John P. Walsh is an art historian, writer and photographer. He has an M.A. in Modern Art History, Theory and Criticism from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and taught Modern Art History at Northwestern University.
Follow his work @ http://johnpwalshblog.com/
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FEATURE Image: The many prayer intentions received at the National Shrine of St. Jude in Chicago are placed at the patron of hopeless cases’ devotional altar in the main sanctuary. These petitions are remembered at the National Shrine’s Masses and devotional prayers throughout the years. June 2018 80% 7.76mb DSC_9191. Author’s photograph.
The National Shrine of St. Jude at 3208 E. 91st Street on Chicago’s far southeast side at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish church was canonically established in 1929. Its official decree was promulgated on November 15, 1929, by Chicago Cardinal Archbishop George Mundelein (1872-1939). June 2018 88% 7.72mb DSC_9173. Author’s photograph.
The pastor of the church at the time was Fr. James Tort, a Claretian missionary, who had a deep personal devotion to St. Jude, patron of hopeless cases and those that are almost despaired of. The saint, not to be confused with the traitor, Judas Iscariot, is honored by the church universally as the saint who brings visible and speedy help in most dire circumstances. A portrait of the founder of the Claretians, Spanish priest and bishop, St. Anthony Mary Claret (1807-1870), is one of the artworks that greet visitors into the main sanctuary. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is over the main altar. The devotional altar to St. Jude is right of the main altar. The altar to St. Jude contains a major relic of the saint: a piece of his bone. June 2018 84% 7.78 DSC_9177. Author’s photograph.
The shrine altar to St. Jude (right). In the darkest days of the Great Depression, Father Tort petitioned St. Jude with a request to help complete the parish church building for the people. In gratitude for the granting of this great favor. Fr. Tort promised to never cease to honor the saint, a true blood relative of Jesus and Mary, by dedicating a shrine altar to him in the church and to do all in his power to spread devotion to him. June 2018 2.29mb DSC_9186 (1). Author’s photograph.
This is one of the stained-glass windows in Chicago’s St. Jude Shrine. It depicts Jude preaching in Persia. Tradition holds that Saint Jude preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya. He is also said to have visited Beirut. In addition to being patron of hopeless cases, Jude is patron of vegetarians. That Jude is portrayed holding an image of Jesus Christ has an interesting origin. During Jesus’s public ministry, a king had an incurable condition and was dying in Edessa. He sent a letter asking for Jesus to come. Instead of going himself, Jesus sent Jude. As Jude set out on this journey, Jesus pressed a cloth against His face, and when he gave it back to Jude, it had the Lord’s image on it. When St. Jude then went to the dying king in Edessa, and the king looked at the cloth with Christ’s miraculous impression, he was immediately healed. June 2018 6.47mbDSC_9184 (4). Author’s photograph.
In 1940 when entertainer Danny Thomas (1912-1991) came to Chicago to do radio commercials, he found early success doing stand-up comedy in nightclubs. When work was finished, often around dawn, Thomas went to 6 a.m. Mass at St. Clement Church. There Thomas learned about Chicago’s National Shrine of St. Jude on the far southeast side. A couple of years earlier, Thomas, starting out in show business in Detroit— and with his first child, Marlo Thomas, on the way— had dedicated himself to St. Jude as the patron of hopeless cases. Soon after visiting and praying at the Chicago shrine, Thomas was offered a stand-up comedy job in New York City at La Martinique at 57 West 57th Street. This job launched his entertainment career into the big time. Following World War II, Thomas was performing for $3,750 a week at New York’s Roxy Theater just off Times Square and was performing in nightclubs across the country as well as offered film roles. In 1953 he starred in his own television show, Make Room for Daddy (later, The Danny Thomas Show). The sitcom ran for 11 consecutive seasons and became more popular with each year. By 1957 it was the no.2 show on television and, when the sitcom ended in 1964, it was in the top ten. “Danny thomas kayrouz” by Hany raymond rahme is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Altar of St. Jude, The National Shrine of St. Jude in Chicago. St. Jude Thaddeus was one of Jesus’ 12 apostles and. legend has it, that it was Jude who was the groom at the wedding feast of Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle of turning water into wine (John, chapter 2). Matthew states that Jude was one of the “brothers” of Jesus usually interpreted as a blood cousin. St. Jude, pray for us! June 2018 73% 7.89mb DSC_9182. Author’s photograph.
FEATURE image: June 2018. 1964 Ford Futura Falcon. 4.54 mb DSC_0136 (1).
In 1960 Ford’s ad tag line for the Falcon was “the easiest car in the world to own.” In 1964, Falcon was included under Ford’s umbrella tag line of “The Total Performance Cars for 1964.” In 1960 Ford Motor played the industry’s high stakes profitability game with its new line of cars that included the new compact for the ordinary American — Ford General Manager Robert McNamara’s Falcon. Naysayers and even conventional wisdom said compact car manufacturing was next to unprofitable. But the Falcon was Ford’s biggest success in 1960 and in its entire history up to that time. In 1961 all the majors — Ford, Chevy and Plymouth — offered affordable compact cars for Americans to drive. Ford being the leader – they were there first, offered the lowest price, and had 2- and 4-door models — won the compact car marketplace battle definitively. When it comes to their cars Americans like tradition and from its powertrain to exterior and interior styling Falcon was all that.
June 2018. Ford Futura Falcon. 7.36mb DSC_0122.
In 1964 all of Ford’s models were given upgrades including under the hood, such as the 289 CID V8 engine for the Mustang and mid-sized cars. The renewal that year of all its models was so important that the entire Ford line was named “Car of the Year” by Motor Trend magazine. In 1964 Falcon received a major restyling that included an angular and modern appearance while retaining its original performance components. Falcon, along with the Fairlane, were big sellers comprising together more than a third of all Ford sales. But the biggest news in 1964 was the arrival of Ford’s brand-new pony car at the World’s Fair in New York: the Mustang. The sporty Mustang was an instant hit and had taken some of its enduring design inspiration from the Falcon in terms of its practicality.
Standard equipment on the 1964 Falcon included cloth and vinyl interior trim, front door arm rests, chrome windshield and chrome rear window moldings, and hub caps. The FUTURA Falcon added features such as deluxe interior trim, side window moldings, hood ornament, full-length side trim molding, and full wheel covers. Further upgrades on Futura included bucket seats. SQUIRE included wood-grain exterior trim, power tailgate window and carpeted floors. SPRINT added bucket seats, a console, sports steering wheel, tachometer and wire wheel covers. The Falcon ranged from the Falcon 2-door sedan with a base MSRP of $1,996 ($20,859.87 in today’s dollars) all the way up to the Falcon Sprint 2-door convertible with a base MSRP of $2,671 ($27,914.19 in today’s dollars). The average price for a new Ford Falcon in 1964 for the American consumer was $2,345 ($24,507.22 in today’s dollars).
