Paper description An Analysis of the Experience of Twelve Catholics, 1950-1990. This paper investigates the intersection of faith, memory and culture. Through interviews with twelve men and women who grew up in St. Ignatius parish, a Jesuit parish on the north side of Chicago, in the 1950's, the author attempts to evoke the memory of that experience, to examine how experience of being a Catholic and the "transmission of faith" have changed, and finally, to report on how that faith has been sustained over the...

Paper description An account of two ladies who married into the Adams family. Louis Johnson Adams (1776-1852) was the wife of John Quincy Adams. She was born in England where she met and married John Quincy. She went with him on diplomatic missions and supported him in the positions he held in Washington, and eventually the White House. Clover Hooper Adams (1843-1885) was the wife of Henry Adams, the historian. She came from a wealthy and proper Bostonian family. She took her own life and is remembered for...

Paper description An account of the campaign to save the church named Shrine of Christ the King Sovereign Priest located in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago. Originally known as St. Clara and dedicated in 1927, the church's architect, Henry Schlacks, designed it in the Renaissance Revival style. The church history highlights neighborhood change, dwindling numbers in the congregation, building crises, and trends in the Catholic Church and its politics. The author's daughter successfully leads the campaign...

Paper description Three tales summarized. 1. Stone Still Girls is the story of a summer camp hike to the top of a bluff to watch the sun rise over the Colorado landscape. It is memorable for beauty and for the morning's surprise encounter with wildlife. 2. Two Travelers is the story of the Fortnightly author attending the presentation of another author (but famous). The authors' surprising differences lead to surprising connections. 3. Fried Eggs is a story of family routine and stability, that one morning is...

Paper description

The story of Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), an Englishman of wealth and privilege, who had a significant role in the development of botany and the natural sciences, and the expansion of the English empire in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Paper description

One individual’s story of how growing up overseas with exposure to multiple cultures impacts Third Culture Kids in every aspect of their lives and forever changes how they interact with others, interpret the world, and operate within a unique frame of reference, often difficult for others to understand.

Paper description

An updated history of The Winnetka Fortnightly on the occasion of its first 100 years. The author draws on the prior histories by Katherine Dummer Fischer in 1953 and Eleanor Hohnson in 1987, and then updates the story to 2021.

Paper description

This paper describes the author's experience as Foreman of the Grand Jury that indicted John Hinckley who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981.

Paper description The Mexican state of Tejas was wrested from Mexico by Anglo-American immigrants who became Mexican citizens but refused to honor the oaths they swore as grantees of Mexican land. A new centralist regime for Mexico led the Anglo Texians to mount and win the Texas Revolution in 1835-1836. The resultant Republic of Texas boasted of its sovereignty for a decade, then became a state in the United States of America—the fifteenth slave state—in December 1845. The divisive issues of slavery and the...

Paper description

Description of the writer’s process of learning about a Spanish language school in Nicaragua, and her preparation of family members before her departure. She relates her month’s education and stay in Esteli a city in the midst of a guerrilla war conducted by Contra rebels and funded to a great extent by the United States. It ends with her delight at being home and interesting family members in joining groups she later led to the region.

Paper description This paper is dedicated to my daughter and grandsons. My daughter asked me to write my story so that her children would experience my thinking. It was initially a challenging assignment, but eventually became a lesson in exploration, the discovery of the genesis in childhood of a later, sometimes complex, adult response to the world. Highlights from the author's childhood from ages 4-10 are described. It is hoped that this is the beginning of a fuller description of the author's life from...

Paper description

A summary of several online courses taken during the pandemic focusing on aspects of Egyptology, including reading Hieroglyphic, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb.

Paper description This paper details the author’s education in certain matters relating to sex, including: the meaning and evolution of LGBTQ designations and definitions, and the concept of Gay Pride; the transitions of certain public figures to a different gender than was assigned to them at birth, including gender affirming health care, and the public response; matters of gender and gender identity, including recognition in other cultures of non-binary gender designations; and a brief exposition about the...

Paper description

This paper discusses the history of the US highway system in relation to the opening of the US West and the development of Route 66. It gives a brief road trip through all eight states--Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. In each state, it mentions a well-known attraction or motel such as Cadilla Ranch in Texas and the Blue Swallow Motel in New Mexico.

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.

Paper description

From the ancient astronomers to contemporary scientists, our sky is a mystery to be solved. Today's Hubble and Webb space telescopes are teaching us that the Universe is constantly changing and expanding. We are seeing how stars, planets and galaxies are born, grow and die. This brings us increasingly closer to the Universe's origin, the Big Bang.

Paper description

This paper concerns the Art of the Ancient Near East and the notable characteristic use of hybrid animals in visual art from the earliest millennia through the Middle Ages. Art motives were shared over a wide geographical area through trade in luxury articles. Meanings of image changed over time according to their context.

Paper description Inspired by the author's haunting real-life coincidence, this fictional story is a close 3rd person account of the tragic life of protagonist Marie Rybicky, a Polish-born nanny living in suburban Chicago. Marie's quirky habits and behaviors are told in careful detail, with vivid visual images, putting readers on edge as the get drawn into the heart-breaking events that forced Marie to go on the lam. Escaping her sordid past brought on by well-intentioned care and feeding of the adored...