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Chicago's honorary brown street signs, days, and commemorative honors; the who, what, where, when and why.  Honorary Chicago guide book, maps, biographies, history, trivia, tours, and gifts.

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Happy 100th birthday in Chicago

Linda Zabors

It is commonplace for heads of state and legislatures at all levels of government to send birthday wishes to elderly citizens who reach various age thresholds. The Chicago City is no exception.  The Chicago City Council sent congratulations to the following fourteen Chicagoans who in 2016 celebrated their 100th birthday.

Petronella Bertha Blumer

Harry Alvin Cecil

Hazel Amelia Cook

Ruth L. Lamar

Otea Esterds

Virginia Crawford White

Jim Konieczny

Rutha Lee Weir Hodo

Bill Coors

JoAnn Turner

Eleanore Wideikis

Eleanor Wayman

John W. Anderson

Elizabeth Mitchell


Source: Chicago City Council records

World Events in 1916:

  • World War I
    • England and France battle the Ottoman Empire and are defeated in the attempt to capture Istanbul
    • Paris was bombed by German Zeppelins
    • Portugal joins the allied forces in WWI, Peru declares neutrality
    • The 1916 Summer Olympics to be held in Berlin, are cancelled
       
  • The Chicago Cubs play their first game at Weegham Park (later named Wrigley Field) and defeat the Cincinnati Reds
     
  • The Mexican Revolution - President Woodrow Wilson sends troops into Mexico to pursue Pancho Villa, a General in the Mexican Revolution who attacked border towns.
     
  • Woodrow Wilson signs legislation creating the National Parks Service; later in 1916 he narrowly wins re-election
     
  • Russian mystic, Rasputin is murdered in St. Petersburg
     
  • The toggle light switch is in vented by William J. Newton and Morris Goldberg

Source: Wikipedia

Famous people born in 1916:

Walter Cronkite - American newscaster

Jackie Gleason - American comic actor and musician

Herb Caen - American journalist

Beverly Cleary - American author

Gregory Peck - American actor

Ferruccio Lamborghini - Italian auto manufacturer

Roald Dahl - Welsh born author

Kirk Douglas - American actor

Betty Grable - American actress

Source: Wikipedia

If you have a Chicago relative who will be celebrating 100 years soon, contact the local ward office or City Hall for an official congratulations. 

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Ukrainian American Veterans Way

Linda Zabors

Veterans Day

Honorary Ukrainian American Veterans Way dedicated in 2016

What a better way to celebrate veterans than to feature the honorary sign dedicated this year to Ukrainian American Veterans.  The Chicago organization of the UAV Post 32 hosted the 69th UAV National Convention in Chicago this year.  

The national Ukrainian American Veterans organization began in 1948 by veterans of WWI and WWII. It's membership includes honorably discharged American veterans of Ukrainian descent.  In 1998 it launched the UAV Registration Project, which aims to collect the names of Ukrainian Americans who served in the US Armed Forces. Volume one contains more than 3,000 names and stories.

The many Ukrainian immigrants from the 1880s settled in the Chicago neighborhood which came to be known as Ukrainian Village. 

* * * * 

Honorary Chicago has made a similar goal.  Since 2014 we have mapped the Chicago honorary street signs which are dedicated to veterans.  This Veterans Day marks the 3rd anniversary of the Honorary Chicago Veterans Map, which is an ongoing effort.

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categories profile, street
tags streets, Veterans, Honorary Street, Honorary Brown Sign, 2016, Ukraine

Dr. Sokoni T. Karanja Way

Linda Zabors

Sokoni Karanja means “A person from across the sea with knowledge” in Swahili. He founded the Centers for New Horizons in Chicago, a social service in the Bronzeville neighborhood to restore it as self-sufficient community with pride in its African and Black American history. He was inspired by Malcolm X, Julius Nyere, and the Black Metropolis of the 1920s. In the early 1970s he lived in and traveled around Tanzania building communities and schools. He was the Assistant Dean of Students at Brandeis University. He has been recognized as an expert in childhood and community development.

MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant
University of Chicago, Adlai Stevenson Fellow
Goldin Institute, Chicago Peace Fellow, Washington Park

Alumni:
Brandeis University, Urban Policy, PhD
University of Cincinnati, Master of Community Planning
Atlanta University, Master of Social Work
University of Denver, Master of Psychology
Washburn University
Ft. Scott Junior College
Topeka High School

Honorary Dr. Sokoni T. Karanja Way

 

East 42nd Street from South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to South Prairie Avenue


Approved: October 2016

Ward: 3
Alderman: Dowell
Neighborhood: Bronzeville

b. 1940 Lathan Johnson. Topeka, Kansas

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categories profile, street
tags streets, 2016, 3rd Ward, blm, Social Services, Honorary Street

Honorary Big Chicks Way

Linda Zabors

Michelle Fire is the owner of Big Chicks lounge and gallery in the Uptown neighborhood, and Tweet, the breakfast place next door. When she started, the space was an old-man’s bar frequented by the residents of nearby subsidized housing. When the artwork, entirely of women, went up the LGBTQ clientele started showing up to drink, eat, and dance. Big Chicks earned the reputation of being a very welcoming and accepting place for everyone. In recent years it has made the list of best neighborhood bars, best gay, and best lesbian bars. In 2018 it was featured in Bon Appetite.

Honorary Big Chicks Way

5000 block of North Sheridan Road

 

Approved: October 2016

Ward: 48
Alderman: Osterman
Neighborhood: Uptown

Source

YouTube playlist: Big Chicks. Honorary Chicago

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categories profile
tags streets, Honorary Street, Local Business, Drink, Women, LGBTQ

Bud Billiken Parade

Linda Zabors

by Bria - Honorary Chicago intern 2016

by Bria - Honorary Chicago intern 2016

BUD BILLIKEN’S 87th ANNUAL PARADE!!

August 13,2016 is the Saturday that you have to come out for! This is something absolutely worth seeing. I feel as though this particular parade is children based. It’s all about displaying why school is so vital to the youth. For 87 years the Bud Billiken Parade has brought the community together to uphold all types of things that are positively beneficial for the children. Being in one of the parades because I academically excelled in grammar school made me realize that events like this helps remind children that what they do in school does not go unnoticed. It is very entertaining. You see kids of all ages doing something that they worked very hard on. From choreographed dances to other things such drill teams, you won’t be upset that you attended.

This years theme for the parade is “Uniting the Community Through Education for 87 years” and the grand marshall is Katherine Y. Branch!

There is a new start time for the 2016 parade. It starts at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. Not an early person? Don’t sweat it! The Bud Billiken Parade is also televised! You can watch the whole parade in the comfort of your own bed with just a click of a button. Tune in to channel 7 (ABC 7 Chicago), Saturday morning and watch everything unfold.

 

History of the Bud Billiken Parade

The Chicago Defender is basically how this all started. It was founded by Robert Sengstacke Abbott on May 5, 1905. The point behind the Chicago Defender was to bring light to African American issues. In the year of 1921 the Chicago Defender Jr was produced. This was a section for children! The editor was a young man that goes by the name of Robert Watkins. He was known as Bud Billiken. This section also included an application to Bud Billiken Club. It was named after the Billiken, which is the guardian angel to children according to a chinese legend. In the year of 1929 that is when the parade was born. The main reason for including a parade was to give underprivileged youth to be in the spotlight for once. Let them know that they are important as well. From then on it has flourished into something huge!

 

 

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