Gordon Yamate, who serves on the Los Gatos Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission, spoke about inspiring solidarity and activism for a panel at this year’s Day of Remembrance of Japanese American incarceration at San Jose State University.
Feb. 19 nationally commemorates the anniversary of Executive Order 9066, a 1942 decree that ordered the removal of all people of Japanese descent from the West Coast to camps in remote areas of California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Arkansas. San Jose State held an event on that day to acknowledge the Japanese American experience and the campus’ connection to it. In 1942, Yoshihiro Uchida Hall, which used to be the university’s men’s gymnasium, was used as a registration center for Japanese Americans in Santa Clara County before they were sent to the incarceration camps.
SJSU Asian American studies professor Yvonne Kwan said that just under 3,000 people with Japanese ancestry were processed through the gymnasium. About 125 of them were San Jose State students. The discovery of this history led Nina Chuang, then a San Jose State student, to lead the “Never Again Is Now” project, which aims to commemorate the history of Japanese American incarceration by establishing the annual Day of Remembrance at the university and acknowledging institutional responsibility with a mural on one of the walls of Uchida Hall and a monument.
“What we found was just shocking, heart (and) gut-wrenching, just to see, wow, what our students did or what our university did to our own neighbors, our own people,” Kwan said.
Kwan moderated the Thursday morning panel with Yamate and Vanessa Hatakeyama, executive director of the Japanese American Museum of San Jose. The theme was “Neighbors, Not Enemies.” The discussion touched on issues like community work, interracial solidarity and activism.
The panelists were asked about the historical parallels between Japanese American incarceration and the federal crackdown on illegal immigration, leading to Yamate to answer that those currently being targeted for deportation are “being judged by the identity they wear on their faces.” He acknowledged that the circumstances that led to both events “didn’t happen in a vacuum,” as those being targeted then and now don’t have community resources at the federal level.
“This community doesn’t want to see it happening to any other community,” Yamate said.
Hatakeyama acknowledged the need for building solidarity, reminding a nearly full audience at the Student Union Theater that Japantown in San Jose has always been a multicultural, multiethnic community.
Kwan asked the panelists what people could do to start becoming engaged, and Yamate shared the story about the formation of Los Gatos’ DEI commission. He said Los Gatos is “one of the most segregated places in the country,” which led to a consulting firm recommending that the town form a DEI commission to monitor the community and deal with social issues. Yamate recommended that the audience look to some activist groups if they’re interested, plugging the Los Gatos Anti-Racism Coalition and United We Stand/Indivisible Los Gatos.
“A lot of people don’t feel like they’re welcome in Los Gatos,” Yamate said. “(They later) discovered that there are a lot of good people; you just haven’t met them yet.”
Hatakeyama said small actions, like joining a newsletter or volunteering for a one-time event, can contribute to greater change and reminded the audience that vocal advocacy, especially by those who feel strongly about immigration enforcement, can lead to people who are impacted by these issues to feel supported.
The Day of Remembrance continued with three breakout sessions. One was a screening of “Home Court,” a film about a Cambodian American basketball prodigy, another was an interfaith coalition building panel, and the last was about navigating difficult conversations.
This was San Jose State’s fourth Day of Remembrance event. When asked why it was important to remember this history at the university, Chuang said, “As someone who’s not Japanese American, this project is especially meaningful for me because it’s because of legislation, because of policies and migration that I’m here, and it’s important for us to recognize this history because we are seeing it today, that it can happen to anyone.”
The New Jersey Maritime Museum, which houses artifacts from shipwrecks and other historical relics, suffered extensive damage last week after a pipe burst at the Beach Haven property.
For Maurice Proffit, the arts were always an itch that he had to scratch. As a child, he wanted to be a cartoonist. As a teen, he wanted to enter the music industry, with aspirations of owning a record label and managing artists. Little did he know that his trajectory would be forever changed when his mother, Valerie Proffit, moved the family from Chicago to Schaumburg in 1981.
There wasn’t a big Black population in the northwest suburb at that time, so his mom would have to take Maurice and his older brother into Chicago to see any type of Black theater. With more Black residents coming to the suburbs by the mid-to-late ‘90s, Valerie Proffit was asking the question: How come there isn’t a Black arts presence in the Schaumburg area? By 1999, she founded Powerhouse Productions, a theater company that brought that missing piece of Black artistry to the Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg in the form of plays every February, in celebration of Black History Month.
As a youth, his mom brought him into the theatrical fold to help fill whatever gaps needed to be filled for the annual productions — whether that was as an emcee, helping with ticket sales or stage management. With no formal training in theater, he wore all the hats, including directing, producing and writing (he wrote original plays for the Black history event in Schaumburg for 12 years). When his mom passed the Powerhouse Productions baton to him (she died in 2019), he folded its legacy into his Chicago-based B-Side Studios, an entertainment and media company that specializes in film, TV, podcasting and theater. The last play he directed was 2023’s “And Then There Was Hip Hop” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip hop.
Decades of the Proffit presence in the northwest suburbs continued in 2025 with the creation of the nonprofit Dreamscape Theatre. Their first work, a production of “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play,” is scheduled for Feb. 27 at the Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts.
“What sparked the birth of B-Side and Dreamscape is to give non-traditional artists an opportunity to be able to shine, an opportunity to be able to grow,” Proffit said. “The artists who didn’t necessarily go to art school, the people who knew they had it in them, but they didn’t have the traditional schooling for it. That’s what we’re all about — giving them opportunity.”
Dreamscape specializes in providing inclusive, accessible opportunities for non-traditional and emerging artists to express their creativity on stage because in doing so, Proffit says, “we can all grow together and go further together.”
From left, Dajzané Meadows-Sanderlin, Jewel Ifeguni, Sarah Sisay, Daryn McElroy, Keneisha Richards and Peyton Clark act out a scene while rehearsing for Dreamscape Theatre’s “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play” in Elk Grove Village on Feb. 10, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Anuoluwa Awolola, left, and Dajzané Meadows-Sanderlin rehearse a scene for Dreamscape Theatre’s “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play” in Elk Grove Village on Feb. 10, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Anuoluwa Awolola acts out a scene while rehearsing for Dreamscape Theatre’s “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play” in Elk Grove Village on Feb. 10, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Anuoluwa Awolola, left, and Jewel Ifeguni act out a scene while rehearsing for Dreamscape Theatre’s “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play” in Elk Grove Village on Feb. 10, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Part of the cast rehearses a scene for Dreamscape Theatre’s “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play” in Elk Grove Village on Feb. 10, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
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From left, Dajzané Meadows-Sanderlin, Jewel Ifeguni, Sarah Sisay, Daryn McElroy, Keneisha Richards and Peyton Clark act out a scene while rehearsing for Dreamscape Theatre’s “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play” in Elk Grove Village on Feb. 10, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Aspiring directors, actors and those with an idea, a spark, a vision of what they want to see on stage now have a platform in which Proffit will work with them to bring it to fruition. That includes teaching young people how to code and offering a safe space for young artists. He calls it “a platinum opportunity that aims to boost artists to the next level.”
