Columns

Here we are headed into fall, another seasonal change — which we know we have no control over, other than doing our part to lessen climate change. Autumn in Pullman is an interesting season because a whole new view of the community is revealed to us. As the leaves change color and fall from the trees, decorating the ground in lyrical shades of sienna, auburn, red and yellow, we begin to see more clearly the urban masterpieces created by architect Solon S. Beman and landscape designer Nathan F. Barrett. Beman’s Queen-Anne style was exactly what George Pullman wanted to see. …

At its 2019 National Convention, the National Education Association (NEA) passed a resolution to have Columbus Day renamed Indigenous Peoples Day, stating, “As an education association, recognizing, observing, and celebrating factual history is important to maintaining our academic integrity.” Really? Come on! How hypocritical. The current onslaught of politically correct hysteria foisted upon the Great Discoverer is just plain false. Shame on the NEA for being complicit in this nefarious conspiracy to obfuscate the facts and perpetrate the rewriting of history. So, NEA, let’s look at actual FACTS. The New World was no “Garden of Eden” when Columbus arrived. Slavery, …

Reciprocal reflexive verbs are used when two or more people perform the same action together; this will make all people involved the subject of the action. To express this type of situation in English we simply add the phrase “each other” after the verb that describes the action. Italians employ the -si ending, as with regular reflexive verbs with actions that revert back to the  speaker. Listed below are verbs that commonly use the reciprocal reflexive form: abbracciarsi to hug each other aiutarsi to help each other amarsi to love each other baciarsi to kiss each other chiamarsi to call …

We’re finishing up another great summer in Chicago, with fond memories of many activities and so much to look forward to. Here in Pullman, the Pullman Artspace Lofts project is nearing completion and the first tenants are brimming with expectation while they wait for their move-in date. The construction fence is gone and the larger construction vehicles have done their job and the buildings are looking more Pullman-like than they did in the artist’s renderings. After ten years, the community will see how the added designation of “artist colony” melds with the national reputation Pullman has as a preservation community …

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I’m a stubborn person. Most people who don’t know me well believe I’m stubborn, too! Every so often, I write a column to ask you to do something that I’m not that good at, partly to push myself into getting better as a genealogist. I have been spending a lot of hours going through records I already have, in an attempt to better document my research. Why should we do this? I know where all my copies are. The papers are in piles and in boxes, and the digital images are all named …

Social media has transformed traditional real estate marketing, numbering the days of door-to-door sales and cold calling. As with all other areas of business, social media has moved the market. With so many new ways to advertise and connect, the possibilities are endless. Social media is relate-able, accessible and affordable to everyone. For clients and professionals alike, this means business. And the options are endless, including photo forums, discussion forms, social networks, videos, testimonials, reviews, blogs, check-ins, tags, and everything in between. There are certainly generational issues when it comes to social media marketing, and though the technology may be …

There are times when I have to wonder what I’m going to write about, and then there are serendipitous times like this! We’ve had reunion picnics, a garden tour, progress on the artists residence, the loss of the Gately’s building, a St. Anthony’s festival, the loss of Roselandites who we’ve known from years gone by, and the initiation of the Kickstarter campaign for my book.” “Petals from Roseland: Fond Memories of Chicago’s Roseland, Pullman, Kensington Neighborhoods.” Summer always provides us with plenty reunions but the best seem to hold off until August and that’s why it gets top billing. There …

Even though I have mountains of genealogy work to do, I am often sidetracked by other projects. These projects start out with a simple question, and then my Problem Solver takes over. If you haven’t met Problem Solver, he’s 9 feet tall, lifts weights and gets his way no matter the cost! So I am looking at marriage licenses for Cook County. The top two-thirds of the page lists the groom, the bride, the date of the license and the signature of the Cook County Clerk. (For a few years, the County Clerk was the future Mayor Richard J. Daley!) …

You have placed your property on the market and an offer or even multiple offers have been received, but how do you know if the offer is good for you? Your broker is obviously there to assist you and offer you guidance, but the ultimate decision belongs to the property owner. You always want to achieve the highest price for your property, but believe it or not, the choice may not always come down to price. Take a look at the amount of earnest money a buyer is offering to deposit. Earnest money is the amount the potential buyer is …

Similar in spelling but different in meaning, false cognates can be sources of embarrassment and laughter when unleashed. As I work on making travel reservations for a coming trip to Italy, I’m reminded of a verbal blunder I once made while corresponding with the proprietor of a bed and breakfast. After agreeing on the dates and cost, I asked how I could send the deposit. I didn’t know the word for deposit and didn’t want to take the time to look it up, so I just called it the deposito, because I was pretty sure I had heard that word …