Wisch List

Today’s newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

On Paterno, Penn State and the folly of sports worship

The WISCH LIST

November 12, 2011

Each morning in classrooms across America, schoolchildren stand up, place their right hand over their heart and recite the Pledge of Allegiance, during which they declare that we are “One Nation Under God.”

But in State College, Pa. – where this week legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno crashed in a staggering fall from grace – it’s unclear whether the locals long ago added another line to the pledge in order to explain that they’re also “One Town Beneath a Deity.”

Throughout the Keystone State, and particularly within the isolated confines of PSU’s Happy Valley, Paterno has often been called “Saint Joe.” And for decades, thousands of blue-and-white-clad acolytes have made pilgrimages to Beaver Stadium each Saturday afternoon in order to watch the bespectacled coach’s Nittany Lions teams compete.

And to also worship at the altar of JoePa.

But, while Paterno may be major college football’s all-time winningest coach with 409 victories in addition to a pair of national championships, he of course isn’t a god. Or a saint, for that matter. He’s just a man. And men, as we all should remember, are simply men, while sports gods are nothing but myths.

This past Wednesday night, Paterno – the man and the myth – was officially (and appropriately) ousted by the Penn State Board of Trustees in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal involving former PSU defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky that has rocked both Penn State and all of college sports to their cores.

Because of Paterno’s negligence (or his complicity) in properly reporting to authorities what university officials knew about Sandusky’s alleged sexual assault of a young child in 2002, a despicable situation was covered up and allowed to grow into the worst scandal the sporting world has ever seen.

Here in the Land of Lincoln, our state’s flagship university has never won a single national championship in football or basketball, let alone multiple ones like the Penn State football program has achieved.

And, you know what? This week, I thank goodness for that.

Because, on Wednesday night, as I watched the TV coverage of students having tipped over a news van and toppled streetlights on the Penn State campus in the name of JoePa and debated Paterno’s ouster via Facebook and Twitter with die-hard Penn State fans wearing blinders, I cringed at the levels of devotion that Paterno commanded.

And I also shuddered at the thought of how I’d feel if this sad, sordid saga was instead playing out here in our state at the University of Illinois.

Unlike PSU, as well as similar championship-laden and scandal-ridden Big Ten institutions Ohio State and Indiana where the likes of Jim Tressel, Woody Hayes and Bob Knight have loomed so large, Illinois has never resided under the rule of an almighty coaching king.

Or, some might call it, a dictator.

However, if U. of I. did have a coach of that enormous stature, I wonder if the school’s students and the state’s citizens would blindly defend him in the face of a scandal such as the one that’s now infested Penn State? Or would most of us demand his firing and then applaud the ones who ordered it?

I’d like to believe it’s the latter. But I suppose we really don’t know. Thankfully, in this instance.

This, however, I do know: It’s fine to cheer on athletes and celebrate coaches, but when you begin to deify them, you have a serious problem.

After all, Jim Tressel lied. Tiger Woods philandered. Roger Clemens cheated. And, now, Joe Paterno ignored. So, going forward let’s try to remember that sportsmen are just men, not gods.

We could even make a pledge about it.

From the Saturday, Nov. 5, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

Hold the holidays, Chicago still has November in store

The WISCH LIST

Nov. 5, 2011

Earlier this week, a friend of mine posted on his Facebook page that while watching TV he had seen his first Christmas commercial pop up on the screen.

On Halloween.

Boo!

And so it begins again, the annual stampede to start celebrating December’s holidays before October’s has even expired – or perhaps in some cases (and stores), September’s.

Pre-Labor Day Christmas Sales, anyone?

As for myself, I prefer to honor the holidays in their proper succession. And so, now that trick-or-treating is done, it’ll be on to turkey – in a few weeks. Until then, though, there’s plenty going on in Chicago during the month of November. And, remarkably enough, not all of it has a holiday theme.

Here are a few of the more interesting events on tap for the Windy City this month …

Nov. 6: Battle of the Bhut

In the United States, it’s most commonly called the Ghost Pepper. But you can just call the Bhut Jolokia (pronounced “boot”) hot.

Really, really hot.