That growth doesn’t just encompass theatrical performances, but includes educational workshops that move past entertainment and lean toward empowerment — whether you are a comedian (606 MANIA is a stand-up comedy event), hosting a podcast on mental health, or hosting a show on nerd and geek culture that airs on CAN TV. “We’re always producing something.b… we’re always busy,” Proffit said.
Director Crissy Johnston, right, works with Jewel Ifeguni and others as they rehearse a scene for Dreamscape Theatre’s “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play” in Elk Grove Village on Feb. 10, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
With 26 years of work on the Schaumburg stage and the majority of the projects centering the Black experience, Proffit is excited to add to the foundation and legacy of the Proffit name when it comes to the arts — regardless of the current presidential administration.
“We’re looking down the barrel right now of a threat on an everyday basis, when it comes to what’s happening with us personally, artistically, psychologically, emotionally, but you have to continue to be persistent, resilient,” Proffit said. “That’s what I exude when it comes to these productions. There’s a lot of fire around this, but it’s not going to stop us. We know we are sitting on our own truth, and our truth can never be defeated.
We ensure that you are going to get Black representation in the northwest suburbs when it was originally lacking, but now it’s embedded out there, and we’re absolutely proud of being able to continue that tradition.”
“School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play” is 7 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts, 201 Schaumburg Court, Schaumburg; tickets from $25 at dreamscapetheatre.com/schoolgirls and prairiecenter.org
Mayor Cherelle Parker reacted to the city’s recent legal win against the federal government in a video Tuesday, issuing a rare, albeit indirect, critique of the Trump administration.
In a recorded statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, Parker praised the court’s decision to grant a preliminary injunction that requires federal officials to restore the exhibit on slavery at the President’s House at Independence National Historical Park, pending further litigation. U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe wrote in a 40-page decision released Monday that the displays, which federal parks workers stripped from the site on Jan. 22, must be returned unaltered.
Parker referenced the decision in her video, thanking Rufe for acknowledging the city’s right to “mutual agreement” with the National Parks Service regarding changes to the exhibit. She also directly quoted the judge’s assertion that a federal agency “cannot arbitrarily decide what is true, based on its own whims.”
Toward the end of the video, the mayor linked the city’s pride to its acknowledgement of “all of our history and all of our truth, no matter how painful it may be.”
“We will not allow anyone to erase our history,” said Parker, who wore sweatshirt with the name of her alma mater, Lincoln University, in the clip.
My response to the federal court’s decision granting the City relief in our lawsuit regarding the President’s House historic site.
The mayor did not name the president in her message, but her comments and lawsuit are some of her most direct actions yet against the Trump administration. While the Democratic mayors of some cities have sharply criticized the federal government since Donald Trump resumed office, Parker has largely stayed silent. As the president threatened sanctuary cities, she even stepped away from the label, branding Philadelphia a “welcoming city” instead.
Throughout the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against the University of Pennsylvania, Parker also avoided joining the conflict as the federal government cut off hundreds of millions in research funding and threatened to revoke student visas and the immigration statuses of some college employees. Parker has a master’s degree in public administration from Penn, and the university is the largest private employer in Philadelphia.
The President’s House exhibit tells the stories of nine enslaved people, brought to Philadelphia by President George Washington. It was removed following a federal review of signage at public parks and monuments for “divisive narratives.”
Today is Tuesday, Feb. 17, the 48th day of 2026. There are 317 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Feb. 17, 2014, Jimmy Fallon made his debut as host of NBC’s “Tonight Show,” taking over from Jay Leno.
Also on this date:
In 1801, the U.S. House of Representatives broke an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, electing Jefferson president; Burr became vice president.
In 1863, five appointees of the Public Welfare Society of Geneva announced the formation of an “International Committee for the Relief of Wounded Combatants,” which would later be renamed the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In 1864, during the Civil War, the Union ship USS Housatonic was rammed and sank in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, by the Confederate hand-cranked submarine HL Hunley, in the first naval attack of its kind; the Hunley also sank.
In 1897, the National Congress of Mothers, the forerunner of the National Parent Teacher Association, convened its first meeting in Washington with over 2,000 attendees.
In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Wesberry v. Sanders, ruled that congressional districts within each state must be roughly equal in population.
In 1992, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of 15 counts of first-degree murder.
In 1995, Colin Ferguson was convicted of six counts of murder in the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shootings; he was later sentenced to 315 years in prison.
In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia.
In 2013, Danica Patrick won the Daytona 500 pole, becoming the first woman to secure the top spot for any Sprint Cup race.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Brenda Fricker is 81. Actor Rene Russo is 72. Actor Richard Karn is 70. Olympic swimming gold medalist and television commentator Rowdy Gaines is 67. Actor Lou Diamond Phillips is 64. Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is 63. Film director Michael Bay is 61. Hockey Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille is 60. Olympic skiing gold medalist Tommy Moe is 56. Actor Denise Richards is 55. Musician Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) is 54. Actor Jerry O’Connell is 52. Actor Jason Ritter is 46. Media personality Paris Hilton is 45. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is 45. Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is 35. Actor Jeremy Allen White is 35. Tennis player Madison Keys is 31. Actor Sasha Pieterse is 30.
MADISON, Wis. — Searchers have discovered the wreck of a luxury steamer that sank in a Lake Michigan gale in the late 19th century, completing a quest that began almost 60 years ago.
Shipwreck World, a group that works to locate shipwrecks around the globe, announced Friday that a team led by Illinois shipwreck hunter Paul Ehorn found the Lac La Belle about 20 miles (32 kilometers) offshore between Racine and Kenosha, Wisconsin, in October 2022.
Ehorn told The Associated Press in a phone interview on Sunday that the announcement was delayed because his team wanted to include a three-dimensional video model of the ship with it, but poor weather and other commitments kept his dive team from going back down to the wreck until last summer.
Ehorn, 80, has been searching for shipwrecks since he was 15 years old. He said that he’s been trying to pinpoint the Lac La Belle’s location since 1965. He used a clue from fellow wreck hunter and author Ross Richardson in 2022 to narrow down his search grid and found the ship using side-scan sonar after just two hours on the lake, he said.
“It’s kind of a game, like solve the puzzle. Sometimes you don’t have many pieces to put the puzzle together but this one worked out and we found it right away,” he said. The finding left him “super elated.”
Ehorn declined to discuss the clue that led to the discovery. Richardson said in a short telephone interview Sunday that he learned that a commercial fisherman at a “certain location” had snagged what Richardson called an item specific to steam ships from the 1800s. He declined to elaborate further how competitive shipwreck hunting has become and said the information could alert searchers to another way to conduct research.
According to an account on Shipwreck World, the Lac La Belle was built in 1864, in Cleveland, Ohio. The 217-foot (66-meter) steamer ran between Cleveland and Lake Superior but sank in the St. Clair River in 1866 after a collision. The ship was raised in 1869, and reconditioned.
