Phone Messages

Lawrence Welk was born in 1903 in Strasburg North Dakota. His TV show started on a local L.A. station in 1951 and ended on PBS in 1982. After that, reruns continued to be shown on PBS hosted by Welk and after his death in 1992, by former cast members.

A parent's love can sometimes be expressed by saving old issues of the Grey City Journal.

These days it is difficult to find shops that repair vacuum cleaners, but Repair Cafés have opened around the world to rebuild a culture of conservation.

The University of Chicago's Regenstein Library was constructed on the former location of Stagg Field in 1970.

The lyrics to Pete Seeger's Turn Turn Turn come from the Book of Ecclesiastes. In 1965, the Byrd's version of the song topped the charts.

Jimmy's Woodlawn Tap opened in 1948. It was one of many Hyde Park bars at the time, and one of the few to survive urban renewal.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland Florida. He called it a Child of the Sun.

Sixteen Candles, performed by the Crests, became a doo-wop hit in 1958. The song's sentimentalism is ideal for a punk guitar to rip apart.

In the 1980s, the superb flute and saxophone player Hanah Jon Taylor performed regularly at the Cove and the Hotel Del Prado in Hyde Park. In the 1990s he moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where in 2019 he opened Cafe Coda.

In the late 80s, The Grey City Journal staff also produced The Chicago Literary Review, a quarterly supplement to the Chicago Maroon.

The Canon Canonet was an affordable 35 mm rangefinder camera first released in 1961. The Canonet G-III, released in 1972, sold over a million copies before being discontinued in 1982 and was used by the title character in the 1998 film Pecker.

When we remember the past, sometimes we must confront behaviors that now make us cringe.

The Young Dogs, a poetry club that performed at the University of Chicago Reynold's Club Theater, welcomed odd musical groups, some of which later ended up on the stage of the Knitting Factory.

Sometimes the least common denominator between the corners of your mouth is a piece of chewing gum in the snow.

The Chicago Maroon could consume the life of a college student, but it could also launch a career.

The dictation machine can be traced back to Edison and Bell's inventions in the 1870s and 1880s. In the 20th century, the Dictaphone and IBM improved upon the technology.

Herbert George is an exceptional sculptor, and as a teacher. he inspired many students at the University of Chicago.

Chicago winters were notorious. Below zero windchills could easily overcome the weak radiator heat of a studio apartment.

When does a juvenile prank cross the line to cruelty? And can one make amends for past acts that crossed the line?

Before Caller ID, the answering machine was used to identify who was calling before picking up.