At 1 p.m. this Sunday, Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap, 41 E. Superior St. in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood, will play host to the third annual “Battle of the Bhut.” During the event, competitive eaters will gather to devour hot wings made with Bhut Jolokia, named in 2007 by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s hottest chili pepper, 401.5 times hotter than Tabasco sauce.

In 2010, the Bhut Jolokia was bumped from the record books by the Naga Viper pepper, which apparently scores more than 300,000 points higher than the average Bhut on something called the Scoville scale, which measures the spicy heat (or piquance) of a chili pepper.

Nevertheless, it’s safe to say that the Bhut is ridiculously hot. And, on Sunday, 2010 Battle of the Bhut champ, Erik “the Red” Denmark of Seattle, will attempt to defend his title of 35 hot wings and again beat last year’s runners-up, Chicagoans Pat Bertole (34 wings) and Gravy Brown (33).

Flame on.

Nov. 11: Found Footage Festival

The Found Footage Festival, created in 2004 by comedians Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher, bills itself as a “one-of-a-kind event that showcases footage from videos that were found at garage sales and thrift stores and in warehouses and Dumpsters across the country.”

Think of it as a traveling roadshow of nonsense, and at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11, it rolls into the Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport Ave.) in Lakeview for a showdown with the oddball notes, lists and photographs collected by its cousins at Found Magazine.

According to Pickett and Prueher, they began collecting quirky videotapes in 1991 after stumbling across a training video entitled, “Inside and Outside Custodial Duties,” inside a McDonald’s break room. Thirteen years later, the duo said they “distilled a thousand hours of footage into just the most sublime spectacles, intriguing characters, and beguiling, if not insightful, looks into those who lived during the golden days of the VHS dynasty.

“We had found 90 minutes of needles in a thousand haystacks. We called it Found Footage Festival.”
Tickets cost $13 and can be purchased online at musicboxtheatre.com/events.

Nov. 19: Magnificent Mile Lights Festival

Five days before Thanksgiving on Saturday, Nov. 19, Chicago gets its first official celebration of the Christmas season (this timing I’m OK with) as the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival, billed as the nation’s largest evening holiday event, takes place.

Beginning at 11 a.m. with music and other events for kids, the event culminates with Mickey and Minnie Mouse leading a street-lighting procession featuring more than 1 million bulbs down North Michigan Avenue followed by a fireworks show over the Chicago River at 6:55 p.m.

For more information, visit magnificentmilelightsfestival.com.

From the Saturday, Oct. 29, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

In Chicago, it’s tricky finding Halloween treats

The WISCH LIST

Oct. 29, 2011

It’s been more than 20 years since I went trick-or-treating.

Which is probably a good thing. You know, considering that I’m 35 years old.

Nevertheless, the fact that I haven’t donned a costume to ring doorbells and demand Butterfingers since my early teens did get me thinking once again this week: you just don’t see trick-or-treaters in Chicago.

Not where I live in Wrigleyville, at least. Certainly not in the way I was accustomed to while growing up in Bourbonnais. Back in those days, packs of trick-or-treaters – some with parents, some without – would pretty much roam the neighborhood at will.

It wasn’t particularly structured event, nor did we want it to be. Halloween was an adventure – which is exactly what you should have when you’re dressed up as a superhero or a flesh-eating zombie.

These days, though, what does pass for trick-or-treating in my neighborhood is a much more choreographed production that takes place in the daylight (boo). On Sunday afternoon, businesses along a 12-block stretch of Southport Avenue between Belmont and Irving Park will open their doors from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. as tiny costumed kids stop by to satiate their sweet tooth.

Or, just as likely, their parents’.

I know, however, that traditional trick-or-treating does take place in the Windy City – somewhere. So this week, I sent a text to my buddy, Harvey, who grew up on Chicago’s North Side farther west from where I live.

“Yeah, for sure,” he wrote back when asked if he trick-or-treated around his family home. “It was a very family-oriented neighborhood.” Although Harvey added the radius to roam was only, “About two blocks. Couldn’t go past Addison, Ashland or Ravenswood … Good times for sure.

“Though the worst was when old ladies gave you an apple or loose change. What the heck were you supposed to do with those?!”