The ship left Milwaukee for Grand Haven, Michigan, in a gale on the night of Oct, 13, 1872, with 53 passengers and crew and a cargo of barley, pork, flour and whiskey. About two hours into the trip, the ship began to take on water uncontrollably. The captain turned the Lac La Belle back toward Milwaukee but huge waves came crashing over her, extinguishing her boilers. The storm drove the ship south. Around 5 a.m., the captain ordered lifeboats lowered and the ship went down stern-first.
One of the lifeboats capsized on the way to shore, killing eight people. The other lifeboats made landfall along the Wisconsin coast between Racine and Kenosha.
The wreck’s exterior is covered with quagga mussels and the upper cabins are gone, Ehorn said, but the hull looks intact and the oak interiors are still in good shape.
The Great Lakes are home to anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 shipwrecks, most of which remain undiscovered, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin Water Library. Shipwreck hunters have been searching the lakes with more urgency in recent years out of concerns that invasive quagga mussels are slowly destroying wrecks.
The Lac La Belle is the 15th shipwreck Ehorn has located. “It was one more to put a check mark by,” he said. “Now it’s on to the next one. It’s getting harder and harder. The easier ones have been found.”
PEARLAND, Texas (KTRK) — Through her brand, Resilient Grace, Kyra Brown is highlighting Black women who have shaped history but whose stories have often gone untold.
“I noticed that outside of big figures like Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman, a lot of black women’s stories have been left out of our history books,” Brown shared.
To help share their stories, Brown features black female heroines on t-shirts. They are designed to spark conversation and recognition. With every shirt, customers also receive a postcard that tells the story of the woman it honors, offering a deeper understanding of her impact. Brown also shares their stories on TikTok.
“I use my platform to tell black women’s history and to hopefully influence more women to learn her story, share her story, but also to be inspired to go after their own dreams,” Brown said.
In the video above, Brown shares how she decides on which woman to feature and the special meaning behind the name Resilient Grace.
Today is Monday, Feb. 2, the 33rd day of 2026. There are 332 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Feb. 2, 2014, Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, widely considered one of the greatest actors of his generation, was found dead in his New York apartment from an accidental drug overdose.
Also on this date:
In 1536, present-day Buenos Aires, Argentina, was founded by Spanish explorer Pedro de Mendoza.
In 1653, New Amsterdam — now New York City — was incorporated as a city.
In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, officially ending the Mexican-American War.
In 1925, the legendary Alaska Serum Run ended as the last of a series of dog mushers brought life-saving medication to Nome, the scene of a diphtheria epidemic, traveling 674 miles in just six days.
In 1943, the remainder of Nazi forces at the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major victory for the Soviets in World War II.
In 1990, in a dramatic concession to South Africa’s Black majority, President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.
In 1992, Václav Havel, the dissident playwright who led an anti-communist revolution, became the first president of the independent Czech Republic, after Czechoslovakia’s split. He previously served as the first democratically elected president of Czechoslovakia after the fall of communism.
In 2013, former Navy SEAL and “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle was fatally shot along with a friend at a gun range west of Glen Rose, Texas; Eddie Ray Routh was later convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
In 2022, four men were charged with being part of the drug distribution crew that supplied a deadly mix of narcotics to actor Michael K. Williams of “The Wire,” who had overdosed five months earlier.
Today’s birthdays: Rock singer-guitarist Graham Nash is 84. Television executive Barry Diller is 84. TV chef Ina Garten is 78. Actor Brent Spiner is 77. Football Hall of Famer Dave Casper is 74. Model Christie Brinkley is 72. Singer Shakira is 49. Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama is 44. Actor Gemma Arterton is 40. Actor Zosia Mamet is 38. Actor Paul Mescal is 30. Actor Ellie Bamber is 29.
As members of the Hinsdale Historical Society capped a year in which they celebrated the organization’s 50th anniversary, they received some good news in the form of a grant from Landmarks Illinois, which will help their efforts to preserve the R. Harold Zook Home and Studio.
“The society’s board of trustees is immensely grateful to Landmarks Illinois for its continued support of the society’s preservation work and for its countless preservation advocacy work not just here in Hinsdale but throughout Illinois,” said Alexis Braden, historical society president.
The grant, awarded in December, was for $2,500 from the Barbara C. and Thomas E. Donnelley II Preservation Fund for Illinois, which provides money “to preserve or protect significant structures and sites in Illinois that are under threat of demolition, in imminent deterioration, in need of stabilization, in need of structural or reuse evaluation or in need of evaluation for landmark eligibility,” according to Landmarks Illinois.
The money will be used to help the society’s efforts to get a National Register of Historic Places nomination and a building assessment of the home and studio of Zook, a renowned Chicago architect who lived in Hinsdale from 1889 to 1949 and was a force behind many notable structures there.
“R. Harold Zook is to Hinsdale what Frank Lloyd Wright is to Oak Park. Zook designed 80 homes and 12 municipal and commercial structures in Hinsdale alone during his time as an architect, and all are architecturally significant,” Braden said, calling him “one of the most prolific residential architects in the western suburbs.”
He also contributed to the village as a member of the Architectural Committee of the Hinsdale Plan Commission from 1932-49 and was “responsible for the village master plan in 1932 — adopting the Georgian style for our municipal and commercial buildings,” Braden said.
Zook also designed the Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge and St. Charles City Hall, and in 1924 finished his home and studio on Oak Street in Hinsdale, she said.
The Pickwick Theatre, designed by renowned architect R. Harold Zook, on Dec. 6, 2022, in Park Ridge. Zook designed a number of structures in the western suburbs. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
That campus, now ensconced in Hinsdale’s Katherine Legge Memorial Park, consists of “a signature English Cotswold cottage-style residence, his architecture studio and a garden wall,” she said.
Suzanne Germann, director of reinvestment for Landmarks Illinois, said Zook had a very distinct style.
“It’s often called whimsical. It’s an English cottage style — textured masonry, roofs are very characteristic of him, bringing nature into his design,” she explained. “But he’s also influenced a lot of architects coming up after him, in Hinsdale specifically, and what’s been designed there as a nod to his work and the influence he’s had as a community. This was his home — he designed it for himself.”
Germann called the money a “seed grant” because of its small size. But it could lead to more resources down the road.
“Putting a building on the National Register puts them in a place to leverage other funding,” she said. “It also will help to spell out needs and wants, so when they go to other funders, they’ll have that in their pocket.”
A building assessment looks at overall condition and will help the historical society prioritize what needs to happen right away and in three years, she said, as the historical society wants to adapt the building so it can be turned into a community gathering house.
“I don’t know their plan specifically, but reusing the building and allowing them to reuse the interior, we always want to see that,” Germann said. “We want to see historic buildings in use and this is bringing the community in. It’s not for one owner. They are really trying to use it for community space. The best way to preserve (buildings) is to use them.”
