Nylons for Christmas! WWII shortage created a rush for hosiery in 1945
All they wanted for Christmas was nylon stockings. Women cheered the end of World War II in the late summer of 1945, and then they hit the department stores. At...
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Flashback: Chester Weger and the long murder investigation at Starved Rock
On March 14, 1960, three suburban Riverside women set off on a day hike at Starved Rock State Park. When they failed to return to the lodge by the next...
Messages from Aleppo: ‘We are still here’
The nearly six-year Syrian war has intensified in recent days, as Syrian government and Russian forces supporting President Bashar Assad are overtaking rebel forces in Aleppo. Tens of thousands of...
Welcome to your new job, Mr. Trump! A note from HR
Donald Trump will start his first job as a government employee on Jan. 20. For human resources professionals working with the White House, this must be an "on-boarding" experience like...
The nasty won’t end on Nov. 8. Women will keep the focus on sexism.
In less than three weeks, either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will be elected president of the United States — and if it feels like we've already heard enough about...
Raise glass to barmaids of World War II — the first female mixologists
Call it the shattering of the martini glass ceiling — that moment when bar and tavern owners decided that a woman could pour a pint or mix a Manhattan as...
9/11 in Africa was a world away
News of the 9/11 attacks came slowly in the Zambian bush — though I did listen to it unfold live, on my short-wave radio. I was a Peace Corps volunteer...
Why I won’t use Uber (or Lyft)
I live in Chicago and I won't use Uber or Lyft. Crazy? Here's why I'll remain a holdout and keep using taxis. In part, it's because I can. As a...
To zoo or not to zoo?
Boo to zoos? After the unfortunate shooting death of a gorilla named Harambe at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Gardens — a necessary action taken to protect a young boy...
Women fought for humane treatment of Chicago’s dogs, cats, horses
"Three hundred dogs whined and shivered and shivered and whined in the freezing temperature of the pens in the city dog pound yesterday," a Tribune reporter wrote in a Nov....