Looking to trick myself into feeling the Halloween rush I felt as a kid, I set out on Tuesday evening to seek a treat at Margie’s Candies. Located at 1960 N. Western Ave., Margie’s celebrates its 80th anniversary this year – but this was my first ever visit to the Chicago institution.

Originally, it was known as the Security Sweet Shop when it founded in 1921 by a Greek immigrant named Peter George Poulos, who handed over the business to his son George not long after. During the shop’s early years, Al Capone allegedly patronized the confectionery – as he seemed to allegedly patronize every place in Chicago during that time.

In 1933, George renamed the sweet shop Margie’s Candies in honor of his wife, whom he had met there. And by the 1940s, with her husband at war, Margie herself was running the business before taking over full control in 1954 when George died of an ulcer.

Twelve years later, Margie’s cemented its place in Chicago lore when after their 1965 concert at Comiskey Park, the Beatles swung by with five girls and ordered several six-scoop “Atomic Sundaes” to share with them.

When I arrived at Margie’s this week, I felt as if I had just walked in to the home of one of those of old ladies that used to give Harvey loose change. Much of the cozy décor – including Tiffany lamps, old-fashioned leather booths and miniature jukeboxes – has remained unchanged since the shop’s early days.

And making like the Fab Four, I ordered myself an Atomic Sundae, albeit with just two scoops. The treat didn’t come in a plastic pumpkin and it wasn’t Halloween candy, but I made it suffice.

After all, finding a place to trick-or-treat in Chicago can make for one Hard Day’s Night.

From the Saturday, Oct. 22, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

Just because it’s famous, doesn’t mean it’s a landmark

The WISCH LIST

Oct. 25, 2011

Earlier this month, city of Chicago officials announced their desire to assign official landmark status to eight former Schlitz taverns that opened throughout the city more than a century ago.

The buildings – each adorned with distinctive Schlitz globes –includes Schuba’s, the popular Lakeview nightspot and concert venue, and they are among just 10 of the original 57 saloons that once both brewed and served Schlitz beer throughout the Windy City.

In Chicago, many property owners tend to resist landmarking measures because of their constraints, but Thomas Magee, who owns a former Schlitz pub at 1801 W. Division St., told Crain’s Chicago Business that he’s not one of them.

“Obviously, there’s concern because any time I’d want to make a change, I’d have to get (city) approval,” said Magee, who has run Mac’s American Pub at that location for a dozen years. But “it’s a beautiful old building, and I want to keep it that way. I’m not opposed to it.”

Whether other property owners are, or the Commission on Chicago Landmarks has merely overlooked some buildings, you might be surprised to know some of the iconic Chicago structures that are plenty famous, but aren’t among its 250-plus official landmarks.

The Wrigley Building

With its white terra cotta walls and soaring clock tower, the Wrigley Building is one of Chicago’s most beloved icons. But unlike the Tribune Tower, its Magnificent Mile neighbor, it isn’t an official landmark.

In July, the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. announced that it’s moving out of its namesake skyscraper, and architecture buffs immediately urged the city to take action and make clear to prospective new owners that major changes to the building’s historic exterior won’t be tolerated.

A city spokesman told Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin this summer via e-mail that: “City staff have met with Wrigley officials to discuss the move and the Wrigley Building itself, including what preservation incentives are available to address its long-term needs.”

Interesting Fact: When ground was broken for the Wrigley Building in 1920, there were no major office buildings north of the Chicago River and the Michigan Avenue Bridge, which spans the river just to the south, was still under construction.

The Field Museum

The Field Museum was originally incorporated in 1893 as the Columbian Museum of Chicago. Twelve years later, it was renamed after its first major benefactor, Marshall Field, and in 1921 its sprawling, neoclassical home was built, anchoring the city’s Museum Campus.

Interesting Fact: The Field’s collections contain more than 21 million specimens, but only a fraction of them are ever put on display.

The Merchandise Mart

Nicknamed the Merch Mart, when the titanic structure opened along the Chicago River in 1930, it was the largest building in the world with 4 million square feet of floor space. The Mart was built to centralize Chicago’s wholesale goods business by consolidating vendors and trade under a single roof.