SOURCES: J. “Kelly” Flory, Jr., American Cars, 1960 to 1965, McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 41-43; 269-70; 299-300.
Since the Great Depression years Chrysler Plymouth was the number three budget brand car in America following Ford and Chevrolet. By the1960’s that number three position had been held by General Motors’ Pontiac though Chrysler Plymouth reached that third position on occasion. In the 1970’s Plymouth would be overshadowed by Oldsmobile but in the late 1960’s that was a near future not yet revealed and, starting in 1968, Plymouth had a couple of incredible end-of-decade model years. In 1969 the two-door pony car Plymouth Barracuda (1964-1974) continued to have its own identity in the Chrysler line up and received only a modest makeover that year that included a new grill, interior trim and optional ‘Cuda 340 package. The mid-sized Belvedere (1954-1970) in its seventh generation and Satellite (1965-1974) in its second generation returned in 1969 with slight new treatments as did the compact Plymouth Valiant (1960-1976) in its third generation with a new grill and taillights. In 1969, after four years, The Plymouth Fury (1955/1959-1989) entered a fifth generation with a totally redesigned model line.
In 1969 Plymouth’s advertising tag line was Look what Plymouth’s up to now and it was the new Plymouth Road Runner that captured the car world’s imagination. A Plymouth first, Motor Trend magazine selected the 2-door convertible and 2-door coupe Road Runner as their 1969 Car of the Year. A powerful engine with a spartan trim level, the Road Runner muscle car was introduced by Chrysler in 1968. In 1969 Plymouth added a new Road Runner Convertible. Initially based on the lower-priced Plymouth Belvedere, the sporty Road Runner was a mid-size, performance-focused car designed to itself be a lower-priced option compared to the upscale Plymouth GTX or Pontiac GTO. In its heyday the Chrysler Plymouth Road Runner was the spartan alternative to the highly equipped Plymouth (Belvedere) GTX. All these Plymouth mid-sized models (along with the Satellite) were sold in 1969 with the tag line: The name of the game this year is “sport.” In 1969, the base price for a Plymouth Road Runner coupe was approximately $2,945 ($25,888 in 2025 dollars). The hardtop version listed for around $3,083 ($27,099) and the convertible model was $3,313 ($29,121). The mid-size Road Runner was introduced as a 2-door pillared coupe whose spare interior belied an exclusive “Roadrunner” 383 cu in B-series V8 engine with a 4-barrel Carter Carburetor and high-performance camshaft under the hood.
“Beep, Beep.”
Plymouth paid $50,000 to Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (about $465,500 today) to use the Road Runner name and likeness including the “beep, beep” horn sound that Plymouth developed for its customers with an investment of around $100,000 in today’s money. Produced from 1968 to 1980, the Road Runner was built on the mid-sized B-Platform for three generations. Like most muscle cars, in the 1970’s its performance capabilities declined — and, with it, sales — as the car industry was mandated to focus on fuel economy and emission standards. In 1976 the Road Runner nameplate became a trim and graphics package for the new Plymouth F-body compact two-door Volaré platform until discontinued in 1980. Having no special performance capability and with car manufacturers actively downsizing their lineups, the Volaré was discontinued on the same day in 1980 the Dodge Main Assembly plant in Detroit, Michigan, closed after being in continuous operation since 1911.
SOURCES: See – J. “Kelly” Flory, Jr., American Cars, 1966 to 1972, McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 297-303.
This explanatory article may be periodically updated.
Feature Image: May 2023. 1962 Corvette. Advertising in 1962 included the tag line: New power. New profile for America’s sports car! 4.20mb DSC_2074 (1). Author’s photograph.
While in 1962 Chevrolet was focused on its competition with Ford Motor Company in compact cars (Chevy Corvair; Chevy II), there was a big change in 1962 under the hood for the sporty Corvette. A 250 h.p,, 327-cid V8 engine came standard and was an option on full-sized Chevys as well. The engine was more powerful and weighed no more than its 283 predecessor on which it was built. The 327-cid V8 engine was so efficiently made that with fuel injection it increased to 375 horses under the hood.
The Corvette originated in 1953 and in its first generation introduced a new body for the 1956 model year that featured a revised front end and side coves that continued through the 1962 model year. The first generation Corvette was equipped with deep contoured bucket seats, deep pile carpeting, and complete instrumentation. In 1962 the two -door convertible Corvette listed for $4,038 ($43,129.18 in 2025 dollars).
May 2024. 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, 7.93mb DSC_5381
Since the 2020 model year the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is in its eighth generation. The sports car is assembled in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The 8th generation Corvette introduced GM’s first rear mid-engine since the Pontiac Fiero was discontinued in 1988. The engine has two radiators, one on each side in the front and offers an 8-speed dual-clutch automated transmission which is the first time Corvette offered a no manual transmission option since model year 1982 (third generation). The C8 features a new design from previous Corvettes with aluminum architecture, coil-over springs and more aggressive aerodynamics such as bigger air intakes and prominent side scoops. The base price for the 2023 1LT coupe was $65,595 and $70,795 to $73,095 for the 1LT convertible. – https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1136183_2023-chevy-corvette-price-increases-again-this-time-by-2-300– retrieved April 9, 2025.
September 2023. 1970 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. 87% 7.76mb.
In 1970 the advertising pitch line for the Corvette was People have the idea you can tell what cars of the future will be like looking at Chevrolet’s Corvette. They’re right. Well, the future is here and unfortunately cars on the road in 2025 don’t look much like this gem of classic sports car. Major standard equipment in the 1970 Corvette included all-vinyl bucket seats with full-length center floor console, complete instrumentation, Astro ventilation, removable roof panels on the coupe and manually operating folding top on the convertible, 4-wheel disc brakes and F70x 15 WSW tires and wheels with trim ring and ribbed center hub. In 1970 a Corvette 2-Door-Coupe set the customer back $5,192 ($43,228.48 in 2025 dollars).
September 2014. 1965 Corvette. 3.74 mb
From rubber to roof, still America’s true sports car. In a league all its own, the Corvette was in the midst of its second generation in 1965. It was the same year that saw the introduction of the popular Ford Mustang. There were only minor trim changes from the year before including tweaking the hood design, sill moldings and a new grille. For the $4,022 Base MRSP ($41,247.59 in 2025 dollars) major standard equipment included bucket seats, cockpit cluster console, walnut-like steering wheel, full carpeting, complete instrumentation, manually operating folding top and 6.70 x 15 BSW tires.
