Paper description Madame Lili Kraus was the top Mozart pianist in the world and one of the top playing Schubert's piano repertory in the 1930s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Her career was interrupted in the 1940s during her second world tour when she and her family were imprisoned by the Japanese in Jave for over two years. Lili's love of music and her incredible musical memory sustained her through that difficult time. This is a history of Lili, the performer, master teacher, and author's lifelong friend. Her...

Paper description The author detailed the travels of the Van Valkenburg family as they emigrated from Canada to a small Iowa town in the mid-1800’s. We learned particularly of the exploits and achievements of the 17 year old Catherine Van Valkenburg, a dynamic young woman who blazed many trails herself.) Upon arriving in Lee County, Iowa, from Canada West in 1846, the family of Joseph and Margaret Van Valkenburg was enmeshed in criss-crossing and interwoven ropes of voluntary and forced migrations, only two...

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The titles, summary descriptions and commentary are supplied by the author / presenter of the papers, and by members of the Winnetka Fortnightly.

Paper description Jane Clarke provided a fascinating story of the history and development of Chicago’s Lakefront, as it changed, as her title described, “From the Town Dump to Millennium Park.” The conversation after the paper continued for quite some time. Chicago was ruled by Mayor Richard M. Daley for many years, a period notorious for corruption and cronyism. However, as time passes, those memories will fade and Daley will be known as the mayor who initiated and watched over the development of Millennium...

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The titles, summary descriptions and commentary are supplied by the author / presenter of the papers, and by members of the Winnetka Fortnightly.

Paper description The subject is forgery in the world of art. Greed, vengeance, and thrills have motivated forgeries for thousands of years. The author covers the subject of detection, from technology to the gut feeling of a connoisseur and tells the stories of John Myatt and John Drewe, English forgers caught in 2005. Drew took advantage of the phenomenon, that at times documentation was more important than the work itself. She adds other stories: the forged Gospel of Mark at the University of Chicago, the...

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Biographies: The pleasure and limitations of the genre. The author owns well over 100 of them. She explores reasons people read and write biographies (they might be in them),what might biographers project of themselves onto their subjects, and what part does coincidence play in writing biographies.

Scope and Contents From the Series:

The titles, summary descriptions and commentary are supplied by the author / presenter of the papers, and by members of the Winnetka Fortnightly.

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The story of a very large canvas, painted in 1866 for a Kentucky competition to render a full length portrait of Henry Clay. How this painting lost in the competition and how it over a period of 143 years gradually deteriorated until it was rescued in 2007 and hangs since 2009 fully restored in the U.S, Capitol in Washington, DC. It was not until the questions and answers after she read her paper that the author modestly acknowledged her own role in this story.

Paper description Biography and Chicago History: Liliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts was a direct descendant of John Harris Kinzie (father of Chicago/first President). The author traces the connection with biographies of Kinzie and of many of the interesting family members. Descriptions and names: Fort Dearborn, early Chicago history, John Kinzie, Eleanor Lytle Kinzie, General Henry Harrison, Tecumseh, Black Partridge, Juliette Magill Kinzie, Nellie Kinzie (Eleanor Lytle Kinzie), William (Willy)...

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Description of history and various adventures experienced during a trip to Turkey (by the author and her husband, "disguised" in the story as Kate and William) that took place in the fall of 1960, when the country was still developing into a modern society.

Paper description Growing up in Nebraska presents unique challenges, at least when you choose to live your adult live elsewhere. The state does not have a reputation as being a particularly sophisticated or interesting place. In an effort to avoid the pity and sad looks from her friends and acquaintances, the author recalls a story from her early teen years in Nebraska, a true event that happened to her, to impress them and help them realize she is not a county bumpkin. In recalling the event, the author...

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The author's Rhode Island family goes to Alaska seeking gold in 1900. Her father is born in April, 1901. The author combines family stories and history.

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Travel and the Silk Road: The author traveled the silk road with the Textile Society of the Art Institute from Xian West to Kashgar on the border of Afghanistan. She tells the long history of the Silk Road and some of her adventures.

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Humorous fiction: Barbara, her family, and maid elaborately prepare for a visit from a well to do, long lost relative, who turns out to be the opposite of her reputation. Eye-popping family revelations ensue.

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Memoir: The author's move from Chicago and the family's Winnetka home of 30 years. The transition reminds her of another transition in the family: the story of the loss of a favorite collie pet at a time when the children were out of high school and half home/half at school or working.

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Fiction/Mystery: A 30 year old mystery involving a small town in Missouri, a visitor, a devastating house fire, a young woman and a young man.

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The author's great Uncle (1712-1776), several generations removed, is honored in Westminster Abbey with a plaque. He was a British merchant turned philanthropist (among the earliest in the history of England), was of note. He built homes for old sailors, orphans, and prostitutes. An interesting character who also brought the umbrella to London from Persia. (Note: the first use of the word philanthropist was about 1736).

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Biography: People are unfamiliar with the accomplishments of Alexander Von Humboldt (1769-1859) even though a street in Winnetka, a park and school in Chicago, eight U.S. cities, an ocean current, a species of penguin, a skunk, and a lily all are named after him. Humboldt was a Prussian naturalist, geographer, and explorer. He traveled over 24,000 miles in south America. He is responsible for many discoveries later advanced by others.

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The story of artist Frieda Chalo [Frida Kahlo] and muralist Diego Riviera: their relationship, lives as artists in the U.S. and Mexico, and Ms. Chalo's [Kahlo's] life.

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An essay on bird watching and ornithology. It is both a personal story of the author's long happy marriage to a birder and a wider perspective on the role of birds in the history, arts, and natural sciences of the Western World.

Paper description Myths, legends, and folk tales of Ireland: history of and some told in the author's voice. The author writes about storytelling in Ireland: The stories in Ireland were orally passed on long after Christianity came to Ireland and the Christian monks began to write them down in the scriptoriums of the monasteries that dotted the country. In Ireland the superstitions and pagan ceremonies did not die when Christianity arrived. The two beliefs existed side by side. Christianity was accepted...

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The author reviews Parts I (the origins of science) and II (the Scientific Revolution, Galileo and Enlightenment). Part III addresses Evolution, Darwin, and modern religion, especially Creationism/Intelligent Design.

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The writer, an American, tells of her privilege to return as an 18 year old, to her ancestral region in France. Through her stay with family members there, she hears about the relationship between the American and French sides of the family during WWII, and learns to enjoy the humor and loving nature of these family members across the Atlantic she had never before known.

Scope and Contents From the Series:

The titles, summary descriptions and commentary are supplied by the author / presenter of the papers, and by members of the Winnetka Fortnightly.