Interesting Fact: Once owned by the Marshall Field family (that guy had his hands in everything), the Mart later was owned for more than 50 years by the Kennedy family (they did, too).

Marina City

Also known as the “Corncob Towers,” the mixed-use residential/commercial complex occupies an entire block of State Street on the north bank of the Chicago River, directly across from the Loop. Constructed in 1965, the 65-story towers have since been widely credited with sparking the residential renaissance of American inner cities.

Interesting Fact: Marina City is perhaps most famous for a scene in the 1980 Steve McQueen movie “The Hunter” in which a car drives off the tower’s parking garage and splashes into the river below.

Today’s newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

Unbeaten Illini ready to feast on Buckeyes

The WISCH LIST

Oct. 15, 2011

I’m headed down to Champaign this afternoon.

I hope to do some tailgating before Illinois and Ohio State knock helmets at Memorial Stadium (2:30 p.m., ABC). But, no matter where on campus I go, no matter how cold the beer is or how hot the brats might be, there’s one thing that I know I won’t need to digest.

That’s the fact that it’ll pale in comparison to the scene I saw last Saturday.

Because, until you’ve tailgated at Louisiana State University, you simply haven’t tailgated.

Last weekend, I traveled to New Orleans to visit my old college roommate and catch Saturday’s Florida-LSU football game in Baton Rouge. The No. 1-ranked Tigers, who crushed the Gators 41-11, were plenty impressive. And the crowd – at 93,022, the third largest ever to pack at Death Valley – was, too.

But most eye-popping of all was the way those crazy Cajuns tailgate.

As I wandered through the football wonderland that is LSU’s Magnolia tree-covered campus, I encountered buses with 40-inch HDTVs popping out of the side, discovered what a “Cajun Microwave” is (a wooden cabinet with a steel charcoal pit on top), and feasted like a Creole King on jambalaya, crawfish gumbo and “Gator Bites” –  bacon-wrapped alligator sausage stuffed with jalapenos and cheese.

I also learned that if I’d been born on the Bayou, I’d weigh 300 pounds.

Let’s go streaking

This afternoon, 16^th-ranked Illinois (6-0) will try to beat Ohio State (3-3) in Champaign for the first time since a narrow 10-7 victory way back in 1992.

Since then, the Illini have lost seven straight to the Buckeyes at Memorial Stadium. Yet, oddly enough, they’ve also won four games in Columbus during that span (1994, ’99, ’01 and ’07).

The OSU-Illinois rivalry is one of the more curious in college football, and also includes a stretch from 1988 to 1992 when the Illini actually won five consecutive games vs. the Buckeyes.

No wonder they fired John Cooper.

Whitney, merciless

Today’s game is big for Illinois. But it might be even bigger for Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus.

“This is my bowl game,” said Mercilus, an Akron native who was not offered a scholarship by Ohio State and now leads the nation with 8.5 sacks. “I get lot of [stuff] from people from back home. They tell me Ohio State is this, Ohio State is that every single year, every single year.”

Mercilus went on to guarantee victory, saying, “When we do win, I’m going to try to rub it in their faces and tell them we are good.” His promise evoked shades of Illini great Dana Howard, who in 1994 famously predicted an Illinois win in Columbus. It came true as the eventual Butkus Award winner powered the 2-2 Illini to a 24-10 victory over 4-1 OSU.

Bring on the Buckeyes

As an Illinois fan, I dislike Michigan more than any other school. But Ohio State is probably my favorite to play against – and evokes the best memories.

In 2001, I was in Columbus when Illinois beat Ohio State 34-22 on its path to the Big Ten title. That day, Ohio Stadium set a record crowd with 104,407 fans, and nothing was more beautiful then watching all that red stream down the stairs in the fourth quarter.

A year later, I was in Champaign when Coal City’s John Gockman booted a 48-yard field goal as time expired to send Illinois (4-6) and No. 2 Ohio State (11-0) into overtime. The Illini ultimately lost 23-16 to the eventual national champs, but that kick generated the loudest roar I’ve ever heard at Memorial Stadium.

The stadium should be ready to roar again today.