May 2022. 2016 Chevy Corvette. 7.92 mb 82%
The 2016 Corvette is 7th generation. By the 2000’s the 50 year old Corvette was increasingly viewed as a car purchased by the older buyer (55 years and up). Though in development since 2007, the Corvette 7th generation was delayed until the 2014 model to make the classic sports car more appealing to younger buyers including a design that kept production costs lower. The new generation Corvette in 2014 started using the “Stingray” name again which started in 1963 and was discontinued in 1976. Whereas the 1965 Corvette Stingray weighed less than 3,000 pounds (2,980) the C7 was almost 15% heavier at 3,444 pounds. For 2017 model year Chevrolet also re-introduced the Grand Sport (GS) model that cost $66,446 (87,570.36 in 2025 dollars). “2017 Corvette Grand Sport Priced at $66,445”. media.gm.com (Press release).
July 2025. 1998-2000 Chevy Corvette convertible 99% 7.63mb DSC_3802 (1)
SOURCES:
J. “Kelly” Flory, Jr., American Cars, 1960 to 1965, McFarland & Company, Inc. pps. 155-156; 352, 357-358; J. “Kelly” Flory, Jr., American Cars, 1966 to 1972, McFarland & Company, Inc. page 338.
This explanatory article may be periodically updated.
Wouldn’t you really rather have a Buick? 1971’s advertising tag line for this GM American automobile maker.
The GS 455 was an option to the base GS during the 1971 and 1972 model years. The GM A-body platform was the base for many iconic American cars including Buick. Approximately 81 GS 455 Stage 1 convertibles were produced for the model year. Just as manufacturers were producing some of the most desirable muscle cars of all time the U.S. government required unleaded gasoline that reduced these machines’ power (compression). Due to these government mandates starting for 1971, the advertised power of the car’s 455ci V8 with a single four-barrel carburetor and factory-rated 345 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque dropped variously at installation. The GS 455 engine was the same basic big-block that had been introduced in the 1970 model year. The Stage 2 version of the 455 did not go much further than Stage 1 and there was about the same number produced as Stage 1 though aftermarket did take things further. GS buyers could choose between automatic or manual transmission. The Turbo Hydra-matic had an option of column-mounted lever or full-length center console. Manual was a 3- or 4-speed floor-shift stick. The 1971 Buick GS 455 convertible is one of the rarest of Buick muscle cars. Major standard equipment exclusive to the GS included dual exhausts, functional hood air scoops, and heavy duty springs, shocks and stabilizer bar. In 1971, total GS 2-Door Convertible production was 902 vehicles with a base MRSP of $3,476 ($27,726.29 in 2025 dollars). In 2025 the Buick GS 455 had an average resale price of $52, 250.
May 2023. 1979-1981 Chevrolet Camaro, The name Z/28 was introduced by General Motors in December 1966. In 1967 to 1969, Chevrolet continued to improve the car’s list of engine and performance options. The year 1970 introduced Gen II in a new Camaro design. In 1982 the car was redesigned again marking Gen III. There have been more redesigns over the decades and Chevrolet has announced that Camaro production will end in 2024 – and the Z/28s with it. Among debates about classic muscle cars, none gets hotter than the Chevrolet Camaro versus the Ford Mustang. With the exception of the 6.6-liter Trans Am, the Z/28 represents the best Detroit had to offer in the early 1980s, and an excellent entry point. A great car with its own ups and downs as its model developments moved ahead, the Camaro Z/28 at the outset was known for its good looks and sleek, crisp styling. It hugged the road and moved fast with superb handling. By 1980, the standard wheel cover was matched by a rear deck spoiler and hood and deck stripes and, soon, a front spoiler to reduce drag. The 1980 models were the last that offered the quintessential muscle car power-train combination-a 350-cu.in. V-8 with four-speed transmission. The loaded Z in 1981 would cost around $12,000 (or $40,000 in 2023 dollars). The Z/28 was 197.6 inches long and rode on a 108-inch wheelbase. It stood at a height of 49.2 inches and was 74.5 inches wide. The body was all steel. 7.72 mb 66%.
June 2024. 2018 Chevrolet Camaro 2LT Coupe. 73% 7.83 mb 8246
June 2017. 2011(?) Chevrolet Camaro. 4.19 mb
April 2025. 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. The Chevrolet Camaro is a pony car that began production in model year 1967. It ceased production in model year 2002 in its fourth generation. By this fourth generation the iconic American car was produced starting in 1993 exclusively in Canada in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec. In 2009 the automobile manufacturer Chevrolet restarted its Camaro production in a fifth generation that was also built exclusively in Canada though production was shifted to Oshawa, Ontario. In 2009, right before the Obama administration demanded he resign for the company to receive federal funds, then-GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said about his Canadian-made car: “Camaro is much more than a car; it symbolizes America’s spirit and its love affair with the automobile.” The 2010 Camaro became the model’s best seller (81,299 units) since 1995 (122,738 units). The first half of the 2010s was a renaissance for Camaro though its heyday remained the late 1960’s and 1970’s. The 2010 Camaro was intentionally designed and produced along the lines of the 1969 model, and is almost identical to the car’s original concept. The original MSRP for a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro ranged from $22,680 ($33,187.71 in 2025) for the LS coupe to $33,945 ($49,671.82 in 2025) for the 2SS coupe.7.16mb DSC_8471
May 2018. 1998(?) Chevrolet Camaro SS. The Chevrolet Camaro SS model is equipped with a 6.2L LT1 V8 engine and offered as a 6-speed manual and 8-speed automatic. The SS is capable of 455 horsepower and 455 lb.-ft. of torque, performing a 0-60 in 4.0 seconds. 7.39 mb
May 2023. 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. 7.85mb 98%
This explanatory article may be periodically updated.
Feature Image: Flowers in a Vase and Flower Vase with Jewel, Coins, and Shells, both 1608, oil on copper, by Jan Brueghel the Elder and in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy.
Jan Brueghel the Elder (Flemish, 1568-1625) produced hundreds of paintings by his own hand and in collaboration with other master painters. His painterly skill ranged over an immense variety of subject matter including these innovative still life floral artworks of which the artist is seen as the founder of the genre. These flowers are not allegorical or imaginative accessories nor merely decorative but a stand-alone subject whose sole focus is the opportunity for a close observation of nature through the artistic lens. Brueghel’s pioneering still lifes show a bouquet bursting with a wide variety of colorful flowers seen from an elevated viewpoint that have been carefully delineated and are clearly visible. Born in Brussels in 1568, Jan Brueghel was the son of Pieter Brueghel the Elder (c. 1525–1530-1569) and younger brother of Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1638). Brothers Jan and Pieter were both sent to Antwerp to study oil painting. In 1568, at 20 years old, Jan Brueghel left Antwerp for Italy where he settled and worked in Naples and, by 1592, in Rome. In Rome Jan Brueghel worked for Cardinals Ascanio Colonna (1560-1608), Benedetto Giustiniani (1554-1621), Francesco Maria del Monte (1549-1627) and Federico Borromeo (1564-1631) who patronized Caravaggio and was the official “Cardinal Protector” of the Roman Accademia di San Luca, an artists’ association founded in 1593 by Federico Zuccari (1539-1609).
