Illinois State Society of Washington, DC

Illinois Hall of Fame: Gene Krupa

By Mark Rhoads

Gene Krupa's Polish-American mother was a hard-working hat-maker who was a devout Roman Catholic. She wanted Gene to study for the priesthood. He attended several parochial schools in Chicago and studied one year at St. Joseph's College, a prep school seminary in Rensselaer, Indiana. Instead, Gene wound up being one of the most exciting pioneer drummers of the age of Swing and Jazz.  He became known to millions by his professional moniker, "The Chicago Flash."

If there is one distinctive recording that comes to mind when people mention his name, it is without doubt one that was made during a high-energy live performance in January 1938 as part of Benny Goodman's historic jazz concert at Carneigie Hall in New York. Even listening to that recording of Sing Sing Sing today, a listener cannot help but feel the electricity in that hall 68 years ago.

According to legend, in the middle of the song Gene started to play the first extended drum solo in history as other musicians left the stage to leave Gene alone in the spotlight.  The solo seemed like an eternity but was really only a few very intense minutes of non-stop fast-paced tom toms.  Finally the musicians returned to an exhausted Gene Krupa just in time to blast away the final stanzas. The solo itself drew a sponaneous round of cheers and when the song finished the hall exploded with decibels never heard before in such a refined venue. Soon, audiences all over the country were demanding drum solos in every upbeat jazz song. Krupa had put jazz drummers on the map.

Gene Krupa was born in Chicago on January 5, 1909. He was the youngest of nine children born to Bartley and Ann Krupa. His father died when Gene was very young and all of the children went to work at least part-time before finishing grammar school. At age 11, Gene's brother Pete got him a job as a chore boy to wash windows and stack inventory at Brown's Music Store on the South Side. Gene tried out several instruments including the saxaphone but a set of drums was the cheapest. "They only cost me sixteen beans," said Gene.

By Mark Rhoads

Gene Krupa's Polish-American mother was a hard-working hat-maker who was a devout Roman Catholic. She wanted Gene to study for the priesthood. He attended several parochial schools in Chicago and studied one year at St. Joseph's College, a prep school seminary in Rensselaer, Indiana. Instead, Gene wound up being one of the most exciting pioneer drummers of the age of Swing and Jazz.  He became known to millions by his professional moniker, "The Chicago Flash."

If there is one distinctive recording that comes to mind when people mention his name, it is without doubt one that was made during a high-energy live performance in January 1938 as part of Benny Goodman's historic jazz concert at Carneigie Hall in New York. Even listening to that recording of Sing Sing Sing today, a listener cannot help but feel the electricity in that hall 68 years ago.

According to legend, in the middle of the song Gene started to play the first extended drum solo in history as other musicians left the stage to leave Gene alone in the spotlight.  The solo seemed like an eternity but was really only a few very intense minutes of non-stop fast-paced tom toms.  Finally the musicians returned to an exhausted Gene Krupa just in time to blast away the final stanzas. The solo itself drew a sponaneous round of cheers and when the song finished the hall exploded with decibels never heard before in such a refined venue. Soon, audiences all over the country were demanding drum solos in every upbeat jazz song. Krupa had put jazz drummers on the map.

Gene Krupa was born in Chicago on January 5, 1909. He was the youngest of nine children born to Bartley and Ann Krupa. His father died when Gene was very young and all of the children went to work at least part-time before finishing grammar school. At age 11, Gene's brother Pete got him a job as a chore boy to wash windows and stack inventory at Brown's Music Store on the South Side. Gene tried out several instruments including the saxaphone but a set of drums was the cheapest. "They only cost me sixteen beans," said Gene.

Illinois Hall of Fame: Frank Knox

By Mark Rhoads

Frank Knox was a Republican who was asked by a Democratic president to serve his country in a time of danger. Knox was the publisher of the Chicago Daily News starting in 1930. Under his leadership, the newspaper had a conservative and pro-Republican editorial policy.

In 1936, Republican Gov. Alf Landon of Kansas asked Frank Knox to be his running mate as the Vice Presidential nominee against the Democratic ticket of Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York and John Nance Garner of Texas. FDR won in a landslide. Landon and Knox carried only two states, Maine and Vermont.