 

 

From the Saturday, Oct. 8, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

Knocking along ‘The Street of 40 Doors’

The WISCH LIST

Oct. 8, 2011

In the Windy City, River North is known for its popular restaurants, the Loop for its soaring skyscrapers and the Gold Coast for its luxurious nightspots.

And Wrigleyville? Well, besides bad baseball, it’s also known in large part for its streets.

Most famously, Clark, Addison, Waveland and Sheffield.

But just a couple of blocks north of those legendary avenues that border Wrigleyville’s namesake ballpark, sits a much lesser known thoroughfare that’s nevertheless one of the most unique in all of Chicago – and perhaps my favorite of them all.

Welcome to Alta Vista Terrace, nicknamed “The Street of 40 Doors” and known as the only stroll in Chicago that instead feels like a walk through London – and the lookingglass.

(Don’t worry, I’ll explain.)

Running vertically on one city block due north of Wrigley Field between Byron and Grace streets, Alta Vista Terrace is described by the Chicago Architecture Foundation as a “landmark block unlike any other in Chicago.”

Created in 1904 by prolific Chicago developer Samuel Eberly Gross, who built more than 10,000 homes in and around the city during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the genesis behind Alta Vista Terrace came about when Gross, during a trip to Europe, fell in love with the series of row houses that he encountered in London’s Mayfair district.

The charismatic developer, who once went to court claiming that Edmund Rostand stole the idea for Cyrano de Bergerac from his comedy, The Merchant of Cornville (Gross won the lawsuit), was struck with the unique idea of recreating a bit of merry old England back across the pond.

Gross was reportedly worth as much as $5 million at the time, and after returning home to Chicago, he decided to sink a chunk of his fortune into an empty block of property that he owned on the city’s North Side.

By paving an unusually narrow thoroughfare – reportedly the first in Chicago to feature asphalt – down the middle of the block, Gross created a skinny street he named Alta Vista Terrace. He then commenced with the construction of 40 small, single-family row houses – 20 on each side – that were situated on lots measuring just 34 feet wide and 40 feet deep, considerably smaller than the city average.

The exteriors of Alta Vista Terrace’s homes were then designed in 20 different styles based on elaborate architectural adaptations, including Doric and Ionic wood pilasters, Gothic arches, Palladian windows, stained and leaded glass fanlights, bay and bow windows and various decorative woodwork.

The end result was a striking streetscape that today boasts a series of tiny, garden-filled front yards and minimal automobile traffic. But none of that is what makes the Alta Vista Terrace so unique.

Rather, what truly sets the street apart is that each row house duplicates the one sitting diagonally opposite it on the other end of the block, with only minor variations.

In other words, walking down Alta Vista Terrace is literally like walking through a mirror where every home has an identical sister living down the street. A historical marker on the street corner notes that, “The distinctly human scale creates a unity and harmony rarely found elsewhere in the city.”

Since 1971, the Alta Vista Terrace District has been a designated Chicago landmark. And, in my opinion, it’s a designated must-see, as well.

At 11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 16, the Chicago Architecture Foundation will be holding its final hour-long walking tour of Alta Vista Terrace of the year. Tickets, which cost $13 online or $10 in person (if available), can be purchased at caf.architecure.org.

From the Saturday, Oct. 1, editions of The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

Sparking Chicago’s Great Baseball Fire

The WISCH LIST

Oct. 1, 2011

With a combined winning percentage of .463 – or should that be a combined losing percentage of .537? – the 2011 baseball season wasn’t exactly one that the Cubs and White Sox will frame to hang above their fireplaces for posterity.

Although, I suppose it could make for some nice kindling.

Not that Chicago will need it. After all, the windfall of on-field struggles and front-office sideshows on both sides of town should provide plenty of fuel for a sizzling Hot Stove League this winter.

And to help spark baseball’s Great Chicago Fire, I had a few thoughts about the Cubs and White Sox that I wanted to share today …

A South Side burnout

Earlier this week after Ozzie Guillen had managed his last game for the White Sox and general manager Kenny Williams bid him a less-than-fond farewell, a friend of mine wrote: “The strangest part of all this is that at the end of this lost season, the Cubs are somehow not the most dysfunctional Chicago baseball team. Go figure.”

