King Hutch aka John H.

“Good Morning Chicago. The time is 6:45 and it’s a windy, rainy, chilly day. Make sure to bring your umbrella and rain jacket if you are going to be outside today. Have a great day!”

These were the words that I woke to coming from my clock radio. Oh boy, how about that, cold and rainy weather. And our agenda is to first visit the Jane Addams’ Hull House which includes some outdoor activities and take the Chicago Architecture Foundation Boat Cruise in the afternoon. Can you imagine the trill I’m having as I rush through my shower? All I could think of was hurry so the bus doesn’t leave without you, why does it have to be cold and rainy on today, and boy I sure am tired; I wonder how everyone is getting their blogs done. So I rushed down to the bus only to find out that my roomies told me the wrong time & I still have 20 minutes to spare. Good one guys, you really got me good this time!   

What can I say about Jane Addams’ Hull House? The speaker, Lisa Junkin was incredible! She led us on a detailed guided tour of the house and spent 15-20 minutes in each of 3 rooms, all without notes or losing our attention. Now this is quite a feat especially since this tired and dragging group of teachers was forced to rise so early in the morning. She gave a thorough background of Hull House along with Jane Addams, Ellen Gates Starr the Hull House co-founder, as well as Mary Rozet Smith her lifetime “companion”. I really didn’t know that much about Addams or settlement houses in general so much of the today was an eye opener. For instance, I learned Social settlements began in the late 1800’s in Europe (London?) because of problems in society created by urbanization, industrialization, and immigration and the idea eventually spread to the United States. These houses tended to attract educated, both middle & upper class women (and men) that “settled” in poor urban neighborhoods. By 1911, Chicago had 35 of these house of which the Hull House, located in the 19^th ward full of poor immigrants was one.

The people at Hull-House formed a notable group that pushed for reforms such as Immigrants’ Protective League and the Juvenile Protective Association. Because of their efforts, the Illinois enacted protective legislation for women and children in 1893. Some people loved Addams, but others thought she was the “most dangerous woman in America.” The FBI even had Ms. Addams on a watch list that produced very boring “non-dirt” entries. She was an author & wrote 11 books related to Hull-House activities. She spoke nationally & took a key role in many organizations. Along with founding the Chicago Federation of Settlements in 1894, she also helped establish the National Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers. She was the first woman president of the National Conference of Charities and Corrections as well as countless other organizations. She became involved in the peace movement and in 1915 participated in the International Congress of Women at The Hague which tried to stop WWI. She was a pacifist & remained that way even after the United States entered the war in 1917. Because of her work for humanity she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. She died in 1935 yet her mission of helping  

I enjoyed listening to the ideas about “Urban Gardening” and Heirloom Seeds” and how Hull House is using them within its own work. The dinner was interesting. I loved the Mushroom Soup, didn’t really care for that tiny salad, enjoyed the Thumbprint Cookie, and MISSED THE MEAT!!!!!  

The second half of our day was interesting to say the least! How exciting this should have been! I have been looking forward to the Architecture Boat Cruise all week! I even had a buddy of mine e-mail & call me to tell me how great this “Cruise” was. But the rain, it just has to go, no excuses, just leave Chicago!! It was still lots of fun seeing all the different types of architecture and when they were constructed. And my “hats off” to our tour guide. She was one of 75 guides that work the cruise and she knew every name of each building, who designed it, who built it, and any historical facts associated with it! To stand up on top of the boat in that terrible weather for 1 ½ hours went above and beyond the call of duty in my book. And the real amazing thing was she did it all without notes!

For dinner we (DREW, RADER, TRI-POD, & THE KING) set out for the Navy Pier. But we went over the street we wanted to turn on and overshot our turn by a few blocks. We made a tactical decision to change course and correct the navigational direction. But as we walked 2 blocks in the direction of the Navy Pier, RADER picked up on a possible new target. It was Mike Ditka’s Restaurant. The leaders consulted over this new intelligence and made a strategic decision to reacquire a new target, heading DITKAS!!! Now I regret not bring the camera but we were headed for the Navy Pier & I have tons of those photos. The food was somewhat expensive but really worth it. I had a big, fat, juicy steak to make up for today’s meatless lunch!

Me and my girlfriends!

Yes here I am, my picture gracing (some might say staring) in my own blog again. And why? Because it’s ok with me. You know, there was once a famous book called I’m OK, You’re Ok. Apparently that has become my theme for these trips.  :)

Today was another busy, yet engaging and useful day. We began with a tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright House and Studio as well as a walking tour of the Oak Park neighborhood. Wright was an American architect who lived in Oak Park from 1889 – 1909. He is credited with designing at least 25 buildings as well as redesigning many more here. Along with the Wright designed buildings, there are many other architecturally noteworthy homes throughout this historic area ranging from Victorian to Prairie styles. One type of home that stood out with many of our group from Colorado was the number of adobe homes. It is obvious that there is a great and diverse mixture of cultures, races, ethnicities, professions, lifestyles, religions, and income levels in Oak Park.

Next we headed for the Museum of Science and Industry. This museum is located in the Palace of Fine Arts building that was built in 1893 for the Columbian Exposition or World’s Fair. The building was constructed in a Greek Ionic style and consists of about 350,000 square feet of space.

The 1893 World’s Fair was meant as a 400 year celebration of Columbus’ 1492 discovery of America. In reality it became a reflection and celebration of American culture and society. It was for people to have fun, Americas to feel good about themselves and the country, and to make profit. It became a blueprint for life in a postmodern America. During its run, over 27 million people from around the world visited the 1893 World’s Fair. Many of the buildings were constructed in a Beauxart or mixture of classical Roman and Greek styles. As the fair worked to redefine America and its place in the world, it introduced Americans to brands, technology, and culture such as Juicy Fruit Gum, ragtime music, and Quaker Oats, electric lights, and the electric sewing machines.  

Today there are over 800 exhibits and interactive displays in the museum. I was drawn to the Pioneer Zephyr as we walked in through the doors. This is a restored 1934 stainless steel Burlington locomotive that people can walk into. Another interesting exhibit was the mechanized “Top” making factory. You pay for the product and watch the entire manufacture process. There was a very nice miniature train setup. I actually own a decent collection of older cast iron trains so of course I was drawn to this exhibit! There were exhibits on flight, inventing the future, and a U-505 captured sub.

After a quick visit to the souvenir shop we (group of 5) were surprised to discover that the Colorado Teacher group couldn’t wait for us to join them at a White Sox game. We showed up at 5:30 (the appointed time) only to watch as they piling into a van and left without us. OK, Scott did call me but still we showed up at the correct time and felt “dissed” by a large portion of our group. We did finally find the stadium, sat in the “nosebleed” section, and watch an entirely boring and cold game. Good Times…Good Times.