The grant is just one way the historical society is raising money for the property. It’s already officially begun its Zook Legacy Campaign, a multimillion-dollar fundraising initiative hoped to enable them to transform the Zook Home and Studio into the “Zook Commons, a vibrant community gathering place with a museum, cafe and numerous multipurpose areas at Katherine Legge Memorial Park,” Braden said.
The exterior of architect R. Harold Zook’s studio on Jan. 28, 2026, at 5901 S. County Line Road in Hinsdale. A grant from Landmarks Illinois will help efforts to preserve the R. Harold Zook Home and Studio. (Josh Boland/Chicago Tribune)
“It will be a place where neighbors connect and groups can gather and learn. Zook Commons will serve Hinsdale neighbors and all patrons. We are fortunate to have nationally recognized and award-winning architect Michael Abraham as a society trustee. He is utilizing his immense talents to reimagine the interior spaces to transform the home for its many public uses.”
The society envisions public events featuring speakers and workshops that focus on wellness and community for people of all ages.
“Programming will cater to outdoor and recreation enthusiasts, writers, artists and even animal lovers — especially dog lovers,” Braden said. “Our patrons will also be able to gather in the cafe, where they can purchase premade pastries, sandwiches and coffee/teas while enjoying a warm atmosphere. The cafe will be dog-friendly with treats to welcome the park’s many four-legged friends.”
This isn’t the first time the historical society has earned a grant from the nonprofit organization. Back in 2005, the Zook Home and Studio was placed on Landmarks Illinois’ “Ten Most Endangered Historic Places List,” and after the structures were moved to the park, it received the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Advocacy, said Katie Crotty, historical society treasurer.
The 1924 R. Harold Zook house is moved in Hinsdale on May 24, 2005, from 327 S. Oak St. to 5901 S. County Line Road. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Moving the building to its home at Katherine Legge Memorial Park was a huge project. “During the move, the society was fortunate to see so many volunteers, architects and buildings come together to make this project a reality. We could not have done this without the significant donations from members of the community as well,” Crotty said.
“However, with 20 years down, the Zook Home and Studio is in dire need of updates or we fear they will be forever lost,” she added. “Over the past two decades, the society has worked tirelessly to maintain the buildings and to protect them from the elements. Even though the buildings have served as a mainstay and an exterior backdrop for countless photography shoots and picnics, the Hinsdale Historical Society’s goal is to open its doors and welcome people inside.”
Germann said Landmarks Illinois’ previous interaction with the historical society helped its grant application stand out.
“The Hinsdale Historical Society has been around for a long time and is a successful organization. I’ve been with Landmarks Illinois since 2004, so I remember Zook House and how much work the historical society did 20 years ago to save it,” she said. “They are still coming back to it 20 years later. As a historical society as a whole, they are very active in their community in telling their story, being involved and supporting historic buildings in their community, so overall it’s a successful organization.”
It’s the overall story of the group, which was founded in 1975 and now has nearly 200 members, along with their efforts 20 years ago that led to the grant.
A cedar shake roof on the home of renowned architect R. Harold Zook, at 5901 S. County Line Road in Hinsdale, on Jan. 28, 2026. (Josh Boland/Chicago Tribune)
“When a developer wanted to demolish it, the society and city stepped in to save it,” Germann said. “I called them the trifecta. They received a grant to film the move of the house and they won an award for advocacy, so they went through all our programs and achieved it all. They went through successfully and quickly, so that’s why I remember it. They were very involved.”
All Landmarks Illinois grants require a match and “buy-in” from the recipients. “Our grants are small — our heritage fund only gives up to $5,000 — so coming up with a $5 million project is hard for us” to help with, Germann said, so having an itemized budget is helpful.
As an example, she said Unity Temple in Oak Park underwent a $10 million or $15 million rehab, and her organization provided a grant to restore the sanctuary’s lighting — a $10,000 project. “Our board members were able to point to those light fixtures and say, ‘We did that.’”
The historical society’s multiyear Zook fundraising campaign is off to a good start, but they’re looking for more donors. “Every dollar counts,” Braden said.
But, she said, the society’s 50th anniversary boosted their confidence in the support of their neighbors. Braden called it “a testament that the community recognizes our work as a nonprofit to bring history to life.”
Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
On January 30th, 1969, The Beatles went right to the top. Top of the building and put on a historic 45 min concert, which would be their last ever. But what a concert.
Who Had The Idea to Play on the Roof?
The Beatles first choice wasn’t the rooftop in the beginning. Ideas ranged from an amphitheater to a cruise ship; the rooftop concept is often credited to Ringo Starr after a lunchtime discussion.
It was designed to be an “honest” live performance, free from studio polish, aiming to restore band unity and provide a climax for their film Let It Be. Despite reluctance from some members, John Lennon famously said, “Let’s do it,” breaking the tension.
The Cold Concert
A bitter 45 degrees and a crisp, windy Winter day in London. John wore Yoko Ono’s fur coat, Ringo wore his wife’s red raincoat. Paul McCartney dressed up in a suit, and George Harrison had on a long black fur coat
The Rooftop was the Apple Corps headquarters rooftop in London.
The four Beatles and Billy Preston arrived on the roof at around 12:30 pm.[When they began to play, there was confusion nearby among members of the public, many of whom were on their lunch break.
News of the event spread, and crowds began to congregate in the streets and on the flat rooftops of nearby buildings. Most responded positively to the concert, but the Metropolitan Police grew concerned about noise and traffic issues.
Key Details of the Rooftop Concert:
Location: 3 Savile Row, London (Apple Corps rooftop).
Songs Performed: Multiple takes of “Get Back,” “Don’t Let Me Down,” “I’ve Got a Feeling,” “One After 909,” and “Dig a Pony”.
The Crowd: Surprised commuters and office workers on the street below.
The Police: Officers arrived to stop the performance due to noise complaints.
The event marked the end of the band’s live performances and featured in the 1970 film Let It Be and the 2021 docuseries The Beatles: Get Back.
Rooftop Concert Spoofed By The Rutles
The Rutles were a British parody band created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes from Monty Python fame. In the 1970s, to satirize the career of The Beatles. Featured in the 1978 mockumentary film All You Need Is Cash, they portrayed four musicians—Ron Nasty (Innes), Dirk McQuickly (Idle), Stig O’Hara (Ricky Fataar), and Barry Wom (John Halsey)—who mirrored the Beatles’ rise to fame. George Harrison even does a cameo in the movie.
Born in Mt Clemens, Screamin’ Scott has been a part of the Detroit airwaves for 30-plus years. With 40 years of experience in radio. When he’s not out on the streets for WCSX, you can find him devoting time to local charities with his, “Screamin Angels”; and for 16 years with Rock 4 Tots charity. And last 10 years with his local band, “Chit!.” Screamin Scott likes to write about nostalgic Detroit area memories, classic rock, and local metro Detroit topics.