Go figure, indeed.

Rational people can disagree about who’s more at fault in the White Sox’s broken home – Guillen or Williams – but I’d argue that it doesn’t really matter. Ozzie taking his talents (and temper) to South Beach was simply for the best.

It was time.

Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t consider Guillen to still be a talented manager (I do). But I’ve always viewed him as someone you can only take so much of, as well as someone who can only take so much of you. And I think that after eight topsy-turvy seasons, White Sox players likely had seen – and heard – enough. They’d tuned Ozzie out.

The big question is, without Guillen – and perhaps free agent Mark Buehrle – will Sox fans tune in to watch the team in 2012?

And will any of them will actually come out to the ballpark?

A North Side turnout

If you hadn’t noticed, the Cubs have issues, too.

They already need a new general manager (hire Tampa’s Andrew Friedman). They’re going to need a new manager (hire Ryne Sandberg). And signing a bunch of new players wouldn’t hurt, either (start with Prince Fielder).

But if the Cubs aren’t careful, some day they’re going to need a new ballpark, too. Because Wrigley Field won’t stand forever, you know – not without some major work.

So far, the Cubs have struck out when asking for state funding to help rehab Wrigley, even though I think the franchise deserves its share of cash. After all, tax dollars have been spent to build new facilities for both the White Sox and Bears, and the Cubs generate more tourist revenue than either of those two franchises.

In any case, that’s why I found the idea posed this week by Chicago Tribune columnist Phil Rosenthal to be so interesting.

“Heaven knows Cubs fans are invested in their team and in the baseball shrine it calls home, Wrigley Field,” Rosenthal wrote. “So why not actually, you know, let them invest?”

The notion Rosenthal pitched involved the Ricketts family separating the ballpark from the team, at least on paper, and then selling shares of Wrigley Field to fans to help finance its rehab.

Even if it’s an investment that doesn’t pay off in profits, I think Cubs die-hards would jump at the chance to “own” Wrigley Field. And the fan support likely would help convince state lawmakers to kick in some cash, as well.

Wrigley isn’t just the Cubs’ treasure, after all. It’s a jewel for the city and state, as well.

Now, if they can just find a better team to put on its diamond.

Today’s newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

The Best of the Wurst: Oktoberfest in Chicago

The WISCH LIST

Sept. 24, 2011

As the oldest family-run restaurant in Chicago, the Berghoff Restaurant is part of history. But it wasn’t until last week that the Loop’s 110-year-old, German-themed institution tried to make history.

By grilling a sausage stretching nearly 50 feet long.

On Sept. 15, during its 26^th Annual Oktoberfest celebration in Federal Plaza, the Berghoff targeted the Guinness World Record for the Midwest’s Longest Brat with a 47-foot, three-inch sausage.

The bratwurst, which weighed 40 pounds, required eight grills to cook and was placed inside a 50-foot bun, was then sliced up into 135 sandwiches. And in less than 20 minutes, every last bite was sold, raising more than $1,000 for the Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, which provides mentoring programs for more than 700 young men and women in the Windy City each year.

To help kick off the Oktoberfest season in Chicago, I made it to the Berghoff gathering just in time to purchase a piece of the record-breaking brat (it was delicious) and then wash it down with a draft of Berghoff Beer (it was too).

But, while you may have missed your chance to make history, that doesn’t mean you can’t still dine like a Sausage King in Chicago, where Oktoberfest is still going in strong for the next couple of weeks.

Sept. 24-25: Oktoberfest in Lincoln Square

Perhaps Chicago’s most popular celebration of all things autumnal and Germanic, Lincoln Square’s Oktoberfest – located at the corner of Southport and Lincoln avenues – dedicates its proceeds to St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church. And the festivities actually take place both inside and outside the historic church, which was originally built in 1897 in what was then a predominately German neighborhood.

Running from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. tonight and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, the festival features food (of course), beer (ditto), live music and, on from 11 to 2 on Sunday, a “Kinderfest” for children.

While you’re in the area, also consider swinging by the nearby Chicago Brauhaus (4732 N. Lincoln Ave.) for some additional Bavarian beer, cheer and dancing to the sounds of the restaurant’s famous Brauhaus Trio.

