NIU 1922: Ain't No 'Girls College' No More

From the March 8, 2022, MidWeek "Looking Back."  (DeKalb County, Illinois)

Here is a name for Northern Illinois University that I did not know.  But, evidently in its earlier days it was called "Girls College."

Here's the article from March 1922:

"It will not be many days before the work of installing a chapter of the Y.M.C.A. at the Teacher' College will be completed.  Dean of Men Robert G. Buzzard called a meeting of all men members of the student body and faculty at which time a brief  outline of what is to be done was given.

"A forming of the Y.M.C.A. at the Teachers' college would be a fair indication that the college is growing away from the old name "Girls college."  The last few years has seen a wonderful growth in the number of men students at the college."

And the gals were so happy.

No More "Suitcase College" Here.  --Cooter

McHenry (Illinois) Area Historical Society Meeting 4/9/22: Board Games

The meeting was held at the McHenry Savings Bank on Illinois Highway 31 south of McHenry.  There were 24 in attendance.  It is good to be back meeting again after all that you-know-what.  I just don't do Zoom.  

The last in-person meeting was held last June 11, 2021, at the Veterans Park Shelter in McHenry.

The next meeting will be at the bank on October 8 and the presentation will be about Women Pilots in World War II and the presenter will be Judy Porter from McHenry.

Attendance is down and the society will have a booth at the Thursday night concerts at Veterans Park this summer.

Membership is still $15 a year but will be going up.

There are two publications available from the society:  a 2022 calendar showing historical buildings and a McHenry  Illinois Sanborn Insurance Map Book showing the locations of every building in the city  from 1893 to 1933.

This morning's presentation was Board Games, given by Patrick Wirtz.

I was surprised to see good buddy Double D, fellow collect-too-much and NIU football superfan.

--Cooter

46 Fascinating Facts About Our 46 Presidents-- Part 5: Arthur to McKinley

Well, since today IS actually Presidents Day.

In Honor of Presidents Day this Monday.

21.  CHESTER A. ARTHUR  (1881-1885)

Arthur was named  in honor of Chester  Abell, the doctor who delivered him.

22 AND 24.  GROVER CLEVELAND  (1885-1889) and (1893-1897)

No president except Cleveland has ever served non-consecutive terms:  He defeated  James g. Blaine in 1884, lost to Benjamin Harrison in 1888(despite winning the popular vote), and then came back to defeat Harrison in 1892.

23.  BENJAMIN HARRISON  (1889-1893)

He was the first president to hire a female White House staffer.

25.  WILLIAM McKINLEY  (1897-1901)

His likeness appears on the $500 bill, which was discontinued in 1969.

--CootPres

Seneca Falls, New York and 'It's a Wonderful Life'

From Wikipedia.

Seneca Falls is reportedly the inspiration for the fictional city of Bedford Falls in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life."

The census of 2010 put the population at 9,040.

The town is on the northern part of the Finger Lakes District.

At the conclusion of the American Revolution, this area was part of the Central New York Military Tract of some 2 million acres of land set aside to  compensate New York soldiers for serving in the war.  The land would be given to the soldiers in lots of 600 acres in size.  This caused a lot of growth in the area's population.

In 1818, a canal was completed connecting  Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake an d these were later connected to the Erie Canal in 1828.

The Seneca Falls Convention was held there July 19-20, 1848, and was the first women's rights convention organized by women explicitly to discuss the subject.  Elizabeth Cady Stanton was involved with this.

--Cooter

Woke and Cancel Culture Hits All Over U.S.-- Part 3

Even before then unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, cities around the country were grappling with controversies over monuments that celebrate Columbus, Confederate leaders and other historical figures.  Some have been marked with graffiti.  Others have been pulled down.

Activists have urged that public art do a better job of representing a broad spectrum of American life, something the mayor says Chicago will accomplish.

As part of that, city officials said the Chicago Monuments Project seeks ideas from individual artists and community groups "for development of new monuments that rethink the place, purpose and permanence of monuments in our public places."

Throughout America, activists have criticized cities for not honoring women and people of color.  In Chicago, women and minorities aren't altogether absent from the city's public art, but they are underrepresented.

--Cooter

Black History: Elizabeth 'Bessie' Coleman, Aviator

ELIZABETH "BESSIE" COLEMAN (1892-1926)

Popularly known as "Queen Bess," was the first black woman to become an airplane pilot.

She had to travel to Europe for flight training because no American flight school would accept her because of her race.

Upon returning, she intended to start a flying school for black pilots.  She toured the country, giving lectures at black schools, churches and recreational facilities in an effort to encourage Blacks to enter the field of aviation.

Preparing for an airshow in Jacksonville, Florida, she was killed when she was thrown from a crashing aircraft while riding as a passenger.

