I met Marshall Brodien for the first time last summer. I called his home, told him about the magic exhibition we’re developing at the Museum, and he immediately invited me to come for a visit. Of course, I went. And while it was great to finally meet him, somehow I felt like I’d known him all my life.

Today, Marshall and his wife and assistant, Mary, live in Geneva, Illinois, and still perform periodically. Courtesy of Marshall Brodien.

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Minnesota Historical Society Staff.  The 1968 Project:  A Nation Coming of Age. St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press (2011).

President’s Commentary: This blog post lays down a marker: In 2014 the Chicago History Museum intends to present the intriguing exhibition that is connected with this book.  Reading the book and visiting the exhibition will bring back memories to those of us who lived through that tumultuous year.  The book’s month-by-month presentation captures the dramatic pace of political and social change.  The exhibition was prepared by the Minnesota Historical Society and it is includes material from the Chicago History Museum.

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In 1803, the first residents of Fort Dearborn had a large garrison vegetable garden. It was, of course, cultivated out of necessity. Settlers had to grow their own food as they were unable to rely on provisions shipped west by very primitive methods. Gardening was essential to their survival, but it was also a source of burgeoning community. Early Chicagoans banded together to put down roots and survive in an unfamiliar new climate.

Captain John Whistler’s 1808 plan of Fort Dearborn, including the designated area of the community’s garden in the foreground. iCHI-37865

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