For more information, visit chicagoevents.com.

Sept. 30-Oct. 1: Oktoberfest at Timothy O’Toole’s

Timothy O’Toole’s might be an Irish pub best known for its hot wings and a location that buries it beneath street level in Streeterville at 622 N. Fairbanks Court, but that doesn’t mean the place can’t put on a great Oktoberfest.

The bar’s two-day bash (11 a.m. to 2 a.m.) features 25-ounce Hacker-Pschorr drafts, raffles, giveaways and German food specials such as brat burgers and Viennese beef goulash.

For more information, visit timothyotooles.com.

Oct. 1: Oktoberfest at Frontier

Known for its gamey fare that includes quirky entrees such as wild boar chops and duck tacos, you can also count on Frontier – located at 1072 N. Milwaukee Ave. in West Town – to serve up an Oktoberfest menu with an equally unique twist.

And from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Oct. 1, you can dine on the likes of buffalo schnitzel and wild boar bratwursts. Make sure to also save room for the soft pretzels with ground mustard and cheddar spread.

For more information, visit thefrontierchicago.com.

Oct. 7: Oktoberfest Brew Cruise

In Chicago, Oktoberfest isn’t just about beer. It’s also about water. And beer.

At 7:15 p.m. on Friday, October 7, you can board the Shoreline Oktoberfest Brew Cruise at the Ogden Slip at Navy Pier and take a 90-minute water tour of Lake Michigan while sipping microbrews from Leinenkugel and munching on snacks catered by Harry Caray’s.

For more information and pricing, visit shorelinesightseeing.com.

 

This weekend’s newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

Big House on the Prairie (Avenue)

By Dave Wischnowsky

The WISCH LIST

Sept. 17, 2011

In 1836, Darwinism was born and Betsy Ross died. Down south, Arkansas was named the 25th state and up north, Wisconsin was declared a territory. In Washington, Martin Van Buren rose to the presidency, while in Texas, the Alamo fell to Santa Ana.

And on the southern outskirts of the fledgling prairie town of Chicago, Henry B. Clarke built a house.

Today, that building – called the Clarke House – still stands as the oldest home in Chicago, built one year before Chicago was even incorporated. And last weekend, during the 5th Annual Festival on Prairie Avenue, it celebrated its 175th birthday.

While I didn’t bring a cake, I did head down to 1800 S. Prairie Ave. in the South Loop on Saturday to give the Clarke House – described by a tour guide as a “Greek Temple once dropped in the middle of nowhere” – my regards, while also regarding the decadently rich history of the neighborhood in which it resides.

But before we get to the Clarke House’s neighborhood, let’s first home in on the house itself, which, quite remarkably, has managed to survived two fires, two moves and darn near two centuries to preserve a fascinating piece of Windy City history.

Its owners, Henry and Caroline Clarke, originally came west from upstate New York to seek their fortune. When Henry found it in the wholesale business, he built a home on 20 rustic acres around present-day 16th Street and Michigan Avenue, from which the Clarkes wrote that they could see Native American campfires in the distance.

In 1872, the Clarke children sold the house (separate from the land) to Chicagoan John Chrimes, who moved it away from the noise of the city by rolling it on logs three miles south to Wabash Avenue and 45th Street.

There it stood until 1977 when the City of Chicago purchased it and decided to move it back to the Prairie Avenue Historic District, near its original location. To do so, though, the entire two-story home – towering Greek columns and all – had to be lifted over the Green Line “L” tracks, which hadn’t existed a century prior.

In a marvel of mechanics, the house was raised on hydraulic jacks. And on Dec. 4, 1977, one minute before midnight, all train service was stopped as the house was pulled across the tracks. It was then set on a new foundation and restored as a museum, which offers guided tours of its age-old luxury Wednesdays through Sundays at noon and 2 p.m. For more information, visit ClarkHouseMuseum.org.

Just as interesting as Clarke House, though, is the area surrounding it, as leafy Prairie Avenue was once considered the ritziest address in all of Chicago.