But in 1940, FDR realized he needed to reach out to Republicans to build bipartisan support for his pro-British foreign policy and the lend-lease program whereby America would let Great Britain borrow surplus American ships to fight Nazi Germany.  This was not a neutral policy and FDR knew it and so did the Germans.  In a typically astute political move, FDR asked Knox, a nationally prominent Republican, to serve as Secretary of the Navy in his administration and the pro-British Knox agreed. He was on duty on the Sunday of the Pearl Habor attack on Dec. 7, 1941. Within days he was on his way to Hawaii on a fact-finding mission.

Illinois Hall of Fame: Josephine Baker

By Mark Rhoads

Josephine Baker was a dancer and singer who became famous as an American expatirate in France in the 1920s and 1930s.  It was also the time of the lost generation of American writers who lived there such as Ernest Hemingway from Oak Park, Illinois, Gertrude Stein, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Because there is much incorrect information about her life on internet sites, I need to state that most of this information and quotes come from either the Encyclopedia of World Biography, Second Edition or from the Black History Biographical Index of Thomson-Gale publications.  Far too many sources site her birthplace as St. Louis, Missoui. This is not correct and comes from careless researchers who apparently do not understand that East St. Louis is a separate city in Illinois on the east side of the Mississippi River and not a section of the Missouri city.  While this is a common mistake it is still careless and the fact that internet misinformation is so often duplicated makes the job of finding accurate information more challenging.

Josephine was born in a poor, Black slum in East St. Louis, Illinois, on June 3, 1906, to 21-year-old Carrie MacDonald. Her mother hoped to be a music hall dancer but made her living in 1906 taking in laundry to wash for neighbors. Josephine had a mixed ethnic heritage. She descended from Apalachee Indians and Black slaves in South Carolina. Her father was Eddie Carson, a vaudeville drummer, who had little contact with Josephine.

Illinois Hall of Fame: James B. Stockdale

By Mark Rhoads

Admiral James B. Stockdale was one of the most highly decorated officers in the history of the U.S. Navy and the only Navy officer of his rank ever to wear both flying wings and The Congressional Medal of Honor.

Stockdale was born on Dec. 23, 1923 at Galesburg Cottage Hospital. He grew up in Abingdon, Illinois in Knox County, a town of about 2,800 people 50 miles west of Peoria. His parents were Vernon and Mabel Stockdale.  Vernon was a self-made man who owned a farm and was Vice President of Abingdon Potteries where he supervised Italian artisans.  "Stock" as the senior Stockdale was known was a Navy veteran of the First World War.

In 1935, Stock took 11-year old James to hear a  commencement speech by Admiral Richard Byrd at Iowa Wesleyan College. Byrd was a world-famous hero like Charles Lindbergh in the 1930s for his exploits in Antarctica including the fact that led a crew that was first to fly over the South Pole in 1929. James was very impressed with Byrd and Byrd became a role model.  From that time, Stock decided that the U.S. Naval Academy would be a goal for James. 

Illinois Hall of Fame: Donald F. McHenry

By Mark Rhoads

Ambassador Donald F. McHenry is pictured at right on Jan. 19, 2001 as he received the "Outstanding Illinoisan Award" from the Illinois State Society of Washington, DC. He was the third person in the history of Illinois to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from September 1979 until January 1981. Just before his appointment he had served for two years from 1977 to 1979 as the U.S. Deputy Representative to the U.N. Security Council.

His two Illinois predecessors in the post of Ambassador the the U.N. were former Governor Aldai E. Stevenson, II of Bloomington who served from 1961 to 1965 and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Arthur J. Goldberg of Chicago who served from 1965 to 1968.

Don McHenry was born on Oct. 13, 1936 in East St. Louis, Illinois and grew up there attending local schools. He graduated in 1957 from Illinois State University at Normal and received an M.A. degree in International Affairs from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1959. He is the father of one son and two daughters.

Illinois Hall of Fame: The Marx Brothers

By Mark Rhoads

Sam and Minnie Marx moved their family from New York to Chicago in 1909.  In 1910 and 1911, Chicago City Directories list them in an apartment at 4649 South Calumet Avenue.

In 1912, they had moved to a large house at 4512 South Grand Boulevard (now called Martin Luther King Boulevard).  The house is still there.  After war was declared on April 6, 1917, the family moved to a farm south of La Grange described by Groucho as being north of Joliet Road (Route 66) and East of La Grange Road (locally called La Grange Road or Fifth Avenue in that era, or Route 45 or Manheim Road elsewhere). The area is now part of Countryside.

