bridgeport, iykyk). So I was shocked to hear about Kilgubbin and that it was located on Goose Island. This is why Kori and I love our jobs — we’re always learning something new! Read the full story. Want more vintage Chicago? Become a Tribune subscriber: It’s just $1 for a 1-year digital subscription. Thanks for reading! Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago’s past. Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore at [email protected]. ...read more read less