By the mid-1870s, the city’s three wealthiest men – Marshall Field, Philip Armour and George Pullman – all resided on the street, which became known as the mainstay of 19th-century Chicago society with its lavish dinner parties and receptions.

In 1882, Mrs. H.O. Stone of 2035 Prairie hosted a reception for author Oscar Wilde at her home. Later that same year, John Doane completed his residence at 1827 Prairie, establishing the first house in Chicago to be illuminated with electric lights.

In 1886, Marshall Field hosted at his mansion a “Mikado Ball,” a lavish party reported to have cost $75,000 – the equivalency of about $1.8 million today. And by 1893, the same year Chicago’s Columbian Exposition opened largely through the efforts of Prairie Avenue residents, journalist Everett Chamberlain identified a whopping 77 millionaires living on the street.

How many live there today, I couldn’t say. But exploring the Clarke House and its beautiful historic neighborhood?

It’s still worth a million bucks.

Today’s newspaper column from The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Ill.) and The Times (Ottawa, Ill.) …

Field Museum’s new 9/11 exhibit moving — in more ways than one

The WISCH LIST

Sept, 10, 2011

With its dimly lit exhibit halls and quiet corridors, I’ve always considered Field Museum to be the most somber of Chicago’s cultural institutions.

So, it seemed fitting when I learned last month that Field would play host to an exhibit marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And it felt just as fitting on Labor Day when I visited the museum for “Ground Zero 360°” to both honor and reflect upon one of the most tragic days in our nation’s history – and certainly one of the most memorable of my life.

I can still vividly recall how 10 years ago today, on Sept. 10, 2001, I was sitting with three college friends in the Wrigley Field bleachers as we watched the Cubs on a balmy, late-summer night.

After the game, I said goodbye and hopped in my car for the drive back to Ottawa, where I was then working at The Daily Times as a 25-year-old sports reporter. While cruising down the interstate beneath a canvas of stars and with our national pastime on my mind, the calendar rolled over to Sept. 11 and all seemed pretty much right with the world.

Until, of course, the next morning when it all went wrong.

At about 7:30 a.m., I strolled into the newsroom, flipped on my computer and began to put together that day’s sports section. About 20 minutes later, though, I recall an “URGENT” alert coming across the Associated Press national wire, reporting that a plane had struck one of the World Trade Center towers in New York.

Like many, I initially assumed that it was just an odd accident. But, within minutes, I knew that wasn’t true as the wire’s floodgates opened and startling alerts began spilling out at a dizzying pace.

Planes had been hijacked. Both Trade Towers were ablaze. The Pentagon was smoldering, and another plane had crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.

Our nation was under attack, and Americans were dead. A lot of them. And over the next couple of hours, I counted as the AP filed 80 consecutive stories and alerts focusing solely on the terrorist attacks. None of them, though, struck me with more force than the one that read, both simply and inconceivably: “World Trade Center South Tower has collapsed.”

Monday, at Field Museum, “Ground Zero 360°” immediately returned me to the sadness of that day when I encountered a wall emblazoned with reproductions of missing person fliers posted by loved ones after 9/11.

With the faces of innocent victims smiling at me, I read messages as straightforward as: “Steve Lillianthal, employer – Cantor Fitzgerald, brown eyes and hair, goatee, 5’7”, 225 pounds,” and as detailed as: “Last heard from: 9/11/01 at 9:23 a.m., Bill [Kelly] e-mailed from the 106th floor of World Trade Center Building 1 that he could hear firemen approaching.”

Another one simply read, “Have You Seen My Daddy?”

“Ground Zero 360°,” which opened Sept. 2 and runs through Jan. 1, portrays the story of 9/11 and the days immediately following from the perspectives of a New York City police commander and a photojournalist. But what it really does is evoke your own personal perspective and memories of 9/11 as you study the previously unpublished photographs of the destruction, listen to the recordings of panicked police radio chatter from Ground Zero and even touch pieces of metal and granite that were once part of the Trade Towers.

For anyone who loves America, the exhibit is sure to move you. But, not just in the ways you might think.

Because, with photos from June of the sparkling 1,776-foot Freedom Tower now rising in Lower Manhattan, “Ground Zero 360°” does a 180° – and also inspires.