History blog from Pat Camalliere Books- For Halloween: The Ghosts of the Quarries! October 26, 2023Halloween is almost here! A good time to rell you about the Ghosts of the Quarries! Ghost hunters sometimes describe a phenomenon called the “stone tape theory.” The theory proposes that certain rocks have the ability to imprint—or “record” —energy … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- Submarines on the Chicago Sanitary Canal – No kidding! September 18, 2023My last post revealed some amazing information about the building of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. If you missed that post, you can read it here: The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal | Pat Camalliere – The Cora Tozzi … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal August 6, 2023In last month’s blog, I spoke about the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and its tremendous importance to not only the Chicago area and Illinois, but to the opening to settlement of the entire United States west of … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- Illinois and Michigan Canal Celebrates 175th Anniversary. July 6, 2023In April of 1848, the I & M Canal officially opened. From April of 2023 through March of 2024, the I & M Canal Corridor Association is having a year-long celebration of this event. Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- The Des Plaines River June 6, 2023I get excited when I talk about Lemont’s waterways, because they are so important not only to the growth of Chicago, but to westward expansion across the entire continent. The only place all these important waterways come together is Lemont. … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- Train Wreck in Lemont, July 1905 May 9, 2023Last month’s post was about a train wreck in Lemont on the Alton-Chicago Railroad in 1873. Today we continue the subject of train wrecks with the Santa Fe derailment that also occurred in Lemont in 1905. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- Lemont Train Wreck: August 16, 1873 April 17, 2023Is history repeating itself? Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- Admiral Dewey and the Battle of the Sanitary Canal March 1, 2023The I & M Canal had been a tremendous success in opening up shipping and transportation between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. However, during dry periods the level wasn’t sufficient to float the barges and boats, and during heavy … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- Lemont Streetcars – The Joliet and Chicago Electric Line February 19, 2023NewsOn Sunday, February 26, at 2 p.m. I will be speaking at the Lemont Historical Society about the “Lost Town of Sag Bridge.” If you have not already attended this talk, I hope you will come. If you have attended … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- The Ghosts of Sag Bridge January 29, 2023Recently I’ve been speaking at libraries and other local organizations about the history of Sag Bridge, a town that once existed near Archer Avenue, where Route 83 makes a turn from a north-south road to an east-west road. Although it … Continue reading →Pat Camalliere
- For Halloween: The Ghosts of the Quarries! October 26, 2023
Author Archives: Pat Camalliere
The Miracle At Assisi Hill Now Available!
I am so excited to announce the arrival of my newest book, The Miracle at Assisi Hill, which has been two years in the making. It’s here at last, just in time for Holiday gifting (or gift yourself!). For those of you … Continue reading
Posted in Lemont History, Uncategorized
Tagged Books, History, Illinois, Lemont, local history, Miracle, mystery, Northern Illinois, Saint, San Antonio, The Miracle at Assisi Hill
Comments Off on The Miracle At Assisi Hill Now Available!
Chicago’s South Side Mob – Concluded #4: The Chicago Mob, The FBI & Fun Facts
Chicago’s South Side Mob – Concluded #4The FBI and Fun Facts What effect did the government and law enforcement have on the Mob?Among the skills developed by the Outfit was the ability to avoid, minimize, and overturn criminal punishment. Money was … Continue reading
Chicago’s South Side Mob #3: After Prohibition, Villa Venice, and the Rat Pack
Now that the holidays are over and things seem to have calmed down, hopefully you are looking for things to read while the weather is still keeping most of us indoors. This is part three of a series of articles about the … Continue reading
Chicago’s South Side Mob – Continued #2
CHICAGO HEIGHTS AND JIMMY EMERY This is part two of a series about the South Side Chicago mob. I hope it will provide you a moment of respite from the troubles of this trying year. Since my teen years I … Continue reading
Chicago’s South Side Mob – Part 1
Since my teen years I had many friends who were Italian, and later I became Italian by marriage, so my sons are partly of Italian heritage. When I decided to write a historical mystery novel based on a friend whose … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Al Capone, Chicago area, Chicago mob, Chicago Outfit, Chicago South Side, Chicago South Suburbs
2 Comments
Manhattan Project to Covid-19: Argonne National Laboratory, Then and Now
A major setting in my novel The Mystery at Mount Forest Island is the former site of Argonne Laboratory Site A. Not only did Site A conduct major research that led to the creation of the atomic bomb, but today … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Advanced Photon Source, Argonne Laboratory, Argonne Narional Laboratory, ATLAS linear particle accelerator, Atmospheric Radiation Measurement, Atom Bomb, Covid-19, Covid-19 research, Lemont, Lemont History, Manhattan Project, Nanotechnology research, SARS-CoV-2, Supercomputers
1 Comment
The Abandoned Golf Course of Palos Woods
Some years ago I spoke at the Lemont Historical Society on the history of local golf courses. While doing research for the talk, I stumbled across one of the first courses in the area, the Palos Golf Course, owned and … Continue reading
QUARANTINE 1903 – THE SIEGE OF LEMONT
Due to recent events I thought you would be interested in reading about how epidemics were handled over a hundred years ago, with both similarities and differences to today’s pandemic. Continue reading
Posted in General History, Illinois History, Lemont History
Tagged epidemic, Lemont, Lemont History, Quarantine, Smallpox
1 Comment
MOUNT FOREST ISLAND AND LAKE CHICAGO
My new release (due soon – stay tuned!) is titled The Mystery at Mount Forest Island. So where is Mount Forest Island, you may ask? It is a triangular-shaped elevation of land between Lemont, Willow Springs and Palos. Most of … Continue reading