Ascanio Colonna (1560-1608). The cardinal enjoyed a reputation for eloquence and learning.Benedetto Giustiniani (1554-1621). The clergyman’s inventory at death included 280 paintings. Ottavio Leoni, Francesco Maria del Monte ((1549-1627) in 1616. Born in Venice of a Tuscan aristocratic family, Cardinal del Monte was an important connoisseur of the arts. Four centuries later his fame rests on his early patronage of Caravaggio and his art collection which provides detailed provenance for many important works of the period.
Federico Borromeo (1564-1631). About Flower Vase with Jewel, Coins, and Shells (discussed later below) by Jan Brueghel the Elder purchased for his Milano Ambrosiana, Cardinal Borromeo wrote in the Musaeum: “Brueghel painted a diamond on the lower part of the vase…: the author wanted to indicate that the value of his work was equal to that of the gems and this is the price we paid to the artist.”
FLOWERS IN A VASE, 1608, oil on copper, 43 × 30 cm by Jan Brueghel the Elder. Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy.
In a Römer glass vase, typical of Rhenish manufactures and often depicted in Northern European painting of this period, there are colorful blooms with tulips used to anchor his bouquet. The painting was likely the one mentioned by Brueghel in a letter dated June 13, 1608. The letter is evidence for the origin of the painting as well as that these Flemish artists, in dialogue with the Italian renaissance, practiced copying nature from life, frequently with a scientific precision. Brueghel, the younger son of Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1525-1569), was a close friend and frequent collaborator with Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Both Jan Brueghel and Rubens were the leading Flemish painters in Flemish Baroque painting of the first three decades of the 17th century.
Family of Jan Brueghel the Elder by Peter Paul Rubens. 1613-15. oil on panel, 125.1x 95,2 cm,The Courtauld Gallery, London. Jan Brueghel, painter and friend of Rubens, poses with his second wife, Catherina, and their two children, Peter and Elisabeth. Both children, along with their father, died during the cholera epidemic of 1625. see – https://gallerycollections.courtauld.ac.uk/object-p-1978-pg-362 – retrieved June 24, 2025.
The painting Flowers in a Vase is in the collection of the Ambrosian Art Gallery (Pinacoteca Ambrosiana) of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, Italy. It was in the possession of Cardinal Federico Borromeo, cousin to Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584), both cardinal archbishops of Milan.
Saint Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) was a cousin of Federico Borromeo. Both were cardinal archbishops of Milan, Italy. Proclaimed a saint in Rome in 1610, Charles was much loved in his diocese for his numerous good works and for his personal humility as well as a spirit of self-sacrifice that he showed during the plague of 1576 and 1577, Cardinal Borromeo was a great reformer and played an important role in the Council of Trent. There is a colossal statue of him outside Arona on Lake Maggiore. The so-called Sancarlone, it was based on a design by Giovanni Battista Crespi, known as “ il Cerano.” Its sculptors Siro Zanella and Bernardo Falconi made the copper parts to be assembled for a work that was completed in 1698. see – https://terreborromeo.it/en/about-us/history and https://www.statuasancarlo.it/la-statua/– retrieved June 24, 2025.
The colossus of St. Charles Borromeo (1698).
In May 1585 Federico earned a doctorate in theology at the University of Pavia and was sent to Rome where he was made a cardinal at 23 years old by Pope Sixtus V. Federico voted in the papal conclaves of 1590 (Urban VII, Gregory XIV), 1591 (Innocent IX), 1592 (Clement VIII), 1605 (Leo XI, Paul V) and 1623 (Urban VIII). He missed the 1621 conclave (Gregory XV). At the August 1623 papal conclave Cardinal Borromeo received 18 votes out of 54 votes but was opposed by the Spanish party, one of the church’s major factions. The church had to compromise with Urban VIII, a neutral candidate known as the first pope to actively campaign for votes.
In April 1618 Archbishop Federico Borromeo bequeathed Flowers in a Vase with his collection of paintings, drawing, and statues in his will to the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, which he founded on September 7, 1607 and opened on December 8, 1609. Conceived by the cardinal as a center for study and culture it was open to the public from the beginning. The library collections include over one million printed volumes (including thousands of incunabula and books dating from the 16th century), 40,000 manuscripts (including the celebrated Codex Atlanticus) in many languages, 12,000 drawings (including works by Raphael, Pisanello, and Leonardo), 22,000 engravings, and miscellanea including old maps and musical manuscripts. Along with the cardinal’s achievement, other institutions flourished beside it such as the Board of Fellows (Collegio dei Dottori, 1607), the Art Gallery (Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, 1618) and the Academy of Drawing for teaching painting, sculpture and architecture (Accademia del Disegno, 1620). The Pinacoteca Ambrosiana consists of some of the Italian Renaissance’s great masterpieces such as the Portrait of a Musician by Leonardo da Vinci, The Basket of Fruit by Caravaggio, the cartoon for the School of Athens by Raphael, the Adoration of the Magi by Titian, the Madonna of the Pavilion by Sandro Botticelli and the magnificent Flowers in a Vase by Jan Brueghel. The museum’s collection today includes paintings by 17th-century Lombard artists such as il Morazzone (1573–1626), Giulio Cesare Procaccini (1574–1625), Daniele Crespi (1598 – 1630) and Carlo Francesco Nuvolone (1608-1669) and 18th-century artists such as Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727-1804), Fra’ Galgario (1655-1743), and Francesco Londonio (1723-1783). Cardinal Federico Borromeo, who lived in Rome from 1586 to 1601, was not particularly interested in politics, but focused on classical and oriental scholarship and prayer. In the Counter-Reformation, the cardinal was a great propagator of the faith using religious art, but also was an avid collector of still life. Jan Brueghel the Elder, nicknamed “Velvet,” was a contemporary artist who was erudite and innovative – he invented new types of paintings such as flower garland paintings and paradise landscapes – and his art did not escape the cardinal’s cultivated eye. The Cardinal and young artist met in Rome where the Cardinal became his patron so that the artist took up residence in Cardinal Borromeo’s palazzo.
Cardinal Federico Borromeo by Giulio Cesare Procaccini (1574-1625), Museo diocesano di Milano. The Borromeos, a prominent Italian noble family, started as merchants around 1300 in San Miniato in the province of Pisa in Tuscany and became bankers in Milan after 1370.
When Borromeo became archbishop of Milan in June 1595, Brueghel followed him and became part of the Cardinal’s household. Cardinal Borromeo was a reformer in the sense of promoting discipline among the clergy, founding new parishes and schools, as the faith flourished in the 50 years since the Council of Trent completed in 1564. The archbishop was accessible to the flock. Under his leadership, Milan underwent both prosperity and significant cultural flourishing and renewed spiritual energy for a generation. Brueghel stayed with the Cardinal for a year where he painted landscapes and flower paintings and then returned to Antwerp where he lived and worked for the rest of his life. Also nicknamed “Flower” Brueghel, the artist’s flower pieces such as Flowers in a Vase, are dominated by floral arrangements placed against a neutral dark background. Brueghel repeated these motifs in his flower pieces and yet each work was imbued with its own singular freshness and vitality.