Some More 2020 Deaths: Wright, Johnson, Mubarak, Welch and McNally

FEBRUARY

MICKEY WRIGHT, 85

Golf great who won 13 majors among her 82 victories and gave the new LPGA a crucial lift.  Died Feb. 17.

KATHERINE JOHNSON, 101

A mathematician who calculated rocket trajectories and Earth orbits for NASA's early space missions and was later portrayed in the 2016 hit film "Hidden Figures."  Feb. 24.

HOSNI MUBARAK, 91

The Egyptian leader who was the autocratic face of stability in the Middle East for nearly 30 years being being forced from power.  Feb. 25.

**********************************

MARCH

JACK WELCH, 84

He transformed General Electric Co. into a highly profitable multinational conglomerate.  March 1.

TERRENCE McNALLY, 81

One of America's great playwrights whose prolific career included winning Tony Awards for the plays "Love! Valour! Compassion!" and "Master Class" and the musicals "Ragtime" and "Kiss of the Spider Woman."  Died March 24

Voting in the 1918 Election: A War Winding Down and a Full-Fledged Pandemic

One hundred and two years ago on Tuesday, November 5, Americans were heading to the polls to vote.  It was not a presidential election, but stakes were high.  People were electing members of the 66th Congress.  It was also the lone election to take place during the United States' involvement in World War I (though it was winding down) and there was a full-scale pandemic going on at the time.

Campaigning was disrupted tremendously around the country as states had banned large gatherings.  Nebraska, for example, lifted a ban on public gatherings to allow campaigning five days before the election.

The president was Democrat Woodrow Wilson, but the republicans swept to control of both houses in Congress.

This was also a big election for women suffragists.

And, Now We have 2020.  --Cooter

No Fun (and Little Pay) At the Sycamore Preserve Works in 1883

From the June 3, 2020, MidWeek  (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1883,   Many, many years a go.

"There was some commotion  at the Sycamore Preserve Works last Monday over the double discovery that, under the new superintendent,  the hundred women and girls at work must stick to their posts and not talk; also , that their wages were cut down some thirty percent from last year's rates.

"From thirty to sixty cents a day is all they earn at present prices.  Last year they had a kind of picnic there and lots of fun;  this year they say it is serious work and pretty poor pay.

"Quite a number quit work at noon and other at night.  Next day there was a slight advance in wages.

Sounds Like A Strike About to Happen.  --CootStrike

More on Ohio Presidents-- Part 5: Two More First Ladies and "Now Dear, I Hope You're Happy" and "Lemonade Lucy"

JULIA GRANT--  (Julia Dent)   was the first First Lady to write her memoirs.  Upon taking the Oath of Office for the presidency, Grant turned to his wife and said, "Now dear, I hope you're happy."

LUCY HAYES--  (Lucy Ware Webb)--    She was a member of the National Women's  Temperance League.  Once Rutherford took office as president, Lucy convinced him that alcohol should be banned from the White House.

After the decree became known, Lucy received the name "Lemonade Lucy."

Because of her  high moral principles , she was admired by many women of the day.    One reporter referred to her as "The First Lady" and that term is used even to this day for the wife of the president.

*********************************

Ohio has had six women born in the state who served as First Ladies:  Lucy Webb Hayes, Lucretia Randolph Garfield, Caroline Scott Harrison, Ida Saxton McKinley, Helen Herron Taft and Florence DeWolf Harding.

--Cooter

Death of McSorley's Matty Maher-- Part 3: About Those Chicken Wings and Women

In the last post, I mentioned that there was a collection of chicken wings in New York City's McSorley's.  It would seem that this would be something a bit out of the ordinary in a bar.  And it is.

Matty Maher would explain that they dated to World War I, when departing doughboys, after finishing their last full meal stateside, would hang the bones above the bar as a good luck wish that they would return safely.

In 1970, Mayor John V. Lindsay signed legislation barring discrimination in public places because of gender.  Altercations erupted at McSorley's between longtime customers and the female newcomers.

"I'm afraid it will be this way for a few days," Maher said.    If anything, he continued, it helped business.  But it took until 1986 before McSorley's added a female bathroom

Women's Voting Tips in 1919: Beware Hair Parts, Mandates and Hecklers

From the January 9, 2019, MidWeek  (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1919, 100 Years Ago.

"Now that  women have power to vote, their men folk on the strength of hundreds of years start in the study of politics, are giving them lots of advise.   Among their valuable hints are the following:

"Never vote for a candidate who parts his hair in the middle.  He is obviously unable to take one side or the other.

"If your candidate asks you to give him a mandate, ask him:  "What about a womandate?"

"If you attend a political meeting as a heckler, heckle the speaker the same way as you would your husband.  That will get him all tied up."

Ha Ha.  --CootMam

Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park At the Movies-- Part 1: "Blues Brothers" and "A League of Their Own"

From the May 5, 2019, Chicago Tribune Sports Section  "Ballpark Stars:  Movies, TV shows have often shot scenes at Wrigley or Comsikey: by Phil Rosenthal and Tim Bannon.

