Though frequently referred to as “little Chicago” by folks from Illinois, the “Cream City” (so called for the hue of the local brick) has a distinct culture and identity. A case in point, Milwaukee water fountains are called “bubblers”.   And the local NPR radio series answering listener questions in Chicago called “Curious City” (on WBEZ) in Milwaukee entitled “Bubbler Talk” on WUWM.  The origins of this odd term and public radio series offers an interesting dive into Milwauke history. Read More

That’s right, “Milwaukee or Bust”.  So, while not literally driving a beat-up Model-T cross-country for the promise land, echoing back to 1930s Dust Bowl days, the metaphor helps dramatize my move and internal travails to find a new home.  Temporarily living in “God’s Country” (as my cousin’s refer to Wisconsin) shifted my mindset, which has evolved over the past couple months as a post-pandemic, 50s-something. My June blogpost “Exit Chicago” detailed uprooting myself from Chicago to try out Wisconsin while still buzzing back to the city one-day a week for appointments with Back to Natural Health and catch friends.    Read More

In creating a podcast on Chicago history, co-host Christopher Lynch and I have discovered quite a few place and street names with origins reaching deep into the city’s past, often going back to Native American people and languages.  These fascinating tidbits were sprinkled into the podcast to spice up our storytelling. This adventure began by learning about the word Chicago, or as the French recorded the Algonquin pronunciation “Chicagoua” which means “skunk,” and was also used to identify the wild onion growing in the area known as ramps, and detailed in the first episode of the podcast.  Read More