FLOWER VASE WITH JEWEL, COINS, AND SHELLS. 1608, oil on copper, 65 × 45 cm by Jan Brueghel the Elder. Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan, Italy.
A lush bouquet of flowers, executed by the artist for Cardinal Federico Borromeo (1564-1631), was innovative as a stand-alone bouquet painting of its kind. The subject is composed of around one hundred different species of flowers, some of which are very rare and of great value. In addition to its execution of profuse natural beauty, the picture expressed the nature of the early 17th century culture’s encyclopedic curiosity which extended, among leading collectors, into the natural sciences. It is known by way of a letter that Brueghel was working on the picture in 1606 after he had seen many of these flower varieties in the garden in Brussels of Albert VII, Archduke of Austria (1559-1621) and Isabella Clara Eugenia (1566-1633), who jointly ruled the Spanish Netherlands (1556-1714). The artist’s picture of these flowers was, in a scientific approach, intended to “portray them from nature.” Virtually nothing today remains of the Archdukes Albert and Isabella’s Palace of Codenberg in Brussels nor of their summer retreat at the Château of Mariemont (today’s Morlanwelz in Belgium) south of Brussels which was painted frequently by Jan Brueghel the Elder nor anything of their hunting lodge in nearby Tervuren east of Brussels. In 1633, at the death of Isabella, Albert (who died in 1621) and Isabella’s magnificent collections of art works, scientific instruments, naturalia and artificialia were scattered and much of it lost.
The Archdukes Albert and Isabella Visiting the Collection of Pierre Roose, c. 1621-1623, Jan Brueghel the Elder and Hieronymus Francken II, oil on panel, 37 × 48 ½ in. (94 × 123.19 cm). see – https://art.thewalters.org/object/37.2010/ – retrieved June 21, 2025.
Some of that magnificence was evoked in a picture from 1621-23 by Jan Brueghel the Elder with Hieronymus Francken II (1578-1623) called Albert and Isabella visiting an art gallery. The large format painting (around 3 feet by 4 feet) in the Walters Art Museum depicts a private gallery (or cabinet) of Pierre Roose in Brussels being visited by the Archdukes Albert and Isabella. It includes in a foreground corner an immense vase of flowers by Jan Brueghel and depicts how these collectors are as interested in natural botany and scientific instruments as they are of paintings and sculpture.
DETAIL of above: Isabella is seated, while her husband standing to her right and their host, Pierre Roose, behind.DETAIL of above:These collectors are as interested in natural botany and scientific instruments as they are of paintings and sculpture.
Following Albert’s death, Isabella continued to rule on behalf of her nephew Philip IV of Spain (1605-1665) though it was Albert and Isabella’s reign which marked the consolidation of Catholic rule in the Southern Netherlands following severe persecutions of Protestants that ended only in 1597. Though most Protestants had left the region, in 1609 an act of toleration was granted to the Protestants that remained though they could not publicly practice their religion. Conversely, Catholic religious orders like the Jesuits, Capuchins, and Discalced Carmelites received large cash grants and endowments by the wealthy governing elite which helped fund many of these religious groups’ ambitious building and artistic programs in Brussels and Antwerp. As a widow Isabella joined the Third Order of Franciscans until her death. Though despotic and kingly, these rulers have earned a well merited reputation in art history as patrons of the arts. A most notable example is that, in 1609, one year after the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana’s flower picture was created, the Archdukes, whose gardens inspired the work in Italy, appointed Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) as their court painter. Commenting on this flower artwork in Milan, Cardinal Borromeo wrote in the Musaeum: “Brueghel painted a diamond on the lower part of the vase…: the author wanted to indicate that the value of his work was equal to that of the gems and this is the price we paid to the artist.”
Bouquet in a Clay Vase, 1609, Jan Brueghel the Elder,oil on wood, 56 x 42 cm. The National Gallery, London. see – https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jan-brueghel-the-elder-bouquet-in-a-clay-vase – retrieved June 24, 2025. Jan Brueghel the Elder is considered the 17th century northern painter, active in the Low countries as well as Italy, who invented and mastered the genre of flower still life. While used at times as a decorative or allegorical element within a painting, there are major examples where the artist aesthetically assembled and presented an impressive bouquet from a high viewpoint based on scientific observation of rare garden species as the sole focus of the painting. Bouquet in a Clay Vase in The National Gallery in London is one such artwork.
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FEATURE Image: February 2018. Village “Art” Theatre, 1548-50 N. Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois 60610. The use of masks had been used in theatre since ancient times. They were usually tied to their dramatic source material and the inherent psychology of the characters. The Landmark Designation Report for the Village Theatre described this polychrome character head with musical instruments as “singing” in honor of the neighboring Germania Club, a German social club with its origins in men’s choral music. The head also wears a Baroque-style “wig” of oak leaves and acorns. In Germany, oak trees are revered, and acorns are a symbol of good luck. A decorative keystone on the theater’s round-arched window also has an acorn ornament. 88% 7.94mb DSC_4799 Author’s photograph.
Designed by architect Adolphe Woerner (born Stuttgart, Germany 1851- 1926), the Village (Art) Theatre opened as the Germania Theatre on July 29, 1916 and closed in its 91st year in March 2007. The building was erected by German-born Frank Schoeninger exclusively as a movie theater for $75,000 (about $2.2 million in 2025) and leased for an annual $7,000 rent (about $205,000 today) to Herman L. Gumbiner (Germany, 1879- 1952, Santa Monica, Calif.) in a 10-year contract with his company, The Villas Amusement Company (later Gumbiner Theatrical Enterprises). By 1910, buildings erected solely for the purpose to showcase motion pictures were becoming increasingly popular as the appetite to consume the latest silent motion pictures out of Hollywood was booming everywhere. These neighborhood movie houses, larger than dingy storefront nickelodeons and yet smaller than flamboyantly ornate vaudeville theatres, had movie “palace” touches while fitted conveniently into Chicago’s many local commercial strips. Nearly all of these first-generation movie theaters in Chicago have been demolished or remodeled for other purposes including those larger-scale theaters developed by major theater operators such as Balaban and Katz, Lubliner and Trinz, and the Marks Brothers. While those palatial theatres could hold between 2,000 and 4,000 movie-goers the Village Theatre, one of the last and best first generation movie houses to survive for so long, originally held 1,000 spectators. Originally named the Germania Theater because it was next door to the Germania Club, it looked to attract affluent club members to its flicks.
The Germania Theatre was built in 1916 on Frank Schoeninger’s open land pictured above between the Germania Club (completed in 1889) and his tavern and hotel on the corner of Clark Street and North Avenue. In 1986 the Germania Club, citing the dwindling numbers of members, finally disbanded. Public Domain.