The new Netflix movie "The Last Summer," is set in Chicago, but mostly filmed in Cleveland, except for the scenes inside Wrigley Field.

Here are nine memorable movie and TV scenes at the two ballparks over the last 40 years:

1.  "THE BLUES BROTHERS"  (1980)

A great cameo for Wrigley.  When the American Nazis were looking for Jake and Elwood Blues, they got their address as 1060 West Addison, only to find Wrigley Field at that address.

2.  A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN" (1992)

The tryout for the All American Girls Professional Baseball League took place at Wrigley.

--CootWrig

Eleven Fascinating Numbers About Apollo 11-- Part 1: 363

From CBS 19 by Arthur Pittman.

Here are some obscure and not so obscure numbers about the mission.

Obviously 7-20-69.

2,978--  Before a joint  session of  Congress, Pres. John F. Kennedy made a declaration on May  25, 1961, to get a man on the Moon.  It happened this many days later.

400,000--  The estimated number of men and women involved in getting this to happen.

1--  Just one movie, "Hidden Figures," that showed the role of women, especially black women, in getting it done.

363--  The Saturn V rocket that carried them off Earth stood this tall in feet.  There is a Saturn 1B rocket at the Alabama border on I-65 if you want to get an idea of how big of a rocket it is.  It is huge.

6,200,000--  Number of pounds it weighed fully fueled.

More to Come.  --Cooter

75 Years Later, D-Day-- Part 4: Showing Respect

"The younger generations don't realize enough what sacrifices those men and women made for our freedom.  The world would have been a much different place if that war had been won by Germany," said Annie Riley, a singer dressed in a World War II-era uniform of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, or WAAF's.

"I do sometimes feel they don't get the recognition they deserve, and then you come to something like this and it is just so humbling to see how loved they are and how respected they are."

The veterans and the families crowded onto the decks.  A few pulled a few pints.  The mood was festive.

This time, however, everyone was looking forward to landing in France, not like the last time.

Canned Fruit for Wounded Soldiers in 1918

From the September 19, 2018, MidWeek  (DeKalb County, IL)  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"A barrel of canned fruit is to be made up by the ladies of Clare and sent to the Wesley hospital for the benefit of wounded soldiers.

"You may bring the fruit any time before the first of October to the home of Mrs. J.A. Daley and exchange it for an empty fruit can."

All For the War Effort.  --Cooter

10 Forgotten Americans-- Part 3: Watergate, Cortisone and Voting

4.  EDMUND G. ROSS--  During Reconstruction, cast the not guilty vote in the Andrew Johnson impeachment trial that got Johnson off.

3.  MYRA COLBY BRADWELL--  Worked to better the lives of women.

2.  PERCY JULIAN--  Developed an inexpensive production of cortisone, important in the treatment of arthritis.

1.  FRANK WILLS--  On June 17, 1972, he was night watchman at the Watergate office building in Washington, D.C..  He noticed a break-in and called the police.  The rest is, as they say, is history.

--Cooter

How Did World War I Affect Women's Suffrage?

From the June 2017 Smithsonian Magazine.

ASK SMITHSONIAN

Question: "How did women's service in uniform during World War I help the suffrage movement afterward? "  Lisa Kathleen Graddy, deputy chair and curator of the division of political history at e National Museum of American History Answered:

President Woodrow Wilson was no great friend of women's suffrage before the war.  But he began to change his mind after learning of the harsh treatment of imprisoned pro-vote demonstrators during the war, which included force-feeding of suffragists on a hunger strike.

The service of more than 10,000 women in the Navy and Marines -- plus thousands more on the home front in factories and offices -- gave Wilson a powerful argument as he lobbied for the 19th Amendment.

"We have made partners of the women in this war," he said.  "Shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toil and not to partnership of privilege and right?"

--CootVote

Every Woman Over 16 Should Register for Service in WW I

From the October 11, 2017, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1917. 100 Years Ago.

"Every woman over 16 years of age should register for service in the war.  It is not compulsory but it is the first time that the United States Government has asked service of all women."

A bit confusing.  Was this to register for the draft?

I did find out in another source that during World War I women were allowed to join the military as nurses or support staff and that some 33,000 did.  More than 400 nurses died in line of duty.

--Cooter

Elva Women Doing Their Part in World War I Effort in 1917

From the July 5, 2017, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1917, 100 Years Ago

"The larger clubs of Elva, that is, the Homemakers, the Woman's Club and Woman's Christian Temperance Union, have discontinued their meets for an indefinite period, turning their interest toward Red Cross work."

The war is on.

Elva is located five miles south and southwest of DeKalb, Illinois, and was developed by Joseph Glidden, the inventor of barbed wire, and named for his daughter.

--Cooter