Apparently Sam and Minnie thought that "farmers" would be exempt from military draft if war came to America as it did in 1917. The boys were supposed to be in school and spent little time farming in any case.  But they spent a great deal of time playing hookey from school and taking the Chicago, Burlington, and Qunicy train to Chicago to attend White Sox and Cubs games and vaudeville matinees.  As it turned out, the latter activity was thier version of formal schooling for their profession in vaudeville.  They learned their craft from master vaudeville performers and writers.

By Mark Rhoads

Sam and Minnie Marx moved their family from New York to Chicago in 1909.  In 1910 and 1911, Chicago City Directories list them in an apartment at 4649 South Calumet Avenue.

In 1912, they had moved to a large house at 4512 South Grand Boulevard (now called Martin Luther King Boulevard).  The house is still there.  After war was declared on April 6, 1917, the family moved to a farm south of La Grange described by Groucho as being north of Joliet Road (Route 66) and East of La Grange Road (locally called La Grange Road or Fifth Avenue in that era, or Route 45 or Manheim Road elsewhere). The area is now part of Countryside.

Apparently Sam and Minnie thought that "farmers" would be exempt from military draft if war came to America as it did in 1917. The boys were supposed to be in school and spent little time farming in any case.  But they spent a great deal of time playing hookey from school and taking the Chicago, Burlington, and Qunicy train to Chicago to attend White Sox and Cubs games and vaudeville matinees.  As it turned out, the latter activity was thier version of formal schooling for their profession in vaudeville.  They learned their craft from master vaudeville performers and writers.

Illinois Hall of Fame: Bob Michel

By Mark Rhoads

Former Congressman Bob Michel (R-Peoria), served as Minority Leader of the U.S. House and Michel was also president of the Illinois State Society of Washington, DC from 1966 to 1967.

Bob Michel was born in Peoria on March 2, 1923 and attended Peoria public schools.  He served as a combat infantryman with the 39th Infantry Regiment in World War II from 1943 to 1945.  Michel saw service in England, France, Belgium, and Germany.  He was wounded by German machine gun fire and was awarded the Purple Heart, two Bronze Stars, and four battle stars.

Michel fought in the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes Forest on the German-Belgian border.  The bitter battle in severe winter weather raged from Dec. 16, 1944 to Jan. 25, 1945 and engaged more than 1,155,000 British, American, and German troops.  It was the largest single battle for 600,000 American soldiers since the combined Union and Confederate armies faced each other in 1863 at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Civil War. He was one of the veterans who returned in December 2004 for the 60th Anniversary Commemoration of that battle.

Bob Michel graduated from Bradley University in 1948.  In 1956 he ran for a seat in Congress previously held by his former boss, Rep. Harold Velde.  He served in the House for the next 38 years until his retirement in 1995.  As the House Minority Whip 1979-1985 and the House Minority Leader from 1985 to 1995, he worked closely with Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton on their legislative agendas.  In late 1994, the Illinois State Society planted a tree in honor of Bob Michel at the foot of Capitol Hill.  The tree had to be planted closer to the Senate side on Constitution Avenue due to the lack of sites on the House site.  In 2006, Bob Michel was working as a government affairs consultant for Hogan and Hartson in Washington, DC.

Bob Michel graduated from Bradley University in 1948.  In 1956 he ran for a seat in Congress previously held by his former boss, Rep. Harold Velde.  He served in the House for the next 38 years until his retirement in 1995.  As the House Minority Whip 1979-1985 and the House Minority Leader from 1985 to 1995, he worked closely with Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton on their legislative agendas.  In late 1994, the Illinois State Society planted a tree in honor of Bob Michel at the foot of Capitol Hill.  The tree had to be planted closer to the Senate side on Constitution Avenue due to the lack of sites on the House site.  In 2006, Bob Michel was working as a government affairs consultant for Hogan and Hartson in Washington, DC.

Illinois Hall of Fame: Dr. Mae Jemison

By Mark Rhoads

As a young girl growing up in Chicago, Mae Jemison loved to watch the original Star Trek TV series (1966-1969).  Mae says that her role model was actress Nichelle Nichols who grew up in Robbins, Illinois in south Cook County. Nichelle played the role of the communications officer on the Star Ship Enterprise, Lt. Uhura.  Nichelle started her career as a singer for the Duke Ellington Orchestra before she auditioned for Star Trek. Robbins was also the hometown of Janet Harmon Bragg, an aviation columnist for The Chicago Defender, who was the first African-American woman to earn a commercial pilot's license in 1943 to fly passengers and cargo.  And Janet's role model was aviation pioneer Bessie Coleman of Chicago who was the first African-American woman to earn an international pilot's license for a single-engine plane in 1921.