Goldin auction house said this spring it will sell a broadside copy of the Declaration of Independence that was printed in Exeter, New Hampshire, in July 1776. The company said it’s believed to be one of only 10 similar copies in existence.
Twenty years ago this week, the Minnesota History Center, in Minneapolis’s twin city, St. Paul, launched an interactive exhibition called “Open House: If These Walls Could Talk.” It was the most elaborate show the museum had ever attempted. Five thousand Minnesotans came out in the frigid January cold on opening weekend to see an actual house that had been reconstructed inside the museum, like a ship in a bottle. Successive generations of Americans—more than fifty families, across more than a century—had lived in the house, at 470 Hopkins Street, wave after wave of newcomers and immigrants, travellers who made Minnesota, and the U.S., their home. The exhibition told their story as the story of America. It won awards, broke records, and changed how museums tell stories. It is also an archive of a lost America.
This weekend, on the streets of Minneapolis, masked agents of the federal government’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency shot and killed another American, a thirty-seven-year-old nurse, Alex Pretti. He, like the poet Renee Good, who was shot and killed by ICE earlier this month, was among thousands of Minnesotans who have taken to the streets, even amid brutally cold temperatures and a howling snowstorm, to protect immigrants in their state from assault, arrest, separation from their families, and deportation. U.S. immigration policy had become a travesty under the Biden Administration. But nothing about repairing that policy justifies the Trump Administration’s savage, vengeful, and unconstitutional “surge” deployment of ICE agents in American cities, their lawless, masked and wanton violence, or their immunity from prosecution. All over the Twin Cities, immigrants, whether they’re in the U.S. legally or not, have been hiding in their houses, afraid to leave, afraid, even, to peer out a window. Is America still home?
“Open House” was spearheaded by the Minnesota History Center curator Benjamin Filene, who is now the deputy director of public history at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. “The original idea was that we should do an exhibit about immigration,” Filene says. But he and the design team wanted to put visitors into an actual place and allow them to hear actual voices of actual people. He decided that place should be a house: a container of families and stories and artifacts. He found the house, which is still standing, in a neighborhood called Railroad Island. “No one famous ever slept there,” Filene says. Only ordinary Minnesotans slept there, and sleep there still, if there is still sleep to be had.
Filene and his colleagues tracked down and interviewed everyone they could find who had lived at 470 Hopkins, or who was descended from anyone who lived there, across more than a century. They recorded oral histories; they fabricated period rooms. And then, inside the museum, they built a reimagined version of the house, in which each room featured the furnishings, and the stories, of a different generation of immigrants and newcomers. Two Germans, Albert and Henriette Schumacher, built the house in 1888. You could meet them, and hear their stories, in the sitting room. Then came waves of railroad workers—Scandinavian, Irish, especially—renting rooms in an ever-altering house, subdivided into two units, then three; even the house number changed.. Filene found them in city directories: James Doyle, depot foreman, Northern Pacific Railroad; Frank Appleton, night watchman. Harry and Eva Levey: Mother tongue: Jewish. In the kitchen, if you opened up the oven, you could listen to Michelina Frascone, who immigrated from Naples, in 1931, at the age of eleven, talk about raising seventy-five chickens in the basement. Frascone’s father had worked on the railroad for ten years to save up the money to bring Michelina and her mother to America. Then came the Rust Belt migrants, African Americans who had moved to the Twin Cities from Gary and Chicago and Detroit in the nineteen-eighties, and, finally, the Hmong refugees who had fled postwar Laos, some of whom were still living in the house when its near replica opened in the museum, two miles away.
Every room in the house had interactive features triggered by motion. When you sat down at the dining-room table, Michelina Frascone started telling you the story of her uncle, Filomeno Cocchiarella, who had to go out on Thanksgiving night to repair the railroad tracks. “Please don’t go,” she’d begged him—and he’d got sideswiped, and killed, by a train. In the bedroom, when you sat down on the bed, you heard a man of Scandinavian descent who had married an Italian woman tell the story of how, one night, the bed collapsed—and, as he was telling it, the bed suddenly buckled beneath you. Pang Toua Yang and his wife, Mai Vang, who appeared on a television in the living room, told the story of fleeing Laos with their six children, crossing the Mekong River, and spending years in Thai refugee camps until, four years later, they arrived in Minnesota. Their daughter appeared in the exhibition, too; she became a go-getter realtor, selling homes to more new Americans.
A WOMAN FROM BETHLEHEM IS ROWING 3200 MILES ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. IT’S JUST INCREDIBLE. I LOVE THIS STORY. NOW RENEE BLACKMAN WILL BE RACING SOLO FROM THE CANARY ISLANDS TO ANTIGUA IN WHAT’S CALLED THE ATLANTIC DASH. FOR 60 TO 90 DAYS, BLACKMAN WILL BE COMPLETELY ALONE. NO MOTOR, NO SAIL AND NO FOOD SUPPLY. SHE’S ROWING TO SUPPORT OUTDOOR ADVENTURING FOR GOOD, A NONPROFIT FOR TRAUMA RECOVERY PROGRAMS. I’M SO LOW OUT THERE, BUT I’M PART OF THIS BIGGER COMMUNITY. I’M PART OF THIS BIGGER PICTURE. I AM PART OF MAKING SURE THAT THESE RESOURCES EXIST, THAT PEOPLE DON’T HAVE TO GO THROUGH HARD, HURTFUL, CHALLENGING, CONFUSING TIMES IN THEIR LIVES. NOW, BLACKMAN STARTS HER JOURNEY ON SATURDAY. THE 43 YEAR OLD COULD MAKE HISTORY AS THE FIRST SOLO FEMALE TO FINISH. WHAT AN ENDEAVOR. AND THAT BOAT TOM. IT’S N
Woman prepares to row 3,200 miles across the Atlantic Ocean
A woman from Bethlehem, New Hampshire, is preparing to row 3,200 miles across the Atlantic Ocean as part of the Atlantic Dash.Renee Blacken will race solo from the Canary Islands to Antigua and could make history as the first woman to complete the journey alone.The trip is expected to take between 60 and 90 days. During that time, Blacken will have no motor, no sail and no food resupply. She is rowing to support Outdoor Adventuring for Good, a nonprofit that raises money for trauma recovery programs. “I’m solo out there, but I’m part of this bigger community. I’m part of this bigger picture. I am part of making sure that these resources exist so that people don’t have to go through hard, hurtful, challenging, confusing times in their lives,” she said. Blacken is scheduled to begin her journey Saturday.
A woman from Bethlehem, New Hampshire, is preparing to row 3,200 miles across the Atlantic Ocean as part of the Atlantic Dash.
Renee Blacken will race solo from the Canary Islands to Antigua and could make history as the first woman to complete the journey alone.
The trip is expected to take between 60 and 90 days. During that time, Blacken will have no motor, no sail and no food resupply.
She is rowing to support Outdoor Adventuring for Good, a nonprofit that raises money for trauma recovery programs.