Herman Gumbinger was a major film exhibitor who was busy in Chicago building his independent theatre chain in the 1910’s, with several new movie house projects and acquisitions throughout the city’s northside primarily. After building Chicago’s first independent movie house chain in the teens, Gumbinger relocated to Los Angeles, California, in 1921 where he built the famous Los Angeles Theatre in the Broadway Historic Theatre District of Downtown L.A. Erected at a cost of over $1.5 million ($31 million today) and designed by renowned movie theatre architect S. Charles Lee (1899-1990) Gumbinger’s theatre premiered Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights. Gumbinger Theatrical Enterprises finally dissolved in 1943.
Herman Gumbinger (1879-1956), c. 1924, built Chicago’s first independent movie chain, including what became the Village Art Theatre. By the end of the 1920s, Chicago had more than thirty of these movie palace theaters. Among its holdings, Herman Gubinger and his brothers operated the New Blaine which was renamed and is today the Music Box Theatre. Public Domain.
The Germania was one of the first-generation movie theatres built at the intersection of three Chicago neighborhoods – Gold Coast to the south and east, Old Town to the north and west and Lincoln Park to the north. An architectural mix of styles including Classical Revival (triangle pediments, pilasters and cornice with dentils fashioned in terra cotta) and Renaissance Revival (rusticated exterior and round-arched windows with keystones), the movie house also incorporated Germanic symbolism in its details reflecting the area’s then prominent ethnic group. During World War One, in a wave of anti-German sentiment, The Germania Club renamed itself the Lincoln Club. It changed its name back in 1921. The Germania Theatre changed its name to the Parkside and never looked back. In 1931 until 1962 it was known as the Gold Coast theatre. Meanwhile, prohibition closed down Frank Schoeninger’s tavern and he left for Wisconsin. In the 1960’s the theatre was updated and renamed the Globe Theatre. In 1967 the building was renamed the Village Theatre after it survived being demolished by the nearby Sandburg Village development.
Sandburg Village is a Chicago urban renewal project consisting of eight high-rise buildings, a mid-rise building and 60 townhomes and artists’ lofts. The development was first occupied In 1963 and completed in 1971. In the early 1960’s the Village Theatre was to be incorporated into the project until its landowner refused to sell. PHOTO: “20190323 08 Carl Sandburg Village (49490506022)” by David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA is licensed under CC BY 2.0.February 2018. The Village Theatre in the last days before its demolition. Its marquee from the 1960’s has been removed. The Village Theatre sat across the street from Latin School of Chicago at North and Clark Streets in Gold Coast/Old Town. In its Landmark Designation Report, the Village Theatre façade is described as having “a symmetrical arrangement, with a central theater entrance and separate entrances to the upstairs offices at opposite ends of the building. Each upper-story entrance has a deeply-recessed alcove lined with brick and white, carved-wood panels. A limestone slab step, inset with hexagonal tiles, is inside each alcove. Each alcove is framed with white terra cotta and brick pilasters on a base of gray terra cotta, made to imitate granite. The pilasters are topped with a triangular, white terra-cotta pediment.” 70% 7.93 mb DSC_4797. Author’s photograph.
The original two-story façade of red pressed brick and white beige glazed terra cotta decoration competed with a sizeable modern marquee that was removed before its demolition in 2018. Since after college I lived in Chicago for about 15 years, I recall seeing several films here. The ones I can remember seeing at the Village Theatre were Wall Street, House of Games, Fatal Attraction, Russia House, Michael Collins, and The Red Violin, among others of that period. In early 1991 the interior of the theater was divided into four screens and I didn’t stop going to movies there but just not as frequently as I did before. In April 2018, the Village Theatre and neighboring buildings along North Avenue were completely demolished to make way for construction of a condominium building. The ornate Clark Street frontage was stabilized as everything else crumbled to dust around it. The façade was repurposed to serve as the entrance for the new condo development known as Fifteen Fifty on the Park with units priced at opening at $1.625 to $5.85 million.
There had been at least three marquees for the Village Theatre: the original vertical Germania sign that was taken down almost as soon as it went up owing to anti-German sentiment in World War I; a horizontal, awning-style marquee like the one at the Biograph Theater (1914) at 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue in Chicago that was put up in conjunction with its existence as the Gold Coast theatre; and this prow-shaped marquee (pictured above) with steel-and glass doors believed to be part of the mid 1960s modifications when the movie house was the “Globe.” PHOTO: “Germania (Parkside, Gold Coast, Globe, Village) Theatre, Chicago, IL” by BWChicago is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.The Village Theatre took the moniker Village Art Theatre after The Chicago International Film Festival used the Village Theatre as a venue to screen “art house” films starting in 1969. PHOTO: “Village Art Theatre” by BWChicago is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.The rear of the 102-year-old Village Theatre before its impending destruction in 2018. “Germania (Parkside, Gold Coast, Globe, Village) Theatre, Chicago, IL” by BWChicago is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.October 2018. Author’s collection.
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Feature Image: The statue of Ronald Reagan by American sculptor Donald L. Reed in DIxon, Illinois, was dedicated on August 14, 2009. It is based on a photograph of Reagan when he visited Dixon in 1950 and rode a horse in a parade through its streets.On a pedestal, the statue itself is nine feet high.This statue called Begins the Trail is the first of a series that includes a life-sized statue for the Reagan Foundation at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, called Along the Trail. These artworks capture Reagan’s rugged amiable nature and his natural ability throughout life when riding. see – https://www.cowboysindians.com/2016/02/ronald-reagan-rides-again/ – retrieved April 13, 2025. 4.37mb DSC_0785. Author’s photograph.
June 2017. Considered the heart of Dixon, the memorial arch has been a landmark since the 1920s. The original arch was built in 1919 and made out of beaver board and wood. It was built to celebrate the return of Dixon’s soldiers after World War I. A new arch was constructed in 1949 out of wood. It was replaced in 1966 when Galena Avenue was widened. In 1985 the arch was replaced with a fiberglass one with the letters from the 1966 arch. In 2024 it went through a major restoration. See – https://www.wifr.com/2024/06/04/dixons-iconic-memorial-arch-facing-repairs/ – retrieved February 28, 2025. 4.76mb DSC_0797. Author’s photograph.
June 2017. 1967 AH-1F Cobra Attack Helicopter Gunship issued to First Calvary Divisions Aviation Group. This helicopter arrived in Vietnam in March 1967. After 1142 hours combat flown, the helicopter was damaged on July 27, 1969 because of a weapons malfunction. At 1792 hours flown it was shot down on February 6, 1970 by heavy enemy ground fire while providing armed escort to medivac helicopters with both crewmen wounded. On April 15, 1970, at 1954 hours flown, it was damaged while providing direct fire support to infantry. On July 13, 1970 it was shot down by small arms fire while providing escort at 2092 hours. At 2471 hours, on January 19, 1971, it was severely damaged by gunfire while providing direct escort protection to ground troops. On July 6, 1971 it was damaged by heavy ground fire on an armed escort mission at 2745 hours flown. 5.41mb DSC_0822. Author’s photograph.