By Mark Rhoads

As a young girl growing up in Chicago, Mae Jemison loved to watch the original Star Trek TV series (1966-1969).  Mae says that her role model was actress Nichelle Nichols who grew up in Robbins, Illinois in south Cook County. Nichelle played the role of the communications officer on the Star Ship Enterprise, Lt. Uhura.  Nichelle started her career as a singer for the Duke Ellington Orchestra before she auditioned for Star Trek. Robbins was also the hometown of Janet Harmon Bragg, an aviation columnist for The Chicago Defender, who was the first African-American woman to earn a commercial pilot's license in 1943 to fly passengers and cargo.  And Janet's role model was aviation pioneer Bessie Coleman of Chicago who was the first African-American woman to earn an international pilot's license for a single-engine plane in 1921.

Illinois Hall of Fame: Clayton Moore

By Mark Rhoads

Some of you reading this who are old enough can close your eyes right now and hear the exciting music of The William Tell Overture at the start of a show introduced by an announcer who said, "Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, The Lone Ranger rides again!"  When the medium of black and white television was still new and rapidly growing from 1949 to 1957, Illinois-native actor Clayton Moore had a huge base of young fans across America for his role, adapted from radio, as The Lone Ranger on ABC-TV.  The role of The Lone Ranger was popular not only as an action adventure but also for the values of honesty and fair dealing that the former Texas Ranger stood for.

Clayton Moore was born on Sept. 14, 1914 in a home at 6254 N. Glenwood in the Edgewater neighborhood on Chicago's north side.  He attended Hayt Grammar School, Sullivan Junior High, and Senn High School.  He was the drum major at Sullivan and an accomplished gymnast and acrobat at Senn.  His family liked to engage in winter sports such as skiing, skating, and tobagganing in Palos Park.  In later life Moore attributed his happy childhood and foundation of midwestern values to his success on television, in movies, and in a second career of personal appearances on college campuses, in western shows, and in parades.

By Mark Rhoads

Some of you reading this who are old enough can close your eyes right now and hear the exciting music of The William Tell Overture at the start of a show introduced by an announcer who said, "Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, The Lone Ranger rides again!"  When the medium of black and white television was still new and rapidly growing from 1949 to 1957, Illinois-native actor Clayton Moore had a huge base of young fans across America for his role, adapted from radio, as The Lone Ranger on ABC-TV.  The role of The Lone Ranger was popular not only as an action adventure but also for the values of honesty and fair dealing that the former Texas Ranger stood for.

Clayton Moore was born on Sept. 14, 1914 in a home at 6254 N. Glenwood in the Edgewater neighborhood on Chicago's north side.  He attended Hayt Grammar School, Sullivan Junior High, and Senn High School.  He was the drum major at Sullivan and an accomplished gymnast and acrobat at Senn.  His family liked to engage in winter sports such as skiing, skating, and tobagganing in Palos Park.  In later life Moore attributed his happy childhood and foundation of midwestern values to his success on television, in movies, and in a second career of personal appearances on college campuses, in western shows, and in parades.

Illinois Hall of Fame: Daniel Burnham

By Mark Rhoads

Over a period of 150 years, Chicago has been a world-class leader for outstanding examples of architecutural innovation and urban planning.  The list of famous architects who have lived in Illinois and have done their most significant commissions in the state is a long one that includes William Le Baron Jenney, the father of the skycraper; Louis H. Sullivan and Dankmar Adler, leading lights of The Prairie School; the founder of landscape architecture Frederick Law Olmsted; Frank Lloyd Wright, a prolific designer who left more examples of his work in Illinois than in any other state; and Ludwig Mies Vander Roe, the designer of the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology.

By Mark Rhoads

Over a period of 150 years, Chicago has been a world-class leader for outstanding examples of architecutural innovation and urban planning.  The list of famous architects who have lived in Illinois and have done their most significant commissions in the state is a long one that includes William Le Baron Jenney, the father of the skycraper; Louis H. Sullivan and Dankmar Adler, leading lights of The Prairie School; the founder of landscape architecture Frederick Law Olmsted; Frank Lloyd Wright, a prolific designer who left more examples of his work in Illinois than in any other state; and Ludwig Mies Vander Roe, the designer of the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology.