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Family Stories2023-06-14T10:40:40+00:00

Featured family stories

The Riots & Rockets Book Launch At The Cliff Dwellers

On March 22, 2024, family and friends, and a host of Members of The Cliff Dwellers, gathered at the Club to celebrate the publication on Amazon of Riots & Rockets, William J. Bowe's memoir of his Army days during the riotous 1960s and '70s, Chicago politics in the 1970s, and his lawyering life dealing with collectors' plates and foundations, the newswire service United Press International, and Encyclopaedia Britannica in the Digital Age.

The Riboud Family during World War II

After the German Army entered Paris on June 21, 1940, the Riboud family fled occupied France for Baltimore, Maryland, Nancy Riboud's childhood home in the United States. Nancy first left for Portugal with her young daughters Chesley and Betsy, and her infant daughter Olivia. Nancy's husband Jacques soon followed, meeting them in Serta, Portugal before sailing on the SS Excalibur for New York.

1981 Julie Anne Bowe Thompson (1931-1981)

Julie Anne Bowe Thompson was the daughter of Augustine Joseph Bowe and Julia Leonie Lecour Bowe. She was born in 1931, three years after her only sibling John Edward Bowe was born. As a young child she often navigated her Chicago block with John in a stroller he had recently outgrown.

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Appendix 2 – The Building of Britannica Online

The Building of Britannica Online By Robert McHenry Former Editor-in-Chief, Encyclopaedia Britannica Introduction Had someone back about 1985 phrased his question, wittingly or not, “Has the Britannica been digitized yet?” the answer would have been “Yes, and in fact [...]

Family Films

  • Christine Holbo on Hamlin Garland's Chicago

    Hamlin Garland’s Chicago

    Hamlin Garland's Chicago                                          Hamlin Garland's Chicago About Christine Holbo: With a Ph.D. from Stanford University, Christine Holbo studies American literature from the [...]

  • Hamlin Garland, Founder of The Cliff Dwellers

    Hamlin Garland – Founder of The Cliff Dwellers

    Hamlin Garland (September 14, 1860 - March 4, 1940) Winner of the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for A Daughter of the Middle Border Hamlin Garland & The Cliff Dwellers Chicago in Hamlin Garland's Time Garland and [...]

  • Laura Ferri on Hamlin Garland, the Verist Writer of the Middle Border

    Hamlin Garland – The “Veritist” Writer of the Middle Border

    Hamlin Garland - "Veritist" Writer of the Middle Border and Its Main Travelled Roads by Laura Ferri About Laura Ferri: Laura Ferri has been involved in the promotion and study of Canadian culture and literature for several decades, formerly [...]

  • Jesse Raber-Hamlin Garland's Place in American Literature

    Hamlin Garland’s Place in American Literature

    Remarks of Jesse Raber on Hamlin Garland's Place in American Literature Although he isn't its best-known name today, I would argue that nobody was more important in theorizing and giving shape to the late 19th and early 20th century literary movement known [...]

  • William J. Bowe at the Hamlin Garland Induction into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame

    Hamlin Garland & The Cliff Dwellers

    Remarks of William J. Bowe Representing The Cliff Dwellers at the Induction of Hamlin Garland into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Chicago History Museum April 16, 2024 Not long after 32-year-old Hamlin Garland arrived in Chicago in 1892, he had met [...]

  • Austin Lynch Climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa

    Austin Lynch Climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro

    Austin Lynch Climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro Editor's Note: In February 2025, Austin Lynch did few others have an inclination to do. He flew to Africa and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. He was the only Chicagoan in a group of hardy adventurers that [...]

  • Yulia Lipmanovich above Millennium Park Beethoven Moonlight Cliff Dwellers

    Yulia Lipmanovich Plays Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” above Millennium Park

    Yulia Lipmanovich Plays Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata above Millennium Park Editor's Note: Yulia Lipmanovich is a Russian-born concert pianist and piano teacher. Her musical education came in part from Van Cliburn's teacher, who later brought her from Israel to study at the Julliard [...]

  • Elise Paschen

    Celebrating the Poet Elise Paschen

    Celebrating the Poet Elise Paschen                      Elise Paschen Editor's Note: Elise Paschen is an Honorary Member of The Cliff Dwellers, an enrolled member of the Osage Nation, an important Chicago writer, [...]

  • Patrick-Whalen-10

    A Brief History of Ireland with Pat Whalen — from the Ice Age to the Present

    A Brief History of Ireland Patrick Whalen Editor's Note: In March 2025, to kick off  The Cliff Dwellers Irish Celebration, Members gathered for a buffet dinner which, not surprisingly, included corned beef and cabbage. There followed an evening of [...]

  • 1784-1871 Ft. Dearborn to the Chicago Fire

    Vintage Chicago 1784-1871 - From Ft. Dearborn to the Great Chicago Fire Editor's Note: In the early 1960s, in the aftermath of the failed attempt to save Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan's Garrick Theater building from the wrecking ball, my father's [...]

  • Rick Frendt

    The 2025 Scottish Poet Robert Burns Supper with Rick Frendt, Bagpipes, Haggis, Readings and Music

    The Robert Burns Supper in 2025 with Rick Frendt  Gerry Labedz Toasts the Haggis  Editor's Note: Above you will find the video of emcee Rick Frendt's introduction to the evening celebrating the Scottish poet Robert Burns. [...]

  • Sarah Lynch Wernstedt

    Sarah Lynch Talks about Her Family and Career

    Sarah Lynch on Her Family and Career 2020 Jane Fonda with Sarah Lynch          DC Climate  Change Protest Editor's Note: For some time, I had been looking forward to checking in with my cousin, Sarah [...]

  • 4/26/2024 WMD Chef Victor Perez's Farewell Party, The Cliff Dwellers, 200 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL Bill Drennan, Chicago, IL 2024

    The Cliff Dwellers Honors Long Time Secretary Bill Drennan

    The Cliff Dwellers Honors William Drennan Editor's Note: It was no surprise to me when a former President of The Cliff Dwellers, Kristine Fallon, organized a lunch to honor long-time Club Member Bill Drennan. The gathering was prompted by Drennan's recent [...]

  • Prof. John Lynch

    Prof. John Gibbons Lynch, Jr.’s Interview with Bill Bowe

    Prof. John Gibbons Lynch, Jr.'s Interview with Bill Bowe Editor's Note: On November 1, 2024, both John Lynch and I took a needed break from the cascade of political advertisements raining down upon us in the week before the highly contentious presidential [...]

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