June 2017. Honor Guard on Ronald Reagan’s death day. Reagan Boyhood Home, Dixon, Illinois. 3.12mb DSC_0751. Author’s photograph.
June 2017. Reagan was a lifeguard at Lowell Park from 1926 to 1932. The original 200-acre public park opened in 1907 and began Dixon’s park system with its objective of preserving scenic beauty and establishing civic beautification. From the outset, Lowell Park attracted large numbers of people to its location along the Rock River. The valley of the Rock River in this area contains bluffs and unique rock outcroppings that create a natural beauty. Over 100 years later, Lowell Park has maintained its distinctive scenic and natural recreational resources for public use. 4.13mb DSC_0845. Author’s photograph.
June 2017. Lowell Park predated the development of state parks in areas of outstanding natural attractions by many years. Lowell Park is the only public place in the Dixon area that preserves remnants of the Boles Trail from Peoria, Illinois to Galena, Illinois. The trail was established in 1826 that was preceded and superceded by the famous Kellogg Trail established in 1825 east of the Boles Trail route. See – https://historyillinois.org/boles-trail-the/ – retrieved March 3, 2025. 5.73mb DSC_0918. Author’s photograph.
“Lowell Park Dixon, Illinois” by Kepper66 is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Lowell Park, Dixon’s first recreational park, was gifted in 1906 by Carlotta Lowell who was the niece of James Russell Lowell (1819-1891), a famous Boston (Cambridge) poet. The family came west on the invitation of Alexander Charters, a wealthy New York businessman, who purchased a large wooded estate overlooking the river north of Dixon in 1837 and named it Hazelwood. His home later became the estate of Mr. & Mrs. Charles R. Walgreen, founder of the drug store chain that bears that name. Charles Lowell. a guest at Hazelwood, purchased the adjacent tract of land to live. Lowell married Josephine Shaw, also originally of Boston, but then of Staten Island in New York. When the Civil War broke out, Charles enlisted and was promoted to the rank of colonel and was killed in 1864 at the Battle of Cedar Creek in northern Virginia. Carlotta never knew her father as she was born after his death and the family never lived on their land in Dixon. In 1874, they moved to New York City and stayed there the rest of their lives. After her mother died, Carlotta offered the property in 1906 to the City of Dixon for a park in memory of her parents.
June 2017. Reagan as U.S. president visiting the Rock River in Lowell Park where he was an effective and beloved lifeguard for seven consecutive summers. In July 1921 a longer dock had been installed at the beach, extending 75 feet into the river with a springboard platform. The new bathhouse was built in 1922 that accommodated hundreds of bathers. Also in 1922 electricity was installed at the park and lighting allowed the beach to remain open until after dark. Over those summers, Reagan saved 77 swimmers from drowning. Obviously proud of this achievement, President Reagan often showed his Oval Office visitors a picture of the Rock River while telling them that his lifeguarding there was “one of the best jobs I ever had.” 5.11mb DSC_0780. Author’s photograph.
June 2017. The original 200 acres of Lowell Park opened to the public in 1907. The park was designed by the Olmsted Brothers, a nationally prominent architecture firm headed by the sons of Frederick Law Olmsted. Lowell Park was designed in the American Romantic style which is characterized by its emphasis on natural scenery, native plant materials, native building materials, curvilinear roads, and minimum formality. In 1959 the beach was finally closed after ten years of declining usage due to the opening of Memorial Pool in Vaile Park in the city of Dixon. The Lowell Park bathhouse was used for storage though its concession stand continued to operate until the late 1980s. 5.73mb DSC_0879. Author’s photograph.
June 2017. Rock River at Lowell Park is still the hub for recreational activities as it has been for over a century. 5.25mb DSC_0901. Author’s photograph.
President Reagan on his lifeguard years in Dixon: “One of the Best Jobs I Ever Had.”
Ronald Reagan as a lifeguard at Lowell Park in 1927. Public Domain.
June 2017. In 1921 bus service from Dixon to the park started. This diving top was anchored to the river bottom during its swimming hole glory days when Reagan was lifeguard. Swimmers teetered, spun and jumped into the water during those hot Illinois summers which Reagan knew and loved so well. The one-story bathhouse behind it was designed and built in 1922. When Reagan was a lifeguard the building served as the concession stand and the check area for clothing baskets. Under a hipped roof, the men’s wing was to the south and women’s wing out of sight to the west. The architect of the bathhouse is unknown. Native stone was used from the ground to the height of the concession building’s serving counters and for the foundations of the two wings. Above that the walls were stucco on the exterior. All stone work was coursed and roughly squared. It was ventilated by raising the hinged board covers of the screened window openings. The steel-supported roof was covered originally with black-blue slate shingles that were replaced in 1934 with asphalt shingles. The overhang is broad with exposed rafters. 5.38mb DSC_0896 Author’s photograph.
June 2017. Lowell Park, Dixon, Illinois. 3.53mb DSC_0877
June 2017. Lowell Park signage. DSC_0882 Author’s photograph.
Ronald Reagan in Dixon, Illinois, in the early 1920’s. Public Domain.
June 2017. The Reagans settled in this rented house at 816 S. Hennepin Avenue in Dixon, Illinois, on December 6, 1920. The family of father Jack, mother Nelle, and 12-year-old Neil and 9-year-old Ronald lived here three years. From 1921 to 1924, Neil and Ron attended South Side/Central School, the school building still standing four blocks north of the house is now the Dixon Historic Center. Reagan walked along Hennepin Avenue often going to downtown and back to the Dixon Public Library at 221 South Hennepin Avenue and the First Christian Church at 123 South Hennepin Avenue where Neil and Ron were baptized on June 1, 1922. Nelle taught Sunday school and sang in the church choir. Ronald and his mother were members of the Disciples of Christ church until 1937. From 1924 to 1930, the Reagans lived in a rented house at 338 W. Everett Street. After Reagan began attending Eureka College in September 1928, he lived in that house in Dixon when he was home from college. 5.93mb DSC_0774. Author’s photograph.
Reagan 1920s with family. Ronald Reagan sitting (hand on chin in front row) posing with other family members, Neil Reagan at far right (front row), Jack Reagan (middle row at left), Nelle Reagan (last row, second from left), Illinois. Public Domain.
Ronald Reagan sitting (hand on chin in front row) with other golf caddies for the Lincoln Highway Ladies Golf Tournament in 1922 in DeKalb, Illinois. Public Domain.