“I’m solo out there, but I’m part of this bigger community. I’m part of this bigger picture. I am part of making sure that these resources exist so that people don’t have to go through hard, hurtful, challenging, confusing times in their lives,” she said.
Blacken is scheduled to begin her journey Saturday.
New York-based cocktail historian David Wondrich had most recently finished editing an 860-plus-page compendium of knowledge about cocktail history when the opportunity arose to share cocktail history through a different medium: as a graphic nonfiction book.
The author took on the challenge, teaming up with illustrator Dean Kotz to take readers on a journey around the world, following the world’s drinking preferences from Colonial-era punches to Prohibition, from the rise of the 1930s tiki trend to the modern-day craft cocktail movement and beyond — plus much more along the way, including an array of cocktail recipes. We recently caught up with Wondrich to learn more.
“The Comic Book History of the Cocktail: Five Centuries of Mixing Drinks and Carrying On” by David Wondrich, illustrated by Dean Kotz (Ten Speed Graphic, $30) covers the evolution of the cocktail from the rise of distillation to the craft cocktail movement and beyond. (Photo courtesy of Ten Speed Graphic)
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Q: What inspired you to tell the history of cocktails through a comic book?
A: I had thought about doing a cocktail-themed comic book for quite a long time. I was talking to Ten Speed Press a couple years back, and they mentioned their comic book history series and asked if I would be interested in doing that. I said yes.
Q: You cover so much history in the book. How did you go about curating that history and figuring out which stories to include?
A: I was very familiar with the history because I’ve been writing cocktail history for 25 years. For my last book before this one, I was the editor-in-chief and principal writer of the Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, a huge reference book that includes histories and biographies of famous bartenders, as well as other related information. So a lot of the information was pretty fresh in my mind. That said, I always research my books anew, and see what else I can find; what other connections I can make. There were some periods in some places that were completely new to me, and that was fun. I tried to tell as many stories as I possibly could. I’ve written at length, for instance, about the history of African American bartenders, which was really deeply buried. I also did a lot of research on Asian and Pacific Islander bartenders in America.
Q: What was it like translating that history into comic book form? How did that process work with the illustrator?
A: It was really hard. I did this not because it was easy, but because I thought it would be easy. But it turned out to be really difficult. My editor insisted that this should be a real history with documentation, so I couldn’t skip over bits or dramatize stuff too much. I had to make sure that it gave you a good, solid, accurate history, while at the same time trying to make it as lively as possible.
Q: And you included a number of recipes — what were some of your favorites?
A: Well, I included a lot of bedrock classics that were emblematic of the age that I was talking about. But I threw in some curveballs, and at the end, included some cocktails that I invented, like the Leaving of Liverpool, which somebody asked me to come up with during the COVID lockdown, when everybody was singing, or watching videos of people singing, sea chanteys. That actually turned out to be quite delicious.
Bartender Ray Sheridan holds a Trader Vic’s Original Mai Tai, left, and a Ginger Cooler at Rocker Oysterfeller’s at Lucas Wharf in Bodega Bay on Aug. 23, 2024. (Erik Castro for The Press Democrat)
Q: The Bay Area gets a few shoutouts in the book, too. Tell me more about the Bay Area’s significance in cocktail history.
A: In America, which is the homeland of the cocktail, and almost always its driving force, there are really three major cocktail cities — not to take away from the others — where great drinks have been invented, and where there were always great bars. There were three real style leaders: New York, New Orleans and San Francisco. A great many drinks came out of San Francisco and Oakland. When I first visited San Francisco in the 1980s, I was used to the neighborhood bars in New York, which were all Irish bars. In San Francisco, I think it’s telling that the local neighborhood bars, the old ones, were all tiny little cocktail lounges. So it’s been cocktail country from the very beginning.
Cocktail historian David Wondrich’s new book, “The Comic Book History of the Cocktail” tells many stories behind the evolution of the cocktail over the past five centuries. (Photo courtesy of Ten Speed Graphic)
Q: Tell me more about Irish coffee and its San Francisco connection. National Irish Coffee Day is Sunday, Jan. 25.
A: This guy, Stan Delaplane, was a top travel newspaper columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle. In 1950, he went on a press junket to Ireland and was served Irish coffee and was like, “What magical elixir is this?” He brought back some Irish whiskey to the Buena Vista Cafe, and he and the owner sat down and tried to re-create it, and finally they managed to get it exactly right. The bar put it on the menu, in 1953, I believe, and it really took off in 1954. It became the biggest hit of the 1950s, and San Francisco was the catalyst.
Q: There was also Trader Vic’s, which opened in 1934 in Oakland.
A: Trader Vic (Bergeron) didn’t invent the standard tiki bar — Don the Beachcomber (a.k.a. Donn Beach) did that down in L.A., but Trader Vic was his earliest disciple, and a much better businessman than Donn Beach was. He was a very good businessman and a very good mixologist. He came up with the Mai Tai, which is a splendid drink, and things like that. He was the great popularizer, while Donn Beach was more of the philosopher behind the whole thing. But you need both.
In “The Comic Book History of the Cocktail,” author David Wondrich and illustrator Dean Kotz showcase stories like this one about Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron, the creator of the mai tai, who started his empire of tiki joints with the first location in Oakland in the 1930s. (Photo courtesy of Ten Speed Graphic)
Q: Did the martini originate in Martinez?
A: That, unfortunately, doesn’t hold water. It’s a nice idea, but the timing doesn’t work out. And there’s no evidence for it whatsoever.
Q: What are you hoping people take away from the book?
A: I’m hoping they get a sense of the people involved. These drinks are things that were made by people, for people. I’m hoping they can see themselves in the book and find what really resonates with them in the tradition of mixing drinks. My main hope is that people find it interesting, that it gives them stuff to talk about, and that they can understand where their favorite drinks came from.
Details: “The Comic Book History of the Cocktail: Five Centuries of Mixing Drinks and Carrying On,” by David Wondrich, illustrated by Dean Kotz (Ten Speed Graphic, $30) is available where books are sold, including at penguinrandomhouse.com.
Archaeologists recently uncovered the remains of a young man who lived 6,000 years ago — and survived a brutal encounter with a lion.
A study published in the February 2026 edition of the peer-reviewed Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports focuses on a Late Eneolithic necropolis in the Thracian region of eastern Bulgaria.
The subject of the study is the skeleton of a man who died between the ages of 18 and 30. He was more than 5 feet 7 inches tall and lived between 4600 and 4200 B.C., during the Late Eneolithic.
The grave is near another archaeological site called Kozareva Mogila, or the Goat Mound, near the coast of the Black Sea.
Upon analyzing the skeleton, researchers identified severe cranial and limb injuries — including puncture wounds on the man’s skull.
Archaeologists studying a Late Eneolithic burial in eastern Bulgaria uncovered skeletal evidence of a prehistoric lion attack that a young man survived thousands of years ago.(iStock; Veselin Danov)
Those wounds suggest an attack by a large carnivore — and interestingly, the wounds appeared to have healed, meaning he survived the encounter.
