CHICACO 1833
Monday morning brought us to the Chicago History Museum, but not after our first adventure with the Chicago Subway. Although it was still a subway, it was much less creepier and much more efficient than the disaster we encountered in Philadelphia.
The morning started with a brilliant presentation by Sarah Marcus who managed to put the settlement and development of Chicago into a perspective that even a stupid caveman could easily understand. The way she was able to take us from a sandbar alongside a lake devoid of European contamination; to a modern American City (and everything in between) in less than two hours was nothing less than remarkable. Perhaps I was able to follow her so well because I have spent considerable time on the Encyclopedia of Chicago page in preparation for this trip, a website in which she was a considerable contributor. Still, it was like watching the city of Chicago unfold like a time lapse image put into fast forward motion. It was an enjoyable presentation; plus I learned to navigate the website in ways I was unfamiliar with.
Later, Heidi Moisan showed us many innovative lesson plans on how to teach with primary sources. Although her ideas focused mainly on Chicago’s labor conflicts, her ideas about how to involve group participation and understanding through reading and use of symbols could be adjusted to include any topic. Her presentation on www.greatchicagostories.org and how to teach using the website was incredible. I felt envious of Chicago school teachers and the valuable materials that are at their fingertips and in their neighborhoods. I wished there could be such a resource for the labor and immigrant history for Pueblo, Colorado. That history is there to be studied and celebrated; unfortunately that bottle of pride has been on ice and uncorked far too long. I believe that not only the students, but the Southern Colorado populace in general could benefit from such a resource.
After the museum, I joined a small group of warriors who managed to make it to the “Holy Shrine” of Wrigley Field. This was a pilgrimage that was long overdue since I have been a faithful (but hopeless) Cubs fan for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I would wait by the roadside on many days for my brother Roger (who was also my legal guardian) to return from work as laborer at the Allen Coal Mine near Trinidad. The first question he would ask was, “Did the Cubs win today?” Ernie Banks was his hero, and Roger was mine. As the great Harry Caray would say; big brother, “This Bud’s For You.”
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Our first full day in Chicago was a memorable one, especially since we had the morning to ourselves; one to fill our souls with discovery and first impressions. This was that special moment we all waited for after months of and research about the city. Finally the significance of that planning had been realized.
I know that each of us had our own anticipation about what we most wanted to see on that first day; for me it was where I could see panoramas of Lake Michigan and the cityscape from the lakefront. I was soon rewarded when I took a bench seat beneath the mist of Buckingham Fountain. The Mother Ship had arrived.
After spending about two hours taking in the scenery it was off to the Art Institute of Chicago which turned out to be everything Jonathon said it would be. Too many times I felt like a real hillbilly when I turned around to see people staring at me because of the way I was gaping at some of the artwork. I know I violated the customary decorum of viewing such masterpieces, but when you’ve spent over 20 years working with textbooks, then seeing the original work that is in those pages, I think I should be forgiven. There were many pieces that captured long gazes, but I found myself returning to American Gothic, and to Paris Street, Rainy Day. The artist who I will find myself reading about in the future was Renoir. There was something about his works that really made a connection with my imagination, although I don’t know what it was. I guess that is why people go to special places to study art. I hope to discuss this with the art teacher at my school; perhaps there can be some collaboration between his classes and mine.
After leaving the Art Institute, it was off to Grant Park. This was another anticipated place for me, ever since Barack Obama gave his victory speech from that location on election night. I know I couldn’t have been there for the actual moment, but I have a fantastic imagination for such things. Along the way I walked through the fabulous Millennium Park Pavilion and traversed along the incredible BP Bridge; and incredible aluminum serpentine structure amidst a flowering botanical garden. The photo at the top of the page was taken from this walk which was an adventure I will long cherish and return to again in my lifetime if I should be so fortunate.
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