Reagan (second row, left) in 4th grade in Tampico, Illinois. Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois, on February 6, 1911 in a second-floor apartment at 111 Main Street and, until 1914, at 104 W. Glassburn Street. Afterwards the family moved in sequence to Chicago, Galesburg, and Monmouth until they returned to Tampico in 1919-1920 and ultimately to Dixon in early December 1920. Reagan’s father was an alcoholic and they moved around a lot. As a young man Reagan became a lifesaver. Public Domain.
June 2017. Inside the Reagan Boyhood Home, Dixon, Illinois. 4.90mb DSC_0778 (1)
June 2017. The M60 tank is designed as one of the main assault vehicles of an Armor/Mechanized Infantry/ Infantry Division. It weighs about 105,000 pounds unloaded and has a 64,000 pound payload. The tank can travel at top speeds of 30 m.p.h. and can travel nearly 300 miles. 6.41 mb DSC_0827. Author’s photograph.
June 2017. Republic F-105D Thunderchief (serial #60-455) was a new aircraft that served the U.S. Air Force from 1958 to 1984. This specific aircraft fought in Vietnam between 1968 and 1970. It was stationed at Takhli Airforce Base in Thailand with the 355 Tactical Fighter Wing that was established in April 1962 at George AFB in California and transferred to Thailand in 1965. This F-105D Thunderbird was one of 833 airplanes manufactured by Republic in Farmingdale, New York, with over half the fleet lost in combat or due to mechanical failures. With 610 built, this particular warbird was the definitive production model with all-weather capability because of advanced avionics, including AN/APN-131 navigational (Doppler) radar. This aircraft was retired with almost 6000 flying hours and two men who had flown it receiving the Medal of Honor. The plane’s maximum range is 2390 miles at a maximum ceiling of 48,500 feet and reached speeds of supersonic Mach 2 (1,534 m.p.h.) at over 36,000 feet. In addition to a Vulcan Gatling Gun the plane’s payload includes 750-pound conventional bombs (16 of them) or one nuclear bomb. 7.05mb DSC_0831. Author’s photograph.
June 2017. Capt. A. Lincoln, 16th president of the U.S., looking onto the Rock River in Dixon, Illinois, This 1930 statue by Leonard Crunelle (1872-1944) Reagan would have seen and known while living in Dixon. Young Lincoln enlisted in the Illinois Volunteers on April 21, 1832 and, following more enlistments, finally mustered out of military service on July 10, 1832. Across the Rock River is the modern Reagan statue. 8.26 mb DSC_0803. Author’s photograph.
June 2017. Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) lived in Dixon, Illinois from 1920 to 1933. Reagan always referred to Dixon as his “hometown.” Reagan made several visits to Dixon after he lived there – even as the 40th U.S. President where he visited places presented in this post and with family, friends and old acquaintances. The statue is on the banks of the Rock River which is the same waterway where Reagan saved 77 lives as a lifeguard at Lowell Park. 4.37mb DSC_0785 Author’s photograph.
June 2017. It was after Reagan’s death in 2004 that local donors commissioned and paid for this larger-than-life-sized statue of Dutch Reagan on a palomino horse and gifted it to the City of Dixon. It was dedicated to the eradication of Alzheimer’s that was a foe that President Reagan had to battle in last years. 3.38mb DSC_0783. Author’s photograph.
Reagan in DIxon in the early 1920’s. Public Domain.
In 1982, President Reagan told the Eureka College audience, “Everything that has been good in my life began here.”
September 2016. On campus at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois. The college, affiliated with the Disciples of Christ of which Ronald Reagan was a member, was founded in 1855 and is about 90 miles south of Dixon, where Reagan lived. My photo shows Burrus Dickinson Hall built in 1858. At the time of its founding Eureka was one of a handful of U.S. colleges that was co-ed. In 1856 Abraham Lincoln spoke on campus. Ronald Reagan is the only U.S. president who was born, grew up and received his education in the state of Illinois. After he graduated Reagan returned for campus visits at least a dozen times and served on the board of trustees. Reagan attended Eureka College from 1928 to June 10, 1932, when he graduated as the elected student body president with a degree in economics/sociology. Eureka College is the smallest college or university in American history to graduate a future U.S. president with a bachelor’s degree. The school is in Woodford County in Illinois. 3.87 mb
On May 9, 1982, President Reagan announced the START treaty proposal in the Reagan Gym at Eureka’s commencement exercises. It resulted in a bilateral treaty signed in 1991 between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. on the reduction and the limitation of strategic offensive arms including nuclear warheads and intercontinental ballistic missiles and heavy bombers.
September 2016. Part of the Berlin Wall. Eureka College. 2.40mb DSC_0493 (3)
Portrait of Ronald Reagan in 1934 the year after he left Dixon for a career as a public personality in Hollywood, California as a famous film actor and Screen Actors Guild president and in Washington, D.C., as 40th President of the United States of America (1981-1989). But to Dixon, Illinois, Reagan would always return with its fond memories. Of Dixon the Gipper once said: “It was the place I really found myself.” Reagan graduated from Eureka College, a liberal arts school affiliated with the Disciples of Christ, in 1932 where he was active in sports and drama and elected its student body president. Reagan’s first job was as a sports radio broadcaster in Davenport, Iowa, for Big Ten football games. Afterwards he was a sports announcer for Chicago Cubs’ baseball games on WHO-AM in Des Moines. Reagan arrived in Hollywood in 1937 and was cast in his first feature film “Love is on the Air” for Warner Bros. that same year where he gets to play a newscaster. Fair use.
Ronald Reagan made his screen debut in this 1937 movie as a crusading radio reporter who takes on civic corruption.
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Reagan giving a speech in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ on September 1, 1980. On a personal note I met Ronald Reagan at the Palmer House in Chicago in June 1980. He was ingratiating and had movie star looks: tall and handsome. Reagan was elected the 40th U.S. president in a landslide over Jimmy Carter in November 1980 and re-elected in 1984. I later met Jimmy Carter in the 1990’s. Fair Use. Reagan Library – https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/2021-08/E24-1_0.jpg?KN9FfhLcWyx9eRcpUu744qKrRtzZnsV6= – retrieved March 4, 2025.June 2017. Author and wife at Reagan Boyhood Home, Dixon, Illinois. 5.49 mb DSC_0776 (1)June 2017. The Ronald Reagan Trail (IL-26) is a route in Illinois that follows sites of interest associated with the 40th president of the United States who was born in Tampico, Illinois and grew up in Dixon, Illinois. Route 26 originally ran north-to-south for about 25 miles from Freeport, Illinois to Polo, Illinois. In 1937, IL-26 was extended about 15 miles north to the Illinois-Wisconsin state line and about 15 miles south to Dixon, Illinois. In 1969, IL-26 was extended almost 100 miles from Dixon south to East Peoria, Illinois. 3.20mb DSC_0734 (2). Author’s photograph.June 2017. Rock River at Lowell Park, Dixon, Illinois. 4.93 mb DSC_0865 (1). Author’s photograph.
