“You ought to write a book!” I’m sure many docents have heard this from family and friends, recognizing the interesting store of information stashed inside docents’ heads. Well, Joni Hirsch Blackman (2013) did exactly that! She has recently published This Used to Be Chicago, which gives readers a glimpse of the old Windy City. Joni does this by focusing on 90 buildings that once served other purposes. Examples include a liquor store that had been a speak-easy during Prohibition, a condo that was converted from a piano factory, and a circus school that had been built to be a church. Imagine peppering your tours with these fascinating tidbits! And just in time for those who are re-organizing their tour cards for the newly configured core tours. Kudos, Joni!
Molly Page, 2013CAF docent Molly Page (2013) has made the “big time” – Molly was one of “10 women who inspired me in 2017,” a list compiled by Chicago Tribune writer Heidi Stevens, who writes on women’s issues in the Sunday “Life and Style” section of the paper.
On Sunday, New Year’s Day, Stevens unveiled a list of 10 women whose actions had impressed her during the past year. Citing a quote from anthropologist Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only that that ever has,” Stevens said she was singling out nine women and one girl who are “doing just that.”
Among those was our Molly, cited for her work on One20, a national movement to turn January 20 into a Day of Service. According to Stevens, Molly, who not only gives CAF tours but also is the author of 100 Things to Do in Chicago Before You Die, “didn’t love the results of the 2016 presidential election, but the idea of stewing on Inauguration Day left her cold.”
That’s why Molly spearheaded the Chicago section of One20. “She encouraged Chicagoans to spend the day committing random acts of kindness,” Stevens says.
Explained Molly: “There are going to be plenty of opportunities for us to raise our voices and march and make our politics known. But being good to one another has nothing to do with how I vote or how the recipient of the act of kindness votes. It’s just about loving another human being.”
While we’re all members of the Class of 2018, Henry Kuehn (1974) is doubly so. He was recently awarded a fellowship for 2018 from Society of Architectural Historians. Henry, we’ll be anticipating an article for The Bridge, sharing your new-found knowledge!