The study authors said the injury occurred during adolescence, possibly between the ages of 10 and 18.
Nadezhda Karastoyanova, a paleontologist at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia, told Fox News Digital that lions were present in eastern Bulgaria during the Late Eneolithic period.
Karastoyanova headed the zooarchaeological analysis — and credited her colleagues Veselin Danov, Petya Petrova and Viktoria Ruseva with documenting, interpreting and analyzing the skeleton, respectively.
“There is direct archaeological evidence for interactions between humans and lions,” said Karastoyanova. “More than 15 lion remains have been identified at prehistoric sites across Bulgaria, some bearing cut marks that indicate hunting and dismemberment.”
“These injuries would have made independent survival impossible [and] strongly suggest prolonged care and support from the surrounding community.”
She added, “The highest concentration of lion remains comes from sites along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, such as Durankulak and the Sozopol area. Where this individual was buried lies within the same broader region, making encounters between humans and large predators a realistic possibility.”
She observed that such skeletal evidence of prehistoric animal attacks on humans is “extremely rare.”
“In this case, the skeletal trauma not only survived in the archaeological record but also shows clear signs of healing, indicating long-term survival,” she said.
The cranial injuries “likely caused neurological consequences,” she added, possibly including epileptic seizures.
Researchers say puncture wounds found on a young man’s skull indicate an encounter with a large carnivore during Bulgaria’s Late Eneolithic period.(Veselin Danov)
“Combined with other impairments, these injuries would have made independent survival impossible [and] strongly suggest prolonged care and support from the surrounding community.”
Karastoyanova was struck by the fact that the man survived for months after the attack — which she said “provides rare insight into resilience and social caregiving in Eneolithic societies.”
Interestingly, Karastoyanova noted that the man’s grave is among the poorest in the necropolis, with no grave goods.
“This contrasts sharply with the nearby Varna Eneolithic Necropolis, dating to the same period, which contains some of the world’s earliest and richest gold burials,” she said.
The necropolis was discovered in the Thracian region of eastern Bulgaria, which is seen here.(iStock)
“This juxtaposition highlights the strong social diversity of Eneolithic societies, where wealth inequality coexisted with evidence for care and support of vulnerable individuals.”
Follow the local newspapers of Los Gatos through the years with the New Museum Los Gatos on Jan. 16.
The Los Gatos Newspapers History Tour will go over how the town’s newspapers evolved from early days and share some of the stories they highlighted in the past. Some of these newspapers are Los Gatos High School’s El Gato and the Los Gatos Weekly Times.
At the last town council meeting, Los Gatos switched its insurance provider to the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority.
The authority has partnered with over 125 public agencies. It is made up mostly of cities, but includes special districts and other joint power authorities. In the Bay Area, they also insure the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. They also cover several cities in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.
“This pool of entities is much larger than the previous provider, which spreads out risk and broadens coverage offerings,” said Mayor Rob Moore in his January newsletter.
The town is expected to save about $250,000 from this switch. The new contract will go into effect in July.
Entertainment zones
With several sporting events planned to bring thousands to the Bay Area this year, Los Gatos is considering establishing entertainment zones to allow for the open consumption of alcoholic beverages.
The Super Bowl is scheduled to be played on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. March Madness will be coming to SAP Center in San Jose on March 26 and 28. The FIFA World Cup will hold six matches at Levi’s Stadium in June and July. Mayor Rob Moore said in his January newsletter that they are exploring ways for the town’s businesses to benefit from the influx of visitors to the Bay Area.
An entertainment zone is a defined public area within a municipality that allows for open consumption of alcohol during specific days and hours. It is managed by the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The town council will consider establishing part of downtown Los Gatos as an entertainment zone.
LONDON — Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of teenage diarist Anne Frank and a tireless educator about the horrors of the Holocaust, has died. She was 96.
The Anne Frank Trust UK, of which Schloss was honorary president, said she died Saturday in London, where she lived.
Britain’s King Charles III said he was “privileged and proud” to have known Schloss, who co-founded the charitable trust to help young people challenge prejudice.
“The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding and resilience through her tireless work for the Anne Frank Trust UK and for Holocaust education across the world,” the king said.
Born Eva Geiringer in Vienna in 1929, Schloss fled with her family to Amsterdam after Nazi Germany annexed Austria. She became friends with another Jewish girl of the same age, Anne Frank, whose diary would become one of the most famous chronicles of the Holocaust.
Like the Franks, Eva’s family spent two years in hiding to avoid capture after the Nazis occupied the Netherlands. They were eventually betrayed, arrested and sent to the Auschwitz death camp.
Schloss and her mother Fritzi survived until the camp was liberated by Soviet troops in 1945. Her father Erich and brother Heinz died in Auschwitz.
After the war, Eva moved to Britain, married German Jewish refugee Zvi Schloss and settled in London.
In 1953, her mother married Frank’s father, Otto, the only member of his immediate family to survive. Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the age of 15, months before the end of the war.
Schloss did not speak publicly about her experiences for decades, later saying that wartime trauma had made her withdrawn and unable to connect with others.
“I was silent for years, first because I wasn’t allowed to speak. Then I repressed it. I was angry with the world,” she told The Associated Press in 2004.
But after she addressed the opening of an Anne Frank exhibition in London in 1986, Schloss made it her mission to educate younger generations about the Nazi genocide. Over the following decades she spoke in schools and prisons, at international conferences and told her story in books including “Eva’s Story: A Survivor’s Tale by the Stepsister of Anne Frank.”
She kept campaigning into her 90s. In 2019, she traveled to Newport Beach, California to meet teenagers who were photographed making Nazi salutes at a high school party. The following year she was part of a campaign urging Facebook to remove Holocaust-denying material from the social networking site.
“We must never forget the terrible consequences of treating people as ‘other,’” Schloss said in 2024. “We need to respect everybody’s races and religions. We need to live together with our differences. The only way to achieve this is through education, and the younger we start the better.”
Schloss’ family remembered her as “a remarkable woman: an Auschwitz survivor, a devoted Holocaust educator, tireless in her work for remembrance, understanding and peace.”
“We hope her legacy will continue to inspire through the books, films and resources she leaves behind,” the family said in a statement.
Zvi Schloss died in 2016. Eva Schloss is survived by their three daughters, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 4, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.
Front page flashback: Jan. 5, 2017
Six reputed leaders of the Hobos street gang were convicted of racketeering conspiracy charges on Jan. 4, 2017. A federal jury found the gang carried out a total of eight murders over the course of a decade. (Chicago Tribune)
Reputed leader Gregory “Bowlegs” Chester of the Hobos, a Chicago super gang, and alleged lieutenants Paris Poe, Arnold Council, Gabriel Bush, Derrick Vaughn and William Ford were convicted on racketeering conspiracy charges.
