Tag Archives: Lake Michigan,

The Hana Chronicles: Month 9, Day 23

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Posted by on in children, Community, Education, Family, Historical, Personal Values, Social, Travel

October 14, 2026- Hana passed another mini-milestone today. She decided to walk up the stairs. She did so, twice: Up to the mezzanine and back down, with me providing support and control; all the way up, with her father doing the honours. The second time, she drawled into my bedroom, looked around and went back out. We still won’t need a gate, until she is actually walking on her own. That, however, looks to be a matter of weeks-not months. Good thing we already have the gates on hand.

She is sleeping more independently and no longer wants to be rocked to sleep. When she is tired and in need of a nap, she will come up to whoever is minding her and put her head against their chest. She is then carried to the crib and will curl up to sleep.

This evening at dinner, Hana talked a lot, in between bites of food and “bantered” with her father. We can pretty much decipher what she’s saying by watching her body language. She also points at the object of her attention, usually so we can explain its use.

HANA’S NOTE- I am curious about a little box that is plugged in. Papa says it measures something called carbon monoxide, which he says can hurt of kill someone. I guess I won’t be touching that box.

EXPANDING CIRCLES: Illinois- I have sauntered back and forth through the Land of Lincoln about 25 times-first in a van going from St. Louis to Columbus, in 1972, and just about every time I’ve since traveled between Arizona and Massachusetts. Chicago has been a a major point on many of those journeys, especially when I’ve stopped in at the Baha’i House of Worship, in Wilmette, about forty minutes’ drive from the Loop.

The turf- Illinois figures prominently as a part of the Mississippi River Valley, from Galena in the far north to Cairo, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. The state is mostly prairie in the northern and central regions. Southern Illinois has some uplands and is more forested. Illinois is drained by the Mississippi, Ohio, Illinois, Rock, Des Plaines, Kankakee, Kaskaskia, Sangamon and Wabash Rivers, along with their tributaries. Lake Michigan forms Illinois’ northeastern boundary.

First Nations- Illinois is the ancestral home of the Illini, Ojibwe, Sauk & Fox, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Kaskaskia, Miami, Shawnee and Iroquois people. The Mound Builders culture was prominent in Illinois, from 1700 BC to about 1200 AD/CE. The preserved mounds at Cahokia are the largest and most prominent burial mounds of the Mississippian Culture. Other preserved mounds may be found at Rockford, Galena, Albany, East Dubuque,and Quincy.

Conflicts between Native peoples and white settlers/U.S. Army occurred in Illinois from about 1802 until 1832, when Black Hawk’s War concluded with the Battle of Bad Axe, at the junction of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, then all considered the Northwest Territory. Illinois provided militia men for the Army during this conflict. One of them was a young Abraham Lincoln, whose attitude towards First Nations people was not helped by his experience in the war. Today, the Prairie Band of the Potawatomi Nation has a reservation near the town of Kansas, Il. Many Native peoples also live in Chicago as well.

Where I most feel at home- Wilmette, Chicago (Wrigleyville) , Normal, Lake Forest, Effingham, Vandalia, Dixon, Cairo

Where I most feel at peace- Wilmette, Cahokia, Ferne Clyffe, New Salem

NEXT- Missouri

The Hana Chronicles: Month 9, Day 21

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Posted by on in children, Community, Education, Family, Historical, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 12, 2026- Hana holds her own. When her Dad needles her about something he thinks should be obvious, she talks right back. She then gives him a knowing smile. This is something I noticed, over the years, from both my mother and my wife. Nothing gets past an attentive lady.

We got in a morning walk, and spent the rest of the day indoors, as AUGtober has returned for a few days and I don’t take Hana outside if the temperature clears 90F. More seasonal temperatures are forecast, from Thursday onward. Hana was happy to walk around the first floor several times, stopping here and there to take in a book she had overlooked or to savour the softness and scent of one of her mother’s blankets, or to visit Yunhee in her office.

HANA’ NOTE- I like to go in my mommy’s office, except when Papa says she looks busy. It’s okay, when she looks up and calls me to come in.

EXPANDING CIRCLES: Wisconsin- I have been through the Badger State, solo. four times, each time when traveling between Illinois and Minnesota. The basic decency of the people and the serenity of countryside have cemented fond impressions of the state. I was quite impressed with the layout of Madison and the State Capitol, in particular. On my second visit, in 1987, the three of us were welcomed to a Christmas dinner in Milwaukee. Our only other visit as a family was in the course of passing from South Dakota towards Michigan. We stopped briefly in Wisconsin Dells.

The turf- All of Wisconsin, save a section of the southwest, was covered by glaciers, in the lat Ice Age. The state’s prime recreational feature on land is the Ice Age Trail, which follows the glacial moraines. The west is generally upland, as is the north, except for a coastal plain along Lake Superior. There is a Central Plain and the eastern part of Wisconsin is upland (along Lake Michigan).

Wisconsin is drained by the Mississippi, Chippewa, Wisconsin, Rock, Black, Milwaukee and Fox Rivers, along with their tributaries. It is bounded by Lakes Superior and Michigan, along with the latter’s large inlet: Green Bay. Lake Winnebago is a large glacial lake in south central Wisconsin.

First Nations- Wisconsin is the ancestral home of the Ojibwe, Dakota Sioux,Pottawatomi,Winnebago(Ho-Chunk), Menominee, Fox & Sauk peoples. In time, the European settlement of neighbouring regions pushed the Cheyenne, Huron, Illini, Stockbridge-Munsee, and Oneida peoples into Wisconsin as well. In 1804, a treaty was signed between the Governor of Indiana, who controlled Illinois and Wisconsin at the time, and the chiefs of the Sac and Fox tribes. In 1820, lead was discovered on Sac and Fox land, and settlers moved in to take advantage of that mineral. When Sac Chief Black Hawk and his men returned from a winter hunt, in 1829, they found settlers living on their land. This sparked the Black Hawk War, which ran from 1830-1832. The Battle of Bad Axe (1832) was the major battle fought in Wisconsin during that was. It was a major defeat for Black Hawk and his forces, largely because of Dakota and Menominee warriors fighting on the side of the U.S. Army. Several hundred Sac & Fox warriors, along with their tribal allies, were killed in the battle. Black Hawk and his ally, White Cloud, eventually surrendered to the U.S. Army in August, 1832, at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.

In 1975, Menominee in northern Wisconsin were angered by the termination of their tribal status, by the Federal government. Militants took over a semi-abandoned property in Gresham, known as the Alexian Brothers Novitiate. The Menominee Warrior Society and members of the American Indian Movement at first tok the caretaker and his family hostage, then released them. A group of white vigilantes tried to storm the Novitiate, but the Wisconsin National Guard was deployed to keep the peace. Some shots were fired by both the Gresham whites and the Menominee, but in the end, the commander of the National Guard negotiated a truce, the Menominee leaders were arrested, tried and convicted. The property was purchased by the Tribe for $1, but was relinquished after the Tribe was re-instated as Federally-recognized. in December, 1975. (This incident drew the presence and support of the actor Marlon Brando).

Where I feel most at home- Milwaukee, Madison, Hudson, Mauston

Where I feel most at peace- Capitol grounds, Madison

Future Five- Apostle Islands, Door Peninsula, Ice Age Trail, Kenosha, Peshtigo Memorial

NEXT-Iowa