Before the Chicago Bears played in the NFL’s fourth All-Star game on Jan. 4, 1942, head coach George Halas told his team: “It looks like this is your real test. This is the worst gridiron you’ve had to play on and it’s up to you to show your greatness, in spite of the conditions.” Despite the muddy playing field, the Bears scored five touchdowns on their way to a 35-24 victory. (Chicago Tribune)
1942: The Chicago Bears — who won the 1941 championship — defeated a team of NFL All-Stars 35-24 on a “dreary, chilly afternoon” at the Polo Grounds in New York City. It was the Bears’ 19th victory in 20 games. The game raised more than $51,000 (or more than $1 million in today’s dollars) for the Naval Relief Society.
Journalist Mike Flannery of WFLD-Ch. 32 at Chicago’s Fox studio newsroom on June 19, 2023. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
1966: Field Enterprises, then publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Daily News, launched WFLD-Ch. 32.
“We plan to be a station of selectivity,” said station director Sterling C. “Red” Quinlan. “We’ll be big in sports. We intend to show Chicagoans how the city works, how it is actually governed, what goes on behind the scenes. We mean to keep an eye on the town and jump into civic issues. We are not locked into anything and we’ll give all sorts of things a try.”
Chicago Bears Coach Neill Armstrong, the 11th man to direct the team in the club’s 58-year history, huddles with the players during his first practice on April 28, 1978. (Walter Kale/Chicago Tribune)
1982: Chicago Bears coach Neill Armstrong was fired after a 6-10 record during the 1981 season.
2002: Washington Wizards forward Michael Jordan became the fourth player in NBA history to score 30,000 career points when he hit a free throw in the second quarter of an 89-83 win against his old team — the Chicago Bulls. Jordan joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Wilt Chamberlain.
Ryne Sandberg, clutching his Hall of Fame plaque, waves to the Cooperstown, New York, crowd on July 31, 2005. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune)
2005: Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sandberg was inducted on July 31, 2005, and delivered a stirring speech that criticized the products of the steroid era.
“When did it become OK for someone to hit home runs and forget how to play the rest of the game?” he asked.
Sandberg spoke about playing the game “right because that’s what you’re supposed to do” and said if his election into the Hall validates anything it’s that “learning how to bunt, hit-and-run and turning two is more important than knowing where to find the little red light (on) the dugout camera.”
The first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby, Diane Crump, has died.She was 77.”Mom passed away peacefully tonight. She ended her life surrounded by friends and family. Thank you for being the best support system. We have been truly blessed by your generosity and kindness. I hope my mom’s legacy of following dreams and helping others continues through those that were touched by her amazing life,” said Crump’s daughter, Della Payne, in a GoFundMe post on New Year’s Day.In the player up top: Diane Crump’s Kentucky Derby boots on display at Kentucky Derby MuseumCrump had been battling glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.For the first 95 years of the Kentucky Derby’s existence, only male jockeys were allowed to compete. But that all changed in 1970 when Crump became the first woman to ride in the Derby.She received her jockey license just one year prior and would go on to finish 15th in the 96th Run for the Roses.Through 1,682 starts, Crump amassed 228 wins and collected more than $1.2 million in earnings during her jockeying career.“Diane Crump was an iconic trailblazer who admirably fulfilled her childhood dreams. As the first female to ride professionally at a major Thoroughbred racetrack in 1969 and to become the first female to ride in the Kentucky Derby one year later, she will forever be respected and fondly remembered in horse racing lore. The entire Churchill Downs family extends our condolences to her family and friends,” Churchill Downs said in a statement.Following her career as a jockey, Crump started Diane Crump Equine Sales as a way to connect buyers and owners in the sporthorse world. She also volunteered at hospitals and nursing homes with her dachshunds to provide animal-assisted therapy.
The first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby, Diane Crump, has died.
She was 77.
“Mom passed away peacefully tonight. She ended her life surrounded by friends and family. Thank you for being the best support system. We have been truly blessed by your generosity and kindness. I hope my mom’s legacy of following dreams and helping others continues through those that were touched by her amazing life,” said Crump’s daughter, Della Payne, in a GoFundMe post on New Year’s Day.
In the player up top: Diane Crump’s Kentucky Derby boots on display at Kentucky Derby Museum
Crump had been battling glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
For the first 95 years of the Kentucky Derby’s existence, only male jockeys were allowed to compete. But that all changed in 1970 when Crump became the first woman to ride in the Derby.
She received her jockey license just one year prior and would go on to finish 15th in the 96th Run for the Roses.
Through 1,682 starts, Crump amassed 228 wins and collected more than $1.2 million in earnings during her jockeying career.
“Diane Crump was an iconic trailblazer who admirably fulfilled her childhood dreams. As the first female to ride professionally at a major Thoroughbred racetrack in 1969 and to become the first female to ride in the Kentucky Derby one year later, she will forever be respected and fondly remembered in horse racing lore. The entire Churchill Downs family extends our condolences to her family and friends,” Churchill Downs said in a statement.
Following her career as a jockey, Crump started Diane Crump Equine Sales as a way to connect buyers and owners in the sporthorse world. She also volunteered at hospitals and nursing homes with her dachshunds to provide animal-assisted therapy.
Today is Friday, Jan. 2, the second day of 2026. There are 363 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Jan. 2, 1981, British serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, aka the “Yorkshire Ripper,” was captured after a series of killings bred fear across northwest England between 1975 and 1980. Subsequently convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the killings of 13 women, he died in 2020 at the age of 74.
Also on this date:
In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison appointed Alice Sanger as the first female White House staffer at a time of a growing movement for women’s rights.
In 1942, the Philippine capital of Manila was captured by Japanese forces during World War II.
In 1959, the Soviet spacecraft Luna 1 launched, becoming the first spacecraft to escape Earth’s gravity.
In 1971, 66 people were killed in a crush of spectators leaving a soccer match at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.
In 1974, President Richard Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 mph as a way of conserving gasoline during an OPEC oil embargo. (The 55 mph limit was effectively phased out in 1987; federal speed limits were abolished in 1995.)
In 2016, a heavily armed group led by brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, beginning a 41-day standoff to protest the imprisonment of two ranchers convicted of setting fires on public land and to demand the federal government turn over public lands to local control.
In 2023, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest after making a tackle during the first quarter of an NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals, requiring life-saving treatment on the field. The game was canceled; Hamlin would recover fully and return to play the following season.
In 2024, Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigned amid plagiarism accusations and a backlash over her congressional testimony about antisemitism on campus. She was the Ivy League institution’s first Black president.
Today’s Birthdays: Filmmaker Todd Haynes is 65. Baseball Hall of Famer Edgar Martínez is 63. Actor-singer Tia Carrere is 59. Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is 58. Model Christy Turlington is 57. Actor Taye Diggs is 55. Actor Renée Elise Goldsberry is 55. Actor-comedian Dax Shepard is 51. Actor Kate Bosworth is 43. Musician Trombone Shorty is 40. Singer-rapper Bryson Tiller is 33.
